It's very possible he's been shamed/forced into it. Or maybe this was the plan all along? (I doubt it.) Dubon is hitting well right now so it's really hard to screw up this line-up. You could almost pick names from a hat. But, setting aside MM/Diaz, I sure hope Chas and Brantley play every postseason game, and then they get Diaz as many ABs as possible.
Good lord, these answers are ridiculous. “The pitchers want him, that’s the answer”. Why do we pay him to manage? What about Javier? And why was “because Maldy needs experience with them” one of his rationales for catching Brown? “Because he does, and we should accept it” was the answer (plus some insulting drivel about my intelligence … which, by the way, I never did to you, but will now). So .. in addition to the questions above (and posed repeatedly) why did Verlander pitch to Chirinos over Maldy in 2019 if Maldy is the key to his success? You can’t answer because Dusty hasn’t fed you a response. Re: Chas, “his bat is in the lineup. That is what matters.” No, what matter is the total lineup, and therefore who is being substituted. The man substituted Chas for Jon ****ing Singleton! And yet you just keep defending his rationality. As for: “we are leading the division, so why should we complain?”: 1) we are 10 games behind the last few years, 2) don’t accept in victory what we wouldn’t accept in defeat Your answers to everything are just answers to “why is Dusty doing this?” We know that answer - he is not good at his job. You refuse to answer “Why SHOULD Dusty be doing this?” … a question you are either too wedded to worshiping authorities, or too ignorant, to acknowledge. Either way, I’m done with this. When every intelligent poster insists you are wrong, maybe reconsider your opinion, your mindset, or your intelligence. I can’t learn anything from you I can’t learn from a ****ing press release. Cheers.
Fair enough. It just feels like we've moved past this. On any given night, they're going to be able to set a line-up that is 7-deep - so if he feels he needs to focus on defense up the middle... It just felt like this was a more glaring issue when Altuve/Alvarez were out & Brantley wasn't on the horizon... Now, they almost have *too8 many options.
Why do you think I have this level of insight?... I don't know why Maldy catches Javier - my guess is that he, also, wants Maldonado behind the plate?... I guess I could ask him - oh, wait: I'm just a fan who has no access to the players. So why do you keep hammering this?... I defended him pinch-hitting Jon Singleton for Chas McCormick?........ Worshiping authorities.... The pitcher/catcher situation is what it is. If Justin Verlander or Framber Valdez tell you they want Martin Maldonado to catch them, you pencil Martin Maldonado into the line-up. It's that simple. And every single manager on planet earth would make the same choice. My question is why do you think you know more than Justin Verlander or Framber Valdez? In terms of what should Baker do... I don't find screaming and yelling about line-ups on a daily basis terribly fruitful or, honestly, healthy. The season is too long for me to live/die on a daily basis, nor do I think the decisions you want to b**** about move the needle as much as you think.
It’s total trash that Dusty (intentionally) didn’t take advantage of the 3rd catcher on the roster to get Diaz at bats. Salazar was here for like 2 whole months for that exact reason, to free up Diaz. Dusty ignored it like a sulky pouty b****. Over a 162 game season, Diaz should have at least 6-7 starts behind the plate with each of Framber and Javier. He should’ve started a game or 2 with Verlander as well. What if Maldy gets hurt? Dusty only thinking of himself here. Really though, now we have Maldy catching 3 out of 4 playoff games? That was all by design. I remember Maldy catching JP, why not Diaz catching Framber? What he has done to Chas for 2 years is total garbage. My mind keeps going back to the first 2 games of the season when Dusty let us know that Chas is not the CF for this team. I still can’t believe he started Meyers over him twice and put Julks (zero major league experience) out there before Chas. That was certainly a message to Chas, the front office, and the fans. The message was **** YOU. If we lose a few close games in the playoffs and get bounced with Maldy at catcher and Dubon in CF, with clearly better options on the bench, Dusty should have to buy his own plane ticket outta here. Which, he’s probably ok with.
I think Dusty sees Dubon as his best defensive CF so I don't think it was surprising that he had Chas out there for a Framber start.
Smoking hot Dubon has an xwOBA over the past 30 days that is all of .007 points greater than Singleton's (.319 vs .312). Chas has a .372 xwOBA over that timeframe FYI
Yeah, Dusty lets a pitcher like Javier, with a 6 ERA since june, call the shots on who plays. It doesn’t get dumber than that.
