The next 12 games ....

[Hit-n-Run]

I think Marquis had 105 pitches thru 6, I don't think we'll see him surpass that number. To be honest I'd take it until the wheels fall off the wagon.

Was a beautiful day to be at GABP. A sellout with a pretty quite crowd, not much to cheer about. Lots of missed opportunities to score. Both starters had relatively low pitch counts when they exited the game, especially Wacha with 76 in 6+ innings. The Reds did a overall terrible job working the count with a lot of 1-2 pitch ABs. Cueto wasn't getting many swings and misses today, but pitched well enough to win. One earned run and he's saddled with a loss in the box score as if it's his fault. Wins and losses for pitchers is one of the most over rated stats.

 

[JohnU]

Reds have one of those comfortable .130 team batting averages.
Honestly, I hope Marlon Byrd is appropriately sorry for the way he pretends to hit.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

It's all part of the Reds doing their part to speed the game up. Two and a half hour game and it could have been quicker if those selfish Cardinals would swing at everything the pitcher threw up there instead of trying to be professionals.

 

[JohnU]

That is a long-term trend by Reds hitters. At least Bruce strings it out by missing all three swings. Byrd is doing his part too.

Let us not overlook this is going to at least be a 4-2 homestand, a desirable outcome.

 

[eburg5000]

not really after a 4 and 0 start. but if we can get this one today I'll be happy. But 4 and 2 isn't bad either. I don't want to be to greedy here

 

[JohnU]

Marlon Byrd is a complete fucking waste.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Every fucking chance in the world to avoid losing the series against the Cardinals as the Card pitchers were handing out walks. BH gagged, Byrd gagged, Meso gagged, Frazier gagged, Phillips gagged as he couldn't even bunt but managed to strike out and the greatly over rated Jay Bruce gagged it out. All these bums had chances to win the game today and failed. Absolutely pathetic. We used to blame Dusty but now you have to blame Walt for hanging on to some of these losers as long as he has. The hitting acumen of this team is high school stuff. Swing at everything, don't work the count, and take one down the gut for a 3rd strike call. I guess when you know the guy behind you in the batting order sucks, you might as well swing for the fence and hope for the best. This team is going nowhere at the rate it is hitting and I mean under .500 before the year is out. I see no reason to believe otherwise with a middle relieve core poised to blow leads like 5-3 8th inning lead today.

 

[JohnU]

Gotta say, not much reason to be optimistic after this one.

 

[eburg5000]

That was a frustrating game, no doubt about it. The Reds couldn't lay down a bunt for nothing. I disagreed with having Philips bunt, The Cardinal pitch couldn't throw strikes at that point and when Philips couldn't get the bunt down it just gave the pitch momentum. Also after the first 5 (arguably only 3) in the order you might as well have the rest all pitchers batting.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I take no solace in a 4-2 start. There's nothing in these first six games that should make any fan believe this team is a contender. When a team fails to execute as much as this team does on such a consistent basis offensively, the odds are heavily stacked against it's success. The excuse "it's early" doesn't apply when we're talking about players that are a known commodity and it's a continuing trend that is well established.

Votto, Frazier, and Phillips are 8-23 with RISP, the rest of the roster is 0-27. Too many key ABs with hitters lacking plate discipline. The pitcher is bearing down in run scoring situations and Reds' hitters are looking for "get ahead fastballs" swinging at balls out of the hitting zone. It's a easy scouting report for opposing pitcher's to execute, don't throw a strike.

The use of the roster can be perplexing at times. Runners on 1st and 2nd with no out they left Cingrani in the game to bunt. Yeah, he's a pitcher and pitchers often sacrifice bunt. But he was moved to the bullpen in ST and had zero game time ABs dating back to June of last year and it didn't take long to figure out he was a bit rusty. Leake and Marquis are both pretty good hitting pitchers and have been preparing for game ABs. Another questionable decision was to try and get a second inning out of Gregg with Parra available and a flock of Cardinal lefties coming up in the inning. Parra doesn't exude confidence in most, but any option has to be better than the odds Gregg was going to be successful. Any time KG gets three outs it's time to head to the cashier before house odds snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The pitching has been as expected, starters making early exits and a bullpen unable to cover the innings. The hitting has been atrocious beyond the three hole and injuries aren't to blame.

