Manager of the Year

[MilkSpiller22]

the manager of the year award is a joke... it generally goes to the biggest surprise team... KC and cleveland were the surprises in the AL... The Pirates were the surprise team in the NL....

 

[steveringo]

Francona I could go along with. Farrell hasn't really done much more than follow the most INCOMPETENT manager my Red Sox have had in decades. After Bobby Valentine ANYONE would look good!

I remember some people thinking Bobby V was a good hire at the time and thinking they must have been smoking some good shit. The man is a total whacko and a terrible manager, imo.

I was thinking the same thing... The Sox always had a good team. Most people in Boston knew they had a good chance. Being the best in baseball was a pleasant surprise, but winning the division was not.... I was never a big Francona fan, but he has worked some magic in Cleveland...

And, Hurdle was certainly in the right place at the right time.

 

[broncosmitty]

I think Leyland and Maddon get more votes than Girardi.

Leyland? I sure hope not. He had the MVP, Cy Young winner, the ERA leader, Prince, Torii, VMart, Infante, JV a record breaking starting staff as a whole and his club won their division by a game over a much less talented Indians team. Girardi, Tito and Melvin in the AL and Hurdle in the NL. Mattingly shouldn't be getting many votes either. Winning with loads of talent is expected.

 

[Darkstone42]

There are a lot of things Hurdle did this year which earned him Manager of the Year in my mind, and the least of those things was happening to be the manager when the Pirates made the playoffs.

The Pirates have an analytics division which Huntington hired when he first took over. That analytics division compiled very detailed batted ball data on every hitter in the Majors, and Hurdle and his staff implemented nearly 100% of the data in games, making them one of the most aggressive shifting teams in the Majors, and it led to incredible defensive efficiency. Hurdle and his staff also succeeded in bringing back Burnett and Liriano to an effective level largely through the pitch selection/location component of their defensive strategy (also heavily rooted in analytics), as well as getting the most out of Cole, Morton, Locke for half a season, Jeanmar Gomez, and many of the AAA starters called up to take spot starts.

A lot of Pirates fans thought he was mismanaging the bullpen, but they stayed strong right through the end of the season, aside from a few hiccups, which are expected from time to time.

His lineups were okay, not ideal, but at least he didn't put on bunts all the time, even though the offense was struggling, and I thought he used the running game effectively.

One of the biggest things I've noticed about Hurdle is that he really buys into whatever new information he's provided. He learns and evolves as a manager. Clint Hurdle is a better manager right now than he was when we hired him because he was willing to change his ways according to the information he was provided.

He's earned it.

 

[Clayton]

There are a lot of things Hurdle did this year which earned him Manager of the Year in my mind

Getting the best record in the NL with a bunch of rookie pitchers isn't one of them

Eh, who am I kidding? We all know Hurdle is going to win it

 

[The Derski]

Leyland? I sure hope not. He had the MVP, Cy Young winner, the ERA leader, Prince, Torii, VMart, Infante, JV a record breaking starting staff as a whole and his club won their division by a game over a much less talented Indians team. Girardi, Tito and Melvin in the AL and Hurdle in the NL. Mattingly shouldn't be getting many votes either. Winning with loads of talent is expected.

Leyland should definitely deserve more votes than Girardi. I don't care if you have an MVP and a Cy Young on your team.

 

[Shanemansj13]

AL: Francona wins bc he has just a bunch of good players. No superstars, just a bunch of guys that help out in different ways.

NL: Hurdle. Pirates haven't made the playoffs in forever, if he doesn't get it there something wrong.

 

[uncfan103]

The job Matheny has done is extremely under-appreciated. He definitely deserves the Manager of the year award but Hurdle will win it.

Francona should win it for the AL and probably will. And, IMO, Girardi doesn't deserve Manager of the year votes after missing the playoffs. The team might have been worse without him, but it should go to a manager that accomplished something.

 

[broncosmitty]

Leyland should definitely deserve more votes than Girardi. I don't care if you have an MVP and a Cy Young on your team.

Didn't follow the Tigers very closely eh?

 

[The Derski]

Didn't follow the Tigers very closely eh?

MLB.tv son. I catch every Tigers game I can.

 

[broncosmitty]

So throwing away the third game of most every 3 game series doesn't bother you? Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but your opinion is pretty lousy. (It would have been a lot better had you said you didn't see a single Tigers game)

 

[$500 Million]

All it is is blind Yankee hate.

 

[Darkstone42]

Getting the best record in the NL with a bunch of rookie pitchers isn't one of them

Eh, who am I kidding? We all know Hurdle is going to win it

Hurdle's rotation was not much older than the Cards'. Cole was a rookie, Locke in his first full year, Cumpton, Johnson, and Irwin all got their first Major League starts with the Bucs this year, Gomez hasn't been in the league for very long. Burnett and Liriano were the only two veterans of extended tenures who got a lot of starts this year.

But the Cardinals did have the luxury of an extremely potent offense to help those pitchers relax on the hill knowing they didn't have to be perfect every night.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

Why should Girardi get votes?

Is this a serious question? He won 85 games with a roster that should have won about 75.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

Yanks didn't make playoffs, that is why I say no to Girardi.

When has that ever been a requirement for Manager of the Year? It's often the manager who does the most with the least. Girardi is at the top of that list this year. Not saying he should win it, but he most definitely should get consideration.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

the manager of the year award is a joke... it generally goes to the biggest surprise team... KC and cleveland were the surprises in the AL... The Pirates were the surprise team in the NL....

You must have a different definition of "surprise" than me.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

Leyland should definitely deserve more votes than Girardi. I don't care if you have an MVP and a Cy Young on your team.

Based on what exactly??? Seriously, are you just trying to stir the pot, or are you really this clueless?

 

[The Derski]

Based on what exactly??? Seriously, are you just trying to stir the pot, or are you really this clueless?

So you want a manager that led his team to 85 wins and missed the playoffs to receive votes? A manager that is held to higher standards than that? I don't care about the injuries. Lots of teams deal with injuries and win more than that. Another Yankee homer.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

So you want a manager that led his team to 85 wins and missed the playoffs to receive votes? A manager that is held to higher standards than that? I don't care about the injuries. Lots of teams deal with injuries and win more than that. Another Yankee homer.

Yeah... you clearly have no clue what the Manager of the Year award is all about, nor do you know how to evaluate managers. Managers who don't make the playoffs get votes all the time. They often win too.

Leyland's team actually underachieved. Girardi's team overachieved. But Leyland was better? On what planet? You're just going to evaluate them based off of playoff standing?

Girardi's lineup for the better part of 3 months included:
Robinson Cano
Brett Gardner
Ichiro Suzuki's maggot infested corpse
What's left of Travis Hafner
Vernon Wells
Chris Stewart
Lyle Overbay
Eduardo Nunez
David Adams/Chris Nelson/Kevin Youkilis in a wheelchair

I actually predicted they'd win 84 games before the Spring Training started (i.e. before all the injuries). The team won 85 games and was in the playoff hunt until the last week of the season.

I'd have Girardi 3rd on my ballot behind Melvin and Francona.

 

[Darkstone42]

Girardi has won manager of the year without making the playoffs before.

And he definitely deserves consideration. It wasn't just dealing with injuries, it was dealing with something like his top six hitters being out for a good bulk of the season. It's really hard to win games when you're missing the bulk of your lineup production.