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AFL Rising Stars Game Thread
by Slyde on Nov 7, 2009 6:29 PM EST
in Farmers only
2 comments
If you are sitting all alone at home and are bored tonight, flip your TV on to MLB Network at 8pm. The Arizona Fall League wraps up with their Rising Stars game. It's a chance to see some young players who could end up being stars in the big leagues in the very near future.
From a Reds perspective, there should be four farmhands getting playing time tonight. Chris Heisey is batting 4th and playing LF for the home AFL West team. Batting right behind him is 1B Yonder Alonso. Zack Cozart is on the bench for the AFL West team and Mike Leake will be in the bullpen. Since it is a showcase game, I expect we'll see all of them play.
If you can't watch the game on TV, you can follow along with Gameday. The game is in Surprise, so if I'm not mistaken, there will be Pitch FX for your viewing pleasure.
2 comments | 0 recs |
JJ Hardy traded to the Twins
Well, the dream is dead, folks. Looking more likely every day that Paul Janish is your opening day SS.
1 day ago
nycredsfan
195 comments
0 recs
The Greatest Reds: #80 - #76
by riverfront76 on Nov 6, 2009 12:00 PM EST
in History/Hall of Fame
13 comments
80. Germany Smith
| Played as Red | Primary Position | Career Rank | Peak Rank | Prime Rank |
| 1891-1896 | SS | 81 | 91 | 66 |
| Percent Breakdown of Value | Best Season | Best player on Reds | ||
| Hit | Field | Pitch | 1892 | Never |
| 37% | 63% | 0% | ||
| Awards/Honors as a Red | Leading the League | On the Reds Leaderboard | ||
| N/A | N/A |
-43rd in career triples |
||
Generally regarded as the best defensive shortstop of his era, Smith has the highest percentage of value driven by defense of anyone on the list. Indeed his best season (1892), in which he only .239 en route to an OPS+ of 92, was flanked by OPS+ years of 50 and 61. Despite not being much of a hitter, he routinely beat average SS fielding percentages by 20-30 percentage points, while also displaying more range than average. Nearing the end of his career, he was shrewdly traded for Tommy Corcoran, who then went on to man the same position for the better part of a decade.
13 comments | 0 recs |
Friday Five: Best Reds Teams That Didn't Make the Playoffs
by Slyde on Nov 6, 2009 10:05 AM EST
in Friday Five
64 comments
One of the charming things about baseball is that it typically really means something if you get to the playoffs. If your team is good enough to survive 162 games with a great record, you most likely are one of the best teams in the league. The downside of that is that you can still be a very good team and not make it to the playoffs. Here are 5 such Reds teams.
1. 1974 Reds - 98-64, .605 Winning PCT, 776 RS, 631 RA
You had to guess that a team full of Big Red Machine players would top this list. 1974 was perhaps the strangest season of failure in the history of baseball. Most teams wouldn't have considered 98 wins to be a failure, but if you listen to the players from that team talk about it, you'd have thought they finished in 4th place. This team was essentially the same team as the one that won it all in 1975, but Pete Rose played LF and Dan Driessen played 3B with George Foster splitting time from the bench. Their 98 wins were the 2nd most in all of baseball, and they would have won the NL East by 10 games that season. Unfortunately for the Reds, the Dodgers finished with 102 wins that season and without a Wild Card, the Reds were sent home early that year.
2. 1999 Reds - 96-67, .589 Winning PCT, 865 RS, 711 RA
Since the Wild Card was added to the playoffs in 1995, only one team has won 95 or more games and failed to make it to the playoffs. A season that started with very little expectation - they were playing just .500 ball after 44 games - saw breakout seasons from Sean Casey (132 OPS+) and Dmitri Young (111 OPS+). Veterans Greg Vaugh (117 OPS+, 45 HR) and Jeffrey Hammonds (117 OPS+) led an unlikely crew to the most wins for the franchise in 23 years. And yet, it still came down to a final playoff game with the New York Mets. Stupid Al Leiter!
