Opening Day Starting Pitcher (Poll)
by justin007000 on Feb 6, 2011 11:10 PM EST
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This should really be a fanshot, but you can't put a poll in a fanshot.
With Football season mercifully over, until they start covering mini camp in 2 weeks, we can now turn our Cincinnati sports eyes to baseball.
Over the past five seasons Aaron Harang and opening day became synonymous, I really just began to associate the big guy with the start of all things wonderful. But with Harang now toiling in San Diego the Reds have lost their staff ace Emeritus.
So who will take the ball on March 31st? The easy answer would be Bronson Arroyo, he has age, wisdom, and has pitched pretty well over the last two years; except last year Arroyo said he doesn't want to pitch on opening day. So it probably comes down to Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez.
Last season Cueto took a big step in his career, he kept his ERA under 4 and was pretty solid throughout the entire season with some flashes of brilliance. Yet the post-opt Edinson Volquez missed the first half of the season struggled early on but was pretty dominant in September; so good that he was given the ball in game one of the NLDS (I think, I have no memory of this game so I prefer to think it never happened). Also Volquez was pretty dominant in 2008, so that counts for something I guess.
Of course there is the Dark Horse, RR favorite, Travis Wood. Wood looked very good last year, he started 17 games, but didn't face many teams multiple times, so in some ways Wood is still untested and unproven, and has yet to prove himself 3 times around the league.
Who is your choice to take the honor of standing on the bump at 2:10 on March 31st?
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I voted Voltron
He pitched the first game of the postseason, so it appears he’s inherited the first slot in the rotation.
I think Arroyo really does prefer not to pitch on opening day. Since it means he has to get up early and all.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
Thanks!
seriously though…. i think volquez would be good for opening day too. he’s got the most electrifying stuff in the rotation, and i think he needs a great start to get going on the right path this year.
if the team can count on him throughout the season is a different matter all together.
by NikoliVoltron on Feb 7, 2011 7:08 PM EST up reply actions
I voted T-Wood
No hitter openning day.
"When you chart (the plays) and see where it broke down there was no common theme to it." - Bob Bratkowski
I voted Volky because I think he will start Opening Day,
whether he should or not is a different story.
Watch it, ass blood.
he finished healthy
no reason to believe he is at any greater risk than any other arm 18 months post surgery.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
so there it is
we go Arroyo, Bailey, Cueto, Volquez, and Wood. It would work in Dusty logic because the alphabet is there for a reason.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
yabbut
ABCVW just doesn’t have the same ring to it as HAVOC.
CLAWV, perhaps? BLACW?
Somebody’s going to have to change a name.
Set the gearshift to the high gear of your soul.
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Feb 7, 2011 4:17 PM EST up reply actions
It's becoming clear that Bronson Arroyo's real value to the rotation
is as a vowel for easier acronym-ing.
by the finest muffins on Feb 7, 2011 4:30 PM EST up reply actions
Emby Mellay?
That’s not a name, that’s a bad scrabble hand!
"College actually kind of beat that out of me, making me more, well, of an asshole."
totally worth 13 mill a year.
Set the gearshift to the high gear of your soul.
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Feb 7, 2011 5:10 PM EST up reply actions
Hang on. On second thought, this is an ABC VW:
by the finest muffins on Feb 7, 2011 5:33 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Sure that's not a CAB VW?
I think he might be taking a shortcut.
You're never as bad as you look when you lose. You're never as good as you look when you win.
Wow
Quite a reach, but you totally nailed it.
by Charlie Scrabbles on Feb 7, 2011 6:06 PM EST up reply actions
that's what she...
aw, skip it.
"Red Reporter - An elitist clique full of like-minded douchebags." - BK
well, that didn't work
must have forgotten a quotation mark or something. i said i’m glad i’m not the only one to waste time thinking about this. i was disappointed when i punched in the letters on the anagram website and came up with nothing.
well yeah
you can’t argue with that logic
by Highlifeman21 on Feb 7, 2011 7:56 PM EST up reply actions
By rights,
whoever was supposed to pitch Game 4 of the playoffs … it’s his turn.
Let’s be fair, folks.
Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
TBA
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
I love our pitching depth
because seeing Jimmy Anderson, Danny Graves, John Bale, Dan Serafini, Josh Hall, Seth Etherton, Todd van Poppel, John Reidling, Brian Reith, and Jeff Austin start games still gives me nightmares.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
My sister's 2nd grade teacher was good friends with Seth Etherton.
"People don't kill people. Burning oreo packages kill people."
voted for Aroldis "Fuck You Bill Bavasi" Chapman.
by Brian B on Feb 7, 2011 7:10 PM EST via mobile reply actions 3 recs
me too
if this is should, then it’s Chapman.
if this is will, then it’s Cueto
We all know Condom Arm won’t start Opening Day
by Highlifeman21 on Feb 7, 2011 7:56 PM EST up reply actions
if he were properly stretched out, who knows?
by Highlifeman21 on Feb 7, 2011 8:11 PM EST up reply actions
i want to try chapman as a starter, but i wouldn't be shocked if he doesn't stick
he averaged <5 IP/start in Cuba.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
that is why i want to try him as a starter first
i think it would be foolish not to see if somebody with his ceiling can’t pitch 5-7 innings every 5 days.
But we know that based on his track record that may not happen.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
They should try me as a starter too.
Trust me, I could do it!
"People don't kill people. Burning oreo packages kill people."
do you play basketball? Are you good?
would you like to come to chicago every monday night as a ringer? As the person who by some cosmic joke is in charge of our departments budget I will pay your travel expenses.
