Has to be something related to preserving his arm and/or just feeling comfortable adding another pitch. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. In this case, fix what's worked for you in the past before adding another pitch.
I dont think it was just the 30 year olds. Dusty did it to himself through his own rigid mindset and approach. Whats that saying about things that refuse to bend?
I can't stand Rome at all as he is an *******. I think in large part he went to the Athletic so he could have the freedom to stir the pot without having to answer to anyone like the Chronicle. We saw with this with Evan Drellich. Dusty was for sure referring to Rome. I think Rome's hit piece about Chas was bs reporting. I felt after Dusty met with the media to announce his retirement, Rome tried to back away like he wasn't the one that Dusty was speaking about. I also thought Adam Wexler and Adam Clanton were weak for having Rome on afterwards to address Dusty's retirement and not even ask Rome directly about Dusty's statement. Adam Clanton had no problem going after the Texans at every turn. He needed to keep that same energy. I just want to be clear that I am in no way defending Dusty Baker by any means. Dusty did not always play to win in 2023 during the regular season. He didn't play the best lineups and he knew there were better options at the time. There were wins that were left on the table because Dusty wanted to play his guys. He waited too long to make decisions during the Rangers series because he was going to do it his way. I am excited to see what Joe Espada will bring to the table. I also want to thank Dusty at the same for his tenure here. He stepped in a losing situation from an optics standpoint after the cheating scandal. He and Correa were the two guys that answered the call during a tough 2020 year. I can't think of a better person that could have done what Dusty did to help during that time. This team could have folded quickly after that scandal even though many that were on the 2017 team were no longer there. I am glad he was able to get a ring here and I am grateful for what Dusty did. I hate the way 2023 ended but here's to an even better 2024.
Dusty played his guys because he thought they were the best options and used any excuse he could find to put in his guys over players that hadn't earned playing time in his view. In Dusty's words, he doesn't "experiment". Granted, he does believe in load management....especially if the player is not one of the "big boys".
It's fascinating Dusty managed to succeed in this sport as long as he did if talking heads truly bothered him. In a market with stronger sports media he would have been eviscerated daily for the Chaz/Diaz situations. For the most part he finally caved on Chaz, but he f**ked Diaz right to the bitter end. The last 27 days of our season Diaz started....1 game. I s**t you not, 1 game.
He ****ed Chas in the playoffs also. You don't ****ing platoon a guy that is a plus defensively hitting 800 OPS and being the second best fastball hitter in the entire league. **** Baker.
Dubon played more than Chas in the ALCS (Though Dubon did have a breakout season as well just not enough to justify playing over Chas).
He had 4 plus pitches in the high minors. He was still working on command when he was called up - he quickly figured out he could do well with two real pitches. His failures this season had to do with command of his best pitches and exhaustion. More than anything he needs to realize this isn’t the 1960’s for Latin pitchers… having a really strong workout program and trainer make a huge difference. Getting Javier to practice hard has never been an issue - and he is mentally tough… but hopefully he now sees how hard Verlander, Pressly, McCullers and Valdez workout and the success it gives you. Even Pedro Martinez said he wasn’t special until he realized how important the other 6 days a week were in the gym.
