A Curveball
Obviously I hate Dusty Baker. I'm terribly proud of it. I think his roster moves are stupid, and his in-game 'managing' is confusing at best. But something happened in the game last night that made me redirect my anger.
In the game last night, there was a grounder to Mabry playing first. He didn't field it cleanly, and fell on his wrist, still managing to flip the ball to first, but too late. I can't remember if it was an error or not. But Mabry was grabbing his wrist, in obvious pain, and he still waved away the trainer. This made me realize: It's not Mabry's fault I hate him. Mabry doesn't put himself in the lineup, even though he's obviously overmatched in almost every facet of the game. It's the baseball-challenged manager's fault I hate most of the players on the team.
Obviously, I should rescind my hatred of Mabry. He played so much for Lee when he was on the DL, and I hated it, wanting Phil Nevin in, but it's not Mabry's fault. Really it only takes one look at his .207 average to realize he shouldn't be in the game. Or, granted, he was hitting .220 for a while in the middle of the season, but still. However, you look at his OBP of .288, which is only slightly worse than Neifi 2, I mean Cesar Izturis, and you can't be too angry about it, in comparison. Hell, Pierre's OBP is only .330.
Next up is Freddy Bynum. Now, Freddy is terrible in the field, and not much better at the plate, hitting .261 with an OBP of .318. However, I'd like to point out Baker's comments after the 6-error game Tuesday night: "It's tough, but what are you going to do." Of course Dusty, why practice fielding all season, it's tough!! Jackass. Baker then told third base coach/DUI enthusiast Chris Speier to talk to Bynum about whether his glove is proper for getting the ball out quickly. What better time than after a 3-error inning to do that? Surely not, I don't know, before a player starts every day! So it's really not Bynum's fault, he's just not that good, and Baker has no idea. But why would he, it's not like he's in a position to know what players can and can't do and play them accordingly.
Now, there are players on the team I do hate. Mainly just Jacque Jones. His fielding, while sometimes stellar, is sometimes ridiculously bad. He can't throw, he can't hit lefties, and he doesn't take pitches. Also, I don't like Neifi 2. While he fields much better with better range, and he's faster, at the plate he's exactly the same. I expect nothing out of him. At least Cedeno has shown he can hit for average if coached a little bit (like in AAA where he tore shit up last year).
Finally, Buck Coats. This kid was called up to be another middle infielder when Izturis went on the DL. Well, luckily for Coats, he's managed to get into 10 games. In those 10 games, he has 8 f'ing at bats. Nothing like letting a kid waste away on the bench in favor of some player (Bynum) who shouldn't be around next year. It's good for his psyche, right Dusty, you close-minded stubborn can't-manage asshole?
In the game last night, there was a grounder to Mabry playing first. He didn't field it cleanly, and fell on his wrist, still managing to flip the ball to first, but too late. I can't remember if it was an error or not. But Mabry was grabbing his wrist, in obvious pain, and he still waved away the trainer. This made me realize: It's not Mabry's fault I hate him. Mabry doesn't put himself in the lineup, even though he's obviously overmatched in almost every facet of the game. It's the baseball-challenged manager's fault I hate most of the players on the team.
Obviously, I should rescind my hatred of Mabry. He played so much for Lee when he was on the DL, and I hated it, wanting Phil Nevin in, but it's not Mabry's fault. Really it only takes one look at his .207 average to realize he shouldn't be in the game. Or, granted, he was hitting .220 for a while in the middle of the season, but still. However, you look at his OBP of .288, which is only slightly worse than Neifi 2, I mean Cesar Izturis, and you can't be too angry about it, in comparison. Hell, Pierre's OBP is only .330.
Next up is Freddy Bynum. Now, Freddy is terrible in the field, and not much better at the plate, hitting .261 with an OBP of .318. However, I'd like to point out Baker's comments after the 6-error game Tuesday night: "It's tough, but what are you going to do." Of course Dusty, why practice fielding all season, it's tough!! Jackass. Baker then told third base coach/DUI enthusiast Chris Speier to talk to Bynum about whether his glove is proper for getting the ball out quickly. What better time than after a 3-error inning to do that? Surely not, I don't know, before a player starts every day! So it's really not Bynum's fault, he's just not that good, and Baker has no idea. But why would he, it's not like he's in a position to know what players can and can't do and play them accordingly.
Now, there are players on the team I do hate. Mainly just Jacque Jones. His fielding, while sometimes stellar, is sometimes ridiculously bad. He can't throw, he can't hit lefties, and he doesn't take pitches. Also, I don't like Neifi 2. While he fields much better with better range, and he's faster, at the plate he's exactly the same. I expect nothing out of him. At least Cedeno has shown he can hit for average if coached a little bit (like in AAA where he tore shit up last year).
Finally, Buck Coats. This kid was called up to be another middle infielder when Izturis went on the DL. Well, luckily for Coats, he's managed to get into 10 games. In those 10 games, he has 8 f'ing at bats. Nothing like letting a kid waste away on the bench in favor of some player (Bynum) who shouldn't be around next year. It's good for his psyche, right Dusty, you close-minded stubborn can't-manage asshole?
posted by Jtrouble at 9:44 AM
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