New boss, same as the old boss

[JohnU]

Don't look now but the Parrots have caught the Birdlegs.

You're welcome, Pittsburgh.


Redlegs
Birdlegs
Peglegs
Chickenlegs
Barrellegs

I love legs.

 

[Redsfan1507]

The Pirates are on a roll. The Cardinals just keep finding a way. I expect both to cool off some, but not go ofer 8 or anything...our Reds just can't play the way they have against winning teams and have a prayer that the teams above them take a nosedive large enough to let them catch up. Every team slumps, but every other year ? What's up with that ?

 

[JohnU]

To some end, I buy into the "injuries" excuse for the Reds.
Losing Cueto for a few starts probably cost us about 3 decent starts.
Losing Marshall and Broxton, however, are problems that are overrated.
The bullpen hasn't been just horrible and when it was, Broxton was probably the reason.
The problem is in the hitting and we lost Ludwick on his first at-bat of the season. So having had 80 games to fix that problem -- and didn't. Well, if somebody thinks the loss of Chris Heisey mattered, that was also 2 months ago.
The problem with this team isn't who they don't have -- it's who is managing the hitting philosophy. And the next person who says Joey Votto credits Jacoby can ... um ... well, whatever. Votto is not the guy Jacoby needed to fix.
Never mind. The dugout staff is calm and cool, set in a contract that doesn't require them to win -- just keep the fans happy with their kumbaya "clubhouse chemistry."

 

[Redsfan1507]

What if Votto left entirely (Pujols), Cueto had a career ending injury(Carpenter), Chapman couldn't get outs any more (Cards bullpen revolving door), Cozart was injured 2 years(Furcal), Frazier was always hurt (Freese), and Choo had horrible knees (Holliday), and one of the best coaching staffs in your teams history all bailed at the same time....THOSE are excuses this limp-dicked Reds team might use to go to the cellar for another decade. The Cardinals, just go on with business. Good teams look for ways to win, not excuses for losing.

The Reds don't have any problems there aren't answers for right now. For whatever reason, they just aren't prioritizing executing them.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I don't have roster confidence in the Pirates over the long haul, but I like the mentality Clint Hurdle has developed there. He's got them believing in themselves, and isn't trying to turn his team into playing to his strength, he's trying to get them to play to theirs. It's an important path, that works sometimes when viewing themselves as underdogs is in play. Overconfidence and being laid back only works with superior talent, and a big lead in the standings. Baseball is a game of adjustments, and a team under .500 for 2 decades hadn't really been trying to change for a long time. Trust is a factor in confidence, and work ethic plays a role in change.

 

[chico ruiz]

the reason you don't have roster confidence, in the pirates, is because you don't know the roster and the deals / draft picks huntington has made since 2007. huntington did his homework and it's paying off. they are deeper than you think with good young arms. so, before you give hurdle more credit than he deserves, take a look at huntington's building process, which included hiring hurdle. it's just too easy, and a very incomplete evaluation, to attribute their success to hurdle. besides, your thinly veiled comments about hurdle are really more about baker. and, i've always thought the 'he's got them believing in themselves' assertion is one of the most inane lazy comments a pundit can make. it intimates 2 things. first, that the team is playing over their heads, or beyond their ability. second, that the manager is a wizard that is sprinkling fairy dust on his players and they are magically turned into .300 hitters. i guess hurdle must have had a little trouble getting the 2009 rockies believing in themselves. the pirates are proving your 'must have lefty starters to be a winner' theory. they have several and are no, as you say, 'mirage.' tell the truth; have you even watched the pirates this year outside of games v. the reds? have you seen locke, cole, liriano, gomez, wilson, morris, or melancon pitch?

 

[Redsfan1507]

Chico,

Believing in yourself when doing an elitely difficult task usually requires some success. Amost any successful person I've ever known, failed at some point, learned something useful from it and applied it to an eventual success. Its an easier process when you have some help, sound advise, or an environment in your area of strength, instead of demanding exposed weaknesses.

To cut this way short, the Pirates are showing signs of that. Our Reds at present, aren't, and Dustys position casts part of the spotlight of some of that, right or wrong, on him. Dusty appears to be the victim of randomly uninspired players, or can't apply lessons learned that well. No manager can use fairy dust to make players better, nor can he sprout wins from uncultivated bad fundamentals.

Dusty is about as much help as Mr.Red.

