As much as I complain about certain aspects of Dusty Baker’s skills as a manager, he often knows what he’s doing. On why he didn’t pinch hit for Mike Leake with Scott Rolen:

“I didn’t want to waste Scottie there because they weren’t going to throw Scottie nothing with first base open.

“The strong side of my bench (Miguel Cairo and Chris Heisey) was actually in the game already. I was down to (Paul) Janish. (Laynce) Nix, (Corky) Miller. I didn’t want to use Nix in that situation. I lose him against a righty (reliever). I was trying to save Scottie because I knew they were going to use (J.C.) Romero at some point in time. I know how Charlie (Manuel’s) been using his bullpen. I know he’s been stretching his starters to not go to his bullpen.

“Plus, that fact (Leake) can hit. Why would I waste Scott Rolen, my top pinch-hitter, in the sixth inning when I still have three innings to go?”

I like this because it shows on a micro level, Dusty is doing everything right. He knows the abilities of his hitters. He knows the game situation. He knows the tendencies of his opponent. Complaints about Baker exist at the macro level. He tends to like veterans over youngsters, he may over work young pitchers, and he’s not fond of people clogging the bases with walks. He’s not sleeping on the bench however, his head is fully in the game.