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Time for a recap of tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Chicago (NL) 6
Cincinnati 3
WP: Gorzellany (4-1)
LP: Cueto (8-9)
BOX SCORE
–Eight losses in a row.
–Fourteen losses in fifteen games.
–Since the All-Star break: 3-16.
–Sixteen games under .500.
–Tied for last place in the National League Central.
–Have we reached rock bottom yet?
–I’m afraid the answer is no.
I hope that I’ve corrected whatever I’ve done wrong in past lives and I’ll be reincarnated as a fan of a good team next time around. I’m thinking the Cards.
39 losses to go
Simply terrible. :-((
Didn’t watch a single pitch tonight. Didn’t care to.
May care tomorrow, but not tonight. Been beat down too much lately.
Just checked in here and see — surprise, surprise — the Reds lost.
Again.
ugh
Same here, did not watch one pitch and really didn’t miss it. 100 losses here we come. This team stinks.
Hey, Balentien hit a home run, that’s a positive. Also guarantees him a place on the bench tomorrow.
Bryce Harper here we come!
I thought I would never say this, but I really think the guys have just given up and are just playing out the season. This is only good in that I may be able to score some cheap tickets to a game in August or september on ebay, but if Dusty returns next year things are not going to improve. This team needs some fire, a manager and coaches who get in your face. We haven’t had a spitfire in a long time, to many passive coaches.
Balentein should be starting everyday. Stick Drew Sutton in CF, and keep Laynce Nix and Willy Taveras on the bench. It’s really NOT THAT HARD. Dusty seems to think it is though. He doesn’t like sending young players up in crucial situations because they are “kids.” But yet he would rather a guy be sent up there that has a .230 average and a .270 OBP (Willy Taveras).
Each time I see Dusty’s lineups, I laugh out loud. They’re a joke. I’ve started a petition on my blog to get him fired, and I am going to send a letter directly to Castellini with all of the signatures on it. He’ll probably throw it away, but it’s still worth the effort. ANYTHING to get that guy out of Cincinnati. I would literally rather see Billy Hatcher as the manager.
Rob, where can I sign that petition?
Rob, I want to sign it too.
I would also go for Billy Hatcher as a manager. I would bring on Eric Davis as the hitting coach and Ron Oester as bench coach. There’d be some changes.
Click on Rob’s name. It is the link to his blog site.
Do you think throwing out these crap line-ups is just Baker sticking it to us?
If someone starts http://www.firedustybakeragain.com I promise I will submit articles, pictures, posts, whatever.
when other managers and GMs are wondering out loud what the Reds are doing you know there are problems.
GMs have come out and said they don’t understand the trade for Rolen
Other managers have said the problem is the top of the order
it’s got to be REALLY, REALLY, REALLY bad when even other “baseball people” know it’s bad
these are the apologetic, close knit group, who speak in cliches and can’t add or subtract
but the Reds look so stupid even they are wondering what’s wrong
with the string of fools we’ve had as managers in recent years I never thought it could get worse
REDS == STUBBORN
what is absolutely shocking is the Taveras and Gonzo situation.
lets not even talk in sabermetric terms, lets speak the language of Reds announcers and Dusty
Taveras is batting .237, stolen 21 bases and scored 47 runs
Gonzo is batting .199, has 11 doubles and 23 RBI
even in their surreal, crazy universe, these players are doing AWFUL
and the fans ran Dunn out of town because he struck out and was a poor defender?
I can’t believe these two players haven’t been lynched.
How about FireDustyBakerNow.com, preach?
I went to a Dayton Dragons game tonight…I always thought they were pretty boring because I have a hard time getting into games where I have no idea who the players are or when there is really nothing on the line.
But tonight with a few friends it was the best time I’ve had at a baseball game in awhile. Maybe because we were just there as friends hanging out and not worried about the game. The game was the backdrop. But with that said, we enjoyed the baseball action as well.
If you are tired of Reds baseball try to get some Dragons tickets and come up North with a couple friends. I think you’ll really enjoy it for one night. Just plain baseball…
I see the Reds still stink! Man it’s gonna be really depressing at the end of the year when we look up and see somehow Willy Taveras will have like 500 at bats with a .280 OBP.
I agree with those NL managers…the top of the lineup kills the team nightly….Taveras, Gonzalez, Taveras, Rosales,…whoever it’s been in the 1 and 2 hole…basically all year it’s been a disaster.
nothing is changing until the Reds organization wakes up. When Dusty makes quotes like “We’re close, real close, to getting it together for a long period of time. I just feel it.”, you have to just laugh. How can you make such drivel when the team at that point has lost 13 of 14.
When Jocketty makes a trade that by multiple “expert” sources as bad at best, and Bob-the-owner says if “we can get our hitting and pitching going blah blabh” its an organization wide disconnect.
and again on TV, Welsh and TB made a comment(subtle) about the lineup, “Hanigan and his .300 average batting 8th”. So even those guys are getting tired of it. Sad to say, but maybe the reds will have to get to 100 losses before Bob and Walt wake up.
Go (2010) Reds.
…and yet we trade a 26-year-old, a 26-year-old, and a 23-year-old for a 34-year-old with one year left on his contract.
Unbelievably stupid.
Every team in our division (only possible exception is Houston I’d say) is way smarter than we are.
The Rolen trade has been judged by most without considering that the Reds are barely paying him any more than they would have paid Encarnacion. You can argue whether Stewart and Roenicke were worth that, but you have to consider the cash considerations. (Also, improving the defense at the hot corner does follow the stated organizational plan, no?)
