Is Rocco Baldelli a Lame Duck Manager in 2025?

[Rod Carews Birthday]

9 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Because the "Rocco only does what his spreadsheet tells him" isn't "Baldelli uses analytics to inform his decisions", it's a pejorative that says he's a useless robot. It's entirely designed as an insult. I think you know that the twins don't have an elaborate decision tree set up on the iPad that tells Rocco what decision to make after every single AB throughout the game, but for the people that either don't like the use of analytics in baseball decision-making or just dislike Rocco this has become the cheap shot attack, repeated over and over again without any nuance or real accuracy, designed solely to denigrate the manager (and the front office) mostly because you don't like the way modern baseball is played. There's real areas to criticize Rocco's game management but the "he takes orders from a spreadsheet" one is consistently and spectacularly dumb IMHO.

Criticism of late season collapses are absolutely allowed, but this is another one of those areas where people overrate the impact of managers in baseball. Maybe another manager would have been able to pull Royce Lewis out of his horrific slump or get Willi Castro going again, etc but I'm skeptical about any "new manager bounce" in baseball. Rocco and the coaches get some blame for not being able to find a lever to pull to get anyone out of their slumps, but the players should get most of the stick because too many of them just stunk and came up empty when they needed to.

In 6 seasons, Rocco has 3 division titles, a .525 win %, and 3 playoff wins (including one short series). That's pretty good, but not out of line with the talent level of the team IMHO. Could/should any of those teams have done more? I'd say yes on the 2019 squad, maybe on 2021 group (who had more talent than a last place finish, but obviously the sell-off mattered). is it on Rocco that the 2019 team only scored 7 runs in 3 games in the playoffs? The record overall has been good.

THIS.  EXACTLY.  

It’s amazing how a word or two can become a weapon that just gets tossed in no matter what the argument.  The argument as I understand it is that Rocco Baldelli isn’t a good manager because he uses “analytics” too much and/or manages “with a spreadsheet”, and that it would be better if he managed “by feel” and “with his gut”.  YIKES!  To me, managing with his gut would seem to suggest a guy sitting in his lazy boy with a beer just throwing stuff out there.  What information exactly does anyone think goes into a managerial decision from the gut?  I would think that it would involve information based on the experience of the manager and the perceived tendencies of the player(s) involved.  That’s it.  Spreadsheet or no, analytics is a part of everything we do.  The implication that he manages “with a spreadsheet” to me implies that he is considering so much data, mere pencil and paper nor human mind can keep track of it all.  That seems OK.  “From the gut” implies a careless attitude about decision making and I don’t think any of us want that.

For the record, I am Baldelli indifferent.  I don’t think that he (or any manager) makes us great or makes us terrible.  The right players make any manager look really good.  In answer to the original question, yes, with the team for sale he’s probably a lame duck unless he has a spectacular season.  I see that as little cause for distress nor celebration.  

[bean5302]

On 1/3/2025 at 7:49 PM, Rod Carews Birthday said:

THIS.  EXACTLY.  

It’s amazing how a word or two can become a weapon that just gets tossed in no matter what the argument.  The argument as I understand it is that Rocco Baldelli isn’t a good manager because he uses “analytics” too much and/or manages “with a spreadsheet”, and that it would be better if he managed “by feel” and “with his gut”.  YIKES!  To me, managing with his gut would seem to suggest a guy sitting in his lazy boy with a beer just throwing stuff out there.  What information exactly does anyone think goes into a managerial decision from the gut?  I would think that it would involve information based on the experience of the manager and the perceived tendencies of the player(s) involved.  That’s it.  Spreadsheet or no, analytics is a part of everything we do.  The implication that he manages “with a spreadsheet” to me implies that he is considering so much data, mere pencil and paper nor human mind can keep track of it all.  That seems OK.  “From the gut” implies a careless attitude about decision making and I don’t think any of us want that.

For the record, I am Baldelli indifferent.  I don’t think that he (or any manager) makes us great or makes us terrible.  The right players make any manager look really good.  In answer to the original question, yes, with the team for sale he’s probably a lame duck unless he has a spectacular season.  I see that as little cause for distress nor celebration.  

You are making a dishonest, strawman argument. Nobody is arguing analytics shouldn't play a role in team management.

[PatPfund]

Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors seems confused by what 'lame duck' means (which is somebody serving in a position AFTER their eligibility for renewal is gone, or they have been terminated but remain on the job for a time). Rocco isn't a lame duck even if his contract is up at the end of next season, because he can be extended. Though, as the OP here aptly points out, he really hasn't earned an extension; two of the last three years have ended with an epic team collapse. Hopefully he knows he is managing for his job this year, because he really should be.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

4 hours ago, bean5302 said:

You are making a dishonest, strawman argument. Nobody is arguing analytics shouldn't play a role in team management.

I take your point, but not entirely dishonest.  The strawman argument is the disingenuous assertion ABOUT analytics that gets thrown out at every turn whenever Rocco Baldelli’s name is brought up.  “It’s too much”. “Spreadsheet manager”. “He’s on his computer again.” . On and on it goes, when in reality nobody really knows “how much” goes into it except for Rocco Baldelli.  

When people say “I dislike Baldelli because he platoons too much” or “I think he is too quick to pinch hit” I will buy the argument whether I agree with it or not.  But too often the criticism just takes the form of the same old platitudes over and over again that lack specificity to the point of being nothing but noise, so I choose to call to call it out.