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Disappointing

Hit-n-Run

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The club spent a majority of its international money on shortstops a couple years ago, but neither of them have hit . Alfredo Rodriguez most notably and another Cuban named Jose Israel Garcia. Those two signings put the Reds in the penalty for international signings. So they cost the Reds in more than one way.

The top SS prospect is Jeter Downs, but he's only in A ball at Dayton. He was drafted out of HS with the bonus 2017 collective bargaining pick the Reds recieved. He's hitting around .250, but he's young and it's too early to tell about him.

Blake Trahan is the SS at AAA. The Reds were high on him a couple years ago and invited him to spring training, but they seem to have soured on him since.

Alex Blandino was probably the best option, but he had the blown out knee end his season. So who knows how that'll affect him moving forward.

They looked at Nick Senzel and apparently weren't impressed. They did the same with this year's #1 pick Jonathan India. Didn't hear any positives about either one playing SS in the future.
 

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Heard an interview last night that suggested Bob Castellini made the call to not trade Matt Harvey and Billy Hamilton at various stages. Apparently he likes both of them.

Don't know what that means moving forward, but the decision making throughout this rebuild hasn't worked out well for this club.
 

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I can see reasons for trading Hamilton, and reasons to keep him. His defense is great , but when he gets on base he can change a game. But he has to get on base. I wouldn't want to be the one to make that decision
 

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I always like to compare Reds players to their contemporaries at their position. In theory the further down the list a player falls the easier it should be to replace him. If a player isn't elite, you have to question whether a team should be extending them.

I guess you have to define elite as a starting point. Lets say if the player doesn't rank in the MLB top 10 he's less than elite.

There are all sorts of people ranking players. They often vary in chronological order, but there's generally a concensus to who the top players are. I'll use the Bleacher Report mid season rankings for reference.

The rankings support the Reds decisions on some they have extended. Votto ranks #2 at 1B, Suarez #3 at 3B, Tucker Barnhart #6 at C, and they're expressing an interest to extend Scooter who is currently #2 at 2B.

Billy Hamilton is a fan favorite that isn't as highly thought of outside of Reds country. He's one of the top defensive CF in the game, but the number of times his offense infuences a game is minimal throughout the season. He's making $4.6M this year and I don't think he's worth the pay raise he'll get through arbitration.
 

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Rookie Davis was sent on rehab earlier this month. His stint on rehab ran out and he either had to be added back to the 40 man or DFA. The Reds chose to DFA him, he cleared waivers, and was outrighted to Louisville.

He's still in the system for now, but he's barely hanging on as the last return piece from the Aroldis Chapman trade.
 

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The outfield is pretty crowded right now So there is a good chance that Hamilton will be gone after this year.but it appears that Bob Castillini likes him so who knows
 

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The outfield just got a little less crowded, the Reds optioned Preston Tucker to AAA to make room for Joey Votto's return. They also placed Rob Stephenson on the DL and recalled Austin Brice.

I thought Tucker would be the odd man out. It suggest he doesn't fit into their plans moving forward.

Phillip Ervin looks like he has locked up a roster spot for next season. It's most likely as a 4th OF, but nonetheless he has earned a spot.

Mason Williams is the guy I'm not sure where he fits in the Reds plans. Riggleman seems to view him as a platoon player, but I'm not sure what Dick Williams/Nick Krall think about him. The FO seems reluctant to trade Hamilton, so I'd say he'll most likely be here come next spring. I don't see the Reds having Hamilton and Williams on the same 25 man roster next opening day.

I don't think Brandon Dixon will be on the roster next year, but I do think the Reds will want their 5th OF guy to be a IF/OF type defensive player like Dixon that hits better.
 

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After two slugfest games with Milwaukee both teams were probably tired. A 2-1 game to wrap up the series.

Overall Cody Reed was effective. 73 pitches through 4 2/3 innings isn't too bad, but three walks with the last one forcing in a run hurts.

Austin Brice had a bad first day back. Gives up the eventual game winning HR on his first pitch. Is injured on his third pitch.

Votto's day wasn't a lot better. He went 0-5, but at least he wasn't injured.

Schebler went 1-3 with a walk. He's been in a slump since returning from the DL. It began before he went on the DL and has continued.

Waiting for injured players to return and save the day has become the motto of this club during the rebuild. The reality is there's a disconnect from reality in that mode of operation. Beyond it being a marketing tool to sell a few more tickets it's hasn't translated into more wins.

The Reds are 57-77 with 28 games to go. That's the exact same record they've had the last two seasons after 134 games.

Consistency isn't a positive when it underlines a negative.
 

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It's getting more and more difficult to post something positive about this team. Here we are for the 4th or 5th year going into Sept with a chance to lose 100 games, and not much to look forward to next year.

The Pitching which has been the center of the rebuild is as questionable as ever . Only Disco looks like he might be dependable. The rest are all inconsistent.

The offense is inconsistent one game they are shut out the next they score 15 runs then are shut out the next.

Up until the last few weeks I thought that the Reds would hold on to Riggleman , but I'm not sure now. I don't think it makes much difference, but the younger fans think a younger manager with new ideas (sabermetrics) Will lead the team to 162 wins. All I know is that something needs to change. Probably with scouting and development And maybe the FO
 

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There are positives among the rubble. Suarez. Gennett, and others are having very good individual seasons. But the team losing overshadows most of that, especially the perception of the team outside of Reds country.
 

