I almost feel sorry for Cincinnati

by stelmodad on Apr 29, 2008 8:46 AM CDT

I wasn't a Dusty hater. I have a hard time being a hater. But Dusty made some strange decisions as manager of the Cubs and it seems he's making some similar one's with the Reds.

In a Cincinatti paper (http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080429/SPT04/804290344/) Freel, who's had a pretty good season so far .292/.327/.681, is just a bit frustrated that he's being benched in favor of Cory Patterson (.213/.281/.756). Given current trends and the choice of replacement, I can understand.

Also, it seems that Reds organization has some internal communication issues that precipitated this. One of the jobs as a manager is to listen to your staff and figure out how best they can contribute to the task at hand. At our work, it's assigning the right people for the job based on their workload. If an MLB ball club, which has payroll in the tens of millions with a whopping staff of 40+ can't get on the same page then someone should look more closely at how they got there and make changes fast. Having discord this early for the Reds doesn't help anyone there.

Does our community here believe that at some point we'll have similar turmoil here in CF with Johnson and Pie or do you think that management has prepped the players and themselves well?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Plus...

... Dusty is continuing to lead off the speedy guy (Patterson) even though he has a .281 OBA. Jeff Keppinger, who has a .357 OBA (but little speed) would be a better choice. Heck, right now they’d be better off leading off Paul Bako, who has a .403 OBA and has hit two triples.

To answer your question, I doubt the Cubs will have any problem with Johnson and Pie. Reason: Lou Piniella knows what he’s doing and the players have no problem following his leadership.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Apr 29, 2008 8:53 AM CDT reply actions

I read this article

Dusty is….well…no name calling. Corey Patterson needs to be released; either that or he should be nothing but a late inning defensive replacement or burner off the bench. Well I guess Shawon Dunston had a career with similiar numbers so why cant Corey.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Apr 29, 2008 9:06 AM CDT reply actions

of course Dunston's last couple

of years were in SF… with Dusty. Go figure.

by davidalanu on Apr 29, 2008 11:28 AM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, I saw this...

why Patterson is in the leadoff spot is beyond me. His .281 OBP is terrible…

I agree with Al on Johnson/Pie…Johnson is tearing it up and Pie is a work-in-progress. IMO, you don’t necessarily need blazing speed to be in the leadoff spot…OBP is way more important.

You ARE freaking out MAN!

by crw89 on Apr 29, 2008 9:26 AM CDT reply actions

Well also the fact that Lou

has made clear since day one in Chicago that you are sittin if you aint hittin. In some cases I think this is bad because players like Pie (somewhat fragile ego I am assuming) feels pressure even if Lou were to say, the job is yours. Ultimately, the players know you produce or you sit.

The benefits of this approach as manager are too obvious to even get into but Dusty…man he may be a nice guy…but he is like a pile of raw meat managing a team. Every day that goes by makes me wonder more and more how this man has won any games as a manager.

I don’t hate him, I just think he is a terrible horrible no good very bad manager.

Calm down.

by Kinky Reggae on Apr 29, 2008 10:40 AM CDT up reply actions

People really...

...need to get past this infatuation with what Dusty is doing.

"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel

by MPH73 on Apr 29, 2008 11:12 AM CDT reply actions

Amen brother

by MDBNIU on Apr 29, 2008 11:46 AM CDT up reply actions

AMEN BROTHER?

This coming from the guy that really needs to get over a lot of things.

BTW, Dusty is the manager of a division opponent…....we will continue to talk abou tit.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Apr 29, 2008 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions

Talk about what?

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Apr 29, 2008 3:14 PM CDT up reply actions

Infatuation with Dusty? No.

Infatuation with baseball – yes; especially with an in division team that should be good given the talent in their organization.

Other than looking at another team in the division, this could have been an article about any other ex-Cubs related players and was even more intriguing to me because of the situation the Cubs may eventually have in the OF.

I have no response to that.

by stelmodad on Apr 29, 2008 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions

Your entitled...

...to concentrate on whatever you wish, I was simply pointing out that all this Dusty attention tends to be overkill – IMHO.

"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel

by MPH73 on Apr 29, 2008 5:56 PM CDT up reply actions

then ignore it!

Seriously… if you don’t like talking about Dusty Baker than don’t post on the topic. To some, Dusty is a relevant topic. If it isn’t to you then you can choose from the myriad of other fan posts that exist here.

DmL

by dmlichte on Apr 29, 2008 7:17 PM CDT up reply actions

Thanks for the tip

n/t

"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel

by MPH73 on Apr 30, 2008 12:37 AM CDT up reply actions

in the division

If he weren’t in the division, I’d agree. The fact is, we’ve got two managers inside the division (Baker and Yost) that seem to make bone-headed decisions. That’s a good thing for the Cubs.

by rgonzale on Apr 29, 2008 3:14 PM CDT up reply actions

Don't worry about the Reds

Jay Bruce is on the verge of being called up for good. Talk of Corey Patterson and Ryan Freel is about to vaporize.

by MDBNIU on Apr 29, 2008 11:46 AM CDT reply actions

Really, it's of little

importance of what Dusty is doing with the Reds. There is going to be a train wreck, eventually. I didn’t believe a Giants fan, when he discussed Dusty with me, in Mesa—at the start of Dusty’s first year. I wrote off his distaste of Dusty as bitterness from not winning the ‘02 Series.

Boy, was he a prophet. He literally told me how this tenure would play out—some success, probably (but he attributed Bonds for much of it) and a strange clubhouse (this guy was a Giants season ticket holder) which might eventually lead to problems.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Apr 29, 2008 12:42 PM CDT reply actions

It was the same thing...

... when the Cubs hired Don Baylor. We thought we were getting a “savior” who had brought an expansion team to the playoffs in its third year.

The Rockies fans warned us. We didn’t listen.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Apr 29, 2008 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions

I thought we were getting Grimace from McDonalds

Fat, purple (from the Rockies uniform), not good at managing baseball. They were practically twins.

In the middle of a good time, Truth gave me her icy kiss. Look around, you must be joking. All that way, all that way for this -Oysterband

by Ross on Apr 29, 2008 4:06 PM CDT up reply actions

It's difficult to really appreciate those warnings

until you’ve watched Dusty up close. I remember being ecstatic when the Cubs signed him. Now I consider him one of the worst Cubs managers of my lifetime (and that’s saying something). The part I find fascinating is that the Reds fans are probably going through exactly what we did a few years ago. I think a lot of us probably feell like the Giant fan mentioned above-we can pretty much predict exactly how Dusty’s tenure is going to play out in Cincinnati after watching him flame out in Chicago.
What amazes me is how he’s able to keep getting manager jobs-I guess the “old boys network” must be running as smoothly as ever.

by bluekoolaide on Apr 29, 2008 1:43 PM CDT reply actions

The only thing about Cincy I feel sorry for them about is that Joe Morgan was a Red.

"Stay thirsty my friends....."

by Keystone80435 on Apr 29, 2008 2:07 PM CDT reply actions

Now that is something to feel sorry about!

This is only the beginning....Lou Pinella end of '07 season and Chicago Transit Authority (the band when they were really good).

by mrcubsfan on Apr 29, 2008 3:46 PM CDT up reply actions

That won't happen here with the guy...

...running the show from the dugout, period. End of story.

I only care what Dusty does when it helps the Reds beat a team the Cubs are battling for position. For now, that’s Milw and StL (enjoyed their win last night vs StL). Later on in the season, it’ll probably still be Milw and will then include the snakes, Mets and Phils.

by blackhawk24 on Apr 29, 2008 7:04 PM CDT reply actions