MLB Bullets hits Dusty’s Trail

Dusty’s Trail was a syndicated TV show of the early-70’s that was Gilligan’s Island set in the Old West. It was about a wagon train that got lost. It was created by Gilligan’s creator Sherwood Schwartz and even starred Bob Denver as Dusty. It also had two of the actresses from Petticoat Junction in the Ginger and Mary Ann roles.

Like everything on TV these days, they’re remaking it in Houston this year. Although I think they like to call it a “re-imagining.”

• The Astros announced their new manager Dusty Baker. Baker said the team needs to move forward past the events of the offseason.
• Baker also said that electronic sign-stealing “won’t happen under my watch” and that the team will “flush it and forget it.”
• Buster Olney writes that Baker was the best choice for the Astros’ job. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Tyler Kepner believes that Baker brings the one thing the Astros needed the most right now: integrity.
• Just as a related aside, R.J. Anderson says MLB and in particular the commissioner’s office has a credibility problem at the moment.
• Jay Jaffe thinks that it may be counterintuitive, but that Baker was an inspired choice for the analytical Astros.
• In case you were wondering, SBNation’s The Crawfish Boxes has dueling pro-Dusty and anti-Dusty pieces. From reading the comments, that pretty well sums up what the fans are thinking. Some did say that Baker’s press conference won them over, however.
• Craig Calcaterra notes that with Baker’s one-year deal (with a team option), Baker is already a lame-duck manager.
• It was also revealed that Baker will manage the American League in the All-Star Game.
• This was in the comment section last time, but Astros fan Tony Adams went through every Astros game in 2017 and counted trash-can bangs.
• Mike Oz spoke with Adams about why he did it and the conclusions he came to.
• Andy McCullough reports that a trade that would send Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts to the Dodgers is getting more likely. (The Athletic sub. req., but you can read a quick take on it here.)
• Craig Edwards estimates what it would take for the Dodgers or the Padres to land Betts.
• R.J. Anderson has a general look at what the Red Sox are looking for in a Betts deal.
• Anderson also examines what the Phillies could offer in a deal for Kris Bryant.
• Brendan Gawlowski examines the Cardinals and argues that St. Louis’ inactive winter is a lost opportunity.
• Mike Petriello notes that new Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos should be helped by moving to the Great American Ballpark, but maybe not as much as people might think.
• Keith Law thinks the Reds got Castellanos for a fair price, but he doesn’t understand the Reds overall strategy, (The Athletic sub. req.) which is overloaded on outfield bats and short on pitching.
• Staying in the NL Central, Adam Berry lists the possible replacements for Starling Marte in Pittsburgh.
• Rhett Bollinger explains how the new rules in 2020 increases the value of Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani.
• Richard Justice has nine key players for the 2020 season and Ohtani is one of them.
• Tim Brown looks at the Orange Coast College baseball program as they played their first game after the death of their coach, John Altobelli, who died in the same helicopter crash that killed former NBA star Kobe Bryant.
• Reliever Greg Holland has signed a minor league deal with the Royals, the team he won the World Series with in 2015.
• Former MLB pitcher Scott Kazmir is attempting a comeback.
• Jon Paul Morosi predicts the 2021 Team USA World Baseball Classic roster. No Cubs on his list, but I’m sure Javier Baez will play for Team Puerto Rico again.
• In order to force MLB to back off from their proposal to contract the minor leagues, some have suggested that Congress could revoke MLB’s antitrust exemption. But J.J. Cooper explains why revoking the exemption would hurt the minor leagues more than the majors. So basically, MiLB is hosed.
• Chris Landers looks back at the history of the designated hitter rule and why the NL doesn’t have it.
• Last time, I linked to a story about Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throwing a no-hitter in high school. Michael Clair takes a look at Mahomes’ short-but-promising college baseball career.
• And finally, can you tell the difference between these real baseball injuries and fake ones in this quiz? I got 13 out of 14, which I think is pretty good.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.