Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was under fire just a few days ago for pulling Joe Ryan after five innings and just 81 pitches. It was low hanging fruit, because their bullpen immediately gave up a few runs, and the Twins wound up losing.

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable found himself in a similar situation tonight. Rookie right hander Shane Smith was dominating his Major League debut, pitching even better than Joe Ryan was just a few days earlier. Through five innings, he hadn't allowed a run and was sitting at just 59 pitches. This led to Venable making the opposite decision, sending his starter out for the sixth inning.

Making the opposite decision never guarantees a different result. By the end of the sixth inning, Minnesota had completely flipped the game. They were down 3-0 after five, staring down the barrel of an 0-5 start. But suddenly, they had a 5-3 lead. That third trip through the order against an unproven starter helped get two runners on base. Chicago finally went to their bullpen, but then the floodgates opened. Four straight hits with two outs helped produce five runs, and the Twins never looked back.

It's possible that pulling Smith after five still winds up with the Twins going off on their five run rally. As I've already said, making the opposite decision never guarantees a different result. And we all saw that pulling Joe Ryan the other day helped spark a St. Louis Cardinals rally. But there's still an alternate reality in which a reliever enters with a clean slate, and tosses a 1-2-3 inning.

The main point is that these managerial decisions don't really matter. The players still have to play. Smith was sent out for the sixth after dominating the first five innings, and then he issued two walks. This forced the White Sox bullpen into a tricky spot that could've been avoided if they simply pulled Smith before the inning. But even if they did pull Smith after five, the relievers still need to do their jobs. It's the players who decide the outcome. Not the manager.