This is, quite possibly, both the single dumbest and saddest ****ing thing I've ever read. #NotOurYear #SeasonOver #YourFeelingsAreValid #BunchOfQuitters
Those moves came from Dusty. It was a very Dusty move to have Singleton get an important 9th inning at bat. Give him some credit.
I can see the initial pitching move to Pressly being Dusty easily, but war gaming what happens 3 outs later is more of a stretch since you don't know if you are playing with a 2 run lead or if the game is out of reach. And the scenario may determine which of the 3 (Grae, Jon, and Yainer) fills the 2 spots. And I don't recall Pena ever being pulled like this except for maybe once or twice in June.
Pena has struggled with his bat but his glove and arm has been near elite. Meanwhile Diaz has played so little and rarely shows plate discipline. I'm not sure what the analytics or gut was for bringing in Diaz and his 0-10 bat but I feel like him getting this hit might spur him to deliver more next time he's called upon. I'm really just glad it all worked out. Hopefully Pena will eventually get his power stroke back the dude hasn't hit a home run since July. I had no problem with Singleton batting I felt like he had a chance to tie up as good as anyone we had left and I was pretty sure he wasn't going to swing at something stupid it was more likely to watch a pitch right on the edge for a strike three and with that umpire who knows rather patience in that juncture. Lots of credit goes to the Astros pulling this one out obviously Altuve with a big hit. Ryan Pressly keeping the team in the game in the 8th with all the chaos and then shut the door in the 9th was huge. I really don't think Baker getting thrown out of the game fired these guys up anymore than they already were. But it sure did add to the dramatic of it all my wife was absolutely engaged in this game. I was stuck at a high school football game following on my phone on the radio broadcast. The radio broadcast was a little bit behind she was texting me stuff before they would say it finally I had to just stop sit down and switch to Hulu on my phone and watch the game, this will go down as one of the greatest especially if we come back and get this final win against the Rangers.
I don't know about all the other stuff but Dusty's "dust" up that caused him to be ejected had to be intentional. Icing the rangers pitcher was pretty 4D chess stuff.
Bench coach isn't going to make crazy moves on his own like that (pulling Pena in particular) - it would be a giant problem if it didn't work out. Dusty was right there in the tunnel of the dugout, as we saw from how he was back in the dugout the second the Astros won. There's no question he would have been making those decisions.
I think was the ideal place to play Diaz. He was going to hit for Maldy regardless, but Diaz is at his best with nobody on, leading off an inning, and against righties. He has a 1.000+ OPS in that scenario. Meanwhile, he sucks with people on base, so having him bat after Singleton would be a problem if Singleton had gotten on.
Dusty Baker managed his ass off last night, and the strings he pulled were brilliant, including what I will always believe was an intentional icing of Leclerc. No one can convince me that wasn't his intention. You don't hang around the game for 50+ years and not have a few tricks up your sleeve. And if I'm right - if he was stalling his ejection to force Leclerc to sit.... he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame later today and we should all pitch in to build him a statue because that was season-saving.
Maybe that was considered analytics 10-15 years ago, but it's pretty basic "know your player" stuff today. FO analytics is waaaay more in depth today.
Always remember: if something good happens, it's in spite of Dusty Baker. If something bad happens, it's entirely Dusty Baker's fault. This is how it is and they'll never have enough self-awareness to recognize it.
Baker will back next season unless he doesn't want to. I will b**** about him all season, but as long as we get to playoff Dusty, I'm good.
I get the feeling, win or lose, he's retiring this year. It just seems like a good time to call it a career and not have to deal with all the complaining next year again.
I thought he would do that last year but I think Dusty is one of those people who are what they do. He’s been involved in baseball all of his life. He’s accomplished probably everything he wants. Still this is a what makes him him and it’s probably very hard to let that go.
I think it's going to be a bit harder this year, though, with a new front office that's likely going to want to establish themselves (ie, letting Maldy go, etc). Baker won the power struggle with Click and had some things to prove to fans who criticized him and such. If he wins this year, he has nothing left to prove. If he loses this year, front office has even more reason to force their approach on him. But yeah, you could be right that he just loves it too much and he'd still be leading a WS favorite team yet again.
Dusty’s been through the battles with front offices and been fired too so that stuff probably isn’t going to be new to him. I don’t know how much he feels he has to prove to fans given he’s had stints where he’s been crucified by fans and media such as when he was with Cincinnati. He’s still been able to come back and lead teams to great showing like he did with the Nats and us. As an athlete and coach / Sensei there is something defining about doing this. For me I don’t make money off of coaching Judo, it actually costs me, but there is something I wouldn’t voluntarily give up. It’s not the wins and losses and other than some Irate parents I don’t have to deal with angry fan bases. It is the camaraderie, and the habits of going to practice trying to make players better and even joking with them in the locker room. Dusty has been in baseball longer than I’ve been alive. It’s rewarded him in ways far beyond what he could’ve had doing anything else. Giving up that life is probably going to be very hard.
Baker won't retire unless he is forced to. Baseball is his life and it's not like he wants to spend more time with his kids because they are all grown.
I remember Dusty always seeming to be akin to “the bridesmaid and never the bride” when it came to ultimate baseball success. He had managed countless hall of famers, the best of the best players, elite team and he seemed to always come short. I truly felt his hiring was nothing more than a PR move to move on from the scandal. But how we were mistaken. Baker had a lot to offer as a coach. Sure he may stumble on his feet with some of his decisions, but he has the respect and admiration of his players. And let’s be honest, that is the only thing that matters, because the Astros are a juggernaut. Baker was the right coach for the Astros. Most of us know they have a manager in waiting right next to Dusty. We are extremely lucky he hasn’t taken a job somewhere else. I am not going to speculate if Dusty comes back one more year or not, but I’m almost sure Dusty doesn’t even know that himself!
