I am not a future Hall of Fame manager. I do not possess three World Series rings. I have not managed a baseball team higher than the t-ball level. I fully admit my place in the baseball pecking order.

But I would like the answer to one question. Why did Andrew Heaney start over Dane Dunning?

Okay, maybe more than one question.

Why did Dane Dunning suddenly become a pariah in the Rangers rotation? Why have the Rangers avoided using him as much as possible? And why, when they did finally decide to use him, did he have such a short leash, as if he was an undesirable? Why was Andrew Heaney so unreliable during the season he was banished to the bullpen but suddenly reliable enough to start a critical game in the Championship Series over the guy who knocked him out of the rotation?

When Jacob deGrom was lost for the season, Dane Dunning stepped into the rotation and excelled. When Nathan Eovaldi went on the I.L., Dane Dunning excelled in the rotation. When Max Scherzer went down, Dane Dunning continued excelling in the rotation.

Dunning, in fact, started the season in the bullpen but pitched so well, he knocked both Andrew Heaney and Martin Perez out of the rotation.

Dunning was 12-7 with a 3.70 ERA. Yes, his first half was much better than his second half. But he was a starter. He pitched deep into games. His last five starts, his ERA was 2.36. Yet, suddenly, he’s an afterthought?

Would the Rangers have won had he started and Andrew Heaney come in to relieve him? Who knows.

But what we do know is, the Rangers got their butts whipped because Andrew Heaney started and couldn’t get out of the first inning. 

So, I will ask again, why did Andrew Heaney start?

Oh, and Cody Bradford?

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