the batting orders are simply absurd. The toothpick needs to be on the first bus elsewhere.
the batting orders are simply absurd. The toothpick needs to be on the first bus elsewhere.
IN.
I nominate Steel for manager and Cyclone for his bench coach.
every Reds fan buys a few extra heads of lettuce and it's all paid for ... chump change
Last edited by flyer85; 05-03-2008 at 10:31 PM.
Dusty ought to be paying Castellini, Dusty gets more PR and overall press than his players do.
I never did like it when a GM, coach or manager received more press than the players in any sport, it is a bad sign.
Can't believe all the panic on the zone tonight! I for one am loving this starting pitching. Belise back on track with Volquez and Harang and Cueto and Homer kicking in AAA. But I'm a half full type of guy. They are just pressing. This to shall pass! But getting rid of Dunn, Griffey, Freel, Baker - Come one guys!
oh I'm concerned. Just not ready to do the fire sell in early May!
Dusty was an almost laughable choice to manage this team. The reason behind it was to convince the fanbase that ownership was serious about winning. Very little thought seemed to be given to the man's history as a manager, and the conditions under which he excelled and how dramatically different those were from the conditions we currently have with our beloved Reds. It would be hard to find anyone who knows anything about this game to imagine an individual more miscast to manage the the 2008 version of the Reds than Dusty Baker. That is not a slam on Dusty, but a criticism of an owner group struggling to find it's niche. Dusty is a good baseball man, and I can honestly say that I feel bad for him for the situation he currently finds himself in. This may be his last chance to rescue what was once a very bright career in management. Ten years ago, he would have been the one laughing at the idea of taking a job in a small market struggling to regain it's identity in an economic environment designed to snuff it out.
So, what to do now?
No matter what the sports writers have to say, and no matter how much criticism Castellini will suffer for doing so, ownership needs to let Jockety decide who will manage the team he is about to re-design. If Dusty Baker is the right man for this job, so be it. But, I don't think he ever was that guy. There is enough talent in this organization to be performing much better than it is at the moment, and there is plenty of time this season to turn it around.
However, there is no time to waste.
Last edited by Phhhl; 05-04-2008 at 01:06 AM.
Bob C should fire every single member of the organization, then salt the field at GABP, and as his last act, fire himself.
In the ultimate irony, even if Bob C did all of that this afternoon, the story still would only get 5 seconds and it would be buried at the end of ESPN news' broadcast after about 25 minutes devoted to the Yankees and BoSox....
All kidding aside....cheer up..... Bruce is coming (sooner or later)!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
They already fired the guy responsible for this joke of a roster. You have to give the new GM some time. Trades don't often materialize in early May.
From John Erardi:
Did you know ...
That we have a suggestion for Baker's voiced conundrum (as reported by John Fay in Saturday's Enquirer) of how to get Joey Votto higher in the batting order without stacking left-handers?
We realize managers have to deal with personalities, contracts and the pesky lefty-righty thing. But they also should bat the guys that get on base in front of those who (should) drive them in.
There are two things Baker needs to do: Every single game but one this season, he has batted his center fielder leadoff. Stop that; it's not working.
Secondly, he needs to play to his strength as a communicator. Go to Ken Griffey Jr.,explain that you want to shake up the batting order to try to get things going, and ask Junior to "take one for the team." He'll do it; he wants to win.
But even without the Griffey option, Baker can make the following batting order work today against Braves left-hander Tom Glavine.
1. Jeff Keppinger - He's killing lefties so far this year (.320 batting average/.452 on-base percentage/.440 slugging percentage), just as he has over his career.
2. Adam Dunn - He's struggling this year, but he's still getting on base, even against lefties. He's hit Glavine well in the past (.304/.429/.565).
3. Edwin Encarnacion - The fact is he's the best right-handed hitter on the Reds right now, if not the best hitter overall. Get him some more at-bats.
4. Votto - We don't like putting this kind of "pressure" on the kid, but what's the worst thing that can happen - an oh-fer? He's too hot for an oh-fer to cool him off. Plus he's killing lefties so far this season (.409/.435/.727).
5. Brandon Phillips - His bat is starting to come around, but he still doesn't get on base as much as we'd like. Let him clean up what Votto can't.
6. Griffey - We know Dusty likes toget Griffey an at-bat in the first inning, but maybe it happens anyway - with runners on base! (And if you can't live with this, Dusty or Junior, then just flip-flop Griffey and Votto).
7. David Ross - With Bronson Arroyo pitching and a lefty going for the Braves, Ross likely will catch.
8. Freel - Until one of the center fielders starts doing something consistently useful, we suggest "dropping them down" in the order with the directive to get on base for the top of the order. (Want to be really creative?" Pull a Tony La Russa and bat starting pitcher Arroyo 8th and Freel 9th - for a "second leadoff hitter." Today is the day to try it; Arroyo has bat speed and a sense of adventure - as does Freel.)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...T04/805040442/
If the Reds fire a big-name manager like Dusty for losing games this far into a 3-year contract, we can pretty much forget about seeing Davey Johnson, Lou Piniella, Joe Torre or any other big-name manager that people have pined for at the helm of the Reds until the Castellini family sells the team.
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