In our post on Monday, Question, questions, and more questions we asked our readers for questions they would like to ask Dusty and/or his coaches. And our own Laura Peebles will have the opportunity to ask some questions of Dusty and his coaches during a lunch she is having with them this Saturday.
So here are the questions that got more than 5 up-votes. They are listed here (and in the poll below) in order of how many up-votes they got (most up-votes listed first).
- What’s the funniest thing that was said during a mound visit in a game? – JCCfromDC
- If the baseball gods gave you one do-over, as either a player or a manager, what would it be? – DonH, aka zmunchkin
- Why don’t you use Petit in the long man role when a starter gets knocked out before the 6th inning? – Karen Flynn
- Do you expect to find a way to play Trea Turner almost every day and is he the Nats leadoff hitter from now on? – steagle
- Have you ever been tempted to put one of those President’s heads on and wander the left field plaza a couple hours before the game to hear how the fans love the Nats? – ManassasNatsFan
- Dusty/Maddux, any ideas to explain how Strasburg is almost unhittable on the road and so average at home? He has the best ERA in the Majors on the road at 1.70 and at home is 3.60. – Ghost of Steve M.
- Do either of you read TalkNats, and if you do, has it ever influenced any of your decisions? – Joe Seamhead
- Dusty….you were away from managing the game for two years. During that absence what new knowledge/perspective perhaps that you think you didn’t have before did you bring during this time around? – AllFoNats
- Why has Perez gotten so much work lately against righty batters? – SaoMagnifico
- What’s the worst clown question you’ve been asked? – senators69
- How would you respond to fans whi think you may be over using the starting pitchers (see, eg, Boswell’s comment on Roark), and Ramos, a little bit, as they fear they will burn out towards the end of the season – ADCWonk
- Which coaches voted for which fave baseball movie – natsfan 1a
Note that question 4 was answered today in Dusty’s appearance on the MLB Network Radio show with Casey Stern and Cliff Lee. When Dusty was asked what he was going to do with Trea Turner, his answer basically was that Trea Turner is his starter and he would play either 2nd if Ryan Zimmerman isn’t playing as Daniel Murphy would play 1st base, and if Zimmerman is playing then Trea Turner would be in centerfield.
Here is more on Trea from Dusty Baker, “What has impressed me the most is probably is how he is not overwhelmed by being in the Big Leagues or even being in awe of who is pitching against him, but he is also a humble young man at the same time, and a respectful young man. He plays like he belongs. He is playing a number of different positions which is very very tough to do. He has played 2nd, and he has played centerfield. I might give Danny Espinosa a day off and him go back to short. But I am trying not to move him around too too much. Now that Zim is out, he is playing mostly 2nd and Murph is playing 1st. It’s been a challenge. Now we got speed at the top of the line-up.”
“It all depends if Murph is playing 1st base or not. If Zim is not right or is not here, then I will play Trea at 2nd. If Zim is okay and Murphy is at 2nd, then I will play Trea in centerfield. He has played a heck of a 2nd base, but he has played a heck of a centerfield too. I am glad that we have a luxury to play him at both and feel comfortable.”
https://soundcloud.com/mlbnetworkradio/everybody-loves-dusty-baker-this-is-why
So please vote in our poll for which question you would most like Laura to ask. Please note however that what questions to ask is at Laura’s sole discretion and any of the above may be modified based on the tenor of the conversation.