Team Discipline and Punished was DP’d pretty badly tonight, i played as a fat bastard with a bad back and shin splints (the Aaron Harang story). Those undergrads made us look silly. We need depth, speed, and youth, as we are grad students who are use to desk chairs.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
by justin007000 on Feb 8, 2011 12:16 AM EST up reply actions
I used to be all right.
I’ve always been fairly athletic, but never really focused on basketball. I always have been able to hold my own in pickup games though!
"People don't kill people. Burning oreo packages kill people."
i am average player on our team
and i am a fat bastard who had a bad back, strained rib cage, and shin splits.
So you might be our star.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
Put Ollie in!
Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
Oh come on
Nobody chucks 7+ innings regularly at age 20, regardless of country of origin.
by Charlie Scrabbles on Feb 7, 2011 11:36 PM EST up reply actions
did i say 7+?
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
by justin007000 on Feb 7, 2011 11:45 PM EST up reply actions
Your worry is that he only pitched 5 innings per while in Cuba, right?
And you are using this “track record” as your basis for making the claim he may never be an efficient pitcher, right?
And I said that is fucking horse shit.
by Charlie Scrabbles on Feb 8, 2011 12:14 AM EST up reply actions
i don't think it is horse shit
he has a record of not going 5 innings into games. He may get more efficient, I hope he does. But I think it is possible he won’t. Plus he wasn’t even going 5 in Cuba, he wasn’t getting finishing the 5th in the one season he didn’t make a relief appearance.
It is possible that if he can’t improve his command he will never be able to go deep into game. There are plenty of pitchers who struggle to go deep into games who have great stuff and get moved to the ’pen because of it.
Plus I am not saying it is impossible for him to do it. I feel that because you don’ t like the evidence I present you are discarding it.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
by justin007000 on Feb 8, 2011 12:21 AM EST up reply actions
It's not that I don't like it
It’s that it isn’t particularly relevant. Young pitchers are never innings-eaters.
Here’s a list of guys I just pulled off the internet:
Johnny Cueto’s age 20 season split between Dayton and Sarasota he averaged 5.3 innings per start.
Roy Halladay’s (he’s like, the best innings eater around) age 20 season split between AA and AAA he averaged 5.5 innings per start.
Bronson Arroyo age 19 – 5.2 innings per start.
You’ve held up Chapman’s lack of efficiency in Cuba as an indicator of his future performance. You are worried that because he didn’t chew innings as a youngster there is a real possibility that he never will. I’m saying that is horseshit because there are no pitchers who are innings-eaters at that age, so that is not a relevant worry.
Now, that doesn’t change the fact that he has an issue with efficiency right now. If he is going to be the ace we want him to be, he will have to learn to be more economical. But the reason we worry about that is because he is a young pitcher, and like all other young pitchers, he hasn’t figured that out yet. You are acting like this is an ailment particular to Chapman when it is a near-universal.
by Charlie Scrabbles on Feb 8, 2011 12:46 AM EST up reply actions
he averaged 4.5 innings
that is significantly less than Arroyo and Cueto.
Arroyo and Cueto were at least getting into the 6 inning more often than not.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
The issue here,
from my vantage point, 42,000 feet off the surface, is that we don’t know the managing strategy of the Cuban team, compared to a managing strategy of a comparable U.S. team.
Heat, field conditions, depth of pitching roster … or just that the manager of the team was being overly protective (or a jerk) …
Just sayin’
But I agree that Chapman’s future on any MLB roster is his ability to get people out with his pitch instead of the one the fans want him to throw. Get guys out on the 1-2 count, not the 3-2.
Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
I highly doubt they were overly protective
i read stories about the likes of Jose Contresas being tabbed to start back to back days.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
by justin007000 on Feb 8, 2011 11:42 AM EST up reply actions
I've heard some reports that his job was basically to come in and throw as hard as he could for as long as he could.
He can’t throw 100+ MPH for 7 innings (or 6, or 5, at the age of 20.) We’d be asking him to throw high-90’s, mixed in with some changeups and whatnot to take yet a little more stress off of his arm. The strategy would be different, plus he’ll also end up far more physically mature than he was back in Cuba (as someone mentioned above.)
"I bet that sex Bengals fan is really pissed now." -DT3428
Arroyo No Matter What
Arroyo should start OD no matter what. He’s the veteran with some solid seasons since coming to Cincy. No matter what he thinks,Dusty is the boss and makes this call.
When does Cueto become a veteran?
This is a serious question. He has completed three full big league seasons and will eclipse 100 starts next year. He is still young, but he pitched some big games last year.
I almost think it would be character building for Cueto to take the ball.
"I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I enjoy myself. I can’t imagine being with a better team."
-Joey Votto
Cueto will be a veteran
after he wins a GG or after his 4th MLB HR. whichever comes first.
"Yahan Sentona's strikeouts are way down this year" Jake Liscow
In a few years
Per Votto.
There’s a few phases in baseball. There’s the zero-to-three phase, when you’re still a semi-rookie; and then three-to-six, where you’re just kind of establishing yourself; and then six-to-10, where you’re going from semi-veteran to veteran. Ten and beyond, you’re pretty much a lock. I’m still in that I-try-to-keep-my-mouth-shut-and-just-do-my-job phase. That works out fine for me, because that’s kind of my personality.
by ken on Feb 8, 2011 9:43 PM EST up reply actions
i vote arroyo for reg season
he’s the most capable of throwing 220+ innings so the Reds would be stupid not to put in on opening day, thus giving him the most chances to start down the road.
In a playoff scenario, it’d be different obviously. Tho i can’t say who I would want there.
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