Deadline deals

[Redsfan1507]

The Reds have done better in the plate suicide department, but they still aren't the sharpest (baseball IQ) pencils in the MLB box.

I'm not sure if the Reds stupidity really causes so many failures, or if their lack of talent just makes them look stupid. Other teams poorer play often makes your team look better/smarter than they really are, and vice-versa I suppose. Lately, I haven't seen too many teams worse than our Reds. Amazingly, losing all that pitching must have adversely affected the offense- (wink) because it's the hitters that can't hit, more than pitching, that is killing the Reds, IMO.

Dusty once said Reds hitters didnt cooperate...but they didnt get bunt or steal signals either, so at some point do managers just stop trying ? The ones that get fired do, for sure...but they ALL get fired, don't they ?

 

[Redsfan1507]

Phillips has had a bit of a rebound season. Votto is fine. Frazier has done well in the HR department, although his BA could be better. Bruce is better than last year ( he would have to be wouldn't he ?), Chapman is still the most dominant LHP in a generation, and Hoover has improved.

Cozart and Suarez have split a suprisingly acceptable SS season. Barnhart hits better than I thought he would. The young pitchers are all ok given circumstances...although the last month of exhaustion is hoing to take a toll, no doubt.

That many positives shows how tough it is to win I suppose.

I wish Hamilton could/would hit more. Mesoraco's absence killed this lineup, and the fact they apparently do not have any inclination to get him more AB when he is healthy and (only) catching 3-4 days a week, looks like another case of ignoring the obvious. LF is still a wasted lineup spot most AB's. Might be a clue there.

 

[JohnU]

In a sentence:

This Reds team was built to contend and the people who were in charge of making that happen have failed.

 

[redsfan03]

The Reds finally unloaded Byrd for yet another minor league pitcher. It seems that they're using the dartboard approach to building the rotation. Throw enough darts at minor league fodder and one of them is bound to become a major league pitcher (maybe?).

 

[JohnU]

The sad fact is that other than Finnegan and Lamb, the Reds have zero clue about whether these guys can pitch at the top level. They are selling the fans a sack of crap about "stockpiling" young arms ... as if there is room on a team for 12 guys who can't pitch better than Curt Partch.
Could be, they will luck out.
I bet against that.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals just go out and get somebody ... and never miss a stroke.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

With last night's loss the Reds have moved into last place in the Central. Seven game losing streak and counting will do that for a team. They're only four games ahead of the Phillies for the worse record in the Majors.

 

[eburg5000]

Well I believe something will be done pretty soon. In the last few home stands I have noticed more fans from the visiting teams than from the home team. Fans don't want to watch their team lose especially when it cost so much to go to the games.

 

[JohnU]

I agree on the fans. The other night, late in a close game, I could easily here 'LET'S GO ROYALS' ... can't wait till the NL-C teams come into town.

 

[chico ruiz]

here's a article on the other red in the choo trade. full disclosure; i get to see him play a lot. i noticed significant improvement through june & july. he was much more consistent in all aspects of the game. i mentioned it on this board a month ago and was promptly shot down with a curt repost that read like a 2009 milb prospectus. do me a favor, please; give me credit for knowing the game, and having the ability to objectively evaluate talent. i'm not being arrogant. i'm sharing parts of mlb that may go unnoticed in other parts of the country. the intent is to start interesting dialogue. no analytics, just the the old unbiased observational eyeball test. did it ever occur to you that some of my longer posts (in actuality, virtually all of them) are made out of respect for you guys? that maybe i thought you deserved more detailed clarity than a 5 minute keying burst of unspecified opinion. for instance, not just a 'jocketty bad / fire now' post, but specific informed reasons, with examples, of why i came to a particular viewpoint. have i disagreed with some assertions? yes. but, i took the time to meticulously and substantively express my augmented or differing propositions. i did this out of respect for the main contributors on this board, not to prove that i might be correct. all i'm asking is that you give me the benefit of the doubt. nevertheless, it's good to see a player / person like didi doing well in the big shitty. he came to the yankees under difficult circumstances. he could have easily melted in the nyc scrutinizing media heat. he did not. in fact, his entire game has improved. it's a testament to his untapped developing talent and character.


