More and more as this series progresses, I'm getting less wound up about individual Farrell choices I disagree with and more appreciative of the magnitude of the problem he's trying to solve. The bullpen in high-leverage 5th-6th-7th spots is a shambles and there's no one left he's willing to send out for a full inning, and quality ABs from the 5-6-7 slots with RISP have been elusive as a lot of the mid-range guys in the lineup went cold. Breslow has probably been burned for the duration, and he doesn't seem willing to use Taz anymore in the Bardian role he held so well until his gopheritis. Combined with the NL park, must-win games, and tight scores, this is a dog's dinner.
I hated taking out Doobie Saturday, but that turned into critical innings last night. I hated letting Workman hit, but understood wanting to steal one more inning from him; that's one I'm not going to hate just because it didn't produce the right outcome. Often the logic behind the move hasn't been apparent until he lets the next couple ones chain out. I didn't like how the lineup was laid out last night with Gomes #5, and...
I'd argue that, in terms of your players not performing according to the blueprint you've spent eight months outlining, Farrell has been handed one of the more difficult managerial challenges I've seen at this stage. Usually when you play well enough to get to the WS you're not working with 2 starters, 1 reliever, and maybe 2.5 hitters you can count on. He hasn't passed it in the 99th percentile, but he's passing with flying colors. My biggest complaint has been that with some of these bullpen moves he doesn't have enough of an eye on what the bullpen usage will need to be for the rest of the game if the move blows up in his face, but I appreciate he may not have the luxury.
He's also been more than willing to admit you're kind of time-constrained making some of these decisions and mistakes may have been made, which is cool. One thing I wonder about managers a lot is how often do we go looking for the logic behind a move when the real answer is "mistake".
I hated taking out Doobie Saturday, but that turned into critical innings last night. I hated letting Workman hit, but understood wanting to steal one more inning from him; that's one I'm not going to hate just because it didn't produce the right outcome. Often the logic behind the move hasn't been apparent until he lets the next couple ones chain out. I didn't like how the lineup was laid out last night with Gomes #5, and...
I'd argue that, in terms of your players not performing according to the blueprint you've spent eight months outlining, Farrell has been handed one of the more difficult managerial challenges I've seen at this stage. Usually when you play well enough to get to the WS you're not working with 2 starters, 1 reliever, and maybe 2.5 hitters you can count on. He hasn't passed it in the 99th percentile, but he's passing with flying colors. My biggest complaint has been that with some of these bullpen moves he doesn't have enough of an eye on what the bullpen usage will need to be for the rest of the game if the move blows up in his face, but I appreciate he may not have the luxury.
He's also been more than willing to admit you're kind of time-constrained making some of these decisions and mistakes may have been made, which is cool. One thing I wonder about managers a lot is how often do we go looking for the logic behind a move when the real answer is "mistake".