LAS VEGAS -- For the second year in a row, I was handed my least-favorite postseason vote: Manager of the Year .

Why is it so hard?

Decades after the award was established, there’s still no definitive answer to the question of how to evaluate managers -- or what the criteria should be. And to the extent there is an answer, it’s not very satisfying: How did the manager’s team perform relative to preseason expectations?

It’s a logical approach given the lack of available metrics, but it can unfairly penalize managers of consistently good or great teams expected to perform well (say, Aaron Boone of the Yankees). The dividing lines between a manager’s influence, the front office’s roster moves, player talent, and plain old variance are blurry at best.

My vote reflects an attempt to weigh

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