The two worst teams in the American League saw their futures change within the past couple of weeks; one for the better - Baltimore Orioles - and one for the worse (can it get much worse?) - the Seattle Mariners. Both of those changes were due not to changes on the field, but in the managerial positions. Buck Showalter was hired as new manager of the O's and since he started, they have swept the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and took 3 of 4 from the Chicago White Sox. Don Wakamatsu was fired from the Mariners yesterday after having managed one of the worst months ever, finishing July at 6-22.Buck Showalter has proven throughout the years to be a pretty decent manager, he boasts a winning record, and twice received Manager of the Year honors. Most importantly though, in the years after being let go from the New York Yankees, and then the Arizona Diamondbacks, those teams went on to win the World Series, in 1996 and 2001 respectively. He had a subpar tenure with the Texas Rangers, but O's fans can hope that firing him and then winning the World Series will happen a third time.
Wakamatsu came into a terrible situation in Seattle. The M's were coming off an awful 2008, and hired an inexperienced manager. The outlook for 2009 was dismal, but Wakamatsu managed the M's to a winning record, for probably one of the best turn arounds in baseball history. 2010 offered a ton of promise following that great season and offseason acquisitions of Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, and Milton Bradley. All of that promised was squandered as they started the season slow and never sped up. The best 1-2 punch in the big leagues in Felix Hernandez and Lee was split up when Lee was traded to their divisional rival, the Rangers.So the M's have to hire yet another manager, it seems like they go through managers like players go through cleats. The O's also have a new manager, who fans hope can bring them the hope that Jeffrey Maier snatched away. This brings in question as to how critical the right manager is, and how much managers really mean to a team.
Football and basketball head coaches are crucial to their teams winning. Without them calling plays, and substituting the right players, both sports are essentially streetball. A coach is needed in both of those sports to win, whether it be deciding to go for it on 4th down, or who to give the ball to for the final shot. Even if teams play their very best, a good coach is needed to win, as proven by Phil Jackson and Bill Bellicheck winning so much with Kobe and Brady, while Mike Brown and Wade Phillips not winning with LeBron James and Tony Romo. It takes the perfect combination of good players, and good coaching.
In baseball, I see the managerial role as being more limited. It's the pitching and hitting coaches' jobs to ensure each player is technically playing right, in their swing and pitching motions. The manager decides when to substitute pitchers, who to pinch hit and many other small facets of each game. In baseball though, either the team is good or bad, and the managers have little say in winning the game, only losing. If CC Sabathia is pitching a gem, obviously he'll pitch at least 8, then depending on the score, Mariano Rivera comes in to close it out. If AJ Burnett can't get through 3 innings, there is not much a manager can do to bring the team back.
Pitchers have more say than coaches in baseball. If they have a good day, their team will win, if not their team will lose. Sure, there are games where a manager needs to decide when to take the pitcher out because the game is close, but even then, their decision is scrutinized if either the starter or reliever then fails. This is why, I think Joe Girardi has yet to be offered an extension. The Yanks have such a good team on paper, only a bad manager could mess it up.
This may be just me being a fan, but I think I could manage the Yankees. Given that talent, winning games shouldn't be difficult. What are your thoughts? Am I not giving managers enough credit? Or are they given too much credit? Joe Torre is considered one of the best managers in the game right now, but could Buck Showalter have managed the late 90s Yanks to multiple World Series? I'm more inclined to believe Torre got lucky landing the job in 96, going to a team prime for glory.
Change is necessary in sports to keep teams from getting stale, but the M's seem to change too often. Managers who are considered to be good, aren't very good on bad teams, take Lou Pinella in Tampa for example. Managers need good talent to flourish. Showalter may have arrived in Baltimore at just the right time, as they finally have some hype surrounding their young talent. Wakamatsu had a talented team but couldn't succeed.
How much of that is his fault, and how much can be blamed on the GM, who took away his best pitcher? And how much is blamed on the underperforming players, and is their underperforming Wakamatsu's fault?
Answers anyone?
There are definitely situations in baseball where a manager can win or lose a game. I've seen it go both ways.
ReplyDeleteAs for your comment with the Yankees...I'm halfway there with you. You still need a little bit of baseball knowledge as to not make the wrong moves, but in a sport with as long, and (don't laugh) grueling as baseball, you're just as much a people-manager.
You have to deal with a variety of egos and personalities. You have to deal with slumps, injuries and crazy momentum swings.
Baseball is a game of inches. Of minute details. A pitcher could be failing because his stride is an inch too long, or his arm slot a smidge too low. A hitter can be just barely missing the ball because he's letting his hands drop or his hip is rotating too much.
Then there's game-planning. How do you handle Albert Pujols with runners on? What's the best way to attack Johan Santana so that his changeup doesn't devastate you? It's easy to run on Tim Wakefield, but what about Clay Buchholz or John Lackey? How much does it change with Martinez back there instead of Varitek?
I think baseball seems easier than it is because so much of the work is behind-the-scenes, but I also think that it's very much a matter of situation. You have to have the right manager for the right players. You have to have the right coaches to go with the right manager.