This first piece is the piece that frustrates me the most when I hear it. This isn't an attack at you. I get it, managers are not the ones playing. But Managers do have a huge impact to the game. They make the lineup, they pull the strings. RRR called the hit and run last night with Ramirez at the plate, with a guy on first and third and only one out. Braun gets tossed out and then Ramirez flys out to RF. Game could have been 4-2, guy on first with Davis up. Instead it was 4-1 and inning over. Also, not having Clark or Rogers be given a try and trotting Reynolds out there everyday has been a huge problem. I know this isn't solely his decision, but Reynolds is horrible. Combine that with the suckage of Segura and you have an automatic inning skipper come the 7 - 9 hitters of our lineup. I know other teams don't have great hitters down there, but none of the playoff teams sport three straight spots with guys having an OBP under .300. Combine that with Davis' barely over .300 OBP and you have 4 straight spots who don't frequent 1B a lot. The 2nd piece I bolded, sure, get more guys who are patient at the plate. I would love it! But the bad news is then have a fire sale as Gomez, Braun Ramirez, Scooter, Davis, Reynolds, Segura are all first pitch swingers. This whole team has been built around swing first guys. (Thus why they are in the bottom 5 in total walks as a team. Oakland leads baseball and has over 150 more walks than us.)