Everyone wanted to see Mason Miller face Fernando Tatis Jr. on Sunday night--except for the San Diego Padres manager.
When San Diego Padres’ closer Mason Miller took the mound for Team USA on Sunday night against Team Dominican Republic, all kinds of juicy matchups were in play. One of the best possibilities was Miller versus teammate Fernando Tatis Jr., but there was one person who definitely didn’t want to see that happen.
That was Padres manager Craig Stammen, who probably heaved a sigh of relief when Team Dominican’s ninth-inning rally fell just short of making that confrontation happen.
“It was a great ninth inning for Mason, and a tough ninth inning for the Dominican team,” Stammen said in a piece written by Manny Randhawa of MLB.com. “I know there were probably a few people wanting to see Mason Miller vs. Fernando Tatis Jr.; I was not one of those people.”
Stammen’s logic was surprising, and it shows just how seriously players from every team take the international competition. You’d think that as Padres teammates, Miller and Tatis would be able to take the results of this sort of thing in stride, but Stammen was still concerned about the possibility.
“It didn’t really matter how it ended, to me, but I just didn’t want those two to have to face off against each other in that tense of a moment,” Stammen said. “I wanted them to stay teammates, stay in good graces with each other.”
Another part of the manager’s reluctance was based on what goes into the “to pitch or not to pitch” decision behind the scenes when players like Miller are involved. Stammen made a controversial comment yesterday about Miller’s availability for tonight’s final WBC game against Venezuela, and Randhawa delivered some details about the parameters that are involved.
It’s very difficult,” Stammen said. “And the whole country wants Mason Miller to pitch the ninth inning on [Tuesday]. And you’ve got Mark DeRosa ... there’s a lot going on behind the scenes on who he can pitch, when he can pitch and how he can pitch it.”
Miller struggled with his control against Team Dominican, and a final decision still hasn’t been rendered about his availability. Stammen understands how difficult the call will be, but he also needs to protect his guy, especially given the issues the Padres have faced this spring trying to keep their rotation intact despite some serious injuries to key pitchers.
“They’ve got a tough job,” Stammen said. “They’re managing that team right now, but they’re not the manager of that player overall in Major League Baseball. So, definitely a tough position for him and Andy [Pettitte] managing the pitching staff.
“They’ve done a great job so far. They’ve been very communicative with us and understanding of our situation with Mason and I’m sure with Mason and the rest of the pitchers on the staff.”