| 23 July 2010
There is a good chance this will be my shortest blog entry ever.
I generally like Dusty Baker. He's not a great manager, but he's not a bad one either. A lot of people (myself included) will make fun of the term "players manager" (or "players coach") but that's exactly what Dusty is. His guys respect him for the way he treats them and because he played in the Big Leagues for a long time himself.
However, the one downfall that I continue to see with Baker is his construction of lineups. When you are in a playoff race that could very well be decided by a game or two - whether we're talking about the NL Central or the wildcard - you cannot afford to give your best hitter (Joey Votto) a day off against a right-handed pitcher (Livan Hernandez) when Scott Rolen is already out of the lineup with a hamstring injury. Every game is crucial now and Votto should have been in the lineup on Thursday. He's a young guy and he'll get plenty of time to rest after the season. The Reds don't find themselves in the playoff hunt very often these days and they can't afford to put "JV" lineups out there, even on getaway days.
And I say this only half-jokingly: In a fantasy world, Dusty Baker could be the manager of a team that had both Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken Jr. And if there was a game on a Thursday or Sunday, there is a good chance one of them would be given the day off.
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