According to the Cincy Post's C. Trent Rosecrans, Jerry Narron has been fired as the Reds' manager and Pete Mackanin will replace him on an interim basis. Rosecrans' post is on his own blog (a blog breaks the news, hooray for Internet 2.0!) and it's pretty short on details at the moment. Regardless of the details, Narron's been on the hot seat for a while now as the Reds' have failed to match the play that got them to 80-82 and within 3.5 games of the eventual world champion Cardinals. Rumors swirled yesterday that Tony La Russa would be interested in the Reds' job after his contract is up with the Cardinals this year. This is actually Pete Mackanin's second interim managing gig within the division, as he took over for Lloyd McClendon for the balance of the 2005 season when he got a pink slip late in the year. I'm rather doubtful he's the guy the Reds want for the long term, though that's nothing but speculation on my part at the moment. Of course, that's what happens when a manager gets fired. Let the speculation begin!
This makes Narron the third manager to go in a pretty short span after Mike Hargrove stepped down this afternoon and Sam Perlozzo was fired less than two weeks ago. Who's next to go? My guess would be Joe Torre.
Previously at the Fanhouse
Tony La Russa To the Reds?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-01-2007 @ 10:35PM
Keith said...
Thank GOD! The Reds' were stupid in giving Narron a big contract early last season. Narron doesn't have enough sense to even try to create a steady lineup.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 12:28AM
brian said...
It is not Narron's fault the Reds suck. It is not any managers fault that they're teams suck. We put too much emphasis on managers in baseball. And don't give me this strategy crap. The manager 9 out of 10 times makes the right decision, however it is up to the players to execute. Too bad about Hargrove, the M's are playing good this year.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 12:39AM
jersdave2 said...
1 down 1 to go...Castellini needs to veto any trades until Krivsky is gone and we get a real GM too...
Dunn, I don't like the trash talk you get on talk radio..you are what you are... a great home run hitter...you need to be with the right team and fans that appreciate you and we need bunts and singles at this time with this team...and some shut down defence in the outfield to back up the pee wee league pitching staff...I think you deserve a better chance and the Reds need to get a fair value...Krivsky can't handle that trade
Uncle Milty..cut him
Castellini is Italian..how about some cement shoes for Bowden..I have some friends in NJ...I know the real guy that owns the Bada Bing
How about getting the Indians GM, Shipiro..he has put together a pretty good team with a small budget
Can we trade a broadcaster for pitching??? we have 4 of them...Marty should be good for a long reliever or a 2nd or 3rd starter..think about it
Uncle Carl, God bless him, is a wonderful human being and as a brother Mason I respect him as a person but he only did 2 things right as an owner
1)get Griffey
2)sell the team
Do not under any circumstances sell Griffey..he is the only reason to go to see this team as he marches the right way to to 600 home runs...to see one of the players of the century and a hometown product...I don't even resent that he went to Moeller instead of Sycamore...is worth the price of admission.
God Bless Marge, the last owner to bring us a championship and Willie, the Great American
Dave From Montgomery
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 7:42AM
poltyndall said...
Dump the whole team except Freel. He is the only one who plays the game the way it is supposed to be played. He can play at least five positions. Griffey no hustle and limited -most time hurt. Dunn out of here. He can only play one position--the bench
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 7:51AM
JAB said...
Dave, listening to Willie Cunningham will most surely rot your brain...lol
I agree though, keep Griffey. He is about the only ticket-drawing interest the team has. Still a great hitter. Move to right field has helped keep him healthy. Wildly popular all around the league.
Dunn however is vastly overrated as a player. Unlike Griffey, a "feel" hitter, Dunn is a pure "guess" hitter. When he guesses right he hit 'em 600 feet. However when he guesses wrong (most of the time) he looks downright foolish at times. He is a defensive liability. Hell, he made two huge gaffs in the outfield in yesterdays game, pretty commonplace for Dunn. He is simply NOT a run producer for in order to be one of those you have to SWING the bat once in awhile. The man takes and takes too many pitches. That is why is walk total is down over 30% this year, because pitchers know he takes so many pitches and they are more content to challenge the strike zone and not pitch around his power any more. The man can't sac fly a guy home from third (only player in baseball history to have a season with over 100 Runs, 100 RBI, and not a single sac fly). If he would just swing 20% more, he would raise his average 20 points, hit 10 more homers, and drive in another 20 runs. Can't do any of that taking pitches or "guessing" wrong and swinging at balls a foot off the plate and in the dirt. The fans ooh and aah because once in awhile he can hit some monster homers. At best, he is the Dave Kingman of his era. Certainly not worth nearly 9 million a year. The Reds lead the league in home runs, yet have the worst record in baseball!! So whatever Dunn brings to the table can be spared for some pitching. A recent fan poll in Cincinnati was running 51/49 in favor of dumping him.
As to Narron not shouldering the blame for the woes on the team, who better to blame. The Reds are the worst fielding team in baseball (for several years now) yet take no infield practice? Why isn't the manager doing something about that? The Reds could do much better with this same team by just executing fundamentals taught in American Legion ball. They don't take the extra base. Move runners along. Miss the cut-off man. Don't protect the plate when behind in the count. And the man can't make a line-up to save his life. Batting Dunn second is completely insane!! If they wanted a guy to draw a lot of walks and get on base they should have found a Brett Butler type. Batting your big stick, record strikeout holder second is yet another indication of the lack of fundamentals on this team. And the manager HAS to take the blame for failed fundamentals!! With a real deal skipper, like LaRussa, or Davy Johnson, or even Lou Pinella, this team could probably improve 20 games with no other personnel change. It may not always be the managers fault their teams suck, but in the instance of Narron he certainly has made major contributions to the Reds sucking!! His roster has no effect on his inability to get them to field properly, run properly, bunt runners along. He read the book on how to manufacture runs, then has his team do the exact opposite!! Good riddance!! This team just got 20% better!!
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 7:53AM
Kim said...
Any consideration given toward Bucky Dent as a replacement? He was with the Yankees when they were the world champs in the late seventies, and probably knows at least how to play the game.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 9:10AM
J.G. Elam said...
Goodbye Narron. I hope the next manager sticks with good fundamentals. To heck with pitch counts, if a starter is rolling along, what difference does it make if he throws 135 pitches. And why carry so many relievers when they can't get the job done?
Give me the good old days. If Cy Young was pitching today he'd be hard pressed to get 50 wins. Let 'em throw.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 10:45AM
GUS said...
Joe Morgan is my dream GM/Manager. He is such a student of the game. While that doesn't always translate into successfully making it happen on the field, I would love to see Joe step out of the broadcasters booth and give it a shot.
But, alas, I am a dreamer that's not happening anytime soon.
The Reds have been pulling up the rear of their division since Pinella was run out of town. Cincinnati has an owner now that has proven he's not afraid to spend a little money. Now is the time to secure a GM and a Manager that know what their doing and then acquire the pieces they need.
Some pitching would be a good start.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 12:23PM
Kevin said...
He should not have been around this long. The Reds waited until they were so far in the hole that there is no way out. A team as only as good as their manager (coach).
My dream manager would eiher be Joe Morgan or Johnny Bench!
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 1:40PM
steve said...
bring Pete Rose to manage the Reds
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:21PM
Anthony said...
It wasnt all Narrons fault what good does it do to fire Jerry And not the rest of the duds (coaches) Also if Wayne would have went out and got the team some decent middle relievers and a closer we would be 15 games over .500 right now and this wouldnt even be happening .The true problem wasnt Narron THE TRUE PROBLEM IS WAYNE KRIVSKY he couldnt get it done in Texas and he cant get it done here find us a new GM find us a GREAT NEW TEAM
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 7:14AM
JAB said...
Sure, it's easy to just blame the players and not the coach. And sure, who doesn't need pitching? FYI, if you overlook the bullpen for a moment you would discover that the Red's starting pitching has the third highest team era in the league. They have the worst fielding percentage, the third lowest team batting average, and are in the lower 4th of MLB in runs scored and driven in. So I would say there is plenty, plenty more needed that bullpen help. And somewhere along the way you have to blame the manager. If you watch them play, and not just read the boxscores, you would see they can't execute fundamentals. And the blame for that HAS to go to the manager. Might not be his fault concerning the talent he has to work with, but they are all major league players, so shame on him for not MAKING them take infield practice, bunt runners along, get the runner from third with no outs home during that inning, hit the cut-off man, run the bases. You know, all the stuff my son't little league team work on every day. If the manager is not responsible to ensure these fundamentals are practiced and executed, who is? But I agree that some of the remaining position coaches should go along with Narron.
Reply