What is reasonable?
It seems like we’ve been waiting forever for the ownership change. Once Castellini was announced as the winning bidder, the anticipation started to intensify.
5 years of dismal performance will do that to you. Some of those years, we were in contention for a while, only to fall off at the end, victim to the harsh reality of our Pythagorean shortcomings.
Last year, we didn’t have hope for any time at all once we broke camp in Sarasota. I’ve never seen such despair and apathy so early in the season.
So, the specter of a new ownership group gave us hope, something that’s been in short supply for far too long.
And for many of us, the starting point for that hope took shape in the idea that Dan O’Brien and John Allen would be removed from power. O’Brien and Allen personified the losing ways to which the Reds have become accustomed. They drew the ire of many here at RedsZone.
We’ve been talking for weeks now about their fate. We’ve even had threads to predict the date when they’d be removed. And I’ve noticed that we have several opinions on the subject.
Many of us wanted a bold move by Castellini, lopping off their heads in his opening press conference. We wanted him to come in roaring like a lion, putting the baseball world on notice that the dismal suckfest that Reds baseball has descended into will no longer be tolerated.
Others are happy enough with a measured approach. More suitable to Midwestern values and not ruffling the feathers of the prior administration.
Still others don’t think it will happen at all. They think that DanO will serve out his term and run the team all year.
So, after reading all the passionate appeals and sorting through the logic, I have to ask myself….. what is reasonable?
I’ve heard it put that it would be totally unprofessional to come in and make a big scene in the first press conference, that it would be better to wait and put some time between taking control and firing O’Brien.
I’ve been railing for weeks now that it should be the first thing he does. An immediate show that he understands just how bad DanO’s performance has been.
None of this is directed towards O’Brian personally. He may be the nicest guy on the block. But I’ve seen all I need to see, and I’ve heard all the corporate speak gobbledegook I want to hear.
The next person who makes the mistake of saying “Status Quo” around me may just get smacked upside the head. “Status Quo” has taken on a life of its own here, and it’s a sad, pitiful joke to accept the current state of affairs.
I’m trying to be reasonable in my expectations. I really am encouraged by the new ownership and the things they’re saying. I’m also scared a little by a few quotes, like the “glass is half full” line. The glass may be half full, but it’s half full of sludge. We need to filter out the contaminates and then add some new pitching. THEN we’ll have a nice little cocktail we can all enjoy and be proud of, instead of the liver and onion smoothie we’ve been force fed.
I’m trying to be reasonable, I really am. I’ve racked my brain going over scenarios that make sense, and I’m bending over backwards to give the Castellini administration the full benefit of the doubt.
DanO, I wish you well in your future life. I think that it would be the best for everyone if you got an early start on it.
I’m really trying to be reasonable.