Reds following suit

Remember when I said I had given up my emotional attachment to the Bengals? That statement still holds true and it feels so good! I am happy to report I have reached the same level of detachment with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have played five crucially important games since Monday and they have done nothing but sleep walk through all of them. They have played uninspired and look like they can't wait for the season to end so they can go on vacation. These guys are raking in millions of dollars. If THEY don't care... I don't care either.

I am still a fan and I want them to win the World Series again one day. But I'm here to tell you, I am done with hanging on every pitch and agonizing over every close game. Consider me liberated, folks. This feels sooooooooooo good!

The fact is, The Reds were supposed to big winners this year (at least on paper), but they have spent the entire season underachieving and letting other teams push them around. The Reds lack the killer instinct that is required of championship caliber teams and they sorely lack leadership. None of this will change as long as Dusty Baker is the manager. He's described as a "Player's Manager". Do you know what that means? It means he's their buddy and unwilling to kick some rear end when it's desperately needed. Just like your kids need you to be a parent and NOT a friend, the Reds need Dusty Baker to be a leader and not their pal. It ain't never gonna happen. Dusty Baker is who he is. He's a nice man who knows more about baseball than I ever will. He's just not the guy to lead them into battle and to take no prisoners. He's more likely to want to sit down and have tea with the opposing team (aka the enemy).

As long as Dusty is the manager, the Reds will always be a good baseball team. But never good enough to get to the next level. Under Dusty The Reds will win enough games to get into the playoffs, but will be a non-factor once they get there (For reference see last year's playoff debacle or their appearance in the 2010 playoffs).

Go Reds!

This sentiment brought to you by your newest casual fan and your most recently departed die hard fan.