On the TunneySide of Sports November 2, 2020 #820 Up next… MMQB
After further review… MMQB (Monday morning quarterbacking) has been an American tradition on Monday mornings following weekend football games. The pundits, i.e., the “experts” criticize coach(es) of their favorite (or sometimes not-so-favorite) T*E*A*M for calling certain plays or failing to W-I-N by making the wrong call. Although I am not familiar with other countries, it may be the same there as well. With our world being globalized, it would be easy to assume that the concept of MMQB has caught-on everywhere. BTW, it is not necessarily Monday morning, since this happens whenever the opportunity arises.
You can count on this criticism happening to Kevin Cash, Tampa Bay Rays manager, whose decision it was to “pull” starting pitcher, Blake Snell, from the mound in the 6th inning of game six of the World Series last week. Cash, whose contract was extended through 2024, said he was “sticking to the Rays managerial process” and that while Snell had done well in the first 5 innings he would be facing Betts, Seager, and Turner for the third time in this game.
Snell said later he was upset and disappointed. He had thrown 73 superb pitches striking out 9 and had the Dodgers guessing on what pitch to expect. He was the Rays dominate force that evening on the Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Twitter “blew up” after Snell was “given the hook” by manager Cash. If you watched that game and saw the faces-of-relief in the Dodgers dugout, you could feel the momentum shift from the Rays to the team in Blue.
The final game won by the Dodgers 3-1 was their first World Series victory in 32 years. While that may not seem unusual for other MLB teams, it certainly was the longest for the Dodgers. It was a most exciting win for Clayton Kershaw, the strength of their pitching staff. Perhaps the only downer was third baseman, Justin Turner who batted third in the Dodgers-lineup with a .320 average, being tested positive for Covid-19 and had to be pulled from the lineup.
Managers make decisions “on-the-spot” with what is their best thinking at that time. Second-guessing from one’s living room couch is always easier.
Will you give coaches and managers credit for putting themselves on-the-line?
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Jim Tunney
