Keeping with the theme of saying nice things about Reds’ manager, Dusty Baker, today I noticed that he can make some very good decisions as long as all of the bad options are taken away from him.

Exhibit 1: Paul Janish starting at short stop. Even though Janish showed defensive promise in his fortnightly starts at the beginning of the season, Baker consistently chose Alex Gonzalez’s better-in-memory-than-in-reality footwork to go with his forfeited at-bat. All it took was a trade of Gonzalez to Boston, though, and Baker managed not to write Agon’s name on the line-up card anymore.

Exhibit 2: Jonny Gomes didn’t even make the team out of spring training, with Baker preferring the feel-good story of Darnell McDonald. Enter enough injuries to make both needed, and Baker no longer has the option to choose sentimentality over skill.

Exhibit 3: Ramon Hernandez was Baker’s unfortunate favorite behind the plate, but when an injury took the option of using him off the table, Baker was forced to go with Ryan Hannigan, who was actually good. Alas, this injury sword cuts both ways, and the option to use Hannigan was soon removed by a concussion. Again, though, Baker rose to the challenge of choosing the only option available and sent out Corky Miller, who has actually been doing pretty well, despite looking like he belongs in a Budweiser commercial.

Finally is the most obvious one: Willy Taveras was a shoe in for center field and lead-off bat to begin the season. But when Taveras went on the DL and was no longer an option to fill these roles, Baker made the right choice and brought in Drew Stubbs in center field.

Unfortunately, Stubbs has not been the right decision for lead-off bat so far, and as long as he’s in center, Baker’s going to choose him for lead-off because, for some reason, these two things are utterly inseparable in Baker’s mind, but if we can just find a way to take the lead-off option away without removing Stubbs from CF, he’ll be sure to change his mind.

Bark in the Park is just a week away, the day when you can take your pooch to Great American Ball Park to watch the Reds take on the Houston Astros. If you’re planning to take your best friend out to the ball game, there are a few things you ought to know:

• Pets must be up to date on all of their shots. Ideally, pet owners will be as well.
• The first 10,000 pet owners will receive a pet bowl, courtesy of Eukanuba.
• You should not, even in jest, suggest to your dog or any dog should “get the ball!”
• “Who Let the Dogs Out” by The Baha Men will be played no fewer than 10 times before, during, and after the game.
• Clean-up after the fact will be a bitch.

The press release is a little heavy on the marketing speak, but the award is a good one, so I’ll allow it.

Major League Baseball and Chevy, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, today announced the names of the 30 Club nominees, including 13 MLB All-Stars, who are finalists for the prestigious 2009 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevy. The award is given annually to the Major League Baseball player who combines a dedication to giving back to the community with outstanding skills on the baseball field. Tomorrow will mark the eighth annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente’s legacy and to officially recognize local Club recipients of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevy.
….
Fans can once again participate in the selection process of the national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevy. From September 2 through October 4, fans are encouraged to log on to www.chevy.com/clemente and vote for one of the 30 Club nominees.
….
The 30 Club recipients of the 2009 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevy feature 13 players selected for the 2009 All-Star Game:

• Arizona Diamondbacks – Eric Byrnes
• Milwaukee Brewers – Jeff Suppan
• Atlanta Braves – Tim Hudson
• Minnesota Twins – Joe Mauer*
• Baltimore Orioles – Nick Markakis
• New York Mets – Johan Santana*
• Boston Red Sox – Kevin Youkilis*
• New York Yankees – Derek Jeter*
• Chicago Cubs – Ted Lilly*
• Oakland Athletics – Kurt Suzuki
• Chicago White Sox – Paul Konerko
• Philadelphia Phillies – Cole Hamels
• Cincinnati Reds – Aaron Harang
• Pittsburgh Pirates – Paul Maholm
• Cleveland Indians – Jhonny Peralta
• St. Louis Cardinals – Albert Pujols*
• Colorado Rockies – Aaron Cook
• San Diego Padres – Adrian Gonzalez*
• Detroit Tigers – Curtis Granderson*
• San Francisco Giants – Barry Zito
• Florida Marlins – Hanley Ramirez*
• Seattle Mariners – Miguel Batista
• Houston Astros – Hunter Pence*
• Tampa Bay Rays – James Shields
• Kansas City Royals – Mark Teahen
• Texas Rangers – Michael Young*
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Torii Hunter*
• Toronto Blue Jays – Vernon Wells
• Los Angeles Dodgers – Orlando Hudson*
• Washington Nationals – John Lannan

