The problem, identified...

[WvuDieHard]

Absolutely mind boggling how this team performs. Yes, injuries have played a part of this debacle and it would be hard to see Price fired because of said injuries. However, this team is still underperforming injuries or not. I will say it again, dismantle this shit wagon and start anew. Jay Bruce will never be anything more than he is. Get something for BP while you can. Build around Lorenzon, Mesoraco, Votto and Frazier. The rest need to be shipped the fuck out and lets prepare to compete in the future. This train wreck will most likely see a 100 loss season. Is that what it takes to tear this shit house down?

 

[JohnU]

They may not lose 100 but it will be as bad as last year (86 L) or worse. Closer to 90.
Price won't last the season but that puts Riggleman in the box. He can't fix it either at this point.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Agreed, John.

Some would say the Reds lack "leadership", but what that really means to me is they lack a player that can carry the load for the rest, who are alternately mediocre at execution and don't win points (or more accurately wins) for outsmarting teams.

The Reds have Joey Votto, some years. Johnny Cueto, most years. They have Chapman for 2 more. They also another prospective elite player in Mesoraco, who may be a career DH if his hip doesn't go well...and Homer Bailey, if his TJ done by the team veterinarian goes better than the last 6 surgical attempts.

Marlin Byrd wasn't supposed to be the answer for Jay Bruce turning into Dan Uggla at the plate. I think Hamilton could develop, but not in an everyday OF that hits .200.

By current standards, first round draft picks that hit 29 HR or pitch 200 innings in a season are successes. Bruce and Bailey WERE successes in that regard, he just hasn't been lately. Frazier and Leake are successes by that standard, so far. Votto was a steal- as a 2nd rounder, and Phillips was a week away from being a waiver claim when the Reds aquired him. The non-drafted players like Cueto, Chapman, Iglasias, etc. are diamonds. The "other" players that have helped let the Reds down-trades, free agents, lesser round picks meant to be filler forced into larger roles...

For some reason the Reds whole has been less than the sum of it's parts. Squandered opportunities, ignored resources, under motivation, under development, something...But, Ray Charles could see Marquis and Gregg weren't answers, and he never played baseball, and is both blind and dead. Whoever is responsible for that blunder should be doing something else for a living.

 

[JohnU]

So if the secret team meeting actually works, why not try it on ... say, the day before you start a 9-game losing streak?

 

[WvuDieHard]

I wouldn't get my hopes up on this team after beating the Nats 2 games at home. The problem with this team has been consistency going back for at least 5 years. Jay Bruce will get hot for about 1 week early in the season then slump for months and get hot at the end of the season to hit 30 Hr and bat .235. He will probably hit 12 HR during that 2 week hot period and then suck out with runners in scoring position for the other months he hit .190. Bruce is the perfect example of this team and its lack of smart consistent play.

 

[JohnU]

Not taking 2 of 3 from the Rockettes is more in line with what I expect.

 

[chico ruiz]

if anyone is interested, moscot is up against a virtual mlb line-up today v. pawtucket. it will be a good test and indicator of where he is at as a possible viable mlb starting pitcher. btw, h-n-r, i saw amir garret pitch v. tampa last month while visiting the sun & gun state. he looked very good. increased and more consistent velocity from 2 years ago based on video i saw from dayton. he's bigger and taller than i thought. looks like he's put on some weight in the last couple of years. he looked stronger after six than he did in the first. i was able to pick-up his off-speed pitches based on his delivery. sharpening - repeating delivery and release point - skills that every young pitcher goes through. raw athletic talent being refined, with big upside, was my takeaway.

 

[JohnU]

Gotta believe the Reds will bring somebody in soon before Lorenzen and Iglesias meet the Verducci line for innings.
Lorenzen seems to be a few more starts away from being the real deal.
Iglesias has shown some grit. I think he will be OK next year.