I’m sure it’ll get linked later today, but it was nice to hear Jocketty say they’ve considered moving Phillips to SS and playing Frazier at 2B. Even if Frazier isn’t ready for a full-time role next year, it’s a lot easier to find a decent 2B than a quality SS. Heck, they could bring back Hairston as insurance for Frazier, who, at worst, could maybe play the same role as Rosales.
As for this year’s team, I usually turn it off as soon as they fall behind by three runs. I’m certain they can’t overcome that. Even when I hear fireworks outside around 9:30 or 10:00, I know it’s just a late-inning solo shot and not a win.
I know it’s a bad economy and such but it has come time for this entire coaching staff to go. When a player comes up hits well for a short time then peters off, I blame the hitting instuctor, especially when the entire team can’t hit. When pitchers come up and magically can’t throw strikes anymore, when pitchers regularly implode in the early innings and the entire pitching staff is collapsing down the stretch then I blame the pitching coach. When the entire team quits half way through the season and the manager keeps saying ridiculous things about how close they are, it’s time for him to go. I’m not worried though, I have confidence that all will land on their feet.
If Dusty’s fired after this season, I could see him spending the rest of his career in the broadcaster’s booth. I think he quit on this team before they quit on him, actually. He’s seemed disinterested and surly since around the first week of July.
I’m not crazy about his lineups at all, even with the personnel he’s been given, but he always has seemed like an awesome guy to know and work for. He hasn’t been that guy lately.
wait wait wait
We have a stated organizational plan!?
(in response to Travis G #21)
If we do end up with the worst record in baseball, the only consolation is that Dusty probably wouldn’t be around and we’d have the #1 draft pick.
It would not be that hard to improve this team either. Promote Stubbs and put him in CF, play Janish at SS and bat him 8th. Bat Hanigan 2nd. It could be something like this
CF Stubbs
C Hanigan
1b Votto
2b Phillips
3b Rolen
RF Gomes
LF Nix/Balantien/whoever
SS Janish
That lineup won’t contend but it would score more runs and we wouldn’t lose 100 games
Stated organization plan = pitching and defense
I appreciate everyone’s optimism, but I think it’s a 100% guarantee that Dusty Baker will be the manager in 2010 and Willy Taveras will be his starting CF and leadoff hitter.
I think there’s no chance either of those guys are gone. But I really hope I’m wrong about that.
I actually wouldn’t mind Willy on the team if used properly – as a backup OF and pinch runner and batting 7th or 8th when he gets the occasional start.
Alls I know is the Bats win again. Travis Wood got his first AAA win pitching 7 shutout innings. Stubbs went 3-4 with a triple. Chris Denove hit a HR in his 2nd AAA game and Darnell McDonald had an RBI double to account for the 2-0 win. Ironically, 2 of the 3 hits Wood allowed were to Norris Hopper who is now with the Charlotte Knights.
Free Rick Sweet.
Say what you want but Dusty Baker is the worst manager in baseball. Even if the REDS are too stupid to fire him he only has one more year on his contract. I’m not going to blame players but Dusty lost his players a long time ago.
Sorry guys, but Baker has another year left on his contract. I don’t see any way that the Reds fire him. People will blame injuries to Volquez, Bruce, Hernandez, Dickerson and Votto as reasons this team couldn’t compete. I’d love to say that 2010 will be the year, but if Baker continues as manager, it’s more likely going to be 2011.
Taveras will be the starting centerfielder in 2010. Ignoring the money, Stubbs can’t do better than he has done this year, and Taveras can’t play worse than he has played this year. So if we haven’t seen Stubbs yet, we won’t.
For all the emphasis on pitching and defense, Taveras’ pathetic attempt at a diving grab on a ball hit to straight away center was laughable. Stubbs is a plus defender with plus speed and a better stick. I advocated a Stubbs/Dickerson platoon in CF before ‘09. I still am. Too bad we’ll never see it.
The Reds really do change much more slowly and conservatively than most other MLB teams, don’t they? It is painful to me to be a fan of an organization this stubborn and closed-minded.
I look around and see teams that are learning and improving as the year goes by…
One is Ben Zobrist – he was a part-time player who hadn’t done much before this season. Now he’s playing 2B every day and batting cleanup for a very good Tampa team, and he’s hitting .294/.408/.565!!
The Brewers came in with JJ Hardy as their shortstop, and he has totally lost his job b/c Craig Counsell is outhitting him, and Casey McGehee is playing great?
What do we get? We get Taveras (.239/.277/.288) and Gonzalez (.195/.241/.288) in there as much as possible b/c “they’re established” and “I ain’t no front runner” and b/c “he’s my shortstop.”
One other thing — I swear that if Boston ever traded for Brandon Phillips, he’d be their starting SS by the end of the week. I have no proof of this, but I really believe it. They don’t mind making a bold move, and they fill needs creatively. They never get stuck in something that isn’t working.
That’s news to me Travis lol I thought our stated organizational plan was
“Don’t clog the bases”
You’ll notice the stated organizational plan leaves out offense entirely.
–Have we reached rock bottom yet?
–I’m afraid the answer is no.
Think of the Reds as a giant drill, with poor Dusty as the drill bit, they’re just chipping through the rock bed on their way to Hades.
You know, we probably should have picked a better name for these recaps…
The Titantic didn’t struggle that much, it was sailing smoothly along until it hit an iceberg and then sank pretty quickly…
I have a feeling that that is somewhat analogous to our season…
At least we don’t call them the Hindenburg Struggle Recap