Stuff you notice

[JohnU]

Jayson Nix, journeyman infielder who hangs around teams that seem to end up contending ... cut by the Phils, signed by the Rays.
Meanwhile, Frazier's backup is Neftali Soto.

Listen, the front line of the Reds is probably worth 85 wins.
The bench ought to be able to fill in part of the time to contribute one win a month.

What we are witnessing is an insult to the fans and is going to end up being quite costly.
Cincy needs to make a deal -- any deal -- that provides something resembling a morale boost. THIS IS NOT a phony-ass deal where we "sign" Giancarlo Stanton. (BTW, for idiots who might promote that, players who are under contract can't be "signed" by other teams.)

It's all window dressing, see ... so it doesn't matter. Adding a "Jayson Nix" doesn't make the team better, but it makes the fans hopeful that something has been done to head in that direction. If you can make me believe that "he has to be better than what we have," you have achieved the short-term goal.

It's the Marlon Byrd excuse last year that the Reds had guys on the DL who were better than anyone they could acquire at the deadline. So they waited until Ludwick came off the DL and Byrd shoved the Parrots into the pennant race.

It's time to cut the line on Heisey and Hoover. It's time to turn SS over to Santiago, even if for only a month. No, it won't make the Reds better on defense. Cozart's defense is overrated, IMO. He fields "atom" balls but has shown to have nothing better than average lateral range.

Is Santiago better? No, but this team needs to start the process of modifying its morale. Stop with the "slotted starters" bullshit.

But ... what the fuck? We are bragging about how great the defense is. When your pitcher gives up 1 run in 8 innings and still loses, honestly,

IS DEFENSE YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEM?

If you have a bad heart, the doctor is probably not going to make you worry about dandruff.

And when Chapman comes into the game, he needs to pay attention to where he throws the pitch.

Dugout staff sitting back, waiting for a miracle.

Where have we seen this before?

And rearranging the chairs on the Titanic is, at best, amusing. Having Brayan Pena batting second is a case of desperation by a manager who is showing he has less of a clue than he has the willingness to fix the wrong problem for all the right reasons. This team can't hit. Jay Bruce might matter. Mesoraco might matter.

But the bench is still awful and it's time to do something about that. When Jayson Nix comes on the market and you have Neftali Soto, which deal do YOU make?

 

[eburg5000]

at least Price doesn't have Pena batting 8th,

 

[JohnU]

Expect Jeff Francis to fill the 26th roster spot for tomorrow night.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The game 2 starter may depend on the Reds willingness to DFA a current 40 man roster player. Francis isn't on the roster and there really isn't a good candidate to call up who is. They may just go with Simon. We'll find out soon enough.

 

[JohnU]

Putting Latos on the 60-day made that easy enough.
What's curious is that the Reds did not have to send Christiani back to make room for Francis, since he could be the 26th man.
What it does suggest is that Francis isn't going back to Louisville if he pitches well. That could mean that Simon will go back to the bullpen next time it's Francis's turn to pitch.
Or ... Price could put Cingrani in the pen for the time being.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

So it's Latos to the 60 DL to make room on the 40 and Christiani optioned to Louisville to make room on the 25. They couldn't use the 26 man rule with Francis' activation. They may make Christiani the 26 man for game two and option him to AAA after the game. More rules than you can shake a stick at.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I think the hang up with Francis being the 26th man is he doesn't have options and couldn't be be sent back down without being DFA'd.

The point you make about swapping Francis for either Cingrani/Simon if he pitches well is interesting. Simon is scheduled to pitch in Philly, so if they both pitch well then what?

It would be a nice problem to have. To spout the often worn out old cliche.......You can never have enough pitching.

One way or another it'll fill a void, the team really doesn't have a long relief guy. Hasn't been a need for one very often with the great starting pitching to this point.

 

[JohnU]

Honestly, I don't think it matters. If this team hasn't figured out that it's overmatched, there's no Lone Ranger coming to town. They can't hit, they know it and the worse it gets, the worse it gets. Eventually, the meltdown will occur.

I'd say 10-games under .500 by the end of the month.

I would imagine Dusty Baker has enough class not to pay attention to this.
Price seems like a nice guy, too.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Looks like Jeff Francis who was DFA has been claimed off waivers. I really didn't understand calling him up when he didn't qualify for the 26 man rule and would have to clear waivers to be sent back down. The Reds knew they were going to activate Meso and Cingrani in Philly and have to make room on the 25 man, so it's a head scratcher for me.

In reality it doesn't make much difference in the big picture, but it does weaken the AAA depth. Watching the last two games in Philly it's getting hard to tell the AAA depth from the Reds 25 man roster.

 

[JohnU]

Looks like Jeff Francis who was DFA has been claimed off waivers. I really didn't understand calling him up when he didn't qualify for the 26 man rule and would have to clear waivers to be sent back down. The Reds knew they were going to activate Meso and Cingrani in Philly and have to make room on the 25 man, so it's a head scratcher for me.

In reality it doesn't make much difference in the big picture, but it does weaken the AAA depth. Watching the last two games in Philly it's getting hard to tell the AAA depth from the Reds 25 man roster.

