I think the front office heavily influences the decisions made by Rocco. They have built an analytics staff, including moving on from some scouts in the offseason and adding more to the analytics staff. I have been in the finance world my whole career, you don't build a staff and have them gather data and then do nothing with the data. I believe it is very much expected that he follows the data given to him and I don't believe there is much latitude. Even though I strongly dislike much of his game management, I believe his moves are being directed by the front office via the analytics staff and you can tell by how predictable his moves are, that is why he keeps getting out managed by other better managers.
The question also needs to be asked is Rocco the right manager for a younger team. He has said he lets the players determine their pregame preparation. Does that work for younger players who need to learn and maybe need more structure. How many young players have come up and had sustained success since he has been manager.
At some point there has to be a look at this organization and say are they on the right path. I don't think they are and believe the trio of Falvey, Levine and Rocco should all be on the hot seat.