ESPN Insider says heat shouldn’t be on Gibson

Kirk Gibson, who seemed to press all the right buttons in
the regular season, is 0-for-the-playoffs.

Whether it was starting Lyle Overbay over Paul Goldshmidt
in Game 1 or letting Ian Kennedy pitch to Prince Fielder
with a runner on and first base open, the manager’s moves
just haven’t worked out.

However, that doesn’t mean people should be putting heat
on the D-backs’ skipper.

“I am a big believer that you go to your pitcher and say,
‘what do you think here,'” ESPN baseball insider Tim
Kurkjian told Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and Gambo, “and
the pitcher should be able to tell you what he can and
can’t do.”

Noting that a manager shouldn’t always listen to his
pitcher, Kurkjian said the move was in line with
everything else the first-year manager has done.

“The one thing that Kirk Gibson has done is he has trusted
his players, and being Kirk Gibson he’s the kind of guy
who needs to look in the player’s eyes and see if he can
see what it takes,” he added. “That’s what Kirk Gibson can
do because that’s the way he was as a player.

“Obviously he saw something in Ian Kennedy’s eyes that
suggested that he could get this guy out.”

True, it’s tough to get on Gibson now, especially after
the manager’s style got the D-backs into the playoffs when
virtually no one expected them to get there.

And now, with no one expecting them to rally from a 0-2
deficit to beat the Brewers, he will have to do his best
managing job of the season.

“I have to think the Diamondbacks are going to play a
little bit better than they did the first two games,”
Kurkjian said. “Being at home I think is really going to
help.”

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