“Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water”, the Reds blow two straight (to the Braves) and head to Cleveland with little if any momentum. After a 10-9 loss on Thursday, in which the bullpen blew a 6 run lead in the 9th, the Redlegs have to take 2 of their next 3 to stop the bleeding. It’s almost ridiculous to think that a team can give up that many runs in the final inning of a ballgame. With that being said, all you can do is get back “between the lines” and give 100%. Tonight was a good start, as they knocked off the reeling Indians 7-4 and improved their record to 24-18.
The Reds last 3 losses have been difficult to take:
This past Friday (05-14), in a 5-4 loss to the Cardinals, C Hernandez pinch hit (against a right-handed pitcher) with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd, and proceeded to swing at the first pitch and ground into a game ending double play. Now, I don’t know if Lance Nix was available or not, but there’s no reason for Hernandez to swing at the first pitch. The runners should have been put in motion to avoid that result. No matter how you look at it, Baker was wrong.
Wednesday (05-19) @ Atlanta, the Reds score 3 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th to tie the score at 4, only to watch Baker pull P Rhodes (left-handed pitcher) for P Masset (right-handed pitcher) in the 9th to face 3 left-handed hitters and 1 right-handed. Amazingly enough, the Braves banged out 2 hits and won on Hayward’s game winning double. I’m no rocket scientist, but if you’re the type of manager that plays the percentages, what the heck are you doing throwing a right-hander against 3 left-handed batters? This proved to be another mistake by Baker.
Thursday (05-20) @ Atlanta started off great. The Reds got out of the gate quickly, scoring 8 runs in the 2nd, and took a 9-3 lead into the bottom of the 9th. This is where the fun begins. Baker proceeds to run P Lincoln out there for a 3rd inning, which proved to be costly, as he gave up 4 straight hits and 2 runs before being pulled for P Masset. This was just the start, as P Masset walks the next batter (C Ross) and then 3B Cairo boots a groundball giving up another run, making the score 9-6. After apparently seeing enough, Baker brings in P Rhodes to face one batter (which he strikes out, with the bases loaded). With 2 outs and the bases juiced, Baker brings in P Cordero, who promptly gives up a grand slam, and the ballgame. Yet another mistake by Baker and no one is saying a word.
The common theme here is that Baker does not do well when he has to make decisions on the fly. All you have to do is follow his managerial career, and you’ll find that he only finds success when he runs the same lineup out each and every night (San Fran and Chicago). Even if the stars are aligned, he struggles and has limited success. In 17 years of managing, he has captured 3 division titles and 1 NL Pennant. Not very impressive with the lineups he had. I know it’s unfair to hang every loss, or every poor season on Baker, but at some point you have to face the facts, Baker is not a top flight manager. My solution is, and has been for several years, to bring in Bobby Valentine and let him take us to the next level. Agree or disagree, the facts are the facts.
Todd P Coleman 05-21-10