There's head scratchers and then there's a monkey fucking a football. I never b!tched about Ricky much through 3 seasons. And never about pitching. But for 2 weeks I saw a guy in as far over his head as anybody I've ever seen. Even Frank talked about how he made it a point to look at players' faces in the dugout to gauge if what he's thinking is what they are thinking.

I think you're touching on something there that many baseball fans as well as some of the more hidebound organizations don't want to accept and that is that we are really in a post-manager era. When the computer tells you the optimal lineup, what difference does it make who writes it down on the card. The VAST majority of in-game decisions are obvious based upon simple math. If you have a manager using his "gut" instead of math, you're doing it wrong. So the manager's job isn't- or shouldn't be- those decisions that everyone gets worked up about. His job is really just to get everybody pulling on the same rope. I've never denied that some guys are better at that than others, but the situation often dictates who is "good" and who is "bad". Guys like Guillen and Billy Martin can shake a team up but they have a definite shelf life.

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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

There is a place for Ricky Renteria in baseball today, but it's not with a contending team. If I'm a team that's about to blow it all up and start a rebuild, I absolutely consider having him there for the years of developing the young studs

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

I definitely think the Sox should pursue Hinch. They’ll receive some small criticism out of the gate for obvious reasons, but he’s gonna manage somewhere and if the think he gives them the best chance to win, that’s what they should do

Bring the trash cans in too. Let's win multiple titles.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Hmmm wonder who Stone Pony is talking about ????

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

AJ?

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This signature space is available for inappropriate, suggestive, and lewd ideas.

Tell ya what AJ plays the psyche game pretty well too. He would be the guy to irritate the shit out of other managers.

I'd look forward to his first fistfight with Ross.

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This signature space is available for inappropriate, suggestive, and lewd ideas.

I heard Stone today. He prefers AJ Hinch.

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Elections have consequences.

I want the wrong AJ
You gotta make a splash

Pierzynski would be a terrible choice

What would you want your team to do? Get the guy who wins or give the current guy a "fair shake"?

Nothing in this post makes any sense.

Are you saying Maddon is why the Cubs won?

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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

Yes, he won it by himself.


No, the question is: what are you looking for out of your favorite team? Do what leads to championships or be fair with people?

Seriously - why would the Sox not hire somebody who can communicate fluently with Robert, Abreu, Moncada...

The Stros are in the ALCS this year despite losing a ton of pitching. It’s not like Hinch made that group special. It was a whole lot of talent and a whole lot of cheating.

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They also might be targeting Springer as a FA to play RF.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Then just fucking pay him. That’d prob do more for an FA than the prospect of reassembling the trash can squad.

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I would argue it's like masking and COVID. There's no evidence to suggest that masks do anything or that a manager matters in any way. That being the case, I suggest doing the thing that is most human. That means not mandating that people cover their faces and not dumping a manager for Joe Maddon.

More generally, I think without any clear and obvious benefit otherwise, being fair to people is the way to go. I mean, if you can set your daughter and her children up with generational wealth by sticking it in my ass, I'm not gonna be too angry with you. But when you stick it in my ass for some ambiguous and/or intangible goal, then you're probably just a bad guy.

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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

There is absolutely evidence that masks and managers make a difference. It's evidence you deem political or not convincing enough, but in both cases, the evidence exists.

I think Maddon helped in the Cubs unique situation but in general, I dont think managers matter as much as most people seem to think.

But if you want to say Cubs are bad/evil for what they did, that's fine. I dont look to my favorite teams as paragons of virtue. I look to them for entertainment. I was pretty entertained in 2016.

I think it's sad Ricky wasn't allowed to grow along with this team.

Yup. It was his first time managing baseball that matters. I am sure he learned from his mistakes. As soon as more accomplished mangers came off of MLB suspension they kicked Ricky to the curb.

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nice guy but risky move. I thought they could take the next step with him.

If Sox win next year nobody will remember that Ricky laid the groundwork.

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Whatever complaints there were about Renteria, there will be similar complaints about the next guy. Maddon got run out of town too. I guess he is a "bad manager". Fans need something to complain about. It's easier to blast a manager than to admit your favorite player sucks. Nobody puts a poster of a manager on his wall. Except maybe dan bernstein.

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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

Again, there's a difference between malfeasance and head scratchers. Two managers in my lifetime performed malfeasance. Bevington(called a guy in from the bullpen who had not warmed up) and Ricky(Rodon in Cleveland).

Trust was lost. It was written all over the players' faces as A's were strolling across the plate.

I have no problem with him getting bounced. Managers are hired to be fired. But I'm not kidding myself that replacing Renteria gets the Sox closer to a championship.

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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

Fair enough. My point stands that he could not be trusted to not make some insane move or non-move that literally causes his team to lose a playoff game. It's unacceptable to walk around on eggshells hoping this guy doesn't have some kind of baseball stroke.

It certainly looked that way with Abreu. How many times did they show him sitting in the dugout during the Indians series with a look of "what just happened" on his face?

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