Breaking down the managerial tendencies of the postseason skippers

Dave Roberts is a busy, busy man

The eternal truth about baseball's postseason is there's only one October, and we use it to nitpick the Wodehouse out of every managerial decision and indecision.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter revved our collective snark engine during Tuesday's American League Wild Card Game by not using closer Zack Britton, and we're all going to get more critical and unforgiving as the stakes climb.

So, to prepare for the Divisional Series and the acts of managin' that are sure to follow, we've put together a handy guide on managerial tendencies across a few important categories. The goal is to highlight those skippers who are most and least likely to partake in the quiet things that we'll all yell about -- like pinch-hitting, bunting, and bullpen management. Oh my. (Note: all stats courtesy of Baseball Prospectus or Baseball Reference.)

Dave Roberts uses a lot of pinch-hitters and ... well, you'll see. USATSI

Pinch-hitting

You're going to notice a trend throughout this article, and it's that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pops up a lot. Here? Roberts was the one manager who called for more than 300 pinch-hitters during the regular season -- he used 323. Clint Hurdle, of the Pirates, finished second with 290. Roberts' obsession with his bench isn't surprising -- his lineup features a few platoons -- but his Dodgers nonetheless used the most pinch-hitters since the last round of expansion. That's impressive, and it speaks to how aggressively Roberts will pursue the platoon advantage during the postseason.

Manager	Team	PH	Manager	Team	PH
Dave Roberts	Dodgers	323	Jeff Banister	Rangers	77
Terry Collins	Mets	284	John Gibbons	Blue Jays	84
Bruce Bochy	Giants	257	John Farrell	Red Sox	98

The inverse of Roberts, or the closest thing this bracket offers, anyway, is Jeff Banister, Texas' second-year skipper. Banister used a pinch-hitter just 77 times, sixth-fewest in the majors. Banister did, however, use the most pinch-runners, at 58. Bruce Bochy, of the Giants, conversely used the fewest, at seven. You might wonder which NL manager is least likely to call for a pinch-hitter. That would be Dusty Baker, who lifted one National for another some 218 times, the lowest count among all NL teams.

Intentional walks

Yup, Roberts was chief among remaining playoff managers in issuing intentional walks, too, with 50. Again, that speaks to his dedication in pursuing the proper matchup. You might not always agree with what Roberts deemed the proper matchup, but that's an argument for another time. The point is that no skipper seemed to embrace his tactical greed quite like Roberts did during the regular season when it came to this area.

Manager	Team	IBB	Manager	Team	IBB
Dave Roberts	Dodgers	50	John Gibbons	Blue Jays	10
Dusty Baker	Nationals	43	Jeff Banister	Rangers	16
Terry Collins	Mets	39	John Farrell	Red Sox	16

Predictably, as with bunts before, the managers least likely to issue four wide ones are all housed in the AL. Joe Maddon's Cubs finished last among the NL playoff teams with 24 intentional walks issued. Just when did Gibbons find it acceptable to throw four fingers up? Never when the walk advanced a baserunner, and only once when the Blue Jays were ahead. Three of those 10 intentional walks came in the 13th inning or later (one of those was issued by Ryan Goins) and four of the 10 came with two outs. It's a last resort, basically.

John Farrell likes to put runners in motion. USATSI

Hit-and-runs

Now we move on to something a little more fun ... who doesn't like a motion play? Apparently, of the remaining playoff managers, John Farrell likes it the most. Farrell's Red Sox registered the most swings with a runner going. They also had the most balls put into play with a runner going. That's a good sign.

Manager	Team	H&R	Manager	Team	H&R
John Farrell	Red Sox	333	Terry Collins	Mets	215
Dusty Baker	Nationals	330	Dave Roberts	Dodgers	254
Bruce Bochy	Giants	305	Joe Maddon	Cubs	264

On the other side of things, Terry Collins and the Mets preferred to keep things simple. Personnel is at least partially responsible with most of the strategies, too, of course, and you wonder if the Mets would rank higher if they still had that Daniel Murphy feller.

Terry Francona's Indians like to bunt. USATSI

Bunting

Every sabermetrician's favorite category. We're not just looking at raw bunt totals here -- nobody really cares when a pitcher bunts -- but rather the number of sacrifice hits by position players. Surprisingly, you see two AL managers on top: Francona, whose players -- including human sunbeam Francisco Lindor -- seemingly have the green light to do it themselves, and Gibbons, who has speedster Ezequiel Carrera at his disposal.

Manager	Team	Pos_SH	Manager	Team	Pos_SH
Terry Francona	Indians	27	Dave Roberts	Dodgers	5
John Gibbons	Blue Jays	22	John Farrell	Red Sox	8
Bruce Bochy	Giants	18	Terry Collins	Mets	11

On the flip side, there again is Roberts, calling for the fewest positional-player sacrifices in recorded history. Believe it or not, that number is misleading, too. Three of those five sacrifice hits were by A.J. Ellis, who was traded late in the season. These current Dodgers combined for two: one by Chase Utley, one by Joc Pederson. Don't expect Roberts to have any of his position players bunt, even in the name of game theory.

Speaking of bunts and speed and game theory, Joe Maddon led the majors with eight squeeze bunts. Keep that in your back pocket for whenever the Cubs have a runner at third base.

Stealing

Yup, it's again Francona. He likes the small ball, what can you say? Well, we've said plenty more about the Indians' basestealing savvy elsewhere.

Manager	Team	SBA	Manager	Team	SBA
Terry Francona	Indians	165	Terry Collins	Mets	32
Dusty Baker	Nationals	160	Dave Roberts	Dodgers	40
Jeff Banister	Rangers	135	John Gibbons	Blue Jays	45

Collins doesn't have many burners on his roster -- Jose Reyes led the team with nine steals, and was the only one with more than five -- so it's not surprising that the Mets were far and away the least active team on the basepaths. Watch Collins give James Loney the green light or something, just to keep everyone off balance.

Bruce Bochy in his most natural pose. USATSI

Pitching changes

Going to the bullpen is a divine baseball act -- one that should not be taken for granted. Roberts is a pious man, then, because he made the most pitching changes in baseball. This all loops back to a central idea, that Roberts, more so than any other manager, will do whatever to gain a matchup advantage -- be it pinch-hitting, intentionally walking someone, or, yes, trotting out to the mound. On the bright side, Roberts just might be the healthiest skipper in baseball, a crown that didn't fit on Bochy's head.

Manager	Team	GR	Manager	Team	GR
Dave Roberts	Dodgers	607	John Farrell	Red Sox	463
Bruce Bochy	Giants	575	Jeff Banister	Rangers	479
Terry Collins	Mets	538	John Gibbons	Blue Jays	487

Contrariwise, Farrell seldom -- relatively seldom at least -- had to change pitchers. Credit that to a confluence of factors: starters who worked deeper into games, and less of a specialized bullpen. If we get a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series, we're going to see long half innings on one side and not-so-long half innings on the other.

And really, isn't the contrast of managerial styles part of what makes baseball beautiful?