*2009 MLB All-Star

The distinguished list of national Roberto Clemente Award recipients includes 13 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

• 1971 Willie Mays*
• 1972 Brooks Robinson*
• 1973 Al Kaline*
• 1974 Willie Stargell*
• 1975 Lou Brock*
• 1976 Pete Rose
• 1977 Rod Carew*
• 1978 Greg Luzinski
• 1979 Andre Thornton
• 1980 Phil Niekro*
• 1981 Steve Garvey
• 1982 Ken Singleton
• 1983 Cecil Cooper
• 1984 Ron Guidry
• 1985 Don Baylor
• 1986 Garry Maddox
• 1987 Rick Sutcliffe
• 1988 Dale Murphy
• 1989 Gary Carter*
• 1990 Dave Stewart
• 1991 Harold Reynolds
• 1992 Cal Ripken, Jr.*
• 1993 Barry Larkin
• 1994 Dave Winfield*
• 1995 Ozzie Smith*
• 1996 Kirby Puckett*
• 1997 Eric Davis
• 1998 Sammy Sosa
• 1999 Tony Gwynn*
• 2000 Al Leiter
• 2001 Curt Schilling
• 2002 Jim Thome
• 2003 Jamie Moyer
• 2004 Edgar Martinez
• 2005 John Smoltz
• 2006 Carlos Delgado
• 2007 Craig Biggio
• 2008 Albert Pujols

* Member of Baseball Hall of Fame

The winner of the fan poll will receive one vote among those cast by the selection panel, which includes Vera Clemente, wife of the late Hall of Famer, and Commissioner Selig. Participating fans will also be automatically registered for a chance to win a trip to Game Three of the 2009 World Series, where the national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevy will be announced.

All Clubs playing at home on September 2 will acknowledge their local recipients as part of Roberto Clemente Day ceremonies. Visiting Clubs will honor their local Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevy recipient during an upcoming homestand. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and the official dugout lineup cards. MLB celebrates Roberto Clemente Day as part of its broader “MLB Going Beyond” platform, an initiative that strives to integrate community service and the importance of giving back.

Why in the world the Wall Street Journal is timing the talking of major league baseball color men, I don’t know. Though after a semester of an MBA program, I can imagine the constant nattering about mergers and market penetration needing to be broken up a little.

Whatever the reason, someone from WSJ counted up the words spoken by the color guy in the first scoreless inning of every team’s home broadcast on Friday and then ranked them by verbosity. The NLC was well-represented, with five teams in the top 13:

*Mr. Scully is the only announcer in the Dodgers’ broadcast booth

I saw this story today about Charles Trimble, a lifelong Reds fan who had a heart attack and had no pulse for almost 15 minutes during a Pirates-Reds game on August 23.

But there’s good news. Trimble was revived thanks to the quick efforts of CPR and a nearby doctor. He spent time in the hospital recovering.

But yesterday, he was sitting up in bed, surrounded by family members, and talking. He doesn’t remember anything from the baseball game.

Now he’s just going to give the Reds ideas. Although, considering they beat the Pirates that day, maybe not.

Still, Trimble knows who saved him.

In his hospital room yesterday, Mr. Trimble wore a Pirates cap — an homage to the park and the people who gave him his life back.

So there you go, Pirates. Now you know how to get more fans. Just lull them to the sleep of death and revive them in the nick of time. If that gets too difficult, you could always try winning.