FanHouse DustyBaker

MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.

So, quick apology on my part: the Power Rankings were supposed to go live Wednesday, but things happened, I'm a jerkstore, excuses, etc., and here we are. It's not Wednesday! So please note that the records reflect Wednesday -- not Thursday, not Friday, not Saturday. Don't freak out in the comments and call me names. Please. I can't take that in my fragile emotional state right now. I might turn into Raul Ibanez, at which point I would yell at you and then strain my groin. And that wouldn't be good for anyone.

WASHINGTON -- Reds manager Dusty Baker called his team's three-day visit to the nation's capital "taxing." Two rain delays and a 12-inning game -- even if it's a win -- have a way of leaving that impression.

So does blowing a 2-1 lead and a series sweep in the eighth inning of the finale on an error.

That's just what happened to Cincinnati Thursday evening. Second baseman Brandon Phillips compounded some spotty relief work by the soft underbelly of the Cincy bullpen by throwing the ball away on a double-play attempt in the eighth. The error wound up plating the decisive run for the Nationals in a 3-2 win and cost the Reds a chance to move within a 1/2 game of first place in the NL Central.

Phillips was unapologetic for the airmailed throw that went past first baseman Adam Rosales and scored Washington shortstop Cristian Guzman.

In my head, whenever I write about Dusty Baker, I imagine him to be a character called, "Dusty Baker, Baseball Alchemist." This has a lot to do with his wildly-reasoned argument from the early spring that a whole bunch of players in Cincinnati would play well because they were once high draft picks. I just have the general feeling that Baker feels like there's some secret recipe to winning that if he follows it, eventually success will find him and the Reds.

One of those ingredients must be getting his starting pitcher through five innings at any and all costs. Yesterday afternoon/evening, he sent Aaron Harang back out to the mound to finish the fifth inning after a rain delay that lasted more than two hours. Harang only pitched to one batter after the delay and recorded a strikeout of Humberto Quintero to qualify for the win.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Every year in fantasy baseball there are a number of players whose hype exceeds reasonable expectations, because so many freaking people have them tagged as a "breakout." Peter Gammons may have been the first to tag Adam Jones with such a label, but it caught on quickly, and he was a popular fantasy draft selection. (Note that this also applies to my homie Chris Davis, who I think might hit 40 taters, but who was wickedly overvalued coming into drafts. More on this in a second.)

And the man that wants no part of being called "Pacman" -- for obvious reasons -- is suddenly flat-out destroying opposing pitching. Jones was always considered a "five-tool" prospect, with power and speed potential, not to mention just being a great baseball player.

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday. It appears Saturday because of the A-Rod and Manny Ramirez news.

Heading into Saturday's action, the Cincinnati Reds have played pretty good baseball. They've taken some lumps, but overall it's been a good start for a team that finished 14 games under .500 in 2008. They've gotten good pitching, but their offense leaves something to be desired. Only the Diamondbacks and Giants have scored less runs in the NL.

Boy, they could really use Adam Dunn.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Carl Pavano is back and better than ever. Well, not really, but he's not as bad as he used to be. Still a long way from being the guy who earned that four-year, $40 million deal from the Yankees, Pavano is starting to pitch credibly for the Indians.

On Wednesday night he beat the Red Sox, pitching six innings and allowing two runs. Over his past four starts, Pavano has a 3.46 ERA. Manager Eric Wedge said the right-hander is improving.

"Carl has just kept getting better and better," said Wedge. "He's put together two good starts."

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If you are an avid reader of either baseball blogs or the Dayton Daily News, you've likely seen this gem of an anecdote from Hal McCoy's story about the Reds' loss to the Astros last night:

As Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker talked to the media after Tuesday's 8-3 loss to the Houston Astros, a member of the media relations department laid a copy of the stat pack on his desk - a box score, play-by-play and up-to-date statistics.

Without looking at it, Baker wadded it into the size of an official baseball and fired it hard into his trash basket.

For some reason, McCoy's designation of the wad of paper being not just the size of a baseball, but the size of "an official" baseball cracks me up. But really, this post is about Dusty Baker. More after the jump.

How times change. Fifty years ago, the Cold War was escalating, and the Soviets were adding to their nuclear stockpile. In 2009, the Reds may start dismantling their arms. Manager Dusty Baker, of course, has a reputation of working pitchers into the ground. It's possible that our perception of him is overblown, and that he does not literally shove pitchers' arms into wood chippers, but given the impressive young pitching talent on the Reds' roster and in their farm system, there's at least anecdotal reason to worry.

Cincinnatians, finish your subway and then read this morning's Dugout, after the jump.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Cincinnati Reds.

Once one of the most admired franchises in professional sports, the Reds have now suffered through nearly a decade of futility. The last time they finished above .500 was in 2000, when they won 85 games. The last trip to the postseason was in 1995. Even their gorgeous ballpark is barren for much of the summer, as the Reds finished 23rd in attendance last season. It's safe to say that the days of the Big Red Machine are a distant memory.

If I wrote on every single silly thing that Dusty Baker has said in the two years since he took over the Reds, I'd be the most prolific author at FanHouse. Generally, when Dusty gets into his Baker-isms, I'm content to let him ramble and just roll my eyes and check Fire Joe Morgan. But FJM is gone now and I feel like there's this void in which someone has to discuss the pure lunacy of Dusty Baker.