I know less about the minors than most but this reeks as a move to keep Bell a happy camper, not that it upsets me.
I know less about the minors than most but this reeks as a move to keep Bell a happy camper, not that it upsets me.
This is a guy who I think is being fast tracked too quickly. He's only been managing since 2008 and it's not like his track record as a manager is exceptional or anything. He may turn out fine, but typically, minor league managers "earn their stripes" a bit more than Bell has.
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My guess is that Bell is the #1 in-house managerial "prospect." Could be the Reds have kept Sweet around by telling him they'll either get him onto the major league staff within X amt of time (a year or two, likely) or return him to skipper Louisville within the same time frame.
As far as Bell goes, I have been a critic in the past but if you look at the purpose of the minor league system, it is to develop players, not teams. Louisville's lineup, as well as a few faces in Cincy, played under Bell. It is without debate that the talent level at AA the past several years, particularly the last two, has been below average. The pitching has been horrendous. The pen was a train wreck all season minus one or two guys.
Louisville consists of the better players to go through Carolina. Sweet had better teams to manage, period. I believe that Ryan Jackson to Louisville is a plus for the Bats. He played a huge part of Phipps' success and others. Ted Power staying there is a personal preference I would have had given the choice, I'm glad he's back.
For all you Bats fans, I believe the angst over Bell's arrival is a bit overdone. I hope Louisville has a very successful year and Bell is a big part of it.
I haven't seen a ton of games managed by Bell, but I have not been overwhelmed by his "moves" in a game. 2 or 3 times I saw him make moves (pinch hit/double swap) etc that didn't seem very well thought out.
He seems very old school in his style. I'd feel better knowing there was a bench coach around for him.
Over the past couple of seasons my biggest disappointment in watching the Reds AA teams is that they make some of the worst mental mistakes to be at this level. One of the biggest I ever saw was when the opposing team's runner on first takes off from first to second to entice the catcher to come out to put him in a run down. Oh, did I mention there was a guy on third! So our cather leaves the plate unprotected and gets caught with his pants down half way to the mound when the guy from third scores and the guy on first advances to second. Oh, did I mention the pitcher nor the third baseman covered home! That is the stuff that made me question Bell's managerial abilities. Throwing to the wrong base, runners hesitating on the base paths and getting thrown out. There was way too much of that here. Perhaps at this level this shouldn't be a mangers job, I don't know. I'm anxious to see how Bell does in Louisville.
Last edited by muddie; 11-30-2011 at 03:14 PM.
2009. And someone I talked to (not with the Reds) during the season said it was time for him to get moved up.
And to Jax, he loves a double switch. I think he is quite old school with how how he manages. Remember though, for most of the time, he, and almost all minor league managers are short one bench player because it's a 24-man roster, not 25. I didn't talk in-game strategy with him as much as I probably should have, but I did ask him from time to time why he did or did not do a move.
The Sweet change is one of those things that seems surprising without knowing the real story. It is possible that, with Mesoraco expected to stay with the big club, they want Sweet to be able to spend time with him without disrupting the Triple-A coaching staff...and that you will see Sweet in the big league dugout more this season. He also can spend time with Grandal, whose bat is way ahead of his glove.
Pat Kelly spent some time in this role last season before the Billings season started. They may feel that what he did was beneficial enough to keep it going all season and they don't have many ex-catchers in manager or hitting coach roles.
But I think most of all, it gives Sweet a chance to work with Mesoraco in the big leagues, not only on defensive skills but also on calling the game.
I would go out on a limb and say that Sweet would not be doing this if he was not on board with it.
As far as Bell's record in Carolina, forget about it. Won-loss in the minors does not say much about managerial skills. Talent levels vary wildly from team to team. The Reds had a talent void that worked its way up the ladder and they had to try to fill in with free agents in Carolina last season. I have no idea what kind of a manager Bell is, but you can't take anything from the record. To draw a real world comparison, that would be like comparing the gross revenue at two different McDonalds in different cities and drawing a conclusion about the restaurant's GM. One McDonalds might be on State Street in downtown Chicago and the other on some rural highway intersection.
Last edited by redsof72; 12-02-2011 at 09:25 AM.
Don't know if this will add anything but I was emailing with someone high up in minor league baseball, who is a former general manager. Bell's name came up and here's what he had to say about him:
"David is the new breed of managers who will navigate the traditional managerial approach with the analytical approach that many clubs are taking."
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