Rookie League manager leaves bullpen off lineup card, has to use position players in relief
Kingsport Mets manager makes lineup card mistake
We've all had those days -- you know the ones, when you simply forget to do things, like picking up your dry cleaning, getting eggs at the grocery store or putting most of your bullpen on your lineup card.
OK, so maybe most of us aren't managing Rookie League teams, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't cut Kingsport Mets skipper Luis Rivera some slack.
"Some of the guys weren't ready to pitch tonight and I forgot also to put a couple of pitchers in," he told the Kingsport Times-News. But Rivera didn't realize it until the later innings of the game:
"I saw that (Davis) wasn't listed on the lineup card ... the number ... I don't know their players' names," said Bluefield manager Dennis Holmberg.
"It's a tough situation, but the umpire caught it. I looked at my lineup card and said 'What's his number?' But he would have caught it anyhow. That's their job," he said.
Instead of relying on his bullpen, Rivera had to use not one, not two, but three position players to get to his closer, whose name he had remembered to add. While some position players do just fine on the mound (like potential future ground ball pitcher Ike Davis), this was not the case with Rivera's trio:
Ortega, an infielder who pitched two innings, gave up a leadoff home run to Aaron Attaway in the seventh. Gregory Valencia surrendered a couple of unearned runs before Crismatt stepped in for the final six outs.
The three position players combined for seven walks and zero strikeouts.
The K-Mets fell to the Blue Jays, 15-9.
Hopefully those numbers will help him remember to fill out his lineup card fully next time. Presumably it's a whole lot more effective than tying a string around his finger.