Whither Dontrelle?
A little bit more on Donrelle being scratched from his Bats' start as a contingency, including remarks from his agent. If Arroyo - or any starter for that matter - were to go down, does D-Train get the call over Wood?
11 months ago
RijoSaboCaseyWKRP
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I'm kind of surprised Arroyo hasn't been DL'd
It’s well known he’s been suffering from back problems, which prohibits him from finishing pitches, which results in balls up in the zone, which results in balls deposited in the outfield bleachers, which results in L’s.
I say put Arroyo on the 15 day DL now. With the All-Star break, he only misses one start. If he’s OK after that, great.
We’ve got the depth. I say Use It!
But Bronson Arroyo is a warrior
forged from steel from the deepest, wealthiest mine; a World Series Champion, All-Star, Gold Glove iron man with ice-cooled veins.
HE’LL NEVER TAKE A START OFF!
He fixes the cable?
by Colin Auscapee on Jul 5, 2011 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions
nobody reads fanshots...
sigh.
No problem, fuckweasel! - jch24
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Jul 5, 2011 1:49 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
you just had your thunder stolen by a mod ....
"And a high fly ball to center field. He hit it a ton. And the 2010 National League Central Division Champs are the Cincinnati Reds!"
Methinks this is kind of like buying a candy bar because it's in a different wrapper.
Dontrelle Willis may be an upgrade over somebody in our rotation but why am I on the list of folks who remains skeptical? Just removing Bronson and inserting Dontrelle seems like the fix we need, but is it?
Is our pitching the problem? We scored zero runs last night.
We left 11 men on base in a 1-0 game.
Dontrelle Willis is a reclaimed pitcher.
Strikeouts don't hurt the team.
Bronson will warm up in the 2nd half no doubt
but I like the idea of having Willis up.
New face… recognizable name, could possibly bring more revenue/facetime for reds.
We could be the lead story on sportscenter/baseball tonight/mlb tonight.
Follow me on Twitter: @DTD_Clayton | Editor for Down the Drive
Because the Reds always seem to do so well when they're thrust into the spotlight!
I wonder what their record is in nationally televised games this year? Abysmal, I’m sure; especially if we don’t count MLB Network games, as no one watches that channel (I do). They also did not look so hot in the playoffs last year.
He fixes the cable?
by Colin Auscapee on Jul 5, 2011 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions
By my unofficial count,
I have the Reds at 1-whatever in their nationally televised games.
Note, this does not include all Fox Saturday broadcasts, as the Reds are consistently superseded by any northeast corridor team (even the Mets!).
Kind of agree about pitching not being a problem
I guess I wouldn’t mind somebody like Dontrelle up, but I’d rather see some sort of shakeup in the offense to get it back on track
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."
I am in that "whatever it takes" mode
Seems like the things that can be done are, at best, peripheral. The team in place is good enough to win 60 percent of the time, not 50 percent. Adding a lefty veteran to the rotation will only help if he’s better than the guy he replaces.
And no matter who pitches, we win 50 percent of the time.
Strikeouts don't hurt the team.
I think it was just a matter of timing
It was kind of an emergency situation. They didn’t have time to adjust the rotation. So the guy whose turn it was was the guy getting called up.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
that is exactly what teh Fay said
he says he’s not one for shake ups for the sake of shake ups, but he’s stunned they haven’t called up one of the hot bats from Louisville.
He’s got some interesting numbers. Basically, the team’s putting up significantly better numbers than last year, but not getting the wins to show for it.
He thinks that means the team is not closing the deal late. Maybe. I have to think that maybe their opponents are playing better this year. In particular, the much-maligned Pirates. They may not be for real, but this is definitely not last year’s Bucs.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
don't misrepresent the Fay
he is only borderline-stunned. Get a brain moran!
Nothing succeeds like failure.
Borderline ...
Kinda like finding Charlie Sheen face-down in a gutter … and wishing you could have gotten his autograph.
Strikeouts don't hurt the team.
I think a shake up needs to happen
and I think part of the problem is poor production from the clean up spot. Even though we have a lot of runs scored, we don’t have that consistently. If we had a consistent RBI guy in the clean up spot I think things would be better. We know that Votto will get on base almost half the time, so we need someone who can drive that run in. Both Bruce and Rolen have failed to produce in the clean up spot.
Dusty seems the sort to say that it's only a matter of time ...
It’s difficult to argue with that. Bruce can break out any time and while I don’t think Rolen is a cleanup guy anymore, he’s capable of driving doubles into the gap. I think this team is more a mystery than it is a failure.
Shaking it up seems the logical solution but finding a cleanup guy is more difficult than finding a leadoff guy, which is harder than finding a shortstop or a backup third baseman or a left fielder or a fifth rotation guy, lefty or rightie. Unless your catcher gets hurt or ….
What do we actually try to fix? All the Reds need to do is play better.
