The Positives thread

[Redsfan1507]

Unless Im missing something, the D-Backs are trailing the Reds in the last playoff spot by quite a bit. They're on pace for almost 84 wins, the Reds 91. No other team appears to be remotely close. The Braves are the only team in the NLE above .500. The NLW isn't over yet, but the Dodgers are on a tremendous roll.

3-1/2 games out of 1st place isn't too far to reach for the Reds..and with 13 games left with the Pirates and Cards, whoever wins will probably deserve to. Gotta keep winning, though.

 

[JohnU]

Flirtatious young lass at Wrigley today told me, after the game, after she spotted me in my Reds jacket:

"Nice victory today for your Reds but you won't catch the Pirates."
I smiled at the pretty person and said: "We don't have to catch the Pirates."

I don't think she quite understood but she looked nice in that Cubs jersey.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Nice.

Im more a country boy, but Chicago is my fav big city...if you can travel in Cubs geography. Whitesox land is a bit less enjoyable.

 

[JohnU]

The trouble with the White Sox is that there aren't very many of them. The tendency to think of Chicago as half Cubs, half Sox is wrong. it's about 70-30. Both fan bases tend toward annoying at times but Sox fans are a bit more crude and mocking of other teams. Cubs fans are fairly much resigned to their heritage but I will say that my experience at Wrigley yesterday was among the best I've experienced at a stadium. Truthfully. I heard "Welcome to Wrigley Field" to somebody wearing a Reds cap and jacket ... clearly the ushers were aware of that.

Wrigley is transforming into a modern warehouse, to some end that's good. I looked around for the rader gun ... didn't see one. It's hard to follow the stats that you get used to at newer scoreboard venues. But 100-year-old concrete has a sweet aura about it. I just hope they don't fuck it up much.

Funniest thing I saw ... a man and his son, both wearing Reds shirts ... and wearing Cubs caps!

Gotta love it.

 

[Redsfan1507]

"Old" is the new cool, unless youre talking about us. A lot of the newer parks tried that classic look- Camden Yards, Jacobs, even GABP, plus the technology. The parks are smaller, fans closer, etc. Tradition has been the lifeblood if baseball, but that is coming to an end. Players and fans may not appreciate crumbling brick, leaky plumbing, low tech amenities and uncomfortable seats, as much as TV viewers do.

Im hoping the days of AstroTurf are over, but domes in bad weather venues are a good idea. So are mega scoreboards and fan friendly accommodations, if they can swing the costs.

 

[JohnU]

For as unpredictable as this team is, the hot breath on the back of the Parrots right now has to be downright unsettling. Seems like the Parrots and the Birds were feelin' pretty cocky about 2 weeks ago.

Ludwick seems like he's getting his timing now. That could matter.

Still likin' Mesoraco's leadership lately.

 

[chico ruiz]

ok. put aside all the blogging, posting, and punditry of all varieties, for just a moment, and answer this question honestly. if you had been told in march that the reds would not have cueto, marshall, broxton, hanigan, and ludwick for a majority of the season, what would you have said their chances of reaching the post season were? the honor system. counterintuitive for a message board- i grant you, but i trust you.

 

[JohnU]

ok. put aside all the blogging, posting, and punditry of all varieties, for just a moment, and answer this question honestly. if you had been told in march that the reds would not have cueto, marshall, broxton, hanigan, and ludwick for a majority of the season, what would you have said their chances of reaching the post season were? the honor system. counterintuitive for a message board- i grant you, but i trust you.

I think this is one of those things, not unlike the farmer who says it's not how much rain you get, but when you get it.

IF I don't know about Cingrani, I shudder at losing Cueto.
IF I don't trust Mesoraco, and there was evidence to support that, I shudder at losing Hanigan.
Ludwick wasn't a deal-breaker for me other than he was probably our best alternative in LF.
I can't say for sure about Broxton, figured him to be one of several redundant righties in the pen.
I would not have wanted to start the year with only Manny Parra as a LHP in the bullpen.

But the difference is, this is a 90-win team, tops ... compared to a 97-win team from a year ago.
The people we are discussing probably were worth the 7 wins. With Cueto, the Reds are leading the division. Without him, there's good reason to agree that Bryan Price is a damned good pitching coach.

Mesoraco HAS mattered -- a lot.

 

[chico ruiz]

what's with the 19th century farmer adage? you didn't really answer the question johnu. it's a straight forward question, not a trick question. no hidden agenda. let me ask it this way: if you had been told in march that the reds would not have cueto, marshall, broxton, hanigan, and ludwick for a majority of the season would you have thought they would make the playoffs?

