I've documented we have had 35 losses this season in which we were either tied or ahead at some point after the 5th inning. That's all you need to know about how poorly Dusty has managed when it mattered most.
I've documented we have had 93 wins this season in which we were tied at the beginning of the 1st inning.
We may actually see Dusty wake up from his nap for this series... https://theathletic.com/2867220/202...d-sox-opener-to-what-could-be-a-giant-finish/ The trouble began in the 2002 NLCS when the Giants’ Kenny Lofton did a home-run trot in slow motion, prompting a retaliatory inside pitch and a bench-emptying incident, complete with a shouting match between Baker and La Russa. Ever since, every questionable inside pitch between Baker’s teams and La Russa’s has pretty much turned into the baseball equivalent of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The tension was greatest when the managers were in the same division, La Russa with the Cardinals, Baker with the Cubs and then the Reds. Well, here we go again, and the way these two manage will be fascinating, too. La Russa invoked the term “observational analytics” at his introductory White Sox news conference, and his handling of pitchers seemingly has improved as he has gained more knowledge of his staff. Baker, perhaps, is the more likely to make decisions based on feel rather than data. He replaced AJ Hinch, one of the best managers at incorporating newer information. And some with the Astros are concerned he could go rogue in the postseason, costing his team when the margin for error is so slim.
