The incident that everyone (including George Grande) was questioning Baker was the at-bat earlier in the week vs. a LH reliever.

So, the bench for these AL games is 2 catchers, Janish, and Hopper or Patterson?

Bottom7: Torre brought in Beimel with the bases loaded 1, out, and the Reds down 2. Valentin hit for Cueto (questionable, since he can’t hit RH at all, but I can’t recall whether the PH was announced before the pitching change). Javy chops one to Loney, the run scores, and the runners go to 2nd and 3d.

Now you have Patterson up with the tying/go-ahead runs in scoring position, vs. a tough lefty. Both A. Phillips and Ross are on the bench at the time.

Welsh, Marty – everybody was shouting about “where’s the pinch hitter?” It was a big deal, and when asked about it, Dusty gave that crazy answer quoted above.

I just checked — Patterson was 1 for 13 against Beimel, going in. Unreal.

I\’d say the two games were pretty comparable:

*Patterson\’s .190 isn\’t measurably better than Janish\’s .180.

*There was a reasonable platoon-appropriate option off the bench (A.Phillips vs. Beimel; Javy vs. Rivera).

* And there was an acceptable, if not ideal defensive option. Remember, Cabrera has played nearly 300 games in the OF. That\’s much, much more than Hairston had played at SS before he was named the regular, and obviously more than Javy had played at 3b in his life.

There\’s really no way to explain the move on Tuesday, other than to nod to Dusty\’s wildly misplaced faith in Corey Patterson. Dusty\’s after-the-fact attempts to explain himself simply don\’t gibe with a pattern of moves as recently as Sunday afternoon.

One longtime scout told me Harang’s mechanics haven’t been the same after that relief outing. In his last five starts since, he is 1-4 with a 7.20 ERA. That Padres game could have more lasting effect on the Reds than any game this season.”
The Reds have the best young talented team I have ever seen in 25 years of following them. Hopefully Dusty Baker’s foolishness and pride won’t ruin it. Jocketty has to grow some balls soon.

Janish. Batting .180

So you figure, already trailing, one inning for Valentin isn’t going to kill you. Whereas in the prior example of putting Phillips or Cabrera in the outfield with you LEADING could cost you the game.

C’mon. These examples are not close to the same because of th egame situations. But yes, Votto at third would have been a better bet. Guessing not a single person on-staff knew Votto came up as a 3b.