Could be, the whole process was a deal Francis negotiated. He knew he wasn't going to make the Reds rotation or even the roster. Oakland could offer him a chance, who knows? In any event, he would not be the first guy to negotiate his way out of a Triple-A contract. Seems to me like Francis was in on a similar deal with the Reds 2 years ago.
Armando Gallaraga also had a similar deal, and maybe Greg Reynolds too.
Francis actually wasn't the 26th man, as it turns out. It was Christiani, but the transaction seemed confusing. So for whatever the reason or how it worked, it sounded like Francis was part of the process as opposed to it being just a transaction blunder.

 

[JohnU]

Having Bernadina and Hamilton on base with none out, I typically don't see a need to bunt.
But if your hitter (Heisey) has zero idea on how to move runners who have that much speed, what exactly does get taught in spring camp?

Cozart hasn't had a single relevant at-bat since Tuesday. The man is clueless and the league knows it.
Heisey has 1 HR and 5 RBI .... considering his HR was a pinch grand slam in a game the Reds were already winning 8-4 ... that translates to
ONE RBI THE REST OF THE ENTIRE SEASON.

ONE.

 

[eburg5000]

I believe the Reds had better options at 1st base than Soto. Mesoroco could have started last night and still caught todays game. Pena I would think that Price would want to give his team the best chance to win.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I guess I don't see how Pena couldn't play 1b when he isn't catching. Hell, Barnhart isn't hitting worse than Soto, but I guess he can't play 3b, too like Soto (or Pena for that matter).

If you think this team is in trouble because Neftali Soto is a backup 1b,3b that might catch...what about Rofer Bernadina ? We got lucky that Hannahan was on the DL or he'd be our lefty bat and fill in 1b. I guess Donald Lutz is too valuable in the minors to get a shot. He's a power lefty that used to play 1b, and staggers in LF no worse than Ludwick.

The real issue is, the Titanic didn't sink because they didn't bail water good enough. It sank because the unseen calamity tore a hole too big to recover from in the side of the ship. Inadequate backup plans are great conversation, but doesn't address the primary issue. It's tough to watch, but telling the crew to patch the hole wouldn't have saved the Titanic. Best get a lifejacket on, and hope the rescue boat comes back before you're a popsicle. It's the only option.

Hey, pitching wasn't a concern in the winter. Choo was the big loss, right ? BHam is doing fine there.

No team has the farm to replace Votto, Latos, Bruce at the same time, much less Chapman and Mesoraco for much of the year. Bailey and Cingrani and Marshall and Hoover and Ondrusek aren't picking up the slack, they're tying it in a noose. Speaking of picking up slack...Pena and Schumaker have done ok...Mesoraco looks like MVP material in the short term. I'm unimpressed with Ludwick's .270 11 HR pace though. Cozart wasn't planned on being a critical bat.

Sean Casey isn't going to ride to the rescue in Votto's absence , any more than Soto is. The Reds aren't going to trade for Miguel Cabrera either.

 

[JohnU]

The Reds are running out there a lineup that compares nicely to

1982.

Even that team had some decent pitching at times.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I don't think picking positions out of a hat tonight was a good idea. Santiago (not a 3b) at 3rd throwing to Frazier (not a 1b) at 1st, Flavo Fraz forgetting to not close his eyes and get off the bag to catch the ball, seemed to unnerve Cueto early with uncharacteristically cartoon defense behind him, and the rest was Nats batting practice. Marshall, is a BUM, in a bullpen predominantly bumming. Bad D, Bad bullpen, bad offense and a bad starting pitching performance spells...embarrassment...again.

Hey, I know it was a late night (15 innings) but, these guys could (and probably did) sleep until 2 PM. I know Pena is Cueto's personal catcher all the sudden, but no way I keep Mesoraco out of the lineup so Santiago can play. That's a bad trade, don't care where you sit.

 

[JohnU]

Mesoraco needs to be able to step up on that, but naturally, that wasn't his call.
All the same, he's the top catcher and he needs to catch.
If Price thinks so much of his pitchers, he clearly needs to stop trying to out-Dusty himself.
Tonight, it gets even worse, I fear.

 

[Redsfan1507]

When a team is going this bad, with this little front line help in reserve, bad decisions are all there are. Some are worse than others.

I had a coach once that said about managing-"you can ride either mules or thoroughbreds, but it takes a jockey that knows the difference to avoid disaster. If you have mules, don't race them. If you have thoroughbreds, don't try to make them pull shit".

You gotta score to win, but the more you give up, the more you gotta score to win. Bernadina and Santiago aren't going to help score much, and this team is shorter on bats than D and pitching. I get Mesoraco AND Pena in the lineup as much as possible, because they're hitting a hell of a lot more than those two are...but I'm just a back seat driver without reprocussions for being wrong...but I don't make as much money at it as the guys I criticize. I guess that makes it ok.

 

[JohnU]

I do sometimes find myself wondering why I think this is so simple.
The best strategy in the world works all the way up to the moment Lefty hangs a slider to somebody hitting .184 -- and the pitch ends up as a 3-run tater.
Maybe it was his only bad pitch of the night.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Desperation is sometimes aided by believing in your previous dumb luck and undeserved press. Supposedly, Custer ordered his men to dismount, shoot their horses, and use them for cover until reinforcements arrived. It all went as planned, until the reinforcements that arrived first were more Indians. The boys at the Alamo got similarly famous. I'm sure Santiago and Bernadina looked like real good choices at the time too. No one is going to make a movie or write a book about them though.

 

[Redsfan1507]

BTW, I saw the D-Backs signed Drunk Tony LaRussa to be Kirk Gibson's boss. Bet players there are not going to get a lot of sympathy.