Dusty Baker knows that a lot of people in fan land would like to see Laynce Nix in left field.
“But the fans don’t make out the lineup,” Baker said. “Nix is going to play. Fans didn’t even know who Nix was when we got him. You’re not going to play him over Jay Bruce or Willy Taveras. That leaves left field. Who’s got more talent than Chris Dickerson? Last year, Dickerson was the fair-haired boy. People wanted me to play him every day against right- and left-handers.”
It’s a small sample but Nix has outplayed Dickerson so far. Nix is hitting .333 with a home run and three RBI in 30 at-bats. He’s 4-for-his-last-7 and has scored a run in his last five appearances. Dickerson is hitting .204 with a home home run and five RBI in 49 at-bats. Nix has no errors, Dickerson has three.
Baker tends to stick with players longer than fans would like. He won’t take a position away based on a small sample.
“I ain’t no front-runner,” he said.
