4/18/12 - Ok, seriously...let's win a game.

[WVRedsFan]

Rolen doubles and has a two hit night. Heisey ground out on an early pitch. Mes slams a ball where the third baseman makes a good play. And we get Harris who has been less than helpful. He flys out and this one is mercifully over

[traderumor]

This is actually a best case scenario--some heavy losing early will get Dusty out the door. Then the Reds have a chance. The ceiling with Dusty, if many on the team have career years, is a three-and-out playoff team. A good manager in the playoffs will wipe him out strategically, and you know he will not have the club mentally ready to play playoff baseball. I actually think some good may come of all this.

Dusty's not going anywhere barring some Hal McRae type absolute meltdown. He's also managed in the World Series and was a miraculous comeback away from winning one, and a Bartman away from going with the Cubs, just to correct your above inaccurate comments.

[Nasty_Boy]

Respectfully, I am unhappy with the Reds. I spend much of my leisure time devoted to the ballclub, and I expected a good season. Instead, they are playing miserably.

I'm sorry if it disturbs you that some of us express these feelings on a Reds message board.

If we now are to have folks overseeing our comments and criticizing posters for expressing their frustration, maybe it's time to go someplace else to discuss Reds baseball.

Lol! I'm as ticked as anyone... I can't stand to watch them right now its so frustrating. I spend much of the game texting friends, venting about players and Dusty. My point is everyone (including myself) is over the top right now. People have dug in on players and the same arguments are re-hashed only with new verbiage, rhetoric, and prose (see what I did there) while mixing in some personal barbs to ensure a reaction.

I'll give you credit, you start a ton of topics and stay very involved in these threads... I'm just pointing out that the expectations, coupled with the early season disappointments have made things unbearable on many fronts. I use this site to keep up on Reds news, learn things I never learned as a player, and as a therapist when I'm upset with the play of the home team... Things just seemed to go overboard in the criticism of players tonight and the things I read on twitter were embarrassing to the Reds fan base.

Keep discussing the Reds... Keep voicing your frustration... Keep doing what you want, because I get just as red assed as anyone. I'm just saying on nights like tonight, it can make anyone a little crazy. I'm just going to step back from the ledge, realize the season is 2 weeks old, hope like hell that things turn around.

[Kc61]

Glad I was able to spend some time tonight watching Bill Bray "figure it out."

Wonder if he is any good at algebra.

Nice job by the Reds tonight in their quest for the worst offensive performance by a supposedly good team during the month of April in the history of the world.

[kaldaniels]

Nice posts last page wheelhouse and traderumor.

[WVRedsFan]

Wild prediction: As an observer of the game and its trends, this is the game where the Cards hit their peak in a hot streak, the Reds hit the trough in their downturn. Things will start to level out from here for both squads.

As the luck of the draw would have it, we get back to back series to start the season with a team experiencing an unsustainable hot streak at the same team we're having a unsustainable team wide hitting slump.

It's tough to start that way because it just sends alarms through the camp, panic buttons are hit, the extreme predictions of doom are made, the critics are running rampant screaming "I told you so, I told you last season, I told you this offseason, I told you this spring, we're doomed, we're all doomed"

Then, there's a game tomorrow, and one after that, and one after that...

Have fun, folks, laugh, don't go off the deep end, this is a good team off to a slow start. It happens, its happened to our team. They will recover.

Great post. Our schedule has been tough. After playing .500 at home we hit the road and go 1-5 against Washington who is hot and St. Louis, who is on fire. It will all even out.

[traderumor]

I'm going to next Thursday's game, hopefully they're playing better. I'm glad folks appreciate my perspective. I am struggling to hang out here because the complaining is starting to reach the level of WLW Sportstalk discussions.

[traderumor]

Lol! I'm as ticked as anyone... I can't stand to watch them right now its so frustrating. I spend much of the game texting friends, venting about players and Dusty. My point is everyone (including myself) is over the top right now. People have dug in on players and the same arguments are re-hashed only with new verbiage, rhetoric, and prose (see what I did there) while mixing in some personal barbs to ensure a reaction.

I'll give you credit, you start a ton of topics and stay very involved in these threads... I'm just pointing out that the expectations, coupled with the early season disappointments have made things unbearable on many fronts. I use this site to keep up on Reds news, learn things I never learned as a player, and as a therapist when I'm upset with the play of the home team... Things just seemed to go overboard in the criticism of players tonight and the things I read on twitter were embarrassing to the Reds fan base.

Keep discussing the Reds... Keep voicing your frustration... Keep doing what you want, because I get just as red assed as anyone. I'm just saying on nights like tonight, it can make anyone a little crazy. I'm just going to step back from the ledge, realize the season is 2 weeks old, hope like hell that things turn around.

Nice post.

[Wheelhouse]

Dusty's not going anywhere barring some Hal McRae type absolute meltdown. He's also managed in the World Series and was a miraculous comeback away from winning one, and a Bartman away from going with the Cubs, just to correct your above inaccurate comments.

Why not? He's in the last year of his contract in the same year where the Reds have spent a ton of money and talent expecting to win. He's had enormously talented teams in the past and underachieved. You get 70% value on your payroll with Dusty. Winning for the Reds is a burning necessity given the new contracts, so don't expect the same patience as has been there in the past. The Reds just got in a more Yankee-like circumstnance over the past month-win or be gone with you is now a necessity.

[WVRedsFan]

Why not? He's in the last year of his contract in the same year where the Reds have spent a ton of money and talent expecting to win. He's had enormously talented teams in the past and underachieved. You get 70% value on your payroll with Dusty. Winning for the Reds is a burning necessity given the new contracts, so don't expect the same patience as has been there in the past. The Reds just got in a more Yankee-like circumstnance over the past month-win or be gone with you is now a necessity.

I agree. If it doesn't turn around soon, I imagine a move will be made. It may not be the manager, but heads will roll.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

Dusty Baker and Marvin Lewis have the safest, cushiest jobs in professional sports. Every once in a while, they win more than they lose and everyone scrambles around to praise them. When they lose, it's "oh, well it's Cincinnati, what do you expect?"

No lose situation for both of them.

[reds44]

Dusty's not going anywhere barring some Hal McRae type absolute meltdown. He's also managed in the World Series and was a miraculous comeback away from winning one, and a Bartman away from going with the Cubs, just to correct your above inaccurate comments.

And they still let him walk after that season.

[WVRedsFan]

And they still let him walk after that season.

Yep. Lame duck.

[traderumor]

Why not? He's in the last year of his contract in the same year where the Reds have spent a ton of money and talent expecting to win. He's had enormously talented teams in the past and underachieved. You get 70% value on your payroll with Dusty. Winning for the Reds is a burning necessity given the new contracts, so don't expect the same patience as has been there in the past. The Reds just got in a more Yankee-like circumstnance over the past month-win or be gone with you is now a necessity.

Because Jocketty is smart enough to know that Dusty is not the problem, randomness is the current problem. Firing the manager in April would be counter to the offseason moves and would be a symptom of an organization in disarray. All this slump has done is set the torches blazing for those who didn't want Dusty hired in the first place.

[traderumor]

And they still let him walk after that season.

Begs the question whether they were wise in doing so and what other factors led to that decision. "Because he's a stupid manager and they knew it" is probably not the reason.