In the long term, Reds need a plan(More very interesting comments)

[CincyRedsFan30]

In the long term, Reds need a plan
Narron may help somewhat, but future still cloudy

By John Fay

Enquirer staff writer

Tuesday's shakeup followed the pattern of dramatic Reds moves this season: Firing manager Dave Miley and pitching coach Don Gullett seemed more like a reaction than the implementation of a well-thought-out plan.

Earlier attempts to jump-start the team - such as releasing infielder D'Angelo Jimenez and closer Danny Graves in May for poor performance - made headlines but failed to stem the team's slide in the NL Central. Addition by subtraction usually doesn't work. And it's hard to imagine that promoting Jerry Narron to replace Miley will vault the Reds into the playoff hunt.

What does seem likely is that, come October, fans can expect another search for a permanent manager. Narron probably will be a candidate, but a Reds insider says there's little chance he'll get the job.

One early candidate may be Jim Leyland, who won in Pittsburgh and Florida and also managed in Colorado. He's currently a special assignment scout for the St Louis Cardinals.

Given the situation the Reds are in - working on their fifth straight losing season and having nary a shred of credibility with the fans - they could use a big-name manager with a proven track record. The question will be how much say the new manager has on player decisions.

General manager Dan O'Brien and Miley often didn't see eye to eye.

Miley and his coaches didn't want Jimenez back. The Reds re-signed him anyway, and it was a $2.87 million mistake.

Miley and his coaches didn't want reliever Chris Reitsma to be traded after the 2003 season. The Reds traded him anyway. He's now closing for Atlanta and is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA this season.

So far, O'Brien has had little success with the players he signed or traded for. A $17 million spending spree in the offseason has little to show for it, and the two pitchers expected to bolster the rotation have been disappointments.

Eric Milton, who signed a three-year deal that pays him $8 million a year, is 3-9 with a 7.82 ERA. Ramon Ortiz, who will be paid $4 million this season, is 2-5 with a 6.51 ERA.

O'Brien's contract runs through 2006.

His plan since becoming the team's general manager in 2003 has been to focus on developing the team's talent internally, and it seems that a decision will have to be made sooner rather than later on whether the team wants to stick with this approach.

It also will be telling to watch the managerial search play out.

Narron is a good baseball man. He has a longtime relationship with O'Brien, so he might have more of a voice in decisions than Miley ever did.

But Narron's record as manager isn't great. He went 134-162 in almost two years with Texas.

He's respected in the clubhouse, and there's a chance he can turn things around.

But if O'Brien was fully confident of that, why the "interim" tag?

Presumably, O'Brien will conduct the search for the next manager.

O'Brien has only one year left on his contract. So he'll be hiring a manager who, if he's successful, could outlast O'Brien.

O'Brien said Tuesday's decision was made by baseball operations. It went higher than that.

The people above O'Brien - John Allen and Carl Lindner - need to come up with a long-term plan before the season ends.

They have to decide if O'Brien is going to be around beyond 2006 before they allow him to pick the next manager.

Of course, the last time O'Brien picked a manager (Brian Graham), Lindner and Allen overruled him and hired Miley.

We all know how the Miley-O'Brien match worked out.

[missionhockey21]

What does seem likely is that, come October, fans can expect another search for a permanent manager. Narron probably will be a candidate, but a Reds insider says there's little chance he'll get the job.

Hmm interesting. Also it sounds like OB was jaded for his managerial decision of Graham being overruled and having Miley hired. He obviously didn't listen to what Miley wanted and who knows how much he told him who to play and who to not.

The people above O'Brien - John Allen and Carl Lindner - need to come up with a long-term plan before the season ends.

Those two making the big decisions scare me.

[CincyRedsFan30]

Yeah, I found the comments about Jimenez and the like interesting but not surprsing. As I mentioned many times earlier this year, I think O'Brien was forcing Miley into more than what many in various locations seemed to think. I'm not giving Miley a free pass, and I think he deserved the firing just to shake things up if nothing else, but I really wonder how much power he had.