Next man up

[Hit-n-Run]

The Reds have DFA Roger Bernandina and purchased the contract of Carlos Contreras from Pensacola. That puts the beleaguered bullpen at 8 pitchers. The Reds had been carrying 6 OF's for quite awhile, so it seemed like an inevitable move.

The first attempt to upgrade the pen from within got off to a less than stellar start with Jumbo giving up two taters in his MLB debut. Jumbo isn't the first and won' t be the last to struggle in their debut, so I'd like to see him a few times before I decide on his value to the organization.

He touched 99 mph on the gun and had movement on most offerings. I'd like to see him pitch without the emotion of fulfilling a lifelong dream by taking a MLB mound for the first time. The moment has been overwhelming for more than a few.

 

[JohnU]

Jumbo Diaz will solve very few problems in the bullpen. The pitchers who are part of that just need to pitch better. That means Parra, LeCure, Ondrusek and Chapman have to learn to hold leads.

And the offense needs to know how to GET leads.

Bernadina was always redundant. He was trying too hard to make the team and that was never going to happen.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I disagree somewhat. Middle relievers are low on the pitching staff food chain, just swimming around waiting on a bigger fish with sharper teeth to eat them. They are typically lesser tooled, that's why they aren't starting or setting up or closing. They lose a little velocity, movement or control of their one sharp tool, and they're DFA fodder. They gotta turn them over some... All else equal, an unfamiliar face on the mound isn't a bad thing, until the hitters figure out their failings. I think they've figured out the high ERA Reds pitchers, and unless they can improve what they have, they're next out the door.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Middle relief really isn't the issue for the Reds. Middle relief has become the new long relief with practically no one throwing more than two innings in relief. It's a nice job description for the guy who mops up filling the innings that save the more valuable and talented arms for games that can be won. The Reds don't have a shortage of the mop up types and with the quality depth of it's rotation they don't have a need for as many as they have.

Where the problem lies is in the setup role. Broxton has been great in the setup role as well as Chapman as the closer. Either one can close if needed and is a strength for a team that is in as many games at the end as the Reds are. IMO, It's pretty clear Price doesn't have confidence in anyone other than Broxton and Chapman exhibited by pushing the SP's pitch counts higher looking for one less inning for the pen to cover.

Jumbo and Contreras may or may not prove to be the answer, but Price appears to know the mop up crew isn't.

 

[redsfan03]

Cincinnati Reds sign Cuban pitcher Raisel Iglesias | reds.com: News

So the Reds signed Cuban pitcher Raciel Iglesias to a $30 mil contract today. I'm all for signing extremely talented pitchers, but if they use him in a remotely similar manner to how they used Chapman, then it's a giant waste of money.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Chapman is a once in a generation kind of pitcher. He's the closer.

The Reds middle relief blows.

The two are related.

Both speak to the misconception that if the rotation is doing well, you don't need a guy that the opposition hits below .200 against, and can repeatedly throw 100 mph, and mix in 3 other pitches. I hate to be an antagonist, but fewer than 10% of the last 52 World Series winners did it without a LHSP. Chapman is also lefthanded, and the Reds are an all RHSP rotation.

OJ Simpson got off with fewer obvious clues than this one. In the games the Reds have to go to the bullpen in the 6-7 inning without a 3 run difference, I'd feel better with Leake or Simon or Bailey in the pen than the stomach churners we see in that situation.

I have trouble with "good enough" when it isn't the best you can do.... because 6 games back is never good enough, and it usually turns into a 162 game season that you needed 12 more games to be happy with.

 

[JohnU]

I think finding relief pitching is a matter of swapping out one 89 mph fastball for another 89 mph fastball. I personally would not give up squat to get a relief pitcher, just look for somebody who is healthy, has decent numbers against the teams I need to beat and will show up sober.
He doesn't even have to speak bad English.
Wouldn't even try to list the relievers who might be had. Honestly, I think any or all of them can be had. If the contract is the problem, then it's the other team's problem for creating the problem.
Signing relievers to 2-year deals to pitch in middle innings is just not good policy.
Teams will continue to do that because it makes the fans believe they've got some kind of value. Teams sign middle relief when they can't find any decent starters.
"Decent" is a vague term these days. Homer Bailey qualifies as decent.
Now, Simon is considered a value.

 

[Redsfan1507]

An entire generation has come to believe that one good year should pay them the rest of their life. It fits their work ethic and attention span. Unfortunately, it rarely fits the business plan. Sports, is a different animal. If you're good enough, they'll pay you to do what you have done for free...and some, after they are making more money than everyone they ever knew combined, think it's not enough...and about the age everyone else starts getting it, and actually start making a contribution, you're too old for sports, and everyone thinks you're a waste of money and roster space.

MLB is the only place I know of where if you fail 70% of the time, youre a star, and the worst player in the league makes as much as the President of the US, and you are eligible for a pension in 5 years. Odds are greater of winning the lottery and getting struck by lightning than getting that job.