I don't think Crane was interested in bringing Click or Baker back for this season. The Astros won the WS so for looks he gave them both one year offers which was insulting for a championship winning GM and manager. Click knew it was a BS offer but Dusty ate up the BS and took it. If they don't win a WS then Crane will move on.
This makes sense. Especially after Dusty got up there on the podium and expressed "Let's win another one". Looks like it's been a costly decision bringing Dusty back up to this point. We'll see.
How long are we gonna sit here and pretend it's not abundantly clear that Chas ****ed his wife? We need to cut the crap and stop lying to ourselves, y'all. It's not healthy. Just joshin', but what the ****.
Chas will thank Dusty one day, this is for his own good and future development. Plus, according to Dusty, Chas sucks at CF.
How was he handcuffed last post season? He continued playing Yuli and Maldy when I recall this board was calling for both to be benched. The relievers were so good he didn’t have to do any thinking. Regardless, he hadn’t won his ring at that point and wanted to continue managing. If you try handcuffing him now, he’s going to know he’s out the door for sure and then how do you think he’s going to react?
It was widely reported that the team met and determined the post season strategy. He was part of it, and won many points like including Yuli on the playoff roster and hitting Pena 2nd. He lost points like playing Dubon in CF. Truth is, as far as position players, they really had few options because everyone agreed to Maldy starting 80% of the games and the DH options were slumping badly and well below their usual MLB levels. My assumption is that he had much less input on the pitching, who chose to all but bench Stanek, Garcia, and Urquidy and was PERFECT. I would welcome any input from others who actually have 1st or even 2nd hand knowledge.
That’s not being “handcuffed” though like others on this board have been saying needs to be done right now. There’s a difference in everyone meeting and coming to an agreement versus “Dusty you have no input, you are doing it this way”. My guess is the latter wouldn’t result in a great outcome because we know how stubborn the man can be. And to your point, there weren’t the same level of decisions to be made last year as this year. The biggest issue is Diaz vs. Maldy and we know Dusty isn’t budging from that. Unfortunately, he’s also got the backing of several pitchers, and likely even some players that all support Maldy continuing to catch. One could make the argument our pitchers haven’t done enough this season to have any input there but that’s a slippery slope that can easily end up causing a problem in the locker room. All that said, back to my original point, if the FO tries to step in and it turns into a fractured relationship, he knows he is gone so at that point why would he even listen to them? He’s got his ring and this is his last hurrah so how are they supposed to “handcuff him” like the posters that are on here making it seem like the FO is the issue suggest? Edit: And for all we know the FO has already tried to do so and it’s been fractured. From listening to Dana, there have been times where it certainly seems like there’s a disagreement between the two, especially when it comes to the Maldy situation.
How do we know the pitchers and some players support Maldnado continuing to be the catcher? I hear that on here a lot, and some on Houston sports talk radio I've never heard anyone attached to the team actually admit it though. Especially if you were one of the everyday players, would seem like you would want to win above all else, and none of them come across as particularly stupid
You really don't think JV and Framber, at a minimum, don't support him being the catcher? Come on man. Both have said it multiple times right out of their mouths.
Remember when Baker started Rylan Bannon at DH when Diaz was available and we lost 1-3. Remember when Baker started Bligh Madris at DH 3 times and pinch hit Madris for other batters 5 times, including in the 9th inning. Remember when Baker played Grae Kessinger 19 games.
Stros are in 1st place in September, that's all that matters. Dusty knows how to keep guys fresh, it's no coincidence that most players are getting hot at the right time
The Astros are not in first, they are tied for first. Their talent and experience suggests they should be 5-6 games out front. Dusty has not been "keeping guys fresh". He has been acting on a personal vendetta against Chas McCormick and an absurd reluctance to play Yainer Diaz regularly. The guys you'd want to keep fresh would be the slightly older vets like Altuve and Bregman, and they never sit out when healthy. This isn't a "keeping guys fresh" strategy by Dusty. It's pure pettiness and stubbornness.
