In terms of the managerial matchup in the American League Championship Series, much has been made of the mismatch between Baltimore's Buck Showalter and Kansas City's Ned Yost.
The Wall Street Journal even went as far as calling Showalter the "chessmaster" and Yost the "dunce."
But Yost mostly dismisses the criticism directed his way.
Mostly.
"The scrutiny is the scrutiny," Yost said Thursday in front of a throng of reporters at Camden Yards. "I've come to find out I can put a player in the ballgame and if he gets a base hit or gets a big out, nobody is going to say a word. (But if) I put that same player in the ballgame and he strikes out or gives up a hit, then all the second-guessing comes down on you.
"I've learned that it's neither right nor wrong, most of the time. You make the right decision, it either works out or it doesn't work out. And again, the scrutiny, does it bother you? Maybe a little bit, if you know about it.
"So that's why I don't read the paper. I don't watch any of the baseball programs and stuff like that. I try to stay in my own little world with my coaching staff. Because we pretty much have a plan. Every time we go into a game, we know exactly what we want to do before the game starts. In each and every situation, we've already considered all of our options and what we want to do when we get there. If it works out, then I look smart. If it doesn't, then I'm stupid. And that's just the way it works."
But Yost believes there is one characteristic of his managing style that truly has helped the Royals get this far.
"The one thing that has gotten us to this point was I think the patience that Dayton (Moore) and I had with this young group all year long," Yost said. "And especially at the trade deadline, where we felt like our team was good enough to win a championship (as it was). We allowed them to continue to grow and get better."
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
