Regular Season

[Redsfan1507]

Devils advocate on Hatcher holding runner with 2 outs: baseball 101 says never make the first or last out at the plate- there were 2 outs...that said, a good 3b coach has to be cognizant of not only the runners ability, but the split second timing of the play, who has the ball and what kind of arm he has... And on a team with limited scoring opportunities, the likelihood of the next guy getting a 2 out hit. BP might have had differing views on some of those things than Hatcher.

101 says you never start the runner at 3b on an unforced pulled ball to 3b/SS either. Often, that's initially not the 3b coach, it's lack of preparation/ understanding of the situation by a baserunner...a brainfart that results in a wasted runner 90 feet from being a run.

No one notices a good 3b coach, but everyone notices a bad one.

A 5-1 start especially against the Pirates is a good start, any way you slice it. Now, the goal should be .500 on the road, but against the Cubs and Cardinals, I'd be satisfied winning 1 game from each, and not looking terrible doing it.

IMO, the days of pitching being ahead of hitting in early season is over. ST more than ever, has become less about getting in real game shape than just going through the motions and not getting injured. Breaking balls may not break/ not as tough to hit in the cold, but they don't travel as far unless they are aided by wind...Chicago is windy, but not at all sure our Reds pitching is more ready than the Cubs.

I do love how these Reds hitters are taking the breaking ball oppage. Not just a cold weather or shift strategy, but a fundamentals must if you want regular baserunners. The Cardinals do that very well.

 

[JohnU]

Early on, it appears the Reds hitters are not flailing at faraway pitches like in the past. One would wonder about that, whether it's perception or policy. I think the top of the order is a lot more stable now and will be even better when the Reds find a hitter at the CF position. Sorry, but I don't see that Hamilton has done anything to improve his approach.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Billy has a great swing...for badminton. They gotta help him- if he just hits .240 he's a weapon. , unlike any other, and this offense responds to his (rare) contribution. Fans booed Stubbs for not hitting, but they still root for Billy. He may be the best CF in baseball, is always a smiling fan friendly guy, has a voice like a cartoon character. His bobble head would probably sell 25,000 tickets by itself. He just has to get wood on the ball more. A lot more.

 

[eburg5000]

Yeah Billy can do everything but get on base. On another thought and it may be a stupid one, I was wondering if Suarez keeps hitting at a decent avg, and power. If they might flip Votto to hitting 2nd and Suarez to 3rd. Might be a little early to think about that. I'm sure Suarez won't keep up the pace of what he is doing now, but I hope can keep the Avg at about 275 to 290 with maybe 25 to 30 Homeruns. Then maybe his success is because Votto is hitting behind him. Just a thought

 

[JohnU]

Suarez is a 25 HR guy so as long as he doesn't try to hit 50, he will be OK. I can see him in the 4 or 5 slot eventually but for now, it's working. 6 games isn't yet a trend.

 

[Redsfan1507]

He didnt show that much power in the minors, if that's an indicator- but really, neither did Frazier. 25 HR in GABP might be 14 in a bigger park...so if true, that makes BP a 8 HR guy in bigger parks ? BP did steal 20 bases last year - a long time between that for him, so for whatever reason, it's tough to project stats from year to year, much less from week to week.

I think baseball is all about adjustments. Pitching will adjust what Suarez is getting to swing at, sooner or later. It's why I'm a fan of not trying to pull the breaking ball...assuming the hitter in question can recognize a breaking ball... part of the problem in previous Reds hitters, IMO. I liked Suarez ( and Bruce and Cozart so far) going oppage occasionally so far. It at least looks like they have a clue.

I think there are plenty of Reds that CAN hit 20+ HR this season, given the PA required. Although the Cardinals were a good example last year that HR totals aren't always the tell all about how much you score, or win.

Last week, the Reds scored in a timely way because they 1) had runners in the first place, 2) moved them more frequently than usual, and 3) hit a few hittable pitches before 2 outs. IMO, the Reds past few years lousy RISP had more than just a choking hitter at the plate working against them.

I also believe scoring early in games wins more often than scoring late, if for no other reason it changes a little bit of starting pitchers perspectives and keeps everyone more within themselves, instead of always pressing to be a comeback hero. The Reds SP are lucky- they have good D behind them. One less thing to worry about. I'd also prefer this suspect bullpen to have a lead consistently, so the offense isn't pressured to always catch up.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[JohnU]

Funniest shit this year ... a couple of guys on the CBS board think Hamilton should be batting 8th ahead of the pitcher who could be able to -- get this -- sacrifice Hamilton 2nd base.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

 

[JohnU]

I think it gets more painful as the season goes on.

