Stuff you notice

[JohnU]

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.

If a front office really needed to make things worse, the way to do that is to hire somebody as "director of baseball operations and forget to tell the GM what exactly that job is supposed to mean.

I remember one of my former companies hired a sports news editor to be in charge of the sports editor, claiming the "news" of sports was different from the "sports" of sports.

Yeah.

As an aside, does anybody else wonder if Homer Bailey is tipping his pitches? The camera caught the splitter pretty easily. I could even tell when he was about to throw one.

 

[eburg5000]

I see Cueto won't be traded to the Dbacks any time soon

 

[redsfan03]

Runners on 2nd and 3rd with none out - Reds strand them. In other words, a typical inning for the Reds.

 

[JohnU]

Runners on 2nd and 3rd with none out - Reds strand them. In other words, a typical inning for the Reds.

You'd think if you threw your bat at the ball, about half the time, a run would score.

 

[Scorpion14]

Brian Price really isn't doing anything wrong. I agree with most of his moves but if the players rarely come through then this is what you get.

Right now I have more confidence in a pitcher getting a hit than Jay Bruce. I have no idea what is wrong with this guy considering all the ability and potential he has.

Listening t Kruk boast about Wainwright all night got old too. This is the same Wainwright that in two consecutive starts against the Reds last year gave up 15 earned runs in nine innings pitched. Kruk just slobbered all over himself about the greatness of Wainwright when he should have realized the Reds right now can't hit any pitcher.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I don't like ESPN broadcasts, because the guys are always hopping around doing different teams, and really don't know that much about any team they're covering on a particular night. No more than a casual fan would anyway.

 

[JohnU]

These booth guys are conditioned to swallow for MLB and the greatness on the field. Dates back to when Tony Kubek said about every shortstop: "Some say he's one of the best in the league."

"Some" might NOT have said that. but being one of the best in the league wasn't tough. There were only about 10 or so in those days. Tony never did say, "Some say this guy is the worst fuckin' shortstop in baseball history."

Dodgers announcers tonight were all over Ryu's groin about how he had some awesome kind of game going. I'm watching ... saying, "You dipshits. He's facing the Reds. Even Phil Dumatrait could fling a 3-hit shutout."

 

[Redsfan1507]

Yeah. This team is prone for a no-no right now. I don't get the Santiago thing. I know he's a MLB player, but he can't hit a lock. I'd only knock the dust off him if Cozart went down. I'd probably be using Frazier in the OF more, and playing Pena at 1b-3b when he wasn't catching Cueto, and getting Mesoraco some infield practice and throws at 1b. These guys are nearly helpless at the plate, made worse by playing defense only guys.

 

[JohnU]

The sad part is that the frustrating and clueless attempt to find anything resembling an offense has severely weakened the only facet of the game that the Reds could consistently depend on -- the defense.
So if you can't hit, can't run, can't move hitters, can't get a quality start 2 out of 5 and have to put Hoover/Marshall in to protect a lead, hell....

botch 'em in the field too.

A no-hitter, sadly is kind of what I half expected last night and was shocked when it didn't happen.
Lucky for us, a no-hitter is kind of uncommon.

 

[JohnU]

this bullpen is so bad that the manager, who is proving to be somewhat inept, sends up Ondrusek to hit with a man on first after Greinke had given up 2 hits in the inning.

Giving up in the 5th inning is precisely why I have lost interest in this disaster.

 

[eburg5000]

Disaster is an understatement here. I believe Reds fans talking about playoffs is a conversation of the past.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Then, Bailey and BP come through. There is proof of life. I still believe this division is weaker than last year, not just the Reds. That makes the gap easier to close. Doesn't make success in the post season any easier, but getting there isn't out of reach, with the proviso that Votto and Bruce don't hit like they have so far, all year, and at some point, Latos comes back.

 

[JohnU]

The math is pretty simple. For the Reds to win the division, they have to get to 2nd place.
Being 7-8 games back means having to make up **so many** games inside a general period of time. The two teams ahead of them don't figure to go into extended slumps at the same time.
If you are winning 1 game out of 3, you are automatically losing ground even if both teams ahead of you lose. A game you lose costs you 2 days in the standings and that gets more acute as fewer games are available.
If this team suddenly decided to start playing .500 ball, they would still never catch up. A win is worth two days if the teams ahead both lose, but a loss still costs 2 games. That is why the "loss column" is more important.

Cincy is averaging about 12 wins a month -- and it could end up worse than that. 14 wins a month is about .500.

Being 7 back doesn't sound like much, but if all the gods of luck are on their side, it will take at least a month to make it up. Winning 18 games a month is next to impossible for a team that has shown it can't even win a 3-game series.

 

[JohnU]

Scraped another layer off the bottom tonight, so ... yes, these guys CAN actually sink farther down.

 

[Redsfan1507]

If Joe Blow can toss a 3 hitter with an 87 mph "fast"ball, and a high school curveball, it's pretty embarrassing for the Reds. Speaking of a high school curveball, it didnt take the NL long to stop swinging at Cingrani's only strikeout pitch- a collarbone high pitch called a ball if not offered at, did it ? When that happened, his non existent secondary pitches were exposed, and his mid-90's fastball belt high, is well, normal hitting fodder. An added bonus for the opposition is, Cingrani is going to toss enough pitches to be gone by the 5-6 inning, for sure. That exposes the Reds ugly half of the bullpen. I understand Cingrani is only a 5th starter, but IMO, if and when Latoa gets back, or another minor leaguer gets a starting shot, Cingrani needs to either be sent down to work on his game, or sent to the bullpen to use his single pitch without as much negative impacts on his own line, and the extra bullpen arms needed to finish what he starts every game.

...and rumor has it the Reds have a lefty Cuban ex-SP that has a 102 mph, a 92 mph slider, and a changeup...just hanging out waiting on the Reds to get a lead and keep it all the way to the 9th inning so he can pitch.

Amazing.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Don't the Reds get Bronson tonight ?

That might be interesting.

 

[JohnU]

Bronson knows how to beat the Reds and unless they get a lucky swing or two, that is going to happen.

Strange but Cingrani was more or less being penciled in ahead of Leake and Simon in the spring -- which basically made him the NUMBER THREE guy.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Meso was aware of the first pitch hanger. Made Bronson pay with a granny. Just about got another long one in the 2nd AB.

I liked Arroyo, and sure he's good for the clubhouse, but his age and contract is just too high for a team with lots of younger, cheaper arms. They won't be long, but every Reds pitcher except Bailey makes less money than Bronson. It was inevidible he left.

I'd like to see some younger, cheaper, higher upside guy take over LF next. Ours is on pace to hit .244 with 10 HR, and 53 RBI. Not my kinda 37 yr. old, $9Mil with an option / buyout player I'm looking for.

 

[JohnU]

Bronson basically does what a pitcher's job is -- go out every fifth day and pitch. If he's not on, you put somebody else in. Regardless of salary, any rotation guy's job is to pitch every fifth day.

Evaluating talent, the worst example of that is Cingrani. He doesn't seem like he has learned to prepare for the game. I think the Reds are going to have to cut bait with Tony C. He needs more time in Triple-A. And, no ... the bullpen doesn't do anything but allow him to avoid learning a third pitch.

Salaries for pitchers is going to become an MLB-wide issue soon. There have been enough recent success stories (Greinke, Tanaka) that the GMs are probably going to gamble on the studs. Cueto can be looking at $200 million in a couple of years.

Don't need to spend that on a pitcher. Just teach some of them how to pitch. Alfredo Simon, anyone?

 

[redsfan03]

Marmol goes AWOL. That was another winning investment by the front office...