Most of the topflight managers have it. Call it the "Feel."
The "Feel" can incorporate many things.
It can be manifested in an ability to massage and manipulate a lineup to maximum effect.
It can be a sixth sense that tells you when to use a pitcher and when to avoid him like the plague.
It can be a hunch that dictates whether you turn aggressive and initiate the action or whether you sit back and let the game run a more leisurely course.
Having the "Feel" can uplift your team and win you plenty of games. Without it, a manager can prove to be a definite liability.
Given what has befallen the Reds as of late, there's a question just begging to be asked. The answer might very well be a determining factor as to whether Cincy can remain a contender or tumbles by the wayside.
Simply put, does Jerry Narron have the "Feel" or any sort of a facsimile of it? On first blush, the response appears to be resounding no.
It's rather curious that up to this point in the season, the Reds' skipper has taken very little heat. To this reporter, he's been given a hall pass. For whatever reason, Narron has gotten the kid glove treatment.
Maybe folks are hesitant to bash Narron because he's reputed to be a decent guy with seemingly little ego. Narron also scores points because he rarely complains and is loath to publicly criticize any of his players.
But in the bottom-line business of major league baseball, being a good soul or not ripping your club doesn't amount to much if you're faltering in other more pressing areas.
And some of Narron's genuine faults are starting to crop up like a lawn full of weeds. Nobody's perfect and Narron seems hell bent on proving the point.
It would be one thing if Narron's transgressions were minor and insignificant. If that were the case, you'd be more inclined to cut him some slack because their impact wouldn't be as dramatic.
But Narron's mistakes have been growing more pronounced and costly. Lately, he's been decidedly more wrong than right.
Narron's list of current weaknesses are mounting.
He's been completely lost when it comes to trying to get anything out of his middle relievers.
He stubbornly stays with pitchers even when it's apparent they just don't have it.
His efforts to tweak and fine-tune a lineup that's been erratic have produced no tangible results.
His unwillingness to play more small ball is confounding and proving to be damaging. The bunt and the hit and run are too often ignored in the world according to Narron. His over reliance on playing for the big inning is reaping puny results.
Narron is also more reactor than pro active. Rarely does he seize the moment. Instead, he waits until dire circumstances literally force his hand.
For instance, how many winnable games were blown before Narron belatedly turned to Todd Cofffey to be the closer? Or how often did the manager let victory slip away because he stuck with such undependables as Chris Hammond, Rick White, Kent Mercker, Mike Burns and David Weathers?
Tell me when you're done counting!
The point is that a manager worth his salt doesn't keep repeating the same mistakes. But instead of learning from his gaffes, Narron seems to wear them like a badge of honor. Would someone with the "Feel" continue to make such blunders?
Now, it's not this writer's contention to infer that Narron is without his positives.
On balance, he's done a decent job of stabilizing a team that was reeling in the wake of Dave Miley's tenure. To his credit, Narron has brought a respected and calming presence to the locker room.
He's also done a reasonably good job of finding playing time for most everyone despite the fact that the Reds are overloaded with infielders and catchers.
But being merely adequate or tolerable isn't what the Reds need. At this stage of the season, they need a skipper who can steal them a few victories. A manager who's got an intuition about what to do and when to do it. In other words, they could desperately use a leader generously imbued with the "Feel."
There's no arguing that at this time, Narron doesn't have that gift. Put another way, he doesn't have the touch or the knack.
Now that's not to say that he's incapable of acquiring it sometime in the future. Stranger things have happened. Perhaps he'll wake up one morning and have an epiphany.
But after a brief stint in Texas and what amounts to a year in Cincinnati, Narron still hasn't found it. The "Feel" escapes and eludes him.
And it's hard to imagine the Reds going anywhere with a manager who must do without it.