Why the Man Crush?

Give me a break. Go ahead and ask Thom Loverro, Bob Nightengale, and Jon Heyman among many others what they thought about the Nationals’ decision to not bring Dusty Baker back next season. Just go ahead and ask them, I dare you. You’ll leave the conversation thinking that the Nationals front office just stabbed Babe Ruth in the throat with a dirty pair of scissors. But no that’s not what happened, they just let Dusty Baker’s contract expire, that’s all. Did the Nationals handle Dusty’s departure correctly? No, not by any means. They let him hang around D.C. for seven days after the season ended, expecting that an extension would be reached, then let him go back to California only to inform him he had been let go. But that’s not Loverro, Nightengale, or Heyman’s gripe. Their gripe is that Dusty Baker does not have a job. I’m sick of it. If you didn’t watch the Nationals for at least 100+ games during the regular season and catch every single postseason game, then your opinion is completely irrelevant. That makes all but one of those guys (Loverro) irrelevant in this conversation. I’m fairly certain that Loverro has a huge man crush on Dusty Baker, so he is essentially irrelevant as well.

Dusty Baker does not have a job on October 27, 2017 because of his inability to manage in the playoffs. It is not because Dusty Baker is a bad manager. In fact, the Nationals will probably never find another manager who can navigate his way through a 162-game season the way Baker can. They will probably never find another manager who is capable of connecting with the players and the media at a level that Baker can. But Dusty Baker led the Nationals one game further than his predecessor, Matt Williams, who was a complete disaster and is completely incapable of managing a Major League Baseball team. Baker did not get this team to a National League Championship Series, he did not get this team to a World Series. In fact, I wrote a week ago about how inept Dusty is at managing in the playoffs. He manages playoff games the same way he would manage a regular season game on May 27th against the Padres. He, among other things, decided to pitch to Anthony Rizzo multiple times with first base open and use Sammy Solis in extremely big parts of games. But Joe Torre and Major League Baseball dropped a bomb on us last night. Enjoy that right here. THAT is why Dusty Baker does not have a job.

But nobody wants to talk about Dusty’s mistakes. They want to talk about how great of a guy he is. Which is fine, but there are a lot of great guys in baseball that deserve managerial jobs. So now, we’re here watching as the Nationals get crucified for a managerial decision that is eerily similar to the Red Sox firing of John Ferrell or the Yankees dismissal of Joe Girardi. Oh wait, no it’s not, both of those guys won World Series championships for their respective clubs. But neither of them are as friendly or have the baseball pedigree of Dusty Baker, so it’s ok that they were let go. It’s asinine. For parts of the Nationals-Cubs series, the players failed Dusty Baker, but in Game 5, Dusty Baker failed the players. It’s ok that none of the big-time sports writers want to discuss that though.

The Nationals ownership group has a history of being noncommittal to managers. It’s who they are, it’s what they believe in. I wrote about it almost two years ago to the day (check it out if you want). It’s the reason that Dusty Baker was the Nationals manager in the first place after they offered a 1 year $1.6 million contract to Bud Black. I mean, did they really think Black was going to say “Ok, sounds like a fair deal”? So we’re back to where we were following the 2013 season, and back to where we were following the 2015 season. This time, the Lerners have a chance to make it right. It’s time to show baseball that you do value managers and that you’re willing to make a commitment to the position. Joseph Elliott Girardi was let go by the New York Yankees yesterday morning. He is the exact man that the Nationals need to lead them to the next level. Don’t get me wrong, if Girardi doesn’t want the job and wants to sit out a year or two to spend time with his family, then that’s his choice to make. I’m sure that Dave Martinez (believed to be the Nationals top candidate as of yesterday) will make a fine manager. But the Lerners and Mike Rizzo must circle Joe Girardi’s name and say this is our guy.  Fly him out to DC on a private plane, wine and dine him, and offer him the job. If he declines, you move on knowing that you made your pitch. A pitch which will have included a four-year contract offer. A pitch which will have included a $4-5 million per year salary. The Lerners agreed to pay Joe Blanton $4 million last season, I’m sure they can splurge and pay a guy like Girardi the same.

In 2015, the Nationals needed the anti-Matt Williams and Dusty Baker fit the role well, restoring peace to the Nationals clubhouse. The Nationals don't need an anti-Dusty Baker, which is good because Joe Girardi isn't an anti-Dusty Baker, but the two are still very different. Both are extremely hard-working men and love what they do. Both are extremely well prepared. Both know and understand the game. Both are well respected by their players. But, while Dusty Baker manages every game like it’s May 27th, former Yankee, Mark Teixeira, was quoted in the New York post as saying “He (Girardi) manages every game like its Game 7.” The Nationals need somebody like that. They need intensity. They need urgency. Will Bryce Harper be here in 2019? Odds are, no he won’t, so it’s time to put the pedal to the metal.

GO GET JOE GIRARDI.