Poor hitting, pitching, management, and another series loss to the Cardinals.....PRICELESS!!!

 

[Hit-n-Run]

They went into ST looking for cheaper options for the bench. It appeared early they were looking for a LH and RH power bat off the bench and settled on Boesch and Dominguez. Both have looked over matched in a small sample size since ST ended.

If nobody has noticed, the Dodgers optioned Chris Heisey to the minors prior to Opening Day. I still can't figure out why the Dodgers had interest in trading for him, maybe that $2.5M was burning a hole in their pocket. Must be nice to be able to afford bad decisions.

 

[JohnU]

Heisey was probably a favor being called in by Walt.
I agree on the hitting. What I saw this last week from Byrd, Cozart and Bruce turns me to stone.
Dominguez hasn't made contact yet that I can tell. Boesch might be OK with the PT that he won't get behind Byrd who was never an upgrade over Ludwick, salary aside.
If they couldn't get a win out of Cueto, they ain't gonna get too many in Chicago with Leake, Desclafani and Marquiz. Depends on which way the wind is blowing. If out, the Reds pitchers are fucked. If in, the hitters are fucked, which they were anyhow.
I think now 10-8 tops on this first 18 games.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Not many surprises for me yet, other than the back of the rotation performed better than I expected. This is a game of streaks, and this team may be more probe to larger / longer downward swings than fans would prefer. Lots of hitters that aren't right now, and when you lose 4-1, it's the offense...but-yesterday's loss was all pitching, IMO. 5 runs ought to win a game- especially with a 1 run lead into the 8th.

4-2 homestand beats 2-4, for sure. The Cubs aren't great, and although they haven't got rolling yet, the Cardinals tried to blow yesterday's game too. The Brewers pitching makes the Reds look good. The Pirates have as many holes as any NLC team. It may be a close division, and you can draw your own conclusions if mediocrity constitutes parity.

Mesoraco was already a little beat up before he had to take 3 foul balls and a HBP after Pena went lame. Probably going tp have to move a catcher up if Pena cant catch today even if he isnt DL...maybe they'll toss a pitcher- Gregg would be my first choice, but its early bad timing gicen Bailey is due back 4-17. You can count the times Byrd has made contact on one hand, but there are an amazing number of strikeouts all over MLB right now. Teams that pitch and play D have a chance in every game. Unfortunately, I don't have much confidence in the Reds bullpen, or in starters 3-4-5 more than about half their starts.

If the Reds play .500 on the road, I'll be thrilled, but I wouldn't count on winning more than 1 in St.Louis. Dunno if the will see Lester in Wrigley, but the fact he "doesn't feel comfortable throwing to a base" should be interesting if Hamilton (or anyone with speed) gets on base.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Watching Cozart hit doesn't get anyone's adrenaline flowing, but he had a descent series this weekend. Four hits in the two losses, none were in run scoring situations, but he set the table a few times. At the moment his slash numbers are .250/.318/.350, not great numbers but if maintained a big improvement over last season.

Bruce and Hamilton continue to strike out too much, both are tied with Byrd for a team high 7. Byrd hasn't shown anything but his age to this point. Three years removed from a PED suspension and two subsequent high strike out 20+ HR seasons aided by doping. The juice seems to have stopped flowing. Byrd has yet to walk this year which is never a strong suit for him anyway. But Bruce and Hamilton have shown more patience at the plate drawing more BB to start the season increasing their OBP to .357/ .360 respectively. Hamilton's .250 average might not be too far off from where his talent level places him, but with a .350+ OBP he'd provide what is needed from the top of the order. Jay Bruce is looking like he could return to 30+ HR form, the average may never get above .235-.255 range. Can't continually hit ground balls into the shift and expect more. He'd greatly benefit from more base runners on 2nd to alter the defensive shift as Votto is receiving with Hamilton.

John's comment on Phillips is spot on. The guy either needs to accept his spot in the order or take a seat. IMO, he's been pouting all season and the bunt attempts yesterday looked half hearted. He's a fan favorite in Cincinnati, but he's got to be the worse team player I've seen in town..... maybe ever. He's the most over rated defensive second baseman I've seen win a gold glove in Cincinnati. His play in the pivot is terrible and hot dogs many plays making them more difficult for the sake of showmanship. I'd take the workman like Joe Morgan defense and IMO, the best Reds' defensive 2nd baseman I've seen Pokey Reese any day. Brandon has spent more time falling down and failed diving attempts this season than time on base. A tell tale sign his range has diminished significantly the past couple seasons.

