Red Reposter Appreciates Dusty Baker

Dusty Baker managed the 3,000th game of his managerial career last night
"I just go out and do my job every day," he said. "I would not have known it was my 3,000th game if (Reds media relations director) Rob Butcher hadn’t told me. I’m a daily person. Everybody wants to achieve things, but I’m just glad out of the 3,000 games we won more than we lost."

I think it is easy to overlook seemingly meaningless news factoids like this. These are the kinds of stories that show up every now and again, and I normally just gloss over them. Or simply do not acknowledge them. But I sat for a second and tried to put this 3,000 games into perspective. What does it say about Dusty Baker, the manager, that he has been doing this for so long?

I think it says quite a bit, actually. There is something to be said for the inefficiency of the baseball manager hiring market. It is not a perfect marketplace, and the person with the best skills is not always the one who gets hired (Bobby Valentine comes to mind). One common argument made by Dusty's critics is that he has been hired simply because he's a "name" guy. I know I thought that when he was originally hired by the Reds. He's not actually much good at it, but baseball is an old boy's club and he gets to stick around because people like him.

But when a guy spends 20-odd years and 3,000 games doing it, it's difficult to make that argument. No market is so inefficient as to let a bad manager like Baker do it for this long. So the only logical conclusion I can come to is that he's actually really quite good at it. Or at the very least, not nearly as bad as some think he is. Sure, the #DustyLineups can be a bit frustrating at times, but he's about 150 games over .500 as a manager. That's a big-ass sample size, too. Sometimes analysis really is that simple.

With a Magic Number of four, the Reds are being extra-special patient with the ailing Zack Cozart
He strained his oblique and has sat out 12 straight games, but there is really no rush to get him back on the field. As long as he's back for the playoffs, everything should be cool. He took batting practice yesterday and is aiming to return this weekend against the Dodgers. But whatevs. Take as long as you need, Go Cart.

Blog Red Machine wishes to give Ryan Hanigan his due
As the acting Vice-President of the Ryan Hanigan Fanclub (or HanClub, as is stenciled on our swag mouse pads), I accept BRM's motion to acknowledge. The motion passes by acclimation.

Todd Frazier is the Reds nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award this season
Each team nominates a player for the Clemente Award, which is presented to the player who most exemplifies the character of charity that the Hall of Famer so gracefully personified. "Todd generously shares his time with fans everywhere he goes, and has made community service a priority. We couldn’t be more proud to have Todd as part of our organization," says Phil Castellini, Chief Operating Office of the Cincinnati Reds. He also saved a man's life. So that, too.

Reds prospect and resident Deutschenballen Donald Lutz is looking forward to representing Germany in the WBC
The Germans will host a qualifying round of the tournament, playing a round-robin against Canada, the Czech Republic, and Great Britain. "I'm really looking forward to playing in front of [the home crowd], and it'd be huge," said Lutz, who hit 22 home runs and slugged .517 between three Minor League levels this year. "I'm really proud to represent my country and wear that uniform."

Doug at Reds Minor Leagues gives his review of the Dayton Dragons' season
In short, it was pretty stinky. The team finished 18 games under .500 and didn't have a single offensive player OPS over .800. He names Yorman Rodriguez as the top position prospect due to his upside, and Carlos Contreras the top pitching prospect due to default.