Now, the other 161 games ...

[JohnU]

It's too early to fret the details but winning 4 out of 6 on this stand is pretty useful. Eventually the Reds will have to learn to beat the Parrots and Birdos ...

 

[chico ruiz]

i agree john. send the message early that you're capable of beating these teams. more, you're capable of coming from behind and beating there best. terrorize the set-ups and closers. just pour it on them. when you're up by 6 runs in the 7th play like it's 1-1 in the 9th.

 

[Redsfan1507]

The teams that miss post season by one game, always get accused of blowing it at the end, but the loss on opening day counted just as much. They ALL count the same, but the pressure is always at the end.

I think it's also a LOT easier to win when people don't think it matters, than win when you HAVE to.

Good starts are very important, for lots of reasons. Scoring first usually helps a team win. Winning game 1 prevents a sweep. Winning game 2 insures winning a series, AND puts getaway pressure on the other team to HAVE to win that one. It's not only a psychological win, it forces the early loser to use physical resources in game 3, that the winner of the first 2 doesn't have to spend. Most teams split the first 2, but I guarantee, teams that have the most game 3 pressure to win a series or salvage 1 game over an entire season, are among the most beat up at the end of the season- that leads to more DL activity and decreased chances of making post season.

Urgency in April isn't popular, but it's often more effective than in September, if for no other reason than most teams are healthier in April than September. This team can't afford to buy healthy short term rental help for a post season push anyway. Better win more early and hope your lead lasts. 2nd years of 3 year deals aren't as safe for managers who are expected to win, either.

 

[JohnU]

My favorite math is ... 16 wins a month gets you 96 wins ... and if it takes more than that to win a division, you just needed to play better. Basically 2 homestands a month, so winning 8 at home out of 12 is real nice. Winning 8 out of 12 on the road is even nicer. Naturally, that's almost impossible but what does happen over 162 is that there are months when you win 14 games, other months you win 17 or 18 ... that's if you plan to win anything.

Can't count on a 10-game winning streak but teams that win frequently never lose more than 4 in a row.

 

[JohnU]

Gotta say, Marlon Whiff ... er Byrd is exactly who I thought he was.

 

[JohnU]

OK, this one was a grinder.
Gotta like Hoover's effort.

 

[Redsfan1507]

2 down and 160 to go. Nice

 

[eburg5000]

Good win last night. Ohio seems to be getting a lot of rain this week. I hate those late games like that. But at least it was a win.

 

[JohnU]

Bringing the Hamilton-Votto discussion over to this thread, my personal opinion is that those two guys were responsible for the win last night and they have made Todd Frazier a much better hitter as a result. I realize that as the team goes around the league, the variety of lefties and righties will change. (I also think Hurdle overmanaged his pitchers last night.)

In the game winning 11th, Cozart gets plunked, Dominguez bitches on a strike after swinging at two that nearly hit his feet ... and Hamilton drew a walk. It's the walk that mattered for a couple of reasons, the main one being it moved Cozart to 2nd base. The other reason is ...Hamilton drew a walk. He was not only on base, he churned the lineup to give Votto another look at it.

He turned the game over to the guy with the quarter-billion dollar contract.

In a lot of ways, that game was ugly because the home plate umpire's strike zone was, at best, bizarre.

In some ways, tHom and Welsh touched on it late -- the team that wants it the most. That stuff rubs off.

I heard a short burst of criticism at Badenhop, who came in and did exactly what he's supposed to so ... throw a ground ball. Cingrani will add 10 more years to my life.

Hoover needed this one.

I never believed Byrd was a solution for the Reds and he'd probably need to start hitting soon. He's not getting beat on bad pitches. He just isn't hitting anything at all.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Last night's game seemed like a west coast game with the rain delayed start time. I know I'm tired today , hopefully the Pirates are too. A sweep would be awesome.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Winning the first 2 is always great. Too early to believe anything is a trend, but I'm hoping Desclafani and the back if the rotation do well, because I suspect the bullpen can't recover 60% of the rotation.

I like most of what I see in offense- Byrd is struggling, but he's replacing Ludwick-the bar isn't that high.

It will be interesting to see how the Bucs old man-Burnett fares today- he's a batting tee.

 

[eburg5000]

Another rain delay. DeSclafani (where do they get these names) Seemed to pitching well, but I don't think he will be back after the rain delay. So it will be a game that the Reds bullpen will have to win.

 

[JohnU]

Watching Votto hit, sometimes I wonder if he is just daring the umpire to call him out on strikes.
He will get his wish against these old veteran pitchers.

 

[JohnU]

Byrd on pace for about 325 strikeouts. Yeah, he's an upgrade over Ludwick.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Sweep !

 

[JohnU]

What works here is pretty simple. The pitching, esp. the bullpen, is giving the offense a chance to win.

 

[Redsfan1507]

The rookie did pretty well today. Of course I think Burnett is a Long Island Ducks reject, and he looked like Bob Gibson. I don't think these guys can hit much yet, or maybe never, if you can mix a 90 plus mph fastball with a breaking ball that is a strike. I think that leaves Gregg and Marquis out, but the few Reds that are hitting, are picking good times. The Cardinals are probably packing salt for the Reds asses tomorrow, though. Still, I'd like to see the Reds take the first series with them. Just to give them something to cry about.

 

[JohnU]

What I observe about pitchers like Burnett is they tend to get a little more mileage now because of the infield shifts. I would like to see how that pans out as the season matures. Burnett throws low strikes and gets ground balls. I don't think the Pittsburgh infield is really all that strong. It's good, not great.