Here's what we became

[JohnU]

You couldn't hit a fan with a blimp!

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Yeah.....there haven't been many butts in the seats lately. It was a grave yard for the 2nd game of the DH Saturday. I believe the announced attendance was 29,000+, but there couldn't have been more the 6,000 fans in the seats. Saturday the 12th will be a sellout with it being Pete Rose bobble head giveaway, but you won't know it by actual butts in the seats. The All Star game spiked season ticket sales and assures the club of nearly 2.5 million in attendance this season....next year the team most likely won't reach 2M.

 

[JohnU]

Reds run their franchise like it's a used car lot. They deserve to fail.

 

[chico ruiz]

these last two posts (john & hit-n-run) actually make me sad. reading daugherty makes me real real sad. he's not a moral authority. you guys ever had a close friend who becomes a father, and maybe you lose touch for awhile? you reconvene with him a few years later and he starts talking to you like a child. maybe you're just busting chops or describing the world as you're seeing it; in a fully grown and engaged adult way. his responses have mysteriously become solicitously self-righteous. he's become disconnected with the everyday struggle, of other people, who may not be a parent. that's how daugherty reads. in addition, he's months late in his observations of reds organizational reality.he was good ten / fifteen years ago. he's become a lazy writer and i consider him part of what's wrong with the entire reds organization. he's no longer fearless or relentless. two qualities you must have in his journalistic position. let the 'powers that be' know you are there, and you are coming for them, if they fuck up. that's your job paul. it's not morality judgement from whatever ivory tower you've concocted in your own head. you've lost your edge PD.

i read another cincinnati.com article that was sadder yet, entitled: reds' GM walt jocketty not planning on going anywhere. no need, or want, for me to elaborate on that. yeah, yeah, yeah…........go reds.

yet another article i read made me even more sad. i didn't think it was possible to feel any worse. it actually depressed me as a reds fan, because i don't see any reason the reds shouldn't have this.
here's an excerpt, in which i was taken by the intrinsic organizational characterization, not necessarily the individual player.

The Cardinals acquired Lackey, now 36 years old, last season from the Boston Red Sox for Allen Craig and right-hander Joe Kelly. This season, not only has Lackey’s 11-9 record helped the Cardinals to a major-league-best 88-51 record, he's putting together one of the best seasons of his career, with a career-low 2.90 ERA that ranks eighth in the NL. And all for the major-league-minimum salary of $500,000. Lackey starts Friday night, looking to reverse a minor skid that has seen the Cardinals lose six of eight. He says his competitive nature is the heart and soul of his success. "It's one of the things that helps me out the most," Lackey said. "I don't think my stuff is that great. It's decent, but I think my competitiveness and the way I get after it helps me more than anything." Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said the club takes great pride in how the veterans help develop younger players. It starts with a selfless attitude. "I think it's just a very unique culture where our veterans are not afraid to invest in the guys that could be taking their jobs," Matheny said. "That’s something we make a big deal about it. When you see a guy -- who you know that player getting better could directly impact him, and he still goes out of his way and helps him -- that speaks volumes, not just to that particular player but to our club, and it becomes contagious." In this way Lackey has been an asset to the Cardinals, especially with the absence of the injured Adam Wainwright. "John is a vocal guy in there,"Matheny said. "Especially with our young pitchers, as far as they are concerned, to what those workouts look like when they are down throwing their bullpens. He's really bought into being that guy, that veteran pitcher for our club. "Now, does it automatically translate out there [on the mound]? The answer is no, but I think it's just part of that culture we talk a lot about. As you invest in people, teaching them something -- typically you know the material and content better than anybody -- I think he's challenging himself maybe more than he has in awhile."

when was the last time you heard anything similar said about the reds organization?

 

[JohnU]

When was the last time I heard that? It would necessarily depend on who is being asked to say it.
It's a lot easier to "challenge" oneself when the team is 88-51 than when it's 59-81.
The matter is how one team got to that point and how the other got to the other point.
The Reds just do not often play good baseball. Regardless of who we blame for that, dem's da fax, Jack.
As for the relevancy of the Reds beat media, I'd wager that those of us who watch the team without having to kiss ass to get into the locker room probably are as wise to what's wrong as the beat writers are.
Off or on the record, you can condemn the beach that the whale is despoiling, but the beach isn't going to change and the whale is indifferent to that.
How you win at baseball ... get better players and play better ball. Oftener than the other guys do.