Loading ...Mark Sheldon called out Dusty Baker a bit this morning, under the headline, “Hot hitters squeezed out of Reds’ order“. Yeah, it was mild, but good to see nonetheless:
Some of the hottest bats the Reds have right now never left the dugout during Tuesday’s game vs. the D-backs.
Outfielders Jonny Gomes and Chris Dickerson weren’t in the starting lineup, nor was backup catcher Ryan Hanigan.
Gomes, who was the Reds’ designated hitter in all nine Interleague games, is batting .360 (18-for-50) with four home runs and 11 RBIs over his past 18 games. He was responsible for three of Cincinnati’s past six homers.
Dickerson, who is batting .277 overall, is hitting .452 (14-for-31) over his past 12 games and has hits in 10 of them. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning on Tuesday.
Hanigan is batting .321 for the season.
“You can’t play everybody,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “I have a plan on how to keep them sharp and productive for themselves and us at the same time. We knew that could potentially happen when we started. You don’t have a good team unless you have too many good bodies.”
I think Dusty Baker is good at many parts of his job. Unfortunately, I’ve lost all faith in him to put the best players on the field every day. I have no confidence in Dusty at all.
Enjoy this final nugget from the dusty one, regarding his refusal to put Ryan Hanigan in the game:
“Ramon has been one of our best, clutch RBI guys,” Baker said.
Sigh….
I second that “sigh”
Surely the Reds will not extend his contract.
Can someone please post the clutch stats from the best clutch RBI guy on the team?
I think Dusty Baker is good at many parts of his job. Unfortunately, I’ve lost all faith in him to put the best players on the field every day.
I agree with this. I’d add that he’s also terrible at explaining his decisions to the press/public.
“I have a plan on how to keep them sharp and productive for themselves and us at the same time.”
See everybody, he has a plan. A super-secret classified plan that you non-baseball types who never played with Hammerin’ Hank would never understand even if he wasted time explaining it to you. It’s like fly fishing. Or basketball. Or being down by a field goal in the bottom of the seventh and trying to get in one more play by the two minute warning with your big man on the bench with four fouls.
Heck, I remember when Steve Garvey put shaving cream in Lopes’ cap, and he wore it the rest of the game because he didn’t want to be taken out, and he went 3-3 with two stolen bases. That’s what ‘the cream’ meant to Dodger Blue. Davey still puts shaving cream in his hat today. Just ask him. That’s veteran presence talking. I’m asking Don Sutton to teach Arroyo how to doctor up the ball a little bit. That’s how we used to do it. Someone get Manny Mota on the phone. I got a job for him…
Words escape me.
Wow, Dusty’s lack of understanding of how the game of baseball works is amazing. I’m not saying that I know more than him, but the guy is just not smart enough to realize that baseball is more than about one stat (RBI’s) How about the runs RH would have produced if he would have been higher in the order?
Please Walt, fire Dusty, I don’t care if we make it to the playoffs. IF we do make it to the playoffs it would be in spite of him, not because of him.
I would like to explain to him that very rarely does someone get a chance to be “clutch” if there is no one on base, but that point would be lost.
Dusty has been much better than I expected about playing the youg guys. He handled the Votto situation really well, and with a couple notable exceptions has not abused the pitching staff the way I feared based on his Chicago days. But his absolute disdain for the fans that pay the bills makes it really hard to like him, and his refusal consider any lineup changes based on the performance to date this season crossed the line from loyalty to stubbornness awhile ago.
It’s hard to get clutch RBIs when you don’t get any ABs. And when you do get ABs, nobody is on base.
The problem with the length of the baseball season, sometimes the fans, beat writers, and bloggers take every game too seriously. We are supposed to lose when Dan Haren is pitching against Arroyo. Last night was not going to make or break the season and despite what lineup Dusty Baker has thrown out, the team managed to stay a float without Votto, Volquez, and EdE for an extended period, not to mention Bruce flirting with the Mendoza line. Not one of you would have thought the Reds would start July 4 games back and one game under .500.
I know it is easy to pick out the negatives, but talk about not being able to see the forrest from the trees.
GRF, now that you mention it Dusty did arrive in Cincy with a rep for abusing the starting pitchers. I haven’t seen any evidence of that here.
Love it Preach, good stuff!
“Or being down by a field goal in the bottom of the seventh and trying to get in one more play by the two minute warning with your big man on the bench with four fouls.”
David,
I agree it is a long season and easy to blow one game out or proportion, however, Dusty’s lineup construction this season has been about as good as a monkey throwing a dart at a wall with the 25 man roster taped to it.
I think he does an excellent job managing a clubhouse, but that is about it.
As mentioned above, I am pleasantly surprised he has managed the pitching staff. There have been a few head scratchers (Harang in the extra inning game against San Diego last year), but I don’t think he has done anything to make me seriously worried about the health of Volquez and Cueto the last two seasons.
