Major League Baseball managers aren’t that important.
Until October, that is.
Then they are vital. The difference, on any given night, between exactly and heartbreak.
Giants fans know all about this important distinction. Three World Series flags fly in the outfield as a testament to Bruce Bochy’s lineup and bullpen management.
The Giants’ showdown with the Dodgers in the NLDS is Gabe Kapler’s first playoff series as a manager. Going into it, no one knew what to expect.
Let the Giants’ pivotal 1-0 win in Game 3 in Los Angeles stand as a testament to Kapler’s aptitude.
In a game where the margin couldn’t have been tighter or the stakes higher, the Giants’ second-year manager pulled all the right strings.
Yes, folks, he’s got this.
From his pregame decision to keep Evan Longoria in the lineup, betting that the veteran third baseman would overcome the terrible slump he’s been mired in for weeks, to his bold but justifiable bullpen decisions, Kapler was an active part of the Giants’ victory.
And while I’m not naive enough to think that every decision is solely Kapler’s decision, make no mistake that had any of those decisions failed, the target would be squarely affixed to Kapler’s forehead and no one else’s.
It’s a heavy load to carry for Kapler. But the guy who wears shirts that say “Deadlifts and Dingers” and has more veins in his forearms than anyone else on the team can handle it. He proved it Monday.
Not every one of Kapler’s decisions on Monday was perfect, but he was exceptional all night.
Let’s start with the pregame decisions:
The first was to keep Longoria in the lineup. That was questionable… to say the least.
Longoria was 1 for his last 33 and 0-for-7 in the series. He wasn’t catching up to fastballs — even average ones — and was comically early on breaking pitches.
Then, his first at-bat Monday was straight-up uncompetitive. Yikes.
But the Giants’ lone run Monday? Of course it was Longoria, coming in his next at-bat.
Down 0-2 to Max Scherzer, who was absolutely fantastic Monday, Longoria finally caught up to a fastball — crushing a 96 mile per hour pitch that covered the whole plate 110 miles per hour the other direction. It finally landed 407 feet from home.
Nice call, Skip.
Of course, Longoria was in the game for other reasons — defensive reasons. The Giants opted against their best offensive lineup to go with their best defensive lineup, highlighted by Steven Duggar in centerfield.
The Giants needed every bit of that defense Monday. Duggar had a great catch on the warning track in the sixth inning to rob Chris Taylor of extra bases and a game-tying RBI, and Brandon Crawford — who is always in the lineup — made the catch of the season with two outs in the seventh, jumping straight to the heavens to rob Mookie Betts of a game-tying RBI.
Duggar’s defense was needed again on the final out, when Gavin Lux drove a Camilo Doval pitch that should have exited the park, but was knocked down by the crazy winds at Dodger Stadium. Duggar was able to recover — lesser outfielders would have seen the ball fall in front of them.
Then there were the pitching decisions.
They weren’t by the book — not at all. And while not every decision was perfect, they were sharp and logical.
Kapler made the right call on when to pull starter Alex Wood. The San Francisco lefty threw only 83 pitches, allowing two hits and no runs, but Kapler lifted him with two outs in the fifth.
Wood wasn’t pleased — who would be? — but it was the right call.
Tyler Rogers finished the inning by getting Betts out and then he worked through the sixth, thanks to Duggar’s great catch.
Rogers went out for the seventh and picked up one out before allowing two hits. Cue Jake McGee in a spot where the Giants needed a strikeout.
He picked up that strikeout. Crawford and his massive vertical leap took care of Betts.
Then it was Camilo Doval time.
Kapler gave the 24-year-old flamethrower — who was in the minor leagues weeks ago — a critical eighth inning against the meat of the Dodgers’ order and the ninth, against some other All-Stars.
It all worked out. The Iceman was never flustered and the wind helped him out for out No. 27.
There was no indecision or trepidation from Kapler on Monday. He acted with urgency and conviction.
That’s how you have to manage in the playoffs.
“Think a lot of us know that pitching and defense wins championships,” Buster Posey, who knows a few things about winning titles, said after the game.
Kapler might be the epitome of a modern-day manager — where everything is about the long ball — but he set his team up to win with pitching and defense Monday.
He, as much as any of the players, has San Francisco one win away from advancing to the NLCS.
