Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Last night, as every baseball fan knows, the Cincinnati Reds lost their one-game Wild Card playoff showdown to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was an embarrassing game — their offense was shut down, just like the U.S. government.
After the loss, an uncountable number of Reds fans logged onto Twitter to express their disappointment. The majority of the tweets were either criticizing the pitching efforts from Johnny Cueto or saying that Reds manager Dusty Baker needs to be fired.
Baseball is a very emotional game, and it is very easy to let emotions get to you, so it would be pretty easy to blame Baker for the loss; however, it’s really not his fault that the Redlegs lost. The final score was 6-2, so fans just have to tip their caps to the Pirates. They are the better team and wanted it more, and it’s not Dusty’s fault that Cueto didn’t pitch well.
It’s not Dusty Baker’s fault that the team only score two runs — he had little to do with the outcome of the game.
I’m not going to lie; in my honest opinion, the Reds would be better off with a different manager, whomever that may be. That said, I can assure you that Baker will still be the manager of the Reds next season. In fact, Walt Jocketty, the Reds’ GM, flat out said that he will return next year. Jocketty and Baker have a great relationship — I guess you could call it somewhat of a “bromance”.
If you’re a Reds fan, it’s okay to disagree with some of Baker’s decisions, it’s okay to wish someone else was the manager and it’s okay to be disappointed in the Reds’ 2013 season. But as a fan, it’s you’re duty to support your team, its players and its coaches. We all know that Baker will remain the manager of the Reds for at least one more year, so we may as well stand by him and support him.
Coop Ledford is a Cincinnati Reds writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @CoopLed.
