David Bell Was the Least of Our Worries

Right around 3:30 p.m. last Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates.? Less than seven hours later, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic?was reporting that David Bell was done in Cincinnati.

So, that’s it.? After six years, 856 games, one short playoff series and a million up-and-downs, David Bell is gone with five games still to go.

And I feel…nothing?

That can’t be…I should be feeling something.? Satisfaction maybe?? The Reds definitely underperformed this year, and it sure didn’t seem like Bell had many answers.

In his final season as Reds manager, Bell’s players were too often undisciplined and erratic.? His lineup decisions could drive even his most ardent supporters to the brink of insanity, and he had a certain penchant for always leaving his starters in too long…or was it taking them out too early?? Forget it, it was both.

Under Bell, the Reds could go toe-to-toe with the best in the league, but more times than not, they were helpless against the best in their division.? That’s gotta be David Bell’s fault.? It’s a manager’s job to get his players playing their best, and doing it consistently?

Hold on though…is this really fair?? Could Bell really?have been expected to win with this?roster?? Could anyone?

The Reds do have talent, sure, but talent doesn’t mean much if it doesn’t eventually turn into production.? The Reds, unfortunately, saw a lot?of that this summer.

Noelvi Marté, for instance, was the 23rd-ranked prospect in all of baseball heading into the 2024 season.? Marté is talented, but in 229 plate appearances (so far), he’s got a 54 OPS+.? In non-sabermetric (and grossly simplified) terms, that means Marté has been almost half as good as the most average hitter in baseball.

I suppose you could blame Bell for continuing to give Marté so many at-bats (and so many innings at third base) but let’s be clear: Marté should not be at the MLB level.? He should be trying to get on-track in AAA.? But that’s not David Bell’s call – that’s Nick Krall’s, the Reds’ President of Baseball Operations.

And while Marté was far from the only struggling Reds hitter to keep getting unwarranted playing time this year, his example is instructive because it illustrates the disconnect between what ownership and the front office want (namely, to develop young and inexpensive talent), and what the manager wants (ostensibly, to win baseball games).? And unfortunately for David Bell, the buck doesn’t stop with him.

I can’t imagine Bell was keen on trotting Marté out there every other day when he was coaching for his job – that is, assuming Bell was worried about his job security in the first place.? Maybe he really was the ideal company man.? Maybe he had the same vision as ownership and the front office, and he was continuing to play Marté because he truly?believed this was the best way for the struggling 22-year-old to improve.? But, if that’s the case, why fire him?

Why fire a guy who stands there and takes all the bullets?? That arrangement works perfectly well for the NFL owners, who are content to allow Roger Goodell to get creamed in the media as long as he protects them from undue scrutiny.? You expect me to believe the Reds ownership wouldn’t salivate at a similar deal?

Besides, Krall specifically?told?reporters on Monday that there were “philosophical differences” between Bell and the front office.

Do you think maybe those philosophical differences had something to do with unnecessary playing time for players who aren’t major-league material?? Considering Bell was the one who was fired, I find it hard to believe that Krall was banging on Bell's door to get Marté sent back to Louisville.

Once again, we can see how this favoritism played a big role in Bell’s eventual ouster: Marté was supposed to be Krall’s brain-child.? He was the centerpiece of the Luis Castillo trade.? Heading into 2022, the year Castillo was dealt to the Mariners, Marté was the 18th-ranked prospect in baseball, and only behind perennial All-Star Julio Rodriquez in the Mariners' prospect rankings.? That’s quite the pedigree, and considering Castillo continues to be an absolute horse?on the mound, and that the rest of Krall’s return is either recovering from labrum surgery (Edwin Arroyo), is a 25-year-old languishing in AA (Andrew Moore), or already off the team (Levi Stoudt), it’s safe to say Krall has a lot invested in Marté’s success.

When push came to shove, Bell had no chance.? It was Marté or the highway.? Incredibly, even though it was obviously doing his job security no favors, Bell continued?to put Marté on the field and in the lineup.? That’s how dedicated to the Reds and their future Bell was.? And the Reds still fired him.

Clearly, Bell is a scapegoat.? There’s no other explanation.? If the front office and ownership were honest (and they aren’t), they’d admit that this team, this roster, this organization?– it’s just not good enough.

The Castellinis can cry poor all they want, but their excuses ring hollow.? Sure, the Reds might not be able to compete financially with the Yankees or the Dodgers, but what about the Guardians?? They spent exactly $6,775,968 more than the Reds did, or basically about Jakob Junis’ salary, and let me tell you, the Reds were far from another Jakob Junis away from being as good as the Guardians were this season.

The Guardians are just better at this, and they have no more advantages than the Reds do.? There are about 2.27 million people living in and around the city of Cincinnati.? That number is 2.16 for the Guardians.? The Reds made $315 million?in revenue in 2023.? The Guardians?? Exactly the same.

There’s almost a million fewer people in the Milwaukee metro area than Cincinnati, and despite their $115 million payroll – good for 21st in the league and just $15 million more than the Reds spent – the Brewers won the NL Central with ease.? $15 million is like the Reds adding another Nick Martinez to their roster and (do I really need to say it?) the Reds were not?another Nick Martinez away from winning the division.? Milwaukee, like Cleveland, is just better at this.

My fear is that, by letting go of Bell in the middle of the night, the Reds ownership and front office is acting like a matador and redirecting the bull (aka, fan anger) toward an unwitting lackey by slight of hand.? Is David Bell a good manager?? How can we possibly know?? The front office isn’t interested in finding out, and it’s probably safe to say that whomever they select for the job won’t have much more to work with than Bell did.? The Reds’ issue isn’t coaching; it’s talent, but that’s not what the front office and ownership is trying to sell you, and good luck ever getting them to admit it.? Then they might have to spend some money.