There were myriad managerial decisions to first- and second-guess throughout Wednesday's epic Game 7 that saw the Cubs win their first championship in 108 years thanks to an 8-7 win in extras. Let's run through the three biggies.
1. Terry Francona probably left Corey Kluber in too long
It was the first appearance of Kluber's career in which he did not register a strikeout, which is a good indicator that he was running on fumes after starting two previous games in the World Series. Kluber pitched four innings and allowed four runs on six hits, and left us all wondering why Andrew Miller wasn't in earlier. Of course Miller would then allow a few runs himself over 2 ⅓ innings, but the point is that the process seemed shaky -- particularly after Francona had been so aggressive with Miller throughout the postseason leading up to Game 7.
2. Joe Maddon's pitching decisions were also unusual
He yankedKyle Hendricks in the fifth despite a comfy lead and a good lather. In doing so, Maddon turned to Jon Lester, who prior to the game he'd said would only enter with nobody on base. Lester went three innings himself, before Aroldis Chapman entered, and he promptly overstayed his welcome for the second consecutive evening. You have to assume Chapman's Game 6 outing played a role in his shaky Game 7 performance, and you have to wonder how things play out if Hendricks is allowed to remain in for another inning or two.
3. That Javier Baez bunt strikeout
Also Maddon: asking (or allowing?) Javier Baez to bunt with two strikes and the go-ahead run on third base in the ninth inning with just one out. Who knows what was going on here.
Though, obviously enough, it didn't much matter. Maddon's team had more talent, and Maddon's team had more runs when the game came to an end. As such, Maddon's team is your new world champion -- odd managerial decisions or not.
