Dusty Baker
Dusty Baker
Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker, Jr.is an American Major League Baseball manager and former player. He is currently the manager for the Washington Nationals. He enjoyed a 19-year career as a hard-hitting outfielder, primarily with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. He helped the Dodgers to pennants in 1977 and 1978 and to the championship in 1981. He then enjoyed a 20-year career as a manager with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and now Washington Nationals. He...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth15 June 1949
CityRiverside, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I think the main problem was he couldn't feel the ball in his fingers. I guess it's cold, and the ball is a little slicker when it's cold, and he really couldn't feel it. Consequently, he starts trying to drop down, different things to try to command the strike zone, and he had trouble commanding the strike zone.
He needs to hit. We want him to start hitting, and all our pitchers from now on will go as normal.
You're always worried about injuries. But I can remind Carlos all I want to. When you get out there and Cuba or whoever they're playing starts banging him around pretty good, I think he'll forget exactly what I told him. That's how it is.
I've known guys who go home early and, especially when you don't go to the postseason, it makes for a long, long winter. That extra month at home, you start getting ready to go back in December.
Everybody was a rookie at some time. They've all had starts now; they all know what it's about.
I've always been told, 'You start the year hurt, it makes for a long year.
I'll use the DH as long as I can until the end of spring, when the pitchers will be going far enough to hit. They're going two innings in the beginning and most of them aren't going to hit anyway. Once they get going four, five innings, I'll start using the pitchers. Initially, I'll try to DH whenever I can to get guys at-bats.
The Cardinals have a fine team, a real good team. We'll come out next year and try to get the lead or at least stay close -- and stay healthy. They're No. 1 or 2 in pitching, and that shows you how important pitching is. We get our starting pitching healthy and we'll be all right.
That was huge tonight, to get back to 2-2. We definitely wanted and needed the game tonight to start the Series all over again. We certainly didn't want to go down 3-1 then have to win three in a row.
D-Lee is still finding his stroke. When those guys really start swinging, we'll have a very potent offense. Our offense is pretty good. We just have to cut those walks down.
Every time I think about giving him a day off, he hits two home runs. Maybe I'll start thinking about that off day for him.
It's real big. That's not the whole series, but it definitely gives you ... it jump starts you for the series.
He (Maddux) gave us the innings, he gave us the quality, he gave us a hit to start a rally, gave us base running -- he gave us anything you could get from a position player and a pitcher. We needed it badly.
Every time I think about giving him an off-day, he hits two or three home runs. Maybe I'll start thinking about that off-day. You don't want to give him time off against the Cardinals.