Dusty uniquely equipped for Lone Star ALCS: 'Everything is bigger in Texas'
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochHOUSTON -- The epic, expletive-laden victory toast that Justin Verlander delivered earlier this week after the Astros¡¯ American League Division Series victory over the Twins only transpired because Dusty Baker waved off an opportunity to hold the microphone, telling his ace: ¡°No, no, no. I¡¯m doing the World Series.¡±
A bit of premature bravado? Perhaps, but as the defending World Series-winning manager and the only remaining division winner in this year¡¯s postseason, we¡¯ll allow Baker to look a few toothpick chomps ahead.
As Baker said during last year¡¯s playoff run, ¡°If you¡¯re going to win one [World Series], you might as well win two.¡± Here¡¯s his chance to fulfill that, on a Lone Star State-sized stage.
¡°We were in the [2002] World Series, two teams -- [the Giants] and the Angels battling for bragging rights in California,¡± Baker said on Saturday at Minute Maid Park. ¡°But everything is bigger in Texas. I¡¯ve learned that since I¡¯ve been here.¡±
So while the AL Championship Series is familiar territory for the Astros, with seven consecutive trips and counting, Baker said that he expects this to feel like ¡°the shootout at the O.K. Corral¡± -- certainly more than last year¡¯s mismatch against the Yankees.
As the first pitch of that series neared, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman ambled toward the batting cage at Minute Maid Park, where he shook hands with Baker and then-Houston general manager James Click.
Months later, Cashman would recall walking away from that encounter believing that his injury-decimated Yanks would ¡°need to play a perfect series¡± to advance. Instead, the Astros steamrolled them in a sweep.
The ALCS is unlikely to be so mismatched this time around. The Astros aren¡¯t as strong as they appeared to be last October; even with Verlander¡¯s return, there are holes in the pitching staff, and they were a game under .500 from Sept. 1 on.
However, Baker believes those struggles may be part of why they¡¯re still standing while 100-win clubs like the Braves and Dodgers have been sent packing.
¡°We had to play until the last day of the season to get in,¡± Baker said.
Houston won nine of 13 meetings with the Rangers this season, though the visitors spent 159 days occupying first place in the American League West and present a much more significant challenge than the Yankees did last October, when Houston¡¯s game plan could essentially be to focus on silencing Aaron Judge.
Corey Seager has reached base in 17 of 25 plate appearances this postseason (.680 on-base percentage), presenting a conundrum for the Astros¡¯ hurlers.
¡°I would say he¡¯ll get some MVP votes,¡± catcher Mart¨ªn Maldonado said. ¡°He¡¯s one of the best hitters. He doesn¡¯t have a [1.013 regular-season] OPS for nothing. My job is to figure out how to get him out and make my pitchers believe we can get him out.¡±
Only the Phillies (1.57) have a lower ERA from their rotation in the postseason than the Rangers (2.22), though Texas¡¯ bullpen is a soft spot.
The Astros also can hammer lefties like Game 1 starter Jordan Montgomery; they posted an .809 OPS vs. southpaws during the regular season and are 3-for-6 with two homers off lefties so far in the playoffs.
¡°Yordan [Alvarez] is probably one of the best left-handed hitters in baseball,¡± Jose Altuve said. ¡°He¡¯s an MVP-type of player.¡±
Of course, there¡¯s also the irresistible storyline of the 74-year-old Baker matched against the 68-year-old Bruce Bochy, a couple of decorated baseball lifers who first started going head to head as National Leaguers during the Carter administration and occasionally hung out with rock-and-roller Huey Lewis in the 1990s.
¡°I¡¯d rather have a foe that I do know versus one that I don¡¯t know,¡± Baker said. ¡°I¡¯ve always said that it¡¯s harder to manage against a person than it is against analytics or a computer. ¡ I respect Bruce. I don¡¯t know what his record is, but he¡¯s got a lot of brains in the head up there.¡±
It¡¯s the fifth time that two managers with at least 1,500 victories will face each other in a postseason series; only Joe Torre (84), Tony La Russa (71) and Bobby Cox (67) have more career postseason managerial wins than Baker (53) and Bochy (49).
¡°It¡¯s experience, instincts; they¡¯ve been there before and have seen a lot,¡± Verlander said. ¡°Kind of like older pitchers; they¡¯re there for a reason. You can trust your gut, and I think a lot of times it works out.¡±
Baker said that he considers the age topic ¡°overplayed,¡± preferring to point his attention toward the players on the field.
¡°It has something to do with us, but mostly to do with your team and the fact that the team trusts us,¡± Baker said. ¡°Our team has been here before.¡±