Three playoff appearances in the past four years, which, for a modern Cincinnati sports team, is legendary.
However, in those three appearances, we got no-hit in year one (only the second time ever in the playoffs by anybody), went up 2-0 then lost 3-2 in year two (never happened to anyone before), then got smoked the final five games of year three then proceeded to lay an egg in the one-and-done wild card game.
Dusty is a "players' manager", a term that has become increasingly infuriating. He keeps his players happy. He keeps pitchers in the game too long to 'work through it'. He keeps batters in their typical lineup spot to 'keep them comfortable'. He thinks OBP is overrated.
He's an old school guy. Old school is great for fashion, music, and chivalry. Not sports. In particular, baseball. His decisions, both in-game and long-term, are known dubious ones. Modern teams know better. We have statistical analysis. We have very smart people doing very smart things to maximize success. Instinct is proving to be a losing strategy.
While 'good riddance' is too harsh, I mean, the man brought us a ton of regular season wins, I will not be shedding tears. Three playoff appearances in four years in a sport with the smallest percentage of playoff teams is a great feat. But we want to win when it's important. Dusty has not put this team in position to do so.
Hopefully, we find a new manager willing to embrace change. Hopefully we find a new manager who isn't stuck in 1965. Hopefully, we don't promote from within, as all of our coaches defend Dustyball with rampancy.
As far as cards are concerned (hey, this is a card blog, right? Stop with your piss-poor analysis, dude), I own eight, all shown here. These are all the major brand bases and one Kahn's oddball. I own no parallels or autos. I'm only missing two oddballs (2008 DAV, 2012 Hometown Heroes). Not bad.
Shockingly, zero feature the toothpick. Ah well. Thanks for the 90-win seasons, Dusty. Go Reds.
It's kind of a catch-22. As a Mets fan, I'd cut off my left toe to support a club that makes the playoffs three out of four years. But, I hear ya: It's not enough to go the prom and just sit on your hands all night.
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