Yeah, I don’t think anyone really thinks you SHOULD regularly bring in your good relievers in the 5th inning, but more managers need to be willing to do so if the game situation calls for it.

Right. These are the playoffs and the usual rules go out the window. That being said, there are definitely lessons learned that could be transferred to the regular season (e.g. using your best reliever in the highest leverage situations), but all of it won’t become the norm.

Hey, managing in the postseason is an important part of managing. Even if he’s only changing the way bullpens are handled in the postseason - and I think he is doing that in front of our eyes - that’s a pretty big impact. And yes of course having great arms makes him look good, but lots of postseason rosters have…

Miller in the postseason this year: 9 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 20 K.

Baseball’s regular season and playoffs couldn’t be more different. Marathon vs. sprint and all that. It’s managers like Francona who recognize this that succeed in the playoffs, while mouth-breathers like Mike Matheny piss away their team’s chances in high-pressure playoff situations because they manage like it’s June…

You can’t do it to this extent. You could probably do it in the regular season a helluva lot more than most managers do and get yourself a nice little edge in there.