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Reds should make winning more important

Dragons show spirit  in loss

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By Marc Katz, Staff Writer 1:36 AM Thursday, July 2, 2009

By the time Doug Dascenzo made it to the Chicago Cubs in 1989, he had already participated on winning teams in low Class A, high Class A, Class AA and Class AAA.

“We stayed together as a group,” said Dascenzo, now manager of the Midwest League Fort Wayne TinCaps. “And when we got to Chicago in 1989, we won the division.”

Then Dascenzo began “perfect world” talk, and it was obvious he wasn’t going to put a stamp on a right way and a wrong way.

Observe this, though. The San Diego Padres, proud parents of the TinCaps, moved up four players only after Fort Wayne won the first-half Eastern Division championship last week.

What do you think the Cincinnati Reds would have done with similar players? I’m guessing they would have moved them up before the first half was over and watched the Dragons deteriorate, favoring individual development over learning how to win as a team.

Three of the TinCaps moved — first baseman Matt Clark, third baseman James Darnell and outfielder Sawyer Carroll — represented the bulk of Fort Wayne’s offense, but it hasn’t seemed to matter that they’re gone. In the TinCaps’ first four games of the second half, they scored 33 runs.

Of course, that was against South Bend, which is having its own problems.

Game 5 came Tuesday night, against the Dragons, which went 0-11 against Fort Wayne in the first half. Yet Dayton won 5-3.

Dayton has augmented its lineup along the way with contributing players, but no high draft choices or highly touted prospects.

That’s both good and bad. While the team finished out of the playoffs in the first half, no significant players were lost to promotions (well, maybe pitcher Mace Thurman), as has happened in the past. They can improve as a team.

Entering Wednesday’s July 1 game with Fort Wayne, the Dragons were 3-2 and feeling good about themselves.

Dragons manager Todd Benzinger said he wants the Reds to be known as a winning organization.

“Back in my day, if you faced the Tigers or Pirates (in the minors), you knew they weren’t going to beat you,” said Benzinger, who enjoyed a nine-year major-league career after playing parts of seven seasons in the minors. “If you played the Yankees, that was something different.”

As of today, five of Cincinnati’s six minor-league teams have a losing record, with only Class AAA Louisville on the winning side.

Somehow, the Reds have got to make winning more important.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157

or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Dragons INSIDER MARC KATZ

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Marc, are you still mad the Dragons didn't get a lot of talent this year? Lets see, you're getting Fellhauer soon. You have gotten Means. You have Puckett, Fairel, Sulbaran, Wiley, Coddington. Come on man. The AA team in Carolina has had Frazier, Alonso, Cozart, Heisey, Henry, Stewart, Wood, and they still have a losing record. Its not about winning in the minor leagues. That would be a plus. Dragons have basically the same team that won the division in Billings last year, minus Buccholz.

Anonymous Poster
3:00 PM, 7/3/2009

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And people seriously wonder why newspapers are going under? Stick to actual news and stop diluting your brand with this sort of underinformed fluff...

RMR
2:54 PM, 7/3/2009

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I just want to apologize for the article. I was doing a piece on Dave Sappelt, but he got promoted to Sarasota. Since it was so close to the deadline, I decided to pull out an article I wrote years ago and change around the words so that it would appear to be new. It's only the third time I've done it this year, so I thought I could get away with it. Anyway, once again, I'm sorry that I'm such a horrible writer. I'm nearing my quota of anti-Reds articles, so please hang tight and keep reading!

Marc Katz
2:30 PM, 7/3/2009

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Yeah the reds should cater their player develop around the ability for their farm teams to win a 1st half pennant...lol. This has to be the most uneducated pile of drivel I've seen written in a long time, and considering the present state of sports journalism that's saying something.

Kenneth
12:45 PM, 7/3/2009

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Marc, you're missing the entire point of having a farm system. You're also not offering a solution to your perceived problem, either. What should they do about this? Demote some good players from Sarasota to help the Dragons win? Keep the roster that's been there all along, even though you admit they've only lost one impact player so far? If they don't have any high draft choices or highly touted prospects ready to play in Dayton, then what's the point of this article?

BK
12:17 PM, 7/3/2009

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