One question I had going into the 2008 season was whether Trey Hillman would attempt to bring a Japanese baseball style of managing back to America. And if he did, how would the modern American ballplayer take to it?

Looks like my question might have been asnwered:

It didn’t matter Thursday that Ryan Shealy had just hit a game-ending homer for a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Surprise Stadium. Or that the Royals had just won their fourth game in a row. Or even that it’s just spring training.

Hillman had seen too many base-running mistakes earlier in the game.

His solution was to gather the entire team at the plate for what amounted to a 15-minute lecture in full view of the Diamondbacks and the departing crowd of 5,539. Hillman then spent another 10 minutes in discussion with veteran second baseman Mark Grudzielanek near third base before initiating his postgame news conference at the dugout.

Love it. Nagashima style. I also found this bit (via Baseball Musings) concerning leadoff man David DeJesus’ OBP and how Hillman is trying to get him to raise it.

Of course over in Florida, in the Reds camp, there’s a manager trying to go the opposite direction, telling Joey Votto and Adam Dunn…yes, Adam Dunn…to be more aggresive at the plate.

In reading about Dusty, this hot on the heels of the Corey Patterson signing, and then reading about Hilllman pulling the team back on the field for running drills, I could only think of one thing:

Fuck.

It’s here that I should state my given right as a Reds fan to bail on the team in favor of another at any point during the year. I’m not one of these true blue, die in the wind fans that supports my team through thick and thin or whatever. If the ships sinking I bail and head for the next one that supports me. I’m not going to watch a sub .500 team waddle through August and September. No thank you.

I knew that at some point I’d have to lay this out for readers. I didn’t expect it would be this early in spring training. I’ll probably write an extended version of my thinking closer to the  start of the season.