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Dusty's lineups are baffling at times
Written by Dave Biddle   
Friday, 23 July 2010 10:37

There is a good chance this will be my shortest blog entry ever.

I generally like Dusty Baker. He's not a great manager, but he's not a bad one either. A lot of people (myself included) will make fun of the term "players manager" (or "players coach") but that's exactly what Dusty is. His guys respect him for the way he treats them and because he played in the Big Leagues for a long time himself.

However, the one downfall that I continue to see with Baker is his construction of lineups. When you are in a playoff race that could very well be decided by a game or two - whether we're talking about the NL Central or the wildcard - you cannot afford to give your best hitter (Joey Votto) a day off against a right-handed pitcher (Livan Hernandez) when Scott Rolen is already out of the lineup with a hamstring injury. Every game is crucial now and Votto should have been in the lineup on Thursday. He's a young guy and he'll get plenty of time to rest after the season. The Reds don't find themselves in the playoff hunt very often these days and they can't afford to put "JV" lineups out there, even on getaway days.

And I say this only half-jokingly: In a fantasy world, Dusty Baker could be the manager of a team that had both Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken Jr. And if there was a game on a Thursday or Sunday, there is a good chance one of them would be given the day off.



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About Three Way Chili

This is a blog devoted to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cincinnati Reds, with some occasional commentary on items from elsewhere in the sports world. Those are the three ingredients that make up this heaping plate of Three-Way Chili.

As for some background on the site...

Publisher Dave Biddle has been a sports journalist since 1999.

He is currently the assistant editor of the Bucknuts Media Network in Columbus, Ohio, where he covers Ohio State football and basketball. He also writes occasional stories for ESPN.com, which Bucknuts.com is affiliated with.

Biddle has also written a book during his career. He is the author of the "Troy Smith Story: The uncensored biography of Ohio State's Heisman-winning quarterback." It was published in August of 2008.

Biddle has served as the sports editor of a pair of Ohio newspapers: the Kettering-Oakwood Times in the Dayton area (1999-2000), and the Madison Press in London (2000-04).

A '99 graduate of Wright State University - where he was the sports editor of the campus paper The Guardian for two years - Biddle resides in the Columbus area with his wife and two daughters.

As a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals and Cincinnati Reds fan, he has put himself through far too much pain over the years. But alas, he can finally vent (and celebrate the few occasions when something goes right for the Cincy pro sports teams) thanks to Three-Way Chili.

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