FanNation - The Republic of Sport

I have come to a harsh conclusion, fellow fans, that in baseball it just doesn't matter who the manager is. Extreme? Yes. Are there rare circumstances in which a manager has an unusually significant effect on a team? Of course. Can he have a calming influence, and let his players do what they do best? Sure. But most of the time? Doesn't make a damn bit of difference. Baseball isn't like, say, football (or basketball), where each game is devised on a particular strategy and every play is called by the head coach. That's 50-60 decisions per game, any one of which can alter the outcome of the contest. That's why in football, you have coaches like Bill Parcells, who've come into situation after situation and completely turned a losing program into a winning one with the same personnel. Can you name one such "fixer" in baseball? Someone who lands on a team, time after time, and completely remakes it in his image? Not a one. Look at the MLB playoffs. My beloved Yankees lost because of mediocre pitching and a lack of timely hitting. Two factors completely beyond the reach of the manager. Did Torre make a few mistakes? I think so. Could they have mattered? Yes. But did the Yankees lose because he grossly mismanaged games, made bone-headed decisions or otherwise blew it? No. Truth is, if I were managing the team last week the outcome would've been prettty much the same. Honest. Or let's talk about the Rockies. This is a team that spent most of the year in 4th place in their division. But suddenly in September, they caught fire. They've won 21 of 22 and are headed into the World Series. Does that have ANYTHING to do with the Hurdle? Did he do a single thing that turned a mediocre team into a juggernaut? Nope. Managed the way he'd been managing all year, and something just happened. Good for him, but no credit. Think he did something brilliant? So try to replicate it. You'll fail. So maybe Torre will be back. Maybe he won't. Maybe the next manager will have more fire in his belly or more between-the-lines smarts. Maybe he'll mix things up. But will it matter? Nope. This was the 2nd year in the history of the game that no team finished below .400 or above .600. Thirty-two guys making millions per year, and no one was all that bad or all that good. Was it because of parity? Probably. Which means that when talent is spread throughout the league, teams play within a narrow margin of success. Which suggests that the roster means almost everything, luck means a lot and management doesn't matter worth a damn. Just a thought...what's yours?