I don't dislike Baker as a person but as a manager. I don't know what the rest of this means. Try it again in English
epitome- a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type. Dusty Baker= epitome of a legend Yoda-= epitome of a jedi You= epitome of an L7 weenie
LaRussa is also a legend, but... I don't want him any where near a team I support in the 2020s. Wayne Graham on the other hand...
If memory serves, Dierker's health was a much bigger issue than his management for the Astros and other teams.
Just assuming this was done, how would the infield work? Pena to 1B? Or Correa to 3B and Bregman to 1B? I definitely want Correa and his rifle arm on the left side.
I do too on KOGT. His LIFE was in doubt. Though he returned and managed a couple of more seasons, I was scared for him every game.
Dusty ain't going anywhere. This team went the World Series last year and has won 104 games this year (so far). He make bad choices sometimes, but the players would revolt if he didn't come back.
He makes so many questionable decisions, but this team exceeded my expectations this year. He deserves to be back if he wants to do it.
Wayne Graham wanted to coach Rice until he croaked... and it was a disaster when the AD to push him out with Berkman openly gunning for the job... and then Bragga brought the program to its lowest low in a lifetime.
I wouldn't want LaRussa for a manager now, either. Name another manager that would have gotten more than 106 wins out of this Astros team? This is baseball. There really isn't a whole lot of in-game decision-making by the head coach that will affect the outcome of the game. Sure, nobody likes Dubon in the 2 hole, but it's a long season. Dusty does a great job trying to instill confidence in players and it works. Most decisions regarding pitching were made by Strom and now Miller and Murphy. Sure, as manager Dusty makes the final call and takes responsibility for the outcome. I'm sure he consults with Joe Espada and Omar Lopez on in-game decisions as well. The most important job of a baseball manager is to have your guys prepared physically & mentally for every role and situation they will face (and it takes an entire staff) and to motivate the players to give 100% throughout a grueling 162 game season, be a psychologist, a counselor and a skipper that guides the ship. In the end, the players want to play for Dusty and it shows. 104 wins and counting. The team didn't win all those games in spite of Dusty. If LaRussa was the manager, they might have only won 90...who knows? But, I seriously doubt there is another manager in all of major league baseball that could have managed this team to MORE than 104 or, possibly, 106 wins. If you think Dave Roberts or Brian Snitker could have won 112 games with this team and have them better prepared for a playoff run, then that is your opinion I guess. Dusty, though, is in no way a "trash, garbage manager" and a "Dumbo". That is for damn sure. Time to win the whole thing and bring another championship to the city of Houston.
Considering that the coaching staff was forced onto Dusty... and Dusty was forced onto Click... it is indeed amazing that the team remained cohesive until the recent issues cited by Rome and Rosenthal. But this team has a lot of internal leadership with or without Dusty. That being said despite my criticism of him, I would have taken Dusty over any of the opening day AL West managers. I would consider Kevin Cash, but Tampa-ing this starting rotation would have been a mistake. Other current managers: Snitker, Martinez, Melvin, Hyde.
