October 17, 2003

A cautionary tale: management counts
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 10:29 AM -

If you think management doesn't have an impact on a team's performance, think again. You and millions of others watched it in plain view last night.

The Red Sox had the seventh game of the ALCS well in hand and a trip to the World Series in their grasp. They had a 5-2 lead in the eighth, their ace having gone seven solid innnings and maintained the lead. The offense had done their part, putting up enough runs for the fresh arms of the bulletproof post-season bullpen to hold that lead. Who could ask for more? The Sox were right where they wanted to be, in charge, in the Bronx, beating the Yankees.

Then, one managerial decision changed all that and wrote a different ending for the history books. Grady Little did not step forward and make the decision he needed to, a decision that even casual observers of the game could see needed to be made: to pull the starting pitcher. And all the hard work of the game, the hard-fought series, the incredible post-season run, indeed the entire season's record-breaking, months-long effort, unraveled. I was unable to concentrate much yesterday in anticipation of the game. Today, I am unable to concentrate much as I replay that pivotal decision over and over in my mind. The players didn't lose that game. The manager did.

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