that Maddon....

[Bullpride08]

crazy guy has the Rays off to their best start in team history. ;D

I thought I would post something positive about Maddon since there are always someone questioning something myopically about his decisions.  Baseball is a game of attrition, and you really can't judge a guy by one or two decisions but a long series of decisions to determine the impact.

He kept Burrell going...walk-off;  committed to resting Carl (to preserve his knees and legs for the entire season) he's off to Carl's best start in his history;

The haters can whine but Joe can manage.

[RichmondBull]

and to prove I'm not fair-weather, I'm gonna still mention two mistakes that nearly cost them the 2nd game yesterday.

1. left shields in way too long, he was struggling to throw strikes and got behind in the count and threw easily hittable pitches

2. bringing in sonnanstine, the guy who would be a great home run derby pitcher in to face youkilis in the 7th

he's not the reason the team is off to a great start, it's solid starting pitching and some decent hitting

[Bullpride08]

and to prove I'm not fair-weather, I'm gonna still mention two mistakes that nearly cost them the 2nd game yesterday.

1. left shields in way too long, he was struggling to throw strikes and got behind in the count and threw easily hittable pitches

2. bringing in sonnanstine, the guy who would be a great home run derby pitcher in to face youkilis in the 7th

he's not the reason the team is off to a great start, it's solid starting pitching and some decent hitting

Again, that's just psycho-analyzing a bunch of myopic decisions again...if you're an astute baseball fan then you know that's ridiculous because every game, and every decision is about 'gut reactions' and therefore you can psycho-analyze it all and say 'he shoulda, woulda' coulda', but if the end result is a "W" then he was right on the mark.

I love how you say the team is off to a great start ONLY BECAUSE of 'solid starting pitching and some decent hitting'.  Like the manager didn't have a hand in that...you say above he decided to keep Shields in 'too long' but how about it was his decision to let Garza go into the 8th in both his starts (in the past he might have yanked because the pitch counts were over 110 by then), he deserves that credit!

you say decent hitting, but him sticking with Burrell when people said to bench him after 5 games (which shows anyone to say such a thing to be even more ignorant about baseball) won us two ball games yesterday with his 5 RBIs' in two games yesterday.  What about his decision to keep BJ at 7th, which is starting to pay remarkable dividends.

It's crazy to say that we're winning because of good hitting and pitching and the manager has nothing to do with it.  That's like saying a football team is winning but the coaches have nothing to do with it.  Every pitch, every move, every steal, every pitch count is controlled by Maddon.  If we're winning a big reason is him, and if we're losing he gets the credit...it's no coincidence we've been winning since he got here.

[flsportsfan83]

Well when you play Baltimore 6 times in the first 2 weeks, you are going to win some games. You had to have won atleast 5 of those since Baltimore is like 1-12

[RichmondBull]

and to prove I'm not fair-weather, I'm gonna still mention two mistakes that nearly cost them the 2nd game yesterday.

1. left shields in way too long, he was struggling to throw strikes and got behind in the count and threw easily hittable pitches

2. bringing in sonnanstine, the guy who would be a great home run derby pitcher in to face youkilis in the 7th

he's not the reason the team is off to a great start, it's solid starting pitching and some decent hitting

Again, that's just psycho-analyzing a bunch of myopic decisions again...if you're an astute baseball fan then you know that's ridiculous because every game, and every decision is about 'gut reactions' and therefore you can psycho-analyze it all and say 'he shoulda, woulda' coulda', but if the end result is a "W" then he was right on the mark.

I love how you say the team is off to a great start ONLY BECAUSE of 'solid starting pitching and some decent hitting'.  Like the manager didn't have a hand in that...you say above he decided to keep Shields in 'too long' but how about it was his decision to let Garza go into the 8th in both his starts (in the past he might have yanked because the pitch counts were over 110 by then), he deserves that credit!

you say decent hitting, but him sticking with Burrell when people said to bench him after 5 games (which shows anyone to say such a thing to be even more ignorant about baseball) won us two ball games yesterday with his 5 RBIs' in two games yesterday.  What about his decision to keep BJ at 7th, which is starting to pay remarkable dividends.

