The target of so much criticism since taking the job prior to the 2019 season, David Bell hasn’t exactly gotten much of the fanbase on his side even after taking the Cincinnati Reds to their first winning record in a season (granted, just a 60-game season) and the playoffs since the 2013 season. On Thursday afternoon his team set playoff records in futility, being shut out for all 22 innings of the series. It wasn’t for a lack of chances in game one, but in game two the opportunities rarely arrived as the team had just two hits and walked just twice.
It wasn’t the ending anyone wanted to see (well, except the Atlanta Braves, of course). But after the game ended and the season, David Bell had some nice things to say about the season and his team, while also acknowledging some of the issues the team ran into during the 2020 season.
On the loss and the season ending
“No one feels like our guys in the clubhouse, it’s not a good feeling. It’s a bad feeling,” said Bell. “There’s no real words to make you feel better when you compete all year, you battle, you work year round, you put everything you have into it and you lose. There’s no good way to feel about that. But the one thing is you can only feel this bad when you’re the guys on the field and have done everything you can and competed and done all of the work. Nothing else can make you feel that bad on the baseball field, so there’s some honor in that. And we were able to have some success, taste some real success, and when we get to take a step back and reflect on a season, there’s no doubt that moving forward, knowing that feeling, knowing what it takes, the amount of effort, teamwork, care, tasting that success if going to go a long way moving forward. It’s difficult to have that perspective right now, but I think once we get some time we’ll look back and know that going to be very helpful looking forward.”
On the offensive struggles for most of the season
“You know, what I’m thinking about right now is how I’ve never been around a group of hitters and players that worked and did everything in their power to find a way to break through. And that’s not an excuse, it’s just a fact.,” Bell said. “And do we need to continue to make adjustments and look at everything? That goes without saying. You’re always looking to do that. That’s the way this game works. But for today, like I said, no one feels worse than the guys that put everything they had on the line and it didn’t work out. So we’ll learn from it and find a way to be better from it.”
On the home run or nothing, and pinpointing why that was
“I think number one, we emphasize strikezone discipline. We were able to walk quite a bit, more than we singled, which is amazing And we did hit for power. Those are both good things,” said Bell. “Where we came up short, to your point, is stringing together hits at times during the season. You can look at the defensive positioning, you can look at hard hit balls that didn’t go for hits – but it’s something we’ve got to take a closer look at because all teams are really good at defensive positioning and can hit into bad luck at times. So why did that happen with us? We just have to really take a close look at it. We did all year. Yeah, I say and I do absolutely believe in our guys, we made adjustments as much as we possibly could – but we have to find a way to get better.”
On whether the team met expectations
“Well, we got to the post season, and when your goal is to win the championship, I think we can look at the last two days. As for the season – we got on a pretty good roll, we had everything working well together,” said Bell. “It started about a month-and-a-half into the season. Who knows what would have happened in a long season? Our team was playing with a tremendous amount of confidence. We were doing everything it took to win games. Our offense, like you guys have mentioned, still wasn’t clicking all the way. Yes, we’re dealing with this season, the shorter season, and that’s what we had this year. We accomplished our goal of getting to the post season, and we knew we had to beat the best teams. And we played one of them here, and we weren’t able to do that.”
You can watch and listen to the entire post game press conference below for a little more from manager David Bell following the loss on Thursday.
2 weeks. They played well for two weeks. Maybe in a regular season we wouldve seen more, but…
Bad Luck Chuck.
I, personally dont think it’s time to fire Bell. I would look at the personnel on the offensive side. C, SS specifically, for starters. But I have a feeling ownership isn’t going to want to spend this off-season. My bet is they’ll roll the dice with the development of Garcia and Stephenson, if anything.
Karma for reds ownership and management. Karma said “since you won’t be doing anything, watch dusty baker take the Astros to the world series.”
And lose because of a managerial decision
Yep.
At least he’ll make it and you’ll be watching. Lol. Your so childish.
OK, one more thing. Bell says, regarding not being able to string together hits:
“So why did that happen with us? We just have to really take a close look at it.”
Why do so many others outside of the Reds already understand why it happened to them, but the Reds themselves can’t figure it out? Truly a troubling statement to hear from the manager. Similar to Dick Williams citing “bad luck” as the reason for their BABIP. If you hit into the teeth of the shift every single time, that isn’t bad luck, it’s bad adjustment.
