USAFChief

How is a MLB manager influencing their performance? Is this a serious question?? Just in case: Who sets the lineup? Makes substitutions? Makes pitching decisions? Who sets priorities? Provides means and strategies to achieve them? Rewards positive behaviors and punishes poor ones? Who establishes what a team works on and prioritizes from February to October? Who decides if infeld/outfield is taken, DAILY? Determines cutoff rotation strategies and ensures every member of the team understands and follows them? Who determines what remedial actions are necessary when those rotation strategies dont haooen? Who decides to bring the infield in in the second inning? Have his pitcher forego the slide step, his catcher stay on one knee, and NEVER EVER pitch out even in obvious stealing situations? Who decides batting practice is required, or leaves it up to players? Who decides if it's ok to jog to 1st on ground balls and pop-ups? I can go on and on but you already know all this. You're just not willing to admit these, and many other things, fall on the manager. And the results are quite apparent. They've been apparent for some time--a long tims--even if full impact has been masked by playing in the ALC. Fire his ass. People lose their jobs for poor performance all the time, in all walks of life. Rocco is nothing special, deserving of his job just because someone gave it to him, or because he said hi to you once in Ft Myers. Baseball managers have been getting fired for 150 years. This is a zero sum business. For every loss, someone wins. And that's the ultimate job performance metric.

You couldn't give away Miranda if you ADDED a couple top 10-15s.

Killer was undoubtedly a much better player. Maybe it's just me, but I view him as a 1st baseman.

I caught a lot of **** last year for pointing out Baldelli's performance, and his influence on team performance. What say all you "I'm too smart for that" folks now?

JHFC Morneau, shut up already. Stop with the lame excuses. It doesn't make you or the team look better. It just looks pathetic. There is zero reason Miranda should have been an out. None. Zip Zilch. Other that stupid. lazy, half-assed baseball played according to the whims of a sleep-walking manager who can't even be bothered to instill the slightest scintilla of drive or smarts into his dreary team. **** off. I'm out.

Yup, as we've come to expect, Rocco has his team playing heads-up, inspired baseball. Always putting pressure on the opponent, never giving away outs....

Scoring runs wins baseball games. It's legal to do so without hitting a home run. The overemphasis on SLG at the expense of everything else is not an efficient way to construct a consistent scoring team. It's like saying "The NFL has put a lot of premium on scoring touchdowns by throwing bombs on every down."

He's Breaking Bad?

So the offense could be termed "well balanced."

Brand motto: "Uponor! Flush those Twins memories right out of your system!"

This is embarrassing.

I mean, 93 pitches is probably enough for Paddack. And hopefully 93 pitches gets Funderburk through the 6th.

winner

Nonsense. Fangraphs had us as ALC Champs with the best bullpen in baseball.

Welcome aboard, Mark.

This, good sir, is a contradiction in terms.

Funderburk has never, ever been able to command ANYthing.

He's actually been pretty decent today. Should have only given up one run through 5.

Are we not doing phrasing any more?

He'd be at high A with a 4 IP limit for the Twins

Therapist: "So what is bothering you?" Chocolate Easter Bunny: "I just feel empty inside."

Buxton beats that out. // hahahahaha I kill me.

Uponor? I barely knew 'er. bah-dum-tschhhh

I hate when outfielders take four steps to get off a throw. When you have time, you should already be in your crow hop as the ball hits your glove, with the throw coming immediately on the step through. A great arm is wasted with that catch and throw from Wallner. I don't understand how a major league outfielder hasn't mastered better technique than that ridiculously slow exchange we just saw. He had all the time in the world to get set up, too.

Sadly, noted baseball writer Mel Antonen passed away.