I guess I agree with CD, but that's also why I didn't hate the move. The easy thing to do was leave Nola in, and if Nola had given up the home run it wouldn't have cost the manager any goodwill. The move he made did. So I admire the conviction. I don't admire the ripple effect it had on the pen, especially when they have so many relievers and still ran out.
Mostly I'd say he's guilty of managing like it was the deciding game of the World Series, and not only is that probably unsustainable over 162 games, but it only works if there isn't another game tomorrow.
Maybe part of the problem is that his exposure to game environments in the Dodgers only came in the post-season, since he was presumably spending a lot more time in his office and out at the minor league locations during the regular season.
The Chip Kelly comparison doesn't work for me either. The only similarity I see is that Chip Kelly created his own high expectations, by being extremely successful (so much so that he was able to oust the GM). The Phillies have created their own high expectations here, but only on paper, for a team with a rookie manager, four-five rookie position players (counting Hoskins) and three questionable young starters. They'd be a lot better off if the spin had remained "this is our last rebuilding year, with a new manager, new philosophy and a lot of a new players."
The one way it could be like Kelly is that if it does go bad, it will and should land on Klentak as much as Kapler, because they are thinking with one brain as surely as Chip Kelly was actually one brain.
