There are a handful of managers, coaches and front office types who won't watch the playoffs after their teams get eliminated. "Why the f--- would I want to subject myself to that?" asked one highly-ranked executive. "I don't want to watch other teams playing games I think we could be playing. I don't want to watch other people celebrate."
But most do watch -- closely. Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is among those; he explained recently that he watches because it is part of his job, and because he loves baseball. Another member of a different coaching staff says he likes to watch because he wants to learn from the likes of managers Torey Lovullo, Dusty Baker, Rob Thomson and Bruce Bochy, judging his own decisions against theirs in real-time.