Reds Thread

[Cincyfan78]

I believe Homer will turn it around. I'm just not sure how much good it will do this year, though the offense seems to have come to life the last three games.

Votto is finally getting on base, Meso has been a bonus, and Frazier/Ludwick have not completely sucked.

Bruce
Hamilton
Cozart are all sucking big time.


Also, have to remember that so far the Reds have faced the STL rotation 6 games...probably one of the best rotations in baseball, that is going to affect your offensive numbers no matter who you are. Same with TB, their pitching isn't so shabby...

Pirates pitching has been suspect, and the Reds' bats are showing that result.

 

[bengaldoug]

Mesoraco is on fire, and Votto is starting to find his stroke, too. The move to the two hole seems to be a positive, though Phillips is a rotten three hole hitter, and Bruce still hasn't gotten started. One would think Bruce would take advantage of that shift, instead of trying to hit through it. Typically no one at all is on the left side of the infield. He could slap a slow roller through there and get a double. A few of those and they would have to play him more honestly.

 

[bengaldoug]

Votto is finally getting on base, Meso has been a bonus, and Frazier/Ludwick have not completely sucked.

Bruce
Hamilton
Cozart are all sucking big time.


Also, have to remember that so far the Reds have faced the STL rotation 6 games...probably one of the best rotations in baseball, that is going to affect your offensive numbers no matter who you are. Same with TB, their pitching isn't so shabby...

Pirates pitching has been suspect, and the Reds' bats are showing that result.

The perfomance last night vs Gerrit Cole was impressive. He's a dynamic power pitcher with overpowering stuff, and we lit him up. Even the nonscoring innings we had him on the ropes. Of course last night's best hitter may well have been Leake.....

 

[Cincyfan78]

I think Phillips is hitting .300 now?

But, if you want to reduce the chances that Bruce sees a shift, he needs to hit behind Votto. Votto is going to get on base, and when there is a guy on base, teams typically don't/can't shift.

 

[Cincyfan78]

That was a damn fine game by Cueto yesterday. Hard to believe that with his stuff it is only his 3rd shutout of his career, and 12K's were his most ever in a start.

Hamilton getting on base rattled Liriano early, and his speed kept the inning alive for Votto to do his thing late. It's clear just how much the knee was still an issue last year...driving the ball with force this year.

 

[cincygrad]

Bruce will hit in May -- He'll hit a fucking ton in May.

Then he'll bat .120 in June.

That's what Jay Bruce does.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Bruce will hit in May -- He'll hit a fucking ton in May.

Then he'll bat .120 in June.

That's what Jay Bruce does.

They said on the TV the other day he's faced more shifts already this year. He also has the worst BA against the shift in his career than anyone else in baseball.

Needs to learn how to bunt once or twice, and slap at the ball when they do that. Batting him 3rd behind Votto would help because with a runner on base, you can't shift like that. Considering Votto will have the highest OBP, and he's batting 2nd, it makes total sense to simply bump Bruce to 3rd, and drop Phillips.

Or, if Hamilton keeps struggling, then BP leads off eventually, and Hamilton can drop down to 7th or 8th...

 

[bengaldoug]

Sean Marshall activated. Soon as he throws his first pitch I'll admit I was wrong about him. Guess he could still get hurt warming up in the bullpen.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Well, looks like he's fine.

2 of 3 against the Cubs, and now back to the Pirates.

Again, if the Reds can finish at .500 for the first month, it will be impressive considering their slate of games.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Interesting stat: Highest contact rate:

Cozart 91.6%
Votto 84.6%
Hamilton 82.8%

Interesting. I do know that Cozart's BABIP is ridiculously low compared to his career numbers. His average will eventually rebound. He's not striking out a ton, so he's been somewhat unlucky with balls in play.

Against pitchers not named Wainright, Lynn, or Wacha, Hamilton is hitting .294. Not bad.

 

[bengaldoug]

Interesting stat: Highest contact rate:

Cozart 91.6%
Votto 84.6%
Hamilton 82.8%

Interesting. I do know that Cozart's BABIP is ridiculously low compared to his career numbers. His average will eventually rebound. He's not striking out a ton, so he's been somewhat unlucky with balls in play.

Against pitchers not named Wainright, Lynn, or Wacha, Hamilton is hitting .294. Not bad.

Except those are the pitchers he needs to hit if we are going to take the division from the dirty birds......

 

[Cincyfan78]

Except those are the pitchers he needs to hit if we are going to take the division from the dirty birds......

