Another absurd effort

[chico ruiz]

hanigan does not call a good game? so, ryan has somehow mysteriously lost that ability in the last year? you're becoming militant about what is a offensive lull in the season. they'll come out of it. your writings are the perfect example of why it is vital that mlb players stay as emotionally even as possible all season long. you sound manic. 2 wins? do you see anything positive about the reds that will benefit them in august? their wins & losses; is their wins & losses john. it's bottom line stuff. remember what their record was last year at this time? i don't know john? go to a amusement park, or go on a picnic, or maybe just loosen your shoes.

 

[JohnU]

hanigan does not call a good game? so, ryan has somehow mysteriously lost that ability in the last year? you're becoming militant about what is a offensive lull in the season. they'll come out of it. your writings are the perfect example of why it is vital that mlb players stay as emotionally even as possible all season long. you sound manic. 2 wins? do you see anything positive about the reds that will benefit them in august? their wins & losses; is their wins & losses john. it's bottom line stuff. remember what their record was last year at this time? i don't know john? go to a amusement park, or go on a picnic, or maybe just loosen your shoes.

Two wins ... one in Oakland, another in Texas. That would be over the next 6 games. I see that as real likely.

Hanigan doesn't call a game, which was the point. He gets his calls from the dugout. He has nothing to do with it. He has not impressed me with his management of the pitchers' emotions. He can't hit, period. Lately, his ability to block dirty pitches is real suspect.

All in all, Hanigan is only part of the problem. You have Votto hitting .400 this week, Bruce driving everything into the seats and, I assume, Choo reaching first base somewhat near the league's top end. The entire objective was to have those three players doing just that. As a result, we all believed, we'd be running away with this.

We haven't won a game since Wednesday.

Having the privilege of being frustrated is quite common among sports fans. The outlets for that are somewhat limited. But I think calling me "manic" is a bit over the top. We will drop it at that.

 

[chico ruiz]

hanigan does call parts of his own game, and i never thought the reds would run away with anything. more, if the reds were 70-7 right now, i wouldn't think their chances of winning the pennant were any better than at 45-32.

 

[JohnU]

Today appeared to be a little better if not uneven. Gotta score more runs in the middle innings.
Let's just leave it at that.

 

[Redsfan1507]

A team is never static- they're either getting better, or getting worse. No surprise, the more road games and tougher opponents, the record gets worse. The Pirates are on an upswing. Trends vary, and the Reds are by no means out of it, although they need to be congnizant of the standings, as the 5th best record in MLB means little if they have the 3rd best record in their division; at least one spot out of the playoffs.

I laugh when people talk about pitching "depth", I prescribe to "you never have enough pitching"...especially when you have NO LHSP in the rotation, and your best arm is a young LH closer that has to rely on a spotty offense and spotty middle relief corps before he becomes relevant. No one should expect a 12 man pitching staff to have an injury free year where everyone is playing up to their potential, all at the same time. The Reds came closer to that pipedream last year than is normal, and the best they could muster was an historic home 3 loss 1st round exit.

The team just needed a tweak or two-obviously, it begged for a LHSP- rebuffed by Dusty's winter long run on pessimistic sales pitch that Chapman shouldn't leave the closers role... in spite of Broxtons closers contract. RH hitters were in short supply, but Todd Frazier and Ryan Ludwick's surprising 2012 performances led to optimism. Stubbs for Choo addressed a leadoff weakness.

Then the law of averages took over. Ludwick was injured. Phillips predictably went to his 4 hitter lineup spot, and performed well.. leaving the same gaping hole in the 2 hole as last year. Cueto was DL bound, bringing Cingrani to fill the void AND address rhe absence of the LHSP void... Marshall's injury forced Parra into a role bigger than the back if the baseball card would suggest was prudent. Broxton went down. Maybe Cingrani can be better than Parra, allowing Parra to shrink back to safer duty. A bullpen less 2 if the top 3 relievers doesn't suprize me by struggling. The backup LF trio has performed as well as could be expected, but Heiseys pending return will effect that scenario, and no one can be sure it will be a positive change. Hanigan, is hitting like a catcher. Cozart is hitting like a shortstop. Frazier is hitting like most .260 minor league hitters, discovering better pitching in MLB. Bruce, Votto, Phillips and Choo have hit to expectations, but a 4 man offense isn't enough to bear the team load.

