Barnhart

[JohnU]

I keep liking this guy more and more. He makes solid contact even when he makes an out.
Great glove.
I think he's going to get a lot of innings this year.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The latest update on Mesoraco was 7-10 days until he can catch.....of course he was day to day two weeks ago. So there will be opportunities for Barnhart to get a few starts.

His defensive fundamentals are better than Mesoraco and much better than Pena's, but he's the weakest hitter of the three. He really struggles against LHP.

It'll be interesting this winter to see if they sign a veteran backup or go with Barnhart. I'd suggest he make a good impression with the bat while he's getting the opportunity.....it worked for Negron last year. Ain't been working too good since ST though.

 

[JohnU]

Barnhart is actually a pretty good lefty hitter, the home runs being an example. He hits the ball with authority from the left side. I think his weaknesses against lefties will be endurable.

 

[Redsfan1507]

He's got an opportunity, it's usually about what he died with it. Going deep last night is a good sign.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

They obviously see him as a possibility or he wouldn't be third on the depth chart the last two seasons.

If a hitter is going to struggle in a platoon matchup being efficient against right handers is better than being efficient against lefties.....there's a lot more right handers. There's a boat load of left handed hitters that are making a good living that can't hit a lefty. Shin-Soo Choo comes to mind and most Reds fans never seemed to notice he hit .215 with zero HR's against LHP when he was here. He walked and got HBP enough to have a good OBP against LHP, but left a lot of runners in scoring position in LHB vs LHP matchups.

Drew Stubbs was a RHB that couldn't hit RHP and looked like a far worse player because the Reds had him getting most of his AB's in his far weaker platoon split... 50 points lower.

Choo and Stubbs would have been a formidable platoon tandem with Choo getting most of the playing time . Mesoraco and Barnhart while not as athletic as those two could nonetheless work as a nice tandem if their AB's are properly allocated to take advantage of their strengths. Mesoraco would do most of the heavy lifting....but preferably less running and sliding leading to missed game time. I like seeing him trotting around the bases much better.

Jocketty has a history of putting together dysfunctional rosters since he's been in Cincinnati. Ludwick and Heisey would be a good example....both stronger against RHP...leaves a team unable to matchup in late inning situations. Both Dusty and Price are/were poor at creating matchups, but a roster of clones never helps.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The team that has success with a roster of clones is the Cardinals. They have like minded hitters that work well together. The Cardinals play with a left and a right shoe....the Reds have two left feet.

 

[JohnU]

My thinking was exactly that on Barnhart. I saw the kid hit a few times last summer and noticed he made real good contact hitting from the left side. He's a game and his arm is real strong. OK, enough about him.

What about Mesoraco? Well, let's assume that Barnhart does come around and ... then what? Pena isn't going to be a force next year, if he signs again. I would not oppose that but he's no spring chicken. What if Mesoraco can't catch? Do we bring up Skip Skipworth or Chad Wallach? We move Mesoraco to left field? If so, where does Winker play? Do we trade Winker? Let's leave it up to Byrd.

I always believed you never have too many catchers in the system. I'd sign as many as I could. Corky Miller is nice for 10 days. Dinosaur Navarro ... those guys, great to have. Hell, Jason Kendall played 20 years because he could stay healthy enough to field balls in the dirt.

I remember a kid named Tom Prince, who was the only guy from my slow-pitch team to make the majors. Tommy signed with the Pirates and I told him at the time ... stay healthy and play a long long time. He did both, always as a backup, nobody ever heard of him ... but he was always available.

 

[Redsfan1507]

No one prefers platoons, but of you're trying to win and are short of balanced matchup everyday guys, not using an obvious one looks like ignorance or incompetence.

I think there is enough evidence that lefthanded makes a difference in baseball, and a team that doesn't have LHSP is missing the point. Less than 10% of World Champs over the last 50 years have won it all without one, and one of those oddball, all RHSP champs beat a team that didnt have a LHSP either. Until that trend changes, I'd be finding a LHSP...especially if the best one in 25 years is in your own fucking bullpen waiting on a RHSP to go 8 innings so he can actually pitch in a save situation.

There are lots of RH hitters that play everyday hitting .230 against righties and .290 against lefties, and vice versa for lefty hitters. The problem is if their splits are more like .180/.280 and they arent platooning- It makes them .240 composite hitters- if they had a platoon partner with same, I'd rather have a platoon .280 than composite .240 for sure. Jay Bruce's power potential gives him some possibly undeserved PT there maybe. It's all about inability to hit a breaking pitch going away from a hitter, and hitting it better breaking into the sweet spot from the opposite handed pitch. Might seem like a small issue, but it's been a problem for about a century.

