Dusty Baker fired

Something wasn't right with the Reds.  Picked as one of the favorites for 2 years now, they couldn't get out of the 1st round.  They're trying to win it all...not just 90 games or a short playoff run.

When the owner, GM and fans believe things shoulda been better, the manager often takes the fall.  As a Reds fan, I wasn't surprised at all.

Winning 90 games wasn't a reflection of the manager, it was a reflection of the on-field talent.

I think Dusty Baker is quite possibly the worst on-field manager in the big leagues. His skills- as a player friendly manager and a good clubhouse presence (which I have heard to be true from several sources) do not outweigh the questionable decision making that takes place on the field.

To be honest, when I saw the news this morning, my first reaction was "what took them so long?" I think that with the right hire, the Reds will see a significant jump in team production next season...without a manager like Dusty holding them back. That team is very talented.

Thanks guys I am not a big fan of the Reds or a follower. 

I am  interested to see who they hire, and I am sure STL and PB will be as well!

Totally agree with JH's statement about Baker.  As a lifelong Cubs fan I hated his tenure as manager.  I think he does a horrible job of managing young pitchers and puts them in positions where they aren't going to be successful or healthy.  If you remember Kerry Wood and Mark Prior came up under him and both had huge troubles although their upside was really high.  While I'm guessing at this I bet if you go back and look at their pitch count totals early on under Baker you will see they are way too high.  

Dusty lost me when he criticized Joey Votto- far and away his best player and quite possibly the best hitter in the National League- for his approach. Dusty said that he doesn't care about the fact that Votto gets on-base so much, he needs him to drive more runs in. Dusty then resorted to hitting Zack Cozart- he of the .287 career OBP- in the 2-hole in front of Votto. He then resorted to hitting Brandon Phillips behind Votto and, lo and behold, Phillips drove in 103 runs this season, despite being largely below average by metrics that evaluate overall offensive performance (hint: RBI are absolutely meaningless when measuring individual offensive performance...because RBI are not an individual statistic).

Votto continuously responded to the public criticism by simply saying that he doesn't care about RBIs and will not change his approach and chase pitches out of the zone. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you are managing a team that has a player who has led Major League Baseball in OBP for four years in a row...he's probably doing something right and you shouldn't change him.

His use (or lack thereof) of Aroldis Chapman in high leverage situations frustrates me even more. Your best pitching asset should be used during the most crucial points in the game. He mismanages Chapman to the most extreme ways possible.

There are a few other managers in the big leagues who I question often. None more than Dusty. 

The Cincinnati Reds wanted Dusty Baker to resign.

He refused.

They wanted him to call it a career?

He's not ready.

They wanted him to fire his hitting coach, Brook Jacoby.

He declined.

So the Reds fired Baker.

"It was a tough decision. We appreciate and respect what Dusty did the six years he was here. But we just felt that the way things went toward end, that it was evident we needed to make a change and try improve on the performance for next year.''

Jim Riggleman, the Reds' Class AAA manager in Louisville and former manager of the Washington Nationals, is the favorite to replace Baker. Pitching coach Bryan Price is also a strong candidate. And, no, Tony La Russa, who won two World Series championships with Jocketty in Oakland and St. Louis, has no interest in returning as manager.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/...red-manager/2923417/

Baker, 64, says he still believes he should be the one returning, winning at least 90 games in three of the last four seasons. But the Reds' six consecutive losses to end the season doomed his fate, Jocketty said.

JH - I agree 100% that he is not a good game manager.  They should have won more than 90 with their talent.  He frequently got out-managed from the games I watched.   I was not surprised with his firing one bit.

It will be interesting to see where he winds up.   Possibly in the broadcast booth?  Can he talk or carry on a broadcast with that toothpick in his mouth?  We'll find out soon enough.

I don't mean to sound rude, but if he takes up broadcasting, I would tune him out just as I have grown accustomed to tuning out Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver. I think the best place for him would be as a roving instructor in a player development setting. His skill set lies within teaching and communicating with players, not decision making and game analysis. If I were in charge of an organization, I would jump at the opportunity to employ him in such a light.