Reds Resurgence

[WvuDieHard]

As an old time Reds fans, I am beginning to smell it. I am seeing signs of better baseball and not just in hits or runs. I am seeing confidence again. Frazier is an ALL STAR and the hitting Coach Long has turned him around. Frazier even says so. No more swinging at balls low and away for Frazier who now leads NL 3B is most categories. Then there is Billy Hamilton--he is becoming a better hitter everyday. OPB is .320+ and doing it with his feet, glove and bat. Right now Choo seems like a distant memory. Votto is back and stroking it well. BP is hitting it again leading the club with 18 doubles. Meso and Cozy are hitting it well. Then there is the starting pitching. With a strong Latos back, JC as good as ever, Simon getting it done big time with 10 wins, a more consistent Homer 7-3, and Leake--the Reds starting pitching is as good as there is in Baseball or at least very close. The Set up man and the closer are very good. So the glaring weakness right now is middle relief but it may not matter if you keep hitting the ball. Reds have 33 hits in 2 games and getting it done at the top of the order. So we are 6.5 out, 5 in the lose column. After 70 games, we are back to .500. At this point, the Reds will most likely have to have at least 90 wins to win the division. Folks that is 55-37. That is .598 baseball--certainly not impossible. I believe the Reds are gonna make a run--too much pitching and the hitting is starting to click.

 

[bengaldoug]

Color me hopeful, but not sold as of yet. I need to see this hitting continue for the next month or so to partially buy in, and I need them to prove they are no longer the Cards' bitches to totally buy in.

 

[JohnU]

Watching the game today and realizing that there are just games you can't win, it never fails to amaze me how guys like Clint Barmes can get 4 hits and be plunked with a pitch, score one on a balk -- and how Jeff Locke, with 7 hits in 73 plate appearances, can draw a walk.

 

[Redsfan1507]

In baseball, where the number of games played dwarfs other sports, the metrics of single game anomalies usually mean less in the greater scheme of things. Trends tend to drift toward the norm over time. I think the old addage of 1/3 of games are going to be wins, 1/3 losses, and the real difference is in the 1/3 up for grabs. If 50 games is that number, and 35 of those are 1 run differences, how you fare in those is a clue as to which end of that wicket your team resides. When you get the lead has a factor in which parts of your roster have to defend it. Timing is important. Ours isn't close to being great yet.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The Reds have played .600 ball in June and have lost 1.5 games to the Brewers during the same stretch. They have trimmed one game off the Cardinals lead in the wild card race. The Brewers, Cardinals, and Dodgers have decided to kick it into gear along with the Reds.

It's always a tough task running down multiple teams. Made tougher when the other teams are equally talented. The head to head divisional matchups are going to be crucial.

Getting back to the 5th seed should be seen as the goal at this point.

 

[JohnU]

As much as a streak can be good, it can be bad and it depends largely on matchups, luck and who is available. Phillips is likely to be out against the Cubs. How that affects the Reds lineup is pretty clear. Santiago shoves Cozart up to the 7 spot. That is not a recipe for scoring runs.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I'd be finding another position (LF?) for Mesoraco's bat when he isn't catching. Might have to wait until off season to start that, but it's hard to ignore his season so far. Very Bench-like at the plate, but he isn't going to get close to 500 AB.

 

[JohnU]

I think we have another Keystone Kop coaching third base for our Reds.
I guess I try to score from 1st base IF ...
a. It isn't Votto running on a bad knee
b. It isn't Phillips running on a bad heel.

Never mind asking about that stuff, Smith.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Any doubts about these Reds right now? Winners of 4 in a row and thoroughly man handling the Giants. These Reds might not catch the Brew Crew but they will contend for a wild card as they currently stand 1 game out. The Reds best baseball is still to come. During this little streak it has been BP, Cozy and Bruce getting it done. This is exactly what it takes for the Reds to contend.

