Bob Melvin Needs to Be Held Accountable for Starting Sean Manaea in AL Wild Card Game

The Oakland Athletics find themselves down big against the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card Game, and we think we know who needs to be blamed for this.

A's manager Bob Melvin decided to give starter Sean Manaea the ball to begin the game, and it couldn't have gone worse. He allowed four earned runs on three homers and put his team in a big hole.

So we have to ask, why in the world did he get the nod after pitching in just five games and a total of 29.1 innings this year after coming back from shoulder surgery?

We can pull out all the oddities at this point because it's "baseball," but the reality is Manaea didn't see his first MLB action this year until September and faced the Yankees (yes, formidable), Mariners, Tigers and Rangers (twice). How does that track record give you the confidence to start him in a do-or-die game? Aside from the Yankees, those aren't exactly good offenses. Texas ranks 12th, Seattle ranks 20th, and Detroit ranks dead last.

On top of that, those were largely all low-stakes games. Four out of those five matchups featured teams WAY out of the playoff race. There was no motivation for the opposition. The Rays offense ranked 18th this year, but this game brings out all the nerves.

Sure, Mike Fiers had a terrible end to the year, but he's probably the team's most consistent pitcher, and he last threw on Sept. 27. He wasn't the choice?

Captain Hindsight always rules all, but this has been a head-scratcher ever since Melvin announced the decision.