Alan Trammell did a good job of mixing parts this year, but employed a few too many one-run strategies, more than this team needed. Over 100 years into the modern game and most managers haven’t figured out what John McGraw knew in 1920, that the era of inside baseball is dead, no matter how poor your offense is. Other than in a sudden-death, ninth-inning situation, giving away outs just brings the end of the game closer. The average American Leaguer reached base 34% of the time last year, and grounded into a double-play in .022 of all at-bats. When you bunt, both percentages drop to close to zero. It’s not a fair trade off.
The NLCS was set for its solo, but the ALCS stole the spotlight one more time.
Paul DePodesta looks ahead, Bob Brenly looks back, and Carlos Beltran looks like he’s going to get really, really rich.