The problem, identified...

[JohnU]

Why is this a tough question? It's tough for a manager who has no sense of "accountability."
It's tough when he's been given no options other than two kids who MLB has now thrown under the Verducci bus.

Reds right-hander Jason Marquis (3-4) was pulled after 3 2-3 innings, yielding four runs, four hits, two sacrifice flies, two walks and a wild pitch. In losing his past three starts, Marquis has surrendered 21 hits and 15 runs in 12 1-3 innings for a 15.33 ERA.

Will Marquis remain in the rotation?

''That's a tough question when you're struggling,'' Reds manager Bryan Price said. ''That's a tough question when you've lost five games in a row and there have been some really poor performances in those losses.''

 

[JohnU]

Not a whole lot more to add, is there?

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The thing I see that keeps getting added is the losses....up to six and counting.

No new issues....just the same old "Groundhog Day" movie reoccurring theme. The movie was funny....the Reds not so much. The more you watch this team the further they seem away from contending.

How long before Price gets fired? I'm assuming they wouldn't fire him before the All Star break. This is a lost season regardless if it's mid-season or at the end, but as a season ticket holder I'd rather see it sooner than later. There has to be some sort of accountability to justify me forking out the cost of continuing next season. The problems are greater than just the coaching staff...but as we all know you can't get rid of all the players....so you start with the guys driving the bus and whittle away the roster gradually.

There's a lot of good decisions that are going to have to be made before this team can be a legitimate contender. New GM, coaching staff, and overhaul of the roster are all needed. They'll be drafting 11th this year and should be in the top 10 next year.... so that's the starting point. Unfortunately there's going to be a lot of losing before this team can collect enough talent to turn the ship around.

 

[navamind]

How the hell is Jason Marquis still in the majors? He's been atrocious for 6 years now (hasn't been above replacement level since 2009). The Reds' AAA pitchers really couldn't be any worse.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Well, something is up...

Cueto will "NOT make his scheduled start in Cleveland on Monday." That could mean one of a few things- maybe he's gimpy, or needs another day of rest...or he's being traded....or, more likely, they are adjusting the rotation- Lorenzen is listed as the starter on Marquis scheduled day. Iglasias is also available and of course they have other minor league SP's that might be brought up if Marquis or someone else was DFA, but the Reds would want them on at least their normal start day- possibly requiring Cueto to miss a day to align.

We should here something soon- maybe one of those untrustworthy media types will spill the beans during game coverage today or tomorrow.

 

[JohnU]

I know Lorenzen was penciled in for Tuesday and that was announced the other day.
The days off are having some control over this but pretty soon, they go on a 21-day run, which means they will indeed have to find some kind of 5-man rotation.

I was puzzled last night that Mesoraco wasn't used. Putting Phillips at leadoff shows desperation as if the smoke in the distance didn't already indicate an enemy was near the perimeter.

Price has lost control of this team. I seriously think the Reds brass rolled dice that the team would be somewhere near the top by the middle of July, making their AS show more intriguing.

Being 9 back after only 40-some games is not always a dealbreaker, but being in 4th place is always a dealbreaker. Even if the Reds catch the Cubs, they will still not be able to muster a 5-game winning streak with Marquis, 2 rookies and a couple of free agents who are showing little or no incentive to compete.

Mike Leake had 5 walks and 0 strikeouts. This guy can't beat anybody doing that.

It took better than 100 games to realize Hamilton can't hit or bunt and now there's only the 10th spot in the order for him -- and this ain't slow-pitch.

Votto has decided to take walks for a living, and I wonder what message he is sending to his teammates, who clearly have to be smart enough to recognize that.

Byrd and Bruce are always going to be "Casey at the Bat."

I don't see a fix, even for 2016.

But the RailCats are 1-1 and have two more this weekend. Our guys know how to bunt, actually.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I don't blame pitchers for walking Votto, or Votto for walking instead of grounding out into the shift. I blame the dead beats that can't make contact in the 3 or 4 hole behind him. Hamilton doesn't bunt enough, but already has attempted more this season than Drew Stubbs did in his Reds career- and Byrd has as many HR so far as Ludwick had all last year...is that progress ?

The Reds lineup needed Mesoraco to hit 4th...and didnt go DL so he could DH this week...and hit 7th Thursday and wasn't in the lineup at all Friday. Makes zero sense. You don't usually cure team hitting slumps with less than your best lineup. It's too easy to lose on this team, and just say "sorry".

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Read where Cueto said he has stiffness in his elbow, but could pitch if he had too. Translated it means I've got a big payday on the horizon and I'm not jeopardizing it for this team of losers.

Mesoraco's bullpen session didn't go well and he's had a relapse. Here's a thought....wait for the team to get through the Cleveland series so he can DH before you risk further injury that leaves him unable to play at all.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Mesoraco needs surgery. Hopefully, Cueto doesn't...although if he needed TJ, it might keep him from jumping ship for a big free agent deal. Ironically, that might be better for the Reds.

 

[JohnU]

Mesoraco needed surgery in April, maybe sooner than that. Whatever quacks make the decisions on this amaze the wholly fuck out of me. Did they actually think that having a guy on the bench was going to make this roster better? He hasn't had a dozen at-bats in a month.
Honestly, you can't screw it up worse than the Reds did and this event is biblical proof of that.
He should have had the surgery during spring training, taken 4 months off, come back as an expanded roster player (after spending) a couple of weeks trying to catch fly balls) ...
Once again, the Reds were lying to the fans that they had this all-star catcher who was going to help make them contend, as opposed to Brayan Pena and Skip somebody.
They tried to sell the veteran-ness of Gregg and Marquis and they tried to sell the lie that Hamilton had learned to bunt, that Bruce had just had a bad year and that Phillips was going to be worth 25 HR. They tried to sell us on Marlon's one home run a week (forget the 9 strikeouts) and they tried to sell several other lies.
You can't lie to the other 29 teams.