None of the pitchers should get to dictate who is catching. If you let the players dictate everything the defensive shift would have been a passing fad. They don't know and aren't tasked with knowing what is best for the team.
I wish just for the next 11 games Dusty would use the death lineup and rip Seattle's soul from them before that series. vs RHSP Altuve Bregman Alvarez Tucker Abreu Diaz Brantley McCormick Pena vs LHSP Altuve Pena Alvarez Bregman Tucker Abreu McCormick Diaz Meyers/Dubon Let Diaz catch everybody including JV and Framber to have his bat in the lineup and get some comfort in case Maldy gets hurt heading into the playoffs
2019 in the Hinch era, I remember him coming out of spring training that he said there won't be any personal catchers... the catcher situation will be what is best for a team on a given night... and the pitchers would just have to deal with it.
Because the primary job of a baseball manager is to manage the players. It is a long season of (mostly) failure - figuring out a way to navigate those ups and downs is what managers spend the vast majority of their time doing. JV and Valdez have earned the right to choose their path. Javier, not as much; Brown, less so - so perhaps Dusty/Miller believe Maldonado is better-suited for them? Again, I don't know and, frankly, don't care. It's not nearly as important as you seem to think. Wahhhh... I'm guessing the answer is that Maldonado was here for, like, 20 games in 2019, and they hadn't forged a relationship yet? I mean, ****ing a, dude - I'm not making up quotes and attributing them to Justin Verlander. He has repeatedly - over and over and over again - said he prefers Maldonado to call his game. Unlike you, I don't pretend to know what's best for a Hall of Fame pitcher. What?... You asked me why he's playing Dubon over Chas - find where I defended the Singleton PH. Please. Go ahead. Jesus Christ - you're just throwing **** against the wall. Are you so dense that you think daily line-ups equal 10 games?... because they don't. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest its their two best hitters missing significant time + 3/5 of their expected starting rotation not pitching, after, like, the end of March, that has knocked them off their past years' pace. But, sure - keep b****ing about the catcher because clearly, as last year proved, this team cannot win with a subpar catcher. It is absolutely worth filling your diaper every day about it. I've acknowledged it: it's a dumb question because I don't have enough information to answer it. I am not privy to the inner workings of this team and the dynamics that may be fueling decisions. All I can do is watch and listen and offer a very external opinion. I really only care about results. Results are not found in small sample sizes in which you cherry pick bad outcomes and assume positive outcomes so you can go on a message and scream about it They have dealt with a wealth of injuries; they have had too many players underperform. Reverse those two things - and while I still think know-it-alls like you would be b****ing up a storm about *something* - I'm certain the results would be more in-line with past results.
Letting your best/veteran pitchers choose their battery mate - which is a remarkably common occurrence at every level of baseball (my 13-yo is given the option) - does not equal players dictating everything. When you have the track record of a Justin Verlander, or even a Framber Valdez, you can dictate quite a bit about how you prepare and approach pitching. This not new nor exclusive to the Astros.
I really don't care if they give 13 year olds the option to pick their battery mate. When you have one player who can provide 4+ WAR as a primary catcher and another who can provide nearly -2 WAR as the primary catcher, the former player should be the primary catcher irrespective of the feelings of the pitchers. You can't sacrifice literally multiple wins in order to not hurt their feelings. That's just stupid.
They won 106 games last year and went 11-2 in the postseason with Maldonado and Gurriel getting the bulk of the playing time. I can't fathom how hard some of you make this. Baseball is rarely - if ever - about 1 or 2 players. If they lose close games with Dubon and Maldonado playing, I promise you, there'll be almost half-a-dozen reasons why (not that you'll pay attention to any of them).
Do I care about last year, this year? I’m sure if they lose a couple of close games you won’t question the manager at all. You’ll try to think of something else other than putting the best team out there. You are showing yourself to be a Dusty only fan. That means I’m done with you.
For the millionth time. They had much better hitting and played in the worst division. We don’t have tat luxury this year. We need all the hitting we can get.
Results are that Dusty's decisions has cost us games, which you have adamantly refused to acknowledge....
