As with Game 2 of the ALCS, tonight's NLCS is a showdown of two roughly evenly matched teams. A stark difference between the teams in both games and series is the managers.
The NLCS features a veteran manager widely considered to be one of the best managers in baseball in Bruce Bochy, even among analysts like myself (of course, saying that I think a manager is good is like saying that Brussels sprouts are my favorite vegetable) versus a third-year manager in Mike Matheny, who despite a stellar win/loss record of .566 is widely known as a poor in-game strategist, at least according to this analyst and more than a few Cardinal fans. According to Chris Jaffe of "Evaluating Baseball Managers" fame, it is not unusual for young, inexperienced managers to be bereft in managerial skill.
The ALCS features also one the best managers in baseball, and a lock for manager of the year in the AL in the Orioles' Buck Showalter, and another who has been more of a managerial punching bag -- and deservedly so -- in the Royals' Ned Yost.
Let's recap some of the many ways in which the Kansas City manager managed to "Yostify" his team in Saturday's Game 2, to the detriment of their presently hopeful fans.
It was obvious to me, at least, that something was wrong with Royals starter Yordano Ventura from the get-go. His velocity was sitting at 92-96 mph for much of the early part of the game despite averaging over 97 during the season. Consequently he seemed to be overthrowing, losing his command and going to his off-speed pitches more than usual. As I have said before, when a starting pitcher throws 97 and is just a little above average, like Ventura, he is not much of a "pitcher" -- he is more of a thrower. When a pitcher like that is only throwing 94, heâs not going to be very effective.
And yet Yost seemed completely content to leave Ventura in there through 6 innings. I was screaming on Twitter for him to at least take him out once he started facing the lineup for the third time, when pitchers are typically around .3 runs per nine innings worse than they normally are, overall. At least have the pen start warming up early. Either Yost and his pitching coach were completely oblivious to Ventura's early velocity and command woes or he simply refuses to use his pen until the sixth or seventh innings. Either way is managerial malfeasance.
In the sixth inning with two outs, Yost finally, and about two or three innings too late, removed Ventura and brought in his rookie lefty reliever Brandon Finnegan, who despite having large projected platoon splits is really only suited to be a LOOGY (left-handed one-out guy), to face back-to-back right-handed batters. I can live with that (perhaps he didnât want to waste a RHP and then bring in the lefty), but inexplicably, when the seventh inning started with the top of the order featuring two lefties in a row, Nick Markakis and Alejandro De Aza, Yost did what? He removed Finnegan who is very good versus lefty batters, and replaced him with his "seventh-inning guy" Kelvin Herrera. Now, Herrera is no slouch versus left-handers. He has almost no projected platoon split. But had Yost left Finnegan in to face the two lefties, he could have waited to bring in Herrera and perhaps used him for two innings or at least several more batters.
Somehow, Kansas City still pulled off another late-inning miracle win, but in my opinion, it came despite their skipper and not because of him. And if Yost keeps managing his starters and bullpen like he has done during the postseason so far, he is going to limit his team's chances the rest of the way.