 

[JohnU]

what's with the 19th century farmer adage? you didn't really answer the question johnu. it's a straight forward question, not a trick question. no hidden agenda. let me ask it this way: if you had been told in march that the reds would not have cueto, marshall, broxton, hanigan, and ludwick for a majority of the season would you have thought they would make the playoffs?

Well if all you wanted was a yes or no, seems like I am not the only person who was going to participate.

 

[JohnU]

But if you insist on being a jerk about it.

 

[chico ruiz]

i don't even know what that means johnu. with all the stuff you have posted on these boards, you think i was being a jerk? how? a little ribbing about the farmer adage? what? is this your rendering of sardonic tone? you're a weird cat mr. u. you hate it when somebody disagrees with you, or doesn't jump on the zombie hayride wagon with you. so, you methodically go about trying to kill their spirit. why doesn't ryan post here as often anymore? if johnu has his way, and very soon, ryan won't post here at all. why? because ryan sees a ray of light at the end of the long dark tunnel, and not a freight train. try inserting more baseball analytics into your posts johnu. you might be more convincing that way. some of your posts read like you're disagreeing to just disagree without foundation of fact, detail, or -seemingly- belief. and stop poking fellow posters with your cane. you've railed on about the so-called trolls, but the irony is you consistently write the same kind of sad sack goading drivel they do that goes way beyond, what you call, "bitching."

 

[eburg5000]

Well my answer is. It is a miracle that the Reds are still in it. And the starting pitching has been great even without Cueto. And the most amazing part of this , is the bullpen has held its own. But I am concerned about the hitting. And if any more injuries to the pitching occurs. It will be hard to over come.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I for one, am surprised at the relative weakness if the NL this year. The Reds did lose a lot if percieved value in Cueto, the avowed number 1 SP, and Broxton, who at least Jocketty planned on closing. Hard for me to buy into how much Ludwick would have meant all year, given his 3 month relevance in his last 3 years. Marshall was a LOOGY. Choo was an ADDITION, and so was having Votto all year...so I don't think the add/subtract adds up to a lot less than last year. The Reds aren't on a 97 win pace, in what might be a weaker NL this year...but the NLC improved with the Cardinals and Pirates doing better, and the LASTros leaving for the AL.

Reds haven't win (yet) when they played better teams, but might not have to to get to the playoffs if AZ is the next "best" team. Winning IN the post season, is a stretch IMO, even with Ludwick.

 

[eburg5000]

I hate to sound negative but I have to agree. If the Reds make the playoffs, Its I doubt they are going any further.

 

[bengaldoug]

For once, Dusty doesn't get caught with his pants down as Arroyo suddenly loses it. That's a positive.

 

[Redsfan1507]

It's hard for me to use positive and Dusty in the same sentence. I think he's a negative. Dusty doesn't make this team better, but sometimes he makes it worse. The only positive I can think of there is, he only had one more year on his contract. He's been in that situation before, and he seems to do a little better in contract years. One of these days, he isn't going to get that chance, and someone else that might have a sense if urgency might be hired...There is that hope, for me.

 

[eburg5000]

I don't see much to be positive about with this lifeless team. Looks to me like there making their plans for the off season

 

[JohnU]

I've stayed off this board because at least one person thought being critical of the team was in bad form.

So, fuck him.

The positive of this is that, over the winter, the Reds front office will regroup, sell a little more sunshine about how all the pitchers are back and healthy, plus we got this really great speedy guy for center field and come opening day, all will be forgotten. We will all buy into it because the pre-season scribes will say the Reds are due to rebound and even though they didn't meet expectations this year

hell, the law of averages

(tells me there are 3 outs in every inning, even though our defense clearly is confused by that.)

 

[Redsfan1507]

If this was an expansion team, or a total scrap and rebuild, I'd be more sympathetic to losing and looking bad doing it.

This is a team with enough talent to win more than 3rd place, or a one game play in game. That's THE positive for me. The ingredients ARE there to do much better than we've seen lately. I don't believe the lineup is an insignificant salad, but I do believe that how a meal is prepared effects how it tastes. You can make inferior ingredients taste good, and you can take great ingredients and screw the meal up cooking it badly. Only about half this lineup is prime rib...so the chef and his kitchen staff need to be better than the greasy spoon crew we have.

ALL the contending teams can be beaten. The Reds aren't going to do that making a mistake an inning and pouting every game. A little anger, emotion, adrenalin wouldn't hurt.