If nothing else, 2 LHSP in the rotation keeps the opposition from keeping the same lineup in a groove for an entire series. Teams with lots of LH hitters do pretty well against the 2/3 of pitchers that are RH, and teams without any LHSP are at a distinct disadvantage to those lefty hitting lineups. IMO, a couple of LOOGYs in the pen are a weak attempt at nlt having an occasional LHSP, after you've given those lefty hitters 3 AB's already against the RHSP. I don't have empirical data, but I think most games are really won or lost in the first 6 innings than in the last 3. I'd play to win as many of the first 6 innings of games as possible.

 

[JohnU]

The data was out on the Reds pitchers a year about about opposition batting average the third time through. Latos was a real big red flag on that. Homer Bailey was too, off and on. I simply cannot believe the Reds did not attach some importance to finding a lefty starter after it was clear that Cingrani can't get the job done. Hell, even Paul Maholm would have been an upgrade over Marquis.

(or not)

I think the pencil approach to this two years ago was that David Holmberg was the man to add to the rotation. Clearly that didn't work out but to be fair, that was a fairly sensible supposition, at least at the time.

 

[Redsfan1507]

If love to see the Reds with excess depth at any position. That, isn't a problem, it's an answer. If they have 3 catchers and 2 of them can play other positions once in a while, we won't need Negron to play 1b anymore. Remember when we had Hannigan, and Mesoraco and Grandal ? They traded Grandal for a SP. Then traded Hanigan to give Meso PT, and signed Pena, who wound up being a 1b half the season. In a good organization, there should always be a lot of pitching, and a glut of OF's, and people that can play 1b, because anyone that is blocked at 1b or 3b or SS should be able to play LF, and you should already have OF's in the system, even if 1 out of 100 becomes a pitcher, like Lorenzen. 1b is catching, without swatting. Never seen a C that couldn't play 1b with 3 days practice. Most of them (C) just don't hit enough to play 1b, or they already would have been.

A bad hip or knee is a death sentance for a C, if they hit, worse than an injured throwing arm- half the C in MLB can't throw that well-if they hit and call a game someone will sign them...but if they can't do 150 squats a game they can't play the position. If Mesoraco can't be recovered or surgically altered to catch again, he has to find another position-or DH. I doubt he's ever played any other position since high school, where, if he's like most other MLB players were, he probably pitched. That switch isn't likely this year, so I'm hoping for a non-Kremcheck miracle healing I suppose.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I'd have sent Chapman to the rotation 3 years ago, and kept Broxton. If Dusty hadnt bought in, I would have fired him after the 2012 3 game home post season debacle. Might have anyway. Wasn't Bell available then ? Wouldnt have mattered much, to me. Anyone that has the next Big Unit, no LHSP and insisted on making him the next Jeff Brantley, deserves to be an ESPN employee anyway. Price would have still been the Reds pitching coach or possibly managing the D-Backs or some other sub .500 rebuild. Chapman would have built up to tossing 200 IP by now, and I'd take my chances on the pen after 15-16 guys had already struck out.

Sniping from my seat is always easier than the real guys life, huh ? Maybe I'm just bitter because in my day, best players played and old, injured or undertalented dudes (like I was) got cut and became coaches, or salesmen or bartenders...and now it seems, a lot of those guys get to take up roster space and draw a CEO type salary.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I'd use the data available. The roster limits all decisions, good and bad. The GM and manager should always be on the same page on players and roles. I've seen lots of holes in that philosophy with the Reds. If you watched Moneyball, you see it isn't always a smooth transition, but the GM can trade guys the manager insists on playing too much. That dugout staff is gone, all the players ate different (and equally unrecognizable) but Billy Beane is still there with his methodology, and the A's are still consistently the poorest team in the post season, about every year. There are other ways to win, but ignoring facts and signing random low OBP whiffers and control challenged pitchers makes it tougher.

 

[WvuDieHard]

We have 3 pretty good catchers so trade one of them and get a goddamn relief pitcher. This team needs to make some trades. This is a 90 loss team right now.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Right now, they only have 2 catchers, and 1 (Pena)is probably going to be at 1b while Votto serves a suspension for bumping the umping last night. Mesoraco is a pinch hit only guy with his hip impingement (don't understand why he isn't on the DL), so Barnhart is going to get some PT at least in the short term. If Meso had to have surgery, Barnhart would get a lot of PT. He's not going to be Mesoraco at the plate, but he may be the best mitt catcher on the team, and has shown enough of a bat to believe he wouldn't be a zero. More AB's might just be what he needs.

