chico ruiz
Member
if i may, with kind permission, offer a compare and contrast to 1507's post.
i was in arizona for only a week. since then, it's been all grapefruit league. i've seen every nl team in florida. you want an evaluation? here's a naked eye take. the reds are near the bottom in overall talent. farms and prospects? above average pitching depth, with categorical minor league talent at all other positions sans peraza (who i consider a major leaguer) and winker (who could become a legitimate mlb bat eventually). sweet swing, but what i saw was a tendency to guess and cheat on above average heat. reminded be of matt joyce. what i've seen on the back fields at bradenton scare the hell out of me. a system installed by huntington, benedict, and searage that the pirates do not deviate from. scary efficient with continuity of instruction at all levels. and if you don't think that translates to a mlb mound you haven't been watching close enough. have any of you wondered how the pirates pitching could be so good? i've read a lot of digs at pirate pitchers on this board, but they miss the point by a mile. how did cole get so good so fast? why did burnett want to go back to the pirates? they spend a lot of time on the mental strength side of the game, and it shows. have you noticed how the pirates don't make many mental errors? what i see is a crisp, ordered, loose, and confident team. they've created a culture that starts from the day they sign a player. they have pitchers in the pipeline more prepared and mlb ready than the reds do by a sizable margin. you see johnu, this is what scares me. their system was established some years ago and they've stuck within the financial and instructional (development) parameters that were set as far back as 2008. speed, defense, and pitching. not necessarily in that order.
if there is any truth to the 5 stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) i think i'm between depression & acceptance. oh yes, i like to think i'm ready for this season. but, the truth is, i'm still flailing about knowing what's coming is going to be bad. real bad. as i read the above posts, it goes from real bad to -if this is possible- worse.i don't know if i'll even be able to enjoy my morning ritual shit while perusing the reds box score from the previous night. pacheco's value? where dejesus fits in? the batting cages at joyce park sometimes referred to as tony cingrani? jon sanchez (no half funny parenthetical needed - the kevin gregg analogy was dark enough - joke is over, he gone)? blake wood (gas, gas, gas, but pirates did not care to keep him on 40-man)? barnhart fan club of one? with all due respect, do you guys re-read your stuff? who signed marquis, gregg, wood, sanchez etc etc etc and, much more importantly, why? a very shallow farm system is why. and here comes the really sad part. it can't be fixed in a year or two. the number of years it sat fallow are the number of years it will take to just get it back up to speed. that also assumes dick williams means what he says, and they correct what 1507's post eloquently explains has been lacking (absent). the callis article is also assuming the reds draft and sign well this year. and if he's so high on the reds farms why aren't they in his own top ten? it's mlb.com writer rah-rah siss boom bah froth. i'm an optimist, but i'm also a realist. also, i will not be a hypocrite and pan the likes of cave, holt, schebler, mellville, etc etc, because i know who signed or traded for them, and the conditions under which they did it.
so, yeah, for the next 5 years, like it or not, i will occasionally remind this board of those facts. not perception. not new information. fact. i've seen too many small and mid market teams understand, adapt, and consistently succeed the last decade+ to let the oldest franchise off the hook. please remember, i write this as someone who loves the city and loves the team. it's a slice of heaven at GABP. especially on a not too cool early june homestand night at 7:10pm. if ever a ballpark deserved a consistently competitive team, she does. i mean, just look at her. she's beautiful.
i was in arizona for only a week. since then, it's been all grapefruit league. i've seen every nl team in florida. you want an evaluation? here's a naked eye take. the reds are near the bottom in overall talent. farms and prospects? above average pitching depth, with categorical minor league talent at all other positions sans peraza (who i consider a major leaguer) and winker (who could become a legitimate mlb bat eventually). sweet swing, but what i saw was a tendency to guess and cheat on above average heat. reminded be of matt joyce. what i've seen on the back fields at bradenton scare the hell out of me. a system installed by huntington, benedict, and searage that the pirates do not deviate from. scary efficient with continuity of instruction at all levels. and if you don't think that translates to a mlb mound you haven't been watching close enough. have any of you wondered how the pirates pitching could be so good? i've read a lot of digs at pirate pitchers on this board, but they miss the point by a mile. how did cole get so good so fast? why did burnett want to go back to the pirates? they spend a lot of time on the mental strength side of the game, and it shows. have you noticed how the pirates don't make many mental errors? what i see is a crisp, ordered, loose, and confident team. they've created a culture that starts from the day they sign a player. they have pitchers in the pipeline more prepared and mlb ready than the reds do by a sizable margin. you see johnu, this is what scares me. their system was established some years ago and they've stuck within the financial and instructional (development) parameters that were set as far back as 2008. speed, defense, and pitching. not necessarily in that order.
if there is any truth to the 5 stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) i think i'm between depression & acceptance. oh yes, i like to think i'm ready for this season. but, the truth is, i'm still flailing about knowing what's coming is going to be bad. real bad. as i read the above posts, it goes from real bad to -if this is possible- worse.i don't know if i'll even be able to enjoy my morning ritual shit while perusing the reds box score from the previous night. pacheco's value? where dejesus fits in? the batting cages at joyce park sometimes referred to as tony cingrani? jon sanchez (no half funny parenthetical needed - the kevin gregg analogy was dark enough - joke is over, he gone)? blake wood (gas, gas, gas, but pirates did not care to keep him on 40-man)? barnhart fan club of one? with all due respect, do you guys re-read your stuff? who signed marquis, gregg, wood, sanchez etc etc etc and, much more importantly, why? a very shallow farm system is why. and here comes the really sad part. it can't be fixed in a year or two. the number of years it sat fallow are the number of years it will take to just get it back up to speed. that also assumes dick williams means what he says, and they correct what 1507's post eloquently explains has been lacking (absent). the callis article is also assuming the reds draft and sign well this year. and if he's so high on the reds farms why aren't they in his own top ten? it's mlb.com writer rah-rah siss boom bah froth. i'm an optimist, but i'm also a realist. also, i will not be a hypocrite and pan the likes of cave, holt, schebler, mellville, etc etc, because i know who signed or traded for them, and the conditions under which they did it.
so, yeah, for the next 5 years, like it or not, i will occasionally remind this board of those facts. not perception. not new information. fact. i've seen too many small and mid market teams understand, adapt, and consistently succeed the last decade+ to let the oldest franchise off the hook. please remember, i write this as someone who loves the city and loves the team. it's a slice of heaven at GABP. especially on a not too cool early june homestand night at 7:10pm. if ever a ballpark deserved a consistently competitive team, she does. i mean, just look at her. she's beautiful.