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- Apparently even the Reds' play on the field could not save Manager Dick Sisler's job as Owner Bill DeWitt fired Sisler, October 4. The Reds won fourteen games in a road to close within four and a half game of the Dodgers with a week and a half remaining. After Robin Roberts ended the streak in Houston, the Reds still won six of their final eight games yet Sisler still received his pink slip. DeWitt explained the dismissal by mentioning what he termed "psychological reasons." The firing was unpopular with Reds' fans , but perhaps the dye was cast in August when Sisler confronted DeWitt about front-office interference in his day-to-day managing. His brief career as manager was anything but a bed of roses. He took over as interim manager, August 12, 1964, but since it was still "Hutch's team" he had to manage with certain limitations. For Sisler, the almost constant stream of advice which flowed was anything but conducive to security. Anyone who is placed under such strain finds himself wondering whether each move will be the right one. Sisler readily admitted he made mistakes this season. "But," he said, "I profitted by them and I think I was a better manager at the end of the season than I was at the beginning." His club's record certainly attest for that statement, but in the end, it was not good enough for Bill DeWitt.
- It is conceivable that the new manager of the Reds - whoever he might be - will realign the Reds' infield for the 1966 season. This is because there are those in the organization who still believe that Pete Rose should be playing third base instead of second. And by shifting Rose to third and moving Deron Johnson back to first base, the Reds would be opening the way for rookie Tommy Helms to step into the starting lineup. Helms, a consistent .300 hitter in Triple-A, batted sensationally while filling in at shortstop for a week late in the 1965 season. The rookie infielder went to hat 40 times for the Reds this season, and rapped out 19 hits, a .475 clip. Grady Hatton, manager of Houston's Oklahoma City farm club in the Pacific Coast League, is one of Helms' staunchest supporters. "Helms is a leader," said Hatton. "He's a great guy on a ball club. Because of his intangibles, he can help a team even when he's not hitting."
If the Reds should decide to move Johnson back to first base, Gordy Coleman and Tony Perez would become expendable. It's not likely, though, that the Reds will be hasty in trading Perez. As a rookie in 1965, Perez batted only .243, but belted 14 home runs and drove in 52 runs while going to bat only 272 times. Still, the Reds might listen to a tempting offer for the husky Cuban since, in Lee May, they appear to be well fortified for the future at first base. May, who may be a year or two away from the majors, batted .321 and socked 34 homers at San Diego this season.
