Joe Maddon: The Man Behind the Glasses

[SKO]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

[Quality Start Machine]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

[R-V]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

Pros of expanded rosters: they allow for rest and flexibility in extra inning games/blowouts
Con of expanded rosters: they give Maddon the freedom to get cute (aka make dumb moves)

[SKO]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

[Brownie]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

I agree, and I agree with Mike D.: you do not do a double switch if you are not gaining defense and you only want the relief pitcher to finish the inning and not start the next one.

[SKO]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

I agree, and I agree with Mike D.: you do not do a double switch if you are not gaining defense and you only want the relief pitcher to finish the inning and not start the next one.

Yeah taking Heyward out of that game is pretty inexcusable.

[CBStew]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

We had season tickets to the A's games when LaRussa [over]managed.  It wasn't a game until Tony got every player off the bench and out of the bullpen.

[Tonker]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

Having read Verducci's book, I'm confident that, even when Joe is seemingly losing his goddamn mind, he's at least thought about what he's doing and has reasons which he could explain to you, even if you might disagree with them.

Apart from that BMIaez bunt with two strikes in the WS.  Nobody's ever going to convince me that Joe didn't have a tiny stroke right before that decision.

[SKO]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

Having read Verducci's book, I'm confident that, even when Joe is seemingly losing his goddamn mind, he's at least thought about what he's doing and has reasons which he could explain to you, even if you might disagree with them.

Apart from that BMIaez bunt with two strikes in the WS.  Nobody's ever going to convince me that Joe didn't have a tiny stroke right before that decision.

I've read that book as well and the thing I pulled from it is that Joe often has incredibly well thought out game plans that he then abandons for no apparent reason. That book spends an entire chapter on how he planned to let Hendricks go 5 and then bring in Lester for a clean inning. He did the exact opposite of that, not trusting Hendricks to get 1 more out when he was cruising along in the 4th and had only "walked" Santana on what was clearly strike 3, then brought in Lester with runners on base.

I'm not asking whether Joe has reasoning or whether he thinks about these things. I think he's very much the victim of over-thinking more than anything.

[Quality Start Machine]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

I agree, and I agree with Mike D.: you do not do a double switch if you are not gaining defense and you only want the relief pitcher to finish the inning and not start the next one.

Yeah taking Heyward out of that game is pretty inexcusable.

Maybe he read your Heyward thread.

[SKO]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

I agree, and I agree with Mike D.: you do not do a double switch if you are not gaining defense and you only want the relief pitcher to finish the inning and not start the next one.

Yeah taking Heyward out of that game is pretty inexcusable.

Maybe he read your Heyward thread.

Yeah but I think I specifically call him a late inning defensive replacement!

Also Heyward's bat has looked fine lately. I don't get removing him from a game at all. If he was matchup proof when he had an OPS under .700 he's matchup proof now.

[Saul Goodman]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

I agree, and I agree with Mike D.: you do not do a double switch if you are not gaining defense and you only want the relief pitcher to finish the inning and not start the next one.

Yeah taking Heyward out of that game is pretty inexcusable.

Maybe he read your Heyward thread.

Yeah but I think I specifically call him a late inning defensive replacement!

Also Heyward's bat has looked fine lately. I don't get removing him from a game at all. If he was matchup proof when he had an OPS under .700 he's matchup proof now.

When it's a comparatively robust .709!

[SKO]

What the hell is he smoking tonight

Pretty sure he would have let Jake go another inning had he not been coming off an injury. That would have given Strop, Edwards and Davis all clean innings.

None of that remotely excuses the insane double switches but OK

If Jake could have gone 6 full innings there would have only been double switches to avoid the pitcher ever having his spot come up in the order. It's September, and Joe has a million guys on the bench. It's time to get weird.

Besides, if you're talking about the double switches being insane and not the rec-league 5 men in the infield being insane...

This is entirely my point, though.  Circumstances prevented Jake from going 6 so last night would have been a perfect to stretch Edwards out for a second inning.  It'd have been, considering what was at stake, a near-knockout punch in a playoff-like spot and the fact that Maddon went through the trouble of double-switching Almora into the game (before later taking Almora out of the game for a pinch-hitter after Baez tied it in the 9th...another mystifying move which I failed to mention earlier), seemed to indicate that Edwards was going to go 2.

I like Joe just fine and recognize that all managers make questionable moves, but just a reminder that in a tight, extra inning game that his 2 best outfielders were not even out there at the end.

I think it's fine to accept that the things Joe does very well are the things we don't see and the things he doesn't do well are the things we do. There is no doubt there's a strong correlation between his determination to rest his players, not abuse his pitchers, etc. and the fact that his Cubs team have always been world-beaters in the second half. The never say die attitude and the constant comebacks late in games, in playoff series, etc. all of that should be attributed at least partly to Joe's leadership.

That said I think his bullpen management is sometimes too conventional, weirdly enough. His lineups are often illogical, and he gets oddly attached to certain role players like Jon Jay, and he makes lots of moves just to make moves. Even then I think that most studies have shown that batting orders and even bullpen usage are worth no more than a handful of wins each year in aggregate, so the criticism fans levy towards those decisions is often out of proportion with how important (not very) those things tend to be over 162 games.

TL, DR: I wouldn't want any other manager than Joe but he's also always going to do inexplicably irritating things, too.

I agree, and I agree with Mike D.: you do not do a double switch if you are not gaining defense and you only want the relief pitcher to finish the inning and not start the next one.

Yeah taking Heyward out of that game is pretty inexcusable.

Maybe he read your Heyward thread.

Yeah but I think I specifically call him a late inning defensive replacement!

Also Heyward's bat has looked fine lately. I don't get removing him from a game at all. If he was matchup proof when he had an OPS under .700 he's matchup proof now.

When it's a comparatively robust .709!

Right, I mean I'm still of the belief that Heyward's contact numbers etc haven't really changed so even his .787 OPS in September is probably a mirage, too, but what I meant was if he was a goddamn fixture every day for 9 innings when he wasn't hitting at all, why suddenly deem him an interchangeable part once he actually is showing some signs of life with the bat.

[SKO]

What the fuck did Kyle Schwarber do to Joe Maddon? Fuck this Zobrist batting 5th with a .695 OPS while Kyle sits garbage. God dammit.