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    Podcast — RNR #182: Why didn’t the Reds fire Bryan Price?

    Chad Dotson 5

    Doug Gray joined me again this week to discuss the news that Bryan Price will return to manage the Reds in 2018. Good idea? Bad idea? You’ll have to listen to find out the answer.

    We also discussed the marvelous rookie season of Luis Castillo, and looked at the progress made by a bunch of young Reds pitchers in 2018. Plus, what to make of the Billy Hamilton/Phillip Ervin centerfield situation, and we even tossed in a couple of movie reviews.

    Music for this episode provided by Freekbass, a big Reds fan and a friend of Redleg Nation.

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    Previous Recap: Reds lose. Again.
    Next Recap: Reds lose third straight. To the Mets. The hapless New York Metropolitans. Three games in a row.
    Chad Dotson
    Blame Chad for creating this mess. Chad launched Redleg Nation in February 2005, and has been writing about the Reds ever since. His first book, "The Big 50: The Men and Moments That Made the Cincinnati Reds" is now available in bookstores and online, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever fine books are sold. You can also find Chad's musings about the Cincinnati Reds in the pages of Cincinnati Magazine. You can email Chad at chaddotson@redlegnation.com.

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    5 Responses

    1. What other major league managers have been rehired after posting 3 consecutive last place finishes? Pitching Arroyo at all? Starting Homer before he’d proven himself for a month in the minors? Great offense. Great defense. 3 winning months out of 18? Has anyone ever done worse? He messed with the heads of a lot of our young pitchers. He may know how to coach pitchers, but he doesn’t know how to manage players. I guarantee I could post a better record next year — if not, don’t pay me.

    2. Worse than Bob Boone and Jerry Narron? J/K I mostly agree with you. Reds accept mediocrity now. Like the Bengals. No urgency to win anymore. 100% agreement on useless bunts. Mind numbing.

    3. The offense is overrated: they score runs when the runs don’t matter as much. Base running has been an issue; Cozart has been running at less than full strength, Votto loses bases costing Suarez Duvall and Gennett RBIs, other than BH and sometimes Peraza the team is slow.

      The defense is a bit overrated too: Votto still does not get in front of balls or backup plays and his throws to second are weak, Gennett is definitely a below average infielder, Barnhart has a great arm and release but poor framing, Schebler is below average in the outfield, Duvall has been pretty solid with occasional lapses, Peraza hasn’t looked as good as expected at shortstop while at 2nd appears decent. BH and Suarez are the really really bright spots in the field.

      There’s only one reason to keep Price. He’s cheap.

      I’ve got a cheaper alternative. Let Votto or Barnhart manage the team. If it’s Votto he doesn’t need the money, if it’s Barnhart structure additional pay based upon overall team performance and performance of the pitching.

    4. Other managers/coaches of other teams and sports have lost players to injuries and it often lead to mediocre or losing seasons. That’s sports. It’s up to the top guy to adjust and improvise.

      And it certainly wasn’t all bad. In fact, much has been very good.

      Price has the top defensive catcher. His outfield leads all others in assists. 5 guys will have 20 home runs or more. He has the stolen base champ, and a great closer. He should have never played Arroyo. And Homer shouldn’t be starting yet, either. 28 starts earning 7 wins.

      2015 was strike one. 2016 was strike two. 2017 is strike three. Price should be out.

    5. I don’t know if anybody’s still reading this but I’ll say something anyway. It basically sounds as if you’re confirming my biggest worry with this reds team in that the reds wanna give Price a chance to prove that he can manage a competitive (if not winning and/or playoff caliber) team. It seems a pretty forgone conclusion that the reds are gonna go out and try to sign a good veteran starter this offseason which would seem to indicate that they’re ready to make good on their prediction or promise of returning to contention in 2018. If they do that and they remain healthy next year then it’s quite obvious that the reds will finish 2018 with a better record (whether it’s a winning record or not). If that happens with Price at the helm then I can almost guarantee that they’ll bring Price back after 2018 for God only knows how long. You know, I love the Reds and will always love the Reds, but this current regime in the front office almost seems like they make their decisions in spite of what the fan base wants or says. I’m not saying that we fans know how to run a baseball team better than they do and I’m not suggesting that they should turn over the decision making reigns to us. But at the same time they shouldn’t make decisions just to spite some of the fans. And I’m not saying that the reds are doing this whether on purpose or not but it just seems that way sometimes. Now, for those who would ask me or any other fan, “Well, who’re the reds gonna hire (to replace Price)?” Here’s the first thing I’d say to that…it sounds as if you want the Reds to keep Price forever. The second thing I’d say to that is…”I don’t know…that’s what interviews are for!” It just seems like the Reds FO really believes in Price and I don’t know why! But I think the reason why fans are so upset at Price being brought back is because the reds FO did target 2018 as the return to contention and they feel that bringing Price back is sending the message that we are indeed not going to contend next year which would feel like a broken promise. But, it seems as if a lot of Redlegnation staff seem to believe that the reds are indeed gonna make some moves this offseason to make a push towards returning to contention or at least improvement in the Wins & Losses department and if that happens they’ll bring Price back and that would just suck.

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