When I was a kid I read a nursery rhyme called “For Want of a Nail”. It tells the story of how not having a nail to properly shoe a horse prevents an important message during war from being delivered and a kingdom falling to the enemy. It was meant to teach us that the least of things can lead to catastrophic results–and that you really should “sweat the small stuff”.
I was reminded of that Saturday night as one decision by Milwaukee Brewers Manager Craig Counsell set in motion a chain of events that cost his team a chance to make the World Series for the first time in 36-years. And that decision was to bring in his best reliever–Josh Hader–in the third inning of a game that the Brewers trailed 2-1. While Hader pitched three shutout innings–and kept the Brewers just one run behind–what happened after his departure from the game revealed the lasting impact–which I equated on social media to a chess player exposing his Queen early in a match.
I think the Fox TV crew underplayed the most immediate impact the early Hader insertion had on the game. Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts removed his starting left-fielder, Joc Pedersen, and moved second-baseman Chris Taylor to left. That paid dividends for the Dodgers in the bottom of the 6th inning–as Taylor–who is faster than Pedersen, and who is also right-handed–made a spectacular running catch in the gap that the slower-footed and left-handed Pedersen would not have made–to preserve the Dodgers’ one-run lead. Had Craig Counsell gone to one of his right-handed relievers (or kept starter Jhoulys Chacin in the game for more than two innings) Pedersen would have watched Christian Yelich’s hit bounce off the wall and Lorenzo Cain come streaking home to make it 2-2.
The early Hader insertion then forced Counsell to bring in the struggling Jeremy Jeffress to face the heart of the Dodgers order in the 7th–where he was promptly greeted with a single, a walk and the game-sealing 3-run homer by Yasiel Puig to make it 5-1. Had a right-hander like Brandon Woodruff been brought in to pitch the three innings that Hader covered, the left-handed Hader would have been in to face Puig–who somehow hits lefties worse than righties despite being right-handed.
Ultimately, the blame for the Brewers losing the series should go on the offense–which features a complete and utter lack of situational hitting and the ability to make productive outs with runners in scoring position . But Game 7 proved that the smallest of decisions can have huge consequences down the line.
