A Fast One, It Was

I’m not referring to the time it took to play last night’ s 3-2 loss to the Brewers. I’m referring to the lineup we saw. I don’t believe I call out skipper Dusty Baker on a regular basis. In fact, I doubt that I have called him on anything. I seldom call managerial decisions into play because I’m not a manager. Dusty is paid to manage the Reds, not me. Dusty is paid to set the lineup, not me.

But what the hell was Edgar Renteria doing hitting fifth?

To put this as subtle as I can, what in the Sam Hill was going on with that lineup?

Here was the lineup for the series opener. A game in which the Reds scored nine times.

1. Stubbs 8
2. Bruce 9
3. Votto 3
4. Phillips 4
5. Gomes 7
6. Cairo 5
7. Haingan 2
8. Janish 6

Remember. This lineup produced 9 runs. Here was last night’s…

1. Stubbs 8
2. Bruce 9
3. Votto 3
4. Phillips 4
5. Gomes 7 Renteria 6
6. Cairo 5 Hermida 7
7. Haingan 2 Hernandez 2
8. Janish

Really, Dusty? That’s the “reward” for scoring 9?

I completely understand no Cairo as he probably needed a game off after playing in so many games in a row. I can appreciate that. I think a lot of people would have felt better with Chris Valaika at third and leaving Janish at his natural position of short because this Edgar Renteria thing doesn’t appear to be a good deal as of now. Well, some wish the deal had never happened. Sure, you would have had the issue of where to put Valaika in the lineup (7th?), but that may have played better. Why bring the kid up only to keep his butt on the bench.

And the Twitter darling that is Chris Heisey was once again riding the pine. Jeremy Hermida, who was tearing up Triple-A pitching, was given the start in left. It all goes with that righty-lefty thing.

But I’m still wondering why Heisey, who was supposed to be the “fourth outfielder” was left on the bench. We get the “fifth outfielder” instead. I know as of late Heisey has been given chances and not performed well. I touched on that the other day.

If you think just changing a couple of pieces doesn’t change the dynamics of your lineup, last night’s two-hit effort was a glaring example that it does. Yes, the top four spots were the same. And Brandon Phillips once again showed that hitting second or fourth is of no issue. It doesn’t matter. And what about the home run? On one knee? Mercy!

Hernandez or Hanigan. That we are used to seeing.

On Janish, I would hope we all realize that Janish is in there because of his glove. He most likely is not going to hit .280. We’ll take the potential of .260 and go with that. That is not a knock on him. Last season’s .260 wasn’t that big an aberration, but ever since he donned a Reds uniform, he’s never hit above .260 as he did in 2010. If he does, that’s a bonus.

So what’s today’s lineup going to bring? This…

1. Stubbs 8
2. Bruce 9
3. Votto 3
4. Phillips
5. Gomes 7
6. Cairo 5
7. Janish 6
8. Hanigan 2
9. LeCure 1

The only switch from the first game of the series is the flopping of Janish (7th) and Hanigan (8th).

We’ll see how this works. I like it a little better than what we were subject to last night. After all, we’re looking to win a series, something the Reds haven’t done since San Diego. Oof…