 

[eburg5000]

I hate to sound optimistic, because it just ain't me. But it's still early, and the Brewers pitching can't hold out. I think they are do for a big slump. Now the pessimistic side of me, which is the real me. Says, I said the same about the Pirates last year.

 

[JohnU]

I hate to be the fair weather fan but last night's game was a sheer joy to watch.
It proves why closers are dynamite and should not get too close to a lighted match.
Ideally, you want more than zero runs through 8 innings but hats off to Simon -- again.
What turned the game for me was that the infield was able to make two plays in the 9th, drawn in. If you are the Giants, you can't let that game get away. You gotta score that run. They didn't get it done. In the past, that's the Reds.
That is the sort of baseball that makes it worth watching.

 

[JohnU]

I hate to sound optimistic, because it just ain't me. But it's still early, and the Brewers pitching can't hold out. I think they are do for a big slump. Now the pessimistic side of me, which is the real me. Says, I said the same about the Pirates last year.

It's safe to assume now that the Parrots are a .480 team.
Milwaukee is playing the worst team in MLB right now -- the Rockettes -- so that won't last.
I think winning 2 of the next 4 for the Reds would be acceptable, 3 of 4 would be great and 4 of 4 ... gigantic.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Santiago. Chapman. Pena and Cueto---enjoying the Reds success. Styling and profiling on the plane to San Diego. Got to keep it going fellows!

 

[redsfan03]

It's pretty sad that it took the Reds this long to come up with their first sweep of the season (I'm a Reds fan, therefore I have to begin a post with something pessimistic), but it was an impressive series in San Francisco. Great pitching, bats showed up for the most part, and CLUTCH HITTING. Finally. The two teams looked like they had switched places when the Giants blew the men on 2nd and 3rd scoring opportunity late in game 3. Good to know that the Reds aren't the only team that has mastered that dubious feat.

Hamilton, Frazier, and Cozart have been huge. Who would have thought that the offensive MVP up to this point would be Todd Frazier closely followed by Billy? Bruce is heating up as well. He's almost caught up to Votto in BA.

 

[WvuDieHard]

I think the key to this resurgance is the hitting as the pitching has always been there. In the month of June especially, have you noticed how we are finally getting quality AB's. You dont have to get a hit to have a quality AB. If you work the pitcher 8-10 pitches deep, you have done your job. We are doing that more and more throughout the lineup which in my opinion is why you are seeing more runs scored especially in late innings. Frazier and Cozart have been laying off the low and outside pitches that the scouting reports have drueled over as well. Eventhough Votto is not in true form, he continues to have the best eye at the plate and makes pitchers work their ass off to get him out. At this point, I am pleased with where we are at. This club can beat anyone in the National League in a 3 game series and I expect them to be even more deadlier over the next 2 months. Again, hats off to the hitting coach (Long) who has changed the hitting approach and it is now paying off. We all knew Jerkoby and Dustmop were the issue and we will have more evidence of that as we see the anticpated success come here in the next 2 months. If you are a Reds fan, you have to be excited about how this club is executing.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Optimists think I'm a pessimist. Pessimists think I'm an optimist. I think maybe that makes me a realist.

Opinions are like a-holes, everyone has one, even though some use them for different purposes, I hear.

Here's mine:

Sweeping any team is rare, 4 games is rare plus 1. The Giants normally have a flat tire on offense, and their pitching is slumping. Good timing on our part there. The Cubs suck, and the Padres aren't any better. Better win big on this roadie, or we're just kidding ourselves.

Usually, the Brewers play bad defense and pitch worse. They do hit the ball, and a few of them can run the bases. I expect them to get back to normal at any minute, but they do have 7 games up to blow. On the flip side, the Cardinals are better than they've played, are in the mix for a guy named David Price, have minor leaguers they won't miss immediately to trade for him, and the Reds still need to know how to win a series under the Arch. Pittsburgh's pitching isn't complete yet, and they have a shorter list of hitters that can carry a team than the Reds. The team the Reds are really chasing is the Cardinals.

