Frustration

[JohnU]

Watching our Reds get handcuffed, greased and put away last night ... it seems this is the source of frustration, the inconsistent hitting.

Never mind that the other team's pitcher was pretty good. But a run in the first inning and that was basically IT ... can't win pennants that way.

Observations?

 

[chico ruiz]

it's a league wide trend.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Gotta get a few RISP with less than 2 outs

 

[JohnU]

I suppose what bothered me most were two points:

We wasted great pitching.
Votto seems to be in a haze.

 

[eburg5000]

Finally worked my way over here. glad to see you guys. I noticed there is not much posting at all over on CBS anymore

 

[HammerDown]

That was the perfect opportunity for a win and to take the division lead. Like John, I hate to see solid pitching squandered. That was one of those games that you just have to put out of your mind and move on from because nothing is to be gained from it but another chalk mark in the L column.

 

[redlegs@hokies]

I'll take 3/4 from the fish though, with the cubs coming in next.

 

[redsfan03]

It's weird how the Reds go from hitting lights out with RISP to the lords of LOB. If they win tomorrow, it's a successful series. If they lose tomorrow, it's a failure. A split with the Marlins is embarrassing.

 

[JohnU]

The deal is that to keep Votto from pulling the ball, they have to pitch him outside. He's been struggling with that outside pitch but Saturday, he was getting it to fall in. The difference between 10 runs and 3 runs was that Cozart didn't do anything to move Choo along.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Glad eburg made it. I miss the Walter avatar.


This lineup has improved with Choo, but desperately need a real 2 hitter, not just an 8 hitter pretending there in order to get the most out of the rest. Votto will be fine. He's had fewer game hacks than most because they are pitching around him.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I think the Ludwick injury hurt this line-up much more than fans thought it would. It looked as if the lead-off, and #2 had been improved with Choo and Phillips. Ludwick might not have been as productive as last year, but I think he'd been more productive than the options we've seen in leftfield thus far. Through 18 games the Reds' starting leftfielders are hitting .187 with a .228 OBP according to basereference.com. The Reds' pitchers have a better BA than that.

The production from the catchers hasn't helped either. The same reference shows Reds' catchers hitting .137 with no home runs. No production in the #8 makes the pitcher's out an unproductive out. The Reds only have 3 sacrifice bunts from pitchers through the first 18 games.

 

[JohnU]

Hanigan at .087 has really hurt. I usually expect him to have a few RBI at this stage of the season but his thumb obviously was a bigger problem than we realized. Still, there hasn't been a lot of running on Reds catchers. So a mix of reasons for that, I suppose.

Just wondering if maybe the reason X-Paul hasn't won the LF job is because he hits lefty. Ideally, he'd be in the 2 spot in the order and I wish I'd see that happen. But that would be 3 lefties in a row (gads!) ... and I would imagine X-Paul would level off to his career norms if he played every day.

All the same, I like Heisey's hustle and desire, just wish he had a little more bat control. Hell, if he's gonna hit to right, then ... hit to right.

And I wish Cozart would just relax at the plate and hit the baseball.

The batting order is just fine if Cozart and Heisey contribute anything at all. When they don't, the Reds don't score a lot of runs.

I won't discuss Jay Bruce.

 

[chico ruiz]

good post hit'n'run. i think it highlights, with the exception of a couple positions, the good depth the reds have. what i have observed in watching games around the league, so far, this year is: lack of depth, iffy defense, sketchy bullpens, and below average execution. a lot of missed cut-offs, base-running mistakes, and infield defensive assignments. also, hitters are taking -what seems to be- an inordinate amount of pitches. that's a whole different subject / thread though.i would only suggest that we don't have a large enough sample size yet. i -like john- am still optimistic about heisey. you have to love his effort. he has to get hot? right? he's a .250 career hitter who knows how to bunt. i'd like to see him in the 2-hole for an extended time. if votto has found his swing & timing, chris should see a lot of good pitches to hit batting #2. from a positive POV; mesoraco getting more PT may be a very good thing, and work to the reds advantage later in the season.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I'd admit I've been in the corner with those that would like to see Heisey play more. But I'm starting to waiver a bit on his ability to play everyday. He has a reverse split in that he really doesn't hit left-handers better than right-handers. He's .217 versus LHP for his career and looks worse with every approaching AB versus breaking balls from RHP.

Love his hustle, character, and the guy in general. But, he may never be anything more than a 4th OF, pinch-hitter. Still a valuable asset to any team.

 

[JohnU]

Looking at Heisey's numbers, he tends to sneak up on you a little.
Obviously, his 2011 HR data is a little over the top, but he's not as bad defensively as I was always led to believe.
I wonder if hitting in the 7 spot ahead of the inert Hanigan has had an effect on his numbers.
If so, Mesoraco is proving so far to be a much better hitter.

Chris Heisey Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com

 

[chico ruiz]

heisey has always been above average & fundamentally sound in the outfield. very rarely misses the cut-off man. takes good angles to fly-balls. sure handed. gets himself in good position. reads the ball well and gets good jumps. i have wondered why you question his defensive skills in the past.

 

[JohnU]

He's fairly ordinary in CF. I do agree he plays the corners and the wall pretty well.

 

[JohnU]

Bruce on a pace for about 220 strikeouts this year. Not exactly what we want.

 

[Beggs]

Bruce on a pace for about 220 strikeouts this year. Not exactly what we want.

Still a lot of time to work on this swing. Give him and votto time to warm up. As soon as the rest of the starts to cool, those two will be starting their streak.

 

[JohnU]

Bruce looks like a batting champion part of the time and sometimes he looks like he's got his eye on the babe in the 5th row behind the third base dugout.