What can we expect from Dusty Baker?

I didn’t contribute to the God thing, since I am indifferent to whether there is a god. On Dusty … he can’t win. He doesn’t have the tools yet. So he’s likely to be shoved upstairs by the middle of June. We need to be careful what we wish for, though.

Dusty is a good guy, he was great a player and is an interesting person…that said he is only able to produce a winner when the stars are aligned just so…

He will continue to lead off with the CF, if Stubbs doesn’t get off to a good start the we will definitely see Wily.
Jannish will be the SS (with Rosales in the wings) and bat second – This is pathological behavior.
Votto at 1st bats 3rd
BP at 2B – Cleanup
Rolen at 3B in the 5 hole
Bruce RF #6
Hernandez C -7
Dickerson LF -8
P

He could switch it up moving Wlad into the 7th spot when he is in LF and dropping Hernia down to 8.
Hanigan will be the #2 catcher
Without a big Hammer in LF we’ll get lots of small ball from ol’ Toothpick.
As much as I’d like to see Frazier get a shot, it will only happen if he blows the roof off in ST.Hi-Z will not see the light of day. Nor will Yonder Alonzo. Maybe some Heisey after All Star break or if someone gets hurts.
I do think that Nix will make the team as a PH/backup OF.

With a rotation of:
Bailey
Arroyo
Harang
Cueto

Dusty will continue to manage as he always has. there is a ‘correct’ move to be utilized for every situation, its in the "BOOK’ and Baker has memorized the “BOOK”. He cares little about (maybe doesn’t believe in) the more important stats like OPS and WAR..he abhors K’s by batters and doesn’t want the bases clogged yet loves to bunt.

Reds will have some very talented youth in 2010 . Dusty is not the right kind of manager for these guys- but I doubt if he, himself understands that. I believe that he will be given the resources to provide a winning season (barring serious injury to key players) and the Reds will have a winning season despite Dusty, not because of him..I predict 85 wins in 2010. If things go south early I don’t think Walt will replace Dusty, unless its with an interim guy like Speiers, to save $$$$. Maybe there’s a young manager somewhere in the minor leagues that is just waiting for the chance to work creatively with a bunch of young talented guys who really want to win.

Or maybe it’s proof that He does exist and someone in Cincinnati really pissed Him off.

… as long as The Virus is on our 25 man roster, he will get the bulk of playing time in CF, AND bat leadoff.

The Dusty learned nothing from 2009, since The Virus had some hurt legs (or whatever excuse printed by the media at the end of 2009 and during the beginning of the offseason).

It’s not that I want to see Stubbs in CF, b/c I don’t. I’d much rather see Dickerson out there, b/c IMO he’s much better offensively than Stubbs, although with only slightly less defensive ability.

Unfortunately this team is without a LF, although I wouldn’t mind giving the Daynce Mix some more time out there with maybe Wlad Balentien. I think those 2 could be an effective platoon. Unfortunately, I really feel that The Dusty will play The Virus in CF, and then platoon Dickerson in LF, which means if we see Dickerson and The Virus in the same starting lineup, run to your favorite bookie and bet on the Reds to lose.

Continuing on the theme of The Virus will play way too much in CF, and leadoff, that brings us to the #2 spot in the lineup, which IMO means we’ll see plenty of Paul Janish, which is only about 5 or 6 spots too high in the lineup. Paul Janish should never bat higher than 7th, and honestly the kid should really bat 8th or 9th. So, I’m ok with Janish defensively, but let’s go back to a lineup with The Virus and Janish 1 & 2 (b/c we all know it’ll happen more times than we want in 2010) which also includes Dickerson in it. Having a lineup with 1 of those 3 in it is stomachable, but put all 3 in there at the same time, and you really better run to that same favorite bookie and bet on the Reds to lose.

Long story short, The Dusty only puts the Reds in positions to fail. He bats guys in the wrong lineup position. He doesn’t play the best players. He leaves starting pitchers in too long. He doesn’t leverage his relievers well.

Aside from all that, he’s a perfect manager, and I hope they extend him.

I don’t think Taveras will play over Stubbs, at least not initially. I just really hope Stubbs has a great April. It seems that’s all it takes to cement your spot for the year. I also think Stubbs is a great bet to OBP more like .350 and SLG a lot less than last year.

I do think he’ll bat Janish at 2nd way more than he should. I could see a lineup like this

1. Stubbs
2. Janish
3. Votto
4. BP
5. Rolen
6. Bruce
7. CDick/Heisey/Wlad/Other LF
8. Hernandez

That’s not a terrible lineup, but wouldn’t this be much better, at least against righties?

1. Dickerson LF
2. Rolen
3. Votto
4. Bruce
5. BP
6. Stubbs
7. Hanigan
8. Janish

Lefties I’d go with

1. Stubbs
2. Rolen
3. Votto
4. BP
5. Bruce
6. Hanigan
7. LF (Wlad? Heisey?)
8. Janish

We can evaluate who we have, as opposed to the pee-in-the-Wheaties crowd who wanted us to sign every single free agent in North America.

We have Janish at short. He’s fine on defense. If he learns to hit … say, 10 points higher, is that enough? Not hitting second in the lineup, but 8th would work.

In left field, we’ll probably get around to re-signing Gomes, which may or may not be a good deal. I think he’s a utility guy who hit 20 homers last year. Nix is at least as good.

Taveras would be all right in center field if, when he isn’t playing there, is trying to reach first base. After that, he has potential to be the best player in the N.L.

My point is that there isn’t anything wrong with our roster if the guys on it play better baseball. We can assume they can’t do better. That flies in the face of logic. They can all do better.

We need coaching that helps. The rap on the Dusty is his rigid approach. Willy Taveras took 18 walks last year as a leadoff guy. Sorry, but part of that isn’t Dusty’s fault. I would like Dusty replaced but only after some of these guys show they’re better than they were. (My gawd, are we at least clear of Tatum?)

The Reds aren’t broken. We ain’t the Yankees, but if we win 2 more games a month that we did last summer, we’re in the hunt for a wild-card. That could happen if the defense is better, which seems to be the case.

… he gets to first base, which is what I wrote.

I guess we need to shoot Willy then. Here I was, thinking we had a contender.
Sorry. Here Ted, Uhlaender.

….when it’s May, Willy Taveras has an OBP of .256 and still batting lead off, Dusty will be there to tell us that the only thing that matters for a lead off hitter is to run really fast (but not before re-signing Juan Castro and batting him second again, for old time’s sake). I think Earl Weaver said it best that managers do not win games, they lose them. Dusty has cost this team several wins just with his line-up and personnel management. I used to think that Jerry Narron was the dumbest manager in baseball. I was wrong. It’s Dusty Baker.

You need to read the entire premise about getting a coach who can work with him. All joking aside, anybody who only gets 18 walks has bad coaching in addition to poor plate discipline.

No matter who is in the outfield, he needs to get on base first, then score some runs.

Then you could see the team win TWO STINKIN’ GAMES MORE a month, go from 78 wins to about 90 wins.

Does this mean we are past the “small ball” experiment?
Please say it’s so, Dave.
Dave?
…. dave?

doubleheaders present a problem.
I don’t like how this schedule is shaping up.

“Notice that when the talk is about Francisco, a 3rd baseman, that nobody talks of moving Rolen to LF. They give Francisco and OF’s mitt and say have at it.”

Is this guy serious? i want some of his crack

That’s what I meant by playing better baseball. Two wins a month more is do-able.
Keeping a lineup out there that can generate an extra run or so every other game is how it starts.

I am also not asking to go from 78 to 100. This is not the BRM, last I checked.

Nothing!