Morgan Is Unhappy With His Strategy

Not once last season, in good times and bad, did Joe Morgan reduce himself to second-guessing his own managerial decisions.

But early Tuesday afternoon, while the Boston Red Sox were taking an off-day workout at Memorial Stadium, Morgan did exactly that. Morgan reviewed some of the button-pressing he had done in the Sox’s 11-inning, 5-4 Opening Day loss to the Baltimore Orioles Monday, and he found a mistake or two.

Morgan left himself open to a variety of criticisms Monday. For instance:

There was his 11th-inning prevent defense, in which he used a five-man infield with runners on first and third, one down. The move backfired when Craig Worthington lifted a fly to left-center that Ellis Burks, trying to play two positions with Mike Greenwell playing in the infield, could not catch.

There was the decision to have right-hander Roger Clemens pitch to Cal Ripken Jr. in the sixth inning with first base open. Ripken, the toughest out in a not-so-tough Baltimore lineup, hit a three-run homer.

There was what appeared to be a stolen-base attempt by Nick Esasky in the ninth inning, the game tied 4-4. Esasky, owner of 17 career stolen bases, was easily gunned down by Orioles catcher Mickey Tettleton.

Does he mind the second-guessing?

“No,” Morgan said. “Second-guessing is part of baseball. But it bothers me when they’re dead wrong. Like, why didn’t I walk Ripken and pitch to the next guy? I’ll tell you why: Because the next guy up (Larry Sheets) is a pretty good left-handed hitter, that’s why.”

And the Esasky stolen-base attempt?

“It was supposed to be a hit-and-run,” Morgan said. “I knew that guy (Brian Holton) was going to throw a fastball to (Rich) Gedman. I just knew it. So I put the hit-and-run on. But it was just a bad pitch. He threw a fastball, but it was so far out, it was almost like a pitchout. Well, that’s what makes the game fun, if you’re into it.”

Morgan even defended his decision to deploy a five-man infield in the 11th inning, though he admitted the move clearly backfired. But the mistake Morgan made, a mistake for which he was still kicking himself Tuesday, was overlooked by everyone except himself.

In the 10th inning, the game still tied, Wade Boggs on first with a leadoff walk, Morgan had Marty Barrett lay down a sacrifice bunt. It seemed the logical move, given that the game was tied and that Barrett has led the American League in sacrifice bunts three consecutive seasons.

But while Barrett did his job, moving the runner up to second, Boggs died there. Dwight Evans popped to center and, after Greenwell was walked intentionally, Burks flied to right.

“That was the mistake, that bunt,” Morgan said. “I just had a feeling about it. Even while he was doing it, I was saying to myself that wasn’t the thing I wanted to do. I should have gone with the hit-and-run.

“A million times you see a guy bunted up to second, and he’s standing there with one out, and then he doesn’t go anywhere,” Morgan said. “If I had the hit-and-run on, and it works, we have a guy on third base.

“It still bothers me that I did that.”

Asked why he went for the bunt and not the hit-and-run--in other words, why he went against his own gut feeling--Morgan answered, “Because I’m stupid, that’s why.”