A month into his New York Yankees career, there were a lot of things Yankees fans were inclined to call their new shortstop other than "Sir,'' the appellation he adopted after being knighted as a member of the Dutch national team that won the 2011 Baseball World Cup.
Suffice it to say, no one was considering him an adequate replacement for Brendan Ryan, let alone Derek Jeter. His first month's batting average was .206, his OPS .499. He had made a few errors on embarrassingly easy plays, and a few even more embarrassing baserunning blunders. His baseball instincts seemed too miniscule to measure. At best, he looked like a placeholder until the Yankees could find someone better to hold down a position they hadn't had to worry about for 20 years.
But little by little, Didi Gregorius has grown into his role, and grown on the people who watch him play every day. He's still no Jeter and probably never will be. But he's a far cry from the unmitigated disaster who took the field for the Yankees on Opening Day.
"I've never seen a player make that big a jump,'' Brian McCann said after Gregorius had a career night Friday in the Yankees' 15-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field, with four hits, six RBIs and his second home run in two games. "He's turned into, you know, a great baseball player. Offensively, defensively, running the bases. He's been great.''
Truthfully, Gregorius began making the turn a lot earlier than the results began to appear in the box score. Back in April, he had a few sessions on the practice field with Alex Rodriguez, who was a pretty fair shortstop in his day. Throughout May and June, he worked on his swing with hitting coaches Jeff Pentland and Alan Cockrell. And as he relaxed in his new environment, he began to show better judgment on the field and on the basepaths (although he is still inclined toward the occasional flashy but ill-advised play when trying to force a double play).
But the real results began to show in July, a month in which Gregorius hit .317 and raised his OPS to .786. He hasn't had that kind of August, although his last two games, in which he has gone 6-for-9 with two home runs, two doubles and eight RBIs, have raised his batting average for the month to .273. Overall, he is batting .260, with five home runs and 24 RBIs.
Gregorius is not one for deep introspection -- neither was Jeter, to be perfectly honest -- and he can't really tell you what caused his early struggles as a Yankee, or what has caused his sudden and significant improvement.
"Just with all these veteran guys I have here, I’m here to ask questions, trying to get better,'' he said. "I talk to [A-Rod], I talk to [Carlos] Beltran, I talk to all those guys. I pick their brains, ask them about certain situations, where I should look, that kind of stuff. That’s one thing they’ve all been helping me with. Everybody’s here helping each other out.''
But McCann has a theory that squares more with the belief that the move from the National League to the American League, from being a part-time player -- Gregorius spent half the 2014 season in Triple A -- to being the Yankees' everyday shortstop, and going from relatively laid-back Phoenix to relentlessly judgmental New York took its toll on the 25-year-old from Curacao.
"I think he's just letting his instincts play now,'' said McCann, who went through his own adjustment period last year and is a much better player this season. "He's flying all over the field defensively. He's making every play, and it's been fun to watch.''

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Didi had a pretty small sample size in Cincinnati...so I didn't get to see him play much. The scouting reports always listed him as a defense first type SS.

I know he struggles against LHP, but is much better when he has the platoon advantage. Looks to like the high strike pitch which is easier to serve to the opposite field....so I assume his nice stretch of hitting probably has a fair share of opposite field hit's mixed in. Doesn't walk much which seems to be inherent to most Reds' prospects with accompanying low OBP. Improved plate discipline leading to more BB's and increased OBP and hitting opposite field would be beneficial to his success....but isn't that true for most middle infielders and hitters in general?

I remember Brendan Ryan coming up with the Cardinals. Had some descent years to start his career, but hasn't hit much in the American League. Stephen Drew's career has gone in the crapper as well. Wouldn't Jorge Mateo be seen as the future SS for the Yankees?

Plate discipline and hitting the opposite field are two skill sets you don't see being developed in the Reds farm system. IMO, it's the two biggest factors in the poor hitting with RISP we see annually from the Reds. Generally when you see a hitter that is effecient going opposite field, they also hit above average with RISP. Players that aren't effecient going to the opposite field are giving 1/3 of the plate to the pitcher...that's a huge disadvantage to the hitter, especially when behind in the count. Too often Reds' hitters are swinging at a pitchers pitch when they are in good hitting counts. When ahead 2-0, you're suppose to take the low away pitch instead of hitting it into a 6-4-3 inning ending mistake. I'd prefer they take the borderline strike one and hammer the pitchers mistake later in the AB. All pitchers make mistake pitches, the more pitches you make them throw the higher your odds of getting that mistake pitch.

 

[JohnU]

Being able to objectively evaluate talent ... that comes in damned handy.

Seriously, an analysis of the Reds doesn't need to be a treatise.
They need players who play better baseball.

