More than 75 people packed into Fricker’s Restaurant in Middletown hoping to see the Reds advance in the playoffs, but after the 5th inning most had left. Many fans told us that Reds manager Dusty Baker needs to go.
“Get rid of him, got to go Dusty, time to go bro,” said Doug Mathis.
“If they don’t fire Dusty the heck with them (Reds). There was nothing in the dug out, no one to fire them up that’s the whole problem,” said Joe Marshall.
Some fans were also upset with starting pitcher Johnny Cueto who gave up four runs in 3 1-3 innings.
The Reds offensive production also left a lot to be desired.
Joey Votto went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
“If they fell out of a boat, they couldn’t hit water,” said Marshall. “Just a bad season, expectations were too high that’s all I could say, they should’ve been in the World Series.”
While most in the restaurant were Reds fans, we did talk to one excited Pirates fan.
Eric Willis has lived in Middletown for ten years after growing up in Pittsburgh.
“It’s surreal, believe it or not I was 22 years old when that happened (last time Pirates played in postseason), 43 now, we suffered through a long losing streak,” said Willis.
Workers at Fricker’s were also disappointed that the Reds season came to an end, manager James Terry said playoff baseball is very good for business. He estimates sales were 50 percent higher Tuesday night compared to a week ago.
“Had specials for food and beer. We called in extra workers on the floor and in the kitchen, it means a lot for our business,” said Terry.
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