Farmers Only: Where the Bats valiantly struggle, try not to fade into that good night
by nycredsfan on Sep 3, 2010 7:00 AM EDT
in Farmers only
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PrintRick Sweet deserves a raise. That guy consistently manages successful teams, but this year is challenging him more that usual. Assuming that Wladimir Balentien and Matt Maloney join the Reds today, that will mean that in last few weeks Sweet will have lost his starting C, 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, 2 starters, and a few key members of his bullpen. That's a tough thing to overcome, and hopefully the Bats hold on and get into the playoffs.
Also, a couple of congratulations are in order. Dave Sappelt was named the Southern League (AA) MVP, and Jordan Hotchkiss was named pitcher of the year in the Carolina (A+) league. Congrats, gentlemen!
- Louisville lost 7-5. Daniel Dorn and Dave Sappelt each had 2 hits, including Dorn's 13th homer. The Bats loaded the based with 1 out in the 9th inning, but Devin Mesoraco hit into a game-ending double play. Daniel Ray Herrera pitched 1.1 perfect innings, striking out 3.
- Carolina got spanked 8-0. Felix Perez and Jake Kahaulelio each had 2 hits.
- Lynchburg was embarrassed, 11-0. There's not much good to mention from this game, except Abe Woody pitched a scoreless inning of relief. I have no idea who he is, but he's got a cool name.
- Dayton lost 5-1. Frank Pfister hit his 8th homer of the year, accounting for the only Dragons run.
- Billings played another double-header, losing the first game 7-6 and winning the second 2-1. In the first game Jonathan Correa pitched 3 shutout innings, striking out 6. In the second, shortened, game, Kyle Lotzkar threw a complete game (7 innings), giving up just 1 run and striking out 11. Man, I would love to see a comeback from him. Offense in the first game was led by Yorman Rodriguez, Donald Lutz, Trey Manz, Cristobal Rodriguez, and Theodis Bowe, who all had 2 hits. The second game featured much less offense, but Billy Hamilton and Chris Berset each doubled.
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Hey! Lotzkar sighting!
"And then there was the USAID guy in Kandahar who drove a giant pink Cadillac, which the locals set on fire one day. If you wanted to destroy something symbolic during a riot, you just could not do better than that. Good stuff." - Ghosts of Alexander
it's pretty hard to imagine the Bats not getting into the playoffs
I think their magic number is 2, with four games left to play.
Though it’s looking like they may be the wild card, rather than the division winner.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
Abe Woody was drafted by the Reds
Out of Baylor in the 31st round of the 2005 draft. A pretty good Hitler with the Bears, he signed for over-slot money but for far less than what it was thought it would take to get him.
Why haven’t we heard of him, then, as he made his way through the ranks of the Reds system? Well, it’s because he was traded to Arizona in the 2006 offseason for the one and only Jerry Gil.
So, there you have it.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on Sep 3, 2010 8:23 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Hitler, really?
The auto-spell changes “hurler” to “Hitler.” that’s dandy. Just peachy. Well, Marge might have liked it.
We Are ... Marshall!
by Thundering Turtle on Sep 3, 2010 8:25 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
His delivery is over the top
Yeah, those guys and the Cincinnati Reds. They're a terrible football team. / Because they're a baseball team? / Exactly. You know who's the worst football team? The Philadelphia Flyers. - Best Show
by RijoSaboCaseyWKRP on Sep 3, 2010 10:05 AM EDT up reply actions
This one made me laugh
When you come to the fork in the road, take it.
by poojols on Sep 3, 2010 12:23 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Speculation. But,
He was pulled from the game Wednesday night, didn’t play last night, there are no injury that I can find, and the Reds desperately need an OFer.
see what I did there with uzr? it’s like a LOL cats saber-pun combo.--Verka Serduchka
by nycredsfan on Sep 3, 2010 8:56 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
What about Dorn?
With Nix, Edmonds and now Bruce down, we have exactly zero left handed outfielders. That’s probably not good.
Let me write out a formal proof for you.
That was kind of my initial reaction to the apparent Wladamir callup
I wouldn’t have minded Dorn against Carpenter and Wainwright, at least instead of Gomes.
S
Set the gearshift to the high gear of your soul.
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Sep 3, 2010 10:12 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
æ
Set the gearshift to the high gear of your soul.
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Sep 3, 2010 10:12 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
You and I both know Dorn exists. Walt, on the other hand...
He played the whole game for the Bats last night, so I assume he’s not getting the call
see what I did there with uzr? it’s like a LOL cats saber-pun combo.--Verka Serduchka
by nycredsfan on Sep 3, 2010 9:25 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I only recently realize that he exists
but he has a line of .301/.399/.548 in AAA! Maybe they lack confidence in his OF defense or something.
