It's actually comforting to know that thinking like this resides within the division. This is the text of an ad running here in DC for MASN, that station that the Orioles and Nats play on. It features Nats' manager Jim Riggleman.:
How many ball games are won by one run? Last season, 732. A walk, a bunt, a well-placed single and a sacrifice fly. You call it small ball; I call it SMART ball.
In baseball there’s a stat for every situation. Tie game, man on second, Ian Desmond at-bat. In day games, he’s batting .219. That’s what the stats say. Do you pinch hit for him? Absolutely not. Sometimes, you believe in the stats. Sometimes, you believe in the players.
