Hopefully Maldy plays poorly defensively (but we still win handily) and Verlander comes to his senses. "Personal CF" sounds like a Dusty term.
What is Diaz's production vs LHP in games where he catches? He's a different hitter when he's not DH'ing
You know, it's almost better when Dusty doesn't attempt to explain his really dumb decisions. Hearing the thought process behind them only makes it worse.
I really miss the "double situational splits" ability that ESPN had for a long time and ditched for whatever reason a few years ago. It was quite handy. Maybe fangraphs or somewhere has that capability now, I dunno. ETA: Found it. https://www.fangraphs.com/players/y...rDensity=&wxElevation=&wxWindSpeed=&sort=-1,1 So to answer your question: he's crap vs LHP no matter where he plays
Yeah, I see seaclubber already clarified. Also as much flack as he gets for the 21 playoffs (mostly his bad WS starts), people tend to forget his ALCS gem in Fenway, against Boston, with the team still having to rally in the midst of a 2-1 series deficit, in a hostile environment. His 8 inning 3 hits allowed performance in game 5 of a tight/pivotal game (till the Astros unloaded in the 6th) still ranks up there as one of his best performances. He was elite in the 2020 playoffs (albeit, no fans), elite in the 2022 playoffs, and had elite performances in the 2021 playoffs with some duds. The counseling certainly helped prior to 2020 but as most people who've been tackling the mental game know, its a constant process that doesn't go away after just a few sessions.
True, but it's a super small sample....and if Dusty doesn't allow him to play against LHP, the sample will never get large enough to change the narrative.
Still a better chance to beat out DPs, base advance, doesn't clog the bases once he's on, and of course, better defense and pitcher ERA. He needs more opportunities for more samples.
Wait! So we have Dubon, Kessinger AND Maldy in the same lineup for JVs first start? JV trying to figure out why he didn't choose LA now?
Maldy is on JV. Apparently the pitchers are Dusty's boss and he'll do whatever they want so if JV would ask for Diaz then that's who he'd get.
Like I understand that he probably means because it will usually be against the other teams ace more often than not but yeah running out bad lineups makes it somewhat of a self fulfilling prophecy
So he has sat 5 out of the last ten games. How many were against LH pitching? It’s just the latest excuse for his managing by the seat of his pants, bs hunch(guessing) management style, and favoritism. So now Maldi must start when Verlander and Framber are pitching and whenever a lefthander is pitching. When Abreu gets a rest it’s Kessinger not Diaz. Diaz is too good of a hitter to struggle for long against LH. Maldi has struggled against all pitchers for a decade.
Just saw the Dusty interview on the pregame show. He was asked if Dubon in CF was at JV's request and he didn't like that one bit. Said he's the manager and he makes the decisions. "Today was Dubon's day to start" and he could put Dubon in CF with other pitchers too.
