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--> --> Nov. 2: Confessions of a big-league loser By Larry Berteau I walk into the hall, confronted by the backs of heads. The ceiling is too high, the bench seating too rigid, and the stage at the far end of the hall was constructed in Kurt Vonnegut's imagination. The much-revered Dusty Baker, present skipper of the San Francisco Giants, may not only be blowing town, he blew the World Series. Rumor has it he's moving on after this season. If so, I'll personally be available to turn out the lights. He's made himself into an icon, a media darling, but like many relationships, this one has gone sour. There are many empty seats. Most are in the back, nearest me. To choose a back row seat is to make a statement of some kind - I don't exactly know what - so I take a place in a half-full section. The man in front of me has dandruff. Dusty set up his rotation all wrong for the Series. Games 1 and 2 were slated for Anaheim - the American League site - with Games 3, 4 and 5 in San Francisco, the National League site. Games 6 and 7 switched back to Anaheim. The American League employs the designated hitter (a batter, usually over the hill, or incapable of catching a ball, or both, who swings for the pitcher). The Giants had two pitchers who can flat-out hit: Ramon Ortiz and Livan Hernandez. The Angels didn't have a pitcher who had swung a bat since Little League. Consequently, it was a no-brainer to start Ortiz and Hernandez in San Francisco, right? Someone is speaking from the podium on the stage. A puff of dust hangs in mid-air, particles dancing in the sunlight - like dying bugs. The speaker's voice is apologetic and lacks the eagerness of conviction. Not for Dusty. With all pitchers available with the full complement of four days rest, Baker gives Hernandez the ball in Game 2 - IN ANAHEIM! Consequently, that set up Hernandez - assuming the normal rotation - again for Game 7. IN ANAHEIM! Under Baker's manipulation of the rotation, Hernandez, a .280 lifetime hitter, never got to swing a bat. More importantly, Hernandez was a 16-game LOSER in the regular season, tops in the National League. Further, that left Kirk Reuter, the only southpaw in the Giants rotation, throwing Game 4 only - despite the fact the Angels have a lefty-loaded lineup. The tall windows on the side of the hall are draped with old curtains. One of them is slashed, with late autumn sun slanting through the opening. The glow is the last resort of summer - so inconsiderate I can look it in the eye. Dusty's mistakes get worse. In Game 3 he leaves Ortiz in too long - he was having his occasional meltdown - and the game was out of hand before he was lifted. The 1927 Yankees couldn't have made that comeback. Inserting Tsuyoshi Shinjo as a designated hitter made as much sense as taking cooked sushi to a Japanese dinner party. And, in Game 6, with Ortiz pitching a masterpiece - a 4-hit shutout in the seventh inning, and sporting a 5-0 lead that if maintained, gives the Giants the World Series in six - Dusty calmly walks to the mound and sends Ortiz to the showers. An over-worked Giants bullpen coughs up six runs to force a Game 7 that should never have been played. Plus, in that same Game 6, veteran Shawon Dunston slugs a 2-run homer to get the Giants going, only to be lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. The pinch-hitter: Tom Goodwin, a washed up, banjo-hitting outfielder that three months before was toiling in the minor leagues, his big-league career washed up, having been released by five previous teams. It's my turn. Two men cough in unison. I stand and walk to the stage, resigned, bent, without ceremony. I face my audience and find a voice somewhere in the region of my stomach. "Hello, my name is Larry," I say. "And I'm a Giants fan." Larry Berteau is editor of The Tidings. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing