The Beatings Roll On (in reverse)

Just like reality TV, Reds' baseball is proof positive of the age-old axiom, "No matter how bad things may seem, they can always get worse." On Friday night, brilliant skipper Dave Miley continued to cement the rift between Adam Dunn and himself by keeping Dunn out of the lineup against an absolutely non-dominant LHP in Horacio Ramirez. In general, it is horrendously stupid to give routine days off to young sluggers like Dunn, but to do it the night after he busts out of a slump with a double and a 455-foot home run is even more asinine. I used to believe that Miley may be a mere puppet of the front office who is being handcuffed into playing certain guys, but now it's gotten to the point that even if that is the case, he should be fired for refusing to lead a mutiny. Dunn is becoming evermore outspoken about his hatred of Miley, taking some well-founded, if not mature, shots at the skipper in Hal McCoy's Saturday Notes.

Ramon Ortiz is terrible, and he should never start another game for the Reds. However, he is signed and does theoretically have a couple of good pitches. He reminds me of Chris Reitsma, in the fact that he has a decent fastball and change-up. Seems to me that the Reds should take a look at the guy who closed out Thursday night's Atlanta win and try to establish Ortiz as a Reitsma-like reliever. Ortiz doesn't have the arm to fire 95-mph fastballs for 6+ innings, but maybe in a short stint, he could max out his fastball, making both his fastball and his change-up more effective in the process.

I used to cheer Eric Milton's starts if only in the hopes that this one would be the last. Apparently, that's a lost cause, so I have no reason whatsoever to look forward to tonight's pending debacle. Steve Kelly, Matt Belisle and Randy Keisler all deserve starting nods over Milton and Ortiz at this point.

Paul Wilson's season-ending shoulder surgery was a disappointing semi-surprise to Reds' fands, but it wasn't a surprise at all for Reds management. That's a reassuring feeling...

I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that if the Reds are swept by Atlanta this weekend, establishing what would be a very ugly 7 game losing streak, Sunday will be Miley's last game. Bill at Redleg Nation is echoing my question as well.

You know it's a bad season for the Reds when you're left wishing for some Kentucky football to ease the pain.