Those Who Forget the Lessons of History…
By While I try to figure out why TBS was showing a replay of Game 5 of the 1977 ALCS tonight, I thought this quote might be relevant:
Tony, when you get into the playoffs this year [sic], tone down the aggressive baserunning a little bit. Aggressive baserunning does not work against a good team…
[…]
The White Sox lost five runners in the four games; the Orioles lost one. Of the five runners they lost, four were in scoring position before being cut down.
And if you keep talking about your baserunning being the edge in the playoffs, Tony, that’s going to keep happening to you. It doesn’t always happen, but it happens more often than it ought. It happened to the 1976-78 Royals. The Royals were a better team than those Yankee teams, but they couldn’t beat them because they kept farting away baserunners going first to third on infield outs. And you look on back through history — the Brooklyn Dodgers against Casey’s Yankees, Ty Cobb’s Tigers against the 1907-8 Cubs — and you’ll find that teams that live by the extra base, die by the extra base.
–Bill James, 1984 Baseball Abstract
One remaining question: Yankees in 4, or Yankees in 5? I’m undecided — Lee might be able to squeak out a game, but probably not.
…I agree that bringing in Oliver to face two switch hitters who are better against lefties was the worst part of Washington’s imitation of Herzog ’77.