In the fifth century BC, Sun Tzu gave us The Art of War. It’s composed of 13 chapters, each devoted to a different set of skills or art related to military strategy and tactics. It remains the most influential strategy in East Asian warfare, and people have applied parts of it to modern-day sports. In 1987, Vizzini from The Princess Bride reminded everyone that you can’t win a land war in Asia. Two years later, David Ebbings added that you can’t win a war on two fronts in his 1989 novel, the Sorceress of Darshiva.
Well, folks, Rocco Baldelli has engaged in a war on two fronts.
Baldelli knows the art of war; he’s played baseball his entire life. He grew up watching the Boston Red Sox, who used Moneyball techniques to break the Curse of the Bambino, and spent a year playing for them. Baldelli also came up with the Tampa Bay Rays, one of the most innovative organizations in Major League Baseball. Baldelli knows he has to do right by his team, putting them in the best position to win. But he also has to keep his players on his side.
Sonny Gray labored through the fourth inning in Minnesota’s 8-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. Javier Báez led off the inning with a single, and Gray walked the next two batters. Miguel Cabrera hit into a double play but scored Báez to cut Minnesota’s lead to 4-2. Gray walked the next batter, then got Jake Rogers swinging to end the inning. He had thrown 79 pitches, 45 for strikes, and expected to go back out for the fifth.
“I had a long fourth, and I wasn’t throwing the ball exactly how I would have liked to,” said Gray. “I know that I walked some guys here and there. But at the same time, I felt like I was continuing to battle, continuing to fight.”
“It’s never an easy call to take out a starter at that point in the game with a pitcher like Sonny because he does compete,” said Baldelli. “And he does fight through situations really well — even when he’s not quite feeling like himself. So, yeah, that is a tough decision on my end. But at that point in the game, with what I was watching, that’s the decision I absolutely thought was the right decision in the moment.”
Baldelli knew Gray didn’t want to come out of the game. Gray has been vocal about pitching later into games, though, and it didn’t help that the bullpen didn’t do its job. Jovani Moran replaced Gray in the fifth and gave up three earned runs; Jorge López allowed three in the ninth. Baldelli’s decision would be easier to process if the bullpen had shut Detroit out. But Baldelli can’t put a lead at risk solely to appease a competitive starter. However, he also needs to do what he can to enable his best players to perform at their best, including working through struggles.
“I’m never going to shy away from the competition,” said Gray. “I’m never going to shy away from the competition. No, I’ve got this. I’ve got this. I’ve got this. I can figure it out. I can get outs. I can still put zeroes on the board. I think that’s all it was. I just wanted to continue to stay in the fight and fight through it. I think that’s all it was.”
Baldelli may not be familiar with Ebbings, but there’s no way he intends to fight a war on two fronts. He’s trying to make an informed decision on how long to pitch his starters, knowing that they often want to stay out longer than they should. Baldelli has to consider their long-term health and if fatigue will sap their command or velocity. He also has to think of the message he’s sending the team. Is he prioritizing the desires of one player over the importance of holding the lead? Every manager processes those factors and makes a decision in a limited amount of time, and Baldelli wants pitchers who are pushing to stay in the game.
I want to allow our guys to keep going and pitch that extra inning, and I want them to desire that. I want them to even fight for it at times. That works perfectly fine for me. Our goal, every day, is to win the game. That’s the only thing that matters. It’s the only thing that I think about, and it’s not something that I’m afraid to tell them at any point, ever.
So, I’m really good with the competitiveness, the way that Sonny approaches his job and the way that he does it every time he makes his start. The way the game played out after that makes it even more frustrating for all of us, myself included. No one feels good about that game, the way that it went, up and down (the lineup).
The decisions are challenging sometimes. We have to make them and live with them.
Baldelli has to fight a war on two fronts. Every manager does. But he can still adhere to Vizzini’s advice in The Princess Bride. Everyone knows you can’t win a land war in Asia; never bite off more than you can chew. Make things as simple as possible. Gray and the starters can make life easier on Badellli by pitching efficiently. Moran and the relievers can stave off regret by holding opposing lineups off the board. Baldelli will earn credibility with and the trust of his pitchers if he is consistent with his expectations, standards, and practices. But ultimately, there will be times when he has to wage war on two fronts.
The art of war for managers is about tactics and knowing which players to deploy in each situation. But it’s also personality management and learning how to keep the players on his side. That’s especially important now while the Twins try to hold serve until their star players carry the team again. But sometimes the art of war is making an informed decision and living with it, even if nobody is happy with the results.
