Will Dusty Baker be back next season? Composite Getty Image.

Last week, Sports Illustrated asked … “Will Dusty Baker be back managing the Houston Astros next year?”

That was followed by an ESPN commentator piling on, “I'm starting to lose trust in the Astros. Seems like the entire team has just fallen apart” in part blaming manager Baker's reputation for over-using and burning out young pitchers.

Then MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal, not exactly a hot take blowhard, hammered another nail in Baker's job security, reporting that Astros management already is considering who might be Baker's successor next season. Rosenthal even floated Atlanta Braves coaches Eric Young and Walt Weiss as candidates.

More and more it appears that, win or lose, Baker is going, going, gonzo – dead manager walking. The only question remaining is, will Baker leave the Astros triumphantly, riding a firetruck in another World Series parade, or be carried out on his bullheaded, obstinate shield?

Baker is working on a ticking, one-year contract. If the Astros fail to invite Baker back for 2024, it won't be the first time that a team parted ways with Baker as manager. It won't be the second time. Or third time. Or fourth time. It will be the fifth, and by the actuarial calendar, final time. Baker is 74, the oldest current manager in baseball, the fifth oldest in history.

The Astros hired Baker in 2020 as a mature, calming influence in the embers of the Astros sign-stealing scandal. His other managerial stops were the San Francisco Giants (1993-2002), Chicago Cubs (2003-2006), Cincinnati Reds (2008-2013), Washington Nationals (2016-2010). In all those cases, Baker seems to have worn out his welcome, butting heads with management and owners. And sometimes with fans.

That appears to be the story in Houston. Months ago, newly hired general manager Dana Brown publicly expressed a wish that Baker play rookie sensation Yanier Diaz more at catcher instead of veteran Martin Maldonado. Fans lit up the phone lines on radio shows pleading with Baker to put Diaz behind the plate. More recently, a published report in The Athletic claimed that several people in the Astros organization were frustrated that Baker doesn't play outfielder Chas McCormick more regularly.

Baker's typical retort: I don't need any help filling out the lineup card. Once he dismissed fans' feelings by saying, "If you listen to fans, soon you'll be sitting with them." Those aren't endearing, fan-friendly comments.

It's no coincidence that Braves coaches Young and Weiss are rumored to be on the Astro wish list of candidates. General manager Brown was the Braves' vice-president of scouting for four years when Astros owner Jim Crane hired him this season.

Fans surely realize that Crane and Brown are watching the same Astros games as they do. They see the same stat sheets. They know that Diaz is batting .282 with extraordinary power and speed for a catcher, while Maldonado is batting .192 with a penchant for leaving runners on base. More important, Maldonado has thrown out only 13 of 79 base stealers, a horrid 14 percent, and is leading the American League with 12 passed balls. He also led the league in passed balls last season. It's sort of his thing.

Meanwhile, Diaz has thrown out 15 of 50 base stealers for a competent 30 percent, and has zero passed balls. Simply, Martin Maldonado is a defensive specialist who's a defensive liability.

Baker is 74 years old, the oldest manager in baseball, set in his ways, at times cranky and short with the media. He is old school, a manager who believes he, and no one else, is in charge between the white lines. It's important to note that Dana Brown did not hire Baker. That's a big deal for a general manager. If 2024 is a transitional year for the Astros, a rebuild on the run with younger players, and a new sheriff in town, Baker wouldn't be the logical choice for manager.

If Baker is not invited back for 2024, he leaves a Hall of Fame legacy as a skipper. He is the only manager to win a divisional title with five different teams. He is the eighth winningest manager in MLB history. He is No. 1 in wins for an African-American manager. And what we care most about in Houston, he guided the Astros to three ALCS (with one in the oven) and has a World Series ring for leading the Astros to the World Series in 2022.

Let's not forget, his story is not finished.

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Texas hosts Clemson on Dec. 21. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.

For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.

“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”

Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”

Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.

“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”

Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.

“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”

The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.

Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.

Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”

Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.

“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”

Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.

Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.

Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.

“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.

Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.

Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.

“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.