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Castillo pitched well and the Reds won

What's with all these late season trades that can change a playoff race. I don't like where this is heading.
 

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It's always nice to beat the Cardinals, especially in St. Louis. The Cards have used the Reds as stepping stones to playoff births plenty of times and it's nice to play spoilers this time around.

It does seem like there were a lot of August waiver trades this year. Even the Reds got into the action.

The Reds traded Preston Tucker back to Atlanta for cash. They had optioned him to AAA and most likely were going to drop him off the 40 man at some point, so a little cash is better than nothing..... I guess.

The pitchers they got from the Duvall trade have both been called up. Lucas Sims and Matt Wisler both pitched a couple scoreless innings. That something we're not used to seeing Reds pitchers do when they get called up. Opposing pitchers seem to do it all the time against the Reds.
 

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The Reds pitching allowed it's 200 home run in yesterday's loss. It's the achilles heel of this staff. If they could keep the ball in the yard it would help, but if they could they would I suppose.

Cody Reed on the mound today. He kept the ball down his first start and got a lot of ground balls. It'd be nice to see him do it again.
 

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The Pittsburgh starter Williams got a boat load of ground balls , which is something most pitchers can't do. I don't think he threw the ball over 92, and most of his pitches were in the high 70's to mid 80's range. I guess he is the new type of sabermetrics pitcher that reads the reports and puts the ball where he is told, but has good results. I'm more quoting what Chris Welsh said than coming from me, but for once he did make some sense
 

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Trevor Williams is having a nice year. He's not over powering as you mentioned, but that's why teams aren't afraid to fall behind in the count and are aggressive against him. It played right into Trevor Williams strength in that game. They hit the pitches he wanted them to hit. Even when the Reds would get ahead in the count they still swung at marginal pitches.

The Pirates usually aren't a team that dominates the Reds, but they're owning the season series this year. I think they've won 11 of the first 15.

Cody Reed didn't fare as well this time out. Threw a lot of strikes, but the quality of those strikes was the problem.

The Reds offense has been feeble. You take a way Scooter's 3 HR's in the 1st two games and the only other run the Reds have scored is on a HBP.
 

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The reds are just not getting on base. Scooter is the only one hitting the ball with any consistency. There's not much else to say right now. I doubt they will win 65 games
 

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There was no shortage of opportunities to score last night. The Reds had 11 LOB and 0 hits with RISP. They didn't have a hit with RISP the entire series.

Homer pitched ok, but it's the same thing most outings. Five innings and 3-4 runs allowed. I don't see why they keep running him out there.

I really don't understand why Tyler Mahle is sitting on the bench. I also think Lucas Sims should be getting a look in the rotation.

Cody Reed has failed time and time again. So has Robert Stephenson. Sal Romano has been better coming out of the bullpen. All three of them should be relegated to that role.
 

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I thought Suarez was going to charge the mound last night when Taillon hit him for the 2nd time this year. It used to be that when some one wanted to hit someone they would hit them in a place that wouldn't injure the guy. Now it seems that the head is where they aim for. both teams do it. I guess MLB will do something about it when someone get killed, and I see that coming soon. and I pray to God that I am wrong
 

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I don't know that there was any intent either time he hit Suarez, but a broken thumb and a high one off the shoulder would piss off most any hitter.

The Reds and Pirates have made it a tradition to play bean ball baseball against one another. Some of it has been intentional and retaliation, but mostly I think it's two pitching staffs trying to pitch inside without much success.

Another lackluster offensive game for the Reds. Castillo allows only 5 hits, but three of them leave the yard. But on the bright side..... Free Pizza for the fans. I'd rather the Reds FO issue an apology and a partial refund to season ticket holders.
 

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Not fair to pick on any one player. This slumping offense has many culprits.

Phil Ervin had a nice run after being called up, but has cooled off considerably of late. Mason Williams is the guy that has been the most consistent among the callups.

Scott Schebler isn't much of a run producer. Even when he hit 30 homers last year he only had 67 RBI's. He's hitting .169 with RISP this year. Some guys have a knack for driving in runs, he's not one off those guys. He did a nice job leading off, Billy Hamilton is woeful in that role.

Joey Votto looks old at the plate. He had the knee injury after getting plunked by Madson, but he's been having back problems also. That's not good news for a aging player owed $100M+.

Curt Casali has been a nice pickup. There was nothing in his past that suggest he would or should continue to hit, but he has so far. A bright spot after the dreadful 2nd string guys the last couple seasons.

Suarez has been struggling as much as anyone. He looks like he's not seeing the ball very well. Swinging at pitches out of the zone and taking pitches in the zone. He's had a great year, hope he can finish it off on a good note.

Scooter is having another great year. I always thought Scooter was a descent hitter, but I didn't think I'd ever see him vying for a batting title.

Dilson Herrera has done very little to give the impression he belongs on the MLB roster. He'll run into one every now and then, but there's no consistent hard contact or contact period coming off his bat.

Michael Lorenzen has been the most potent power bat off the bench. He has just as many homers as any of the bench players.
 
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