I thought the comments by Leake and Price were genuinely bullshit. They as much as said the Brewers were going to hit no matter what was thrown. Leake is tipping his pitches and that's obvious. Contreras probably is too if he had anything in the first place. Hell, why send him back now?
Marshall is nearing rehab. Why on EARTH do we care?
Early on, I was of the belief that this team would not fall far enough out of the race to trade Cueto. Clearly, he's gone by the end of the month now.
Last weekend we looked pathetic against the Mets, who lost 5 out of 7 games, since the Reds left. The Brewers are hot, but not hot enough to just dominate the Reds like the did. Like I said in another post. I feel sorry for the Reds fans that made the trip to see that shit.
The Reds are pitiful, and it's only half over. A shame the bottom fell out just before the big AS opportunity, but it truly is, what it is.
Time for the rebuild. It doesn't usually make actual change difference, but I understand why they toss the manager too, in this kind of thing...the players that are left need to understand that often people that don't necessarily deserve it lose their jobs when the team fails, too. This team is far more Jocketty's fault than Price, but Price has the same defeated body language the players have. They need to start over and get a guy that will light a fire under players, instead of being sypathetic at losing. It looks like complacency.
They have a decent nucleus with Votto, Frazier and Mesoraco and Bailey, if they come back healthy. Hamilton is a work in progress, but is a rare energy guy they need. A few young pitchers are promising. They probably have to trade who they can for some upside cheap young guys, so might as well get on with it.
I guess I am not buying the idea that Price isn't the problem. His replacement isn't the solution either.
I recall a lot of years ago when the MLB strike was on in 1981, I got to meet Bill Gullickson and we drank a few beers together. I asked him why it matters if the fire a manager. He said "Sometimes the team just loses confidence in him." He told me that it was hard to explain but if you were in a clubhouse, you would just know it.
I think we will see changes after the AS break.I think Price is as good as gone. Maybe Jocketty to. I can only hope I do wish if they are not going to sign Cueto, that they would have traded him before now .I guess the problem with that, who would pitch? We already have Josh Smith up here.
I think when you decide to sell out, it is basically telling the fans to get fucked and hope the bread doesn't get stale. They did it in Houston. The trick for the front office is to decide if they can make a profit off a team that won't be very interesting for a couple of years. The idea they are trying to sell is that these rookie pitchers will all come together like the 1971 Orioles ... which is total bullshit. This team will lose 100 games next year.
Dunno about 100 losses...not because the Reds aren't that bad, just because there are so many other teams that play bad frequently. The AL East is full of mediocre (or worse) talent, but they are all around .500. The NL East is similar, but more than half those teams are more likely sub-.500.
Not too many teams 3-4-5 SP that can't get pummeled on any given night. Lots of bad D and bullpens out there. Power isn't that common and neither is steal speed, and there aren't any more .300 hitters than before. K's by hitters are an epidemic. The shift is taking over, because morons won't go oppage.
That said, it doesn't do much good to have a great teacher that doesn't speak the same language as the students, or command enough respect to be listened to. I think Reds managers have been too soft and passive, for a long time. Too non-confrontational and open minded. I think they need a physical, perfectionist bad-ass, fundamentals fanatic, as manager. Even bad players can play smarter,and make adjustments, if they have to. Current players don't have to.