 

[eburg5000]

Yeah I read some of that. I don't like to comment there much because it tends to raise my BP with some of the comments I get back. But it is getting better. last year it seemed that if you didn't agree with some on that board you didn't belong there.
I'm not even sure that Hamilton should be in the lineup. but I don't think we have much to lose this year by letting him sink or swim. Mesoraco doesn't seem to have a clue when he's at the plate. He didn't get a lot of bats in spring training but he did get he looked ok. Then again that might of been against low minor league pitching. Could be the constant squatting is affecting him. Maybe if he could play third and put Suarez in left.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Hamilton hit a homer yesterday, unfortunately that won't motivate him to keep the ball out if the air. No one that suggests anyone sacrifice BH has seen him run, or many baseball games they understood.

I'm fissappointed No really even tried to humiliate Lester by taking advantage of his total inability to throw to a base. I would have had the first 3 hitters bunting right back to the pitcher and see how many no throws or better, throws into RF he would have made before losing his head completely. Being respectful is a poor excuse for not winning, IMO. That's a Price error of omission, IMO.

Speaking of mistakes, Finnegan's no no thru 1 out in the 7th was impressive, although his 5 walks is well hidden behind that. The Reds bullpen continued their penchant for walking the first guy they face, and it hurt the Reds. In no Cingrani fan- last night another example why. He's a 1 pitch pitcher, that can't get enough outs with his 1 pitch, and misses in and out of the zone more than he hits his spots. Not sure why Price wants to leave TC in for a couple righties after being unduccessful with the lefty he is supposed to get out, all the time. I know theyre searching for answers, but i think TC at the moment, is no more thanlong reliever on a blowout loss. Jumbo's big fly just ended a game where goving up only 3 hits also included 7 walks, another Suarez error, and a HR. IMO, the high water mark for mistakes by a winning team is dependant on how many the opposition gives back...and shouldn't expect potential WS teams to give you that many.

 

[JohnU]

I think what turned that game and what will turn a lot of games is walking the 7-8-9 guys. Those are supposed to be outs, NOT conduit for the top of the batting order to get still another look at the pitcher who hasn't commanded a simple low fastball. I cut Finnegan slack for youth but when you churn the lineup with walks at the bottom of the order, sooner or later you have to face the top 3 guys for the 5th time.

I agree on letting Lester off the hook with his fielding.

 

[Redsfan1507]

It seems the Reds are looking for pitchers that can sling 95, without asking if they can throw a strike with it.

 

[JohnU]

It seems the Reds are looking for pitchers that can sling 95, without asking if they can throw a strike with it.

Evidently everybody is looking for 95 ... the odds for elbow surgery on every big league pitcher now is somewhere near 100 percent.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I don't think we found out anything we didn't already know about the bullpen last night. The pen is going to be eratic at best. Blowing two 3 run leads the first week only serves to confirm what we already knew.

Walks and no-hitters sometimes go together. A little wildness unsettles the hitter. "Is it going to break into the strike zone or hit me in my ear hole?" makes that pitch on the outside corner all that much harder to hit.

Our good buddy Jim Maloney is king of the no-hitter with walks, allowed (10) in a 10 inning game. AJ Burnett had (9) in a 9 inning game. Nolan Ryan has the most career no-no's with (8) walks in a single no-hitter.

A couple great points above:
Walking the leadoff hitter to begin a inning is a killer.
Walking the 7-9 almost always catches up with you, if not in that inning, later by turning the lineup over.

 

[JohnU]

Our good buddy Jim Maloney is king of the no-hitter with walks, allowed (10) in a 10 inning game. AJ Burnett had (9) in a 9 inning game. Nolan Ryan has the most career no-no's with (8) walks in a single no-hitter.

I think Johnny VanderMeer is a pretty good example of a wild lefthander, pitching the first night-game ever in a ballpark ... and yeah, it sounded like a strike.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

JVM would be the Reds' version of the "wild thing". He's the franchise career leader in walks allowed.
I think Tony Cingrani could catch him if given the chance.

 

[chico ruiz]

by simply visiting the cbs site you lose IQ points. some kind of strange degenerative thing going on over there. not sure, but i think i'm hearing the 'deliverance' theme song repeating. stay away form them parts guys. i'm also hearing something about someone having a nice mouth and a faint raspy, gulping, possibly tormented 'weeeeee…gluh-weeeeee!?!?!!!'

if that's not weird enough for you, there's doc ellis. tripping on blotter when he threw his masterpiece or whatever it looked like to the becurlered one. lots of walks or trails, and lizards or elephant sized umpires. maybe he hummed 'it's a small world after all' to keep calm. who knows? i did see edwin jackson's no-no. it didn't feel like someone had just thrown a no-hitter as i left the trop.

 

[JohnU]

I like their platform because it is fairly well organized. They have upgraded their content quite a lot from the early days when there wasn't much basis for quality.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Simon, Straily, and Sampson have combined to throw 128 pitches in the first four innjngs. Need I say more...... Good Night!