Reds Thread

[Cincyfan78]

I don't disagree. Injuries suck and it probably sunk the season. That said, there is always something with this franchise. Maybe it's the nature of the game when you are in a small market and on tight margins..... Everything has to align to be good. But, I think there are larger, more systemic issues with the franchise. The tradition has always been there. The love affair the city of Cincinnati has with summer baseball is really multigenerational and deep within the city. A good comp is St. Louis - Probably more of an extreme example because that town absolutely loves baseball. But their franchise works at it. They have lean years but they do not last. The Reds just never seem to get it together..... And I think they've had owners that take the city's love of the game for granted.

I don't disagree there at all. Since '95 and then into the last 90's early 00's when payroll really started to skyrocket and the Reds market just didn't support staying in that race, they've struggled.

The Reds will make money. Ownership needs to put a premium product on the field, and that likely means taking a few years of lesser profit to pay guys. The Reds owners have always, since Marge, been afraid to do this. For all of Marge's faults, and there were many, she got what was needed to put winners on the field. You paid the price up front, and reaped on the backend.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Also, Rece Hinds can hit a baseball far.

Will it last? No clue. Pitchers will adjust - and he has a very high swing/miss ratio in the minors. But if he can tweak a few things like Elly has done, whoa.....

 

[jbuck]

reds hire Tito. You can now enjoy the hope. The country is an absolute joke, but we got the right guy

 

[Cincyfan78]

Like the hire - but unless the Ownership group is going to spend money to put guys on the field with actual MLB level talent - I don't really expect a ton to change.

Maybe they get a bit more lucky in 1-run games next year? Maybe they don't lose 50% of their expected every day 8 for 45, 80, 135, and 162 games (Friedl, Marte, CES, McLain)...maybe those guys who struggled this year (Marte, CES) rebound next year and show their promise. Maybe McLain returns from missing a full year and shows that his '23 run is sustainable at the pate, and in the field.

 

[BKBroiler9000]

What on earth possessed Francona to want to come out of retirement to manage this team lol. What a shocker.

 

[Cincyfan78]

What on earth possessed Francona to want to come out of retirement to manage this team lol. What a shocker.

He does have a really good history with younger guys. When you look at this roster - that means Elly, Steer, Marte, McLain, and CES. If he can get McLain to sustain what we saw in 2023 before missing the 2024 season AND get one of Marte/CES to live up to billing...that's a pretty damned good set of 4.

I mean - ownership STILL has to spend money. They'll need one of 3B/1B and at least 2 OF, and probably a middle to upper line starter to help bolster this rotation. While Greene has stepped into that Ace role, still a lot of youth in that rotation.

 

[cincygrad]

I haven't followed the Reds close enough to have a great opinion, but I'm wondering what has changed with our fans from last year at this time to this year at this time. I keep reading on twitter that the club doesn't have the talent and won' compete without it. But, last year at this time I was told we had all sorts of young talent. Injuries certainly didn't help. But, don't they still have some strong lineup pieces? Don't they have at least 3-4 good major league starters? Why is everyone convinced that this is the 2021 version of the club?

 

[Cincyfan78]

I haven't followed the Reds close enough to have a great opinion, but I'm wondering what has changed with our fans from last year at this time to this year at this time. I keep reading on twitter that the club doesn't have the talent and won' compete without it. But, last year at this time I was told we had all sorts of young talent. Injuries certainly didn't help. But, don't they still have some strong lineup pieces? Don't they have at least 3-4 good major league starters? Why is everyone convinced that this is the 2021 version of the club?

Last year they brought up Elly, McLain, CES, and Marte....all had some really good stretches and that made everyone get a little out over their ski's for this past year because it really wasn't a huge sample size. Teams will eventually have enough film and adjust. The key for any young player is how do they, then, adjust...

Elly is a legit MVP player.

Marte was then suspended for PED's and then when he returned, didn't look all that great. How much of '23 was because he was on roids?

CES had a TERRIBLE start to the year, and then got hurt. Then it was found he had another injury prior to the current injury in his wrist...is that why he was so bad to start the year? Hard to know.

McLain missed all of '24 due to a shoulder injury.

So, now out of the 4 cornerstone guys (or 4 of the 5 if you include Steer who has been solid) 3 guys have MAJOR questions heading into '25. I think it was one big reason why Tito was considered for this role because of his history of working with young players and getting them to develop at the MLB level, which is no small feat. The vast majority of these guys have played half of what many MLB players play when they are finally called up. I think Elly has had only something like 200+ Minor League games...that's insane. Larkin had played over 700 Minor League innings before he got called up - just to show the disparity.

Learning how to both grow as a player, and compete at the highest level of any game is extremely taxing - that's why most growth occurs at the lower levels, so that when you reach MLB you're not still learning a lot of fundamentals - but the Reds pushed their chips to the center of the table with a lot of these super young guys - and that is where we stand today as we look at the '25 roster.