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| Cardinals manager Tony La Russa takes the ball from reliever Lance Lynn, who faced just one batter that La Russa asked Lynn to intentionally walk. - Photo courtesy of Getty Images |
After missing most of September and the Cardinals first round playoff series with the Philadelphia Phillies with an oblique strain, the former Ole' Miss star has appeared in every role imaginable.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has not been afraid to insert Lynn in any situation.
Lynn needed just one pitch to get out of tough jam in his playoff debut against the Milwaukee Brewers. Lynn has been asked to protect late inning leads in close games and pitched 2.1 innings against the Texas Rangers in Game 3 when starter Kyle Lohse faltered.
In Monday night's Game 5 of the World Series loss to the Texas Rangers, La Russa asked Lynn to do something highly unusual.
He asked Lynn to face just one batter and issue an intentional walk!
La Russa brought Lynn into the game with one out in the eighth inning with runners on second and third and Ian Kinsler stepping to the plate. Rather than using Marc Rzepczynski, who Lynn replaced, to walk Kinsler, La Russa asked Lynn to do the dirty work and then promptly removed him for Jason Motte.
Motte struck out the next Elvis Andrus to get out of the inning, but the usage of Lynn to issue an intentional walk and certainly was one of many unconventional and possibly controversial moves La Russa made in the Game 5 loss in the World Series.
While it appeared part of La Russa's "masterplan," it turns out that La Russa said their was a mix-up in the bullpen and they had the wrong guy warming up. La Russa wanted Motte to be warming up the entire time, but he was not ready because the bullpen heard the wrong name whenever La Russa called down.
"The other part just happens. I mean, it's loud down there, and sometimes you call down there and you have to wait until the crowd and a guy gets up late. I mean, this is not unusual," La Russa said.
It was a strange and unfortunate game for the Cardinals and certainly strange that Lynn was asked to simply issue an intentional walk.
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