Because of the shift, BABIP needs to be thought of differently now.
Very true. On another note, if MLB does not do away with the shift very soon, you will see the interest in baseball diminish like never before. It has caused the all or nothing swing around MLB. No one wants to watch nothing but K’s, Walks, and HR’s. The game is about as boring as it’s ever been, and this comment comes from a baseball fanatic for his whole life.
Yes–what i’m wondering is what if a team routinely bunted and hit away from the shift, etc, to get runners on? That would quell it to some extent. I can’t understand why teams don’t do that, unless it’s pure individual player pride–and that would irritate me if it’s the reason.
I’d say the Reds didn’t string together hits because the team average was actually below Mendoza’s career mark. I realize I may be in the minority on this point at this site, but I can’t stand it when one of our guys takes called strike three with with a runner on third and one out.
Bell should do the right thing and resign his position as manager. The body of work to judge him on is not just this 60 game season. It also includes the 2019 season and 162 games. Based on that, if Bell doesn’t resign, then he should be fired. Immediately. Give ownership the weekend, but if Bell isn’t fired by next Monday, the fan base erodes even more. The Reds front office has to give the fans more of a reason to attend games and come back to the ballpark. Six years of losing records and this year’s COVID-19 has taken a toll on the fanbase.
Bell generates no excitement at all. None whatsoever. A new manager and a few new players should be able to get the fanbase ginned up for Opening Day 2021. Going into 2021 with the status quo would be a nightmare. Getting rid of Bell and re-signing Bauer would go a long way on putting some salve on the still fresh and open wounds of Bell’s tenure. Keep Bell and lose Bauer and those wounds just fester all winter. By the time spring training rolls around, if Bell is still the manager, the excitement from Reds fans for the new season will be barely measurable.
The ball is in Bob Castellini’s and Dick Williams’s court. Will they do the right thing and fire Bell? Or will they bury their heads in the sand and let the status quo remain?
The Reds front office HAS to eradicate this awful hitting philosophy David Bell brought with him and has instituted in Cincinnati. That is the cancer that is eating up this team now. Bell, Zinter and Mather have to be fired or it is going to be more of the same in 2021. The Reds offense was not nearly this bad before Bell arrived.
I couldn’t agree more. Well said, Charlies Waffles.
I just cant figure out why in the first game a reds batter showed bunt it the pitcher was very erratic , then he swung away a struck out…We could have scored a couple of runs that first game by bunting!!!!!Small ball guys !!!! First game loss totally on the slipper..
Bell isn’t going anywhere. Nor should he. He managed this team to the playoffs when the offense was beyond bad. The players need to earn their pay checks. 1–12 on Wednesday was beyond bad. A well placed out would have been the difference in that game. Love Joey but he is far from the player he used to be. Moose, Winker, Castallos, Suarez need to step up. Senzel needs to stay healthy and take a step forward. Keep TB and roll the dice with Garcia and Stephenson.
What? Care to look at the back of the players’ baseball card. You can say these guys were beyond bad, but their baseball cards suggest that they should be way, way, better than what Bell got out of them. I think part of the reason they were so bad is because many were jerked in and out of the lineup on a daily basis. Did you see the Braves lineup changing much, each game, or even during the game? Of course not. Bell thinks he’s managing computer models, and not humans. He’s the worst manager the Reds have had in my lifetime, and I’m 54.
Chris wrote ” I think part of the reason they were so bad is because many were jerked in and out of the lineup on a daily basis.”
+1000
Bell dealt with under performance and some injuries in a season that was 60 games. He also has a aging Votto. Bell didn’t jerk the veterans on this team around. You think he collectively changed their approach?
All due respect he is going to be fired and he should be fired and a big part of the reason is he has no fire. For sure players need to step up but this dude is a cardboard cutout that inspires exactly 0% confidence.
Chris let me run a few names by you. Don Hefner, Russ Nixion, Vern Rapp, Bob Boone, Dave Miley, Bryan Price.
By the way I’m 67. Been a reds since the late 50’s when my Dad would take me to Crosley. Bell is far from the worst.
They already have a better catcher than TB. His name is Curt Casali; and, they can keep him for 2 years for the cost of paying out the remaining single year and option buyout on TB.
