(11-02-2018 12:22 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(11-02-2018 11:57 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(11-02-2018 11:37 AM)stever20 Wrote:  the thing that's funny for me with advanced metrics- I'm fine with them. But there has to be a human element to it as well. Hinch and Cora last 2 years have shown that to the nth degree- they've been able to change on the fly if you will. Roberts hasn't. At some point- feel has to be a part of things.

Agree. Managing for 162 regular season games "by the numbers" makes sense - it's a ton of data and playing the analytics is likely to give you the best outcome over the long haul. But those numbers ultimately are just giving you odds. Very informed odds but still ending up with a manager placing a bet. And the fewer repetitions you get, the more unreliable those odds will be. This is why playoff management needs to take much more into account how a particular player is performing at that moment. I think that's where/how the Dodgers failed. (And I won't say Roberts because I'm not at all certain these were 100% his decisions. The fact that he's about to receive a new contract is a good indicator he's been doing what the FO has asked.)

This is all well and good, but the Red Sox won because the Red Sox have the better team. I don't have a problem with most of Roberts's moves. Jansen blew two games, Madson blew another and the Dodgers hitters struggled with scoring with RISP due to their lack of contact skills. Say what you want, but the Dodgers didn't lose because Roberts was inflexible. They lost because the Sox are better. End of story.

I agree with this too! When I say "failed" above, I mean they made mistakes that could've cost one or two games but not the series (and I've said this previously). Red Sox were better on paper and on the field. This is what got me to sleep last week. Last year, well, let's just say it was harder to go to sleep after Game 7.