Relatively speaking... we were spoiled with Gold Glove level play by Bagwell, Berkman (horrible CFer, but really good 1B), and Gurriel. Hated Chris Carter, Brett Wallace, and Carlos Lee defense. I was fine with Singleton, White, and Davis at first.
And the backlash to that quote led to this quote. He basically threw his friend under the bus, and now he is making amends.
He’s got limited mobility, he’s stiff and just not very good. he’s not a major problem or anything but he’s below average to average.
I am softening 10% on my previously iron clad position that Dusty is an idiot and should not be allowed back next year. Mind you, I’m still 90% but …. I do give Dusty credit. It’s perhaps a small thing but he left Urquidy in for one more batter after the second homer. I was screaming pull him. Screaming. In that situation, it’s about results and Dusty was right. I was scared sh-tless when Dusty left JV in there during the World Series, and that ended up being right too. I firmly believe decisions should be judged by the information available when they are made, not based on after the fact results. So I don’t know whether analytically, those were the right decisions…like hitting on 16 when dealer is showing a 10. There is a human element of reading the pitcher, seeing if he is up for the moment, understanding the flow of the game. I believe that to be true. In those cases, Dusty got it right. I don’t think that outweighs all the brain dead idiotic decisions Dusty made, but it is relevant and should be credited.
The Baker Bochy matchup is going to be interesting. It's two of the old school managers who rely upon feel and gut. They also have a lot of loyalty and belief from their players.
Bochy and his gut are overstated. That guy doesn’t do goofy **** on a whim. It’s all well thought out.
Granted... converted 3Bs are likely to make really good 1Bs. No doubt. I just don't see the Adbdullah the Butcher 1B that Abreu is portrayed to be. He seems Ok. Lack of mobility/range, I agree with. If he can be above average with the stick though, I can accept that.
Oh no doubt. I liked the signing from the word go. I kept faith for a long time. Then when he got his shots and came back like a different dude I was back on board.
Nothing can rival my pure frustration/rage/despair of having Chris Carter playing first base. He demonstrated ZERO effort in trying to stretch for balls. Heck, I'll take one-time player of the week play first over him.
I've always thought playoff Baker was excellent. He just drove me crazy with his regular season shenanigans and almost missing the playoffs. As long as this series is close, Baker will be back next season to drive us a little crazy. I also hate how he's been F'ing over Chas. Chas should be playing 140 games a season regardless of if it's center or left.
Fun exercise... Would Carter make this roster at all? Would Dusty choose Carter or Singleton? *shudder*
I don't understand the hate Baker is getting for how well we are doing in the playoffs as you see the other division champs and favorites get their a$$ sweep and eliminated. We can always nitpick and criticize him for his decisions at the heat of moment, but the results under his watch speaks for itself. I just find it weird that we have this sort of thread still active even after we became champs under his watch.
Funny thing is that the 'load management' in the regular season may have negated the alleged 'rust' factor for sitting too long since our players are used to getting regular breaks. (The Ringer points to other underlying factors on why we are the only ones to survive of the division leaders - https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2023/...eles-dodgers-atlanta-braves-baltimore-orioles). Playoff Dusty is constrained by the roster construction that shield him from his worse tendencies such as using a left because he is a lefty (not possible since Mushinski is not on the roster) and going back to a 26-man roster ("Everyone plays" has not been a factor at all in a short series). And his demeanor that all is always going to be clam doesn't hamper motivation during the dog days. On a side note, Phil Garner is who I trust with expanded rosters, Jimy Williams in player development, AJ in mixing the numbers with the human aspects, etc...
Dusty is such an arrogant b*stard, He is convinced that he a Bochy are the matchup that will determine the winner. He is a total *******
