Comments on: The Reds are dead and Dusty Baker’s fingerprints are all over the murder weapon

By: blabidibla

blabidibla — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:37:37 +0000

Hello … People….

Never said Pagan ’caused” anything. Pagan didn’t call the timeout with an intent to aggravate the injury but I think it aggravated it none the less. He clearly was in more discomfort after that non-pitch and had to be pulled.

It was an accidental series changer.

By: materialman80

materialman80 — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:54:25 +0000

Of course it’s Baker’s fault, but I sure want them to keep old Dusty, because as a Cardinals fan, we love him…..

By: vicksprman

vicksprman — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 02:46:51 +0000

Well if you lose three straight at home, i don’t care who’s fault it is you deserve to be golfing tomorrow and not going on the the NLCS.

By: ilovefootball2525

ilovefootball2525 — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 02:22:35 +0000

I HATE THE GIANTS!!

By: stabonerichard

stabonerichard — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 02:20:51 +0000

Not sure what you’re referring to but it sounds like you’re misreading the chart.

By: TheBlindUmp

TheBlindUmp — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:45:05 +0000

Need the edit function:
Make that “at bat” and struck out looking several pitches prior to actually being called out by the umpire.

By: redlegs7

redlegs7 — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:44:59 +0000

Although I am extremely pissed that the Reds are done, at least I don’t have to continue to bang my head against the wall after every decision Dusty makes. Good luck Gigantes

By: TheBlindUmp

TheBlindUmp — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:43:48 +0000

And you know his eye is so keen how? If you’d have had pitch trax calling balls and strikes for his at he would have struck out looking.

By: stabonerichard

stabonerichard — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:47:14 +0000

I completely disagree. The inconsistency is maddening. It’s gotten to the point that we accept the fact umps have *unique* strike zones, and we just hope they are consistent with their own interpretation. That’s pretty lame.

Take today’s situation. Hanigan has proven himself to have a mastery level of control of the strike zone. He’s not an overall great hitter, yet draws more walks than strikes out. And today he had earned himself a critical walk in the bottom of the 6th, representing the tying run, with his keen eye recognizing the pitch was slightly off the edge.

But because we’re so used to the inconsistency of the umps behind the plate, the outcry is “OMG, you have to swing at that pitch (off the plate) to protect yourself with 2 strikes!!”

Or because the call was only slightly bad, we simply accept it as par for the course and direct no blame towards the umpire while instead blaming the hitter (who should have had a free pass) or manager (who had put his runners in motion to avoid a GIDP, trusting his guy at the plate would make the right decision, which he did but was burned by the call).

In other words, I think the human element is horseshit.

By: pgilbert15303

pgilbert15303 — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:45:13 +0000

Room scared the pants off me… Thank god he pulled it out!

Damn, I miss the bearded one! Mr. Wilson!!!!

By: yahmule

yahmule — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:58:20 +0000

I usually don’t like to kick a guy when he’s down, but in Dusty’s case I’ll make an exception.

By: stiefert

stiefert — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:51:37 +0000

I’m a Cardinals fan. First, I want to congratulate the Reds on a great season. This is a team with tons of talent that will undoubtedly be making noise for several years. Votto, BP, Cueto (who I am still pissed at) and others make a great team. I especially like Rolen and Ludwick for their time with the Cards and wish them well.
Dusty Baker has proven to be a great MLB manager and I hope his health and this setback allow him to compete for many more years.
So congratulations Cinci fans. If my beloved Cards wouldn’t have made the post season, I’d have been a Reds fan for the duration. I don’t know what will happen with the Cards tomorrow, but I, for one, have nothing but respect for your team.
Good luck in 2013.

By: anthonyemillard

anthonyemillard — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:48:49 +0000

yeah right because old fatass rolen who is fast as a turtle tried to steal second base with one of the best catchers in the league playing

By: TheBlindUmp

TheBlindUmp — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:42:29 +0000

Pitch Trax is an interesting little thing when displayed on every pitch. It lets everyone be an umpire, kind of. One of the things that makes baseball so great for me is that every umpire’s strike zone is a little different. Player’s have to adjust to that. The game wouldn’t be nearly as interesting to me if we had Pitch Trax “call” every pitch. Some of the “strikes” on Pitch Trax would drive players crazy if it was all they dealt with. When i see some of the “strikes” that were called balls by the umpire it makes me realize that Pitch Trax still has a ways to go before it could become the reality. Plus, it would completely take out “breaks” going for or against your team, which is a huge part of the game and always has been. I guess I’m just a traditionalist.

By: astrosfan75956

astrosfan75956 — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:36:01 +0000

Baker was badly out managed.

