chico ruiz
Member
that's right bengaldoug. i've read a lot of weirdness on this board -and this board only- surrounding ludwick and his recent activation. mostly, a lot of nonsense - really. who is this 'everyone' that says the reds offense will be all better when ludwick returns? every fan i've talked to (who knows baseball) agrees that ludwick will probably struggle for a couple weeks or more. i haven't read one article, or heard one pundit say that ludwick will magically arrive in mid-season form. who are you guys reading or listening to? in fact, the reds are taking a risk inserting him into the line-up at this time because it will take him some time to acclimate, and they're in a pennant race. however, this is what the reds have. if he can start grooving in september, like he did in july and august last year, then the reds are very tough 1 thru 6. this may be 'sunshine seeking,' but i think the reds are poised to get hot, and healthy, when it matters most. if marshall doesn't make it back, they can slide cingrani to the bullpen. cueto could potentially be very effective out of the pen, if he can make it back that far. and contrary to the conclusion -some on this board have drawn- that dusty has overworked his bullpen, it's just not factually accurate. the numbers (innings pitched, total batters faced, # of high stress pitches) do not support the claim. in fact, the 2013 reds bullpen has some of the lowest total batters faced and total pitches #'s in major league baseball. here's a quick cin. / pitt. comparison from a week ago.
pittsburgh bullpen - total batters faced = 675
cincinnati bullpen - total batters faced = 552
pittsburgh bullpen - total pitches = 2725
cincinnati bullpen - total pitches = 2211
which bullpen do you think will be fresher the last 2 weeks of september? the overall youth of the reds will be a positive factor down the stretch as well. the reds are obviously being careful to get hanigan healthy, and as fully healed as possible. mesoraco is much more of a offensive threat this year. you can see his confidence growing. i think bailey is going to pitch better in september as he gets closer to 200 innings pitched. hoover is becoming exactly what the reds thought they had in the spring, and is getting stronger as the season progresses. the reds have hung around, within striking distance, all year without going on a big winning streak. it just feels like they're a team that will get hot at the right time.
pittsburgh bullpen - total batters faced = 675
cincinnati bullpen - total batters faced = 552
pittsburgh bullpen - total pitches = 2725
cincinnati bullpen - total pitches = 2211
which bullpen do you think will be fresher the last 2 weeks of september? the overall youth of the reds will be a positive factor down the stretch as well. the reds are obviously being careful to get hanigan healthy, and as fully healed as possible. mesoraco is much more of a offensive threat this year. you can see his confidence growing. i think bailey is going to pitch better in september as he gets closer to 200 innings pitched. hoover is becoming exactly what the reds thought they had in the spring, and is getting stronger as the season progresses. the reds have hung around, within striking distance, all year without going on a big winning streak. it just feels like they're a team that will get hot at the right time.