Doc's Morning Line: What do you expect David Bell to do with this Reds bullpen?

A good closer is a manager’s security blanket. If the guy shuts the door in the 9th, the manager looks smart. If the guy doesn’t shut the door, the manager shrugs, explains he was going by The Book and nobody really has a problem.

The Reds turned Aroldis Chapman into a closer. Dusty Baker hugged Chappy like Chappy was a newborn. He resisted any and all efforts to start him. In 2012, Walt Jocketty traded for Jonathan Broxton at the trade deadline. The idea was, he’d be the Reds setup guy the rest of that year. That winter, the Club re-signed Broxton, with thoughts of using him as the closer in 2013. Baker wouldn’t allow it. The Big Man went along.

We’ll never know if Chapman would have been more valuable starting games than finishing them. We do know this: It sure would have been nice to have had him starting in the 2012 postseason, after Johnny Cueto hurt himself in Game 1 of the Reds NLDS collapse.

We know this, too: Given a choice between, say, Gerrit Cole and, say, Liam Hendricks, clubs would go with Cole, every time. Sub in “Scherzer’’ or “Verlander’’ get the same answer.

Old-school statistics have exaggerated a closer’s importance. A three-run save? Ridiculous. So-called “holds’’? An agent’s dream, but they don’t always tell you much.

I’ve said forever that the toughest job in pitching is not entering a game to start the 9th, with a 1-, 2- or 3-run lead. It’s entering the game any time, with runners on base in a close game, and leaving them there.

I’ve advocated for using the so-called closer in the most difficult situations, no matter the inning. They call them “high leverage’’ now. That’s when more games are won and lost, not in the 9th, which can be cherry-picking time for closers.

Teams are figuring that out. They’re mixing and matching late-inning duties. Unless you do have Liam Hendricks, you’re not married to The Book. That makes a manager’s job a little trickier. But it’s the right way to play it.

Which brings us to the disaster that is the Reds bullpen.

It’s hard for David Bell to look smart when his bullpen currently ranks 30th (last) in Baseball in ERA. When its WHIP is 28th. When it has allowed 32 homers, good for 27th place.

When its ERA between innings 7 through 9 is 5.88 (29th) and an astonishing 7.57 in innings 7-9, when the Club has the lead.

You can carp all you like about Bell’s (mis)use of the ‘pen. What he’s basically doing game after game is shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. Santillan has three blown saves, same as Warren. Alexis Diaz has been the favored option lately. In his last 5 appearances, Diaz has pitched six innings, allowed five hits, six runs and two homers. (And has been credited with a save and two holds. See what I mean?)

He started the 9th inning Sunday in St. Louis with a 7-4 lead, allowed two runs and got the save. He entered the 10th Tuesday night in AZ with a 1-0 lead and blew the save.

Now what?

No manager looks smart with a bullpen like David Bell has.

Now, then. . .

OOOOH, JOEY B., YOU’RE IN FOR IT NOW. . .

“If you're not going to outlaw everything, you've gotta, at least, make it harder to get those crazy guns that everybody is using. I don't think you should be able to just walk in there and buy one.’’

What say you, Mobsters? Man is a quarterback, not a politician. (Thank God.) He needs to stick to what he knows, which isn’t gun laws. Ain’t that right?

Poor guy didn’t know he’s not supposed to have a thought about anything but the importance of a good, tight spiral. Should we fill him in?

Public expressions of opinion outside your chosen field are best left to the experts. Such as weasel politicians. And lobbyists, amateur 2nd Amendment scholars and anyone with an opinion different from yours. They have all the answers.

Who’s to argue? It’s worked out well so far.

NYTIMES COLUMNIST Tom Friedman is a smart guy. Here’s his take on the LIV Tour For Soulless Golfers, in the form of a letter to that paragon of human rights, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman:

“It is no easy trick to spend a billion dollars to improve your image and end up with only bad publicity — but your golf tour has done it. Instead of the news pages talking about all the religious and social reforms in Saudi Arabia, the sports pages are now talking about your regime’s murder of Khashoggi and the involvement of Saudi jihadists in 9/11.

“There’s a reason the most respected tour players, like Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods, won’t join your series. They know sportswashing when they see it.’’

MARCUS FREEMAN THROWS SHADE. . . The new Notre Dame guy was discussing how diligent all the football-playing Rhodes Scholars in South Bend are about attending classes:

Freeman then mentioned Ohio State, where he was a star linebacker, and the University of Cincinnati, where he was defensive coordinator.

"You don't go to class (at places like that)?" Freeman said rhetorically. "OK, take some online classes, show up for your appointments. At Notre Dame, you're forced every day to go to class."

I didn’t hear Freeman complain when all his defensive studs remained eligible in Clifton. Shouldn’t he have said, “Man, I’m sick and tired of all these guys taking online classes and showing up for appointments. I want real students, who aren’t eligible to play on Saturday because they didn’t go to the library.’’

It’s holier-than-thou remarks like Freeman’s that could make some folks not like Notre Dame.

It’s going to be interesting to see how ND handles NIL. Players making five and six figures aren’t exactly incentivized to attend Philosophy 101, are they? Get bounced from the Irish, sign somewhere else.

AND NOW. . .

FunMaster David has your weekend all planned for you.

After a long weekend full of cannoli, ice cold drinks and viral TikTok's at Italianfest, the Funmaster is taking a week off from events. Don't fret though, there are still many exciting things happening across town this weekend and I'm here to break it all down.

Kicking things off is CFTA Food Fest at Summit Park this Friday. Over 30 food trucks will rally in Blue Ash to support the Cincinnati Food Truck Association. Running from 11a-10p, you can get a donut for breakfast, some BBQ for a late lunch, jerk chicken for dinner, and ice cream for dessert. Admission and parking are free.

On Saturday, Tusculum Street Fest is back. Celebrating one of Cincinnati's most historic neighborhoods, the event runs Saturday from 3p-9p on Eastern Avenue and will feature food vendors, craft beers and live music. You can bring the young ones as well- face painting, magic shows, and a special Kids Area will be on site. Visit tusculumstreetfest.com for more information.

Finally, it's another great week for local band performances. Model Behavior will rock Hometown Cafe in Loveland on Thursday night, while Doghouse takes the stage at Sugar Ridge Farms on Friday night. To finish off the weekend, Vinyl Countdown will be at Braxton Brewing for their Father's Day Grillout Saturday at 6pm.

If you have an event you'd like to submit, please email davidcincyevents@gmail.com.

TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . This is a very nice album, unscathed by the usually relentless Eagles hype machine. This tune is especially pleasant.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds bullpen doesn't give David Bell many good options