It was clear by the end of the season that the 3 top starting pitchers all preferred working with Casali. The reason he did not start Thursday was a sore wrist. So, which guy makes the better choice to keep around to mentor T. Stephenson? The choice really makes itself.
I am 69 and have followed the Reds since 1961. Bell might not be the worst manager during the last 60 years but he is only a chair or two away from who is if he is not the guy.
He is a tinker, but he is not a manager. He is Tinker Bell.
Who kept penciling Joey in?
You are without a doubt a Bell apologist, he and buddy Zinter are why this team underperformed, I’m normally not a “fire the manager first” type person, but this is one of those times that I am, defend Bell all you want, but Bell’s poor decisions blew game 1, and if you think otherwise, you’re crazy!!
Over half the teams made the playoffs this year. Boasting that a team made the playoffs doesn’t have nearly the same ring that did when only 2 or 4 teams in each league made it.
The Reds had the pitching to make a deep run in the playoffs. Pitching looks like it could be a strength in this organization for years to come. The Reds should keep everyone involved with pitching in this organization, and they should fire everyone involved with hitting down to the bat boy. Also pressure Votto to retire or negotiate a buy out and move on from him.
Why would Votto retire? How would you pressure him? He has been the face of the franchise for quite awhile. He is not leaving millions on the table and the players union will not let him get run off.
I keep hearing do the right thing. JV should do the right thing and say to management, I have lost a lot, I want to do whatever I can do help this team win, because I want to be a Red, regardless of what it is, If they have the guts, be frank, and say, okay, here is what we want. If he says okay, then good, if not, well….
He makes 25 million a year. He is not walking away from that money. For him doing the right thing is collecting his money that was agreed to in good faith.
We had this discussion here several weeks back prior to Votto’s September resurgence.
There are ways to send him on his way with the respect, dignity and accolades he has earned. It been done in other cities.
The starting point is the team stepping and accepting it will pay the entire remaining guaranteed amount on his contract. Once that’s settled, the exact mechanics and timing can be resolved.
Based on WAR dollar value, he has long since covered more than the entire value of the contract. If it is the best baseball decision for him to retire, then just get it done the right way,
How do you pressure him.
MLB contracts are Guaranteed (Covid not withstanding) .
All he says, it cut me. Signs for league minimum, and the reds pay the rest.
No thank you
This team doesn’t make the playoffs with the record it had in a normal year without the expanded format. 31-31 counting the playoff disaster with the roster the reds had is a massive disappointment just like the record last season was worse than the talent that roster had.
Despite how bad they hit they made the playoffs and others did not.
Doug,
When you get a chance to look back at all that you accomplished this year, I hope you allow yourself to bask in the glory you deserve. Through the shut down in March, the frustration of most of the season, and the the resurgence to the postseason, you produced with out a doubt the best Reds content on the internet.
I think we, the readers, should and can show Doug our appreciation by supporting his his business efforts by subscribing to his working on Patreon.
Following the Reds during good times or bad is more fun or more tolerable because of RNL and RML.
Absolutely. Hit up Patreon, y’all
+1000
I have for several years. 100% agree.
“I think number one, we emphasize strikeout discipline”. That ridiculous statement alone immediately disqualifies Bell from managing this team. I personally watched 55 of the 60 games we played and strikeout discipline was not on display. Not having a hitting strategy is, in fact, not a strategy. Fire everyone who has ANYTHING to do with hitting and start over. Oh, one last thing. May we mercifully get Votto out of the three hole?
Just think how bad it would have been if they HADN’T emphasized strikeout discipline so heavily!
I’m with you, on this, Thomas.
And Votto needs to bat 7th or 8th until he proves otherwise. It will be interesting to see how he rebounds in the spring.
Check Votto’s spring and first halves the last few years. Not particularly pretty.
Concur. Never seen players take so many strikes right down the heart of the plate and getting behind in the count, only to swing at pitches in the dirt for strike three. Course it’s also very common for Suarez et. al. to take a third strike right down the middle with a runner on 3rd base and less than two outs. Trying to draw walks seems to vastly increase their strike outs. If anyone needs three swings to hit a baseball, it’s Suarez. He’s got a hole in his bat and he needs three attempts instead of one. He’s been a strike out King for many years now. Votto Ks more than his share too. Oh well. It is what it is.
Baseball is a hard game. Hitting a baseball has to be one of the most difficult things to do in all sports.
