John Schneider doubles down amidst criticism: "I don't think I made a mistake"
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
With the Blue Jays' season on the line, manager John Schneider isn't backing down.
Toronto's skipper was heavily criticized for his decision to use Brendon Little rather than Seranthony Dominguez or Jeff Hoffman in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Friday.
The choice immediately backfired as Little gave up a home run and back-to-back walks before being lifted.
Dominguez didn't fare much better, hitting his first batter before giving up a grand slam to Eugenio Suarez. However, many analysts were of the opinion that if the Blue Jays' set-up man started with a clean inning, the results would have been different.
In the face of it all, Schneider has been defiant, rigorously defending Little as well as his choice to use the lefty.
From Saturday evening at Rogers Centre, here's how Blue Jays manager John Schneider reflected upon his bullpen deployment in the 8th inning of Game 5:
As the manager, of course Schneider would take accountability and shift blame onto himself rather than either one of his pitchers.
Blue Jays lack of offence more to blame
And while the use of "what-ifs" can be debated, the bottom is that the Blue Jays simply didn't hit or score enough runs when it mattered.
The thinking was understandable even if the execution was poor.
The best thing for the Blue Jays to do is win. While is might not ease criticism of either Schneider or Little, it will help silence at least some of the doubters.
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