Mike at Redleg Nation is on board the Dusty Baker is a clueless frickin’ idiot manager bandwagon. Welcome aboard! May us Reds fans soon no longer have to deal with his blithering incompetence and willful anti-intellectualism.

In his post, he cites Baker’s continued insistence to give away so many outs each game when he has Willy Taveras start and asks, “Is this the single worst thing a recent manager has done to hurt the Reds chances of winning?”

Now, I can’t tell if it’s a rhetorical question or not. In case it isn’t, let me go on record as saying, “Yes. Yes, it is.”

😀

Nothing like a series with the Cardinals over the holiday weekend to get me excited about the Reds. I’m not sure how the Reds scored a decent guest over this weekend. For a few years there, the Reds were getting so freaking screwed on the scheduling, that I wouldn’t be surprised to see them playing a high school team during this prime baseball holiday.

Homer Bailey on the mound today, and I thought they said today was his birthday. It’s not (his is May 3), but it is Sean Casey’s birthday, so maybe they’ll win one for the Mayor. Bailey will have to stop walking people for a minute.

Starting with Albert Pujols! Yippee!!

The Reds have reactivated 3B Edwin Encarnacion from the disabled list. He had been on the DL since April 28 due to a chip fracture in his left wrist. Encarnacion fills the roster spot opened when IF Danny Richar was placed on the 15-day DL with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Richar got hurt sliding head-first into home plate in the third inning of Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Arizona. That’s the same injury that ended Wilkin Castillo’s season last month, except Castillo got hurt sliding head-first into second base. This makes me wonder if somebody’s not teaching proper baserunning fundamentals to young players in the Reds’ farm system. With all due respect to Pete Rose, head-first is for diving back to the bag when you’re on base and they try to pick you off. If you’re at a dead run and you go head first, you’re begging for a lengthy stint on the DL.

Which is exactly what Castillo and Richar are getting for their efforts. If any of the Reds players are reading this, PLEASE get Billy Hatcher to show you the right way to slide, and don’t go head-first and get hurt!