All I've ever wanted with this site was the opportunity to be a huge cheerleader for the Reds. That will probably come as a surprise to long time readers since this site has been consistently negative, sometimes so much lately that it's even worn on my nerves. But it's true. I've said in the past that I want nothing more than to be another Athletics Nation, constantly believing in the vision of my favorite team.
I've gotten there with the Bengals, but I thought it was going to be years before I'd feel the same way about the Reds. I was wrong. Bob Castellini has gotten me there simply by dismissing Dan O'Brien.
I've said in this space before that I preferred Jim Bowden to Dan O'Brien, not because Bowden was more of a winner or even a better GM, but because Bowden at the very least made things exciting. O'Brien treated all potential transaction info like it was a state secret, which made following the Reds a boring, perpetual guessing game. Castellini seems to understand what I'm saying:
"High on our list of priorities in this search for a new general manager will be an (excellent) work ethic, a proven ability to evaluate player talent, the aptitude to develop a stronger baseball organization, the ability to communicate our vision to the fans and media of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Reds."And someone (who can) establish a culture of winning."
All of the above is great, but the bolded portion makes me feel like Castellini really gets it.
I'm sure in the coming days I'll spend a lot of time thinking about potential replacements for DanO (please God let it be Paul DePodesta), but right now I'm still too happy to worry about it. Whoever replaces him will be an upgrade because it can't get any worse than the past two years.