Will Baker Impede Progress?

[wheels]

Hats off to Wayne for a great off season.

That being said, and all that it implies....Still I wonder.

What's Dusty going to do with these kids on his hands? Will he depend on them too much, ride 'em too hard until they're gassed when the season's down to the wire, or injured?

I thank the Baseball gods for Harang and Arroyo. Maybe they will ease his mind a bit with their 200 innings each. Maybe Wayne will get another arm for the pen, further easing the load on the young and bedraggled. Maybe Belisle will wind up on the brighter side of the luck spectrom, allowing him to pitch deeper into ballgames.

I think the real tonic for this potential pitfall will be to pick up a second tier innings eater. Veterans are better able to handle a challenging workload, while keeping Dusty's mind at bay a bit.

Is there any other way to protect the youngsters from Dusty?

An upper management mandate, perhaps?

I'd love to see Wayne draw a line in the sand on this one.

[Cyclone792]

Unfortunately, I haven't seen too much publically stated about the front office tightening the noose around the manager's neck regarding pitch counts and workload. Narron seemingly had free reign with the starters, and I'm guessing Dusty may have free reign too. And if that happens, it'll irritate the heck out of me.

I think some of the best hope in preserving the rotation is actually in Weathers, Coffey, and Burton. Weathers needs to still have something in the tank and not implode, Coffey needs to bounce back close to his 2006 form, and Burton needs to carryover his 2007 success into 2008. If those guys can form an effective trio in front of Cordero, it should hopefully make it easier to get a starter out of there before blowing his arm up.

[corkedbat]

I don't think the FO is unaware of the concerns about Dusty and arms. It wouldn't surprise me if they haven't already discussed pitch count (for the younger arms at least) with Baker.

I just hope that at least one or two of the young guns are going deep enough in games on a comsistent basis to make the pitch count relavent (although with Homer the 100-pitch threshold was being neared about the 4th inning or so).

[traderumor]

This issue was raised in the interview. He was said to have satisfied those who hired him with his answer. If they have to "draw lines in the sand" for a $10M manager, then they just wasted a bunch of money.

[Joseph]

I'm not worried about Dusty at all. I'm worried about wins.

[flyer85]

Only if he holds back Bruce so he can play Freel/Hopper

[wheels]

Originally Posted by flyer85

Only if he holds back Bruce so he can play Freel/Hopper

That's also an issue I was hoping someone would raise.

The '08 season will tell us everything we need to know about Dusty Baker.

[KoryMac5]

Originally Posted by flyer85

Only if he holds back Bruce so he can play Freel/Hopper

I think that would be up to how Bruce performs in the spring.

[Aronchis]

I think it will be interesting how Baker handles the young pitchers, but how about Votto's April struggles? I don't know the last time the guy had a good April.

Will another Votto April slow start cost the team valuable bats he would give in the summer?

Dusty will love the Hoppers,Hatt's and Weather(who could decline at anytime) while the better young talent just sits, despite the potential for a breakout and more Reds wins than the fluff would.

That said, if Volquez,Bailey and Cueto pitch well, he will have no problem riding them hard IMO. That is just in his nature. If it means a guy like Cueto has 12 months less of peak effectiveness years down the road, so be it if it brings a title.

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by Joseph

I'm not worried about Dusty at all. I'm worried about wins.

Well said.

[flyer85]

Originally Posted by KoryMac5

I think that would be up to how Bruce performs in the spring.

I hope not

[GAC]

Originally Posted by flyer85

Only if he holds back Bruce so he can play Freel/Hopper

I'm looking forward to the game threads this year. Dusty is about as old school as they get. Those threads should break all records.

But my biggest question mark concerning Dusty, which is yet unanswered, is just how he will handle those developing youngsters on this team. For instance - what is his patience factor? Will we see more of Hatte over Votto if Votto comes out of the gate slow?

[RedsManRick]

I'm more worried about Harang and Arroyo than the kids. I think Dusty rode Prior and Wood so hard because he figured they could take it. I think he'll be careful with the kids, but I see a lot of those 7.2 IP, 5 ER, 125 pitch nights from Harang unless we have somebody really step up in middle relief.

As for dolling out playing time, I've become less worried in that regard. Dusty hasn't exactly had talented youngsters at his disposal to not play. I think he'll play the best candidate for the job. Again, I'm more worried that he'll let Junior decide his own playing time, when he should be sitting at least once a week.

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by Aronchis

I think it will be interesting how Baker handles the young pitchers, but how about Votto's April struggles? I don't know the last time the guy had a good April.

Will another Votto April slow start cost the team valuable bats he would give in the summer?

Dusty will love the Hoppers,Hatt's and Weather(who could decline at anytime) while the better young talent just sits, despite the potential for a breakout and more Reds wins than the fluff would.

That said, if Volquez,Bailey and Cueto pitch well, he will have no problem riding them hard IMO. That is just in his nature. If it means a guy like Cueto has 12 months less of peak effectiveness years down the road, so be it if it brings a title.

Again, so we're clear, Hopper, who has 1 1/2 seasons to his credit is now a grizzled vet that Dusty will use to hold back Jay Bruce?

[RANDY IN INDY]

Junior needs to sit more. He can be very valuable if he can stay healthy and strong through the season. It's a nice bat to bring off the bench once or twice a week. Would be huge if Junior steps up to take Votto and Bruce under his wing.