Per John Fay's Cincy Enquirer Red's Blog....
Dusty on Nix v. Dickerson
Dusty Baker knows that a lot of people in fan land would like to see Laynce Nix in left field.
"But the fans don't make out the lineup," Baker said. "Nix is going to play. Fans didn't even know who Nix was when we got him. You're not going to play him over Jay Bruce or Willy Taveras. That leaves left field. Who's got more talent than Chris Dickerson? Last year, Dickerson was the fair-haired boy. People wanted me to play him everyday against right- and left-handers."
It's a small sample but Nix has outplayed Dickerson so far. Nix is hitting .333 with a home run and three RBI in 30 at-bats. He's 4-for-his-last-7 and has scored a run in his last five appearances. Dickerson is hitting .204 with a home home run and five RBI in 49 at-bats. Nix has no errors, Dickerson has three.
Baker tends to stick with players longer than fans would like. He won't take a position away based on a small sample.
"I ain't no front-runner," he said.
"I had Nix in today to talk to him," Baker said. "When he came here, he knew the situation. We brought him in as an extra outfielder. I told him: Stay read. I'll play you enough to keep you sharp. He's very valuable coming off the bench. I still think he can be an everyday player. You don't want it to happen but sometimes you've got to let a guy play his way out before you put another guy in."
There's also fan sentiment to play Paul Janish and Ryan Hanigan more.
"I like the whole team," Baker said. "You can't play everybody. You play eight at a time and keep the rest sharp."
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