Damned if you do...
I didn't see last night's game, except for the last pitch, which ESPN showed once. Had that been a pitch to end a Yankees-Red Sox game, they would have shown it roughly 98 times. But I digress.
Jerry Narron is now taking heat for leaving in starters too long?
The game-ending pitch was No. 129 for Bronson Arroyo. That's a lot but not a ridiculous amount. If he had taken Arroyo out the and the bullpen blows it, Narron gets the blame for that as well. That's the way it works in baseball.
The heat will build until the Reds go on a streak or he's fired. Which comes first is anyone's guess. Only Bob Castellini can make that call. When I last spoke to him, he was nowhere near that point. Of course, the Reds are 1-5 since.
posted by John Fay at 1:38 PM
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Post a Comment*Every day the Reds fan in me dies a little more...
I predict a winning streak... they have exhausted every way to lose a game. the real issue, to this observer, is the offense. The Reds need to retool quickly and be a hitting team instead of a home run minded team.
You can blame Narron for a lot of things, but I can understand him leaving Arroyo in the game. With a tiring Arroyo, you have about a 50/50 chance of getting out of the inning. You bring in any of the bullpen rejects, and you have zero chance in winning the game. Narron has no faith in the bullpen that was given to him. Blame a lot of the losses on Narron, but blame this particluar loss on Krivsky.
Ugh...I'm so tired of the Hal McCoy school of finding ways to let the manager off the hook. "Gee whiz, what a goofy game! Damned if you do, damned if you don't!" C'mon. The team does not play the baseball it is capable of. Manager's fault. In New York, the beats would be all over the manager and there would be headlines calling for dismissal. You can say that's unjust, but I know the constant pressure to win eviscerates any laid-back attitude about playing the game. And those teams generally play in October. Using a few ignorant posts about Arroyo to imply that the outcry for Narron's firing is unjust is just bogus John. Narron has got to go. He's the wrong guy for this team. And don't worry, Butcher won't take away your clubhouse pass if you write a tough story.
Ugh...I'm so tired of the Hal McCoy school of finding ways to let the manager off the hook. "Gee whiz, what a goofy game! Damned if you do, damned if you don't!" C'mon. The team does not play the baseball it is capable of. Manager's fault. In New York, the beats would be all over the manager and there would be headlines calling for dismissal. You can say that's unjust, but I know the constant pressure to win eviscerates any laid-back attitude about playing the game. And those teams generally play in October. Using a few ignorant posts about Arroyo to imply that the outcry for Narron's firing is unjust is just bogus John. Narron has got to go. He's the wrong guy for this team. And don't worry, Butcher won't take away your clubhouse pass if you write a tough story.
It all goes back to the cheapness of the previous ownership. Remember when the team offered the manager's job to Willie Randolph -- now a huge success with the Mets -- and he turned it down because they weren't offering enough money. Then they offered it to Ron Oester, who also turned it down because it wasn't enough money and was hoping to negotiate. Then the team hired Bob Boone because he was the only one who would take the low-ball offer that ownership group was offering. That's how we got here. The Reds hired their third choice because he was the only one who would work for that little. He was horrible as expected. Miley couldn't do much more and so again the team settled and hired Narron.
For this team to be successful, the Reds need to get a manager with a forceful personality. They need someone who knows how to make game decisions (Narron doesnt) and knws how to motivate players (Narron clearly doesn't).
This is worth the money. So make another offer to Oester. Or make a run at Girardi. But find someone who is the ANSWER, not just someone who will work cheap.
Man I'm glad the Reds acquired Ramon Ortiz in 2004. Dustin Moseley is now 3-0 with a 1.52 ERA for the Angels this year. Brilliant.
John, I posted this earlier but I think it got lost:
Who is the clubhouse leader on this team? Or is there one?
What I'm getting at is simple: How has this team lost 12 of 15 and NO ONE has called a clubhouse meeting? Not Narron. Not Griffey. Not Hatteberg. Not Dunn (it actually made me laugh to type that one). Not Freel. Not Arroyo or Harang.
This team is rudderless.
Oester deserved the job years ago, and still does. A guy with a history of winning (he has a ring), a fireball personality, and a great baseball guy. I've been pulling for him for years. I'd love to see him managing this team.
I'm glad mikec mentioned Ron Oester's name.
I can't believe Oester isn't involved with the Reds organization these days. This team definitely needs his fire. With Castellini's desire to involve past players, you'd think Oester would have a job someplace.
Did he really burn his bridge with the Reds that badly?
On the leadership question, I thought I read that Griffey and someone else (Weathers maybe?) did call a meeting. But I've been away, so I'm not sure. On the larger issue, the Reds haven't had a tough guy leader since Greg Vaughn in 1999. If I had to name one guy, I'd say Weathers. As for the position players, I don't see anyone in that role. But a lot goes on behind closed doors that the writers don't see.
Oester was that kind of a guy when he coached here. And, yes, he burned some bridges with the previous management. That said, I could see him returning in some capacity down the line.
The fact that there is speculation about leadership says a lot. Yes, the writers don't see what goes on behind closed doors, but that is true for the Yankees tooand yet we know that Jeter is THE leader for that team. If there were a true leader on this team, I suspect we would all know who that person is even if there were questions about whether team meetings were being held.
Thanks for the info John.
Narron doesn't have enough quality ball players. Krisvky doesn't have the cash to get him enough quality ball players and the Reds don't charge enough for tickets and don't get enough revenue from TV to get quality ball players.
The system works against the Reds and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Be satified with Reds teams that win 70-85 games a year. It's all we can afford.
And root for the Yankees because they can buy any player they want and always win at least 90 games.
that's the reality of the situation.
I don't blame Narron for leaving Bronson in the game. Its not what I would have done, but it is better than the two guys he had warming up. What I do blame him for is continually putting Stanton and Coffey in the bullpen to blow the games when they do. I was so pissed when I saw that those two were warming up. We already know that both guys cannot hack it at this level and blow the game at every opportunity they get. It is time to let McBeth and Coutolangus get the opportunity to see what they have. Yeah they have little to no experience at the MLB level but the chances they have of succeeding are better than those of Stanton and Coffey who have no chance to succeed. That is why Narron is not a good manager. He does not adapt like he should. I have not been one of those saying Narron should be fired but this season has taught me that his unwillingness to make changes when players clearly are either over the hill or a nut job shows that he is not a quality leader. I could understand if we didnt have anyone in the minors or on the DL that would eventually be with the team (Majewski, Bray, Salmon, and Guardado) and Stanton and Coffey were actually needed all year but that is simply not the case and they are expendable now more than ever. I will say it for the first time Narron needs to go.
I'll be in Cleveland tonight. Anyone got any clever sign ideas? The message I want to get across is simple: FIRE JERRY NARRON.
A sign for Cleveland --
NarRon B Gone
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