2016 Postseason Thread

Enscheff said:
With the exception of lineup construction, I generally agree. Batting someone like Adonis Garcia 2nd when guys with far superior on base skills like Jace and Swanson are on the roster is absolutely inexcusible to me, no matter how small of a difference it makes. It is a quantifiable advantage the manager is directly responsible for, and all it costs is a swipe of his pen to make it happen.

However, Francona's aggressive use of his 2 elite BP arms in the highest leverage situations (regardless of the inning) is, in my opinion, the biggest reason the Indians are in the position to win the WS with 1 more victory. Fredi and Buck have shown how NOT to utilize a BP during the postseason, while Francona has pretty much laid out the perfect blueprint for postseason BP usage. We have gotten to watch another deep postseason run by the Braves had Fredi used his BP (namely Kimbrel) correctly in the postseason. Same thing goes with the Orioles and Britton sitting in the BP unused.
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I think you are somewhat underestimating the ability of a manager to have his players buy in to his strategy. The player you should be having hit 2nd on the team is Freddie, not Dansby, Jace, Nick, Adonis, etc. However, Freddie may not want to hit second, rather third, which complicates the situation. It's not always simply "a swipe of the pen". A good manager is able to get buy in from the players, which Bobby Cox and Joe Maddon were/are able to do very well. I think this skill is especially valuable with bullpen management because all of those guys seem to have this ingrained sense of routine. I find it impressive as hell that Francona has convinced Andrew Miller that he doesn't need to be the closer, despite being arguably the best relief pitcher in baseball.
 
It is easy to convince Miller since he was a trade target (and not a closer there or was?) It may not work as well if it was a FA acquisition.

I dont really see why a hitter wouldn't want to hit second.

I do think the perfect blend is make everyone happy in the regular season, then be bold and aggressive in the postseason.
 
chop2chip said:
I think you are somewhat underestimating the ability of a manager to have his players buy in to his strategy. The player you should be having hit 2nd on the team is Freddie, not Dansby, Jace, Nick, Adonis, etc. However, Freddie may not want to hit second, rather third, which complicates the situation. It's not always simply "a swipe of the pen". A good manager is able to get buy in from the players, which Bobby Cox and Joe Maddon were/are able to do very well. I think this skill is especially valuable with bullpen management because all of those guys seem to have this ingrained sense of routine. I find it impressive as hell that Francona has convinced Andrew Miller that he doesn't need to be the closer, despite being arguably the best relief pitcher in baseball.
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Freeman will never, ever, hit 2nd for the Braves, so I don't even bother suggesting it. The point is that it's moronic to bat a .300 OBP talent 2nd, period. Everyone but Snitker knows that apparently.

And notice how Chapman was used for 8 outs after never being used like that until Sunday? I have to assume that was largely influenced by the way Francona has been successfully utilizing Miller.
 
So would you pull Jake a bit earlier to have him as a reliever tomorrow?

-- I wouldn't.. but you could rationalize it if you tried..
 
50PoundHead said:
I probably let him go as long as he can unless Maddon thinks he needs to keep Rodon and Chapman sharp.
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I agree, I would rather have Chapman for 3 innings and Rodon for 2 if need be, over Jake for another 2 innings. The last thing you need is putting in Grim and he giving up 3-4 runs and having to use Chapman and/or Rodon..
 
Not really pulling for one team over the other, but would be awfully happy for Fowler if they win - gave up all that $$$ for the chance.
 
Heyward has Francoeur disease. If he hits it the opposite way on the ground, it's a sure out. Just can't seem to make hard contact that way.
 
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