Joey Votto is a different player than the guy that earned the contract after his MVP year. No meniscus causes that. He's squatted, hands choked up 4 inches at mid chest and spread out like a powerless .250 hitting utility infielder just trying not to strike out. Whatever is in his head isn't translating to body language that looks like he's gonna bust out any time soon. IMO, he's either taking too many meds or needs different ones. It isn't working, and neither will a .260/10/60 stat line at the price he's getting paid.

Bruce, on the other hand, looks better. Unfortunately, he's hoping to get better to about the BA Votto is drowning at. Ditto Cozart, but like Bruce, I like his D. Bruce's HR are needed though, so I'm hoping to see more from him. Hamilton is suprizing, energizing, and a joy to watch, even if he makes a stupid mistake once a week. Mesoraco is the polar opposite of Votto right now. Votto looks like Meso last year, and Meso looks like Votto a few years ago..MVP candidate ( if he could get more than 400 at bats, which he wont get in the current platoon). Frazier is also suprizing, not just for his power, but his D. I'm hoping both he, Mesoraco and Hamilton don't fall back to earth, but it's possible.

LF is another Bafoon platoon, but at least Ludwick's not playing every inning with 6 feet of range and 20 feet of arm to go along with a 12HR pace. Schumaker and Pena were great role player additions, but they need to get more from front line players before I stop liking the overused role players as much.

The bullpen is fine if you don't need Hoover, Parra, Marshall, Cingrani, Ondrusek or anyone named Jumbo. by definition means, the SP has went deep and your winning, and Broxton and/or Chapman is in the pen.

This team begins and ends with pitching and defense. They've added a world class base stealer, but told the rest to run themselves out of some rallies as a distraction. Unless some of those distractions can allow Votto and Co. to hit a few rushed mistakes out of the park, winning against teams that also pitch and play D, and can hit a little too, might be tougher than the last few.

The Reds need to win at least 2 in SD, and then win series against the Cardinals and Brewers. Beat Atlanta more than once a year. Win a series in St.Louis. Play a month without a DL entry. Go a week without a baserunning gaffe...and get into first place. Then I'll be more optimistic.

 

[JohnU]

Optimism and orgasm both start with an 'O' so there's that to work with.
I tend toward pessimistic because the very nature of the game proves that I will be disappointed 70 percent of the time and that the best my team will ever do is win about 60 percent of the time.
I have to be happy with the 30 percent on the one hand and hope that the 60 percent really doesn't turn into a .480.
That established, all that keeps these guys from improving is the disabled list.
It's what put them in the spot they are in now.
Currently, it's hard to pitch to the Reds lineup and these guys know that. Their confidence is high as a result. Pitchers can go into the 5th inning with 0 or 1 on the board and expect to have a chance.
Pitchers who have confidence get people out, don't have to stand in a stretch, slow down the game, put the defense to sleep. The offense doesn't have to take away the bunt option ... can play first-to-third, steal here and there, gamble on an overthrow. The defense can throw to the cutoff man instead of having to gun down the runner at the plate. They don't have to play in to cut off a run in the first inning.
Why? Because the offense can put 4 runs on the board. That's the strategy that won it for the Cardinals and the strategy that didn't work for the Reds -- who are, by the way, striking out LESS this year than last year.
I think the bullpen is better than it has shown. The mish-mash of catching earlier this year was part of the problem. That has stabilized.

 

[eburg5000]

We better just enjoy the way they're playing at the moment, because who knows what the futures going to bring. In a few weeks the All Star game will be played . It wouldn't hurt my feelings if they didn't pick any Reds players. That way everyone can get plenty of rest.

 

[eburg5000]

Just saying I am not a big Fan of the All Star game. I think its the most boring time of the baseball season.. But its good for kids, and some make a lot of money from it

 

[JohnU]

ASG isn't a deal breaker for me either. Expect Cueto and Chapman to make it. Frazier is an outside chance. The thing is, these hangnails and shin splints that start cropping up the day or so before the game lets a lot of new guys get a chance.