Jason Linden and I got together once again to discuss the week that was in Cincinnati Reds baseball. Topic of the day: given the Reds poor play, should manager David Bell’s job be in jeopardy?
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Votto is out, Moose is out, Starting Pitching isn’t that good, relief corps has seen a revolving door so tough to pin all the blame on Bell but the ugly 4 game sweep by the Giants is bound to point fingers at him. I think the Owner is more culpable. Honestly, it’s the SOS with the Reds we’ve seen for years. Mediocrity is accepted.
The owners Showed Their True Colors When They Tried To Trade Moose And Suarez, If You Don’t Want To Spend Enough Green To Be In The Hunt —-SELL THE TEAM!
Yes he should! Should have been a long time ago. It’s not all Bell’s fault, as there is plenty of blame to go around. But after some of the harebrained moves he’s made that directly cost us several games this year and last, the answer is “yes”. Nice fellow. He just not a good manager. Jmo.
David Bell left a job as V.P. of Personnel for the Giants to manage the Reds. The front office is the metier for Bell, not the dugout.
It might be hard to document that assertion. E.G., Bell brings in a relief pitcher who gives up a bunch of runs, but we can’t know what would would have happened if a different guy had been brought in. I don’t know whether he’s a bad manager or not, but the team isn’t very good, so it’s hard to fairly judge.
If Bell’s seat is warming up, then Nick Krall’s should be on fire.
Krall only does what ownership allows.
Okay. Then why are there good GMs and bad ones?
Because there are good owners and bad ones
Yes. Nothing about this guy is managerial. He got the job because nobody else would take it and it was a family connection with the front office that got him the interview in the first place. His only prior experience as a manager produced near historically bad results at the minor league level. If not for the family connection, his horrid resume, that includes steroid use, would not have even been considered.
Gary, there are 30 MLB manager’s jobs, and at least 350 people who want and could perform those jobs. I’m no Bell guy, but his TV and radio persona is beyond dull and drab, so fans’ instincts are not to like him. And I will grant you that his decisions can be befuddling. But Bell didn’t put this roster together, and Krall only had a limited amount of influence on it.
If Dick Williams had recognized what a talent he had in Jesse Winker, then the Reds would not have signed either Mike Moustakas or Shogo Akiyama, and would have had the money this off-season to patch the SS hole until Jose Garcia is ready, and to keep DeSclafani or otherwise have a deeper pitching staff.
I’d ditch Alan Zinter by noon today. He didn’t get it done last year, and they can’t score off starting pitchers this year.
Reds went all in last year by signing 3 players at big bucks.We can talk all day about that but it is what it is so we live with it Bell is not at risk of losing his job any more then any of our aging and non performing vets are in risk of losing their jobs.We play with what e have until the big money comes off the books and that includes the manager.Simply put Bell is to do the best he can with this team.
25% of season in the books
team on pace for 73 wins
Pre-season “Expert” Predictions was for 81 to 82 wins.
Everyone in the organization should be on the “hot” seat as another 4 weeks of playing 0.45 win% baseball will put reasonable hope for 2021 success in the rear view window.
Absolutely, Bell and most of the coaching staff should have been gone last year. Suarez SHOULD be traded if they can find someone who’ll have him. I was optimistic on Moustakas originally but he can’t stay healthy. Votto is a shadow of his former self and should retire. He’s been progressively declining since his 2017 season. As for Iglesias, his performance for the Angels, primarily finishing games hasn’t been impressive. So letting him go was no big deal. The team has talent but it will never be realized/utilized by Bell. Obviously, Farmer and Blandino aren’t the answer to ANY question. They are utility pieces to be used occasionally, not daily. Yes the FO is culpable. Yes, the ownership needs replaced. But it starts on the field and Bell obviously isn’t the guy.
The Reds get 3 at home against the Brewers then a tough 6 day swing with Scherzer on Tuesday and Strasburg back in the rotation Thursday and then a 3 game series with the suddenly hot Chicago Cubs.
I would honor Bell’s contract for the 3 years at this point and find a new manager in the off-season if the Reds don’t win. The bigger issue in the next 30-60 days isnt Bell, but how aggressive and creative Krall will be trying to unload veteran players and contracts to get younger and cheaper for 2022/23 when/if the season becomes a lost cause.
Firing Bell in late may and replacing him with Freddie Benavides as an interim manager wont change the course of the season. There will be a time for a new manager but that should come in early October.
