The first rule of sports commentary is “Don’t react to the reaction” but I’m going to take a second to do just that. The Reds have had a rough start. The outfield can’t hit, the bullpen can’t pitch, and the team just can’t outscore the opposition. Many on Twitter have placed a good deal of blame right at David Bell’s feet.
Blaming Bell is easy of course. Last season we blamed Bryan Price for the 3-15 start, and so did the Reds front office, who canned the manager. But Bell isn’t Price, I might remind you. He doesn’t have four prior seasons of losing baseball under his belt, and he has yet to field a team that remembers the point of the game is to have the bat make contact with the ball.