Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker catches a lot of flack for all sorts of things, from his lineup construction to playing veterans over young guys to letting pitchers pitch for too damn long. Some of it is warranted, and some of it isn’t.

But since the non-waiver trade deadline came and went, some Reds news has seeped through the cracks about one failing of Baker’s that may prove his downfall: a disagreement with General Manager Walt Jocketty. And Redleg Nation has put it all together.

The post starts in the off-season before this one when Jocketty signed Fred Lewis and Edgar Renteria. The things Jocketty said about how he viewed those players fitting in with the team were quickly shot down and never really implemented by Baker.

I think a majority of us were extremely disappointed with the relative inaction of the Reds last off-season, and our skepticism has been proven right by the team’s performance this year, falling short of their 2010 season. Walt Jocketty’s moves were small bore, at best. You can debate the merits of Lewis, Gomes, Renteria and Janish all you want. But when even the meager steps taken by the GM are deliberately sabotaged by the manager, you have a recipe ripe for failure.

It’s true. The post fails to touch on the most recent difference of opinion between the two: Yonder Alonso. When Jonny Gomes was traded, it was ostensibly to make room for Yonder Alonso to take over in left field. But Baker cancelled that after three games in Wrigley Field.

This situation is clearly something that needs to be addressed in the next off-season. It might even be more important than whether Aroldis Chapman is a starter or reliever.

Boxscore

Mike Leake started the game for the Cincinnati Reds in their first attempt to return their record to .500 in longer than I can remember. It was his 3rd attempt for his 11th win, and things didn’t look promising when he walked the first batter.

However, he settled down. Leake allowed no runs in that first inning, and with the exception of 2 runs in the 3rd, the rest of his 6 innings were scoreless. He pitched 6 innings, allowed 2 runs, and left with his team having a 5-2 lead.

That lead was spread around the whole team, with Brandon Phillips driving in one run and scoring 2 more, and Miguel Cairo driving in one and scoring one. Drew Stubbs also went 3-3 and drove in a run. The other runs were driven in by Dave Sappelt and Edgar Renteria.

If this had been Dontrelle Willis starting, you know the bullpen would’ve coughed up that lead. But there were no blown saves tonight. It was the most complete, well put-together win I’ve seen the Reds have in a while. After Leake was pulled, Sam LeCure and Bill Bray held the lead for Francisco Cordero, who had a perfect 9th for the save.

The move improved the team’s record to .500 at 66-66. This is the first time since the beginning of July that they’ve been at .500. They are now 2.5 games behind the 2nd place St. Louis Cardinals.

Boxscore

What a difference 100 games makes.

At the beginning of the season, dreams of the Cincinnati Reds winning a second consecutive division title danced in fans’ heads. And now, with 31 games left in the 2011 season, we’re just hoping for a second consecutive winning season. Oh, and maybe finishing higher than the St. Louis Cardinals.

Friday’s starter was hard-luck no-decisioner Dontrelle Willis. It may not surprise you to learn that Willis again did not get the win. He had good results, albeit a bit lucky, with 6 hits, 5 walks, and 3 runs over 7 innings. On the season, he has a solid 4.14 ERA and a 0-3 record. With the way he’s pitched, he’s certainly deserved more than 0 wins.

Again, though, the Reds failed to score for Willis, saving their runs for after he’d left the game. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th, Jay Bruce walked. After a Ramon Hernandez single and a Drew Stubbs strikeout, Todd Frazier hit a line drive to center field to drive in Bruce and tie the game

They had a great opportunity to score in the 8th, but failed as we’ve come to expect this 2011 team to. But then in the 9th–after Francisco Cordero had an easy top of the 9th–Drew Stubbs singled. Frazier had another single to keep the inning alive for Miguel Cairo, who hit his own line drive to center to drive in Stubbs for the walk-off hit.

The win improves Cincinnati to 65-66 and 3.5 games back of the second-place Cardinals

I saw this nostalgic look back at Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns on Redleg Nation today.

The duo was going to, if you believed Jim Bowden’s hype, form one of the greatest outfields of all time.

And it was easy to believe in him. Dunn was a tall, incredibly strong young man when he arrived in 2001, with no foreshadow of the flabby oaf he would one day become. Kearns would be his counterpart, a coveted five-tool player. (Six-tool, if you counted his ability to make up for Dunn’s ineptitude in left field.)

Of course, that didn’t happen. Instead we were left with losing years and futile hopes. And a lingering hatred of Ray King’s fat ass.

Oh, and one of my favorite fake news stories that RHM ever wrote: Dude, Where’s My Bat.

Boxscore

Johnny Cueto pitched another great game Wednesday night, further cementing his status as the team’s ace pitcher. That extension he signed in the off-season is looking mighty fine right now!

Cueto pitched 8 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 5. His lone run actually came in the bottom of the 9th, after which he was promptly removed for Francisco Cordero, who got the shaky save he’s patented in his time with the Reds.

The Reds’ offense in the 2-1 win was provided by Joey Votto’s 20th home run and an RBI groundout from Ramon Hernandez. And that was enough. Cueto picked up his 9th win and his ERA now stands at 1.89. That’s right: 1.89. Not too shabby.

The Reds and the Nationals are now tied in the series and go for the series win Thursday.