Reds fans ready for a shake-up
'Fire the whole bunch of 'em'
By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer
After the latest drama surrounding the Reds - chief operating officer John Allen's surprise trip to Denver on Sunday - it was business as usual Tuesday when the team returned to Great American Ball Park.
Nobody was fired. There was no shake-up of the team, which ended Tuesday's game at 22-35 after beating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 9-7. The Reds entered the contest 15½ games out of first place.
Allen said Reds general manager Dan O'Brien and field manager Dave Miley have been given the message that the team's performance is not acceptable.
"It's in their hands now," Allen said.
When asked whether there's a deadline for a turnaround, Allen said: "I'm not going to answer that."
That's not good enough for some Reds fans.
"Fire the whole bunch of 'em - they haven't really been any good since the skipper in the other dugout (Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella) was here," said Paul Christon, 47, of Northside.
"It's not even Miley's fault - it's the players' fault. Fire them all."
Allen's trip to Colorado was the latest in a series of attempts by management to jump-start the team, which was expected to contend in the National League's Central Division after a $15.5 million off-season spending spree to acquire better players.