I don't think it hurts that they all are suddenly tough to hit. I've had Cub fans sitting next to me screaming as Rosscup blew games down the stretch.

It can't be that the manager gets the credit when things go good and the player gets the blame when they go bad. And you'd only do that with a guy you had already deemed good.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Why are they suddenly tough to hit? They're the same guys they were earlier aren't they?

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Did they suddenly learn how to pitch?
Isn't arrietta the same guy he was a few seasons ago i.e. not an ace?

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

You think Maddon "coached" them into getting sharp now? That's kind of a tough position to take unless you're going to blame him when they go through a month with a 7.00 ERA.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Are you crediting Maddon for Arrieta's command?

I think a pitching coach can make a difference. Bosio is a good one. But we can talk about specific mechanics and concrete changes he may have suggested.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I didn't credit maddon. I asked if they were the same guys they were earlier in the season. Is arrietta not the same man who had like a career 5+Era before he came to the cubs?
Could 8th be that Maddon and his staff prepared their pitcher's with better Intel going into games. Is it possible that a coach or manager might notice a player doing something wrong and correct a mechanical or mental error and improve them?

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

So you think then that coaches can have a significant effect on a teams success?
What made them suddenly tough to hit? Did bosio do something different in the last 30 days that he didn't do in the previous 2 seasons?

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

A pitching coach for sure. How many reclamation projects did Duncan have success with? But again, he's making specific adjustments to a delivery. It's something we can discuss based on facts, rather than just, "Guy X is good because most writers say so."

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I have no interest in making the effort. If you know Baseball, you should know what makes a good or bad Manager.

_________________
CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

That does seem to be how people differentiate a good manager from a bad manager.

_________________

And yet, you can't tell us.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Fans call a guy a "good" manager if they agree with his decisions. So it logically follows that the best manager is a drunken guy in the stands screaming that it's a bunt situation.

Seriously, I wonder how many guys here know that Bill Veeck actually let the fans manage some games with giant cards. That's how important that particular baseball genius thought it was.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I'll answer you in your own words when you were asked why you think the Cubs will not win because "something will happen". You stated..."nothing tangible".

So there is your answer. Now fuck off Bernstein wannabe!

_________________
Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

he also let a midget have an at bat. he was a showman more than a baseball guy. he was like the michael bay of baseball.

OK, manager doesnt matter.

makes this team FUCKING AWESOME

[url]blob:https%3A//vine.co/b4a6afae-5fa4-45ae-9c4f-d49da1965b81[/url]

_________________
"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

_________________
"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

He drew a walk, didn't he? 1.000 OBP percenatge. Maybe a good GM would have a team full of midgets.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

it would be small ball...

BOOOO!!!!!

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

The drunken guy in the stands doesn't call two safety bunts in an inning.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Other than the fact that they worked, what makes you believe that those bunts are a good idea when all the numbers illustrate otherwise?

Anyway, I'd prefer not to use Joe Maddon as an illustration for purposes of this discussion as it seems many people are conflating my dislike of the Cubs with my indifference to who is managing a baseball team.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

That pretty much illustrated the point. The manager and his call against conventional wisdom worked.
Management mattered.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Now you're using the word "matter" in a way that's going to start a semantic argument. I don't want to go down that road. I actually have to go to work today. Have a great day.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

If the player bunted the ball harder and led to a double-play, was it still a good managerial decision?

_________________

Bad managers tell players what to do that fits their way of thinking. They don't explain why, they just demand results. These managers can be successful with veteran players who also bark orders and lead by production only. Example (Sammy Sosa, Zambrano). They become bad managers when they fail to adjust to their players and expect the players to adjust to them without explaning why or how. Example (Dusty Baker)

Good managers explain why, but expects the players to adjust to them instead of adjusting to the players. These type of managers lose the club house after the players lose faith in the managers single way of thinking. Example (Lou Pinella)

Great managers get the players to believe they are all involved in reaching one goal. To win the World Series. They get them to play as a team and not individuals. A great manager adjust to his players and puts them in the best position to succeed. Even if it means a demotion for some of them. Example (Castro, Wood, Richards, Cahill.) The players feel a greater sense of pride for the team when the team is successful because of their "sacrifices." Respect is earned and not expected on these type of teams. The team becomes a brotherhood of players and this all starts at the top from the President (Epstein) all the way down to the pitching coach (Bosio). Great manager Example (Joe Maddon)

Any manger can get lucky and win any given year with players that match his managing style, but only the great ones create something special.

or start La Stella and sit Soler

like a bad gambler, a certain group of fans only talks about the successful moves

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Sitting Soler and Baez provided them with the fire they needed to become postseason stars. Same with Schwarber.

Maddon knows how to use 25 guys. And that is surprising since he is from the AL.

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

sure it did

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I guess the Rays just didn't believe enough

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.