FanHouse

Now that Dusty Baker will be returning to the dugout as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, he's already got some problems to deal with. He's replaced his old feud with Steve Stone and Chip Caray for a new one with Marty Brennaman, but that's not the only feud Baker already has in the Queen City.

No, apparently he's already hated by Reds fans.

No love for Dusty Baker. Nothing but bile for a man with more than 1,100 career wins, whose teams have finished either first or second in eight of his 14 seasons as a manager. A guy who has been NL Manager of the Year three times, who took the Chicago Cubs closer to the World Series altar than any manager in almost 50 years?

He stinks, you say. Terrible pick. You won't go to the games, you won't renew your season tickets. You're done with the Reds.

Those are the words of The Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Daugherty. According to the emails he's received, and the phone calls he's gotten on his radio show, Cincinnati is not happy with the hiring of Baker.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly a fan of Baker either. I got a front row seat for his tenure in Chicago, so I know how bad a manager he can be at times. He favors the veterans too much, and he's too loyal to his players. He kills pitchers. Though, to be fair, I think Kerry Wood's arm would have blown up with or without Baker around.

Still, he's never managed in Cincinnati, so why are Reds fans already so up in arms? Could it be the color of Dusty's skin?

Well, Cincinnati Reds fans wanted a big-name manager and now they have one.

Turns out, plenty of them seem to have wanted a big-name WHITE manager.

Saturday night the Reds signed Dusty Baker to a three-year deal - making him the first black manager in the history of baseball's oldest franchise - and by Sunday morning the move was being met with some very nasty venom on internet web sites and call-ins to talk radio shows.

Where was all of this uproar when Marge Schott was around? I'm pretty sure she kept a picture of Hitler in her wallet.

Is it the color of Baker's skin though? I have no doubt it's playing a role here, because as much as we wish it wasn't so, racism will always be a part of our society. It sucks, but it's not going to change. One doesn't even need to look past some of the comments here on FanHouse to realize this. Go look at the some of the comments left on any Mike Vick post and see for yourself.

So to think that race isn't playing a role in all of this apathy from Reds fans is extremely naive. Hopefully, all of Dusty's actual faults as a manager will make themselves evident quickly, and Reds fans can start to hate him for real reasons. Like his bullpen management, or the fact he uses his kid as a shield during post game press conferences.

Just give it time, Cincy, you'll find plenty of reasons to hate the man.