Washington Nationals’ Davey Johnson replies to questions regarding second-guessing - MLB News
Washington Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson remains as confident about his decisions as ever. With his team eliminated from the season after facing crushing 7-9 defeat against St. Louis Cardinals, he has score of questions to answer. He is being denounced
for the decisions that he took in Game 5 of the National League Division Series.
Regardless of the frequency with which the criticism is emerging against him, Johnson stays calm and assured about his competency as manager.
He has repelled the notion that he is unhappy with the tactics that he used during the match in order to win.
By the time reporters approached him seeking explanation about his decisions, they were expecting that Johnson will be disappointed with himself over not using his bullpen properly in the last match.
Far from this, Johnson has defended his moves saying that he took the team into the ninth with a lead, which in itself was the proof of the effectiveness of his ploys with regard to using relief pitchers.
He has stated that he does not care for the results for as long as he considered every possible aspect while employing his resources in the match. Melt-down in the last inning by the reliever cannot be considered as a failure of the whole team.
“Let me tell you something,” Johnson said. “Any manager in baseball, they will tell you, if you can get to your closer with a lead, you’ve done good. I don’t give a rat’s [behind] what anybody else thinks. If it’s a one-run lead, a two-run lead, you did
it. One thing, in all the years I’ve been managing, if I think about all the options I have in every minute of that game, I never second-guess myself.”
Notwithstanding the heartbreaking exclusion from the playoffs, the Nationals made history under Johnson by qualifying for the post-season after struggling for a number of years.
Johnson has been excellent as manager throughout the regular season. Based on his current performance, it can be claimed that he can ensure the Nationals place in the playoffs again for the next year. It will be interesting to see as to which strategy he
comes up with for the upcoming season.
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