Dusty does tend to make some unsual decisions, and while he definitely deserves criticism for playing Taveras over Dickerson, I didn’t have much of a problem with him playing Hernandez and Nix over Hanigan and Gomes last night. Against a tough righty, it makes sense to start the lefty half of your LF platoon in Nix regardless of the fact that Gomes has been fairly hot. In addition, Hanigan has been outstanding, but it’s not like Hernandez has been a slouch either. Both guys are quality starting catchers.
So while I feel that Dusty is being ridiculously stubborn about the Taveras situation, I don’t think that it’s really fair to pile on about every other mildly questionable decision that he makes after each and every loss.
Bob Miller is currently doing a chat on reds.com. I asked:
Where would Derosa have played if you had acquired him? Edwin is due back this week and Gomes has been great as RH bat in LF?
Miller: One of the great things about Derosa is he can play 1b, 2b, 3b and OF. We would have found a place for him to play, believe me.
I asked this before the chat started. My followup question, I threw in during the chat, so I don’t know if it will get posted…paraphrased…is playing time decisions front office or Baker?
Not one of you would have thought the Reds would start July 4 games back and one game under .500.
Well, come on…most of us could have believed that we’d be one game under .500 at this point. If you recall preseason talk, a lot of people were saying that they expected the Reds, with the good pitching, to be a .500 ballclub.
The fact that they are just four games back isn’t because Dusty is brilliant. It’s because the rest of the division sucks.
If the Reds were in the NL West, they’d be 11.5 games out. Are we really trying to give Dusty credit because the Brewers aren’t as good as the Dodgers?
He answered:
Dusty is the manager and makes the lineup 100% of the time.
GregD, if the question gets answered at all, it will be that playing time is decided by Dusty, the manager. That’s always the official line.
I was surprised to see such a strong statement from Sheldon at mlb.com, where the writer is certainly not encouraged to be “controversial.” I think Sheldon felt it was the best chance he’d have to comment on this topic all year, after a week using the DH with Gomes and Dickerson and Hanigan all hitting.
Pre-season, I expected the Reds to be over .500 at this point. So did a lot of the “experts.”
I agree that if that the Reds make the playoffs that it will be in spite of Baker, not because of him.
I might change my opinion on that IF Dusty would simply explain (rationally, please, if that’s at all possible for him to do) the following:
1. Why Taveras over Dickerson
2. Why Gonzalez over Janish
3. Why Hernandez over Hanigan
It’s that simple. I don’t mind T-Virus, Gonzo, or Ramon playing 3 times a week even, but to PREFER those guys over the others doesn’t make ANY sense to me (and seemingly everybody BUT Dusty).
All I’m asking for is a rational explanation because statistically, none of this makes sense, and since yes, we as fans DO pay the bills, we’re entitled to a proper answer.
David, you’re moving the goalposts. Nearly everyone saw this as a 75-80 win team, with the optimists a little higher.
Dusty deserves few kudos, simply because this team is not, contrary to popular spin, “having a good year.”
Chris,
The reason that Dusty is bad at explaining his decisions to the press/public is that after he gives a terrible answer to a question, no one follows it up with ‘What?’, they just let it go. The Reds and most MLB teams are known to shun writers who ask tough questions that put the team and personnel in a bad light. Everyone wants their story, but if the beat writers go out and really call out Dusty and ask him the tough questions until they get a legit answer, the information feed that they get will be cut off very quickly.
David,
I will just say that I did think this team would be right around .500 and I actually predicted them to go 82-80 back in January and you can see that by going here: http://redsminorleagues.com/2009/01/01/you-can-be-a-stats-geek-and-project-the-2009-reds-too/comment-page-1/#comment-11504
Pile on David! A lot of people thought that with good pitching that this team could be .500 and take that as a step forward into 2010. What’s frustrating is that they are actually close to .500 but doing it w/o playing the best 8 of their 25-man roster on a daily basis.
My pat line going into the season was that the Reds would be “suprisingly awful.”
Lots of people were excited about the young pitching and the new emphasis on speed and defense, but I was worried that the young pitchers would regress or miss time with injuries, I wasn’t impressed by the defensive improvements in CF or at SS, I was concerned that a collective inability to get on base would neutralize the speed, and I thought they needed more power from LF.
All of those things have come to pass, more or less, but they’re still in the hunt thanks to a lousy NL Central. It’s not too late to make some improvements!
Chris, Greg and Doug…
I suspect the three of you thought that the Reds would be a .500 team WITH a full strength club, not without the pieces noted which was my point.
If you would have known EdE would miss almost the entire first half, Votto would miss a month, Volquez would miss a handful of starts, and Bruce’s line would be .215/.297/.463 what would you have prognosticated? I guarantee it wouldn’t have been .500.
So, the fact that the Reds have been at or above .500 for the majority of the season, with that, you don’t think that expectations have been exceeded thus far? Seriously?
