When these baby O's came onto the scene as AL contenders, it seemed as they were a year too early and management (and ownership) wasn't quite ready to push all the chips in. Where I do believe a good manager makes a difference is keeping the team even keeled and managing expectations. A lot of people questioned how the Tigers would respond this season after last season's surprising playoff run. The Tigers just have the best record in baseball at the moment and currently winning again this afternoon. You have to attribute at least some of that to the manager, AJ Hinch. As for Baldelli, I think he is closer to Hyde as a manager than Hinch. He can ride the highs like the best of them but doesn't seem to have many answers when the lows come in, similar to earlier this year before the 12-game winning streak. Pitching and defense does seem to solve a lot of problems though.