mustthis go on?

[JohnU]

5 runs in 3 games. We can blame somebody but if we don't start with the hitting coach,, why bother?

 

[Redsfan1507]

3-10 on the road...good for 5th place. One game over .500 though...about one win off Dusty Baker's lifetime percentage. Isn't this a typical every other year kind of start ?

 

[JohnU]

It literally BOGGLES my mind that EVERY SINGLE PITCHER the Reds face either pitches a shutout, or goes 7-8 innings of low-hit, low-walk, low-stress baseball. When you have no LOB, that's good -- if you scored 12 runs.

Honestly, at what point does this team start kicking water coolers? Votto looks like a spoiled brat who is getting cheated. Bruce swings like I would and Cozart has mastered the infield popup and the 2-hopper to short. Frazier is a great line drive hitter -- 1 hop to third base so that the 5-4-3 DP is effectively turned.

I don't need to hear this yadda yadda about it only being the first day of May ... this isn't going to get better and anyone who thinks it will is drinking Busch-flavored Kool Aid.

 

[WvuDieHard]

I agree this doesn't look good right now. What is most alarming is the same old mistakes and same old approach to hitting. Folks it ain't working. Dusty and his band of misfits need to be fired right now and ran out of town. Spier is a bum too. Anytime you have an ex Giant and a manager who is an ex Dodger--you should be concerned. Other than Price, they need to run every last one of them off and go find Jim Riggleman and bring him in to lead this club. The problem with Dustmop and his idiot coaches is that they obviously don't teach because I am not seeing improvement--just the same old bull shit.

 

[eburg5000]

I wonder what the book is on the Reds, There has to be one that states the obvious flaws with the Reds hitters. Probably. don't give the reds anything to pull. Pitch low and away, and let them get themselves out. Votto just walk him.

 

[JohnU]

They've been going inside strike on JV for strike one, then low and outside for strike 2. He can be defensive all he wants but it's not going to work often enough. Votto is trying to pull the ball lately and it's breaking his back.

 

[Duffy]

Let's bring back Stubbs. We could at least blame it on him when he was around here.

 

[Redsfan1507]

It's a game of adjustments. As an admitted fundamental fanatic and tireless perfectionist, I expect all coaches and managers to be same, with the ability to apply sound work ethic to those principles. I think you play how you practice... we don't see practice, all we see are results.

It's also a game if streaks, but it should be rate when they become epidemics. The pitching has been consistently good, but I don't believe pitchers are decidedly more talented than hitters...so we tend to blame hitting coaches, with only subjective evidence. What is objective, is observing how fundamental plate philosophy and base running is applied... and when hitters aren't doing it on their own, it shows more when you don't advance leadoff base runners. Dusty may be no more dependent on hitters than anyone, but he lacks attempts at advancing runners- it shows in LOB and too lowfrequency of RISP with less than 2 outs. That isn't new. Hitters have to hit better, AND coaches and manager HAVE to be smarter... or this has no other possibility except continuing.

 

[JohnU]

I'd buy into tactics with RISP ... IF we ever got anybody to first base. Going through the lineup without as much as a sniff and then hoping to get to the pitcher the second time through is a trend, a habit and a strategy, it appears.

First, your starting pitcher has about an 80 percent chance of winning IF he gets an early lead.
Second, the other team is probably going to score sometime in the first 3 innings, which brings me back to the first point.

Reds hitters are puny, at best, in putting anybody ON base, let alone getting them to second or third base. And they are doing it against EVERY pitcher they face, not just the good ones.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Like it or not this team hitched it' s cart to Ryan Ludwick and the hopes that the 2012 rookies were not going to regress. Cozart and Frazier have regressed to this point and Ludwick has two BB's. Mesoraco has shown improvement, but when coupled with the loss of Hanigan's above average OBP, the catchers have killed this offense as well.

The Reds RHB continue to be dead last in BA in the Majors. Combine that with the lack of production from Votto and Bruce and it's the formula for futility we are currently witnessing. Where are all the doubles we' re accustomed to seeing off the bat of Votto?

The Reds lack depth in the organization to address the problem. If a healthy Ludwick and Hanigan upon their return doesn't improve the run production, this is going to be a long season.

Optimistic fans may be holding there breath waiting for this team to hit. I'd suggest you breath normally and accept the fact that this team can't hit regardless of whom is to blame.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Cozart and Frazier were .260 hitters in upper minors. It just means they had issues with lesser competition. You can hope they improve against better competition, but they can't if they continue to do the things that restricted them before...they will over time, makes outs on a few that were hits in AA. I haven't seen a lot of evidence the Reds do any better at developing talent at the MLB level, than they develop in the minors.

Sometimes as in Homer Bailey's case, they learn by getting their head beat in... and sometimes like with Drew Stubbs, nothing changes them . I think the Reds draft pretty well, but don't often develop skills they didn't already have. It's a shame, but players have to be told they have a problem before they'll work on it...and "you strike out too much" isn't helping them. Jay Bruce has hit the ball to LF more... But is still K'ing a ton and hitting .260-ish. It's a slow process sometimes.

 

[JohnU]

I think we were all pretty happy with the idea of a .240-.250 hitter at SS, but I don't think we wanted him in the 2 spot in the order. Then again, Dusty read in the Old Testament that the CF leads off and the SS bats second.

 

[HammerDown]

How can the Cards be on a 3-game streak and yet the Reds are only 2 games back? Just wow.

 

[JohnU]

Could be the Birdos run out of luck eventually ... but I picked up Mujica for my fantasy league. I'd rather finish last in fantasy than 2nd in real baseball. Gotta wonder if Mujica can really close out ballgames over a long stretch of time.

 

[smokerch15]

The Reds are 16-14... by my count, they are 9-2 against the likes of Philly, Miami, and the Cubs. Quick math shows 7-12 against the others, including 2-7 against StL and Pitt... the two teams ahead of Cincy.

I know it is early May, but 30 games in, the trend is not pretty.

 

[JohnU]

The curious part of this is that 30 games in, still no games at all against more than half the league. It's hard to tell who's good and who's just hot.

 

[eburg5000]

I know who isn't hot