Something is not right with the manager here

Last night in the ninth inning of the Pirates/Dodgers game with the Pirates up 11-0 and Zach Duke one out away from a complete game, Pirates manager John Russell lifted Duke and brought in Donnie Veal to get the last out of the game "drawing loud boos" (per AP) from the Pittsburgh fans.

"I wanted it pretty bad, I'm not going to lie," said Duke.

An article by Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a bit more information.

Kovacevic indicates that John Russell's explanation for this strange managerial decision is as follows:

"I wanted Zach to have a nice ovation from the fans. He did a heck of a job, pitched a great game. We were trying to get him a shutout and, unfortunately, they scored the run. We just wanted to give the fans an opportunity to appreciate what he did rather than the game just being over. We needed to get Donnie a little work today with Karstens and him both pitching Wednesday. It was good that we got Donnie in the game. That'll make him a little more prepared."

Hmmm. It's not really getting better for Russell.

Duke responded, "At that point in the game, I think I might have gotten an ovation either way. I was one out away."

Any manager knows how much a starting pitcher values a complete game. Letting Duke, who was not on a pitch count, finish the game here was a slam-dunk no-brainer.

This is nutty.

In fact, this is more than nutty.

This is "Did you really do that?" nutty.

This is "Unless Veal gets into trouble, how much work can he get in here?" nutty.

This is "Did you hit your head?" nutty.

This is "Did someone put something in your Gatorade?" nutty.

This is "People are worried about you" nutty.

This is....