Dusty Baker's Genius Rarely Fails to Surprise

In a world in which Copernicus  was  nearly drawn and quartered, da Vinci was barely one step away from the pillory and Einstein was ridiculed as "addle-brained," is it any wonder that the genius of  Reds manager Dusty Baker is so frequently misunderstood?

In an iconoclasm unparalleled since Baker chose Willy Taveras and his .275 on-base percentage as Reds leadoff batter, and scolded Adam Dunn for walking too much and "clogging up the bases," Baker has now selected swing-and-miss, right-handed power hitter Jonny Gomes to hit in the 2-hole.

Many less-gifted baseball strategists might have thought Baker should have opted in favor of the axiom that a high average, left hander would be better suited to bat second to ensure that the ball would be hit behind baserunners in order to promote their advancement.

That would be too obvious.  Baker has chosen instead the element of surprise.

Stunned by the switch,  frustrated infielders are left to helplessly bump into one another like blind moles on the dark side of the moon, or so it would seem.

Brandon Phillips is right handed, and might seem to be a better choice to bat second, because he is a much better hitter than Gomes, who is hitting .186 (with an OPS around .460 over the past month).

But seeing as Phillips has hit barely more than 20 homers a season with no more than a .275 average Baker cannot resist using him as a cleanup hitter while the highly regarded Jay Bruce (and his 10 homers) bats as low as seventh and gets plenty of time on the bench .

At least Gomes doesn't hit into double plays, owing to the fact that he strikes out more than a third of the time.

Critics so foolish as to question Baker's brilliance need not despair, however.  His lineup cards are a little like Cincinnati's weather; if you don't like it, wait a while and it will change. Baker has used an average of three different lineups a week since the season began.

Haranguing Reds Manager About Harang

Whatever that "old school" was from which Reds manager Dusty Baker graduated, apparently he skipped class the day they taught how to effectively use a bullpen.

On May 25 Baker found himself entangled in what would become an 18-inning marathon in San Diego, and with a 1-run lead chose not to bring in short man and future closer Bill Bray but instead mop-up man Josh Fogg. And Fogg promptly gave up that 1-run lead.

By the time Baker figured out it was Bray he should bring in, it was too late, and he had to exhaust his entire bullpen - even bringing in starters Aaron Harang and Johnny Cueto.

Harang - who had started just three days earlier, throwing more than 100 pitches - went 4 innings that night. And he hasn't been the same since. Harang was sharp that night in San Diego, striking out 9 in four scoreless innings. When he left the game, his ERA was 3.32.

Harang has started three times since, and only one of those outings was passable; the other two were terrible:

• May 29th: Gave up 10 hits, 6 ER in 4 innings
  
• June 3 - Gave up 9 hits, 3 ER in 6 innings
  
• June 8 - Gave up 11 hits, 7 ER in 5.1 innings
  

So before what should have been an unnecessary bullpen outing, Harang had a good ERA and league-leading strikeout numbers. Since that bullpen outing, Harang has pitched 15.1 innings with just 10 strikeouts, giving up 30 hits and 16 earned runs.

It's no wonder Baker has such a horrible reputation for handling pitching staffs.

Adam Dunn Trade Rumors Heat Up Again

With his team down six runs to the Pirates, Reds manager Dusty Baker abruptly pulled right fielder Adam Dunn from the game in fifth inning Thursday, reviving MLB rumors that the front office may have reached a tentative accord with an unnamed team to trade the 6-foot-6, 275-pound slugger.

With no information immediately forthcoming, it could not be ruled out that Dunn had been injured, but he appeared to be perfectly healthy when Baker lifted him in a double switch. One thing for certain, with a six-run deficit, Baker could hardly be taking him out for a defensive replacement as Dunn is commonly thought to be a liability in the outfield.

Though Dunn has never been recognized for his glove, he has recently heated up at the plate, approaching a .260 batting average with 14 homers on the year, 10 in May alone.

Dunn, 28 -- whose two-year $36 million contract expires at the end of this season -- has been widely thought to have been on the trading block for well over a year. Yet it appears there have been no takers, perhaps until now.

If the Reds were negotiating a deal, Baker likely would have been instructed to take Dunn out of the game for fear that an injury would derail the talks. Official word was being awaited, but even if Baker explained his odd move as being merely utilitarian in nature, it would not be entirely discountable that something more complicated may be occurring behind the scenes, consumation or no consumation.

Now with the Reds playoffs hopes in shambles, Dunn, future Hall-of-Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and other players more than ever are regarded as potential bargaining chips for a posssible rebuilding effort.

Dunn -- who generally has been counted on to belt 40 homers a year while scoring 100 runs -- just came off a 14-game hitting streak in which he hit more than .400 with six homers. Dunn's .395 on-base percentage leads the team, but Baker is on the record as saying he prefers batters not take walks as they will "clog up the basepaths."

Not Ready For The Show?

As Opening Day draws near now is the time for managers and executives to make the tough decisions. As seen in the past few days, many players were under the impression they'd be making the team are now being sent down to the minors. Super- prospects Evan Longoria (3B TB) and Jay Bruce (OF CIN) were among those heading back to the minors.

In Tampa Bay, manager Joe Maddon had made it clear that it would be an open competition for the starting spot at the hot corner. But whether it was Longoria's inexperience or whether Maddeon did it solely for his own personal humor, the skipper decided to send down Longoria despite Spring numbers of .333/.467/.750. If the Rays want to compete with the likes of the Yankees and Red Sox, they will not be doing it with their best possible team on the field. By keeping Longoria down in Triple-A for two months they will be able to avoid going to arbitration with him until 2011 and he will not be a free agent until 2014.

Reds manager Dusty Baker is up to his old ways again. The old-school coach is not willing to push the cagey veterans aside in order to put the young guns on the field. With aging veterans tying up his outfield and infield in Ken Griffey Jr., Ryan Freel and Scott Hatteberg, it seems there is no room again for future stars such as Jay Bruce and Joey Votto. Votto has made the major-league team but is stuck in a platoon with Hatteberg. Bruce was sent down to Triple-A in order to make room for the newly aquired Corey Patterson. Baker, though, has shown some love to the rookies as Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez have cracked the starting rotaion as the third and fourth starters, respectively behind Harang and Arroyo.

Nothing should be taken for granted in Spring Training. As seen again this year, many highly touted minor-leaguers with big-league aspirations have been sent back to the drawing board. Only time will tell when the next Albert Pujols is brought to the Show ...