I seem to recall people on the board (myself included) questioning in game moves by every manager going back to Dierker (Bob Lillis personally for me). That's a national pastime, so I'm not going to crack down on him because he's generated some criticism. I seem to recall Jimy Williams having many more head scratching moments (including but not limited to "Sunday All Scrubs Must Play Day"). I think most would agree that the most important things a manager does take place behind closed doors. Managing personalities and keeping players focused may not be up front but I think it has more to do with winning games than if Tony Sipp is brought into the 7th inning with a runner on. I think the latter only begins to matter if it affects the former. I certainly think that there are times when that does happen. If I think my manager can't manage his way out of a paper bag then that would effect team chemistry. Yet, when you look at famous manager meltdowns (like say Bobby Valentine) you would see that it is the stuff off the field that does them in. That's probably why the Appel situation angered Porter so much. He's the one that had to deal with the fallout.

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