Let me write out a formal proof for you.
that's what I've been saying!
"And then there was the USAID guy in Kandahar who drove a giant pink Cadillac, which the locals set on fire one day. If you wanted to destroy something symbolic during a riot, you just could not do better than that. Good stuff." - Ghosts of Alexander
I think he should be Laynce Nix v. 2 next year
Use Stubbs, Bruce, a real LF (Sappelt, Wlad, or an off-season acquisition) with Heisey and Dorn on the bench..
Then again
Maybe there is something to be said for using a vet as one of your bench guys.
"People don't kill people. Burning oreo packages kill people."
The whole Cairo thing has kind of changed my mind a bit about that.
Although, obviously, in some cases (Edmonds) I’d rather go with… anyone else.
"People don't kill people. Burning oreo packages kill people."
I think so
The Bats seem to use him mostly at 1B and DH.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
Not really
Last year he predominantly played LF, and this year he’s played 31 games in the OF and 27 at 1B.
see what I did there with uzr? it’s like a LOL cats saber-pun combo.--Verka Serduchka
yeah, but
I think that was more because they were short of OFers and didn’t have an alternative. When they do have alternatives, they don’t use him in the OF.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
Perhaps, but TotalZone seems to think he's been basically average there for his career.
Take that with a grain of salt, but I don’t think he’s Gomesian out there.
I think it’s more likely that he’s fighting the 25th round pick, platoon-guy stigma.
see what I did there with uzr? it’s like a LOL cats saber-pun combo.--Verka Serduchka
The organization probably sees way more upside on Wladamir, just generally
Since he’s regarded as raw, has a ton of power, and seems to be more athletic in the OF.
I wonder why he's not getting more attention
When I first came over here, Dorn was frequently mentioned as a hot prospect, but that seems to have faded. He just turned 26, which is I guess too old to be a prospect any more. But I’m kind of surprised he’s not getting a shot. Roster crunch, I guess.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
But what's weird is they didn't protect him last offseason, yet no one took him in the Rule 5 draft
Which tells me that no one around baseball is that jazzed about him.
I guess this is a case where we accept that his numbers aren’t telling the whole story.
see what I did there with uzr? it’s like a LOL cats saber-pun combo.--Verka Serduchka
If BP is the cancer
I guess he’s the Ebola
"And then there was the USAID guy in Kandahar who drove a giant pink Cadillac, which the locals set on fire one day. If you wanted to destroy something symbolic during a riot, you just could not do better than that. Good stuff." - Ghosts of Alexander
He's almost exactly the same age as Balentien, incidentally.
Let me write out a formal proof for you.
I thought I read that Balentin was pulled to an abdominal muscle pull
and is headed to AAA DL list.
When not lurking here, the sportsfrog is where I am.
Bats roster has him listed on the 7 day DL
Bart: "Dad, what's a Muppet?"
Homer: "Well, it's not quite a mop, not quite a puppet, but man... (laughs, then pauses) So, to answer you question, I don't know."
it appears you are correct
The Bats roster has him on the DL.
No Balentien for us.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
I think
they probably just updated the roster this morning.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
Taking on some heavy casualties down the stretch
I think they might vaguely regret DFA-ing Drew Sutton. He hit righties pretty well in the minors and would have been a better emergency back-up OF than Francisco or Alonso, while being an alternative to Cairo in the IF.
Yeah, those guys and the Cincinnati Reds. They're a terrible football team. / Because they're a baseball team? / Exactly. You know who's the worst football team? The Philadelphia Flyers. - Best Show
by RijoSaboCaseyWKRP on Sep 3, 2010 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions
yeah, I'm pretty surprised they did.
but I guess you don’t need too many backup infielders in the playoffs, and Valaika can do the same thing now.
"And then there was the USAID guy in Kandahar who drove a giant pink Cadillac, which the locals set on fire one day. If you wanted to destroy something symbolic during a riot, you just could not do better than that. Good stuff." - Ghosts of Alexander
Valaika, Janish, Cairo, END
lots of guys to choose from for the backup inf role
Probably just Cairo and Janish assuming everyone gets healthy at the right time..
honestly, injuries weren’t that badly timed. we’re 8 games up now, and most of these injuries seem to be things guys will be back from in 2 weeks tops
END someone I'd use pretty sparingly in the infield
And only at 3rd. Alonso is confined to 1B. With Sutton, you have a Jerry Hairston Jr. type who you can plug in anywhere in a pinch. His defense might be subpar, but the Reds have no true backup OF right now and Cairo is the only decent backup glove in the IF. Sutton wasn’t a big loss, but he would have been helpful about now.
8 games is good padding, but it can vanish quickly.
