Could this be...the end?
I'm watching the Reds right now. The crowd is booing, and Ramon Ortiz can't get anyone out. The Devil Rays are lighting him up.
This morning, Hal McCoy had the news of a Reds manager hanging by an absolute string.
And tonight's results can't help. This article is right on, in my opinion, and very sharp considering its Hal.
It was so silent in the post-game clubhouse Sunday in Denver that one could hear a managerial contract hit the carpeted floor, even if it was torn into small pieces.
Dave Miley remains manager of the Cincinnati Reds today, but he knows, the coaches know, the players know, it could change at the drop of two or three more games.
Normally, any time is a good time to play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Not now. Not for the Cincinnati Reds. They are on notice. They must win. They have to win. That's added pressure, even if it is against the Devil Rays.
When you are on the road for the last day of a six-day trip and the boss flies three hours for a closed-door meeting, that's not a good thing, whether you are a marshmallow salesman, a truck driver or a baseball manager.
Club president John Allen's surprise, "Hi, I'm here," entrance into the Reds clubhouse Sunday was a message as clear as if he had it stamped on his forehead: "This is not acceptable. Heads will roll."
Allen made it clear to Miley and the coaches, and he made it plain and simple to the media and the players: "Last place is not acceptable and losing to last-place teams is not acceptable."
After his meeting with Miley, Allen said, "We're not saying we're better than the St. Louis Cardinals, but we expected much more than this."
When CEO Carl Lindner approved a payroll increase of $17 million this year — pushing it to $60 million — he wasn't paying to be an extra-large punching bag on which the dregs of the National League practiced left hooks and right crosses, even if a few of the investments are duds.
It was expected that the Reds would put something together on the just-completed trip and in the first three home games after the trip. They had nine straight games against last-place teams — three in Houston, three in Colorado and three at home against Tampa Bay.
Things began fittingly, a victory in Houston in a game started by Roger Clemens. The Reds displayed puffed-up chests for one day. They lost the next two in Houston and three in Colorado, each loss going from homely to ugly.
What they have turned out to be is a doctor from frontier days, the ol' doc who rode a horse from town to town, curing people as he went. That's what the Reds are doing for oft-beaten teams, curing what ails them.
And as Allen said over and over, "This is not acceptable."
After he delivered his message as if he were a combination of Fed-Ex and UPS — Fed-UP — Allen watched the Reds do it the way they've done it so often this season.
They lost Sunday to the Rockies, 8-6, because they couldn't hold two leads, they couldn't hit with runners on base and the bullpen was more bull than pen. To Allen, it was Groundhog Day.
"Our message to our fans is that we're not sitting around twiddling our thumbs," said Allen. "We do care."
There has been too much thumb-twiddling on the mound and in the batter's box, and fans in Great American Ball Park (those showing up) are voicing their loud-larynxed displeasure.
Noise is one thing, lack of cash flow is another.
Miley's major problem, if it is a problem, is that he is highly protective of his players. He does not criticize them publicly, doesn't throw them under the Greyhound.
This works twofold against him. Players know they won't be held accountable in the media by the manager ... screw up and he'll cover up. And it gives the fans the false idea that Miley isn't tough on his players, that he permits them to make the same mistakes over and over.
All this is not Miley's doing. Others are accountable, too, from the front office to the playing field. The club's top two pitchers, Paul Wilson and Eric Milton are busts — Wilson at $8.2 million over two years and Milton at $25.5 million over three years.
Second baseman D'Angelo Jimenez was signed to a $2.82 million one-year contract and sat on it, sulking when he didn't play and sulking when he played poorly.
Bullpen acquisition Ben Weber is hiding on the disabled list and infielder Rich Aurilia is a body waiting to be traded or released.
The mishandling of the Danny Graves situation was not Miley's doing, but it was his recommendation that something be done "because we couldn't keep running him out there." The way it was handled, tossing Graves into the compost, was divisive in the clubhouse because Graves was ultra-popular.
Miley lost points when he removed the massage lounge chairs from in front of the dressing stalls of Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr., two of his most visible clubhouse inhabitants.
Somebody, though, has to pony up. Status quo stinks right now. Whether he deserves it, Miley is on his back staring at the undercarriage of a bus. And it's probably moving.
If you haven't lost your appetite, here is a SHORT list of season lowlights.
By Hal McCoy
Dayton Daily News
*Some of the lowlights as the Reds head into tonight's game against Tampa Bay with a 21-35 record and in last place in the NL Central:
* Reds have been outhit by their opponents in 34 of 56 games.
* Late-inning magic? Not this year. Cincy is 1-30 when trailing after seven innings.
* Eighteen losses have come after holding a lead.
* Reds are outscoring the opposition in only two innings (second, eighth).
* 6-21 road record (shouldn't get much better with upcoming trips to Boston, Cleveland and St. Louis)
My prediction. When Miley goes, they all go. And it will be very soon. I like Hal's analogy. It may not be right, but Miley is looking up at a bus running him over.
6-1 in the middle of the first.
UPDATE: Now that its tied, Miley should get a contract extension.
UPDATE II: 9-6 REDS. MI-LEY! MI-LEY! MI-LEY!
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