I like what I'm hearing from Dusty

[mdccclxix]

He's managing to stay in front. Right now his tone is urgent and results minded. I think he could be pressing right at the right time, asking his team to fight hard through this key stretch. He's got a team full of players in their prime, driving them hard is the right thing to do heading into the ASG. Take the Milwaukee series and bring the fight to the west coast. We'll see what happens, but I like what I'm hearing from Dusty. Go Reds.

[top6]

Managing to stay in front, yet keeps putting some of the worst offensive players in baseball in the 1 and 2 holes. Whatever.

[Bumstead]

Originally Posted by top6

Managing to stay in front, yet keeps putting some of the worst offensive players in baseball in the 1 and 2 holes. Whatever.

hehe...he's miserable. He's managed a team that should have a 5-7 game division lead into a tight battle for 1st. WTG Dusty! Talk never wins ballgames.

Bum

[mdccclxix]

Originally Posted by Bumstead

hehe...he's miserable. He's managed a team that should have a 5-7 game division lead into a tight battle for 1st. WTG Dusty! Talk never wins ballgames.

Bum

You are missing the point, talk sets the tone, I like what he's doing with that aspect of his job. And nothing wrong with having your best 3 players hit 3-4-5. Some people act like it's a high crime of treason.

[mdccclxix]

Originally Posted by top6

Managing to stay in front, yet keeps putting some of the worst offensive players in baseball in the 1 and 2 holes. Whatever.

Overstate much?

[Bumstead]

Originally Posted by mdccclxix

Overstate much?

Should we not mention the obvious? Just ignore facts? Maybe they aren't the worst hitters in baseball but they certainly shouldn't bat at the top of the order. Of course, Dusty is just happy they aren't "clogging the bases."

[mdccclxix]

Originally Posted by Bumstead

Should we not mention the obvious? Just ignore facts? Maybe they aren't the worst hitters in baseball but they certainly shouldn't bat at the top of the order. Of course, Dusty is just happy they aren't "clogging the bases."

He didn't state any facts and I pointed that out, it sort of changes things. How old is that "clogging the bases" thing anyway? 2003? That's a tired insult.

[Bumstead]

Originally Posted by mdccclxix

He didn't state any facts and I pointed that out, it sort of changes things. How old is that "clogging the bases" thing anyway? 2003? That's a tired insult.

It's consistent with his "theory" on hitting and consistent with the fact that we only have a couple or 3 players with reasonable patience at the plate. "Just swing fellas!" It's not "tired" when it fits the bill.

All his talk doesn't win games or set any tone. His job is to motivate these players to produce. They are under-performing for about a year and a half now. Sorry, I see no reason to be happy about that. Of course it was predictable when Dusty was hired but you don't want to hear that now do you?

Bum

[Vottomatic]

Dusty's really "dealin'" this team toward a tie for first place.

It's not that Dusty is a bad manager. He's okay to good. But a really good manager probably has this team 5 to 8 games up.

[mdccclxix]

Originally Posted by Vottomatic

Dusty's really "dealin'" this team toward a tie for first place.

It's not that Dusty is a bad manager. He's okay to good. But a really good manager probably has this team 5 to 8 games up.

I guess that makes Mike Matheny in St. Louis the worst manager of all time.

The players play the game. Until a month ago, no one was a good option for cleanup, so BP (who's been there done that) was solidified there and Ludwick/Frazier really aren't overly ideal anyway. So aside from Bruce, who's been streaky again this year, there really aren't any beefs with the lineup that make overwhelming sense. Certainly not deserving of the vitriol some people cling to.

This team has Votto and Phillips, then about 10 streaky players that Dusty has to work with. Give the guy some credit, this is not the BRM.

Oh yeah, and the pitching staff is supremely healthy under his watch.

[Bumstead]

Originally Posted by mdccclxix

I guess that makes Mike Matheny in St. Louis the worst manager of all time.

The players play the game. Until a month ago, no one was a good option for cleanup, so BP (who's been there done that) was solidified there and Ludwick/Frazier really aren't overly ideal anyway. So aside from Bruce, who's been streaky again this year, there really aren't any beefs with the lineup that make overwhelming sense. Certainly not deserving of the vitriol some people cling to.

This team has Votto and Phillips, then about 10 streaky players that Dusty has to work with. Give the guy some credit, this is not the BRM.

Oh yeah, and the pitching staff is supremely healthy under his watch.

I don't recall mentioning the pitching staff? Is this the chubs forum?

I love the Dusty apologists because it doesn't matter how bad he is, they have all the excuses for him lined up. Bruce is a lot better hitter than BP and should be batting 4th without question and BP should be moved to 1st or 2nd as he is clearly the best option there. Carry on with creating excuses for Dusty. I just hope Jockety can convince Castellini not to extend Dusty any further so that the Reds can find a manager that fits the dynamics of this team. Players may like him, but they certainly aren't stepping up for him the last year and a half. Keep the excuses coming.

Bum

[MikeThierry]

mdccclxix, I don't think the Mike Matheny comment is a good example because Matheny has had to deal with an injured team the majority of the year. It's kind of a different situation.


Anyway, back to the original topic. I have never been a fan of Dusty Baker and I've never felt he outmanaged TLR all those years. That said, I kind of have to stick up for him here. What else is he supposed to do? The Reds essentially have 1 elite hitter in the lineup, 1 good hitter (Phillips), one power bat that is inconsistent (Bruce), and the rest of the lineup is inconsistent. Dusty doesn't aquire the players he uses. I think the way he's using the lineup is about as good as you're going to get given the current situation with Reds players. Blame Baker for things he's truely responsible for screwing up, not things that are out of his control.

[mdccclxix]

Originally Posted by MikeThierry

mdccclxix, I don't think the Mike Matheny comment is a good example because Matheny has had to deal with an injured team the majority of the year. It's kind of a different situation.


Anyway, back to the original topic. I have never been a fan of Dusty Baker and I've never felt he outmanaged TLR all those years. That said, I kind of have to stick up for him here. What else is he supposed to do? The Reds essentially have 1 elite hitter in the lineup, 1 good hitter (Phillips), one power bat that is inconsistent (Bruce), and the rest of the lineup is inconsistent. Dusty doesn't aquire the players he uses. I think the way he's using the lineup is about as good as you're going to get given the current situation with Reds players. Blame Baker for things he's truely responsible for screwing up, not things that are out of his control.

I think Matheney probably is doing a good job, getting a lot out of his players, for sure. They have had some bad luck in 1 run games.

[mdccclxix]

And there's nothing wrong with being aggressive at the plate, the offense is in the top 1/3 of the NL and rising. Maybe you can ask Walt to bring in some high OBP players, otherwise Dusty is bringing the players the Reds draft and develop along really, really well in the major leagues. I put it on Walt for not signing DeJesus, Willingham, or Beltran last year when it made imminent sense to do so.

[Reds/Flyers Fan]

I blame Walt more than I blame Dusty, who is only using the players he's given.