If Phillips is not on this team, our record probably stands at 10-15 games below .500 rather than just 5 games below. When Votto was out, Phillips stepped up big time and carried the offensive load for the team. Besides Joey, NO ONE ELSE on the team can hit and drive in runs. Do you want a team that sucks but allows you to feel better about yourselves because of hustle and effort, or do you want a team that can at least score SOME runs?

Sean Casey was a star player on the Reds. Casey leaves the Reds and can’t even get a starting job on the Pirates or Tigers.

This needs to be kept in perspective, and that’s what Phillips can’t do.

I also get Mr. R’s point re: star players. My response is twofold (1) Very few stars act like BP does — most likely because that crap isn’t conducive to greatness; (2) Jimmy Rollins was benched last year for not hustling. Small sample size and all, but it can be done, and done in a way that certainly didn’t hurt the Phils.

For all you Dusty Baker detractors, well, the Cincinnati Reds manager climbed a step on my respect ladder today.

It is obvious punishment for another incident where he didn’t hustle.

Brandon Phillips career splits with runners in scoring position: .270/.330/.435

Brandon Phillips total career splits, all plate appearances: .263/.312/.430

Brandon Phillips career, two outs, runners in scoring position splits: .230/.301/.410

Information compared to anyone else is changing the question. The point of this thread is Phillips attitude and performance. I don’t think any OPS in the 700’s is what we really need from a clean up hitter.

We all know the Reds can’t score runs…it’s kind of like comparing your family to the families that get “super nanny” to “help” them out…if you’re being compared to the lowest common denominator it really doesn’t mean much.

(my luck…somebody reading this had family member or friend featured on the show…if so, my apology for using that example).

This would be a terrible team without him. Having said that, his screwups and self-centered atttitude has cost the team a number of times this season.
He would be a better player, maybe much better, if he grew up a bit.

For last nite’s game, his baserunning blunder killed the 1st inning rally. Yes Owings sucked and yes we should have continued to hit Schmidt but those are separate issues.

His loafing after hitting the ball and then his trying to take 2nd anyway were both bad baseball. There’s no point to arguing which was the bigger mistake, they were both costly mental errors.

Didn’t we chase Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, two real stars, out of Cincinnati for the perception of low effort?

Second, Baker was distancing himself from the problem. As manager, he has ways of making the problem go away, and if he can’t manage this he’s not qualified. Sitting the bench is justified for anyone. The New York Yankees and Miller Huggins benched Babe Ruth for subordination; surely Dusty Baker can bench Brandon Phillips.

Managers make judgment calls about whether a player will respond better to public or private criticism, and I think Dusty’s frustrated that Phillips hasn’t seemed to respond to either method. From what I hear, Phillips is not as beloved by his teammates as he is by many fans, and sits alone in the dugout talking on his cellphone while the other Reds play cards and video games in the clubhouse. If his teammates don’t like him and his manager doesn’t think he can reach him, it might be time to cut bait with him.