HELL NO! How about Jackie Moore from the RR Express. They just clinced their 4th first half title and have been nothing short of dominating.
Dierker got us to the playoffs 4 times in 5 seasons! I'm not defying that fact that he made a huge mistkae by not putting Dotel in that game during the 2001 playoffs v. Atlanta. He should still be our manager. Bring back Dierk!
Once again (read the game thread)... Dierker had great teams, but he wasn't a great manager. The fact that this team failed in the playoffs 4 out of the 5 years should attest to that. Also... if he was so great, he'd have his fair share of offers rolling in to manage teams. As it is, people recognize that with the pitching staffs, and the calibur of everyday players that Dierker had in his tenure... its no secret why his teams did so well in the regular season.
He knew how to handle a staff in the dome - whoop-te-do - and that didn't prevent him from destroying Scott Elarton's arm.
Agreed... Oswalt was next on the list, if it wasn't for an emergency that forced him to be a starter. (Dierk was planning on using him in the bullpen every other day, ala Elarton). As it was, letting him throw 3 complete games in his rookie year, and letting Miller throw a couple more, they ended up having injury problems anyways.
There's a correlation b/t complete games and injuries? re: Joe Torre, he was thoroughly ridiculed for the job he did managing the Cardinals back in the day. Amazing what a ~$150M payroll can do for a manager's aptitude. Plus he's in the AL where a majority of a normal manager's in-game decisions are taken away. He's widely viewed as a superior handler of the personnel/clubhouse, not as a superior tactician. Don't even get me started on LaRussa. Anyone who wants a refresher course on Dierker's playoff managerial abilities should review the '99/'01 games vs. ATL. Bobby Cox managed circles (and squares, rhombuses, etc...) around Dierker. "In his first two years as Astros manager, Jimy Williams went to the bullpen earlier than I would have a lot of times. He did what most skippers do these days, putting a heavy load on the relievers. I was concerned that some of these guys would break down by September, but they did not. Now I have come to believe that I could have worked the bullpen a little harder myself. What it really boils down to is using your resources efficiently. Last year, the bullpen was stronger than the starting rotation, and it was almost strong enough to get the Astros into the playoffs." -- Larry Dierker http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bb/astros/2573933
