Phillips supportive of Narron

[BoCcc2832]

“Jerry did the best he could do. We had a lot of veterans. If he had different guys in there, we’d have different results,'' he said. "We didn’t make any trades. We didn’t fire anybody but get him fired. It sucks.''

Phillips said the team did well with Narron last year.

"But we had new guys come to the scene this year. He tried to adjust with the new guys this year, but it’s all about certain players. Ken Griffey and his home run chase, Josh Hamilton and his comeback season, everybody got caught up in that instead of winning.

"We’re happy for Josh, but we want to win. And the next thing you know, Homer Bailey’s up here. We’re a team, and everybody’s worried about three guys.”

- per John Fay in the Cincinnati Enquirer

Read into that what you will, but to me, he's blaming Krivsky and ownership for letting Narron go facefirst into the fire and not trying to make things better for the club. I agree with Phillips. Krivsky deserves just as much if not more blame for putting together this team. Narron didn't decide who was going to play for the Reds this year.

[reds44]

Of course Phillips is upset, he was a Narron favorite. Phillips was playing everyday and batting in the top or middle of the order, even though he has a very bad .317 OBP.

Narron played favorites, Phillips was one of them.

[big boy]

Is BP implying that Hamilton does not deserve to be playing?

[rotnoid]

I think it's more an insight into the split in the locker room. There are going to be cliques and factions where ever you go, but it's the field manager's job to minimize the distraction. Obviously, JN wasn't getting this done. IMO, this has been the biggest problem. This team is much better than 31-51, or at least, on paper they should be. That only leaves attitude and leadership to blame.

[nate]

Is BP implying that Hamilton does not deserve to be playing?

No, I think he was saying that the rest of the team wasn't receiving the same amount of attention / care / coaching as the guys he mentioned.

[jimbo]

Of course Phillips is upset, he was a Narron favorite. Phillips was playing everyday and batting in the top or middle of the order, even though he has a very bad .317 OBP.

Narron played favorites, Phillips was one of them.

What other option did he have? Who would have been your choice to bat at the top or middle of the order as opposed to Phillips?

Seriously, it's one thing to be critical but some will find fault in everything Narron did. It's one thing if Narron had good options, but he had absolutely no players that are typical top of the order hitters with the exception of Griffey batting 3rd.

This accusation is just totally unwarranted and baseless in my opinion.

[reds44]

What other option did he have? Who would have been your choice to bat at the top or middle of the order as opposed to Phillips?

Seriously, it's one thing to be critical but some will find fault in everything Narron did. It's one thing if Narron had good options, but he had absolutely no players that are typical top of the order hitters with the exception of Griffey batting 3rd.

This accusation is just totally unwarranted and baseless in my opinion.
Encarnacion should be batting 2nd. He posted a .389 OBP in the month of June. He was around .370 in May.

Hatteberg
Encarnacion
Griffey
Dunn
Phillips
Hamilton
Gonzalez
Ross

Ideally it would be Hamilton 5th and Phillips 6th, but I'm not sure you want 3 straight lefties.

When Hatteberg gets traded, Hamilton goes to leadoff with Votto batting 6th.

[UC_Ken]

Dunn, Hamilton, and EdE all have OBPs over .350 and would have been better choices of 2 hitters. Theoretically you'd like to have people who get on base in front of people who can drive them in. Phillips would probably do a great job in the 5 or 6 spot driving in the guys who get on base.

[JLB5]

Remember, earlier in the year he was jerking around the lineup alot too to get both Hamilton and Freel playing time. Even though Freel volunteered to play 3B and all, it still had a major impact on things getting shuffled around.

[reds44]

Remember, earlier in the year he was jerking around the lineup alot too to get both Hamilton and Freel playing time. Even though Freel volunteered to play 3B and all, it still had a major impact on things getting shuffled around.
Freel should never play over Hamilton or Edwin. Freel's OBP of .313 is actually worse then Phillips. Plus he hits for no power and wasn't a very good base stealer before getting hurt. Freel's a good bench player, but not a starter.

[UC_Ken]

Freel's OBP was way down this year but he was over .360 each of the three previous seasons. He did deserve to start in center until Hamilton emerged. And his normal career OBP makes him our ideal leadoff hitter.

[jimbo]

Encarnacion should be batting 2nd. He posted a .389 OBP in the month of June. He was around .370 in May.

Hatteberg
Encarnacion
Griffey
Dunn
Phillips
Hamilton
Gonzalez
Ross

Ideally it would be Hamilton 5th and Phillips 6th, but I'm not sure you want 3 straight lefties.

