Normally I am really depressed around this time a year as a Reds fan. The season is all but over, and the final series starts Friday. Well this year maybe, just maybe I have something to be excited about next year for the Reds.

 

 

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=cin

 

MILWAUKEE -- The Reds decided they don't want Jerry Narron as their interim manager anymore.

They want him as the permanent one.

 

As expected, the Reds officially removed the interim tag from Narron's title Thursday by signing him to a one-year contract for the 2006 season with a mutual option for 2007. Specific terms of the agreement were not announced.

 

"Jerry has earned this opportunity the way the club has responded to him in terms of his leadership on the field and in the clubhouse," general manager Dan O'Brien said. "His focus on trying to play the game the right way is going to be very important to us going forward, and that's throughout our Minor League system all the way to the Major Leagues."

 

The 49-year-old Narron has led the Reds to a 46-42 record since replacing Dave Miley on June 21. The club had winning records in July (17-11) and August (15-12), and its 38-32 mark since the All-Star break is the fifth-best in the National League.

 

"I've enjoyed the last couple months," Narron said. "I think the guys have played hard, and that's made it very easy."

 

Before taking over the manager's spot, Narron had served as the Reds' bench coach since December 2003.

 

This is his second big league managerial position. He guided the Rangers to a 134-162 record in 2001 and '02. Narron also coached for the Rangers from 1995-2001 and worked as bench coach under Red Sox manager Grady Little in 2003.

 

Narron managed four seasons in the Minor Leagues for affiliates of the Orioles from 1989-92.

 

A Goldsboro, N.C., native, Narron played parts of eight seasons with the Yankees, Mariners and Angels as a backup catcher.

 

He is the 58th manager in Reds history and the 48th since 1900.

 

With a 51-percent ownership stake in the Reds up for sale and O'Brien's contract running only through the '06 season, Narron said he didn't expect anything beyond a one-year deal.

 

"Being a baseball person and having a pretty good idea about how the game works, anytime there's an impending sale, [a one-year contract] is about what to expect," he said. "The one-year deal does not bother me."

 

In discussing what he hopes to accomplish now that he has the job full-time, Narron rehashed the same mantra he's been stressing since he took over for Miley: It's the little things that count.

 

"We have to do the little things every time," he said. "That carries over into the winter for guys to make sure they give themselves a chance to be the very best they can be. Stay in shape, so when they come to Spring Training, they're ready to go."

 

Narron said he was excited about opening camp as the team's skipper.

 

"It's going to be about fundamentals, like everybody else talks about," he said. "One thing I would like to see as a staff for all of us is talking about situations and situational baseball. I can just look over the past week and see some of the mistakes we've made on the bases. Sometimes we've tried to take bases we shouldn't have."

 

Narron has to decide who that staff will include in 2006. He said he's not sure how many of those decisions will be made before the Reds wrap up their season Sunday in St. Louis.

 

The pitching coach spot will probably be the most intriguing to watch.

 

Vern Ruhle replaced longtime pitching coach Don Gullett the same day Narron was promoted, and the staff ERA has been whittled down from 5.66 to 4.72. But Narron has downplayed Ruhle's impact when asked about it in the past.

 

O'Brien said Narron will ultimately decide which coaches stay on.

 

"Jerry's recommendations are going to carry the weight of the day," he said. "We'll work together in conjunction to accomplish what he'd like to do."

 

What Narron would like to do, of course, is win. And when discussing the job earlier this week, he said he'd need an improved pitching staff to do so.

 

But Narron remains confident he can turn around a team that will be coming off its fifth consecutive losing season.

 

"For the managing part of it, I have complete confidence in myself to get it done," he said. "I know it's going to take a lot of hard work from everybody. I don't know if there is an ideal situation, but we know where we are and we know we still have a long ways to go. Our margin of error is smaller than probably a lot of people.

 

"We've got to keep people healthy during the season. We have to continue to improve in a lot of areas. We have to do the right thing every time and make the little plays every time. We know to compete over six months, you've got to do it. The teams that consistently do it right the most times are the teams that win."

 

Now Narron has the chance to see that the Reds do.

I think it was a smart move by the Reds