 

[JohnU]

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Price held a close door team meeting after today's game....I was hoping it was to say goodbye...not the case as it turns out.

 

[JohnU]

Don't you think that losing 9 out of 10 is a tad late to be holding come-to-Jesus meetings?

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Maybe he called them together to apologize.

" Sorry guys....I'm way over my head.....don't hold yourselves accountable...I don't."

A common response from the players..
" Don't worry coach...we blame you too."

 

[JohnU]

The glaring lack of preparation was apparent to the dimmest of fans 2 years ago. This team can't hit. Yeahyeahyeah ... hitting is "down" over the league.
Hey, a day game at home against a meatballer with a 6.19 ERA and the Reds were lucky to get 3 hits off him in 7 innings. Now what exactly about lack of preparation is obvious?
And they do this 4 or 5 times a week.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Did you see Kendrick's pitch count....it was in the 60's to start the 7th inning. Hell of a strategy...swing at the first pitch regardless of where it is.

 

[JohnU]

If you see meat, I say ... hack at it. But if you can't identify meat and it's really a slider, I would think that maybe doing some work in the film room. It's not like Kendrick just pulled in from Amsterdam. He has 7 decisions this year.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Unless they are going over scouting reports or the next community charity event needing their participation, or discussing the trade of an impact player after the fact, I believe that team meetings are usually counterproductive.

Guys that suck know they suck. Guys that are playing well are disgusted with guys that suck too long, and should be. Some guys that suck want help, but can't find it in the meeting,and sometimes blame the coaches for making them suck in the first place. Some guys want to blame other guys that suck worse, or that are taking their PT they need to stop sucking. Some guys don't give a shit as long as they don't suffer, and it doesn't take a meeting to expose them, or dispose of them. I also do NOT believe the bullshit PR spin you hear from announcers and front office minions about "veteran" bench players hitting .205 or 85 mph 6.00 ERA pitchers are LEADERS in the clubhouse. Players follow what brings them success, and no utility infielder or hittable has-been, does that.

This team isn't losing because they are making defensive errors, not hitting the cutoff man, not running out groundballs, missing signs or loafing doubles into singles...All things a meeting might productively be screamed about...They are losing because they can't even hit .260 as a team, or score a man on third with one out more than once a week. They can't stop walking leadoff hitters and throwing meatballs to hitters looking for them. What is a manager going to say, "play better or I'm going to lose MY job" ? ? Meetings like that make the manager look more like a chump than he already does.

A manager can schedule mandatory early morning extra BP, or give more bunt signals, ban clubhouse music and groping stewardesses on the flight, after losses, but he can't make players hit better. Pitchers are even less in control- they can't burn up arms perfecting a pitch in practice, unless it's on a minor league demotion or rehab stint.

 

[redsfan03]

I don't know many cooks who can make something that tastes good out of shit. Likewise, I don't know many managers or coaches who can make a good team out of shit. I haven't been impressed with Price, but Jocketty has not given him much with which to work. It's mind boggling how this eclectic roster of shit costs over $100 million, but it does.

 

[JohnU]

I think what's happened is the old "even up, who's better?" principle.

Going around, who's better than Votto that you can get?
Yeah, Phillips is aging but, for the money, who can you get who is better?
At SS, Cozart is as good a glove as we can get for the money, so how do you upgrade?
Frazier? Man hit 29 dingers last year, is beloved by the fans. Who could you get, even-up, who's better?

Etc etc etc ... until you get to the outfield when all the guys who really ARE better are going to cost you Frazier, and Cueto.

Mesoraco was supposed to be the real deal. Losing him probably hurt this team more than we know.

As for bullpens, any amount of research would have shown this one is awful, but to be honest, the bullpen has been a minor bit of the problem.

Starting pitching ... that one is a head-scratcher because 3 of the 5 rotation guys were set for sometime in April. I think I was willing to live with it, though wasn't sure about DeSclafani. When Marquis made the cut, I think we realized there were issues a-brewing.

The problem has been ... would the Reds be willing to make all the moves to upgrade at all positions? The fact is, that's next to impossible. You can't GET a guy better than Frazier ... not really. You could get lucky and find a guy like Arrenado or Matt Carpenter but it would be luck. You could get Chase Headley and not upgrade. You could get a Kris Bryant and sell the fans on something that hasn't happened yet. You could get Segura and think you were upgrading but aren't.

Upgrading the bench is always a crap shoot.

Bullpens should be made in spring training, not on the waiver wire in December.

I just don't think this operation has tried to focus on its strengths, whatever they are ... and the overall weakness in poor hitting, which is league-wide, has amplified that. I have to blame the dugout staff. I can't find anybody else who fits the glove.

Bottom line is, most of the guys who are in the lineup are good-to-OK, so long as everybody else is not as good-to-OK as they need to be. Frazier can be a real asset in a lineup but he can't carry a lineup.

It's OK for Cozart to hit .220 so long as 4 other guys in the order aren't hitting .196.

We are simply asking too many ordinary to average ballplayers to play far and away over their ability. Jay Bruce is going to hit 25 HR this year ... THAT IS ONE A WEEK. That is not going to challenge the single-season record. It's just ordinary.