By: stabonerichard

stabonerichard — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:31:57 +0000

Hanigan is one of the rare players with more career walks than Ks. The pitch he was rung up on was off the plate. I just think it's tough to blame Hanigan for not swinging at what should have been called a ball and put the tying run on base with nobody out, especially given his track record of outstanding strike zone control. And here's the entire strikezone plot for Matt Cain today, vs. RH batters; it looks like there were 3 pitches close to the edge that weren't swung at... two of them were called a ball; the other rung up Hanigan. Tough break for the home team.

By: TheBlindUmp

TheBlindUmp — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:21:34 +0000

But I still love Dusty! Even though Rolen shouldn’t have been in there…Go GIANTS!!!!

By: SOBEIT

SOBEIT — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:20:32 +0000

Giants fans know the agony of defeat theme. No championships since moving from NY, until 2010…and in my time, see 98 WS sweep by A’s in the Bay Bridge Series and life changing earthquake that changed many lives in the area…and 02 Game 6 debacle at the hands of the rally monkey Angels (yes that was the Dusty Baker handing the game ball to Russ Ortiz pitcher change…and the game was not even over yet! To this day, I hate monkey’s!

By: stabonerichard

stabonerichard — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:20:01 +0000

Yep, I don't know if people who watched the game didn't realize Hanigan had grounded into a DP in his previous at-bat or what, but clearly that factored into the decision-making. You add to it the fact Hanigan has fantastic strike zone control, as one of the few players in baseball with more career walks than Ks, and Dusty's decisions came down to 1) decreasing the chance of a GIDP, while 2) trusting his guy at the plate, with a track record of outstanding strike zone control, to make the right decision. Oh, and the final pitch of the at-bat was just off the plate. So if the call had instead gone the home team's way, with the ump making what would have technically been the correct call, the bases would have been loaded with nobody out and a new pitcher coming in. But instead Dusty Baker is an idiot. Insightful stuff.

By: TheBlindUmp

TheBlindUmp — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:18:36 +0000

Some criticism is always coming, whether warranted or not. As managers, players, or officials, it comes with the job and it’s really part and parcel of sports in general. It’s what fans do and deservedly so. If we/they weren’t passionate about sports, we wouldn’t be on the blogs or at the stadiums. There is nothing more American than complaining. Heck, it’s codified in our constitution! So, you’re absolutely right, it’s warranted. And I agree with you completely about Spezio! We should have had that one.

By: mazblast

mazblast — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:09:12 +0000

As a non-Reds fan who lives in Cincinnati, I cannot WAIT to see and hear the excuses and accusations over the next few weeks. The series win that everyone here took for granted just a few days ago, with people scrambling for tickets to the LCS, has gone up in flames.

Don’t get me wrong here. I’m going to try not to gloat. I’m a Pirates fan; I know what it’s like to see my team blow it at the end of a series. I do look forward to the usual cacophony of ranting, raving, rationalization, excuse-making, demands, and accusations that accompanies an unexpected turn of events like this. And I shall try to not use the word CHOKE around my more passionate Reds fans friends, since I know exactly how they feel right now.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:04:37 +0000

…but the manager is only “smart” when it “works”. It was still Ibanez that won the game….and it didn’t take a genius to see that ARod looks horrible right now.

By: mazblast

mazblast — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:01:19 +0000

Never confuse the issue by bringing up the facts. The legend will be that Pagan “caused” Cueto’s injury, and to use a movie quote, “When the facts conflict with the legend, print the legend.”

By: jrd8523

jrd8523 — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:55:01 +0000

Cuetos back was a key issue but his discomfort started as soon as he took the ball. Pagan sequence didn’t help but his back was clearly ready to go at any point. It’s just a bad wind-up for back issues.

By: SOBEIT

SOBEIT — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:50:46 +0000

Sorry, but Pagan calling time out had nothing to do with Cueto’s injury…Cueto himself told the staff that he felt something during warmups…before the game even started.

By: timpaz

timpaz — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:43:47 +0000

Iluv Dusty, but his teams do have trouble finishing.

By: highhorse666

highhorse666 — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:43:17 +0000

Some of the criticism of Dusty is warranted, but often I feel it’s over the top. He is an excellent manager of people, if not the greatest strategic game manager. He’s managed to have a managerial job for 20 years now. There’s a reason for that. I always what his reputation might be if it wasn’t for Scott *#^$*#()!! Spezio in Game 6 of the 2002 World Series.

By: TheBlindUmp

TheBlindUmp — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:37:09 +0000

quick, look in the mirror…

By: TheBlindUmp

TheBlindUmp — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:36:10 +0000

Not if you’re a GIANTS fan!!!!!!!!

By: TheBlindUmp

TheBlindUmp — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:34:05 +0000

Flew out to left, I think, for the third out. Your point is right on though. I wish I could find where to buy one of the crystal balls all of these writers seem to posses. Good blog though Craig, keep up the good work! We’d complain no matter what you say! So you can’t win! I’d say Dusty’s one up on you!