Strikeouts don't hurt the team.
some numbers
Rolen, Phillips and Bruce have had the most ABs at clean up (Rolen with 129). Their OPS in that spot respectively, .570, .653, .771. Even though there is the constant concern of GIBP, Phillips has done the best of anyone batting cleanup so far this year. In nearly 30 less ABs than Rolen, he has 6 more RBI (20 ro Rolen’s 14).
Wait... so, Bruce is OPS'ing 0.118 better than BP in the leadoff...
And you argue that BP is the better option than Bruce?
Looks like you mixed up the order...
Rolen, Bruce, and Phillips.
I agree with what you’re saying then. My ideal lineup…
With Hanigan:
Bruce, Hanigan, Votto, BP, Rolen, Gomes/Lewis/Heisey, Stubbs, Rentawreck/Janish, Pitcher
With Hernandez… I’m not sure what to do with Stubbs and the 3-headed LF monster?
Bruce, LF/CF, Votto, BP, Hernandez, Rolen, LF/CF, Rentawreck/Janish, Pitcher
lol woops should have read further
yeah I mixed up the last two. I am reluctant to put BP there again because he seems to thrive in the 2 spot, but it looks like he is our best clean-up option right now
Trying to jog my memory...
Was Bruce hitting 5th when BP was hitting clean-up? It makes me wonder if it’s just a matter of having an above-average hitter in the fifth spot (something that is not accomplished when Gomes or a hurt/injured Rolen are there).
As much as it would solve many of our problems, I don’t think the Dodgers will be allowed to trade Kemp, so who else could help rearrange this lineup and offer protection to our hitters.
Dreaming a bit with the “Force-Trades” mode turned on, this lineup wins the NL and is the World Series favorite…
Reyes, BP, Votto, Kemp, Bruce, Stubbs, Rolen, Hernanigaco, Pitcher
Assuming that both of those guys are a 1 A-quality and 1-2 B-quality prospects, we would lose Alonso, Mesoraco or Grandal, Francisco or Frazier, Leake or Wood or Willis, possibly Cozart. Would you burn the farm down to put us in the running for the 2011 and 2012 World Series?
I think Hunter Pence
would fix all our problems—maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but he is the kind of player I think would really strengthen our lineup. I know we score alot of runs but we need consistency.
He is definitely not on the market though.
Imagine how the rest of the division felt last year as the team that had sucked for 11 years started winning
"Wait, you think I'm being mean to the pretend orangutan?" -- battlekow
good point
we had the MVP last year which most could point to as a source of our success, what is going on in Pittsburgh? I know Morton is much better, but why do they keep winning? I haven’t followed them much at all.
well, Reyes and Prince are getting a ton of the publicity
but McCutchen and his .890 OPS, 15 steals, and gold glove defense are putting up a pretty solid MVP type campaign.
No problem, fuckweasel! - jch24
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Jul 5, 2011 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
I know we're all doo-rah Bruce, and that's cool, I am too
but McCutchen has been the better player every year and is just fantastic this year. Garret Jones is hitting, Tabata’s getting on base, and their catchers are even better than the Reds’ catchers. They have solid pitching and a lights-out bullpen. Only Lyle Overbay is >30. It’s just not a teribble team.
"You said 'walks' twice."
"I like walks."
I'm glad they aren't terrible
because it’s good for the sport and Pittsburgh has suffered long enough, but it is one more thing we’ve got to worry about now
NO, this is plain wrong
The city of Pittsburgh has had multiple national titles in major league sports in the past decade. That is not a long suffering sports city. I have ZERO sympathy for Pittsburgh sports fans, so one of your teams fucking sucks. Maybe if you go to the ballpark and provide some revenue, they will put money into your shitty ass baseball team. But Pittsburghers are too fucking stupid to watch baseball.
Nothing succeeds like failure.
Better at everything
Except for ease of spelling his name and division-clinching homeruns.
Plus, I think Bruce was arguably better last year, but not substantially. Combine over the course of their first 2.5 years in the Bigs and McCutchen definitely wins out. What was the scouting ceilings considered on these two?
D-Train definitely geta the call
The ugly fact is, this team is in fourth place. I’m not calling for a firesale, but the wild card is going to the NL East. The Reds have to pass three teams to make postseason. Give Willis four starts. If he helps, great! If the Reds fall further out and he stays healthy, you can get something for him at the deadline. If he sucks, so what? Now’s the time to find out.
When you come to the fork in the road, take it.
by poojols on Jul 5, 2011 3:35 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
*gets* the call
Full keyboard my ass
When you come to the fork in the road, take it.
by poojols on Jul 5, 2011 3:43 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I was hoping Dontrelle would join the bullpen earlier in the year
Especially while Chapman was struggling. But Arroyo has been terrible and is probably suffering at least one ailment that’s affecting his pitching. I don’t mind seeing either him or Wood taking his spot for several starts.
But Volquez is a total question mark and Bailey’s at least a health liability. I don’t think Cueto and Leake is enough to float that kind of uncertainty.
