Derrick Turnbow complained over a week ago about the insignificance of his role out of the Brewers bullpen. Now Turnbow can pipe down after giving up a pair of doubles in the 9th inning, the last of which came off the bat of Skip Schumaker to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 win over the Brewers.
I have no problem with Ned Yost trying to get Turnbow back in the groove that led to him making the National League All-Star team a few years back. But it's Yost that put Turnbow in a position to fail.
April 15th is the last time Turnbow pitched in a game until last night. In each of his previous appearances, Turnbow only appeared in games in which the Brewers were behind. So after such a lengthy layoff, one would assume that Turnbow would be rusty. With a rested David Riske ready in the bullpen, who does Yost turn to with the game tied 3-3 in the 9th? You guessed it, DERRICK TURNBOW!
Then afterwards, Yost was asked why Turnbow and he brings out his all-star credentials. Ned, Turnbow isn't an all-star right now. He's a pitcher that for the last six days you didn't even pitch. Now for the first time in a week, you throw him into a tie game in the 9th?
Ned, your title is manager. You're supposed to manage your roster and you're not doing that very well when you pull these type of stunts.
This is the big leagues. If Turnbow isn't good enough to pitch on a regular schedule, then get rid of him. Do whatever you want with him. But don't bring him into a tie game in the 9th when you can literally predict the outcome.