 

[JohnU]

I think Boesch can play a little 1B and they could shove Frazier or Negron in there. It's going to be 3 games, probably. The fine will be enormous! What wasn't conveyed last night was what Cole said to Votto to get him to react that way. Clearly Votto was upset with the ump's call and his own inability to produce. But that's not Cole's problem, so I would guess he said something to the effect of, "what's the matter, superstar, can't hit me?"

I was listening to the obviously myopic Parrots announcers who seemed to focus on everybody but Cole in that. Clearly Votto said "fuck you" and the ump thought he was saying that to him. But it's obvious Cole said something to piss Votto off.

 

[JohnU]

I see where Jarrod Saltalamamamamamamaaachia, cut by everyone since 1992, is still getting a contract. If you can catch and find your way to the post-game spread, you can play in the majors after you get there.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Yeah, it sucks Votto allowed one borderline bad call take him out of his game-literally and figuratively...he clearly missed the next 2 swinging strikes, and although the ejection was probably premature, throwing equipment is an ejectable offense regardless of anything said.....and the rules say you can't make contact with an umpire...even though umpires clearly can make contact with players- the 2nd ump entering the discussion clearly put his hand on Votto, in a restraining kind of way.


Votto will serve a little suspension, possibly a token fine for him, that would hurt normally compensated people.



I suspect more to the story no one will ever know...Sometimes there is some posturing and body language and comments made by players and/or umpires during commercial breaks, or between innings, not noticed by fans. Sometimes carried over from some forgotten indescretion in the past...some people just don't like other people-and umps are not immune. Not saying this applies to this instance, but there are some umpires that start with an attitude like someone is paying to see them.

Maybe Conroy misunderstood the direction of an insult or profanity, but there are a few unwritten rules that might have been broken on more sides than just Votto.

Pitchers don't want to be "dissed" by a hitter acting all frustrated by missing a pitch the hitter acts like he thinks he should have crushed, and hitters are offended when pitchers celebrate too much or are degrading to the hitter after a strikeout.

As a catcher, I was tought as long as you don't turn and face the ump where fans can see you challenging him, or call him the magic word ("cocksucker" always gets you tossed), you can say almost anything to the ump, from the safety of the mask where people can't read your lips. Hitters aren't as protected from lip readers, and don't get that much leeway at jawing the Blue. The best at it smile while issuing sympathy for his loss of vision, then say thank you for setting me straight there..

Umps have ways of sending messages too...If he's not wanting to make a scene, he just tells you to shut up or take a shower. If he want's to toss you, he takes his mask off and gets in your space...Conroy could have easliy asserted his authority by warning Votto first, instead of just the quick hook, especially done so quietly that Votto didn't even know he was tossed until he came out on defense and was told to get off the field....another "chickenshit" way for the ump to show the player up. If this would have happened to a Bobby Cox player, I guarantee he would have gotten tossed too explaining that, in a profanity laced tirade on the ump, finishing with the magic word.

It will be interesting to see how Conroy treats Votto & his strikezone the next time around. If it becomes a vendetta, I expect Price to be the one ejected next time, not Votto.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Mark Sheldon reported Votto making a trip to the umpire's dressing room post game. Votto didn't elaborate on what he was doing, but one might assume he was apologizing or something of that nature.

With Mesoraco unable to play defense and Cozart banged up a possible suspension comes at a bad time. Suspended players count against the 25 man roster, so the timing of Votto's suspension, Cozart's return, and Mesoraco's future availability could leave the Reds a bit hamstrung.

I'd assume they'd either appeal the suspension to postpone it or possibly DL Meso if he hasn't improved. Day to day injuries can't be avoided, but suspensions punish the entire team.

 

[JohnU]

He'd be wise to serve it in Chicago. Mesoraco will DH anyhow so he's on the field. There will be no need for pinch hitters in interleague. I doubt it gets resolved that soon. Next chance is on the 19th in the series at KC.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

After watching Negron play SS last night ...I was thinking more defensive than offensive. Being brutally honest...one of the Reds' pitchers might be a better PH option than what we've seen in the farm system recently. Not so sure I want to see if Michael Lorenzen can play 3rd base if Frazier had to leave the game injured or Pena decided to dive into 1st base again. Ten position players available with two being catchers is pretty thin defensively.

 

[JohnU]

Price's mismanagement of the 7th cost the Reds a run, Pena at first base, should have been taken down for a pinch runner. As it was he was an easy force at 2nd base, with the tying run at 3rd.