Yeah, those guys and the Cincinnati Reds. They're a terrible football team. / Because they're a baseball team? / Exactly. You know who's the worst football team? The Philadelphia Flyers. - Best Show
by RijoSaboCaseyWKRP on Sep 3, 2010 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions
And
I realize this is a terrible time to experiment – and I don’t think is a “good” idea, strictly speaking – but I’d love to see Alonso at 1B and Votto in LF for a game or two.
Yeah, those guys and the Cincinnati Reds. They're a terrible football team. / Because they're a baseball team? / Exactly. You know who's the worst football team? The Philadelphia Flyers. - Best Show
by RijoSaboCaseyWKRP on Sep 3, 2010 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions
put Alonso at SS for the Cardinals series
just as a way to say Fuck You
"And then there was the USAID guy in Kandahar who drove a giant pink Cadillac, which the locals set on fire one day. If you wanted to destroy something symbolic during a riot, you just could not do better than that. Good stuff." - Ghosts of Alexander
Yes
We should try non-violent, passive-aggressive resistance this time.
Yeah, those guys and the Cincinnati Reds. They're a terrible football team. / Because they're a baseball team? / Exactly. You know who's the worst football team? The Philadelphia Flyers. - Best Show
by RijoSaboCaseyWKRP on Sep 3, 2010 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions
not disagreeing that 8 games is surmountable with a month left
but, Cabrera is a few days away from coming back, and as meh as he’s been all year, he provides some nice depth. Cairo and Janish will be around, hopefully healthy, come playoff time as bench infielders assuming Cabrera gets his starting job back. We can only hope that he doesn’t get his top of the lineup job back, too.
I think the Reds have actually been pretty lucky when it comes to injuries
Knock on Wood (sorry, Travis)
The major injuries they’ve had have arguably improved the team (replacing Slo-Cab with Janish, getting Harang out of the rotation).
Eight games up is a good place to be, but I’m still a little nervous. The Cubs in their black cat cursed-season…they went from 1.5 games up on the Mets to 8 games back. In three weeks.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
I think
they gave up on Sutton because his glove is so bad. He can play every position…really poorly. His bat just wasn’t good enough to make up for his glove.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
"due"
dammit
When not lurking here, the sportsfrog is where I am.
my phone decided to hate sbnation mobile apparently
I was trying to ask about wladdy and his splits this year. Hasn’t he notoriously hit righties better than lefties in his career? If so, he could kinda be a faux lh of for the time being.
Set the gearshift to the high gear of your soul.
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Sep 3, 2010 10:15 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
not if he has a pulled abdominal muscle
They only have one DL in the minors, the 7-day DL, but if it’s a pulled abdominal muscle, he won’t be back this season.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
not this year.
1.053 OPS vs. lefties
.799 OPS vs. righties
Career numbers are much more even
.873
.855
see what I did there with uzr? it’s like a LOL cats saber-pun combo.--Verka Serduchka
Can we still consider him a prospect?
Like, he was a #1 prospect in Seattle’s organization right? Doesn’t he still have a decent chance of being a solid MLB player? Seems like he’s gotta be running out of time in the minors.
or he may just be one of those AAA all-stars who who can't ever put it together in the bigs.
wlad will probably be a pro ballplayer his entire career, but i have no reason to think anybody is going to consider him anything more than a AAAA player.
that said i wanted him up here now because he’s hot and can’t be worse than gomes. what a bummer.
"Now onto more important things: Punching Errorlando Cabrerror in the fucking tits." -Geki
People thought the same way about Nelson Cruz.
It can be really hard for a young player to establish themselves when given sporadic playing time on a “short leash”. Wlad did fairly well for the Reds at the end of last season when he was given consistent playing time.
If you want to see real bashing, check out Red Reporter…it’s crazy over there - hr
by RedsMasochist on Sep 3, 2010 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
in case you were wondering if you should read it
here’s a clip you’ll enjoy
"Walt’s going to take his qualities wherever he goes, but if an organization doesn’t have any players, it’s going to take longer to make an impact," La Russa said. "I knew Walt would make an impact sooner or later, but none of us knew the core they had of real nice young players and pitchers."
I'd never guess Walt was the 2nd oldest GM in the game.
"And then there was the USAID guy in Kandahar who drove a giant pink Cadillac, which the locals set on fire one day. If you wanted to destroy something symbolic during a riot, you just could not do better than that. Good stuff." - Ghosts of Alexander
I actually thought he was older than 59.
Does he look older than that to anyone else?
see what I did there with uzr? it’s like a LOL cats saber-pun combo.--Verka Serduchka
He probably looks about his age to me.
I really enjoyed that article. It might be my favorite on the Reds organization so far this year.
I thought he was several decades older than that
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
TLR is still a WLB drunken turd
When you come to the fork in the road, take it.
by poojols on Sep 3, 2010 10:41 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
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