Not happening... Dusty Baker on no Dubón in CF behind Verlander: "I liked the matchup with Meyers. He didn't play at all in Boston. Everybody plays on my team. Plus, I don't want everybody to think there's a designated this or that. I got my reasons for playing different guys at different times."
1) you can tell he hears the criticism and, at some level, it bothers him 2) his response is like that of a little child - “I’ll show you - no personal CF, but no way am I giving you Chas” 3) did our intrepid reports ask the obvious follow up “does the ‘no designated this or that’ apply to catchers also?” Before HeyNow takes his victory lap - no, it’s not why we lost tonight, and one decision is rarely dispositive. But Dusty couldn’t know that on the way in, so choosing to supotimize in any way is criminal.
Dusty has had head scratching lineups all throughout his tenure with the Astros, but this year, perhaps empowered by winning it all and "beating" Click, he has really gone off rails. Not playing Chas today is pretty much inexcusable, and the lack of lineup depth was further exacerbated by Altuve being replaced by Dubon. It meant that basically from the 7th spot to the 1st spot, pitchers were going to have low stress at bats. That is worth an inning, a couple of times through the lineup. ONE player can make the difference - so please Dusty, I implore you - play your best players and stop f'ing around with our team.
Not according to HEY NOW! who believes marginal differences have domino effects that affect a game's outcome, let alone a season.
The two guys Chas could have played in place of were o-fer The best bat vs LHP sat while Rodon was t impressive, one big hit could have knocked him out and who knows what happens It’s Saturday morning and Chas has played twice this week. **** dusty and anyone who isn’t bothered by this bullshit
Chas not playing yesterday is stupid to me. Baker's logic has always been questionable, but he's downright senile at this point. He's one of the best hitters in the league that hits lefties a lot better than righties who also happens to be the best fastball hitter in the league this season. WTF?
He backed himself into a corner by not playing Meyers at all in Boston. His own calculations/reasonings are starting to conflict now that everybody is back healthy (hopefully Altuve not out) and he still wants to play everybody semi-regularly if they're on the roster. In reality, if Brantley can play the field regularly enough against RHP without risk of injury, they're not going to need both Meyers and Dubon (again figuring that Altuve doesn't take much time off). My guess is they'll choose Dubon for his ability to play the infield as well.
Last 4 innings, Astros manage one hit and a walk. Then again, Meyers and Maldy wouldn’t be starting if it were my lineup. Another no-show at MMP. Good luck tonight
They have to carry 13 position players in October The actual decision is between Singleton, Meyers, Kessinger and Salazar if they want a 3rd catcher to free up Diaz. Dubon's spot isn't really in doubt. IMO C Maldy/Diaz IF Abreu,Altuve,Pena,Bregman,Dubon OF Tucker,Chaz,Yordan,Brantley,Meyers One spot left for Singleton,Salazar,Kessinger
While the Dusty lineup and the Altuve injury hurt, the biggest issue last night was Verlander serving up grapefruits all night long. When your staring pitcher gives up 6 runs in 5 innings, there's no reasonable expectation for the offense to bail them out.
Not necessarily talking about the post season. I'm talking about just playing everybody now. He wants to somehow have a rotation of his OF guys without anybody getting too much time off... but its pretty much impossible if Brantley is also part of that group, Chas deserves to play everyday, and Diaz is going to be the DH. I don't think he cares about Kessinger/Singleton being in a rotation... but he will somehow find a way to play both at times (likely together as well...). He will have to construct a new "algorithm" that fits his satisfaction for these final 4 weeks... I fully expect the playoff lineup to be set based on the opposing team's pitcher handedness and the Astros starting pitcher's catcher preference. Facing lefty, pitching prefers Maldy: Altuve Bregman Yordan - LF Tucker Chas - CF Diaz - DH Abreu Pena Maldy Facing lefty, pitching prefers Diaz: Altuve Bregman Yordan - DH Tucker Chas - LF Diaz - C Abreu Pena Meyers - CF Facing righty, pitching prefers Maldy: Altuve Bregman Yordan - DH Tucker Brantley - LF Chas - CF Abreu Pena Maldy Facing righty, pitching prefers Diaz: (true lineup of death) Altuve Bregman Yordan - DH Tucker Diaz - C Brantley - LF Chas - CF Abreu Pena
That’s crazy on his part when the Astros have every Thursday off the rest of the season. Play your best players Dusty.
