He seems like a good fit

I laughed

Howie, what's your issue with David Bell? They've been above .500 the last two years without a great deal of talent.

I just notice him making a lot of bizarre in-game decisions, particularly the bullpen.

he seems to have the proverbial "buy-in" from the players, which matters. but he also strikes me as too dumb to have a few coaches who can help him with blind spots.

he also has had three hitters who got MVP votes buzz this year - Castellanos, Winker, Votto - plus I think ROY in Jonathan India. Suarez freefall and Moustakas injuries did hurt of course..

how many teams can match these SP?
Castillo 116 ERA+ in 176 IP
Mahle 129 ERA+ in 170 IP
Miley 140 ERA+ in 163 IP
SGray 123 ERA+ in 127 IP
Gutierrez 104 ERA+ in 111 IP
Hoffman 105 ERA+ in 68 IP

that's 144 starts out of 152 with an above-average SP.

I see a little talent there.

Bell is a good manager in the clubhouse and with the media, but he absolutely cannot handle a bullpen.

how many teams can match these SP?
Castillo 116 ERA+ in 176 IP
Mahle 129 ERA+ in 170 IP
Miley 140 ERA+ in 163 IP
SGray 123 ERA+ in 127 IP
Gutierrez 104 ERA+ in 111 IP
Hoffman 105 ERA+ in 68 IP

Were any of those guys, save Castillo and Gray, considered talent before Bell became the manager?

He's gotten pretty good results out of a team no one's expected anything out of the last two seasons, and you've acted as if he's Maury Wills-level awful.

I find the behavior behind his expulsions by the umpires to be juvenile and ridiculous. Maybe he’s moderated his behavior this year but his outbursts in prior years have been embarrassing for a grown man

The Reds' bullpen is bad bc of the personnel. I guess he hasn't made chicken salad out of chicken #### but overall I think he's been fine with the talent he was given.

The real failure with the bullpen happened before the season started. Raisel Iglesias was given away for salary relief - partial relief at that. He's pitched 66 IP and has a 173 ERA+ for the Angels. Yeah, the Reds coulda used that.

Overall I'm agnostic on Bell's return. He seems to have the players' buy-in, so sure, why not.

Were any of those guys, save Castillo and Gray, considered talent before Bell became the manager?

if you are as willing to blame him for Suarez's collapse as you are to credit him for the development of some SPs, ok. otherwise...

he switched Suarez to SS at the start of the year and that was a two-way debacle. I don't know that he has anything to do with the pitchers, meanwhile.

if you are as willing to blame him for Suarez's collapse as you are to credit him for the development of some SPs, ok. otherwise...

Howie. I credit him for all of it. But you have been harshly critical of him these last three years, and I just don't get why you think he's so awful. The results definitely don't bear out ineptitude, as the actual Reds fans here seem to support.

I have just seen what to me are too many dumb strategic moves by Bell. I don't recall having made very many comments about him here, as he's not among my top 1000 baseball topics of interest.

I don't get why you think he's so great.

the Reds haven't won a playoff series in more than 30 years (granting that it's tough to match the accomplishments of big-market teams like Tampa or Oakland). the team has an embarrassment of riches at SP this year and I noted some of the batters (they also are above average behind the plate), yet battling to finish over .500 in the late days seems to be considered a badge of honor.

I don't recall having made very many comments about him here,

Well, I do. You've been railing against him from his first season on the job, which I thought was kind of odd then and has only gotten more bizarre since.

If anyone else had posted 2, I would have just thought it somewhat cryptic. From you, it followed an established pattern of contempt for his managerial skills.

I don't get why you think he's so great.

At no point have I said anything like that. He seems like he's done a capable job, getting better performances out of the talent at hand than what is projected for them, which is the thing I like most in a skipper.

the team has an embarrassment of riches at SP this year

No one ever thought a rotation headed by Wade Miley was gifted with an embarrassment of riches.

The bullpen was absolutely horrific the first 4 months of the season, and each of those 3 MVPish hitters have all missed several weeks of the season. With Winker and Stephenson and Naquin out now, I am not sure how they score any runs.

They are probably about where they should be record-wise. Castellanos is almost certainly gone next year, so, without an Eugenio and a Moose bounce back, I don't see a bright future.

he switched Suarez to SS at the start of the year and that was a two-way debacle. I don't know that he has anything to do with the pitchers, meanwhile.

It's hard to tell whether this was Bell's decision or the front office's, but I lean towards the latter. The Reds spent a lot of money right before pandemic - Castellanos, Moustakas, and Akiyama were all big money for them. That outlay plus the covid revenue crush drove them the opposite way before this season. So instead of getting a real SS, the team converted Suarez - which allowed them to play India at 2B and Moustakas at 3B. I'm sure Bell had input in Suarez's conversion but I think it was driven more by the reality of the roster and budget.

the Reds haven't won a playoff series in more than 30 years

Pardon the pedantry, but 1995 sweep of the Dodgers was 26 years ago

true. Reds swept the Dodgers in 3 games, then got swept in 4 by the Braves.

that was only a 144-game season - but yeah, that's still not going to get me out of that gaffe

:)