Quote Originally Posted by _Sir_Charles_ View Post
I guess I'm in the minority here. I say they stick with Dusty. This team is not designed to win NOW. I've said this since the off-season that this year should be about 2 things and 2 things only. Improvement and youth experience. The kids should get a good deal of playing time to get them ready for the bigs. And steady improvement, even moderate improvement, is enough to show me that they're taking steps forward. A few games under .500 is improvement already, despite what some here want to claim. Toss the Reds into the NL west and we'd be in 3rd place. In the AL central...3rd place. The thing that makes it seem so dreadful this year is the constant ups and downs and the fact that the Cubs have the best record in baseball making our current standing look that much worse.

This team is on the right track. Does anybody really think Harang is going to continue to pitch at a 2-9 pace? Does anybody think we'll consistantly have multiple injuries decimating our starting line-up? Does anybody seriously think we won't be a better team next year with the kids being more experienced and with Junior not being a focal point in the lineup and OF defense? When you turn your team towards a youth movement you will flat-out experience higher highs and lower lows. Eratic defense, boneheaded plays on the basepaths, etc. Improvement, that's all we should be looking for right now. First place shouldn't even be in our thought process. It's heading in the right direction. For now, just enjoy watching the kids develop and saying your final farewells to the total package that was Junior Griffey. Despite the standings, it's a great time to be a Reds fan.
Sure, the team isn't designed to win now, but what about Dusty's performance during the season has given you confidence that any team he manages will live up to its potential? On a nightly basis he doesn't put his team in its best position to win. It continues again tonight. Its a rare game when he doesn't do something completely moronic that seriously hampers his team's ability to win.

The roster may or (more likely) may not be heading in the right direction, but there's really no questioning that this team's field management is very very very poor. I really can't see how any manager in baseball is worse. I'd take Bob Boone batting Adam Dunn leadoff (not a good idea) over Dusty batting Corey Patterson leadoff (the worst idea since the naming of Big Bone Lick).