Handicapping baseball games and taking a team’s manager into consideration when picking a winner can be a tedious task. That’s because a manager really establishes how a team will play. Form devising strategies based on available talent, maintaining focus and keeping a team motivated during the low points that can accompany a long losing skid, a MLB manager can make or break a team’s season.

Therefore it’s important for baseball handicappers to realize and evaluate the overall impact of managers, spotting certain criteria over a stretch of 20 or 30 games, watching for changes and seeing if those changes are effecting a team’s ability to win games day in and day out.

With that, here are a few ways for handicappers to do that.

Number one, handicappers need to look at a manager’s consistency, his approach to the game, and whether he tends to make decisions based on his team’s long term success or short term personal agenda. Does his team listen to him and does he handle pressure well?

A MLB manager’s ability to perform these tasks can keep him off the team’s chopping block, but he also has to get along with the front office and ownership. If not, a manager can often times be preoccupied with keeping his job, as the team suffers in the win column.

Next comes a manager’s individual talent and his ability to manage people and staff and really understand the game.

Even the best managers have had miserable seasons with a team that just lacks talent, however, great managers also possess the ability to do something impressive with little talent. Either scenario, managers are destined to win some and lose some, but what handicappers need to look for is a manager who have never had any success, or one that keeps repeating the same ridiculous mistakes again and again. Those managers can usually be written off.

Another attribute for baseball bettors to look for in handicapping winning MLB managers is their ability to respond and implement to new game plans and strategies if the current on isn’t working. Shuffling the lineup and mixing up the rotation, are two ways a manager can demonstrate his ability to adapt and overcome. A good example of this is how well a manager uses his bullpen. Simply, handicappers should recognize and place value on managers who have an established record of using pitchers well.

Finally, handicappers need not forget that even the best MLB manager can’t achieve much if they have nothing to work with. If the cupboards are bare, a manager is pretty much doomed from the start, as even the worst managers are almost certain to get better results when they are skippering a team that is loaded with talent.