Reds playoff push feels more like spring training under Terry Francona

There are some things that a Major League manager can't control. Though Terry Francona has plenty of sway with the Cincinnati Reds front office, it's Nick Krall and his staff that make the piece together the roster. But the in-game decision-making rest solely on Francona's shoulders, and he treated Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers like spring training.

With Dodgers' left-hander Clayton Kershaw on the mound, Francona went with a right-handed-heavy lineup. TJ Friedl was replaced atop the batting order by Spencer Steer, and Francona also put Noelvi Marte in center field for the first time all season. Santiago Espinal — a career infielder — was in the lineup as well, and playing right field.

Surprisingly, this group was able to keep pace with the NL West-leading Dodgers, and LA held just a slim 2-1 lead heading into the sixth inning. Kershaw was removed from the game, and back-to-back hits from Matt McLain and Steer to lead off the inning had runners on first and second with nobody out and Cincinnati's best hitter coming to the plate.

Reds playoff push feels more like spring training under Terry Francona

Marte stepped into the batters' box, but rather than swing away, the Reds' hottest hitter attempted to lay down a bunt. The ball popped into the air, it was caught by the pitcher who then threw onto to second base for the double-play. This was, in a word, horrific. After the game, Francona said that Marte did that on his own, and it wasn't a call from the dugout.

With two outs and a runner on first, Elly De La Cruz stepped up to the plate and promptly flew out to left field. What was runners on first and second with nobody out quickly turned into a disastrous inning for the Reds. FanDuel Sports Network's Jeff Brantley said it best, "That is shooting yourself in the foot."

Things got worse in the bottom of the inning. With Kershaw out of the game, Francona foolishly left Marte in center field despite having both Friedl and Will Benson on the bench. Reds starter Nick Martinez, who pitched well, ran into trouble in the sixth. A leadoff homer off the bat of Will Smith extended LA's lead, and after a one-out double, Martinez was lifted in favor of Brent Suter.

The Dodgers were eventually able to put runners on first and second, but Suter secured another out. Miguel Rojas then sent a 1-0 offering from Suter deep to center field, Marte got twisted around, and what could (and perhaps should) have been the final out of the inning, turned into a 5-1 deficit. Francona brought Benson into the game during the top of the seventh, but it was one inning too late.

The Reds went on to lose by a final of 6-3. Cincinnati is now 3-5 on their West Coast roadtrip and have fallen 3½ games back of the New York Mets in the chase for the final NL Wild Card spot.

These are the types of decisions one might expect from a rookie manager who surprisingly finds himself in the middle of the playoff race, but not a future Hall of Fame manager. Francona was hired to hold the players accountable, but fans will soon be wondering who's going to hold their skipper accountable.

The Reds need to get serious. After hitting his 10th home run at Triple-A, Sal Stewart should be on his way out to LA on Wednesday (but it's almost a given that he'll be back in the Louisville Bats' lineup). Players like McLain and Espinal should be riding the bench, and under no circumstances should Marte being attempting to lay down a bunt or playing center field.

Cincinnati has less than 30 games remaining to get their act together, but at the moment, this looks like a team who's running out of gas when it matters most.

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