In baseball, the manager often acts as little more than a series of press conference sound bites during the regular season, and his decisions are rarely scrutinized. Starting pitchers are expected to go deep into games, pinch hitters are rare, and offensive signals are usually textbook. But when a 162-game season comes down to just a few contests, the skipper gets the spotlight.
Let's take the Tigers' ALDS victory over the Yankees last week as an example. The Yankees had the highest salary in the league and outscored the Tigers by 11 runs, but they came up short. Why? Because Jim Leyland thoroughly out-managed Joe Girardi. Let's look just at one game — Game 5 — and the decisions made.
Pre-Game: Lineups are in, and Leyland is again tinkering while Girardi's card is as stiff as a teenage boy looking at his first Playboy. Don Kelly, who had only started one of the first four games for Detroit, is in the two-slot. Meanwhile, Jorge Posada — the Yankees' hottest bat on his way to a 6-for-14 series — remains buried at seventh behind a trio of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixiera and Nick Swisher that would finish the series with a combined 5-for-54. No one was more egregious than A-Rod at Cleanup. Rodriguez had been a parasite to the Yankees all season — New York won nearly five percent more without Rodriguez in the lineup this year.
Top of the 1st: Kelly wastes no time making an impact, pulling an Ivan Nova breaking ball over the fence in right. Delmon Young follows it up with another home run, and the Tigers are in control early. Advantage: Leyland.
Bottom of the 4th: The Yankees are rallying, and with two on and one out, Posada singles up the middle. But Rodriguez is held up at third, and two batters later the Yankees don't score. A lack of aggressiveness from the coaching staff cost the team a run.
Top of the 5th: With Nova out early with a stiff arm, Girardi is lucky to have a well-rested bullpen. After Phil Hughes and Boone Logan get the team through the fourth, Girardi could turn to Rafael Soriano and David Robertson for two innings each and Mariano Rivera for one. Instead, he turns in desperation to C.C. Sabathia, who should have been reserved for emergency work in extra innings. Sabathia doesn't have his best stuff, and on a two-out single from Victor Martinez, the Tigers aggressively send home Austin Jackson from second to make it a 3-0 game.
Bottom of the 7th: With a runner on, Leyland goes to his best reliever, Joaquin Benoit. Benoit loads the bases with just one out and Rodriguez coming to the plate. Rodriguez was playing an inept division series, and the Yankees had plenty of talent on the bench. Rookie Jesus Montero had already gone 2-for-2 in a pinch hit outing. But Girardi stuck with his overpaid star, and Rodriguez flailed at a 2-2 fastball, striking out as the Yankees only managed one run.
Bottom of the 8th: Two out, Derek Jeter at the plate, and Brett Gardner on first. Jeter is hardly a home run threat anymore with only six on the season. Gardner had to steal second before Jeter swung. Even if he was thrown out, the Yankees would have the top of their lineup in the ninth. Gardner took off on the first pitch, but Jeter lifted it deep to right for an out. It would be the last time the Yankees threatened.
Even if the Tigers fall in the ALCS to the Rangers, Leyland's performance in the ALDS may have made him the most valuable person in the postseason. And if anyone can get his team out of the 2-1 hole they currently face, it's Leyland.
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Ethan Sturm is a junior majoring in biopsychology. He can be reached at Ethan.Sturm@tufts.edu.