Unsurprised this team is on a mid-ninety win pace, but surprised that isn't good enough for a playoff spot. Lots of bad teams, and lots of season to play.

I'm concerned when the team passes on opportunities to be better pitching wise(no LHSP, and signing Parra), and although Choo is a defined improvement, depending on catching lightning in a bottle back to back years with Ludwick was a stretch. The coaching staff didn't get smarter, the pitching didn't change much, while the Cardinals and Pirates were improving. Mike Leake has pitched well, but opposing teams fill lineups with lefty hitters that have found ways to score enough against those Reds righties, a little too much.

What needs to change, to get better ? Mostly, the same things that we were saying last winter. LHSP, the bullpen has been a new letdown, but righty hitters, lack of run manufacturing. LOB. Baserunning ( or lack of), and the ability to beat playoff likely teams, is much the same. As is the recurring statement that they are waiting...for the Cardinals to cool off, for the Pirates to choke, for injured or underperforming players to improve, for a 3 run homer, etc.

I doubt Dusty. He's resistant to change, even in the face of sustained underperformance. I doubt the front office, because of their contentment with Dusty, even when he refuses to implement sounder front office roster plans. I doubt the prospects of championships without LHSP. I doubt a lineup with a consistent out in the 2 hole, and refusal to hit and run, steal or advance runners with productive outs. I like the talent. I like the pitching, catching, lefty power, and defense. In just not sure if this team can get to the next level without making more change in their areas of weakness. Marshall and Broxton and Ludwick ? Weren't enough last year.

This team has to shut down lefty hitters better, and score themselves more often. They need to reduce the decimation of an already thin bullpen, by not blowing so many opportunities in innings 1-9, and avoiding extra frames. They need to stop making a gaffe a game in series with playoff contenders. That's all.

 

[JohnU]

Pirates score 5 in the 2nd. Milwaukee scores 5 in the 5th. Angels rack up an 8 spot.
Cards get 7 runs in one inning.
Nats and Orioles both come up with 5- run innings.


The Reds go through the batting order once and draw a ... walk.

I stand by the belief that they'll win 2 more on this trip ... and they already won one of those.

 

[WvuDieHard]

The beginning of the end for Dusteromus. Enough is enough and his approach is a storied history of being just good enough to keep his job. The masses will rally against this bum as this team begins to falter out of playoff contention.

 

[JohnU]

The only way to win a division is to first get to second place.
Currently, the Reds are losing chance after chance to distance themselves from the Parrots, who are currently doing a real nice job of keeping up with St. Louis, which -- despite losing three in a row -- have lost only one game off their lead.

And gained it back last night.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Hey... quick- name an A's All Star...gotcha, didn't I ?

Check their record- they're winning, despite a very low payroll, and a less than recognizable roster. I admit I haven't seen them play much, but they seemed to recognize the righty breaking ball especially (one of my baseball 101 pet peeves- a RHP throwing a breaking ball into a lefty hitter, or vice-versa)the lefty hitters...they appear to have followed a scouting report... and thumped our Reds with an underwhelming pitcher, and less than overwhelming power, in a big pitchers park. We made another baserunning gaffe, and swung ourselves into more submission than production.

I was disappointed in Arroyos results, but he has to throw what he has- which wasnt much different than his opponent, frankly.

I'm hoping the Reds can turn the series around, but if the As are as I suspect, a better coached team that will commit few mistakes, the Reds will have to earn their runs and be stingy enough to come out on top. They haven't been doing that against similar talent much so far.

 

[JohnU]

OK, we have established that the team plays with a lot of heart, has plenty of talent and has better coaching than some of us contend. So, there's another reason for playing well enough to anchor down third place.

I'm interested in that analysis.