 

[chico ruiz]

well written mr. 1507. there is certainly merit to your post. and many of your previous posts have detailed, in baseball mechanics (or lack thereof), why you feel that way. put my feet to the fire, and ask me if i'd rather have hurdle as the manager of the reds? forget the fire. the answer is yes.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I definately don't know the Pirates system as well as the Reds, but if I'm guessing, I'd blindly bet the Pirates are still on the way up.

IMO, the Reds were supposed to be where the Pirates are now, back in 2010. For the Reds, 2011, 2012, and 2013 have been wasted by a Reds team allowed to drift into underperformance, under the directionless meanderings of a manager and staff who appear content to wait indefinately on another big bat, another teams collapse, charity in the weaker portion of the schedule, or the bad luck of a playoff opponent. They randomly rely on uneven player performance, largely unsupported by the staffs own leaderless, yet unpressured clubhouse chemistry, when even a moderate demonstration of fundamentally sound dugout judgement limiting more game outcomes to the level of talent, would have already have found post season success.

There are dozens of legitimate reasons for a good team losing, none of which include underperforming due to the inability to attempt to advance runners or take advantage of fundamental situational defense on a team of superior defenders, or recognize the disadvantage of a leftyless pitching rotation.

"Low key, laid back and easygoing" are attributes admired in management staffs where excellence is expected, and universally demonstrated, but they suggest complacency, weakness, incompetence or worse, apathy...in underperforming teams.

I think different managers are better for different types of teams. Some guys are great at teaching, pushing slackers or patiently waiting on enough talent. These guys are usually replaced by managers that fine tune and manipulate veteran egos and superior execution into championships. There are guys good at staying out of the way of dynasties. There are managers that are good at dismantling teams and starting over. Dusty isn't a teacher or a motivator. He isn't going to be the finishing touch. He needs a team at the top that doesn't need too much, or a team without immediate plans to win. He's either 5 years too late, or 5 years too early for the Reds, IMO.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Hurdle didn't last long in Denver. Neither did Jim Tracy. I consider them both good baseball men, I'd love to have as a manager. I don't think either would fit a big market team with a ton of superstars, because I think they would be bored, not because they aren't competent. The Rockies are a franchise I would assume would be good for each other, but obviously something wasn't right for someone, or they would have still been there.

I remember Dave Bristol with the Reds- brought along most of the BRM players, but wasn't deemed to be the guy that could take them over the top. I remember conversations about wanting a less biased guy that didn't have any preconceptions about players he had for years, going back to minors. They hired some minor league manager named Sparky Anderson. Several years later, after the Reds brass thought the run was nearly over, they let Sparky go because of the same reasons they gave Bristol. All Sparky did was go win a WS with the Tigers. He managed a guy named Kirk Gibson there...who now is managing the Diamondbacks. Kind of 3rd generation opportunity in part created by a manager replaced for purely speculative or personal preference reasons... way back.

 

[JohnU]

I can't truthfully evaluate the Parrots beyond what I've seen on MLB games, not all of which involved the Reds.

But I do know they signed Russell Martin and their pitching staff is one of the best in MLB, from the 6th inning on.

How well that lasts over the season remains to be seen but they've identified their weaknesses and have attempted to address them.

To some end, so have the Reds ... with Choo being the easy example.

But the intangibles are what I observe and can't judge. Pittsburgh is winning and the Reds are not winning. That could change in July but in 2014, one wonders ... who will be winning? Baseball is a bizarre game.

Consistency from Dusty and his staff is what I've grown to expect, but it is consistency in sustained mediocrity. That will not win many pennants.

 

[chico ruiz]

in general, i am not a fan of the 'base to base' approach to the game. come to think of it; it's not an approach at all. you don't need a manager if you're going to play -or more accurately- not play, that way. it's unimaginative and can be almost as boring as a home run derby competition. to me, the most exciting part of baseball is the running game. i've heard both sides of this argument ad nauseam. 'don't run into an out,' they say. really? why not? of course there are pitchers with good pick off moves, and catchers with good accurate arms. so what. put enough pressure on them and you'll see errant throws down the right field line. and the hit and run? what ever happened to the hit and run? it seems in a few years i'll have to explain to a young baseball fan what this extinct play was that mlb teams once employed. you or i could save the reds 4 million bucks if all they want is somebody to fill out a line-up card, or look at match-ups out of the pen. i saw an interview with joe maddon a couple weeks ago. somebody asked him why wil myers didn't make the rays out of spring training. he said it was because he didn't run well enough yet at the major league level. when was the last time you heard another mlb manager say that?

