The Game Haus
  • Home
  • Esports
    • Strategy
      • League of Legends
      • Super Smash Brothers
      • Pokemon Unite
      • Teamfight Tactics
      • Legends of Runeterra
      • Rocket League
      • Wild Rift
      • Hearthstone
      • Pokemon
    • Shooters
      • Halo
      • Overwatch
      • Call of Duty
      • Valorant
      • Apex Legends
      • Gaming
      • CS:GO
      • Fortnite
      • Fighting Games
  • Sports
    • Live Sports
      • College Football
      • College Basketball
      • Soccer
      • NFL
      • NHL
      • MLB
      • NBA
      • PGA
    • Fantasy and Others
      • Fantasy Football
      • Fantasy Baseball
      • Nascar
      • NFL Draft
  • Store
  • More
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Best iGaming Sites
    • Best VPN Sites
    • Best Browser Games
  • Starfield
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
The Game Haus
  • Home
  • Esports
    • Strategy
      • League of Legends
      • Super Smash Brothers
      • Pokemon Unite
      • Teamfight Tactics
      • Legends of Runeterra
      • Rocket League
      • Wild Rift
      • Hearthstone
      • Pokemon
    • Shooters
      • Halo
      • Overwatch
      • Call of Duty
      • Valorant
      • Apex Legends
      • Gaming
      • CS:GO
      • Fortnite
      • Fighting Games
  • Sports
    • Live Sports
      • College Football
      • College Basketball
      • Soccer
      • NFL
      • NHL
      • MLB
      • NBA
      • PGA
    • Fantasy and Others
      • Fantasy Football
      • Fantasy Baseball
      • Nascar
      • NFL Draft
  • Store
  • More
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Best iGaming Sites
    • Best VPN Sites
    • Best Browser Games
  • Starfield
Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
The Game Haus
Home»MLB»Dusty Baker: Is He to Blame For Nationals’ Game 5 Loss?
MLB

Dusty Baker: Is He to Blame For Nationals’ Game 5 Loss?

The Game Haus StaffBy The Game Haus StaffOctober 14, 2016Updated:October 18, 20165 Mins Read

As Game 5 ended with heartbreak for Nationals fans, Baker moved into the media spotlight after throwing shade at Dave Roberts for overworking his ace Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw had pitched Game 4 on 3 day’s rest, but was then brought in to close out Game 5 and earn his first career save. Cubs fans will be quick to point out the hypocrisy in those words, as Baker is often criticized or overworking Cubs starters Kerry Wood and Mark Prior while managing there.

prior-and-wood
2 stud pitchers that both had injuries end promising careers. Dusty Baker is often who receives the criticism for their ruined careers for overworking their arms. Photo Courtesy of Sports Illustrated

The overworked pitchers is just one criticism of many that have plagued Dusty Baker throughout his managerial career. In Chicago, Dusty claimed that On Base Percentage is meaningless if you cannot knock in the runners. A true statement, if it just ended there. Baker went on to say, “Clogging up the bases isn’t that great to me.”. This concept was scoffed and laughed at by modern baseball analysts, especially when Baker brought in Corey Patterson and Willy Taveras to leadoff for the Cincinnati Reds, despite neither managing an OBP above .280 in their seasons in Cincinnati.

Baker is often criticized for never winning a World Series, despite only signing to manage teams that were at their peak or, in the Reds case, the farm was just starting to graduate to the MLB. His first management stint with the Giants saw him lead teams that included Barry Bonds in his prime, a Hall of Fame worthy player, until the perjury trial and steroid use dominated the media. The Cubs had studs like Sammy Sosa (who hit 40 hr’s that season despite being injured and suspended for his corked bat incident), Moises Alou, and the pitching triumvirate of Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Carlos Zambrano. The Reds may have been in the cellar when Baker started there, but players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto, and Homer Bailey were just getting their first tastes of the MLB when he signed on there. The Reds would go on to make the playoffs three of his final four seasons with the team, never making it out of the NLDS.

