Baker botches Reds' chance for sweep

The Cincinnati Reds had a tremendous opportunity over the weekend to earn a three game sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of two teams ahead of the Reds in the division standings. Cincinnati took care of business over the first two games of the series after standout performances by Chris Heisey and Brandon Phillips in five run outbursts by the offense in each game. Game three was totally in reach to pull out a victory for the Reds, but the pitchers duel between Pirates ace Jeff Locke and Homer Bailey went south in the seventh inning with the game tied at one.

Dusty Baker elected to leave Homer Bailey in the game after six solid innings where he consistently reached 95-99 MPH on the radar gun. The only problem with leaving Bailey in to face the Pirates in the seventh was that Bailey had already thrown about one hundred pitches for the game. Bailey went up against the bottom part of the Pirates' order and clearly was laboring after getting Garrett Jones to strike out swinging. He gave up a double and a couple singles to make the score 3-1, putting the onus on the Reds' offense to make up a large deficit in just a few innings.

Baker really should have just taken Bailey out after Michael McKenry's double. McKenry is one of the worst hitters in the Pirates' lineup, and for him to hit the ball sharply in that situation showed that Bailey needed to be relieved. Plus, the way the bullpen has been pitching lately from top to bottom has taken a lot of pressure off of a previous issue on the team. The Reds aren't even worried about getting Jonathan Broxton and Sean Marshall back anymore. After McKenry's double, Bailey was at the 110 pitch mark and did not need to throw any more in his start. Baker claimed that he was trying to get Bailey the win in the game, but one win for a pitcher doesn't warrant a possibility of a tired arm or blowing a tie game due to a starter's fatigue, which is exactly what happened. I don't blame Bailey for the loss; I blame the manager who had JJ Hoover ready to go in the bullpen and could see the trouble brewing. Bailey is now set back for a start because he threw over 120 pitches in the game. Bailey will have to throw less pitches in his next start just a week and a half after the All Star Break because of Baker's blunder.

Dusty Baker has the reputation of leaving pitchers in game about an inning too long. Baker's reputation held true in Sunday's game. A manager should be the reason a team wins, not the reason a team loses. The manager's job is to monitor his players and know when enough is enough. Bailey had thrown a great game up to that point in the seventh, but sometimes, a standout performance doesn't always net a victory. Baker should have been content with six dazzling innings in which Bailey displayed his best stuff on the mound.

There is nothing wrong with going to the bullpen in the latter part of a game. That's why those pitchers are on the team. The Reds ended up putting one more run on the board in the eighth inning, but fell back in the standings once again with a 3-2 loss. The team is five games back of St. Louis again and three back of the Pirates. Who knows what could have happened if Baker took Bailey out of the game before the seventh or after that double with one out. The Reds could have limited the damage to no runs or just one run, and it could have resulted in a pivotal sweep. A sweep would have meant the Reds would be within a game of the Pirates and a manageable four back from the Cards. Baker should be respected as a top notch manager and one of the winningest of all time, but he made a key mistake yesterday that cost the Reds a big game.