Doc's Morning Line: Baseball is not better without old-school guys like Bryan Price

A year into a three-year contract as Phillies pitching coach, former Reds manager Bryan Price walked away from baseball after last season. In a story published over the weekend, Price told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale his heart wasn’t in it. His explanation might have you nodding your head.

‘‘There’s no reason to do something you’re not enjoying,’’ Price said. “Or respecting the process or the people making the decisions.

“There’s a lot of people in the coaching and scouting departments and the front offices that are saying the right things because they can’t afford to stop receiving a paycheck. There’s an awful lot of people that are working and not on board with what is going on.’’

Price is no fan of the hold analytics have on the game. He scoffs at baseball’s emphasis on launch angles and pitch velocity. Baseball “is hard to watch,’’ Price said.

“We have to appreciate what the people want to see. It’s not necessarily bat flips or pitchers screaming at hitters when they strike them out. The broad picture is, we want action.’’

He also suggested managers’ hands are tied more than ever before. “I long for the days where managers make out their own lineups and make their own decisions,’’ said Price. “There’s (only) a handful of guys that do that now. Now the front office is telling you who’s going to play, how you’re going to use your bullpen and pre-define your moves as a manager.’’

He didn’t specify a team or teams he was talking about. Whose decisions did Price not respect? Did Price make his own lineups in Cincinnati? He managed the Reds for four full seasons, from 2014 until he was fired 18 games into the ’18 season. He did praise the Phillies, saying, “they embraced what I had to offer.’’

Price concluded with this: “Some of the people that have the loudest voices in this sport are the guys that have the least amount of experience.’’

A few things: Price might be old school. He never apologized for that. He might be bitter, but he sounds pretty content in Nightengale’s story. He’s also very bright. He had no problems voicing his frustration with a Reds organization he felt was not unified when it came to teaching young players, up and down the system. I don’t recall him ever saying he was told whom to play. As for his ability as a manager, the results speak for themselves, though it must be said, the Reds were tanking during his time in the corner office.

His frustration with today’s game is shared by anyone not wedded completely to analytics. It is a less exciting game. The obsession with statistics is a reason why. Launch angles, power pitching, defensive shifts, etc., have conspired to dull down the game.

Price is 59. I spoke with him in Goodyear in March. He was enjoying family time, especially after the season of COVID. He expressed many of the same thoughts to me, off the record, he provided Nightengale. The game is not better with old-school guys like Price out of it.

Your thoughts.

Now, then. . .

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS. . . Credit where it’s due. As long as we’re talking about managing, can we spare some love for David Bell? You might not like the guy – disliking managers not named Lou has been a local passion for 30 years – but his calm demeanor is a reason this team has stayed afloat.

His decision-making can be questioned, but it’s not rash. Bell has been patient and has not overreacted to bad stretches. That’s had a good effect on his players. The best thing a manager does is help to set a tone that gives players the best chance to succeed. Finding a balance between setting and meeting expectations while also keeping players confident and comfortable isn’t easy. It can be about lineups, it can be about atmosphere. The Reds seem to have very good camaraderie and I haven’t noticed anyone pressing. The clubhouse seems good. That helps.

They’re not overachieving. The Reds are about where we figured they’d be. But the potential to overachieve is there. Suarez appeared as relaxed as he has all year this weekend. India might have found a home atop the lineup. Votto’s presence (and results v. Colorado) is meaningful.

More:Daugherty: For Reds' Vladimir Gutierrez, pitching must be the easy part

No one knows what’s next for Vlad Gutierrez. For the moment, his three starts have kept the rotation afloat. Castillo has been better, Miley and Mahle solid.

And of course, the Batmen. Winker and Castellanos will not maintain their current freight-train pace. Or will they? In 32 years here, I’ve never seen anything like what those two are doing now.

Meantime, I guess the Cubs are for real, though I have trouble believing in a rotation that has Zach Davies and Jake Arrieta at the top. The Brewers can throw three very good starters at you, but unless Yelich starts to mash, their lineup is beatable. And the Cardinals, minus 60 percent of their rotation, are scufflin’ big time.

Bullpens are going to be huge. The Cubs' pen has been very good, the Brewers throw flame in the late innings. Looie has been a juggling act. The Reds, we know about. Not good.

We said it was a mediocre, winnable division in March. Nothing’s changed.

WHEN I WAS LOOKING FOR A NEW TEAM to replace the dreadful-and-don’t-care Pirates, I considered seriously choosing the Giants, who do more with less than any team in MLB, including the A’s and Rays. Name one current Giant not named Posey, win fab prizes chosen just for you.

(Cueto and DeSclafani don’t count. So, Brandon Crawford. But you get my drift.)

Their beautiful ballpark was privately financed. Ownership needs to sell lots of tickets to pay the mortgage. Who doesn’t like that bit of added motivation? They’re in a division with the blue-blooded Dodgers and everyone’s darling, the Padres. Underdog would be understating it. And yet. . .

The Giants, baseball's best and most intriguing/mystifying/idiosyncratic/just plain weird team, are a mostly interchangeable collection of players orbiting around three or four foundational veteran position players. They have the best record in the National League and are leading a division that also contains the Dodgers and Padres, two teams who have pulled off the kind of boldface moves that would make finishing behind the Giants both embarrassing and objectively hilarious.

That bit of great writing from Tim Keown at ESPN.com sums it up nicely. The Giants are almost always good, sometimes better than that, without a Betts or a Buehler in the bunch. No Tatis Jr. there. Just one guy with more than 30 RBI, one guy batting better than .280. That’d be Posey, the 34-year-old catcher. We hate Posey here. Anyone with a long memory can tell you why. But he’s having an all-star season at a time when he should be putting his managerial resume together.

This is a team and an organization that’s very easy to root for. I’d have made the leap of faith and trust, except I can’t stay up till 2 every morning to watch them. I backed off Oakland for the same reason and I can’t bring myself to go to my hometown team, the Nationals.

Tampa Bay by all rights should have my heart. The Rays don’t grab me, and I can’t tell you why. Maybe because Tampa doesn’t deserve to have major-league baseball, and really doesn’t deserve the Rays.

So, still team-less.

DEAR USGA, please pair Koepka with DeChambeau Thursday, in the first round of the U.S. Open. Do not let slide this rare opportunity to increase interest in the game. Thank you.

BECAUSE TV IS MY LIFE. . . We’re watching the HBOMax series based on the Colson Whitehead book, The Underground Railroad. Not as good as the book – few shows/movies are – but solidly entertaining. And no, this underground railroad wasn’t real. The story is fiction.

TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . I hate moving. Have I mentioned that? As the dreaded Day approaches, I’m losing sleep, breaking out in rashes and screaming primally into my pillow every few hours. This is a good tune, though, on what was an exceptional debut album. The rest of their stuff wasn’t so hot.