FanHouse Bob Castellini

Earlier today, the higher-ups at the Cincinnati Reds baseball club decided to satiate their fanbase with what was essentially a Dear John Bench letter explaining why the team's efforts have failed despite the organization doing everything right.

What they didn't tell you on the website is that the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Reds read the letter to the masses from high atop the ballpark, and that it wasn't enough. This really happened. Stop looking at me like that.

This morning's Dugout, chronicling those events, is after the jump.

The fact that Wayne Krivsky got fired wasn't terribly surprising since he's got a pretty spotty track record and a much better GM (Walt Jocketty) was already employed in the Reds' front office. What was a little more surprising was the timing. Why after 21 games? If the Reds were as determined to dump Krivsky as they seem to be, why not do it in the off-season? What about 21 games could tell them something they didn't already know? The only person that can answer that question is Bob Castellini, so let's see what he had to say in today's Cincinnati Enquirer:

"I don't think anybody in the organization is happy with the results on a win-loss basis," Castellini said. "We've had two losing seasons under our new ownership, and we started out this season poorly on a win-loss basis. That's the primary reason why we made the change."

Coughcoughbullcrapcoughcough. Sorry, but you don't blame a GM for a 9-12 start. Seeing that kind of statement from Castellini kind of confirms what everyone suspected: that Castellini's wanted Krivsky out almost since the beginning of his ownership and he's taking the first possible open door to do so.

I don't really have a problem with that, but the article linked above indicates that Krivsky had no idea this was coming. Maybe he's just stupid to not connect the dots with Jocketty's hiring in January, but it seems kind of low to ambush a guy like the Reds did when they really had no plans of keeping him employed in the first place. Then again ... what's the phrase about crying and baseball?

Before last season even ended, rumors were swirling in Cincinnati that owner Bob Castellini was going to try and hire his friend Walt Jocketty away from from St. Louis to replace sitting GM Wayne Krivsky. Castellini denied those rumors, then hired Jocketty as a consultant anyways. That means that the news leaking out of the Reds' offices this morning that Krivsky is being fired and Jocketty is going to be his replacement isn't exactly surprising.

It's hard to say exactly what the last straw was for Krivsky. Was it giving in to Dusty Baker, signing Corey Patterson and demoting Jay Bruce? Was it actually hiring Baker in the first place? Or was this going to happen somewhere down the road eventually and Castellini and Jocketty decided now was as good a time as any? The Reds' 9-12 start isn't great, but it's certainly not unexpected, so it's probably the last one. Every owner wants his own GM in place and Castellini should be no different.

Ultimately, Krivsky's legacy is going to be mixed in Cincinnati. He made some great moves (plucking Brandon Phillips off waivers for a PTBNL, drafting Jay Bruce) and some awful ones (the Austin Kearns trade and his weird obsession with middle relievers in general). In the end though, he'd managed to stockpile a ton of young talent that was ready for the big leagues all at the same time, and that makes his firing seem at least a little unfair, despite all the criticisms surrounding him. He'll certainly be stewing if the Reds make the playoffs next year and Jocketty takes all the credit.

The Walt Jocketty to Cincinnati whispers have been growing slowly since Bob Castellini took over the Reds since last winter. They kind of went like this; Castellini was a minority owner in St. Louis a ways back, Walt Jocketty and Tony La Russa were seemingly unhappy in St. Louis, and Wayne Krivsky is kind of a bad GM. When Walt Jocketty was ousted in St. Louis last week the quiet rumblings became a lot more than that. Or at least they did until Castellini put his foot down today. From the Cincinnait Enquirer:

"Wayne Krivsky is our GM. Period," CEO Bob Castellini said Monday through a spokesman.

That's a pretty definitive statement. Still there aren't going to be a lot of front office jobs open from here on out (I suppose Brian Cashman may not be safe but the people that were in the most danger have been fired already)
and Jocketty may latch on in Cincy as some kind of front office adviser/GM in waiting, which would start all of the rumors up again, especially if La Russa does end up managing the Reds.