What this team needs....

[bleedsred]

is a wake up call. The whole lot looks pathetic at the plate...Votto included. Maybe Phillips can shoot off about the Cards and get another bench clearing brawl started to wake this team up. After that series this team caught fire last year.....just saying...

[brm7675]

they need to do just what they are doing now. They are fine they are just treading water till something happens and then BAM just like that it's the first of Oct and we are watching the playoffs without the Reds and both Walt and Dusty are sitting in Bob's office trying to "explain" to Bob why they did nothing all season to win a very winable division. Then and only then will real change occur.

[Vottomatic]

What this team needs is...........


...........an enema. :D

[Maker_84]

even in games the team plays well they still don't look very impressive. I.E. today when they have a 7-2 on an average Indians team and can't put away their AAA lineup

[mlh1981]

The answer to the problems don't lie on the current 25 man roster. I think everyone is a little bit too comfortable, as that is oftentimes the results of having such a "player friendly" manager.

What's frustrating is that I feel this team is a minor tweak from getting back on track. Just something to jolt the current foundation. Just a different vibe, a different energy, can go a long way.

[BAKER12]

The answer to the problems don't lie on the current 25 man roster. I think everyone is a little bit too comfortable, as that is oftentimes the results of having such a "player friendly" manager.

What's frustrating is that I feel this team is a minor tweak from getting back on track. Just something to jolt the current foundation. Just a different vibe, a different energy, can go a long way.

The player friendly route did not work last season and changes need to be made right now.

A manager everyone hates will get these guys going and playing super hard
Here are the TOP 3
A) BOWA
B) RAPP
C) GEREN
All available and outstanding track records for having players hate them

[Redeye fly]

The player friendly route did not work last season and changes need to be made right now.

A manager everyone hates will get these guys going and playing super hard
Here are the TOP 3
A) BOWA
B) RAPP
C) GEREN
All available and outstanding track records for having players hate them

I'll never be a Dusty backer and I will criticize him at times for sure.

That being said, the more vociferous Dusty haters on here who blame him for everything almost make me a fan of the man.

The player friendly method did not work last year? Really? Maybe we were living in alternate realities. Because I could have sworn the Reds had their first winning season since 2000 last year and their first postseason appearance since 1995. Unless of course you want to count the one game playoff of 1999 with the Mets.

Now we can argue whether it was player friendly that worked last year or not, but clearly something did. If you want to say it didn't work because the Reds were beaten by a Phillies team that was clearly better than us, go ahead. You have a right to that opinion, but again I then have a right to say we simply lost to a much better team.

As far as the larger point, from last year to this year, it's clear to every Reds fan that [B]something [B] is off and not quite right. I'm not just talking about Paul Janish at SS either. I'm talking about the overall team. But I think it's unfair to say from the outside that they lack fire or need a kick in the pants, because we don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

As far as Dusty being too player friendly, if you'll recall he ripped into the players last year very early in the season and they played better baseball from that point on. Does he need to do that again? I don't know. I'm sure Dusty's answer would be "guys are trying". I'm sure they are. So with that said, maybe this just isn't our year unless we get some better guys.

[TheBigLebowski]

The fact that this division IS so winnable is what frustrates me the most. If we were in the AL East, I'd be advocating an all-out fire sale right now. As we sit, as awfully as we have played this year, we're what - 43-42, 3 games out?

[texasdave]

The player friendly method did not work last year? Really? Maybe we were living in alternate realities. Because I could have sworn the Reds had their first winning season since 2000 last year and their first postseason appearance since 1995. Unless of course you want to count the one game playoff of 1999 with the Mets.

Now we can argue whether it was player friendly that worked last year or not, but clearly something did. If you want to say it didn't work because the Reds were beaten by a Phillies team that was clearly better than us, go ahead. You have a right to that opinion, but again I then have a right to say we simply lost to a much better team.

He was being sarcastic, I believe, when he said the player-friendly method did not work. I am sure he feels that it did.

[BAKER12]

I was being sarcastic, note my screen name. I love DUSTY, will be in St. Louis (hopefully) Tuesday and Wednesday.

[Vottomatic]

He was being sarcastic, I believe, when he said the player-friendly method did not work. I am sure he feels that it did.

Yep. It's worked us right into 4th place.