What would I do differently?

by orangeandbrown on May 19, 2005 9:23 PM EDT

1. When WMP comes back it would be Pena, Griffey, Kearns and Dunn (1b). Casey would get a rare platoon at bat.
2. Lopez would be the everyday SS. Aurilia would have to go.
3. I would start Freel at 2B every day. Jiminez would become this team's Juan Castro. He can play 3B for Randa if he gets hot.
4. I would use the following batting order and rotation.:

1. Freel
2. Lopez
3. Griffey
4. Dunn
5. Pena
6. Kearns
7. Randa
8. LaRue
9. Pitcher

5. And rotation

1. Harang
2. Ortiz
3. Ramirez
4. Claussen
5. Milton

Paul Wilson should pitch long-relief until he comes around. I think he's injured. If he is, he should be shelved.
Ryan Wagner should close, with Mercker in set up. Graves should be relegated to spot work.
I also recommend pruning the suck boys from the 40-man roster so we can start to work some of the young talent without having to worry about who is on the roster.

There. 8 simples changes that can be made today that will make the team better. Notice we aren't eating any contracts, and we're not cutting any starters. Just putting the right guys in the right places.

Tweet Comment 8 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

changes

No contracts are eaten? What do you mean by "pruning the suck boys from the 40 man roster"?

I don't think we have any idea what's going on with Paul Wilson's health. But what we do know is that he absolutely stinks. When he was with Tampa a few years ago, he had some really good games. He was a poor man's Joe Kennedy (ouch!), and I was happy when the Reds got him. When the Reds' website had the annual vote in January 2004 about who would have the most wins, I voted for Paul Wilson. Lidle won the vote; Wilson had the most wins.

But he doesn't even look like the same pitcher now. Not that he was ever dominating, but at least he looked like a pitcher when he took the mound. He looks like he's swimming in his jersey now, and he pitches like a second baseman brought on in a blowout. He's got no kick, a short step, and stiff-arms the ball towards the plate.

Anyway, I do have a problem with benching Casey most of the time. You've got 4 guys in the lineup who are supposed to hit 40 homeruns and drive in 120. But they can't do that without guys like Casey in there. He's a different kind of hitter than the rest of the lineup, and he's best in a position where he'll get some pitches to hit (since we know he isn't going to be taking any walks). Without him, the lineup is thin on doubles.

Brian B

by Brian B on May 20, 2005 1:22 AM EDT reply actions

OandB

I really like your changes my good man. Let me explain to Brian B what you meant by getting bad players off the 40 man roster without eating salaries. If you take someone off of the 40 man roster and send them down to the minors we don't lose any money. The only "risk" is that some other team takes them. Frankly, if another team was desperate enough to take someone like Weber then best luck to them. The only thing that I don't like is Wagner closing. He is doing a good job as a setup pitcher, but that does not always equate to being a good closer. And I whole heartedly agree with no more Casey. Why do our big bats need the Double Play Kid in front of them taking men off of base. And as for being thin on doubles, last time I checked, Casey has 11 doubles, Griffey has 13, Dunn has 11, and Randa and Lopez have 10 each. Your right Brain, we definately need Casey's doubles.

by FritzMW on May 20, 2005 2:00 PM EDT reply actions

What about my right brain?

The contraction form of "you are" is "you're", not "your". And my name is Brian, not Brain.

Nobody on the team has more hits than Sean Casey. Man, he stinks.

I can understand Marsh's opinion on trading Casey to get a top prospect, but you want to dump him because of his double plays? And you are the guy who was pissed about trading Error-on Boone?

Brian B

by Brian B on May 21, 2005 1:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Brian B

You know, I honestly enjoyed this blog for a while. Then you started posting. Congrats on finding mistakes in my spelling. Did it make you feel better about yourself? I hope it did. JD, this is a fantastic website. Peace out everyone, it has been fun.

by FritzMW on May 21, 2005 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions

jeez

About a month ago, I said something about Aaron Boone and must have struck a chord. Ever since then, you've replied to almost every one of my posts and made sure it said something personal about me. I've kept it clean until this last one. This is a fantastic site. And if you've noticed, nobody gets personal and everybody is respectful.

Brian B

by Brian B on May 22, 2005 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions

I like it

I love Casey, but we need to trade him, in my opinion for the good of the team. I don't think he's useful as a 6 million dollar pinch hitter though. Its not that he is not a good player, many people are bashing him, I actually like him and think he's very good. However, I've been in favor of trading him for the last two years. They may be able to pry a good prospect pitcher for him. I doubt it but maybe the Braves give up Kyle Davies for him, they need a first baseman, but the price might be to high at 6 mil a year. Be creative O'Brien, make some moves, shake up the roster, at least make it look like you're trying, instead of saying it will be status quo when status quo is play Aurillia over Kearns.

The only thing I don't like is Claussen in the rotation. He needs to be in AAA. He can be good if he can regain his velocity, but at this point he's not. His fastball is between 85-89 now, sitting at 87. That's not going to cut it. He really hasn't been the same since he got hurt. Put him in AAA and hopefully he can regain the arm strength he had before and get the fastball back into the low 90's. Then call him up. I say use a 4 man rotation and spot start Wilson for a while(if he's not hurt) and let him regain a little confidence in his stuff(maybe he can regain that too).

by Tyler on May 21, 2005 12:12 AM EDT reply actions

Casey

Strongly agree he needs to go now. His .291 is almost totally empty, Kearns has a higher OPS hitting 230 than Sean at 291. I don't usually like "on pace for" for right now Casey at 600 AB would end the year with 42 2B, 8 HR, 57 RS, 76 RBI, and 46 GDP. That would be okay for a middle infielder, but not a 1B. Without some more walks or power, he becomes a player that HAS to hit .300 to help, and he kills you hitting 280. He's 31 in July, and there are contenders out there that could use him. The problem is he WAS a good player, but two years from now, it is highly unlikely he still will be and when WMP, he will be blocking younger, cheaper, and better players.

Greg in Atl

by Greg in Atl on May 21, 2005 6:32 AM EDT up reply actions