Dusty Baker Isn't Happy With Brandon Phillips' Lack of Hustle

On Monday night things started out well enough for the Cincinnati Reds in their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first three batters of the night all reached base and the Reds took a 2-0 lead before Brandon Phillips came to the plate with Joey Votto on third and nobody out.

Phillips then lifted a fly ball into right field that seemed to be an easy out, but at least would allow Votto to score from third. The problem was that Andre Ethier misplayed the ball and it dropped in front of him. He was able to throw Phillips out at second because Brandon didn't exactly hustle out of the box. After the game Phillips apologized for his lack of effort.

"I was just happy I finally did something with runners in scoring position," Phillips explained. "I hit a fly ball to get the run and I was satisfied with that. I hit the ball in the outfield and was 'I missed it.' I put my head down. I didn't know he missed it until I looked back up. I could have done worse and not get the run in at all.

"I messed up. That's my second time not hustling this year. It won't happen again."

Now while it was commendable of Phillips to admit to his mistake afterward, it still doesn't change the fact that he's had a history of doing this kind of thing. To make matters worse, the Reds would blow their early lead and go on to lose to the Dodgers 7-5 -- something Phillips' manager, Dusty Baker, thinks may have been avoided had Phillips hustled.

"We should have gotten some more in that first inning, big time," Baker fumed. "You have to hustle on that ball there or it's a totally different inning. That was a rally killer for us.

"We've repeated it many, many times. You have to play hard all the time. That was big, real big. We had them on the ropes and we killed the rally."

This wasn't the first time this season Baker has been unhappy with Phillips. In June at Kansas City, he ignored a take sign on a 3-0 and swung. It resulted in a rally-ending fly out.

"We've all talked to him until we're blue in the face," Baker said. "Evidently, this must have started long before I got here."

It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out in Cincinnati, particularly if the Reds fall out of contention in the NL Central. As talented a player as Phillips is, it's becoming obvious that Baker is growing tired of his lackadaisical play, and Phillips may suddenly become available for any teams interested in his services.

In other Reds news, this of the encouraging variety, Edinson Volquez is close to beginning his rehab assignment after getting on a mound for the first time since he went on the disabled list on June 2.

UPDATE: It turns out Baker was so unhappy with Phillips' lack of hustle that he benched him for Tuesday night's game against the Dodgers.