From CBS Sportsline's Larry Dobrow today...

[Kingspoint]

I saw this Dusty Baker quote in the paper this morning, buried deep in a story about how the Reds will push back Edinson Volquez's next start by a day or two: "Volquez is approaching a number of innings he has never pitched before in one year." Good lord! Dustbag just made sense! Now, about those 265 plate appearances he has lavished upon Corey Patterson.

[ChatterRed]

Everyone gets it about Dusty except Castellini and Jocketty.

[CWRed]

Everyone gets it about Dusty except Castellini and Jocketty.

Dusty's logic < stupidity

[gedred69]

I was and still am, very opposed to Baker managing this team. But, I am also capable of being fair. Face it. After several years of failure with the "We'll outscore everybody and Win" attitude, and the same core returning, what did Baker have to work with? I am so sick of hearing about Dunn's 40 HRs/year, and "how are we gonna' replace those numbers", I want to vomit when anyone suggests Dunn was a major loss. 40 HRs and only 100 RBIs? (Kingman used to that, and also sucked in the field). Compare Dunn's #s to guys like Halliday, Puhols, Texiera, yada, yada yada, and tell me we are going to miss Dunn. Dusty, ----(as I said, don't really want him here), didn't have much to work with.

[Griffey012]

I was and still am, very opposed to Baker managing this team. But, I am also capable of being fair. Face it. After several years of failure with the "We'll outscore everybody and Win" attitude, and the same core returning, what did Baker have to work with? I am so sick of hearing about Dunn's 40 HRs/year, and "how are we gonna' replace those numbers", I want to vomit when anyone suggests Dunn was a major loss. 40 HRs and only 100 RBIs? (Kingman used to that, and also sucked in the field). Compare Dunn's #s to guys like Halliday, Puhols, Texiera, yada, yada yada, and tell me we are going to miss Dunn. Dusty, ----(as I said, don't really want him here), didn't have much to work with.

I am guessing Dusty gets his shot into next season. Jocketty gets to rework the roster, hopefully Harang is back to form. And then they will go from there and then if we continue to stink and similar players like Bako and Patterson get as many AB's as they are this year, Dusty will be gone.

[gedred69]

I am guessing Dusty gets his shot into next season. Jocketty gets to rework the roster, hopefully Harang is back to form. And then they will go from there and then if we continue to stink and similar players like Bako and Patterson get as many AB's as they are this year, Dusty will be gone.

Thanks for some sanity, while acknowledging my view(s). You have expressed exactly how I feel. Further, I feel nobody could have led this team to any significant success. (Just a game or so over .500 would qualify as success).

[Slyder]

I was and still am, very opposed to Baker managing this team. But, I am also capable of being fair. Face it. After several years of failure with the "We'll outscore everybody and Win" attitude, and the same core returning, what did Baker have to work with? I am so sick of hearing about Dunn's 40 HRs/year, and "how are we gonna' replace those numbers", I want to vomit when anyone suggests Dunn was a major loss. 40 HRs and only 100 RBIs? (Kingman used to that, and also sucked in the field). Compare Dunn's #s to guys like Halliday, Puhols, Texiera, yada, yada yada, and tell me we are going to miss Dunn. Dusty, ----(as I said, don't really want him here), didn't have much to work with.

I was always against his hiring, I was hoping it was he was the Rick Neuheisel(Sp?) of the Raiders candidates (you always hear his name) but NEVER in a million years would he get the job. Baseball is not the same game it was 10-20 years ago. To be successful now you HAVE to be patient as a hitter. Duhhhsty is from the exact opposite school. Theres a reason why games are taking longer, hitters are taking way more pitches than previous years.

Now we have gone from outslug everyone to concentrating more on defense... So we have sacrificed offense for defense to this point, due to this this team needs to be MORE patient not less in order to be successful. Duhhsty should not be considered the answer, he will continue to make the same mistakes he has ALL YEAR and continue to poison guys like Bruce to go up swinging for the fences at anything close. Duhhhsty needs a veteran team that all he has to do is guide along, this team (looking at current 25 man plus whos signed for next year) is going to be so young that many of them will have never seen Duhhsty play.

Unless we want to wait for the next 5 year plan to start with a new core then Duhhhsty needs to be told he isnt the right guy for the job and relieved of his duties before we waste more time debating whats going through that empty shell Duhhsty calls a head.

[Road Pop]

Dusty has usually been a veterans manager. He also passes the buck and throws people under the bus. When this team finally does good, he'll take credit...... he'll blame everyone and the batboy when they don't. When they do play good, I'll give the credit to the team as being a unit. He's overhyped as a manager. I'll give credit to the kids on the team when they realize they can win games fundamentally.


Edit: Hopefully the Reds get younger with the manager, also.

[Kingspoint]

Thanks for some sanity, while acknowledging my view(s). You have expressed exactly how I feel. Further, I feel nobody could have led this team to any significant success. (Just a game or so over .500 would qualify as success).