Mesoraco has struggled hitting a high % of ground balls for a normally flyball type hitter. He got off to a tremendous start last year going 27 for his first 54 ABs and his slash numbers declined the rest of the season hitting .235 the last 300+ ABs after being moved up in the order. His power numbers were good throughout the season, but he may really only be a .235-.245 hitter with power and 125 strike outs. Good production from the catcher position, but the average is a little low for a clean up hitter. He may still improve upon those numbers and be a force in the order. Great kid and I hope he does. A lot to like with Devon Mesoraco.

Frazier and Votto have provided the damage to this point. Frazier has to be the best out of balance hitter in the league. He's a much better hitter when getting fast balls early in the count and still needs to improve his pitch recognition cutting down on his tendency to be a guess hitter. Has done a better job laying off the breaking balls diving off the plate, but needs better discipline in run scoring situations to be successful in the three hole. Votto is looking more like Votto.

The pitching is as expected and it's hard to imagine that will trend in the right direction as the season continues. There are small sample positive signs of improvement from a few players, but the inability to execute at key moments remain a stumbling block.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I agree with 1507 on Mesoraco being banged up. All players get bumps and bruises, but the catcher much more and has to be taken into account when judging offensive production. Got to tip your cap in appreciation because those guys are warriors.

There's a reason Johnny Bench had his monster years early in his career. The positional wear and tear zaps their production over time. Imagine the career numbers JB would have put up playing first base. But his value behind the plate was so great it complimented his great offensive production furthermore. May never see another catcher like that again.

 

[JohnU]

I think everyone in this lineup is who we thought they were, just didn't expect them to all be that all at the same time.

What wins pennants is for the guys like Cozart to have MONSTER weeks where nobody can get him out. Or Mesoraco getting 5 HR in a 3-game series ... stuff that won't happen twice. What we got from Votto was exactly that, and partly from Frazier and Hamilton.

What we got from Hoover was about the most interesting part of this. I found myself rooting for him to come into the game instead of almost anyone, including Jimbo Diaz. I found myself wishing it was Negron coming to the plate in the 9th or 10th instead of some of the usual regulars.

The clubhouse mantra of it being a "whole roster" is exactly that but there are times when somebody just has to step up and do extraordinary things -- Byrd and Phillips clearly are not doing that. In fact, nobody off the bench has done chit yet. I recall an old spare outfielder named Jerry Lynch who would come up as a pinch hitter and rake one into the Moon Deck. Lynch in the Pinch!

Our pinch hitters go up there and if they are lucky, actually see 4 pitches before they strike out.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I think Boesch and Dominguez have struck out 8 of 9 ABs. The rest of bench has been OK in limited opportunities.

I agree John with the primacy of players stepping up. Scouting reports dictate that the stars aren't supposed to beat you, pitchers manage trouble by pitching around them to get to lesser players. The lesser player rising to the occasion can't be accounted for and increases a team's ability to beat the scouting report strategies.

Hoover and Diaz are similar from a end result standpoint. Both are prone to the occasional walk and a blast. With Gregg it looks more like Standing Operation Procedure.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Leake v Lester tonite. I didnt realize until last week Lester hasn't thrown to a base since 2013. How does that not work into a game plan ? Better steal some bases tonight.

Desclafani v Arrieta Tues. 2nd look at the rookie.

Marquis v Wood Wed. 2 soft tossers, but Reds struggle against lefties.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I saw that stat on Lester while watching the Cubs/ Cardinals last Sunday night. You'd think teams would plan to bunt and run on every opportunity against that guy? The Royals played small ball effectively last season and Lester was 3-0 with a 2.61 ERA in the matchups. Ironically they never stole a base against him in 25 opportunities.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I'd be bunting, running, moving all the time against him. Lester's a good pitcher, but he's not unhittable, and he walks guys occasionally. AL teams with the DH don't steal or bunt as much. Say what you want about NL baseball, but it does make teams use more resources- not just pinch hitters, but tactical resources too. If Price truly bieves himself a thinking mans manager, we should see something with Lester tonight, unless he tosses a no-no.