Stammen Has Rookie Manager Moment In Removing Buehler

The San Diego Padres had a relatively uneventful 9-2 win over the Washington Nationals yesterday, as the offense turned this game into a route early. But Craig Stammen did have a bit of a rookie manager moment when he went to remove starter Walker Buehler in the third inning with the outcome still very much in doubt. 

Stammen decided to replace Buehler as soon as he left the dugout, according to a report from AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. But Stammen forgot about an earlier mound visit earlier in the inning from pitching coach Ruben Niebla, which meant Buehler didn’t get a chance to argue his case to stay in. 

The result was Buehler shouting into his glove when Stammen arrived, and the pitcher was able to get the manager to change his mind. Stammen took a couple of steps back toward the dugout, and Buehler moved behind the mound, but his fate was sealed as soon as the manager crossed the first-base foul line. 

Kyle Hart entered, and Buehler proceeded to flip the ball to his manager. It was a gesture of disdain, and Buehler has been known to get a bit cranky when he doesn’t get a chance to right the ship or work out of jams. 

“When I left the dugout, I was very convicted that I was going to put him in the game,” Stammen said of Hart. “That 90 feet to the mound, there’s a lot of things going on in my head. Fortunately, it worked out really well.”

But the Padres have almost zero margin for error right now, and that includes the manager. If Stammen does something like that and things don’t break right after the mistake, it’s especially costly at this time of year. 

“When he turns around, I think I’m still in the game,” Buehler said. “At the end of the day, there’s a lot going on in my head besides how many mound visits we have.”

To his credit, Stammen owned the mistake. It’s not the first rookie error he’s made this year, and he has avoided the process of trying to talk his way around them. 

“I’ve got to be more decisive in the moment, or in that walk to the mound,” Stammen said. “I was decisive in the dugout and less decisive as I went. When you get less decisive, the game speeds up on you and you make a decision that you probably shouldn’t.”

Fortunately, Hart wasn’t confused at all. He came on to pick up Buehler with 2-1/3 innings of scoreless baseball and get the win in the process. 

“I knew Ruben had already gone,” Hart said. “The umpire from behind second was waving us in. There was no confusion on our end.”