Why Is Dusty Baker Getting Two More Years?

Mike Hargrove was fired by the Cleveland Indians following the 1999 season.

Hargrove's crime?  The Indians had a 2-0 lead over the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS and lost the last three games.  By the way, the Indians won 97 games that season.

I will never forget the reaction from Bobby Cox, who knows a thing or two about the postseason, "How do you fire someone who won 97 games," Cox said shaking his head. "Anything can happen in the playoffs."

The Indians made the move because the Cleveland fans were all over Hargrove for "not being able to win in the playoffs."  Exactly how has the firing worked for the Indians, who just fired the third manager since Hargrove, Manny Acta, then hiring Terry Francona.

The Reds management is smart enough to ignore the loud minority of fans who think they know more about managing a baseball team than a guy who has actually won three Manager of the Year Awards and missed a fourth by one vote.

Dusty Baker took a young team to the playoffs in two of the last three seasons.  Fan expectation being unrealistic, believe that running the gauntlet of the extra level of playoffs that the 50's Yankees never had to deal with, is an easy endeavor.

The fans, who second guessed an scrutinized every move Baker made, need a quick lesson in history.

In Cincinnati, the Big Red Machine, is romanticized over 40 years of faded memory.

They have conveniently forgot that three Sparky Anderson teams failed to win the World Title in his first five years at the helm.  The Reds lost the 1970 World Series to the Baltimore Orioles, in five games.  They were a sub .500 team in 1971.  They lost to the Oakland A's in the 1972 World Series, dropping the first two games at home.  The Reds were bounced by the New York Mets in the 1973 NLCS.  They weren't required to win that extra Division Series or who knows if they would have reached the World Series in two of those seasons.

Bob Howsam, the general manager, didn't panic.  He knew he had the right man to manage the huge egos that inhabited the Riverfront Stadium clubhouse. 

Current general manager, Walt Jocketty, who like Howsam came to the Reds via St. Louis, has been through the building process before.

Jocketty saw the Cardinals win multiple division tittles but fall short in the playoffs.

Tony La Russa had come to St. Louis from Oakland.  His 1988 Oakland A's won 104 games but were upset by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988.  They won it all in 1989 over San Francisco but were swept by the underdog Reds in the 1990 World Series after they won 104 games.

La Russa's postseason struggles continued with St. Louis.  He took over the Cardinals in 1996.  In his first year the Cardinals won the Central Division.  They lost the NLCS.  It took the Cardinals three seasons to get back to the playoffs.  In 2000 the Cards were bounced in the NLCS in five games.  LaRussa's team was eliminated in the NLDS in 2001.  Dusty Baker's San Francisco Giants took the NLCS from the Cardinals in 2002.  It took LaRussa 10 seasons to win it all in 2006, then they were swept in the 2009 Division Series by the Dodgers.

Baker took over a team that had not had a winning season in seven years.  It was a team with young talent coming through the minor leagues after years of neglect from former general manager Jim Bowden IV and owner Marge Schott.

Baker is the first Reds' manager since Sparky Anderson to win two division titles in three years.  Baker's team improved every year in his first four seasons, winning the NL Central in 2010.  With two starting pitchers for a quarter of the season, in 2011 the team fell below .500.  The team rebounded "Big time" with 97 wins this season, the second most in all of baseball, better than the mega budget, Yankees.

It was an amazing accomplishment.  Baker had to adjust all year long.  The team lacked a true leadoff man.  They were unsteady in the cleanup spot.  Ryan Madson, signed out of Philadelphia to be the team's closer, never threw a pitch due to injury.  The team's lefthanded specialist, Bill Bray, saw limited duty with various injuries.  Key setup man, Nick Masset, never threw a pitch.  Baker started the season with rookies at two key defensive positions with Zack Cozart at shortstop and Devin Mesoraco, getting two games of every five at catcher.  The team did without Cozart, Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen, Gold Glove outfielder, Drew Stubbs and cleanup hitter, Ryan Ludwick for several games each.

The biggest injury 2010 MVP and 2011 Gold Glove winner, Joey Votto, missed a quarter of the season.  When he returned his power was limited due to a pair of knee surgeries.  He was reduced to a singles hitter for the playoffs.

The playoffs started with Johnny Cueto, the 19-game winner unable to throw more than eight pitches.

The Reds weathered all the storms, yet the odds caught up to them in the Division Series against San Francisco.

Baker has a good rapport with the players and they play very hard for him because he has been through what they were going through.  He hasn't forgotten what it was like.

Baker was a young player with a lot of promise and admittedly took awhile to mature.  He can empathize with the young players.  He also remembers what it was like for a veteran player on the down side of his career.  He is able to communicate that with the players.

If Baker has a problem with a player, he handles it in house, man-to-man.  He is brutally honest.  Every player knows where he stands and why.

A lot of people second guess some of his moves.  He studies the scouting reports religiously.  He is super observant and sees things that slip by most people.  When asked about a move that he makes in a game, he has an answer that makes sense.

Owner Bob Castellini has a reputation for being a tough but fair boss.  He demands a lot from his employees.  He is a successful business man, who is not about to blow money on the wrong man.  Castellini will not let public opinion run the team for him, unlike Cleveland's ownership did in regard to Hargrove.

Fans can second guess and debate and scrutinize Baker all they want to but Baker has forgotten more baseball than the fans in the stands will ever know.  Castellini is too smart to make a big mistake for PR purposes.

Dusty Baker will be here for two more years.  My advice for fans, sit back enjoy the ride and you just may learn some baseball in the process.