100% agreed. However, I wouldn't expect him to come out of the gate against the best rotation in MLB hitting nearly .300 or whatever the case may be.

On a side...This bullpen is terrible. I'm shocked at how bad some of these guys have been. Hoover especially. I've thought Logan O has been bad since last year, but complicating the matter is not having Simon in the 'pen, and Price has over thought how he uses his 'pen as well. Over used his pen in a 8-0 game the other day, and it burned him having to use Parra to face Mcutchen last night.

 

[bengaldoug]

100% agreed. However, I wouldn't expect him to come out of the gate against the best rotation in MLB hitting nearly .300 or whatever the case may be.

On a side...This bullpen is terrible. I'm shocked at how bad some of these guys have been. Hoover especially. I've thought Logan O has been bad since last year, but complicating the matter is not having Simon in the 'pen, and Price has over thought how he uses his 'pen as well. Over used his pen in a 8-0 game the other day, and it burned him having to use Parra to face Mcutchen last night.

Hoover started like this last year, then come May he went on a long streak of scoreless innings, and was very good the rest of the year. He could repeat that this year. Ondrusek on the other hand is worthless. On a positive note, it appears Chappy is well ahead of schedule, and his return could make the whole pen look better. Broxton has looked pretty good, and as the main rh setup man he'll be solid if Chappy can step back into his closing role, and hopefully (shame on me for suggesting this) Marshall can give Parra a little help from the port side.

None of it matters though, because the birds are just that much better, even if the pen is at full strength. We haven't been able to beat them when it matters, and there is little if any evidence that is going to change any time soon.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Hoover started like this last year, then come May he went on a long streak of scoreless innings, and was very good the rest of the year. He could repeat that this year. Ondrusek on the other hand is worthless. On a positive note, it appears Chappy is well ahead of schedule, and his return could make the whole pen look better. Broxton has looked pretty good, and as the main rh setup man he'll be solid if Chappy can step back into his closing role, and hopefully (shame on me for suggesting this) Marshall can give Parra a little help from the port side.

None of it matters though, because the birds are just that much better, even if the pen is at full strength. We haven't been able to beat them when it matters, and there is little if any evidence that is going to change any time soon.

You know what...I don't know that STL is THAT much better. Their hitting with RISP was a MLB record last year, blowing the old record away by nearly .010. That's going to regress, and already has. They are also not a good defensive team.

Are they better? Yes. Are they THAT much better? I don't think so. The Reds played them pretty tough in those first 6 games head/head. Yeah, STL won...as I said, they are better, I think, overall...but the gap isn't as wide as some think.

The Reds are really close to doing what I thought they needed to do in the first month...get out of it at, or around .500....brutal opening month, and add on the injuries and such....Things will get better.

Oh, and damn. Cueto. That's all.

 

[bengaldoug]

As soon as we start beating them I will gladly believe you......

 

[cincygrad]

We have no chance against the Cards..... Sure, every fourth or fifth season they might throw us a bone, but make no mistake, we are their bitch.

Frankly, the city of St. Louis does a better job supporting their ball club. They have a better financial situation because of it. You don't hear much bitching about school nights and the economy in St. Louis.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Another solid game out by Simon.

Bats are doing enough, and the Reds have 24 Stolen bases on the year, 2nd in the majors.

Putting pressure on opposing pitchers. They had a contact play last night where Bruce did not run home on contact...and would score on the next AB. About time they stopped that running on contact with a drawn in infield.

 

[cincygrad]

Another solid game out by Simon.

Bats are doing enough, and the Reds have 24 Stolen bases on the year, 2nd in the majors.

Putting pressure on opposing pitchers. They had a contact play last night where Bruce did not run home on contact...and would score on the next AB. About time they stopped that running on contact with a drawn in infield.

I was wondering if the coaching staff would stop some of the idiocy that's been happening on the base paths.

 

[cincygrad]

BTW -- What happens to the staff when Latos comes back?

 

[Cincyfan78]

I was wondering if the coaching staff would stop some of the idiocy that's been happening on the base paths.

I get putting pressure on, but with a drawn in infield, your chances of scoring on a ball hit right at a defender is slim, even Hamilton was out on this very play the other night...until the catcher dropped the ball. It's just not a good play.

BTW -- What happens to the staff when Latos comes back?

Not worried about that right now. Latos hasn't even thrown off a mound yet. He's at least a solid month+ away from joining the Reds. We'll worry about that down the road.