LATOS FINDS REDEMPTION
Earlier this season, some Reds fans wondered why the team had acquired right-hander Mat Latos from the Padres in December for a steep four-player package -- right-hander Edinson Volquez, first baseman Yonder Alonso, catcher Yasmani Grandal and right-hander Brad Boxberger.
Latos does not deny that he tried to justify the trade.
"I let a lot of things get to me," Latos said. "I wanted to impress the fans. I wanted to hit the ground running."
Naturally, just the opposite happened.
Latos, after his ERA rose to 5.20 on June 18, had a talk with manager Dusty Baker, who in his playing days was the centerpiece of a 4-for-2 trade that sent him from the Braves to the Dodgers on Nov. 17, 1975.
"He knew exactly what it was," Latos said.
Latos said that Baker quoted an appropriate passage from the Bible, and the pitcher responded by throwing back-to-back complete games, beginning a run in which he has posted a 2.52 ERA in his last 17 starts.
Baker drives some fans crazy with his lineup choices and other decisions, but few managers are better at relating to players.