Strikeout discipline? Does that mean standing there watching the ball go by for strike three with bat on shoulder?
See the ball, hit the ball. Swing level. Stuff my Dad taught me a million years ago and I still think it holds true. If you want the perfect example look at Freeman. He is looking to get a hit, period and if it happens to go out, it goes out. All that launch angle crap is just that, crap.
As I mention below, he said “strikezone discipline”. I’m not sure strikeout discipline is even a thing, but maybe it should be.
He said “strikezone” discipline, and everything he said after that is mostly true of the team. They did generate walks. I am all for not swinging at balls outside the zone, etc. but the team needs to change its approach in other areas, especially with 2 strikes.
I think what they need is a new hitting coach. What hitting coach could look at a team trying to swing out of their socks every pitch and think “Yep, that’s what I wanna see, keep doing that.”
Suarez especially has become an all or nothing hitter after being fairly balanced in his earlier years. If Suarez could get back to just looking to make good contact, the home runs would flow naturally. Moose and Castellanos were better hitters last year than what they showed this year. Did the Reds coach them out of being successful hitters? The only hitter I think who really lived up to expectations was Winker. Everyone else seemed well below where they should have been.
I also think Bell should pick a lineup order and stick to it. Let the hitters get “comfortable” in their roles. Baseball is a sport where, above all else, timing plays a huge role. If guys never have a chance to get in a groove, it’s no wonder they can’t perform.
I know it’s probably a pipe dream, but I really hope the Reds can talk Bauer into giving it another go. Another season of Bauer/Castillo/Gray at the top of the rotation with a better hitting approach, and this team could have another good run in them. Bauer wants to win, and I hope he can see this team in Cincinnati is right on the cusp of being pretty good, but he’s a big part of that. Bauer + this Reds team = playoffs. This Reds team – Bauer = probably about .500.
“ Baseball is a sport where, above all else, timing plays a huge role. If guys never have a chance to get in a groove, it’s no wonder they can’t perform.”
BINGO!
Baseball is a game where you earn your chance. Again we would be playing today we would have capitalized on a 1-12 performance with runners in scoring position. A few all we needed was a fly ball.
Jim t-
I agree. Players earn their chance to play, except on a David Bell-managed team. He doesn’t let the lineup alone long enough to really evaluate what he has. Furthermore, since he plays guys based on matchups and not performance, where is the incentive for a player, especially a young player, to try to work his tail off and earn his chance, as you have said?
Baseball has not been a game where you earn your chance since the advent of guaranteed big contracts. He who has the contract gets the playing time. The days of Lou Gehrig stepping in for the starter and never stepping back out are long gone.
You can just feel it !! When the guys get down in the count with two strikes they are done!!! Strikeout!! Arod made several good points about the Reds , it’s the “micro over the “ macro. We had multiple opportunities to bunt and score . It’s time !!!! Bring in Barry Larkin .
It is easy to blame the manager when the team does not do well. There are those that say that it was his fault that the team did not hit because he kept changing the lineup. Those same people would complain if he didn’t change the lineup because he was keeping .210 hitters on the field. You can talk all you want about the back of baseball cards and what they should have been doing but Bell wasn’t playing with baseball cards. He had to deal with one of the worst hitting teams in the history of baseball and still got us into the playoffs.
Earlier, before we went on our run, I was all for letting the guy go just to shake the team up. In the end it wasn’t necessary. They seemed to put it together at the right time and got us in. There are 29 teams that will not win this year, several with better personnel than the Reds. It is time to move on and start talking about next year and what can be done to make this team better.
If you expected Bell to come out and actually acknowledge that the team philosophy was wrong 30 minutes after getting booted from the playoffs you are kidding yourselves. He knows and the front office knows what is wrong and will most assuredly make changes to correct the flaws that are obvious to even the casual observer.
And for those of you that think that Votto will/should retire, don’t hold your breath. He will give it at least one more go. After he changed his batting style for the 800th time, he started looking more like the old Votto. Should he work on that all winter, who knows what he will be like next year. I think it has become obvious that he needs to be the DH next year if we have one. I certainly hope he realizes that.
Castellanos isn’t going anywhere. The way he hit over the last 6 weeks of the season, no one will give him the kind of contract he currently has. He can stay another year and hope to hit the jackpot. Even if he continues to regress he still has $32M coming his way.
Yes, yes, yes to John C’s comment.
