Even though I can't stand Dusty Baker I always believe they can win and root for that despite some of the moves he makes. I have been a season ticket holder for probably longer than you are old and will continue to root for the home team. I have watched a lot of managers and can tell you when they had good ones and when they had duds. I can only hope that when Dusty's contract is up they bring in a manager that knows how to drill fundamentals and develop all these young players.

You mean things like going 1st to 3rd on a base hit? Oh the Reds lead the league in that. Or Sac flies, they are 3rd in the NL. 1st in the NL in BA with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. 3rd in the MLB in fielding%. I wish they did a better job with the little things.

Edited May 19, 201016 yr by HammerTime

How could anybody in their right mind leave it the way it was? It wasn't working.

 

Yeah so he moved some people around and it has worked out very well. Nice job Dusty.

You mean things like going 1st to 3rd on a base hit? Oh the Reds lead the league in that. Or Sac flies, they are 3rd in the NL. 1st in the NL in BA with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. 3rd in the MLB in fielding%. I wish they did a better job with the little things.

 

:lol: :thumb:

I don't know what you all think, but these two games against the Brewers were great by our Cincinnati Reds. I was at GABP during the Monday night game, as well as the Tuesday afternoon game and it was awesome seeing the Reds win both of these games and hang on to first place.

 

But...

 

What do they have to do to increase attendance? 12,000 Monday night and 17,000 today? I know the weather was bad both games and Buffet was in town on Monday night, but I sure hope the numbers pick up if they stay hot through this roadtrip.

 

I don't remember a game where I had more fun watching the Reds than this afternoon!

 

If they continue to play well and stay in contention they'll be fine attendance wise once summer begins.

How could anybody in their right mind leave it the way it was? It wasn't working.

 

Dude it's fairly obvious that you aren't a Dusty Baker fan but you have to be real. Yes he will lose you a few games per year but then again many managers in MLB do as well. Dusty was the one who moved Cabrera to the 1 spot and Phillips to the 2 hole. Dusty is the one who as HT said stuck with Masset through his rough beginning and now has him as excellent choice out of the pen. Dusty is the one who has coached the team that is currently sitting atop the NL Central. While you may not want to, you have to give Dusty credit.

Those who are praising the Reds' manager after the recent hot streak will be calling him an idiot when he helps to lose them to or three in a row. He can't be both good and an idiot. He is the same poor manager today as he was a month ago or a month from now. Call him brilliant when they are winning and an idiot when they're losing if you want. At least you'll be right half the time.

Edited May 19, 201016 yr by the mathemagician

You mean things like going 1st to 3rd on a base hit? Oh the Reds lead the league in that. Or Sac flies, they are 3rd in the NL. 1st in the NL in BA with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. 3rd in the MLB in fielding%. I wish they did a better job with the little things.

 

Boom! Roasted! :lol:

How in the world does Dusty get credit for them hitting w/ guys in scoring position w/ two outs? He has nothing to do w/ that. It's great that they lead the league in going 1st to 3rd, but how many dumb base running errors have they had? BP tried going 1st to 3rd the other night and there was already a guy on 3rd. That isn't the best idea ever. Is that Dusty's fault or BP's?

 

I think Dusty is terrible, but I agree w/ both sides on this current discussion. As much as I hate Dusty as a manager you can't argue the fact that they are on a tear since he got heated and called that meeting after some poor performances against SD. You can't argue either that he's been pushing the right buttons whether it be lineup chages, sitting guys on the right days, or pinch hitting the right guys in the right spots. The thing that worries me most about Baker this year though is his contract. They have some really good young arms. Does he save them like they probably need to be saved for future success or does he try saving his job?

You mean things like going 1st to 3rd on a base hit? Oh the Reds lead the league in that. Or Sac flies, they are 3rd in the NL. 1st in the NL in BA with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. 3rd in the MLB in fielding%. I wish they did a better job with the little things.

 

You can quote me all the stats you want but I am not ready to give Dusty all the credit for that. I will agree that they seem to be more aggressive on the basepaths and do some things at the plate better than I have seen them do in awhile. This has to come down to the base coaches and hitting coach and the approach they teach the players. The pitching I believe can be attributed to the new pitching coaches philosophy starting to sink in and wanting the pitchers to be more aggressive in the strike zone. A good manager should be able to rely on his coaches to do their jobs. The manager needs to be able to come up with the best lineup for that day based on all the "stats" that he has available and make the right strategic decisions during the game. This is where Dusty fails bigtime imo. Years ago some very knowledgeable coaches gave a coaching seminar that I attended and they made one point that has stuck with me over the years. Teams win or lose 1 run games based on the decisions made by the coach/manager. There are a lot of things that come into play when we talk about these decisions and you seem like a very knowledgeable sports "fan" so I think you know what I am saying here. Imo Dusty fails way too often when it comes to making a lot of these important decisions. I know personnel determines a lot in what you can and can't do on the field but that's my story and I'm sticking to it with Dusty.

Boom! Roasted! :lol:

 

Is that the best you have?

I am not defending Dusty or anyone else, but the Reds have been excellent in 1 run games this year.

How in the world does Dusty get credit for them hitting w/ guys in scoring position w/ two outs? He has nothing to do w/ that. It's great that they lead the league in going 1st to 3rd, but how many dumb base running errors have they had? BP tried going 1st to 3rd the other night and there was already a guy on 3rd. That isn't the best idea ever. Is that Dusty's fault or BP's?

 

I think Dusty is terrible, but I agree w/ both sides on this current discussion. As much as I hate Dusty as a manager you can't argue the fact that they are on a tear since he got heated and called that meeting after some poor performances against SD. You can't argue either that he's been pushing the right buttons whether it be lineup chages, sitting guys on the right days, or pinch hitting the right guys in the right spots. The thing that worries me most about Baker this year though is his contract. They have some really good young arms. Does he save them like they probably need to be saved for future success or does he try saving his job?

 

As much as I want to see Dusty gone I can't blame bad baserunning and ingame execution on him. Players at this level should know when to go 1st to 3rd, when to move the runner, when to work the pitch count without a manger having to explain it to them during the game. I can however fault him for allowing it to happen over and over and over. He should be all up in the base coaches and players for making these mistakes. These are some of the fundamentals that I see lacking that Dusty told us he was such a stickler on when he came to Cincinnati. Another area that drives me crazy is the lack of pitchers ability to hold runners close and just allow them to steal 2nd late in games uncontested. It happened twice yesterday against the Brewers and nearly cost them when they no longer had a force on. The manager has control of his coaches and if the players are not executing the way they should be the manager should put pressure on the coaches to change it. These coaches have been with Dusty awhile except for Brian Pryce so you should not see the same things happening day in and day out. As for Dusty's job he will try to save his you know what and I only hope Bailey, Cueto and Leake survive it.

Is that the best you have?

 

You obviously don't watch The Office....

I am not defending Dusty or anyone else, but the Reds have been excellent in 1 run games this year.

 

10-5, best record in baseball to be exact...:lol:

Good point. But does this not reflect on the players? They now have players that are capable of doing such things. I seem to remember a player, that is no longer with the team that went eons without hitting a SAC fly. Said player was also incapable of going from 1st to 3rd on anything less than a HR. He wasn't too polished in the field either. So I attribute such glowing stats to personel moves, more than I give credit to the mgr. This is in response tp post# 196.