That's some flip-flop from owner Greg Johnson. According to the link, Johnson wanted to keep Kapler but Zaidi talked him out of it.

especially with the Willie Mac award tonight, and what may be Crawford's last weekend with the team.
He's been badly beaten up this year, and it's up to him to decide his future as a free agent.

My own suspicion is that when Mike Yastrzemski made a brain fart in the field and owned up to it, while Gabe was making excuses, it showed a bit too lax of an attitude, and it's when the team is down that you need a strong manager, more so than when things are going great.

Leaving the bases loaded three times in a recent Dodger game showed the lack of a real "star" batter. But other than injuries, that's on Farhan's tab.

It just got worse, there were more brain farts in the field, and the team has the highest number of errors in MLB, no doubt helped by players being in a different position every game. "Versatile" has its limits, and most fans recall all-star position players who actually played their position, and could hit RH and LH pitchers.

Buster Posey left Florida and moved to the Bay Area this year, having a new seat on the board.
Nobody knows the game better, but we don't know if he had any influence on this decision.

It was predictable.

But I could tell the end was near from some of the clubhouse remarks. And then there was the story that Kapler's use of opening pitchers and then changing them almost every inning affected their confidence. That's one thing I hope won't be happening next year.

Last edited Sat Oct 21, 2023, 01:52 AM - Edit history (1)

Update: word is that Gabe interviewed with the Red Sox, perhaps for a front office job. He played there.
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Besides pitchers not knowing when they would start, if they did start, fielders never seemed to be in the same position two games in a row. Players have routines, because a lot of what they do is reflexive, and not computed on the spot. In short, creatures of habit.

Probably Farhan's call, like the absence of a fearsome hitter in the lineup, a miss at trade time.

Gabe is very personable and liked by the players (so they say) but there was some grousing when pitchers got pulled. For the times he defied math and left pitchers in, he showed real growth from a "spreadsheet" guy, and "let's play the law in of averages" guy to someone who judged strengths and weaknesses on the spot and used the rule of "this is what I see". Bochy was and is the king of that, and since statistics are unreliable in a short series, he cleaned house in playoffs.

Interviewees should ask, and should be told what grand strategy will be set from Farhan, who is on the last year of his contract. Oops! Platooning, playing hockey line change might stay or go. It sure worked badly this season. Again, with two or three decent hitters. No masher, so maybe that was optimal.

But, I think the killer was the team's flat as a pancake performance at the end of the season. The announcers were saying it out loud. No life in the lineup. And that almost always means bye bye to the manager, because players then have to cheerlead, and there was no "giant" among them, despite some who gave great effort.

Only outside interviewee to date is Stephen Vogt, an aspiring manager. Others besides Bob Melvin, who is under contract, are busy winning. TBD.

Gabe could land anywhere but SF and Philly.

Good luck to him. But managing is a job with a limited shelf life.