Put that side-by-side with the fact that lefthander J.A. Happ, who was edged out for the fifth spot by Park in spring training, has been pitching extremely well out of the bullpen. Add that he was scheduled to make his first start of the season Saturday night before being pushed into an emergency relief appearance by extra innings Friday and the manager's seemingly innocuous quote takes on a sudden gravitas.
"We're concerned about our pitching. And we're going to do what we think is the best way to go, any way we can improve it. [Today] is an off day. That will give us some time to talk about it. We'll see what comes out of it. We just want to do what's best for our pitching staff. We want to put the best pitchers out there that we possibly can get," is what he said.
That ain't exactly a vote of confidence for Park, who would be scheduled to make his next start Saturday at the new Yankee Stadium.
In fact, a manager who is usually resolutely supportive of his players, no matter what, was clinical and detached in dissecting Park's performance.
"Chan Ho had a bad outing. He had one of those outings where it seemed like he couldn't get going and nothing he tried worked out. Things just didn't happen for him," Manuel said.
After the umpires missed a checked-swing call on Nationals leftfielder Josh Willingham in the first, Park waved his arms in disbelief. "I don't know what we can do [about a 35-year-old veteran losing his cool]. He's the one who has to correct it. He's the one who has to keep his poise. He's the one who has to stay aggressive. He's the one that's got the ball," Manuel said.
Those are red flags.
