TIME: 7:10 @ Great American Ball Park
REDS PROBABLE: NATIONALS PROBABLE:
Eric Milton (2-5, 7.16) Esteban Loaiza (1-2, 3.08)
I love the Reds. Always have, always will. But lately I haven't liked them much.
I think you'll all grasp the difference there immediately, because I doubt I'm the only one that feels this way. The Reds this season have struck me as only caring about having fun. Winning doesn't seem nearly as important to some of these guys as having a fun clubhouse. Read this quote from Sean Casey:
"I tried to be nice to the guy, but he was mean to me. I felt like putting a fence in front of my locker and putting up a sign that said, 'Keep that negative attitude on your side of the clubhouse.' "
Wow. "He was mean to me." Casey isn't playing for Elder or Moeller ... he's a major league first baseman making a truckload of money. And yet we're seeing junior high/high school crap where everyone has to be best buds or there's drama drama drama.
Read Graves quote from the same article concerning Jimenez:
"When you don't want to try and you don't want to try to get better, there are guys in the minors who do," he said. "That attitude can become a cancer. D'Angelo didn't have the attitude that I'm going to help the team. If a guy isn't going to try to contribute, why keep him around?"
D'Angelo didn't have "the attitude" that he was going to help the team. But Danny apparently did.
Jimenez made this team a better team, but he didn't get along with the Graves/Casey/Randa/etc clique so he was cut.
For this:
"Bergolla is such a good kid," said Miley. "Always smiling and a very hard worker."
Here's the thing. I could care less about any of these guys attitudes. I could care less whether any of these guys are friends. I don't care that Austin and Adam and Junior hang out in the offseason. I don't care that Sean Casey is beloved by all.
I care whether or not the Reds are winning. The rest of it is annoying, at best, and it's why I really don't like this team right now. I don't want to make blanket statements because there are plenty of guys who aren't spoiled brats on the team, but I've had it up to here with individuals like Sean Casey, Joe Randa, Paul Wilson, and yes, Danny Graves who seem more concerned with players having fun than with winning.
Sean Casey is already whining about Graves being released:
"This is not his fault," first baseman Sean Casey said. "We stink. For us to be 15-28 has nothing to do with Danny Graves. That's the frustrating part for me."I know I'm a little emotional right now, but I think the Cincinnati Reds as an organization owe a lot more to Danny Graves for the eight years he stepped up every year. They owe him more than to just release him like this. I just disagree with it."
Boo. Hoo.
The Reds just ate a ton in contracts, and they're not going to improve overly much because of it. I'm glad Graves is gone. But we're not out of the woods yet by a long shot, and we won't be until the Reds get management that has a clue and players that care more about winning than a comfy atmosphere.