Mick, in answer to your query re: switching Melvin/Kapler….
Padres - I don’t think it would have mattered. The Pads were a lost cause from the start because the construction of the roster was flawed. As we say in cribbage, Preller dealt Melvin an Alameda straight.
Giants. - I believe they might have made the playoffs. The comments coming from the clubhouse near the end of the season were telling - the manager had lost the team. Melvin would have kept the wheels from coming completely off the wagon. (besides, Melvin never would have pinch hit Mathias for Crawford, an in-game move decision that ranks among the worst ever made by an S.F. manager)
Padres - I don’t think it would have mattered. The Pads were a lost cause from the start because the construction of the roster was flawed. As we say in cribbage, Preller dealt Melvin an Alameda straight.
Giants. - I believe they might have made the playoffs. The comments coming from the clubhouse near the end of the season were telling - the manager had lost the team. Melvin would have kept the wheels from coming completely off the wagon. (besides, Melvin never would have pinch hit Mathias for Crawford, an in-game move decision that ranks among the worst ever made by an S.F. manager)