I’m not a big fan of second-guessing managers. After all, successful moves are usually overlooked, so it’s unfair to highlight the moves that get burned. That said, I need someone to explain why it was a good decision to remove Craig Hansen from the ballgame yesterday and replace him with Hideki Okajima. Sure, hindsight is 20/20, and Hansen has been inconsistent and Okajima has been an All-Star. But it STILL didn’t make sense.

First of all, Hansen had just battled Brian Roberts in a great at-bat. Sure, Roberts had worked a walk, but it’s not like Hansen’s control was all over the place. Roberts kept fouling off good pitches.

Hansen came into the game and allowed a single to the catcher, then fought Roberts to a full count. Ultimately, the payoff pitch barely missed, Roberts walked, and Hansen was in line to face Jay Payton, a righty, with the bases loaded. Hansen, whose role in the bullpen has obviously taken on greater importance with the departure of Julian Tavarez, needed to get out of this situation – for his long-term confidence and, in turn, the long-term benefit of the team. Instead, replacement coach Brad Mills takes out Hansen, replaces him with Okajima, and Payton hits a grand slam. I don’t know what the statistics say about bringing in a cold pitcher with the bases loaded, but I’m pretty sure they suck. Why? Because the guy is cold, so he wants to be sure to get the ball over the plate. Well, Okajima certainly succeeded in that – it was a big fat leg of lamb and Payton gnawed it off and tossed it.

Apparently the time is now for Red Sox’ reliever Craig Hansen, whose role in the bullpen will come into greater relief with the ouster of Julian Tavarez, who’s been designated for assignment. So, are we confident about this maneuver? Are we happy to see Tavarez and his 6.39 ERA jettisoned in favor of Hansen and his 6.23 ERA? I guess it all depends on the Hansen we get. After all, he’s only pitched in two games (2 and 2/3 innings of work), while Tavarez spread his demon seed across nine games and 12.7 innings.

In his brief work this season, Hansen has shown flashes of brilliance digestibility, which is more than you could say for Tavarez, who’s pitched admirably in the past but seemed to be throwing batting practice of late. Hansen had ESPN’s Steve Philips and Orel Hershiser drooling on each other during last week’s Detroit series, when his off-speed pitches were snapping across “multiple planes,” a phrase Hershiser mentioned at least 13 times in one inning. Discussed much less was Hansen’s ordeal with sleep apnea, which apparently caused him to snore, toss and turn, and look perpetually stoned. According to reports, that condition has now been rectified, although Hansen still looks like someone who’d bogart the spleef (like he did as Pickford in “Dazed and Confused”). Whether he can bogart big situations remains to be seen.