BMX Bandit said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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If it has anything to do with Dusty, don't worry about it. He doesn't make the lineups in the postseason.

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Who does?

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Texags via survey monkey. Working on the links as we speak.

I am quite interested in that "Dusty doesn't make lineups in the postseason." I suppose the best evidence for it is that his favorite JV Personal Centerfielder Dubon didn't start one time in a JV postseason game.

redline248 said:

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I am quite interested in that "Dusty doesn't make lineups in the postseason." I suppose the best evidence for it is that his favorite JV Personal Centerfielder Dubon didn't start one time in a JV postseason game.

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Makes you wonder why he is during the regular season or why even managing at all then.

Wouldn't you want to start your best players and also solidify their spots in the batting order as you enter the final month of the regular season?

There's like no continuity whatsoever, that's got to affect players whether they admit it or not.

Also since when do position players need all this time off? This method of grinding pitchers into dust and giving everyone else glamour days makes no sense.

Dusty makes the lineups during the regular season. Dana is responsible for roster moves but the lineup construction is 100% Dusty's responsibility. The front office can step in and meet with Dusty (and they have) to tell him what they want.. but ultimately, it's Dusty's job. That's just how it's structured. I can't speak for other clubs, but I know that's how it's done here.

It's different during the postseason. Dusty, the GM and others will meet before every game and discuss the lineup. If they're unable to agree, the front office has the final say. This is what I've been told at least. I can try to get some clarification, but I at the very least know Dusty is not solely in charge of the lineup in the postseason.

I also know that Dana has not been pleased with the way Dusty has managed this season. Dana wants his guy as manager and I expect that to happen next year. Jim Crane has all the respect in the world for both of these guys, but I expect him to defer to Dana and let him choose who he wants managing the team. Obviously, this is based off what I've heard and I'm not guaranteeing anything. Dana is known for two things... 1. His ability to draft and develop guys who move quickly through the system and 2. His fiery personality. He gets what he wants.

Now, turning the page to what I said I would dive into last night...

The whole thing during the offseason was weird. Click and Crane never worked well together. Actually, Click never worked well with the majority of folks in the organization. When he was hired on, he was told that he needed to do things a certain way and he never did. That was a problem for a lot of people. Crane wanted things done a certain way and Click basically just refused to do it because he thought his way was better. I wish I had specifics for you guys but that's about all I was told.

There were several things Dusty and Click disagreed on and last year Dusty was actually right about most of it. That made Crane lose confidence in him. For example... Click wanted Contreras badly and was ready to overpay to get him. Dusty was firmly against it and hindsight 20/20 that was probably the right call.

Another big one is Yuli Gurriel. Click (and others in the front office) were going to leave him off the postseason roster. This made Dusty FURIOUS. Things got heated and eventually Click gave in and included Yuli on the postseason roster and look what happened.

Click was also firmly against signing JV. Crane got it done himself and it paid off well. There was a string of things that just made Crane lose confidence in him.. combine that with his inability to work well with the organization and it's a bad recipe. Not to mention the owner doesn't trust you. There were promises made that Click failed to follow through on.

Click is a brilliant baseball mind and I think he'll do well as a GM somewhere else. He made some good moves in Houston. It just didn't work out.

Now- the timing of everything was botched badly by Crane. The optics of firing your GM after winning a World Series are certainly poor but sometimes you can't care too much about optics and do what you feel is right.

Unfortunately, by the time Crane hired Dana Brown, the current structure and Dusty was already in place and the roster was practically set. It was just bad timing for Dana as he was unable to put his fingerprints on this year's roster. I expect things to look a lot different next year- specifically a new manager in the dugout.

Also.. I saw a couple posters blaming Dana Brown for not making more moves at the deadline. Trust me, he tried. The Astros just didn't have what other teams wanted in return. It's really as simple as that.

Bonus tidbit: Three players (that I know of) spoke during the team meeting the other day. Maldonado led it. I know how we feel about Maldonado but the truth is he's a fantastic leader and someone everyone in the clubhouse (and in the league) has a tremendous amount of respect for. This isn't a new thing. He's played a huge role in the locker room since 2019. I agree that he could do this and also catch much less often. But his leadership in the clubhouse is very valuable. When he speaks- guys listen. Bregman is another one. Hector Neris is the third. Neris is a guy I expect the club to try hard to re-sign next year. He's a great arm out of the bullpen but he's also a vocal leader in the clubhouse.

Again disclaimer... these are all things I've been told. Don't shoot the messenger.

So basically Dusty has been allowed to sabotage this season and potentially next year by not getting several guys ready because the owner botched managing the front office.

texasaggie2015 said:

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Danwell Home said:

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Is Espada in the running for next Manager? Or do you think Dana will want someone else?

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Alex Cintron will likely be considered as well.

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Shoot me now. Just end everyone's misery because I will be insufferable.

I wish Machete had more self-awareness

when you have a .568 OPS and OPS+ of 56...and lead the league in passed balls...

you tell your manager to play the other guy

Wait.

So the only feather in Dusty Baker's cap, that he "manages differently" in the playoffs, is actually just that it's when the adults take the keys out of his hands?

So his awful management got overridden last year in the regular season by elite talent, depth, and health, and in the playoffs by people who know what they're doing.

Resulting in one ring after a career of failure, which has further emboldened him to listen to no one. And now he's got the defending champs teetering on the playoff cliff because he's the same dunce he's always been but the health and depth aren't there.

Send this dude into retirement.

Julks..... are you ****in kidding me

And Alvarez can play at noon but 14 hours ago couldn't PH??

Thank you for sharing this and everything else that you bring to the board. I truly enjoy the insight. And don't let the haters get to you. Tell them to kick rocks and ignore you if they don't like what you say. The silent majority truly appreciates what you do.

Mr.Bond said:

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And Alvarez can play at noon but 14 hours ago couldn't PH??

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This. 100x this. ****in Dusty man.

Dusty Pre-game presser: "The organization and the fans will thank me for not letting Yordan PH last night"

Mr.Bond said:

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And Alvarez can play at noon but 14 hours ago couldn't PH??

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It's truly unbelievable.

Insanity, malpractice, and stupidity.

The decisions being made this year are mind-boggling. How in the **** is Julks getting ABs this late in the year on a 1-forever bender?

The books written about this year ought to be entertaining at least.