 

[chico ruiz]

i've always liked the older college player draft picks. in general, they tend to be mlb ready quicker. like everybody else who's a reds fan, what i've seen of lorenzen is mostly good. to this point, he appears to have a put-away pitch that leake (another college draftee) doesn't possess. the extra 5 mph on the #1 makes it harder for hitters to adjust to his off-speed stuff. greater potential w/ speed differential to get hitters out front more regularly. he also isn't apprehensive about coming in on mlb hitters. jesus mike is confident in his stuff. price has got to love that. just spit-ballin here, but i wonder if cingrani (another college draftee) doesn't deserve another look-see as a starter. at this point, why not? maybe give him a confidence boost. try and get his and iglesisas's pitch counts down and live with the results.

 

[chico ruiz]

cal state fullerton has always been an extremely good & talented college baseball team. i had a chance to watch many games there, before that new yard they now have. well coached over the last 40 years and always very competitive. a lot of so-cal's best young h.s. players wanted to go there over the pac-10 schools. excellent hardball breeding ground for the likes of lorenzen. it's difficult to make comparisons of this variety, but based on the naked eye, and what i've seen at the advanced a & aa level, i'd say they are comparable. the titans play all the top programs outside of the big west and always seem to double-up in the win column.

 

[chico ruiz]

justin turner, kurt suzuki, reed johnson, tim wallach, phil nevin, aaron rowans, mark kotsay, and mike lorenzen to name a few ex-fullerton players. not great ballplayers, but i've noticed they all have a few productive traits in common. excellent fundamentals, they play smart, and they play hard.

 

[Redsfan1507]

The world is a large space to cover with a dozen scouts, but sure seems like the Reds miss a lot close to home...It suprised me, but I read that the Cincinnati area is among the top 10 areas in the USA for baseball signees. Few are Reds farmhands though. Actually, I think the Reds have drafted fairly well lately...it's what happens afterward that dissapoints me.

I also like the college players, especially pitchers, not so much because of the level of competition, but I think they limit innings and focus in individual development better by age 21 than a kid coming up through the minors to that age. IMO, Kids playing for 6 different coaches in 3 years on teams that turn over rosters in season every year, just don't get the same attention.

I think the Reds have several good pitching arms in the farm. I'd like to see an occasional high OBP position player too, though.

 

[Redsfan1507]

My fav lately has been the University of Cuba, though...lol. Baseball GPA of those guys has been pretty high & could field a pretty good all-ex-Cuba team among those with MLB contracts.

 

[JohnU]

Cuba will soon start yielding a lot of players. After next year, see that all change.

 

[chico ruiz]

has anyone seen ian happ play?

 

[JohnU]

I have not seen him or heard much.

Here is an MLB scouting clip.

 

[JohnU]

For the first time in about 7 years, I find myself not even caring that the Reds lost to the Phillies.
I mean, I am so numb to this atrocity ...

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The bullpen had been pitching better, but a two out double that was lost in the lights was magnified when the next guy up homers. Sometimes it doesn't seem to matter how big the cushion is for this bullpen...but scoring four early and not playing add on never helps.

Ryan Mattheus has pitched well since being claimed off waivers. Let's hope that doesn't mean he's getting ready to sign a two year deal if he continues. Long term or two year deals....none have worked out well lately.

You hear some news from time to time locally about Ian Happ, but UC sports doesn't garner much media attention locally...much less nationally. He's a switch hitter that they say has mirror images from both sides of the plate. What I like about his swing is he's short to long. Get's on plane early and extends through the ball...a trait you see in most good hitters that can hit to all fields.

 

[JohnU]

I am really weary of outfielders trying to dive for singles that they turn into doubles. If the ball was lost in the lights, Bruce is the only RF in the league who has that problem. That won't negate the meatball that Herrera hit 499 feet. Do the Reds simply NOT scout hitters?
Utley came in hitting at Mendosa and printed his ticket for the MVP balloting.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

So who is going to replace Marlon Byrd?

At first glance you'd think Kyle Waldrop who is on the 40 man and is hitting .280+, but that would make all the Reds OF lefties except for SH Hamilton. Yorman Rodriguez and Chris Dominguez are right handed, but haven't performed well.

Steve Selsky is RH and having a nice season at AAA. He'll most likely be added to the 40 man by November to protect him against the rule 5 draft, so he'd have to be considered a option. Jesse Winker has gotten off to a slow start and isn't on the 40 man, but the Reds have two years before they have to protect him making it unlikely they'll add him now.