 

[Redsfan1507]

There will be those that will say "if we played in such-and-such division, we'd be in 1st place"... and although they might be correct, it's irrelevant to the real world situation at hand.

To me, on a team with this level of talent, the goal should be to be a NL Champ contender. NOT just "get to the playoffs and take our chances". Unfortunately, I've always believed the latter is a Dusty perspective.

Ultimately, given my expectations, you have to do a few things BEFORE you can accomplish that.... like winning at least half the time against similar talent.

When the Reds start doing that, then we'll talk about not underperforming when we get to the playoffs, unprepared for the competition we'll face there.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Hey- I appreciate and like the current situation better than asking why Jimmy Haines is our #1 SP, but for me, I didn't expect Jimmy to win 20 on a pennant winner. The Reds front office has done THIER job to bringing talent to bear, and I just don't like pizzing it away because of not using it sensibly more than occasionally. That's all.

 

[JohnU]

The problem for me, which is the most frustrating and brings back the nightmare of 2011, I can't tell if this team is in a slump or just can't figure out how to establish a batting order, a coaching strategy or has even bothered to read scouting reports.

I didn't know there WERE this many qualified lefties in MLB. The Reds see two every series now.

But if you win one, lose one, win two, lose three, win two, lose two ... that's really management without much of a plan, IMHO. I see this happening again like in 2011. The difference is the Reds will be 8-10 games over .500 and still not in the playoffs.

I agree, making the playoffs is kind of like realizing you're gonna get lucky on your wedding night. This team was, I was led to believe, built to win. I see evidence that Dusty is waiting around for some magical epiphany to make that work. "You'll see ... when Luddy gets back and we have all our pitchers, we'll be OK."

The Parrots lost 4 of their rotation guys -- managed to move ahead of the Reds.
The Cardinals brought in 6 rookie pitchers -- stayed in first place.
The Reds, meanwhile, keep whining about this or that ... wtf ... play better baseball.

 

[Redsfan1507]

In 1862, Lincoln gave several generals the largest army in the world at the time, with the task of marching less than 300 miles and defeating an army a fraction of its size, with a fraction of its supply. His task was met with constant reluctance, excuses, fundamental failures, and requests for more troops, artillery and better weather. Lincoln told McClellan that if he didn't intend to use the army he was given, he would like to borrow it himself. Grant proved later, there were ample tools to harvest the desired results, only determination and better execution was required.

Sometimes, stalling in the short term might save your life, or your ego, or even your job...but doesn't address the greater goal.

There is a difference in a team that can't win, and one that just can't win the way they have been trying to. The Reds can win. They're doing it. They just can't win against teams that win themselves. I don't believe the Reds are merely the best of bad teams, or the worst of good teams. I think they are simply using tactics that limit their effectiveness too much.

They need a LHSP. They have a couple, they just refuse to use in that role. They need to get a few more runners on with fewer outs, get them over with fewer outs, to get them in more often. We tend to ignore getting them on, screw up getting them over, and try to just go directly to getting them in.

We either have bad advance scouts, or are just terrible at translating their info to our players, because it doesn't appear the things other teams use to beat mediocre pitchers are employed by our Reds very often. At some point, bad plate philosophy, bad baserunning and bad pitch section have to speak to communication and/or coaching, and bad situational defense always does. Lineup sensibility has to include more than personal preference, it has to equate to runs.

 

[BigDDude]

Looks like today will not be their day either.

Sorry guys.

 

[bengaldoug]

They don't appear to give a fuck today. If they don't then why the hell should I?

 

[JohnU]

So, they have to win 1 in Texas to even make that 2-win prediction come true.
I feared the worst -- an 0-7 trip. It's not going to be a whole lot better than that.

 

[JohnU]

A.J. Griffin?
A two-hitter?
Yeah, whatever.

 

[BigDDude]

They don't appear to give a fuck today. If they don't then why the hell should I?

Because, who wants to live their live based on what other people do. Maybe they don't care, but do and can. And, when they get back to their winning ways, you can tell others that "I was still a fan when......"


?

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Leave it to Gomer B.