When Hatteberg gets traded, Hamilton goes to leadoff with Votto batting 6th.

Since EE has no speed, I want EE's bat in a spot where he has the most opportunities to drive in runs. You have to have some speed at the top, especially when Hatteberg leads off. Hamilton is more of a prototypical middle of the order hitter. It would be a waste of his talents leading him off on a regular basis. Here is my lineup.

Hatteberg
Phillips
Griffey
Dunn
EE
Hamilton
Gonzo
Ross

[JLB5]

Freel should never play over Hamilton or Edwin. Freel's OBP of .313 is actually worse then Phillips. Plus he hits for no power and wasn't a very good base stealer before getting hurt. Freel's a good bench player, but not a starter.

No, I agree, but BP comments might have had something to do with him playing over Freel. Hamilton was getting "all the attention" at that time. I was just trying to figure out why he would point out Josh. His comments seemed to be more an indictment of the media having its darlings than anything about Narron. If anything, like others have said, Hamilton should be hitting at the top of the lineup.

[reds44]

Since EE has no speed, I want EE's bat in a spot where he has the most opportunities to drive in runs. You have to have some speed at the top, especially when Hatteberg leads off. Hamilton is more of a prototypical middle of the order hitter. It would be a waste of his talents leading him off on a regular basis. Here is my lineup.

Hatteberg
Phillips
Griffey
Dunn
EE
Hamilton
Gonzo
Ross
Why do you always need speed at the top of the order? What good is speed if he isn't on base to use it?

Fact of the matter is, Edwin's not hitting for much power this year. He only has 16 XBH, meanwhile Phillips has 31 XBH (albeit in about 100 more ABs). Edwin gets on base more, and Phillips is hitting for more power.

Edwin should be batting in a get on base spot (2nd) and Phillips in an RBI spot (5th).

I think Edwin will start hitting for power again, but so far he hasn't.

[klw]

His comments seem like they were intended to shift blame away from Narron but sound like someone is at risk of being alienated from his teammates or ready to be smacked down by someone with veteran presence and leadership. If his comments are true that the team lost due to lack of focus then the manager, player leaders, and Phillips should all be ashamed.

[durl]

Read into that what you will, but to me, he's blaming Krivsky and ownership for letting Narron go facefirst into the fire and not trying to make things better for the club. I agree with Phillips. Krivsky deserves just as much if not more blame for putting together this team. Narron didn't decide who was going to play for the Reds this year.

Maybe Phillips needs to realize that last year we were talking about HIM and what a great pickup he was by Krivsky. On my first read, it sounds a lot like Pokey Reese from years back. But is Phillips blasting the press, ownership, the GM, or the fans for focusing on a few players?

If the players themselves are focusing on Hamilton or watching Griffey hit homers, they've lost their way and perhaps a new manager will help them remember that they're supposed to want to win. (Besides, what's the problem with Griffey hitting so many homers and having an All-Star year? Typically you LIKE for your star players to produce.)

[jimbo]

Why do you always need speed at the top of the order? What good is speed if he isn't on base to use it?

Fact of the matter is, Edwin's not hitting for much power this year. He only has 16 XBH, meanwhile Phillips has 31 XBH (albeit in about 100 more ABs). Edwin gets on base more, and Phillips is hitting for more power.

Edwin should be batting in a get on base spot (2nd) and Phillips in an RBI spot (5th).

I think Edwin will start hitting for power again, but so far he hasn't.

The difference between EE's and Phillips OBP is nothing to write home about. Not enough of a difference to warrant batting EE second. I think it's important to have speed at the top of the lineup and in most lineups that's where you'll find it. Ideally, Phillips isn't a top of the lineup hitter so I agree with you there. In the Reds situation though, there is no typical top of the lineup hitters so you make due and at least get some speed up there. EE doesn't have any of the tools to bat at the top. You can make a case for Hamilton, but I'd still prefer Phillips.

[reds44]

The difference between EE's and Phillips OBP is nothing to write home about. Not enough of a difference to warrant batting EE second. I think it's important to have speed at the top of the lineup and in most lineups that's where you'll find it. Ideally, Phillips isn't a top of the lineup hitter so I agree with you there. In the Reds situation though, there is no typical top of the lineup hitters so you make due and at least get some speed up there. EE doesn't have any of the tools to bat at the top. You can make a case for Hamilton, but I'd still prefer Phillips.
When you look at his OBP the last two months it is EE's OBP is right around .380 for May and June. His slow start in April is why it is only .353 for the year. The difference between .380 and .318 is huge.