I don’t think Willis is going to get much in trade until he puts together a Comeback Season.
"OVERCHARGE, v. To ask a higher price than you can get." -Ambrose Bierce
by RijoSaboCaseyWKRP on Jul 5, 2011 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions
that shit on his lip's got some shit on its lip!
No problem, fuckweasel! - jch24
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Jul 5, 2011 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions
musings...
Neither the Rolen nor the Arroyo extensions look wise anymore. Since the All-Star break last season, Rolen’s hit 6 HR, and Bronson’s given up 40 (40!) HR in 196 innings. It’d be phenomenally nice if those numbers were the other way around.
Dontrelle deserves a chance to be a starter in the rotation for the rest of the year. Lefties who can throw 95, hit the zone, and throw 100 pitches every 5 days deserve as much of a shot as guys like Bailey; the fact that he’s been successful before makes that even more of a no-brainer.
The “clubhouse disruption” concept surrounding the idea of trading Hernandez needs to go. Baseball has always been a cyclical game, one where teams consistently try to repeat what winning teams have done before them. Remember how just last year the Giants traded a 35 year old catcher who had given them years of solid service in order to promote the best catching prospect in the league? That seemed to work out alright, didn’t it?
I said it in the gamethread last night, but I’ll say it again here: it’s time the Reds decided whether they legitimately think they can win a World Series in 2011 or 2012 with the roster as it is currently constructed. If they have brains, they’ll realize they can’t, and they’ll begin to make the changes necessary to make that a possibility. Once you win a division, “aiming for a .500 season” just doesn’t cut it anymore.
No problem, fuckweasel! - jch24
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Jul 5, 2011 3:58 PM EDT reply actions
edit: Rolen's hit 7 HR since the break last year.
That doesn’t change the point, however.
No problem, fuckweasel! - jch24
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Jul 5, 2011 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions
But what about his Veteran Presence...
Plus he gives 110% every game.
In all seriousness though, I keep hoping that Rolen will be able to recover and play like he did for the last 2 months of 2009 and first half of 2010, but I think that’s unlikely to happen.
That said, both of these guys have been playing through injuries and been serviceable (although below league average).
Rolen has been kinda brutal at the plate since late last year
But his defense helps his case a little. Luckily the Reds are only on the hook for one more year of $6.5 salary (plus PR bonus) with Rolen. The way he’s been handled this year, I could see him roughly splitting time with Frazier next year. That wouldn’t be too bad.
The difference between Ramon and Bengie: Molina has OPSing 644 for the Giants when he was traded. Ramon is the second-best hitter on this team by slash line and third-best by bWAR. If they’re going to trade him, they ought to at least play him more this month.
"OVERCHARGE, v. To ask a higher price than you can get." -Ambrose Bierce
by RijoSaboCaseyWKRP on Jul 5, 2011 4:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree on Rolen, but if he's nothing but a solid glove man, he's got no business being a cleanup hitter.
The similarity between Ramon and Bengie: the Giants were 40-38, in 4th place in the division, and 5.5 games back in the division.
Molina netted them only the 21st best prospect in the Texas system in that trade. The fact that Hernandez has been the second best hitter is exactly WHY you trade him now…based on his track record, do you honestly expect him to keep up an .870 OPS? I don’t. Sell high! Get something in return!
No problem, fuckweasel! - jch24
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Jul 5, 2011 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions
as another side note
Rolen, as of today, is OPSing .702 in 219 ABs while playing great defense.
Last year, in 200 AB, Paul Janish OPSed .723 while playing great defense.
Only one of these 2 has been hitting cleanup…
No problem, fuckweasel! - jch24
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Jul 5, 2011 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions
my hatred for the Cardinals may be making me more suspicious
But if PooHoles comes back from a broken wrist in three weeks, he is one big PED.
When you come to the fork in the road, take it.
by poojols on Jul 5, 2011 4:19 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I don't think he's been out for three weeks
I think they are saying he will return from a broken wrist in 1 week. Which, you are right, should not be possible.
Run differential in June
120 RS (2nd best in NL)
92 RA (tied for 3rd best in NL)
3rd best run differential in June.
7th best record in June.
Do we need to trade for Lady Luck? She must’ve been packed in OCab’s bags!!!
"To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other." - Jack Handey
the 2011 Reds are becoming the 2010 San Diego Chargers
1st in overall team offense, 1st in overall team defense…8 wins, 8 losses, no playoffs.
No problem, fuckweasel! - jch24
by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on Jul 5, 2011 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions
But the Reds are likable
The Chargers were just a despicable team
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."
by ChiDa on Jul 5, 2011 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
7/5 Reds Lineup
Stubbs CF, Phillips 2B, Votto 1B, Rolen 3B, Bruce RF, Gomes LF, Hanigan C, Janish SS, Volquez P
Poopholes activated but not in lineup, he’s either a doper or a frakkin’ Cylon.
Let a man come in and do the Popcorn.
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