You can tell that Cincinnati Reds so-called General Manager Walt Jocketty is so ineffective by the fact that Cincinnati sports columnist Paul Daugherty is defending him.

RHM favorite Paul Daugherty has decided that Jocketty is awesome and should be praised instead of criticized until he does something to earn his paycheck.

Props to Walt Jocketty.

Good job, helping The Club to three playoffs and two division titles in four years. Thanks for bringing in S Rolen, without whom the Reds don’t win the 2010 division title.

Yes, Jocketty has been the GM when the Reds have returned to the playoffs. That is true. Rolen was a valuable addition in 2010. Unfortunately, he killed the team in 2011 and 2012. The Rolen trade was a short-term boost that was a good move in 2010 that became a bad one later. Rolen is both a plus and a minus for Jocketty’s record.

Thanks for dealing for Mat Latos, who when healthy is a bull and a very solid No.2.

Hell, Latos might be a number one when healthy. That was a gutsy trade. I remember being excited about it when Jocketty made it back in 2011.

Thanks for A. Simon, acquired for nothing, off the waiver wire.

It was a no-risk move when Jocketty picked Simon up from the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. Without Simon, the team’s record this year would be even worse.

Daugherty forgets to mention the trade for Shin-Soo Choo in 2012, but since that coincides with Jocketty’s failure to replace Choo, I understand the omission.

Basically, Daugherty’s grand defense of Jocketty boils down to things the GM did years ago. Those things were good, and my criticism of Jocketty is made in comparison to those. In Jocketty’s first years with the Reds, he was active and competent. His moves addressed weaknesses and strengthened the team. But after the trade for Choo in 2012, Jocketty has become passive and incompetent.

Including the pickup of Simon as an example of a shrewd move by Jocketty does more to show his lack of them now. Have there been no other players available on the waiver wire that could’ve helped this team? Have there been no minor trades that Jocketty could’ve made to bolster the upper minors? With 29 other baseball teams, I find that hard to believe. There was someone out there who was available cheaply and at little risk who would have been better than an unable to play Joey Votto. Jocketty just isn’t trying.

In case you weren’t paying attention to the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend, you probably had a better weekend than most Reds fans. In fact, you probably saw more good baseball being played than anyone who tuned in for the final two games against the Philadelphia Phillies.

After a great start to the series behind Alfredo Simon, the Reds never came close to winning again. They lost 12-1 on Saturday and 8-3 on Sunday. Every part of the team is terrible right now. The starting pitching, the bullpen, the offense, and most especially, the general management.

On Saturday, Homer Bailey lived up to his name, allowing a 2-run home run, along with 4 other runs. Then the bullpen came in to allow 6 more. On Sunday, Tony Cingrani returned from the disabled list and was slightly better than Bailey, but still allowed 4 runs over 6 innings. Again, the bullpen came on to pour gasoline on the fire. The offense was as it’s been all year: incapable of getting hits.

And then there’s Walt Jocketty. Well, maybe there is. Has anyone seen him? Joey Votto missed the weekend series due to an MRI on his knee. So far, it doesn’t look like he’ll need surgery, but he’s not available to play. If the Reds had a competent GM, Votto would be placed on the DL to recover. Sadly, the Reds don’t. And Jocketty once again has forced manager Bryan Price to field an uncompetitive team.

I wonder when owner Bob Castellini will realize that Jocketty should have been replaced at the same time Dusty Baker was. Until then, the Reds will plod along, blaming all their struggles on injuries instead of incompetent team-building.

Yesterday before the Cincinnati Reds lost to the Boston Red Sox in extra innings, Mark Sheldon interviewed so-called General Manager Walt Jocketty about Billy Hamilton.

Team doctor Tim Kremcheck had checked on Hamilton earlier.

“He looked at him and he’s shown some improvement but he’s still the proverbial day-to-day,” Reds GM Walt Jocketty said.

Hamilton had failed in an attempt to swing a bat earlier in the day, having it drop from his hands due to the pain from his swollen knuckles. Sounds like a guy who should be on the disabled list, right?

“Not yet,” Jocketty said. “I don’t know who we’d replace him with.”

Really? The GM of the Reds has no ideas on who to replace an injured player with. This quote is so ridiculous that I can’t even. Jocketty’s job is such that he should always be ready. This shows that he’s either unprepared or incompetent.

Or perhaps he’s simply given up on the Reds entirely. That would explain Jocketty’s inaction for the last year.

The Cincinnati Reds took the 4-game series from the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, thanks to more excellent pitching. Or maybe, since it was Star Wars weekend in Cincinnati, it was the Force.

The lineup on the stadium’s scoreboard showed each of the players in Star Wars regalia. I didn’t catch one for so-called General Manager Walt Jocketty. I imagine that image to the right is the one that would have been used.

Despite any lack of effort from Jocketty, though, the team took the series and found themselves one game below .500 again. Homer Bailey, Mike Leake, Johnny Cueto, and Alfredo Simon, along with the bullpen, limited the Brewers to just 10 runs over the 4 games.

The offense even showed up with some timely hitting, most notable in Sunday’s walk-off extra inning win that was won on Todd Frazier’s 10th inning double. It was a good weekend to be a Reds fan.

At least until this morning, when the news reported that Jay Bruce will be out for a month or two because of an injured knee. The injuries keep coming. If only the Reds had a real general manager instead of a so-called one in times like these.

This has not been a lucky year so far for the Cincinnati Reds. Not in terms of wins or in terms of health. And another one went down today.

Tony Cingrani was sent to the disabled list following his four-inning start against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. He wasn’t happy about it.

“I don’t know why they do a lot of things. I don’t agree with it,” he said. “But if they don’t want me to injure myself, I understand. I think I can keep throwing, but they’re exercising caution.”

I can’t say that I’m happy about him being disabled either, although it’s for different reasons.

There is one good spot of news for the Reds. Aroldis Chapman made his first rehab appearance today. And he did well.

Guessing that will be it. 18 pitches, 11 strikes. 2 K and a line out for Chapman. #Reds #Chapman #Dragons

— ctrent (@ctrent) May 1, 2014

Chapman’s expected back in less than two weeks. Hopefully, no more Reds fall before then.