Edwin gets on base, alot. That's the main tool you need at the top of the order.

[Redskinalum02]

From Trent:

Another bit, one player talked to other media sources and said too much of the focus was on Griffey, Hamilton and Homer, not the team. Considering the source, the way to read that was 'too much of the focus isn't on me, me, me.' Hamilton dismissed that talk and said he didn't know Griffey was on a home run chase.

Not a big surprise, but interesting nonetheless.

[jimbo]

Edwin gets on base, alot. That's the main tool you need at the top of the order.

Saying he gets on base " a lot" is somewhat of a stretch in my opinion, considering his OBP is somewhere in the middle of the pack amongst all major leaguers. It's just not enough for me to bat him second based on that alone.

[reds44]

Saying he gets on base " a lot" is somewhat of a stretch in my opinion, considering his OBP is somewhere in the middle of the pack amongst all major leaguers. It's just not enough for me to bat him second based on that alone.
It's "only" in the middle of the pack because of his horrid start.

[jimbo]

It's "only" in the middle of the pack because of his horrid start.

His OBP in 2006 was .359 with 406 ABs. His career minor league OBP in 7 seasons is .350. I think there is enough history to say it's pretty safe he will hover around the .350 mark in OBP from here on out, which is around the average mark in the majors. He may have periods where he is a little over or under his career norm, but his career numbers tell the bigger picture.

Considering that he's a career .350 OBP hitter and is not a speed threat, in my opinion he should never be batting second in a lineup.

[Griffey4MVP]

what would eddie do with griffey protecting him as opposed to hamilton, ross, or gonzo? that would almost guarantee better results in itself. i still prefer dunn in the 2 spot, based on both his career obp and career stats he posts batting in the two hole. i want my best hitters to get the most at bats. simple enough for me.

[edogg07]

Prolly the same lazy crap eddie has been doing all year but i do agree bat him second because he is not an rbi guy for sure. I am blame it all the bullpen excluding weathers because they sucked the life out of this team in april and may old and young guys nobody expect weathers has pitched well

[hebroncougar]

Prolly the same lazy crap eddie has been doing all year but i do agree bat him second because he is not an rbi guy for sure. I am blame it all the bullpen excluding weathers because they sucked the life out of this team in april and may old and young guys nobody expect weathers has pitched well

You're right. He's only 2nd on the team in terms of BA with RISP. I'd hate to bat him where he's likely to see men on base.

[reds44]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20070702&Category=VIDEO02&Lopenr=70702028&Ref=AR

Video of Brandon and Hamilton's comments.

Josh and Griffey aren't the reason why the teams losing, and I'm really not sure what Phillips is getting at.

[TheWalls]

What I heard in BP's comments was a player that actually cares about winning. I'm not sure calling out Junior or Josh is the most appropriate thing, but I wish some of the other player (esp. Dunn) took winning and losing more seriously.

[Jr's Boy]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20070702&Category=VIDEO02&Lopenr=70702028&Ref=AR

Video of Brandon and Hamilton's comments.

Josh and Griffey aren't the reason why the teams losing, and I'm really not sure what Phillips is getting at.

I can't get the thing to play,i'm using a firefox browser like it says to do.

[UC_Ken]

I just don't understand what BP wants people to talk about. If they played better we'd be talking about the team. If the team stinks you talk about individual achievements. If you want the team emphasized win more games than you lose.

[durl]

I just don't understand what BP wants people to talk about. If they played better we'd be talking about the team. If the team stinks you talk about individual achievements. If you want the team emphasized win more games than you lose.

Excellent point. I agree completely.

[Screwball]

Maybe this is just me, but I didn't take Phillips' comments as referring to the media, fans, or anybody else like that. I took it as him saying the actual players on the team were more concerned with others' individual stories rather than on winning. My thinking is that's why Josh Hamilton responded that he, as a player, wasn't thinking about any of that other stuff, but rather he was focused on helping the team win ballgames (and that makes me like him even more, which I didn't think was possible).

[michst]

Could it mean that Hamilton gets preferential treatment. That he feels there may be a different set of rules for him because he has so much potential. Hamilton has a coach basically for him, both Narrons were pretty close to him. I could see that could cause some resentment.

I don't know if Phillips and Edwin are friends, but maybe the treatment of Edwin vs. some of the other players also caused some rifts in the clubhouse.