MIAMI — Omar López had just managed a game with the deftness of a diamond cutter or, given the unidentified voice he heard in his head in the dugout, the gift of a paranormal investigator. After the Venezuelan manager pulled his starting pitcher just four outs into the World Baseball Classic semifinal Monday, falling behind 2–0 to Italy, he called on six relievers to get 23 outs as Venezuela rallied to beat Italy, 4–2.
He knew what was coming next, as all managers in the WBC have learned over the years: instructions and complaints from major league executives about the use of their players.
