This Is A Tragedy

[Kenny Cole]

What contributed to the collapse more than the managing was the piss-poor play of pretty much the entire team (except Jacoby Ellsbury) during the entire month of September. The manager doesn't hit, pitch or field. Of course, management can't really fire a player, so the head that rolls is that of someone else. That's the way it is. Theo Epstein made pretty much all of the player decisions, so is he all of a sudden a bad GM too?

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Kenny Cole

What contributed to the collapse more than the managing was the piss-poor play of pretty much the entire team (except Jacoby Ellsbury) during the entire month of September. The manager doesn't hit, pitch or field. Of course, management can't really fire a player, so the head that rolls is that of someone else. That's the way it is. Theo Epstein made pretty much all of the player decisions, so is he all of a sudden a bad GM too?

I hear this argument a lot, and I don't get it. In your opinion, what is a manager's responsibility, if not to make the right decisions about who is on the field at any given time, and to get the most out of them that he can? Aren't these things a huge part of winning?

I'm not jumping on the 90% of baseball who disagree with me - obviously they are right, I just haven't heard them build a good case that I can agree with.

Haven't any of you had a coach or manager that inspired you to do your best? who showed you that a team was more (or less - see Yankees) than the sum of its parts?

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by Runscott

I hear this argument a lot, and I don't get it. In your opinion, what is a manager's responsibility, if not to make the right decisions about who is on the field at any given time, and to get the most out of them that he can? Aren't these things a huge part of winning?

I'm not jumping on the 90% of baseball who disagree with me - obviously they are right, I just haven't heard them build a good case that I can agree with.

Haven't any of you had a coach or manager that inspired you to do your best? who showed you that a team was more (or less - see Yankees) than the sum of its parts?

Francona won two World Series with a lot of these guys -- for a franchise that hadn't won in 90 years. A lot of injuries and crappy pitching were not his fault. For a guy who won two championships for this franchise he should have been largely immune from criticism.