The following are some of the recent decisions coaches and managers have made, and surprisingly, some of them are not the usual decisions and show a better understanding of the game. Others did or could have cost their teams games, many of them playoff games where every game is extremely important.
1. The Yankees were up 2-1 in games vs. Baltimore, so a win would clinch the series. It was 1-1 in the bottom of the 8th, and the Yankees had not hit or scored much since the first game. If they scored here, they would lead going into the 9th inning. They were struggling offensively, and would continue to through the remainder of the playoffs. They had second and third with one out, and Alex Rodriguez up. He was struggling badly offensively, and struck out in a key situation earlier in the game. The Yankees had only scored one run all game, and that was on a groundout. It was obvious they weren’t going to score without squeezing. In addition, the Orioles would never expect him to squeeze. They did not squeeze, of course did not score, and lost 2-1 in 13 innings. The Yankees went 5 more innings without scoring. The Orioles were also struggling to score and it took them 5 more innings to score the winning run, which is another reason scoring the lead run in the bottom of the 8th was so important. This strategy could have cost the Yankees the series, although they did win Game 5 to advance.
2. In a Detroit-Oakland baseball playoff game, Leyland didn’t squeeze with Dirks, a lefty facing a lefty pitcher, up 2-0 in the sixth inning with the bases loaded. Of course, the Tigers didn’t score.
3. In a Yankee-Oriole playoff game, Ibanez had already homered to tie the game in the 9th, and then homered in the 12th to win it. I said prior to the at-bat in the 12th that the pitcher should not throw anything in the strike zone, as Ibanez had a number of key hits prior to this and was the one Yankee hitting. This might have cost the Orioles the series.
4. In the bottom of the 9th of the first Tiger-Yankee game, Ibanez was batting. The Yankees were down 4-2, and there was a man on base, making him the tying run. As Ibanez had many key hits, was batting with confidence, and the other Yankees weren’t hitting, I again said the pitcher can’t throw a strike to him. They pitched to him, and he homered to tie the game.
5. Verlander was pitching for Detroit in the fifth and deciding game with Oakland. Detroit was up 6-0 and would usually bring in Benoit and Valverde for the 8th and 9th. Both were struggling badly, and I said Leyland needed to leave Verlander in. He finally got this and did leave him in, and they won 6-0 to win the series.
6. The Tigers were beating the Yankees in Game 2, and Coke pitched a good 8th inning. I said he had to bring Coke back for the 9th since he knew he was on, since Leyland normally brings in Valverde for the 9th. Leyland again got this and brought back Coke for the ninth, and the Tigers won.
7. The New England Patriots lost to Seattle at least in part due to their strategy. They wasted all three second-half timeouts–one to avoid a delay-of-game, one on 2nd-and-4, and one to avoid 12-men-on-the-field. It is better to lose the 5 yards in a close game and keep your timeouts. The Patriots got the ball back with 3:02 left, up 6. I have always said you have to get the first down, which means to pass, since the strategy to take time off the clock and then punt, putting the game in the hands of your defense, backfires many times. The defense is tired at the end of the game, and the offense is desperate, playing with urgency, and passing. Plus, the opposing defense knows you’ll run, and has everyone playing the run. The Patriots run for one yard, run for one yard, pass incomplete, punt, and the Seahawks drive for the winning touchdown. I was told this was the third time this year the Patriots have done this, and lost all three games by one or two points.