64 comments | 0 recs |
Red Reposter - How Much Do You Want Ramon Hernandez Back?
by Charlie Scrabbles on Nov 6, 2009 7:30 AM EST
in News
43 comments
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THT is doing a series of player profiles for their fantasy department
and here they take a look at Jay Bruce. It does a terrific job of breaking down his '09 season, and says the future is very, very bright for him. To wit:
"While at first glance, Jay Bruce's 2009 season seems like a step back in his development, he actually made a number of significant improvements that will progress his career. He improved quite significantly in his strike zone judgment and selectivity, while also improving his fly ball tendencies. While wrist issues are always problematic for a hitter, he seems to have put these concerns to rest with a strong September. For 2010, expect a very different Jay Bruce, one who finally lives up to his No. 1 prospect billing. A .275-.285 average with 30 home runs doesn't seem out of the question. If he is able to maintain his plate discipline gains, he could post an OPS in the .900s as well, with the high .900s a possibility and 1.000—while a reach—not out of the question." -
The Fay says the Reds are talking to Ramon Hernandez about his contract
They hold an $8.5 mil option for next season, which should be declined. They are talking to him about possibly re-working the deal so that he can come back at a reduced rate. I would be ok with him coming back under the right conditions, like if they are paying him $2 mil and he doesnt play more than Ryan Hanigan does. I doubt either of those conditions would be met though. Let us know what you think in the poll below.
43 comments | 0 recs
What Would You Change About MLB's Financial Structure?
by Slyde on Nov 5, 2009 1:32 PM EST
in Off-season
122 comments
Now that the Yankees have "bought" their way to another championship, I'm seeing some of the traditional hand-wringing and complaining about how to deal with the financial imbalance in the game (mainly on Twitter, America's source for truth!). I'll admit that it's hard to be a fan of a "small market" team and have to watch the big spending teams in the playoffs every year. Oh sure, the baseball gods throw us a bone or two every year with Minnesota or Tampa Bay or Oakland, but there is typically a big market flavor to the playoffs every year.
But I'm not here to whine about that. I understand why it happens, and I also understand that it is not impossible to overcome it, if you are smart. However, lower revenue teams are at a definite disadvantage, if only because they have less of an ability to absorb mistakes. Even though the Yankees signed players like Carl Pavano and Jason Giambi to large contracts that didn't really pan out, they still averaged 97 wins a season from 2001-2008 and made the playoffs in 7 of the 8 seasons. The Reds signed Eric Milton to a similar contract as Pavano and that set the organization back 3 years, at least. My point is that, despite the fact that intelligence can top money in some cases, money still gives some teams a perhaps unfair advantage.
So, what can be done about it?
I'm not a big fan of a hard salary cap because I think the ultimate result of that is that it allows owners to simply pocket more cash. Plus, I still think you'll have owners who spend the minimum amount and take home the maximum amount of profit. I do however think there needs to be a way to encourage players to "spread the wealth" of talent around the league. Unfortunately, I haven't heard an idea for that that sticks with me yet.
Here are some other ideas though that I think might help out the little guys:
1. International Draft - Force all players that want to enter the league to enter through the same process, regardless of where they were born. This would prevent the best international players from going simply to the highest bidder and would also help teams work their way into the overseas markets like Japan.
122 comments | 0 recs |
The Greatest Reds: #85 - #81
by riverfront76 on Nov 5, 2009 12:00 PM EST
in History/Hall of Fame
15 comments
85. Hughie Critz
| Played as Red | Primary Position | Career Rank | Peak Rank | Prime Rank |
| 1924-1930 | 2B | 87 | 91 | 72 |
| Percent Breakdown of Value | Best Season | Best player on Reds | ||
| Hit | Field | Pitch | 1928 | Never |
| 58% | 42% | 0% | ||
| Awards/Honors as a Red | Leading the League | On the Reds Leaderboard | ||
| N/A | N/A |
-8th in career sacrifice hits |
||
In 1926, Critz finished 2nd in the NL MVP voting. Two years later, he finished 4th. His OPS+ marks in each season were 86 and 90, respectively, perhaps giving indication to how well regarded Critz’s glove was. Indeed, the numbers seem to indicate a rangy second baseman with sure hands. Critz’s 1928 season saw him finish 7th in hits, 5th in steals, and 9th in triples.
15 comments | 0 recs |
2009 World Series: Game 6
by Slyde on Nov 4, 2009 6:00 PM EST
in Playoffs
274 comments
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This is the 4th Game 6 in the World Series in the last 10 years. The Yankees were involved in 2 of the previous 3, losing both games - one to send the 2001 Series to a game 7 and one to finish off the 2003 Series for the Marlins. I don't really care who wins the whole thing, but I'd love to see the Phillies win tonight and give us one more game tomorrow night.
274 comments | 0 recs
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