Managers Dave Roberts And Aaron Boone Encounter The Fine Line Between History And Strategy

In the first two-plus weeks of the season, two managers found themselves walking the fine line between history and strategy in moves that get strong opinions from both sides of the spectrum involving future Hall of Famers Clayton Kershaw and Miguel Cabrera.

So far, the two members of the managerial fine line club are Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts and New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

On April 12, CKershaw was dominating so much that the first 21 hitters in Minnesota went down without reaching base while seeing only 80 pitches. It also was the fifth game of the season that begun with a truncated spring training due to a four-month lockout that led to about three weeks of proper preparation instead of the usual six to eight weeks.

While 17,101 fans were arguably disappointed, Roberts made the move with thoughts of the abbreviated spring training in mind and the fact Kershaw did not pitch in the postseason due to left forearm inflammation.

It was an injury that coupled with the labor strife that caused Kershaw to not even pick up a ball until January. And based on his postgame comments following a day of pitching in 38-degree weather, it seems highly possible the perfect game might have ended in the eighth.

“Blame it on the lockout. Blame it on me not picking up a baseball until January,” Kershaw told reporters last week. “My slider was horrible the last two innings. It didn’t have the bite. It was time.”

Still for fans who go in not necessarily expecting history, it’s a disappointment to see it go unfulfilled even if most fans can understand the reasoning, especially for a team like the Dodgers, who last did not play a postseason game in 2012.

A little over week later it was Boone’s turn to weigh the debate of history against strategy. Cabrera began Thursday one away from reaching 3,000 hits.

On Wednesday, 17,268 fans passed through the gates at Detroit and watched Cabrera get three hits. On Thursday afternoon, 21,529 attended the game in hopes of seeing Cabrera get the milestone before a weekend series with the Colorado Rockies.

Instead, viewers at the game and elsewhere watched two teams struggle to score runs. When the Yankees got a 1-2-3 double play to put runners at second and third with two outs in the eighth inning of a 1-0 game, Cabrera got his final turn to reach the milestone against the Yankees.

Boone wound up taking the bat out of Cabrera’s hands by intentionally walking the slugger which not surprisingly elicited loud boos, perhaps the loudest ever heard in Detroit’s 22-year-old ballpark.

“It’s a baseball call all the way, but there’s no doubt that there’s a little more feeling to it, understanding the situation,” Boone told reporters “In the end, you have to do what you think is right within the context of the game.”

“Obviously, understanding the moment in time,” he said. “A little more gut-wrenching than usual.”

It also elicited the gamut of reaction from social media, including from the Tigers themselves.

Moments later, Austin Meadows dropped in a two-run double to turn a one-run game into a three-run game which many times since the start of last season the Yankees rarely overcome.

And anyone would expect it elicited another snarky reaction from the Tigers.

Despite the snark, you could see the reason behind the strategy to get a lefty-lefty matchup but at the same time you also want history to take precedent over strategy.

“That’s the beautiful game of baseball,” Cabrera said.

The strategy can be beautiful too.

At Thursday afternoon’s Giants-Mets game, the Mets had two bunts and also scored on a sacrifice fly after executing a hit-and-run play. Those things unfolded in the same game where Carlos Carrasco pitched into the eighth inning, something that also is a rarity these days, though Kevin Gausman also pitched into the ninth and got to joke about pitching on the Fenway Park while “Sweet Caroline” is blaring.

Ultimately Cabrera will get the 3,000th hit, perhaps as soon as this weekend and when he does the fine line between strategy and history will go by the wayside – at least until the next instance.