I posted earlier that our pitching was so deep that Baker couldn't make a wrong move. Turns out making no move at all was what he did. Not that it mattered much this game without any scoring. But this series should be 2-1 HOU if not for Dusty.
Dusty like I said is the manager you need to keep a team cohesive in a potentially volatile lockerroom, but I have zero trust in him in terms of lineup construction or bullpen management... he should delegate that authority. Moving to NFL-style coaching system, which the NBA has done in this generation, where each facet of the game has its own coach may be the way to go.
Dusty is an old school guy who has not adapted to modern playoff baseball. He needs to take a lot more risks in this series than he did in the last two. Rob Thomson, despite being a first time manager, is doing what it takes to stay aggressive and PROACTIVE with his bullpen. Framber and Javier were our two best starters at the point in time heading into this series. Our bullpen has been lights out. Yet somehow we allow Verlander and McCullers to get us beat. That's inexcusable. Dusty is relying on performance over the course of the entire season, when instead he needs to be relying on PRESENT DAY sharpness of each pitcher. Verlander and McCullers are not sharp and we all knew it going into this series. It's not too late to ADJUST.
Y'all are joke. Dusty cannot hit for these guys. Lance could have given up ONE homerun and they would have lost. It has been the same in every WS since 2017. If you don't hit, you can't win.
You are ****ing idiot if you think Dusty is not part of the reason the Astros have gotten to the ALCS the last 3 years and to the WS the last 2 years. However, we know your reasons.
What are my reasons? Oh, you'll accuse me of being racist again because that's all you do. You're human garbage. Dusty is terrible but at least he's a good person. You're just a waste of oxygen
When would you have pulled LMJ? After 1 inning? After 2 innings? He got 8 straight outs after those initial runs. It would have resulted in the Astros running through their entire bullpen again in a loss - possibly turning yesterday's loss into multiple losses this series. For those raving about the Phillies manager, he did the exact game thing in games 1 and 2. Managers across baseball this postseason have been leaving their starters in longer than in previous years, even when struggling.
There is also a reason why he hasn't won a ring. And it is not because Bonds, Kent, Harper, Bregman, or Zambrano.
The measurement isn't based on innings -- it's based on how the pitcher is actually throwing. It was CLEAR that McCullers wasn't fooling anyone and did not have his best stuff. As soon as that is evident, then the hook needs to come out. Dusty and the pitching coach must monitor this closely and be in a position to bring in another pitcher. Every inning is crucial in the World Series. And the Astros have more than sufficient depth to pick up more bullpen innings without compromising future games. For the most part, you can't even think about future games in the World Series -- it's all about winning the game you are playing. This is how you manage a baseball tournament.
Entire bullpen? Urquidy and Garcia are around. PHI used 5 pitchers. Saving them for Game 8? World Series hasn't been 9 games since before the war... and I mean World War II, not Nam.
Bohm HR in Top 2. We were down 3-0 early in the game -- certainly not insurmountable. Leaving McCullers in was just waiving the white flag, which was entirely premature.
BINGO. The Astros don't need to "save pitchers" at all. There is more than enough depth to throw two bullpen games in a row if necessary. What is fatal is leaving a pitcher out there too long and then irreparable damage is done. See Game 3.
Oh. What is the reason? Did he tell Bartman to reach for a ball? You can go back in hindsight for every decision a manager makes. I can tell you that Astros haven't hit in the WS since 2017, before Dusty was manager.
Just go back to sleep. You white knighting for terrible managers is nauseating. Not quite as bad as your race baiting but put them together and it's easy to see why nobody can stand you
So no outs in the 2nd inning? After that, he got 2 strikeouts, gave up another HR, then got 8 straight outs before the meltdown in the 5th. So at 3-0 in the 2nd inning, you'd have advocated for bringing in the guys that, after Game 1, people were saying should never be brought in unless you've used your entire bullpen already? And that's without much time to warm up given that no one in their right mind was going to have starters warming up in the 1st inning?