I don’t comment very much; however, it seems lots of us are overreacting…and placing too much value on what manager brings to the table. Joe Maddon tends to get the nod as one of the best managers in baseball and he couldn’t get the Angles into the playoffs. just a thought…
And the Cubs did not offer Maddon a contract as they wanted to go in a different direction.
The Reds need to go in a different direction too. Away from Bell.
Not an advocate of David Bell, too much emphasis on lefty-righty matchups, but the main factor in both games, especially Game 1, was total failure to get a hit with RISP. Respect Tucker’s defense and commitment to the community but he didn’t hit when it mattered most. Both games! I knew when he failed early in Game 2 again, we were done. You gotta deliever.
Analyitics works for pitching and defense but I just don’t like what I see when it comes to our approach to hitting. I kept agreeing with ARod. Not sure what’s worse, being a Twins fan in the playoffs or the Reds. Both are epic disappointments. On a postive note: loved watching Bauer pitch. Sims too.
I was just looking for contact much less a hit. A sac fly would have got the job done on numerous occasions. This team showed such a lack of fundamentals in so many areas.
Did you see Bauer’s tweet from yesterday? Looks like he was saying good-bye to Reds fans and is looking for a place to win and “be embraced”. Looking for a team that has some offense like Atlanta and unlike Cincinnati. Can’t blame him a bit. The Reds are going to have to make some offensive changes before they can re-sign Bauer. And the Reds will be very reluctant to make those changes. This is the first indication that Bauer won’t be back, unfortunately. This stings a little.
“To the fans in my mentions right now:
@Reds fans: I love you all. Thanks for an amazing season! Wish you could’ve been at the ballpark!
Braves fans: Seems like y’all hate me and I wouldn’t be embraced here! What a shame… (Confused face emoji)
Astros fans: LOL, why are y’all here? Stay mad.”
To fix a problem, one must be open to all options. A very wise engineer told me when I 1st started my career as an engineer.
If you always remember that until you know exactly what is the problem you cannot know what is not the problem.
Assumptions as to what is not the problem before a problem is solved are always the biggest hurdle to finding a solution.
The reason for not bunting, moving runners over, productive outs, not hitting away from the shift is that the computer science/programmer that create the analytics show that those actions do not result in the highest possibility to score maximum runs on the next swing of the bat.
From what I have read about the hitting analytics, they are based on how many runs will score on the next 1 swing of the bat and maximize that percentage.
That assumption will always result in the mathematical conclusion that hitting the ball harder so that the ball exit velocity is higher increase the possibility that the ball will travel over the outfield wall thus the action to take to score maximum runs on that next swing of the bat is to try and hit a HR.
With all analytics/statistics, the disagreement on this baseline premise is what is needed.
If this assumption is invalid/flawed which means all (or close to all) conclusions based on that one premise will be flawed.
@don, if I am preaching to the choir excuse me. However if you are not aware of RE24, that might be of interest to you. RE stands for Runs Expected in this case.
https://library.fangraphs.com/misc/re24/
Basically there are 24 possible man on base/ outs states when each and every batter steps to the plate. They range from nobody on base and no outs to bases loaded and 2 outs. The link has a chart which should make this all much more clear.
The RE24 value is the amount a batter’s plate appearance raises or lowers the runs expected compared to league average for the man on base/ outs state at the start of the plate appearance. Again the link has examples which illuminate better than words. And a neat thing about RE24 is that it works in inverse fashion for pitching.
Because RE24 is a comparative counting stat, it has not always gained a lot of favor. However, some effforts have been made to convert it to a rate stat in much the same way OPS+ is a comparative rate stat derived from OPS.
Jim,
That stat is what I see as one of the problems, it give a number to compare a player against other who has a good or bad number. There is no value placed on what is good for the team in that number calculation.
My issue with this type of stat.
Situation one, runner on 2nd, no outs, score is 15-0 in top of 9th inning, batter hits a HR. This adds to the stat for that batter.
Situation 2, runner on 2nd, on out, 0-0 game bottom of 9th, batter hits a ground ball to 1st base, runner on 2nd goes to third, now 1 out. This player is punished with this stat as failing. Next better hits a Sac fly and game over.
Which play had a bigger factor in the team winning the game. What the player in Situation 1 or situation 2?
