Miami Marlins are 29th on ESPN MLB Analytics Rankings

Sep 7, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich (21) hits a single in the sixth inning as Atlanta Braves catcher Evan Gattis (24) looks on at Marlins Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

What do you mean bunting isn’t a good idea?

Much of this philosophy is even more significant in-game, where managers are making decisions stemming from outdated theories of how the game should be played, as it was during the middle of the twentieth century.  The familiar 1-2-3-4 in the batting order is a construct that doesn’t mesh well with what analytics has to say.  The Book says that a team should hit its best hitter second in the order not sacrifice an out to move up the leadoff man up into scoring position. It seems at this point that Mike Redmond plans to hit Dee Gordon in the leadoff spot and to hit Christian Yelich behind him. That means that we’re going to see Yelich, the second-best hitter on the Marlins roster, laying down bunt after bunt, or even worse hitting with the bases empty because Gordon was caught stealing during his at-bat.

I’m not saying it’s fair to expect Redmond to fully embrace analytics and trot out an optimized lineup and have no set bullpen roles. What I’m saying is the lack of analytics knowledge impacts every facet of a team. And one of the most frustrating things in baseball is when a manager refuses to be progressive and hurts the team as a result of his old school philosophy of game management.

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