More of the same?

[Jr's Boy]

Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky expects the activity to pick up on the trade front as we get nearer to Tuesday's non-waiver deadline.

"It always does," he said.

I should have Krivsky's response to all trade-related questions saved somewhere because it never varies.
ADVERTISEMENT

You get no comment to specific questions.

And you get "I'm trying to make the team better by bringing in as many good players as I can" to general questions.

That's what I got Saturday - before the Reds announced they had acquired 25-year-old infielder Jorge Cantu from the Devil Rays - when I asked Krivsky if the way the Reds have played lately had changed his focus as far as trades.

I think it has. That's why I don't think you'll see the Reds do a lot before the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline.

My guess is Kyle Lohse is gone. Scott Hatteberg and/or Jeff Conine also might be moved.

Beyond that, I don't see a lot happening.

That's because - this is just my theory - Krivsky wants to give interim manager Pete Mackanin a fair chance to earn the permanent gig. For Mackanin to do that, the Reds have to continue to play well.

Going into Saturday's game, the Reds were 14-8 with Mackanin. That's a .636 winning percentage. If the Reds were to win at that rate over the final 58 games, they would finish 81-81. That could quiet the talk about needing a big-name manager, such that CEO Bob Castellini might agree to give Mackanin a chance with maybe a one-year contract.

It's going to be difficult enough for the Reds to keep playing at this pace. But if they trade Adam Dunn, David Weathers and Bronson Arroyo for prospects, it will make it pretty much impossible.

Krivsky wouldn't say that Mackanin is going to serve out the season.

"I'm not going to comment on that," he said. "I don't want to get too far ahead. But he's done a great job."

Mackanin certainly has turned around the club. The most impressive thing is the Reds are winning the kinds of games that they were losing earlier in the season. The final game of the series with Milwaukee was an example of that. The opener against the Cubs on Friday was another.

"I think Pete's brought his personality to the team," Krivsky said. "He's loose. It's hard to play when you're tight."

Mackanin also manages like a guy with a five-year contract. He's not afraid of ticking guys off. He pulls pitchers early. The day Dunn came in to say he didn't like getting pulled for defensive reasons in the seventh inning, Mackanin pulled Dunn in the seventh inning.

Because of Mackanin's situation, which he describes as "precarious," he's managing how he wants, experimenting here and there.

What Mackanin hasn't faced are the expectations and pressure that come with a new season.

The biggest thing Mackanin has working against him from the fans' viewpoint is what happened after Dave Miley and Jerry Narron went from interim to permanent.

[redsrbetter]

Here we go again. You are right Jr's Boy, this is more of the same and I am getting tired of it. Of course, I am not too mad to see that Dunn and Arroyo will likely stick around because the free agent market will be extremely weak from a pitching standpoint.

I just fear the bottom line to that article. Mackanin seems to be doing a decent job despite the horrid start for this team. But like we all know already Miley and Narron came in and did awesome as well. Heck, I bet Bucky Dent would be looking just like Mackanin right now. Its just a different attitude that the team takes when the manager is fired. They get out of their comfort zones and start to realize they really suck. So they try to play better and start to get a sense of urgency. Mackanin may be funny and does use his bullpen andbench better than Narron. But we said the exact same things about Narron when he took over. We also said the exact same things about Miley when he took over.

[NFLman2033]

Here we go again. You are right Jr's Boy, this is more of the same and I am getting tired of it. Of course, I am not too mad to see that Dunn and Arroyo will likely stick around because the free agent market will be extremely weak from a pitching standpoint.

I just fear the bottom line to that article. Mackanin seems to be doing a decent job despite the horrid start for this team. But like we all know already Miley and Narron came in and did awesome as well. Heck, I bet Bucky Dent would be looking just like Mackanin right now. Its just a different attitude that the team takes when the manager is fired. They get out of their comfort zones and start to realize they really suck. So they try to play better and start to get a sense of urgency. Mackanin may be funny and does use his bullpen andbench better than Narron. But we said the exact same things about Narron when he took over. We also said the exact same things about Miley when he took over.

lol.. yep.. out of the entire article.. i like to point out the fact of what i have been saying since Narron got fired.. they are going to take way too much stock in these meaningless wins that this guy has put up.. i said that they would.. everyone says.. no he won't do that.. and look he has already said it.. in my opinion their recent success means NOTHING.. there is no way this team will pull out of it, even with the pathetic division.. but if Mackanin has a winning record by seasons end.. he will get that deal and we will fall into the same rut that i was worried about.. lovely.. just lovely..