It's crazy to say that we're winning because of good hitting and pitching and the manager has nothing to do with it.  That's like saying a football team is winning but the coaches have nothing to do with it.  Every pitch, every move, every steal, every pitch count is controlled by Maddon.  If we're winning a big reason is him, and if we're losing he gets the credit...it's no coincidence we've been winning since he got here.

I did not say he has NOTHING to do with it.  I said "he is not the reason" they are winning

In Garza's long outings he wasn't getting hammered late in the game, or missing the strike zone for that matter.

Burrell had one good day in what? 170ish games?  Don't worry, he'll go back to his suckfest soon enough.

And no, not every pitch and steal is controlled by maddon.  Certain guys are told they have the choice to steal when they feel it is a good time.  And each pitch is mostly decided by the pitcher and catcher.

I'm not saying he is a bad manager or doesn't deserve any credit but he makes a lot of bad decisions that even many announcers (national ones not local) question.

[cmhatter]

maddon doesn't have this team off to the best start in team history...

the players do... we are absolutely loaded..

i like maddon but he does tend to over analyze a lot

[Bullpride08]

yawn...fans criticizing baseball managers gets so boring.  The players play, the managers manage their play...thus far his management has been spot on.  He's 9-3, and he's so far got 4 of those wins against the Yanks and Sox. 

It's the same crap, the moment we start losing 1 to 2 games, then all the blame is on Maddon.   He gets no credit for winning...and all the credit for losing.  What a job!

[Bullpride08]

remember players can't just turn on and off their ability to 'play' when they want to in baseball.  Things like preparation, proper motivation, proper coaching in the off-season and spring training is pivotal.  To just assume the players suddenly decided to play now and Maddon gets no credit is a juvenile way of looking at athletics.  Why did some of the guys producing now play bad last year?  Maddon changed a number of different things up in the off-season, tried to get the starting pitchers to pitch more for contact, and not just to strike-out...which has helped in the off-season.  Garza is white-hot right now for sure but a lot has to do with the manager and coaches helping him with that maturation process too.

He brought in a new hitting coach who he worked with extensively to shape-up BJ's hitting, like consistently getting his kick leg down earlier...which has worked.  Any credit there or is it all BJ too?

Hatter, I agree that at times Maddon over-thinks things, but I believe he cerebral nature helps players do their thing.  He doesn't over-do things like Pinella tends to do, and doesn't berate, but nutures.  Areas that make him a good coach for this young team.

[RichmondBull]

remember players can't just turn on and off their ability to 'play' when they want to in baseball.  Things like preparation, proper motivation, proper coaching in the off-season and spring training is pivotal.  To just assume the players suddenly decided to play now and Maddon gets no credit is a juvenile way of looking at athletics.  Why did some of the guys producing now play bad last year?  Maddon changed a number of different things up in the off-season, tried to get the starting pitchers to pitch more for contact, and not just to strike-out...which has helped in the off-season.  Garza is white-hot right now for sure but a lot has to do with the manager and coaches helping him with that maturation process too.

He brought in a new hitting coach who he worked with extensively to shape-up bj daniels hitting, like consistently getting his kick leg down earlier...which has worked.  Any credit there or is it all BJ too?

Hatter, I agree that at times Maddon over-thinks things, but I believe he cerebral nature helps players do their thing.  He doesn't over-do things like Pinella tends to do, and doesn't berate, but nutures.  Areas that make him a good coach for this young team.

bj daniels now plays for the rays? i didn't know he played baseball

[Matt]

i love maddon.

i do think he over manages some times (all the shifts and 2 OF with 6 INF) sure its great when it works but sucks when it doesnt.

but maddon doesnt get credit for BJ Upton.  i thi nk that whole arbitration process and his younger brother getting a FAT 4 year deal does.

i spoke with a guy pretty close to the situation and BJ is ready to go this year.  he knows that the rays arent too high on him long term based on his previous seasons.  and knows that CC is going to be a possibility to re-sign (a long one but thats who they want)

bj is playing hard for the first time in his life maybe.