Reds fire Boone, Bowden

[HOOTIE]

[quote= i'm going to have to butt in here, again. money is less the issue than the selection and management of available players.
the oakland athletics always contend with very little money. [/quote]

In Bowdens defense, he was forced, because of payroll, to get reclamation projects like Wilson among others, and hope they worked out. Guillen was a nice find. The Griffey deal hurt, as thats alot of $ on dl.

[HOOTIE]

[quote=there's an extreme overabundance of outfielders. it's easier to do what bowden did. encarnacion and guillen are fine players, but they don't win championships. pitching does. [/quote]

I'm not so sure pitching wins titles. The braves rotation of the 90s was maybe the best staff ever, certaintly top 3, and won once in 12 years. Oakland with its big 3 has no titles. You cant win with the Rangers/Rockies style of all offense, or Dodger ball losing 2-1. You really need to be above average in hitting as well as pitching.

[benjapage]

i will not stand for the defense of bowden.

pitching does win. the athletics have not recently won a championship, but they win. they contend. that's all, as a fan, i've ever asked from my team. just contend. just make it interesting.

bowden loves outfielders. he confesses to obsessing over them. he once said that wily mo pena was his most important signing, and wasted a roster spot on him (he was out of options) for half of this season...reggie taylor, ruben mateo, the list is long and tedious.

offense is fine, and you need it, certainly. if the athletics had a trace of it, they would dominate. they might still if tejada, durazo and chavez pull it out.

the fact is, bowden has maintained an unbalanced attack since his advent. it is this three-legged horse that has awkwardly dragged cincinnati through all these embarrassing years. hopefully, the new guy will step into the office and get it on.

i can only hope, because i live where i do, and i root for my home team.

b

[BeautifulBrunette]

Benjapage: You have some very good observations about the state of affairs in Cincinnati and I find them to be right on the mark.

Here's an article written by the great Hal McCoy that I thought you (and anyone else who's interested) might enjoy. McCoy tells it like it is, in his usual fair and balanced manner.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/c ... mccoy.html