Lou Piniella is finally going to hang it up. He’s confirmed that this season will be his last on anybody’s bench, and I think it’s about time.
Why? How could I think it’s time for Lou to hang it up when he’s such a great “baseball mind”?
Well, let’s consider the obvious. There’s the: temper tantrums, temper tantrums, tempter tantrums, and inexplicable losses in the postseason.
Remember that Lou presided over a Mariners team that won 116 games in the regular season but couldn’t win their opening round playoff series. Greatest team of all time? Not even close. They could’ve been with a different manager.
Lou brought a little success back to Tampa, but it wasn’t until he left and Joe Maddon came aboard that the Rays finally saw real success and made the World Series.
Lou was supposed to be able to do something with the pathetic Cubs. He was going to turn the “lovable losers” into “lovable winners”. Remember?
This team is being paid an insane amount of cash to suck. They’re not even within reach of the Reds and Cardinals. Being behind the Cards is to be expected—being behind the Reds is embarrassing. The Reds don’t have the payroll to keep up—but Dusty Baker is out-managing Lou right now. The Reds front office has made good decisions.
Lou is manning a sinking ship—again.
I can hear the cries, “But Lou won the World Series with Cincinnati in 1990.” I know.
In fact, in Cincinnati, they’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of that championship. Pretty cool thing since times have been lean in Cincinnati. However, we’re forgetting one thing.
Lou won a World Series in Cincinnati with Pete Rose’s team. Much the same way Barry Switzer won a Super Bowl with Jimmy Johnson’s team and Larry Coker won a BCS title with Butch Davis’ team.
Lou followed one of the greatest baseball minds of all time and won a championship. A lot of us could’ve done that.
Hell, my wife is a Reds fan and she can’t stand Lou. Why? To her, he’s an ass who won a title with Pete’s team. He’s a clown—he tarnishes the good name of the Reds.
If the one city he saw glory in can do without him, then he clearly isn’t the “baseball man” we all thought he was.
I’m not saying he’s an idiot—you’ve got to have brains to at least make sure the right players get on the field, but he’s never had control of a team he’s managed.
The 1990 Reds were a “players team.” I can’t tell you how many times my wife has told me that the players ran that team by themselves. They made themselves into the “Nasty Boys”—not the other way around.
Lou’s epic failure in Chicago is just another is a long line of epic failures. Win 116 games—lose in the ALDS. Bring a downtrodden franchise a tiny bit of winning—leave in a huff. Come to Chicago as “the baseball man”—fight with Milton Bradley and Carlos Zambrano.
If there’s a Hall of Failure, then Lou is in.
Too bad there isn’t a “Greatest Failures” section in Cooperstown.
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