Guerrero out of Texas lineup

SAN FRANCISCO - Minutes after the unmitigated disaster had ended, Vladimir Guerrero sat facing his locker in the visitors' clubhouse at AT&T Park and softly answered questions in Spanish.

A future Hall of Famer, Guerrero had played 14 seasons without ever playing on the game's biggest stage, the World Series. So here he was, embarrassed by his performance in the game he had dreamed of playing.

"What happened out there . . . I cannot put my head down," the Texas Rangers veteran said through an interpreter after Texas' 11-7 loss on Wednesday.

In Game 1 of the World Series Guerrero became just the 10th outfielder in history to commit two errors in one game. He was the first rightfielder to commit two errors in one World Series game since the Giants' Don Mueller did it in 1954.

After the game, Rangers manager Ron Washington defended Guerrero and said he would start Game 2. Guerrero was hopeful for the chance.

"It's not my decision," Guerrero said. "I want to play. But it's his decision, not mine."

But overnight, Washington changed his mind and benched Guerrero, one of his best hitters.

"Totally my decision," Washington said. "It had nothing to do with anything that happened out there, because Vlad didn't do anything out there that I have never seen another baseball player do in right field.

"Me being the manager, I have the right to change my mind."

Washington said he wanted another lefthanded hitter, David Murphy, in the lineup against San Francisco starter Matt Cain, but Guerrero's defensive adventures did not help matters. He played just 18 games in the field during the season, spending 129 games as the Rangers' regular designated hitter.

In the games played at AT&T Park, there is no DH. When the series resumes in Texas for Game 3, the 35-year-old Guerrero will be back at his customary spot.

Rangers president Nolan Ryan said before Game 2 that he wants to see the two leagues standardized. It's a debate that began in 1973, when the designated hitter was introduced in the American League.

"It's a big challenge with the players' association," Ryan said, "because you would be taking a high-paid player off a team if you did away with the DH. But if you ask me what my preference would be, it would be to eliminate the DH. I've always felt that way."