Thank God!
Personally, I’d love to see Joey Votto get the nod. Or Joe Maddon.
He probably asked management if they could spend some money on a MLB roster
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Why fire him with 5 games left? Do they owe a retention bonus or something?
Probably to send a message to the players. Has less effect in the offseason
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He just signed a 3 year contract last July so they presumably owe him for two more seasons. It was strange that stories about his status for next year being “unknown” started popping up last week, given his contractual status.
Bell seemed to run a good clubhouse, players played hard for him. But the team was sloppy on the field at times and he made questionable lineup and pitching decisions at times. In the modern era of stats and front offices influencing if not outright making lineup decisions you wonder how often he wasn’t on the same page with management.
The hot rumor is Skip Shumaker but I would imagine the hall of famer in the broadcast booth may be lobbying for the job.
Larkin was a trendy managing pick after he led team Brazil to some WBC success a number of years back, but was rebuffed then. Nothing since then has added anything to his managing resume, it’s all just been broadcasting. And honestly, even his broadcasting leaves a lot to be desired. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was lobbying for the job, but I would be surprised if he was actually given it.
Skip would be a good safe pick, as he is basically forcing an opt out of Miami. I would love Votto to take the reigns, though the team would have a better idea of how they think he would actually perform in that role. I think he would be great at it, but I have no inside info. No matter who they pick, though, my only hope is they interview everyone with an open mind, and pick the best candidate, rather than picking who is lobbying for it, who is the fan favorite, who is a family member to management, whatever else seems to have played roles in past hirings. Just pick the best person.
Seemed to me that the on-field play didn’t improve this season. As others have mentioned: Poor baserunning, lack of fundamentals, strange decisions on when to rest players, etc. Really there didn’t appear to be any circumstances for poor play and very little urgency. It’s easy to fire the manager, so that’s what they did.
Votto too close to the team, tho he’d certainly be a cerebral manager…maybe down the road.
No to Larkin. I’d prefer someone more open to and interested in analytics (don’t really hear much from him on that during the broadcasts).
Skip… eh, not super excited about him either.
Heard someone mention Kevin Cash, and I’d be totally on board with that, but it’s also probably a pipe dream.
I’m actually more worried about losing pitching coach Derek Johnson than who the new manager will be.
I love your suggestion of Kevin Cash. Tampa Bay is even cheaper than the Reds so maybe it is possible we could lure him with the offer of more money. Bell firing was a needed move, but a few years later than it should have been.
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Someone said Madden. That’s a great call. We dicked around and will finish with darn near 80 wins. And this team stunk. A better manager gets hitting sorted, cuts down on all the errors, and gets us enough wins to catch the Brewers who seem to take this division every year because no one else wants it.
Didn’t he have a falling out with the Cubs over wanting more personnel control? I doubt many GM’s are jumping at the chance to have a coach trying to infringe on their duties. Kevin Cash would be amazing, but is under contract and would need to be traded for. If history is a guide, it would take a top 100 prospect to get him.
That would be well worth it. IMO. I follow both the Guardians and Reds and coming into this season I thought the Reds would be better than the Guardians. I imagine Vogt will be the Manager of the Year. He has earned it. You get the right guy it can make all the difference.
Also, If I was management, I would let Krall know that if this hire doesn’t work out, he is done.
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Are we just trying to get the season over? Lost 1-0 to the Cubs in 1 hour and 48 minutes. Fastest MLB game since 2010 in the Gallaraga umpire stolen near perfect game.
Did Tom Browning pitch?
I just looked it up: Browning’s perfecto was 1:51.
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Reds hire terry francona
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Excellent. I predict an instant improvement. The dumpy brew crew is on watch now. We coming!
This is very good news. Now go spend some money, trade some prospect capital, and put a 90-win squad on the field this coming March.
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Alvin Dark wasn’t available?
Francona is a great manager, Hall of Fame level. The question is his health, which had become a huge issue in his last few years in Cleveland. I am in favor of taking the chance.