Well as this Reds team slowly slips into oblivion by losing to the only team nearly as inept as they are the San Diego Padres, one wonders who is to blame. Last night the blame can be firmly placed on the manager Dusty Baker.
Baker did not give his team a chance to win by setting the lineup the way he did. He started out with the weak hitting Willy Taveras batting .243, and then followed him with the more inept Alex Gonzalez batting a mighty .205. This top of the order ineptitude is just killing the Reds.
Votto batted in the three spot (as well he should) and Brandon Phillips batted clean up, another mistake. Then Dusty’s mind left his body by batting Edwin Encarnacion ahead of the red hot Johnny Gomes, in fact 2 spots ahead of Gomes because he batted the struggling Lance Nix ahead of Gomes as well. Where is the freaking logic here? Dusty had no choice except to bat Tatum in the 8th spot; he has no other catcher available except for emergency catcher Jerry Hairston Jr.
Overall, the line up Dusty trotted out there was batting .253 (pitcher not counted), which by any major league standard is poor. Dusty had few options, but here are a few that he should have made.
On a team that is this anemic offensively, you can not bat (2nd!), (really can not play, but Dusty has no players left if you put Hairston Jr. in the outfield), Alex Gonzalez. This is compounded by the fact that the catcher is almost an automatic out like any pitcher not named Micah Owings. This team is carrying too many infielders and pitchers. Given the cards he was dealt last night, Dusty should have placed Hairston Jr. in the outfield and tried to play small ball at the top of the lineup with Taveras and Hairston Jr., Gonzalez should have batted 7th. Gomes should have batted 5th instead of Encarnacion and Nix. Drew Stubbs should be brought up from Triple A NOW!!!
By carrying 12 pitchers it seems a move via a trade is imminent. Big league baseball clubs do not carry 12 pitchers. I would imagine that David Weathers would be departing soon. This deal needs to get done because Dusty is ham-strung by this roster.
And now a few words for hitting instructor Brook Jacoby, how the hell are you keeping your job? Jacoby’s batsmen must all meet at Bass Pro Shops, because they all love, dearly love, fishing for breaking balls. It is so obvious that as a major league pitcher why would you even consider throwing the Cincinnati Reds a fastball? The only 2 Reds that even look like they have seen breaking balls before are guys you might want to pitch around anyway (Votto and Phillips). Admittedly Gomes is coming around, but as a big league pitcher you would want to feed breaking balls to Taveras, Gonzalez, Nix (he should never ever see a fastball) Encarnacion (another guy susceptible to even the worst slider or curveball), Tatum (who cant seem to hit anything), and it goes for the injured Jay Bruce, Chris Dickerson, Janish, Rosales, and even Hairston Jr., too. If I am Bob Castellini, Jacoby is in my office, not Dusty’s or even Walt Jocketty's explaining his extremely poor performance to me, and it had better be good!
This Reds team can not score runs on a consistent basis. I know this team and organization does not consider itself out of the race, and good for them and their professionalism, but they can not score runs, they are so hurt, they are done for this year.
Big D
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