Take him out in the ballgame

Okay, I’ve figured out what it is that irritates me about Francona. It’s not when he pulls the starters, although that is increasingly questionable. It’s his unwillingness to have pitchers warming up. I don’t blame him for having Schilling start the 6th. I do blame him for not having Adams warmed up when Schilling clearly had struggled to finish the 5th. So bang-bang, the D-Rays are hitting Schilling’s meatballs, and there’s clearly no one ready to take his place. I know warm up pitches take something out of the arm, but not that much, and Adams is not a critical middle reliever in any case. There’s nothing wrong with insurance, y’know. It’s not unmanly. It’s not emasculating to the pitcher on the mound. It just says “hey, I got your back”.