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Terry Francona was too cautious in the ALDS, but he didn’t have much of a choice

I did not recognize the Terry Francona managing the Guardians in the ALDS.

The person who managed the 2016 playoffs like his pants were on fire was not present in Cleveland or New York. And this really has nothing to do with the decision to start Aaron Civale in Game 5, either. That decision, while open to scrutiny (especially after the fact), makes more sense than other decisions made during the series and, anyway, was almost certainly the course of action arrived at by more than just a single individual. What really confuses me are the decisions that were Tito’s alone, and how they departed so far from the aggressive and incisive decisions that helped his team reach the World Series six years ago.