bearister said:
I suppose a key question is: if McIlwain starts turning the ball over will Wilcox be willing to keep him in and sacrifice another game at his altar?
If he starts and it happens early enough, I am sure they will switch. Last week, McIlwain was Superman in the first half, iffy in the third quarter and then lost it in the 4th. If you knew that was going to happen, you pull him before it happens, otherwise once it happens it is too late. We used to see the same pattern with Nate Longshore (4th quarter meltdowns), but at least in 2007 that was largely due to his fractured ankle and the pattern was so well established it should have been anticipated (bring in a relief pitcher).