Now for the eighth inning decision, the Reds had the makings of rally against former Red Todd Coffey. Alex Gonzalez and Adam Rosales led off with singles. But pinch-hitter Chris Dickerson hit a chopper to second baseman Craig Counsell. He tagged Rosales and threw to first for the double play.

“I guess you want to know why I didn’t bunt him there,” Baker said. “Willy hadn’t been hitting well lately. Dickerson has. Coffey – that’s how number can mess you up – right-handers are hitting .200 and left-handers are hitting like .350. Dickerson hadn’t hit into any double plays.”

Except Dickerson in the last week is 1-8 with a .489 OPS (and only 4 for his last 14)…that’s “hitting well”? Why doesn’t anyone call Baker on these lies he tells?

But two bad pitches by Cueto all night, I will take. Here’s what I absolutely loath. You have runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the top of the 8th. This is your opportunity because if you don’t get a run now, you face Trevor Hoffman, his 0.38 WHIP and 0.00 ERA. The top of the lineup is about to turn over. For a team that is all about “small ball” in that situation, you leave Cueto in to bunt and save a PH. You then have 2nd and 3rd with one out.

At that point, you have so many options. A base hit wins the game, sac fly ties it up. You can put on a suicide squeeze with a very good bunting Taveras. You can bluff the bunt, and with the infield in, Taveras might be able to get it through. You also have Cueto “available” to pitch, though he had thrown 104, but it may make Macha change his strategy in the home half.

What Dusty says the team should do, and what he has the team do are two very different things. If the team is all about small ball then you have to manage the team like it is a small ball team and manufacture those runs.

“There’s a chance the Reds have decided to put Votto on the disabled list but are in the process of figuring out who to call up. Could be Wilkin Castillo to give them an extra catcher, if Ramon Hernandez is going to play first. Could be Drew Stubbs, if Jonny Gomes is going to play first.”

Of course a HR would have helped big time, but BP’s bunt indicated he wasn’t up for that. Baker’s not starting him also indicated he wasn’t up for that.

As suggested in the game thread, it would have made more since to bat Hannigan and then put in Phillips to pinch run. Then Hernandez’ single could have mattered.

What happens if Joey V. has to be placed on the DL. They’ll probably bring up Wilkn Castillo, as Hernandez would play first base a lot and they’ll want the 3rd catcher. A much more bold move would be to give Johnny Gomes time at first and bring up Drew Stubbs. I’ve heard Gomes is awful at first base but I also heard that about his OF defense, and it’s not true.