The Positives thread

[JohnU]

Kinda running out of things to say here on the thread other than the Birdos and the Parrots are having a tough go of it ... not that the anemic Reds offense has noticed. Never mind. I think we're still third in the league in some offensive category. Not like getting 1 run against the worst team in the NL is anything to notice.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Yea, yea. Third in runs...amazing how a frequently anemic offense can also have do many LOB too. Kinda like the Reds scoreboard listing Dusty as the 16th al time winningest manager, leaving out he's also the 18th all time losingest manager too.

The good news is, the Reds have a lot more games to be mathematically eliminated than games behind, and the wildcard contenders look exceedingly like playoff pretenders... Cardinals excluded of course, who seem to take a little fraction of an opportunity and turn it into the entire solved equasion pretty often.

About all the Reds can do, is do what they've done in the last week. Win. It doesn't matter how they win, just that they do. The Cards have the worst record in yhe NLC since the A-S break, and that probably won't last. The Pirates haven't made any roster moves to add artillery, so I assume they intend on using the troops they have to the end...and before then, the Reds, Pirates and Cardinals play each other quite a bit. We'll see.

 

[JohnU]

Parrots are "winging it" it with Wandy, the one guy the Reds will face 11 times between now and Labor Day.

The idea is to take some of the load off Cole, who probably would be on an innings governor ... and might still be.

Yadi will be back soon for the Birdos, and that will make them tougher to beat.

Did I see the Reds actually trying to steal bases this weekend?
Could be that is a challenge to the offense. I assume Phillips will move back into the 2 hole now. I would think he needs a game or two to get readjusted. Really, he should not ... but this is, after all, the Positives thread.

 

[JohnU]

Yea, yea. Third in runs...amazing how a frequently anemic offense can also have do many LOB too. Kinda like the Reds scoreboard listing Dusty as the 16th al time winningest manager, leaving out he's also the 18th all time losingest manager too.

You do realize that Cy Young lost 316 games.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Cy was in a 2 man rotation. Different game. If they used a 2 man rotation today, Dusty still wouldn't have a LHSP, and would still have an exhausted bullpen a week into the season.

 

[JohnU]

Over 30 stats, Cy would have had an 18-12 record. Decent. Not quite good enough for the Hall of Fame.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Dusty averages about 84 wins a year. Not too bad, but not quite HOF worthy.

 

[JohnU]

I am also reminded that a guy who hits 25 HR per season is hitting one every week.

 

[Ryanballa]

Reds are starting to hit there stride!!! The Pirates are having trouble on the road (29-27) and they are on a stretch where they play on the road. The Reds are going to win this division,BOOK IT!

 

[chico ruiz]

that could very well happen ryan. it's easy to see a very tight race for the nlcd going down to the last week with 3 teams being separated by a game or 2. they play each other a lot more this year, which is really good for the fans in each city.

 

[JohnU]

Bookin' it, boss!

 

[JohnU]

Seriously, the Parrots have to be getting ready to hit something of a wall after the Denver disaster.
This series with the Birds will shake something from somebody's tree.
Matheny gambled on shifting Waino to this series.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Reds are 1-1/2 games behind Cardinals and 4-1/2 behind Pirates. It's a weeks worth of wins, if the frontrunners went into a losing streak. The closer the end of the season gets, the more dependant the Reds are on others losing. You can't catch up if everyone loses, or if everyone wins.

All the Reds can do is keep logging the W's.

It's wierd, the Pirates beat the Cardinals, the Cardinals beat the Reds, and the Reds beat the Pirates. I guess that means anyone can come out on top there...I like the head to head schedules down the stretch, but a loss is a loss, no matter who it's against, so the Reds just can't afford to lose a series to the spoilers either.

 

[bengaldoug]

Just keep winning series. 2 of 3 is good, but the occasional sweep certainly can't hurt. A sweep in Chicago will add heat to whoever loses the Cards/Parrots series. It really doesn't feel like they've won 5 of 6, does it?

 

[JohnU]

I think, 1 win into a 3-game series, you MUST be thinking sweep. Your mindset has to take you there. You gotta bring your game. Bailey needs his brain tonight. This team isn't going to give him 4 or 5 runs of support.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I think the pitchers get it. Thinking you have throw a shutout should increase your focus, but it's easier said than done, if your stuff isn't quite right, the D plays bad behind you, baserunners are bonehead and the offense is stagnant. Distractions abound. Frustration has to seep into pitchers leaving with zero earned runs and no chance at a win. This team needs to hit, folks...and don't buy into the Reds media PR, these scrub teams are losers primarily because of their inadequate PITCHING, that our Reds so often make look like Cy Young candidates.

This offense is un disciplined, predictable, and fundamentally challenged. The baserunning is bad, and station to station. Without a homer, or 2 errors and a bases loaded walk by the opposition, this team sometimes needs 3-4 consecutive hits to score. They don't need a hitting streak, they just need to hit the league average each game...it sounds like a lot of hits for our Reds, but 9 hits and 27 outs is .250...how often does this team have 9 hits ? When they do, they often leave 8 LOB, unless a third if the hits are homers. It's ridiculous. Or REDiculous.

 

[JohnU]

On a positive note, the Reds do very well at Wrigley.

 

[Redsfan1507]

So does most every other team. I think maybe Sveum was trying to shame his boys a little with his tirade on teams saving their best for other teams. I don't blame him really, but if Im on the other side if that, Id tell him all he has to do to change all that is to play better.

The Cubs are weak, and have painted themselves into some trouble I think with trying to "build" a winner around Starlin Castro, and a guy that had never built anything but a healthy checkbook- Theo Epstein. They have a few too many 1b prospects-unfortunately with Rizzo and Olt- they're 2 "top" prospects OTHER teams found...again, Theo trying to repossess talent others found. Used to do that with purchased free agents, until the pitching he got wasn't the pitching they used to be, and Chicken, Beer and Franconas divorce took the blame for spending all that money for a team that couldn't pitch water to camels. I'll reserve further judgement until some of Theos draft picks come of age, or he has the balls to tell Castro he's a left fielder. Just about any franchise lives and dies with pitching, and ultimately that's why the Cubs are where they are. They may have done well with Wood, and the S-man with the eye-chart name, but the staff blows. The defense isn't good ( Other than Barney who has the range of Miguel Cairo and hits about as much), and they don't have a clue at the plate...not yet anyway.

The best thing about the Cubs, is great pizza is close.

 

[JohnU]

Travis Wood will be a 15-game winner in any ballpark that lets him throw fly balls.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Odd how things turn out. Wood is a soft tosser, like Leake, except Wood is a lefty, and is Cliff Lees neighbor, and was a Reds best minor league pitcher once. They kept Leake, who like Wood, rebounded to impress this year. Marshall is a loss this year, making Manny Parra the LOOGY we have to trust...Last year, even though Latos has been terrific, it looked like the Reds kept the wrong catcher in that trade... This year, not so much.

Wood may be making the Cubs better, but he can't make them win with that roster.Parra if nothing else, is proving a LOOGY doesn't have to be one of the best pitchers on the staff to help them win. Marshall or Latos werent a trade for way down the road, they were supposed to pay immediate benefits to win...Latos has, Marshall hasn't. You just never know right away, but I think both trades should speak to the value of starting pitching, especially over the value of a LOOGY.