NL Central Thread 2016

[JohnU]

Only SF, LA, Chi, StL, Pit, NY, Wsh and Miami are worth even paying attention to in the NL, with Chi and SF the clear faves but with a close eye needing to be paid to the Mets (never give up on that rotation).

I am not buying the Pirates this year. They are not showing the resiliency they have had in the past.

Maybe not Miami either.

If the Mets make a smart deal, they can catch the Nats. LAD might have one of the top 5 records but they won't catch the Giants.

 

[navamind]

I am not buying the Pirates this year. They are not showing the resiliency they have had in the past.

Maybe not Miami either.

If the Mets make a smart deal, they can catch the Nats. LAD might have one of the top 5 records but they won't catch the Giants.

or, you know, the pitching. they've gone from 2nd in the NL in ERA last year to 11th. Liriano's always flirted with disaster with his walk rate and it was going to be tough to replace Burnett, especially when your options are Nicasio/Niese/Locke/etc.

 

[Clayton]

or, you know, the pitching. they've gone from 2nd in the NL in ERA last year to 11th. Liriano's always flirted with disaster with his walk rate and it was going to be tough to replace Burnett, especially when your options are Nicasio/Niese/Locke/etc.

Liriano really fell off a cliff. I would definitely add the Pirates to the list of teams that aren't doing as well as I thought. I'd be stunned if they made the playoffs at this point.

I think the Cardinals are a little weaker than what I was expecting, too. One of the better home teams as of late (past 5 years or so) and they are playing like a last place team at home. Cardinals totally look like a team that could look really good in the playoffs only to suddenly fall apart and get swept because they make a lot of little mistakes.

 

[JohnU]

Liriano really fell off a cliff. I would definitely add the Pirates to the list of teams that aren't doing as well as I thought. I'd be stunned if they made the playoffs at this point.

I think the Cardinals are a little weaker than what I was expecting, too. One of the better home teams as of late (past 5 years or so) and they are playing like a last place team at home. Cardinals totally look like a team that could look really good in the playoffs only to suddenly fall apart and get swept because they make a lot of little mistakes.

It isn't the St. Louis team we have come to expect. Some glaring things to me, but people who watch them would know this better than I do.

I think the Pirates miss Neil Walker more than they would probably admit, but some of their fans appeared happy to see the guy go. Not having Cervelli is going to hurt them a lot. Their pitching really needs an upgrade.

 

[Clayton]

Cardinals sweep Cubs at Wrigley for the first time in almost 20 years. Good stuff.

 

[thedddd]

Yeah the Pirates aren't going anywhere this year.
Cole is out, Cirvelli is out, Liriano's gambling isn't paying off this year, McCutchen has been awful, the Bullpen is awful and the rest of the SP is suspect at best.
The only hope is to bring Taillon (already happened), Glasnow (still having control issues), Kuhl (unknown to most) and Bell (hasn't shown any power) with they hope they show promise and get ready for next year.

 

[thedddd]

It isn't the St. Louis team we have come to expect. Some glaring things to me, but people who watch them would know this better than I do.

I think the Pirates miss Neil Walker more than they would probably admit, but some of their fans appeared happy to see the guy go. Not having Cervelli is going to hurt them a lot. Their pitching really needs an upgrade.

Cervelli hurts A LOT at this point. Walker was being replaced but as a leader on the team that part is missed but was too expensive. Truthfully I think the pitching staff misses AJ Burnett more than most realize. He wasn't great but held them together last year.

 

[navamind]

Cervelli hurts A LOT at this point. Walker was being replaced but as a leader on the team that part is missed but was too expensive. Truthfully I think the pitching staff misses AJ Burnett more than most realize. He wasn't great but held them together last year.

Burnett gave them over 550 innings of 111 ERA+ ball in three seasons with the Pirates. He was pretty valuable.

 

[JohnU]

A bit of trivia. On 16 occasions this year, a Reds relief pitcher has given up a home run to the first hitter he faced. This includes 2 in Wednesday night's game in Texas. Tonight, JC Ramirez waited until the 2nd hitter he faced to give up the home run, after a line drive single. It's really hard watching this shit.

 

[navamind]

I want to see Simon pitch 100+ innings and see if he can keep up that 9+ ERA.

 

[scoutyjones2]

A bit of trivia. On 16 occasions this year, a Reds relief pitcher has given up a home run to the first hitter he faced. This includes 2 in Wednesday night's game in Texas. Tonight, JC Ramirez waited until the 2nd hitter he faced to give up the home run, after a line drive single. It's really hard watching this shit.

People still watch/follow the Reds?!

 

[navamind]

People still watch/follow the Reds?!

People still watch train wrecks when they occur. So, yeah.

 

[JohnU]

People still watch/follow the Reds?!

Why would you assume that people stop being fans of their team?

 

[BrockForBroglio]

We witnessed in the Cardinal series and the first game in Miami that these young Cub hitters swing from the heels and try to hit that 6 run home run. Their offense has taken a step backwards. Maybe that gets better when Fowler returns, but the kids that were just brought up like to let er rip.

 

[scoutyjones2]

Why would you assume that people stop being fans of their team?

I was poking fun...my bad

 

[JohnU]

I was poking fun...my bad

Gotta say, watching these guys for 4 or 5 innings of dreadful baseball, knowing that the Reds bullpen is going to flat-out cough it up, it's painful. I think the train wreck reference was spot-on, though watching some of the young pitchers is kind of interesting. I think this dugout staff is fairly inept, even though the argument is that they didn't have much to work with. That is a crock of crap.

 

[JohnU]

Reds reliever gives up HR on 2nd pitch to 1st batter he faces ... make that the 17th of the season.

 

[BrockForBroglio]

FUCK YOU ROSENTHAL ! ! ! ! The starters have been very good lately, yet Rosenthal shits the bed. Even in the games that he DOSE save, there is always drama......

 

[Clayton]

FUCK YOU ROSENTHAL ! ! ! ! The starters have been very good lately, yet Rosenthal shits the bed. Even in the games that he DOSE save, there is always drama......

Something probably needs to change because he has allowed The same number of hrs so far as he did throughout all of last year and almost as many walks. He is a huge liability at the moment.

 

[JohnU]

Something probably needs to change because he has allowed The same number of hrs so far as he did throughout all of last year and almost as many walks. He is a huge liability at the moment.

Not many pitchers sustain for long (2-3 years) on the back end of a bullpen. It's high stress.