 

[JohnU]

The problem with building a roster is that you have to have one that works for 81 games at home and one that can work about half the time on the road. But to manage a roster at GABP and pretend it overlays in Oakland or Miami or Philadelphia, preposterous. ... It's a notion of "Here's what we have. Take it or leave it."

The other way of putting that is to "dance with who brung ya."

Station-to-station baseball doesn't work in GABP either. All it does is give hitters a reason to get into an upper-cut swing, hack at the first pitch ... and still go 6 innings with 3 hits against anybody with a body temp approaching 98.6.

I find it interesting that all the pundits, announcers, scribes and experts say the same thing about the Reds, and -- yeah, I noticed -- how they tell us what a great guy Dusty is, cite his 1,620 wins and ... wait for the game to be over. We're all waiting for somebody to actually just say it: The Reds aren't going anywhere. Just one base at a time.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Thall shalt not steal. It doesn't just apply to Moses and Mike Leake. Dusty is a religiously anti- theft dude. He's also very polite. He never walk their best hitter, or even their 8 hitter. He doesn't want to upset the opposition by being creative, or difficult. Wish he was that polite to our own hitters, well I guess he is, he doesn't ask them to bunt or get dirty. Maybe we should start a bad mitten team for him. I guess he is creative about his GOF chances. Since he can't win a post season series, he's going after other records- most LOB by a manager, most scoreless innings, most wins against sub .500 teams, etc. you go Dusty.

 

[BuckBearcat]

Yesterday was a prime example of the lack of fundamentals this team displays. Yeah, I know they won the game. However, in a late game 4-4 situation, Heisey opens an inning with a double. Hannahan is coming up against a lefty, so I can see the desire to pinch hit. Dusty went with Frazier, who was obviously going to come in to play 3B in the bottom of the inning. Fine. However, both Frazier and Mesoraco came up and played Dusty-ball, trying to hit the ball to Dallas (or Fort Worth, whatever direction left field is). Both rolled over the ball, grounding out to the left side. You don't have to waste a position player there - send up your best bunting pitcher, like maybe Arroyo, to lay one down and advance the runner to 3B with one out.

 

[Redsfan1507]

The not so home restricted announcers kind of roasted Dusty on his situational fubar. "Stupid" is one word not normally used by Reds announcers, but even Thom harped on Dusty, not bunting the leadoff double, but choosing to bunt a runner to 2b with 1 out a few innings later. Dusty just isn't a very smart situational guy.

 

[JohnU]

Hey, we got our 2 wins on this trip. Right about where we expected to be.
I see .500 ball to the All-Star break.

 

[JohnU]

There have been more than a few subtle hints about the way the Reds are managed, cloaked in the standard "what a great guy Dusty is" but ... the more the intelligent people look at the metrics, the more glaring it becomes that this team isn't being managed, it's being propped up.

I was slightly amused tonight when I went to the CBS board to check on the fantasy league and saw a comment from a Parrots fan who was lambasting a Cardinals fan on the Reds board. These people are really not all that bright, even if they have a good team to cheer for -- so far.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Well, we get the Giants next. Last time they were in town, Dusty got beat by an 8 hitter he didn't walk to setup a force, a 2 strike double steal attempt with Rolen and Bruce, and a six run Latos meltdown before the bullpen was rustled up... In route to an historic 3 game NLDS meltdown at home. Lets hope their rookie SP with a 10.00 ERA doesn't psych us out too much.

This team looks like they are just going through the motions right now.

 

[JohnU]

Well, we get the Giants next. Last time they were in town, Dusty got beat by an 8 hitter he didn't walk to setup a force, a 2 strike double steal attempt with Rolen and Bruce, and a six run Latos meltdown before the bullpen was rustled up... In route to an historic 3 game NLDS meltdown at home. Lets hope their rookie SP with a 10.00 ERA doesn't psych us out too much.

This team looks like they are just going through the motions right now.

We *might* be OK against the rookie pitcher so long as he isn't one of the 129 lefthanders that seem to come up from the sewers to boggle Jacoby's mind.

My GAWD, Kickham IS a lefthander. This game isn't even on the charts.