𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Three-game series force an interesting tug-of-war for big league managers. On one side is the obvious urgency of such a short series, but on the other side is the fact it’s not just one game. There is at least some future to consider.

So, which side wins? Wild Card managers this year have been pulled almost uniformly to the aggressive side: pinch-hitting early, going to their bullpens often, and trying to maximize each moment as if it alone will decide the season.

“These are all-hands-on-deck games,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s the American League Wild Card Series. Every pitch, every at-bat, every mistake, every big swing seems to count as two. And so we were going to be aggressive.”

Hinch pinch hit for All-Star Riley Greene to create a right-on-left matchup in Game 2, which didn’t work. Cubs manager Craig Counsell used an opener and then pitched to Manny Machado with a base open in Game 2, and neither of those worked, either. Red Sox manager Alex Cora pulled starter Brayan Bello after 28 pitches and then asked reliever Garrett Whitlock to throw a season-high 47 pitches. Those moves, also, didn’t work.

“Felt like at that point kind of like we have to do this,” Cora said of his early hook on Bello. “It doesn’t feel good because you want the kid to go out there and get his experience and pitch deep into the game. I felt at that moment we needed to.”

In such a short series, managerial choices feel amplified, and they’ve certainly been scrutinized. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was heavily questioned for his lineup decisions and the removal of starter Max Fried in a Game 1 loss. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has made risky decisions in the name of maximizing offense (which worked in Game 2 but not so much in Game 1). The Padres’ tendency to bunt came into question in their Game 1 loss.

It’s a lot to debate and consider — if you’re into that sort of thing.

“I don’t put a manager’s cap on,” Machado said.

Hard to blame him.