Overmanaging! I am sick and tired of it. I am especially sick and tired of how everybody seems to think that stupid thoughts and actions are actually good thoughts and actions simply because it has been drilled into their minds that they're in truth genius despite themselves. Yet overmanaging still reigns supreme in baseball.
Jim Leyland, the overmanager of my Detroit Tigers, overmanages with rapacity. Wednesday night he used six pitchers in a nine inning game. Two of them only pitched to one batter. Then, in the bottom of the ninth with his closer on the hill and in trouble (shocking!), he has only one relief pitcher left. What would have happened if the Cubs had tied the game? This is not long term thinking or big thoughts, folks. And I don't care that it worked: that could just be plain old dumb luck. Either way, simply because you got the best result doesn't mean you should have done whatever you did the way you did. You can race across the freeway at rush hour and perhaps make it safely to the far side. You were still stupid to do it. So again: six pitchers in a nine inning game? Outside of a bizarre series of injuries, that is silliness on a grand scale.
Still, in comes the closer in yesterday's game, because of course you simply must have a closer because...you need a closer, darn it, and the guy gets a save despite giving up a home run and a double. He has an earned run average of over four runs per game, yet he's our star reliever because he's designated the closer. What a vaunted position in the parliament of fools!
They need to tighten up the save rule: it is easily the most overrated statistic in baseball. The winning run ought to be on deck in order for you to earn a save; or you should have to pitch at least three innings while preserving the lead for the starter to get one. As it is, anybody ought to be able to get three outs with a three run lead at the top level of play. They get a statistical credit for that? It's a useless measuring stick.
Overmangers need to get rid of the situational left hander. Some guy gets two million a year just because he has a left handed delivery simply so he might have to pitch to one left handed batter in a game? Stupid, overthinking strategy, and nothing more. How much difference can in make? One in five thousand? A fresh arm of major league quality ought to be able to get out any given major league batter most of the time. Why this inanity over extremely slim statistical chances?
Stop overmanaging and let the players play the game, Jim. And Tony and Ozzie and Mr. Torre too. Baseball would go faster without all the unnecessary delays, and you would still be thought godsends so long as you team wins. Which it can, if it's any good, without all the hoopla over inconsequential overthinking.
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