See how easy that is?

 

[Redsfan1507]

It's never easy being the first "replacement" for a legend. Only a few Wally Pipp to Lou Gehrig stories out there.

As far as hitters suddenly "figuring it out", there are so many possible contributing factors, it's impossible to quantify...if anyone could, it would be more lucrative than gold and heroin combined. ERA's in the NL are lower for more than just pitching to pitchers. instead of DH's. There are some philosophical differences in NL /AL...but I think Didi has a better hitter on front and behind him than he did in Cincinnati or Arizona...and THAT makes a BIG difference in the pitches you see as a hitter.

I DO believe the "philosophy" differences from team to team can sometimes make or break players, depending on how they're wired. The Yankees have arguably the most media scrutiny and greatest pressure in MLB. The big media circus isn't for everyone..some crumble, others start listening and working harder.

Personally, I'm not in favor of a "laid back", less pressure environments unless you have a team of veteran All-Stars in their prime. I think the kinder, gentler, more compassionate baseball attitudes do far more harm in fostering complacency in young players, than it does in frustrating them with greater pressure. It doesn't do any good to give them low standards and no sense of urgency, but players can't learn much without PRODUCTIVE veteran players and effective coaches around them, either....and ultimately, if the bonus baby knows no one is taking his MLB job, motivation is always suspect.

I'm a believer in work ethic, and uncompromising adherence to sound fundamentals... and it flat isn't born in every player...Edwin Encarnacion was a lazy ass without competition, that played un-inspired defense and rarely hit much before mid to late summer with the Reds... but woke up after the Jays sent him down. Paul O'Neil was a very Bruce-ish hitter as a Red, but a perennial All-Star as a Yankee. Joe Morgan is one of the rare players that peaked with the Reds compared to his other teams, but he joined a legendary BRM roster with high expectations, too.

Honestly, I think our Reds have been a piss-poor motivational / developmental organization, for a long time. You can't teach a 100 mph fastball, or 75 SB speed, but you sure can teach a guy with MLB potential to make contact more than 70% of the time, to put down a bunt on MOST attempts, and not to run into unforced tag plays at 3b on grounders to the SS. Our Reds farmhands are largely low fundamentals IQ when they arrive on the big club, and aren't educated much more after they get there. If that continues, JohnU is right- they have to draft more players that don't need developing.

 

[chico ruiz]

good points by you guys, and i do enjoy the sardonic wit. the irony being; it reveals people's real feelings. but, it does make you wonder what is going on in reds farmland. it's very difficult to avoid that question when you consider what h'n'r is seeing every game at GABP, or what we see statistically, and on our monitors.

i look at winker's OBP, and i feel some optimism for an outfield spot. on the other hand, thinking about hamilton and bruce, coupled with your posts, makes me feel nauseous. looking at a box score makes me queasy, and when you see it live and in person -game after game- you want to stick a finger down your throat. as a reds fan, it really is that bad. maybe castellini and jocketty have too cozy a friendship. i don't know. i do know that, on the face of it, the buck doesn't seem to stop anywhere in that organization. how can you move forward when no one takes responsibility for anything?

i've read a few articles lately that are directly and indirectly related to the above conversation. it's a time lapse of how the game has changed and how, in a lot of ways, it really hasn't. how stats can be integrated and implemented successfully when a organization works in tandem that speaks to hit and run's post. work ethic and strict adherence to fundamentals in development mentioned by 1507.


Cooperstown Confidential: Why Bob Howsam isn’t in the Hall of Fame

The Great Analytics Rankings

How the Royals use baseball analytics

 

[JohnU]

Analysis being what it is, explains a lot.

What is not explained is how the Reds can be completely overmatched by every single team in the NL, almost without exception.

The explanation, if there is one, should be made completely transparent to the fans.

When I see rookie or retread pitchers shut down the Reds offense without a whimper, I no longer wonder.
When I see Reds rookie pitchers literally get shelled by similar hitters, I no longer wonder.

We are now on, I believe, our 37th left fielder since 2008.

 

[eburg5000]

Well, when we get depressed thinking about the current situation of the Reds. Us older fans. can close our eyes and think of the BRM, and the 1990 Nasty boys. Because after all is said and done. We (older folk) well probably never be close to seeing the Reds again in another World Series.

 

[JohnU]

The fun part for me is the annual Latin-speaking utility infielder that Walt appears to need.
DeJesus is this year's version. I'd guess somebody named "Cabrera" is up next year.