Still can't hit

[JohnU]

Let's not be deceived. The Reds beat up on a rookie on Monday and haven't done squat since then. We needed a rainout and a no-hitter. Zito has a 10.00 road ERA ... he looks like a CY winner tonight.

 

[JohnU]

No point asking Cozart to steal second base.

 

[JohnU]

Easily the longest 2-2 game in history.
Zito and Cingrani the slowest pitchers -- lucky we didn't have Broxton.

 

[cincygrad]

This game has been like watching old people fuck.... I'm not sure why I'm still awake.

 

[JohnU]

Takeum anyway we getum ... this was not an interesting baseball game, however.
But it's a W.

Giants gotta be ready to lean over the ledge.

 

[WvuDieHard]

The Good. The Bad, and The Ugly----The Good: Pitching is still keeping the Reds in most games The Bad: Hitting is simply atrocious at best with no plate acumen at all mired by the fact that we continuously swing at balls out of the strike zone , The Ugly; Simple baseball fundamentals like bunting, running the bases, and moving runners over. I can't possibly see this team going anywhere as the above reasons are why they can't beat teams with +.500 records. Are we blind enough to think that the Reds will magically turn this around and win a World Series? I don't think so. The most impressive thing about tonight's game was watching Bochy manage his pitchers--he did a masterful job in the 5th using 3 pitchers to thwart the Reds 1st and 3rd with no out rally and again later in the game strategically using pitchers for certain situations. You will never see that out of the bum we have chewing toothpicks on the bench like a beaver.

 

[JohnU]

Baserunning from Hell.

I guess it's just how the Reds are going to play.
But the Giants didn't do themselves any favors on the bases either the last couple of games.
That DP on the infield fly was just plain dumb.
It was odd that winning run was after a walk and a bunt.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I just wish Captain Blindman would save a home Reds win for the playoffs.

 

[JohnU]

Let's hope we actually GET to the playoffs.
This truly unpredictable hitting is troublesome.

 

[Redsfan1507]

It isn't unpredictable, it's pretty consistently lean. Hey, Dustaroo bunts the leadoff double about 25% of the time, and about 15% of the times he doesn't, they score anyway. I'd love to see the % of total RISP opportunities are with 2 outs, where the MLB average is about 15 points less than Adam Dunn's career BA. The Reds get plenty of runners on, they're just bad at getting them over, before there are 2 outs. Getting them in usually requires a 2 out hit, unless they hit a homer. Dusty likes that best, it doesn't require getting them over, or even getting them on, to score. If Hugh Hefner had strategy like that, he would have forked 5 or 6 chicks by now, instead of 25,000.

 

[JohnU]

Lots of standing around tonight again, I see. This is supposed to be a bad bullpen. All the bad bullpens get well against a team that shows absolutely ZERO attachment to what the pitchers are throwing.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

It isn't unpredictable, it's pretty consistently lean. Hey, Dustaroo bunts the leadoff double about 25% of the time, and about 15% of the times he doesn't, they score anyway. I'd love to see the % of total RISP opportunities are with 2 outs, where the MLB average is about 15 points less than Adam Dunn's career BA. The Reds get plenty of runners on, they're just bad at getting them over, before there are 2 outs. Getting them in usually requires a 2 out hit, unless they hit a homer. Dusty likes that best, it doesn't require getting them over, or even getting them on, to score. If Hugh Hefner had strategy like that, he would have forked 5 or 6 chicks by now, instead of 25,000.

I was also curious to see the % of Reds' RISP with two outs versus with less than two outs.

I looked it up and the answer was surprising. The Reds have the second best % of getting their RISP with less than two outs in the NL. (722 total RISP and 330 with two outs) The Reds % is .543 with the NL league average being .514.

 

[JohnU]

RISP is not a statistic. It's an opportunity. All RISP has become is the booth media's only attempt to understand anything beyond HR, RBI, and BA. If you are on base, you are in "scoring position."

With 2 outs, anybody who isn't carrying a piano should score on a double.

 

[JohnU]

BTW. With 2 outs, the Reds have an RISP of .179, last in all of baseball.

 

[JohnU]

Evidently, Juanderful Juan Francisco is headed for the Hall of Fame.
He's had ... what ... 6 hits and at least 3 HR against the Reds.
Not much against the rest of the league.

 

[JohnU]

Now we're talking ... lots and lots and lots of baserunners.

Woo hoo.

 

[Redsfan1507]

In interested in what percentage if Reds total RISP are in 2 out situations.

In other words, if you hit .500 with less than 2 outs 35 times, but hit .180 with 2 outs 75 times, that tells you more than the total RISP does. Also of note, is how many runs are scored without any RISP, and the percentage of total, compared with other contending teams. I don't know the numbers, but I see the Reds biggest offensive problem as too FEW RISP opportunities with less than 2 out, and too many with 2 out. The Reds hit a fair amount of solo homers, and with a runner at first. Part of that equation is the Reds strand a lotta runners at 1st. You can look at the runs totals, and see the Reds DO score. The BA isnt terrible, and the LOB is high, so they DO get them on. They're just terrible at getting them over, especially before 2 outs. THAT is a lot of factors- players, lineup, and situational play to advance on productive outs. 2/3 of those variables fall in the dugout staffs area of responsibility. The predictably flawed baserunning makes things worse.

 

[JohnU]

The fact that this team is failing in areas where other comparably talented teams are succeeding points to the coaching philosophy, nothing more. We continue to bash the Baker-Jacoby strategy because it's obvious that's the problem. We can sugar-coat it and lay the blame on "lack of execution" or all sorts of pollyanna notions.

This team is badly managed and it's horribly prepared. When routinely, ordinary pitching opponents command the strike zone for 6 or 7 innings and allow 2 or 3 hits, fewer than 2 runs, there's clearly a lack of preparation. There is either no attachment to scouting or a clear misunderstanding of how to make it work.

When a team is 90-plus games into the 4th season of the same product, it's obvious to me that this team isn't built to win --it's built to play out the season. That's a shame. Investing a quarter-billion dollars in talent and having the coaching staff sit back and achieve nothing positive, honestly ... that's a real fuckin' shame.

Produced nothing positive? Yes, that's exactly what I mean.

If you can't beat Jon Garland, you're screwed. When Charlie Morton makes a career out of you, you're screwed. Aaron Harang? Seriously? Kyle Lohse -- 2 runs. Really?

Built to win, my ass.

 

[JohnU]

A Reds fan, in his obituary, wrote that he would ask 6 of the team's players to serve as pallbearers.
"I just want the Reds to let me down one last time," he explained.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Its bad enough to deal with incompetency in the dugout but I am a firm believer it lives upstairs as well. Only a blind man could not see that the lack of Coaching and Managing that exists in the dugout. No fire, no passion, and no direction are all a reflection of the toothpicker. It is a crying shame that a team with this level of talent is not hitting better than it is and has not improved one iota since Dustmop arrived. So why is that? I ain't buying that lack of execution shit. What I will buy into is the stigma that everybody likes playing for Dustmop. I will tell you this, when my mother was out of the house as a child, I loved the baby sitter because I could get away with anything. Now, the comparable to that with the Reds is I can hit in the #2 hole and bat .236 and Pop out 50% of the time. I can swing at all the bad pitches I want. I can jog to first base on a ground ball. And I can swing at as many first pitches as I want to. Gee, see what a swell guy Dustmop is? I might be fun for the player but it is agony for the fan to see such flawed fundamentals. It needs changed NOW!