My take on "the pitch"

I don't second guess Alfredo Simon, a pitcher who has recently thrown some nasty split-finger pitches, for going with that pitch on that 0-2 offering to Austin Kearns in the ninth Saturday. To me it was much more about pitch location rather than pitch selection there, although Dave Trembley would not offer an opinion on pitch selection there after the game. But you need to bury that splitter on 0-2 and Simon had been doing that for the most part while going 5 for 5 in save chances. This time it was up and in the middle of the plate. The worst location possible pretty much. The fans are stirred up about Trembley using three pitchers in the eighth but they didn't give up the lead then. Even if he did use a pitcher or two too many. In the ninth Simon had earned the right to pitch to Kearns in my opinion after going five for five. As a rookie closer coming off Tommy John surgery, did a 12-24 team really need to lift Simon there with a 2-1 lead and one out? He had worked out of jams before and he was given the right to try to do it again. I don't disagree with that. But I know Trembley is going to get smoked on the message boards for this one. I am just not going to join the chorus. I think Simon was the man to use in the ninth. He just hung a splitter with the game on the line.