That's probably true. These next 40 games are some of my favorite types of games. I was at Canseco's and Will Clark's
debuts in '83 and enjoyed watching their beginnings where they eventually led their respective clubs to the World Series.

[muethibp]

I don't think Dusty is the right manager for this team and I didn't want to see him hired, but I don't think he has been that bad. In my opinion he has been a pretty big improvement over Narron. It's not really his fault that this team went to battle this year with no CF, C, right handed hitting, right handed pinch-hitting, fifth starter, etc., etc., etc.

[redsbuckeye]

FJM Style :

I was and still am, very opposed to Baker managing this team.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! (background music of the Mormon Tabernacle choir)

But, I am also capable of being fair.

(loud and long record scratching noise)

Face it. After several years of failure with the "We'll outscore everybody and Win" attitude,

That is usually how teams win games, by outscoring their competition. I know this is new and revolutionary stuff to some but the numbers bear out.

and the same core returning, what did Baker have to work with?

Apparently Dusty had to work with Corey Patterson leading off way too many games. When you've got plenty of other options, why on Earth is this guy not only seeing starting time, but is leading off the farking game with an abysmal on base %?

Player personnel abilities aside, Dusty has continually mismanaged the team, especially the batting lineup. And I'm beginning to worry about Cueto's and Volquez's pitch counts lest we have another injury a la this year's Harang.

I am so sick of hearing about Dunn's 40 HRs/year,

Home runs make you sick? Funny, I find them exciting and it seems they help score runs which those new fangled computer numbers tell us win games.

I guess some people can't handle excitement, they usually don't get on roller coasters.

and "how are we gonna' replace those numbers",

Your incredulance suggests you think that will be an easy task yet nowhere do I see a solution to a loss of a .900 OPS player.

I want to vomit when anyone suggests Dunn was a major loss. 40 HRs and only 100 RBIs? (Kingman used to that, and also sucked in the field).

Hi, I'm going to cherry pick two numbers and use them to compare Dunn to a player that Dunn is actually nothing like. I like strawmen.

Kingman had a career .302 OBP. That's not even close to Dunn. Kingman also only once broke 40 homers and only twice broke 100 RBIs in 16 seasons. Dunn's surpassed that already. The Kingman comparison is as bad of one as I've ever seen.

Nevermind that RBIs are a completely team based stat and have little value for predicting how good a player is going to be.

Compare Dunn's #s to guys like Halliday,

How do you propose to compare Dunn to Halladay? I was unaware Dunn pitched and Halladay hit.

Edit: I now realize he was probably talking about Matt Holliday instead of Roy Halladay. To that, I say check out Holliday's career road numbers.

Puhols,

How about we compare him to Ruth and Bonds too, just for gits and shiggles and see how bad he looks because, you know, everyone else in the world hits like Pujols and Ruth and Bonds. Dunn sucks for not living up to those standards.

Texiera, yada, yada yada, and tell me we are going to miss Dunn.

Actually, how about we compare him to league average, instead of cherry picked players and stats. Hmm....it seems Dunn's .900 OPS was noticeably above average, to the point of being very good.

Dusty, ----(as I said, don't really want him here), didn't have much to work with.

For someone who doesn't want him here you sure are defending him a lot.

[levydl]

I was and still am, very opposed to Baker managing this team. But, I am also capable of being fair. Face it. After several years of failure with the "We'll outscore everybody and Win" attitude, and the same core returning, what did Baker have to work with? I am so sick of hearing about Dunn's 40 HRs/year, and "how are we gonna' replace those numbers", I want to vomit when anyone suggests Dunn was a major loss. 40 HRs and only 100 RBIs? (Kingman used to that, and also sucked in the field). Compare Dunn's #s to guys like Halliday, Puhols, Texiera, yada, yada yada, and tell me we are going to miss Dunn. Dusty, ----(as I said, don't really want him here), didn't have much to work with.

Are those guys the only ones a team will miss? So Dunn isn't any of those players (I agree with you that Roy Halliday is way better). He was very good and we didn't get much major league ready return for him.

Quite an ignorant rant, on several levels.

[CWRed]

I was and still am, very opposed to Baker managing this team. But, I am also capable of being fair. Face it. After several years of failure with the "We'll outscore everybody and Win" attitude, and the same core returning, what did Baker have to work with? I am so sick of hearing about Dunn's 40 HRs/year, and "how are we gonna' replace those numbers", I want to vomit when anyone suggests Dunn was a major loss. 40 HRs and only 100 RBIs? (Kingman used to that, and also sucked in the field). Compare Dunn's #s to guys like Halliday, Puhols, Texiera, yada, yada yada, and tell me we are going to miss Dunn. Dusty, ----(as I said, don't really want him here), didn't have much to work with.

Ignorance is bliss with way too many Reds fans. But I agree with one thing...The first sentence.