I just can’t agree here. Strong leaders lead, especially when those under their charge are struggling. I’m in zero clubhouse meetings but from my somewhat distant vantage, I see no evidence of leadership impact. Just “let the boys play through this, they’re good and will figure it out”. No strategic pivots on the hitting or pitching side of the ball. No galvanizing emotion in the dugout. No evidence of analytic thought driving decision making. Just guessing their way through things like lineup construction based on feel for the day. None of that is leadership.
I’ve been on teams like this. You know what’s even more demoralizing than performing poorly individually and having that contribute to poor team performance? It’s not seeing/feeling strong, decisive leadership from your superiors when you need it most. I blame Dusty and his assembled team for most of this.