Loading ...Many of you have voted in the latest “Pulse of the Nation” poll, over there in the left sidebar (if you haven’t voted yet, what are you waiting on?). Anyway, the question is what Dusty Baker has to do to save his job past this season.
We’ve all submitted our opinions, but while making his prediction for 2010, Dusty appeared to be lowering expectations. Well, sorta:
Manager Dusty Baker was asked if he thought the Reds were poised for a breakthrough season.
His answer: one step at a time.
“A winning season first,” Baker said.
“We haven’t had a winning season in this organization in nine years. You’ve got to have a winning season first. There are teams that go from worst to first. But there aren’t that many in the history of baseball. We weren’t close to the worst, but . . .”
Can’t really disagree with any of that, and I’m on the record as saying that the Reds may get to .500 this year, but I have a hard time seeing them compete for a playoff spot.
Dusty goes on to blame injuries for last year’s lousy record, which is a loser’s mentality that I hate to hear. Almost every losing team can blame injuries. Guess what? The winning teams had injuries, too.
Anyway, I’d be very happy with a .500 record this year. What about you?
I voted for “post a winning record.” I think that is what the front office is thinking. If it were me, I’d require him to lead the team to the playoffs. (And even then….)
I would not be very happy with a .500 record. I believe the team should have a winning record this year. I think I’d be happy if they won 86 or more games, very happy if they make the playoffs.
Reframe the poll given Baker’s comments. Should he keep his job if the Reds have a winning record but don’t make the playoffs. I vote NO.
85 wins would make me happy. But we’ll never get there with Mike Lincoln starting. Dude’s getting another start today while Lehr is getting shafted. I sure hope we’re just showcasing Lincoln in an effort to dump his salary on somebody like the Royals.
BTW:
I love “Dustradamus”, and I forsee in the future (fitting, no?) that this term will be used again in game threads referring to the wisdom of some late inning pitching and lineup changes. It’s like he just knew it would happen….. kinda creepy.
For the type of money Dusty makes, I don’t see how just getting to .500 in good enough. He doesn’t fit into the Reds scheme right now with all the young talent floating around.
Dusty’s contract expires at the close of the season. If it is not renewed, Dusty will not have lost his job. He’ll just be moving on.
He should be shooting for higher ground than just breaking .500.
I voted “Win a Wildcard Spot”. I probably don’t dislike Dusty as much as others here. But I do think the cards are stacked against him. One thing is for sure, I’ll be happy as can be if the Reds do well enough that Dusty has to be brought back. There is nothing that will cause me to wish the Reds to loose. I get the feeling some times there are those who want the Reds to loose just so that Dusty will get fired.
One thing is for sure, he’s entertaining.
I think Dusty has to make the playoffs, too. Walt will bring in his own guy at the end of the season.
I’d believe 90 wins as much as 90 losses. It is all dependant on how the chips fall. If they stay healthy and productive and the pitching is there, the ceiling is very high. If they cannot get runners on base against the heart of the order and the pitching falls off, it could be another long season.
I still think they could have won 81 just by better lineup manipulation and use of the pen last year. They left a black hole crater for 40 games at the top of the lineup when Taveras went 1 for July with Gonzo not hitting his weight batting 2nd. The bottom of the lineup would often get a hit, those two would go o-fer and then Votto and Phillips would bat the next inning with the bases empty. They never could get the guys that were hitting together for about a month and a half.
Big Bob wanted a “name” when Dusty got the job originally. He believed that this would not only help with attendance but would give the Cincinnati fans the perception that management wanted the Reds to return to the upper echelon of competing clubs. Baker definitely was such a name and had been a three-time NL Mananger of the Year following a long and productive career on the diamond.
Well. Castellini has been very disappointed with the on-field performance so far but he curiously didn’t fire Baker probably because he knew the team sucked on ice and needed changes. Enter Walt J.
Oh, and he didn’t want to be “paying” two managers at the same time. Loves that lettuce.
Things are different this year. While I definitely believe that Castellini has made up his mind to replace Baker when the season is over, a Reds playoff berth would make it difficult to not give Dusty another chance at the helm. But playing a couple games over .500 and watching the Phillies play the Cardinals for the pennant is just going to guarantee Dusty some additional room on his schedule for more fishing.
And I love this quote from Dusty about Dickerson:
“That’s how you do it: You play your way into it. You don’t talk your way into it,” Baker said.
Tell me, did Willy T play into it? How about Patterson?
Hopefully, the REDS will do well AND DB’s contract will not be renewed. Would love to get everyone’s input on who the next manager should be.
Can’t agree with the “Dustradamus” label, since Nostradamus actually showed he has remarkable insight into the future. Heck, he didn’t even have a toothpick!
Dustradamus, I love it. He makes some sense here but he’s also protecting himself with these early warnings about how high expectations can result in disappointment.
If we’re out of it in July, there will be a housecleaning of veterans: Harang, Arroyo, Philipps, Cordero, etc. One could argue that might be a good thing, Harang and Arroyo (for sure) won’t be with us in 2011 anyway. But I’m tired of losing. A winning record is my minimum goal for a satisfying season.
Back to Dustradamus. He’s made some great quotes, but I don’t know if any top his statement in Mike Bauman’s March 14 mlb.com article, “For Reds, the time to win is now.”
“It has to happen over time,” Baker said. “That’s the one thing people don’t want to wait on.”
If you condense that a little, he said: “Time is the one thing people don’t want to wait on.” Classic.