Not that anyone's questioning the decision to pull Edwin Jackson in the eighth inning last night (or maybe plenty of people are, and I'm just misreading the situation), but Jim Leyland addressed the matter in his post-game remarks.
"There was no question that he was starting to go. There was no question about that. It was the perfect situation for Seay to come in, get out the one lefty who was a pretty good hitter. We got that. We felt real good about it, but there was no doubt in my mind about that. I don't question that at all. He gave us everything you could ask for and more. Rolen hit the home run, and we had the unfortunate little play there that we didn't make. That's all part of the game."
Though Jackson had thrown 89 pitches to that point, making one think he could've stayed in longer, isn't this why you have a bullpen? To pick up the game when the starter tires out? Not to mention the folly of pushing a pitcher to the limit in his first game of the season. Unfortunately, the bullpen dropped the game badly.
Later in the season, if faced with a similar situation, it'll be interesting to see if Leyland feels he can't trust his relievers (despite any character they may have built) and keeps his starter in the game, hoping he can finish it out.
So is it far too early to second-guess such a decision? Leyland made the right call, didn't he? It's just that the bullpen couldn't follow through. What do you say?