It has been established that Baker is a very controversial manager, who uses old-school logic in a new era of baseball to ultimately fall short of playoff success. The problem with blaming the manager of any baseball team, however, is that hindsight is 20/20 and teams can overcome some manager deficiencies if the team executes when necessary.

werth-thrown-out-at-home
The play at the plate was not even close as all momentum was killed for Nationals after this. What went through third base coach Bob Henley’s head to send Werth here? Photo courtesy of MLB.com

The Nationals lost by one run in Game 5. The Nationals stranded 11 baserunners throughout the game. The Nationals best hitter, Daniel Murphy, went up against Clayton Kershaw, who had pitched almost 7 innings the game before, and could not convert with two men on base. Jayson Werth got thrown out at home in the 6th on a play that was nowhere near close (The full video in case you missed it). Had he been held, who knows what kind of inning that could have turned into against a rookie pitcher.

What can be blamed on Baker then? For starters, leaving in Scherzer too long with a one run lead. Terry Francona has been praised all week for his handling of the bullpen throughout the Indians sweep, bringing in Andrew Miller as early as the 5th inning to secure a lead through the middle of the games. Scherzer is one of the top pitchers in baseball, there is no denying that, but come playoff times, the manager has to be able to step up and make that decision. Scherzer was already at 90+ pitches going into the inning, it only makes sense to bring in a reliever, especially with the increase in home runs Scherzer has given up this year compared to past seasons.

Yet, when Dusty finally does bring in the bullpen shortly after, all they do is give up three more runs in the inning. Dusty goes on and uses five relievers just for that one inning, being a big fan of playing the splits (have lefties pitch to lefties is an example). Half of the bullpen utilized in one inning that amounts to three earned runs given up. The reliever choice and usage can only fall on Dusty’s shoulders.

The Nationals hired a controversial manager, who made a couple of questionable decisions in a playoff elimination game, that ultimately ended in a heartbreaking loss for his team. The truth of the matter is, Baker can share some of the blame, yet the Nationals players and assistant coaches execution throughout the game deserve most of the blame. The questionable send of Jayson Werth killed the momentum that had been brewing in the 6th for the Nationals, Harper getting picked off in the 5th amidst cries of a balk left a sour taste in fan’s mouths, and Kershaw getting out of the 9th inning jam to earn his first save are all moments that could have helped the game play out in the Nationals favor had those plays been executed differently. It is fun and easy to blame Dusty, especially with the history of postseason failure that looms over his head, but this time around, there are actually valid excuses that can be made to defend his performance this Game 5.

 

Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Clayton Kershaw Daniel Murphy Dusty Baker Jayson Werth Kerry Wood Los Angeles Dodgers Mark Prior Max Scherzer MLB San Francisco Giants Washington Nationals

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Recent Stories

Cleveland Cavaliers 2023 Offseason Recap

September 30, 2023

Is Forza Motorsport Crossplay?

September 29, 2023

When’s The Forza Motorsport Early Access?

September 29, 2023

The Game Haus aims to bring unbiased, factually sound opinions to audiences across a range of mediums that are not readily accessible in the day-to-day media outlets. We cover the latest news in Call of Duty, CS:GO, League of Legends, Dota 2, Fighting Games, NBA 2K, Halo, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Pokemon, Rocket League, Smite, Starcraft II, Fantasy Sports, MLS, EPL, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NCAAB, NCAAF, NFL, NHL, and PGA.

Next to our unbiased coverage for esports and sports, have a look at our iGaming content. If you are looking for the most recommended Esports Betting Sites or Best Sports Betting Sites, look no further. We also cover the Best Sweepstakes Casinos in our free 2 play section and have a closer look at the Best DFS Sites out there. If you are looking for some real money options, check how we ranked the Best Online Casinos.

Don’t miss out on our dedicated VPN section. If you are in need of the Best VPN Services, we now got your back. No matter whether you are searching for the Best Gaming VPNs, reliable VPNs for Streaming or just looking for switching to a different Country IP via VPN, we have all the answers you need. No time to waste? Check our ExpressVPN Review or our NordVPN Review and you have the clear winners!

The Game Haus is now bringing you the best browser games to play for free. Up for a classic, then don’t hestitate to play Forge of Empires online. Fancy new browser games? No problem! We have toplists for MMO browser games, free online strategy games or browser building games. No matter if you want to play laptop browser games by yourself or the best free coop games. We got you covered!

Follow us on Social Media for updates! Sports: Facebook | Twitter Esports: Facebook | Twitter

Login

Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
© 2023 The Game Haus. Designed by SEOpologist.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.