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…dangerously incompetent. Oh, and he’s a fucking idiot to boot. And I hate him.

The Reds season is, of course, pretty much in the same shape as Phil Leotardo’s head. Which is to say, crushed, bleeding and lifeless. I have made my peace with that. Most Reds fans have. All that is left is to take what little joy one can from players that might help them someday not be so objectionable. That means appreciating Josh Hamilton and Brandon Phillips. And, since late last week, it means looking forward to the starts of Homer Bailey.

Bailey, generally acknowledged to be among the best pitching prospects in the minors, is a 21-year-old with a very frisky fastball, reputed good curve, and a decent change-up. And, if the Reds are remotely smart, he should be developed carefully and handled like one would a Faberge Egg. Carefully. Oh so carefully. It means that he is not and should not and can NOT be treated just like any other starter on the roster.

And, given that Jerry Narron is still, for some reason, the manager of the Cincinnnati Crushed Heads, that’s a worry. Because Narron has merrily, in the last two years, placed Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo in the top ten (top five in Harang’s case) in Pitching Abuse Points, and shows no touch, deft or otherwise, in getting pitchers out of games when he should. As a consequence, pitch counts elevate, runners get put on base by tired staters, and games slip away. Like I said, I hate him.

Which brings me to yesterday, when Bailey made his second career start against the Angels. After some problems in the second and third, Bailey cruised through the next three innings, and after the Reds scored three in the bottom of the sixth, had a 5-3 lead against Bartolo Colon. At that point, Bailey had thrown 90 pitches, walked two struck out one, allowed only three runs on seven hits. It was, without a doubt, a VERY positive second start, and the obvious thing to do, given that his pitch count limit is roughly 100, was get him out to start the seventh. No reason to run him back out there and push his pitch count to the max. NO reason to jeapordize what had been a very effective start.

So, of course, Narron runs Bailey back out. And a tiring Bailey promptly walks the first two batters he faces and is THEN lifted, after putting runners on base for a Reds bullpen that is as bad as I have ever seen. Nine batters and six Angels runs later, the game was out of reach, and Jerry Narron had added to his building legacy of managerial incompetence.

Sweet God but do I hate him. If someone in the Reds’ front office doesn’t get to Narron and explain that there have to be some rules for handling Homer Bailey or fire him, they all should be put into the incompetents hall of fame. If I have to watch the Reds ruin Homer Bailey’s development because they do not understand the value of pitch counts and slowly building his innings in a way that makes sense (he pitched 140 in 2006, he should pitch no more than 170 this year), I am close to running amuck.

At some point, seriously, don’t the people that run the Reds have to acknowledge just how incompetent Jerry Narron is? And, if they do not, doesn’t that say plenty about their own incompetence?

Good lord, I hate them all.