What is the concensus here of Hinch as Mgr?

[juliogotay]

on another board I asked a guy why he thought Hinch was not a good fit as mgr for this team and he gave me a long list of reasons....most of which I could argue every one. I never see any substantial Hinch-bashing here. What are your thoughts?

For the record below are his arguments:

In game decisions. Hinch has an established history of leaving pitchers in too long even when it is obvious that they need to pulled. This stems from his player first mentality.
 Running pitchers out there when they have no business in close games, see Sipp this year, post ASB 9th inning for Harris
Lineup decisions. For a team that prides themselves of advanced statistics Hinch continually ignores them. Gattis catching v Gattis DHing is a prime example. Also, absolute refusal to bench a player when it is obvious that he needs a day or two off. Again "players first". Batting Bregman anywhere other than in the two hole. Very questions off day decisions like DHing Altuve when the team had an off day the following day. Playing Preston Tucker in the field...EVER.
Failing to one time this year protect or stand up for his team when there have been stretches of horrid strike zones. Not protecting Altuve when he got tossed.
Failing to lead. The first 6 weeks had no business happening. This team lack veteran leadership and Hinch has to fill the void. He does not "inspire the troops" so to speak in the least.

 Could give you more but I think you get the point.

[shorething]

I am not down on Hinch or Luhnow. I think mistakes have been made in trades. I have like the drafting. Hinch has had a number of underperforming players that Luhnow picked up in trades. I think the team is moving in the right direction at the moment.

[Mr. Happy]

Some of those criticisms have merit. However, while he's not perfect, I like Hinch as manager for now.

[Reuben]

on another board I asked a guy why he thought Hinch was not a good fit as mgr for this team and he gave me a long list of reasons....most of which I could argue every one. I never see any substantial Hinch-bashing here. What are your thoughts?

For the record below are his arguments:

In game decisions. Hinch has an established history of leaving pitchers in too long even when it is obvious that they need to pulled. This stems from his player first mentality.
 Running pitchers out there when they have no business in close games, see Sipp this year, post ASB 9th inning for Harris
Lineup decisions. For a team that prides themselves of advanced statistics Hinch continually ignores them. Gattis catching v Gattis DHing is a prime example. Also, absolute refusal to bench a player when it is obvious that he needs a day or two off. Again "players first". Batting Bregman anywhere other than in the two hole. Very questions off day decisions like DHing Altuve when the team had an off day the following day. Playing Preston Tucker in the field...EVER.
Failing to one time this year protect or stand up for his team when there have been stretches of horrid strike zones. Not protecting Altuve when he got tossed.
Failing to lead. The first 6 weeks had no business happening. This team lack veteran leadership and Hinch has to fill the void. He does not "inspire the troops" so to speak in the least.

 Could give you more but I think you get the point.

Why pay any attention to silly shit like that? Just trying to read it made me cringe.

Is Hinch a perfect manager? Nope. But I think he's pretty good, and the players seem to like him. He's definitely a "players' manager", as stated, but that has worked out pretty well for other smart guys, like Terry Francona.

[chuck]

He's a player's manager who does not stand up for his team, apparently.

[juliogotay]

Why pay any attention to silly shit like that? Just trying to read it made me cringe.

Is Hinch a perfect manager? Nope. But I think he's pretty good, and the players seem to like him. He's definitely a "players' manager", as stated, but that has worked out pretty well for other smart guys, like Terry Francona.

That is pretty much what I thought. I could refute those item-by-item and alot of it is just second-guessing decisions that didn't work out or blaming the mgr for the roster construction such as Tucker-in-the-OF or Gattis DHing when he is hits better behind as catcher crap that can only be fixed with roster changes. What really pisses me is someone watching on television questioning leadership. What is the guy looking for?  Getting tossed from a game, throwing bats on the field, getting in a players' face? I  think leaders take care of business away from the public eye myself.

[HudsonHawk]

Most of that criticism is just bullshit second-guessing speculation.

[The Third Man]

Most of us have no clue about what makes a MLB manager good, or bad. Sure, the team strikes out too much, has had long stretches of poor base running and has an inconsistent bullpen, particularly in closing games. However, Hinch may not have anything to do with those things. Some of it may be roster construction, bad luck, injuries, or down years. For all we know, Hinch might be like Phil Hartman's version of Ronald Reagan- benign and calm to the public and a caustic control freak behind the scenes. I do know that if this team ends this season in their current state, most people in the organization will be under scrutiny, fair, or not.

[JimR]

if you guys think a manager or coach can have much influence, if any, on the way a professional baseball player, especially in MLB, chooses to play the game, you are crazy.

[Waldo]

I don't know if this is "correct" or not, but I've always felt like the manager has a largely intangible effect on the team.  I also think that's especially true for the current Astros teams since I suspect a fair amount of personnel decisions (e.g. who is this week's/month's closer) are coming from the GM's office.