Fire them both, along with Zinter. Corporate America doesn’t the CEO “well your results are lousy the last several quarters but we’re keeping you on because you’re such a nice guy.” Besides Bell has never shown any management talent.
i feel trapped as a reds fan. ownership links payroll to attendance so if nobody shows up to the games, payroll will go down and we will be worse. how else can a fan really voice his/her displeasure without shooting themselves in the foot? Booing the home team is not really a Cincinnati tradition like in the big east coast cities. i think we all want a higher quality manager than Bell but how as fans do we get our point across to ownership?
And we all want a higher quality ownership group lol
Reds owners are acting more and more like Mike Brown
yes, as a Cincinnati Sports fan we live in Mike and Bob’s world. And what a depressing world it is!
Whoa! Hitting below the belt there with that one. There is name calling but that is just cruel. Lol
Even if Castellanos opts out, I think the Reds can offer him a QO, and he’d get a raise. If he still walks away, the Reds get draft pick compensation.
The sports industry is the only business that can continuously put out a poor quality product and survive. GE lost dominance of appliances because LG and others put out a better product. Oldsmobile went under because no one bought the product. MLB, NBA, and NFL leagues continue to thrive with most teams never fielding a quality product. Owners of unsuccessful teams continue to stuff their pockets with cash even though there is no expenditure to win. The owners know FANS will still empty their pockets and spend their time anxiously awaiting a winner because we are devoted to OUR team. They play us like fools and know we will happily play our part, but what can I do but to tune in and hope because the Reds connect me to my dad who often took me to Crosley Field to see Robinson, Pinson, Perez, Borbon and many other Reds players who delighted and disappointed me. They are a part of me that I will never divorce even though it makes no sense to stay. I am Reds fan for better or worse and they know it.
You Are On It And It Will Never Change .500 Is The Goal And We Are Supposed To Like It.
Firing isn’t nearly enough for whoever decided to let Gausman go and keep Romano around. They should have evidence planted that deems them as a threat to national security and then dragged off to Guantanamo Bay.
Seriously though I can’t speak for other Reds fans, but there comes a time where you just check the score occasionally, but otherwise get on with your life. Life has enough setbacks and disappointments without looking for more to be “entertained”.
Letting Gausman, Disco & Bradley go was stupid..should kept Jose Iglesias at SS
There isn’t a manager out there thats going to save this team so why bother firing the current one. Waaaay too much stock is put into managerial decisions determining game outcomes, particularly here. If anything, the team needs a rebuild, maybe that includes a new coaching staff but it starts with the team construction first and foremost. The pitching staff needs addressed ASAP.
Is the owner going to do all of that?
Rebuild? That conotates something was once built. In the 20 years since 2000, this franchise has 4 winning seasons. 3 in the last 10. 1 in the last 7. Rebuild? This particular Reds team has above .500 talent. Everybody battles injuries. Davis Bell has a lifetime professional managerial record of 347-466 for an abysmal .427 lifetime winning percentage. His sole winning season was 31-29 last year. He had no success as a minor league manager and has had very little success as a major league manager. It is said that managers make or break stat is 1 run games. Bell stands 38-45 lifetime in 3 seasons in the bigs. Over the same time span Craig Counsell stands 45-28. IMO, an experienced Manager (none of note wanted the job) could guide this club to something along the lines of 85 wins, most certainly something above .500. We’ll see what Bell finishes with. I’m not a fan of his hiring. I don’t believe his resume called for it. However, if the Reds can finish above .500, I’ll have to admit that he did what he should have done. Anything under .500 and he’ll only cement my opinion.
I agree with 2020Ball. “Rebuild” connotes something once built, certainly, but not necessarily something built well. There’s no other way of improving this team significantly. The issue, of course, is would the people presently in management do the job properly?
I want to say something mean and snarky about the Reds organization and management, i just can’t seem to summon up the passion to do so. The Reds stink and they are going to stink until ownership sells and someone smart and wanting to win steps in. I guess I will root for the Dodgers or Yankees in the postseason.
Unfortunately Bell has no idea how to handle a pitching staff, and his judgement with an admittedly shoddy relief corps is proof. I can’t count how many close and winnable games he has lost with his “favorite” relievers. The Reds have decent if not spectacular starters and talented pitchers in the minors; if Bell is still managing when they arrive the Reds will never climb out of their now standard second-division mire.
over the years, i have kept stats on how many times the reds have NOT ADVANCED A RUNNER with a leadoff double- today is no exception. not sure of exact inning- 3 or 4, but suarez could not advance the baserunner who just doubled….please BUNT..
the number of potential runs is quite High….we lost by 1 today.
Can anyone BUNT, or is swinging to hit a homerun all that concerns our over paid ‘stars’