Moving the goalposts Chris? You are the most pessimistic person on here. I’m keeping the posts right where they have been and am impressed with how this team has been able to compete in spite of everything. If anything you are moving them by suddenly expecting this team to be better than .500 at this point. How can you honestly say they aren’t having a good season? Surpassing expectations is my definition of a good season. What are yours? I know – World Series and you’ll be saying the Reds suck right up until they win the thing.
Dusty is far from perfect. I too would prefer seeiing Dickerson on an everyday basis. BUT the fact of the matter is, the team has had a good season thus far and remains in contention.
The reason that Dusty is bad at explaining his decisions to the press/public is that after he gives a terrible answer to a question, no one follows it up with ‘What?’, they just let it go
Maybe the sports media needs to get tanked up before the press conference.
Typically, a projection assumes that the opening day lineup does not play all 162 games. The bench plays into that, too.
I’d say that the loss of certain offensive players has been offset by pitching that has performed much better than expected. Cueto with a huge step forward. Owings much better than last year’s #5. Masset & Rhodes much better at the end of the game. And Cordero went a long time before blowing his first save, his only blown save of the year. His 2007, 2008 and career rate say that he should have 3-4 blown saves at this point in the season.
So, if you told me on April 1st that those players would miss singificant time AND those pitchers would play as well as they had, .500 would be a believable outcome.
Again, it’s not just that they are at .500. It’s that they are at .500 with their best players on the pine (or in the minors.)
This is an excerpt from the on-line chat:
mw5225: When are we going to see Chris Heisey or Drew Stubbs up with the big club? Are they progressing fast enough?
Miller: Heisey and Stubbs are both having good years in the Minors and progressing nicely. Both can play center field and give us many options in the outfield over the coming seasons.
I think it’s interesting Miller specifically mentions that they play CF. Make anything of that regarding Willy T?
I understand the point about appreciating what the team has done… and there is such a thing as going too far with looking for the next thing to “fix” (i.e. give an inch take a yard with the team improvement). But, I think the flaws that are pointed out on this board most frequently (SS issues, Willy T leading off, lack of Hannigan playing time) seem dead-on. That Dusty or others in management don’t seem to adjust what appears to be obvious makes one question their baseball IQ. It’s like sometimes Dusty is the stereotypical dad who manages his kid’s team and plays his son/daughter and his/her friends at the expense of the team.
Per Rob Butcher:
The Reds have recalled from Louisville IF Drew Sutton (#27) and optioned to Louisville RHP Jared Burton.
Sutton! All right! I’m excited to see what he can do. (I hope he gets to play a little!!)
Funny that he’ll wear #27 — the number of Keppinger, the guy he was traded for (if I recall correctly).
Burton’s overall numbers since the threat of being sent to the minors before Lincoln was DL’d have been a lot better. He appeared exclusively in Losses the past month, and was only brought into one game in the past month when the team had the lead.
Via the Fay blog
- no Taveras tonight!
- but Hairston’s at SS
- and Richar the non-3b w/another start at 3b
baby steps…
Dickerson cf
Hairston ss
Votto 1b
Phillips 2b
Nix lf
Hernandez c
Bruce rf
Richar 3b
were is EE?
The Reds finally did what they should have done from the start of the season
carry one fewer pitcher. They called up Sutton today and sent Burton down
with EE seemingly ready this is an interesting move
now recall EE and send Richar down
call up Heisey and release Taveras
release Lincoln and call up one of Maloney, Manuel or Wood
some #s to think about. I know Dusty doesn’t have “time to think” about it but I find it interesting on many levels
Reds top hitters this season vs Right handers
OPS
1.000 Votto
.914 Gomes
.856 Nix
.837 Bruce (batting 7th)
.802 Dickerson
and worst
.452 Richar (only 6 AB)
.553 Gonzo
.568 Rosales
.588 Taveras
.631 Janish
.655 Hairston Jr
.692 Hernandez
.731 NL League average
I have been telling myself to stop using OPS for many reasons but one of them that it doesn’t include stolen bases. So here is a better look at the Reds hitters and their production. Adjust Runs Created/Game
RUNS CREATED/GAME DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE PA
1 Joey Votto 5.79 10.80 5.01 182
2 Jonny Gomes 5.46 10.47 5.01 84
3 Ryan Hanigan 1.38 6.39 5.01 154
4 Laynce Nix 0.70 5.71 5.01 177
5 Chris Dickerson 0.62 5.63 5.01 186
6 Brandon Phillips -.02 4.99 5.01 294
7 Jay Bruce -.43 4.58 5.01 303
8 Jerry Hairston Jr. -.71 4.30 5.01 254
9 Ramon Hernandez -.97 4.04 5.01 276
10 Willy Taveras -1.93 3.07 5.01 271
11 Alex Gonzalez -2.52 2.49 5.01 198
12 Adam Rosales -2.58 2.43 5.01 149
Mike
re your roster moves:
- the move (sutton for burton) dropped them from 13 pitchers to 12 pitchers.
- Lincoln is on the 15-day DL
yup that was my point (sorry for not being clear) I think the Reds haven’t needed 13 pitchers and they could have used an extra bat pretty much the entire year