Eaton had pitched well, continuing the turnaround of his slow-starting season. He had allowed one run and six hits through the first 6 1/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers. With one out in the seventh, Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge doubled to the wall in left-center and pinch-hitter Carlos Guillen followed with a sharply hit single to center. That is when Manuel came out and waved for Geoff Geary from the bullpen.
Truth in advertising: After the second hard-hit ball, my reaction in the press box was on the order of, "He has to go get him." So I was fine with it when Manuel came out after pinch-hitter Gary Sheffield was announced. I was even more fine with it when I saw Sheffield's lifetime stats against Eaton: 4-for-14 with two homers and five RBI. Including walks, Sheffield had reached base in nine out of 19 plate appearances against Eaton.
"He was right at 100 pitches," Manuel said. "I felt like I wanted Geary on Sheffield. Sheffield's had success on Eaton in the past. I wanted Geary on Sheffield."
For his part, Eaton said he wanted to stay in.
"If you start an inning, you always want to finish it, regardless of lefty-righty matchups," Eaton said. "Obviously, I've faced Sheffield quite a few times in the past and I feel pretty comfortable with him at the plate and have a good idea about how to get him out.
"But, obviously, they had seen enough and took me out. Obviously, if things had turned out a little differently, it would be a moot point. You've got to respect the decision that was made . . .
"Obviously, he had to make a decision. Obviously, I respect his decision. But at the same time, I wish I could have continued in that inning. That's just my competitive nature. I wanted to go out there and compete."
