Reds manager Dusty Baker has trouble even thinking about next year.
"I don't know, man," he said, after his team's season ended with a collapse. "I'm kind of numb in this situation."
A 6-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday knocked the NL Central champions out of the playoffs far earlier than expected. The Reds won 97 games and their second division title in three years, but couldn't get that elusive home playoff victory to move on.
Make it 17 years now since the Reds have won a postseason game at home.
Baker's two-year contract ends after this season. Owner Bob Castellini is fond of Baker and talked last February about giving him an extension. The question is whether the front office is ready to make a commitment to Baker after the Reds lost in the opening round of the playoffs again.
"I'm not sure where my career is going here in Cincinnati," Baker said. "We're going to talk about that in the next couple of days. But I'm not through managing yet."
A day after the final rally of Oakland's surprising season fell short, manager Bob Melvin had a tough time looking ahead, the sting of losing still too fresh. He planned to fly home to New York on Saturday.
"If you want to go back and reflect on what the expectations were, probably pretty remarkable," he said, sitting in his office Friday as players trickled into the clubhouse to pack up their belongings. "But once you get into it, you are who you are, and it's a pretty empty day."
Josh Reddick, whose big bat fueled a stunning run to overtake Texas for the AL West crown on the season's final day, struck out 10 times in the series, and the A's finished with 50 Ks - the most in franchise history in a five-game series.
"We came a long way and accomplished a lot, so we're obviously upset that it didn't go very far," Reddick said. "But on the other hand we're very proud of everybody's accomplishments this year, personal and team-wise. I feel like we made a huge mark on this league."
Elsewhere: The Braves extended GM Frank Wren's contract through 2014. . . . Dave Hansen is out as the Dodgers' hitting coach. He has been offered another job with the team.