The problem is that hunting HRs all the time is not only ineffective, but boring. NBA analytics talks about 3 pointers and layups being the most effective scoring methods as opposed to old school 15 foot jumpers or post moves from a center. The thing is….THATS EXCITING and I don’t even like the NBA that much because of cherry picking “Super” teams. Nevertheless its an exciting style because it leads to long rebounds and more open 3 pointers and layups.
MLB? No. If you’re not a fan of about 6 teams then you’re bored of your mind. This sport is dying.
Tim Anderson had more oppo hits in that series with the A’s then the Reds team gets in a week. Seriously! Rightfield line or looped over the 2B or grounded in the hole between 1B-2B. Now he doesn’t walk which is not ideal, but he has mastered how to hit the baseball. That is the only way 90% of the hitters can hit today! There is no other way except abnormal bat speed/strength like Mike Trout or Bryce Harper? Pitchers throw too hard and their control is too good.
Look to hit everything away unless they hang a breaking ball inside or a groove a fastball down & in. The Reds just don’t get it. Joey is the Reds icon and he rarely goes the other way anymore? Blow it up. Get a new hitting coach and start subtracting guys that don’t get it. They have some pitching they could trade. Its going to take years….if it ever happens? Rebuild of the rebuild’s rebuild.
Suspect Votto goes the other way intentionally much less now because he realizes he doesn’t have the power that way he once had. Fly balls which once were HRs or high off the wall end up as outs as do many line drives which once would have been over the fielders’ heads or split them.
True. I know I’m all over Votto, but getting old is tough. He cheats on the fastball because he knows he’s lost bat speed so he can’t go the other way because his swing is already started. He’s afraid of being embarrassed on the bases with his turtle speed so he overreacts and takes 2-3 fatal steps back towards 2nd base on a single to LF. I know he cares and feels alot of pressure. Its tough.
What a Votto rule for MLB? Every team gets to pinch run once/twice a game with no penalty. The hitter can remain in the game and the pinch-runner can go back to the bench to be used later. It would increase action on the bases. Steals, etc. Everything that has been nearly erased from the game.
Great post. Agreed that a bunt will likely produce less chance of success for that particular AB. However what it apparently doesn’t or in some cases can’t measure is what is does cumulatively for next couple of AB’s with additional runners on base (if bunt successful). What’s likely not measurable is whether continued successful bunts changes the shift strategy of defenses which in turn might raise overall chance of success on future AB’s.
Although the most likely outcome, Status Quo will be the most hurtful to see as a Reds fan. We are all too nice in the MidWest. Media and fans on coast teams would not stand for these horrid moves Bell made throughout the season. He let players play the last few weeks and didn’t make crazy decisions which can directly attribute to the better overall play we saw. Then he got all fancy again. Too many mistakes cost this team too many games. No accountability, no drive, no fire. That starts at the managerial level.
Back to me being Mid West and nice, Bell seems like a good person and you wish nothing but the best.. but Im sorry he has to go for me to have a renewed faith come March.
Agree and have said it before, NO FIRE. The players play off the managers personality. HO HUM monotone.
Dick Williams quoted today saying Bell and staff will be back in 2021….
https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1312107378007973888
Just what us Reds fans want to hear for next year the same week our team ends the season with a scoring shutout for 22innings.
I’ve been a reds fan as long as I can remember…So sad to see what these clowns have done to our great team…Its almost to unbearable to watch anymore…Go Dodgers…
How many times have we seen the Reds get hot at the end of a losing or bad season and make fans have hope for next season only to see the next season go bad. By the way, didn’t we hear over the winter that Joey was working hard and was going to be ready for a bounce back season.
So….you’d prefer he didn’t work hard?
Randy
Seems as if the Reds hit into the shift or Struck Out trying to hit it over the shift. Surely major league hitters can adapt their stance when it is necessary to hit away from the shift. One fielder to that side vs three fielders to the shift side. And even more important how many times did we see one of those three playing in short left or right field and acting as a fourth outfielder. This seemed to be used against the Reds more than any other team out there. There must be a reason for that and certainly this became the reason for the lowest batting average in Major League Baseball. If the current players cannot adapt to hitting against the shift then find FA’s or Trade for players who can. The home runs clearly did not get you a play off win
Finally after listening to A Rod ….he reminds me of Joe Morgan. A Rod would be a great manager ! Much better baseball knowledge than current staff.