Not that I really want to talk about today's game, but here we are.
Quick thoughts:
- People blaming Adam Dunn for the past week really aren't great at the whole critical thinking thing. Yeah he's been having a tough time, but he's hardly the main problem. The bullpen has been atrocious and the entire team's not hitting. How that becomes yet another Adam Dunn debate (YAADD?) is beyond me, but I suppose it's not that surprising.
(Also, guys I don't think davidbriggs is Michael or NEILYNG. Just an FYI, although if something like this happens again he won't be around very long.)
- I see lots of people talking about how weak the NL Central is, but I can't be the only one noticing that Milwaukee is already making a little run. I don't think a low-mid 80s win total is going to do it this year.
- Josh Hamilton should probably be sitting against left handers when Junior is healthy. And I say that as one of the guy's biggest fans.
- Wayne Krivsky deserves every bit of credit for this offense, and for this bullpen. He brought in Alex Gonzalez knowing full well that he'd be an offensive liability, he made David Ross the starting catcher despite his rough second half last year, he's created a brutally bad bench, and he's failed time and time again when it comes to identifying good relief pitching. You want to blame someone for this mess? Direct it towards Krivsky.
- That being said, what the hell is Narron doing with his relievers? Victor Santos barely made the team and yet now he's pitching pretty much every damn day. The Reds already have four relievers in double digits for game appearances. That's a ridiculous number for a team that's had such good starting pitching.
- Something has to happen after the past five days. Tomorrow is an off day, and that's always a good time for a roster transaction or two. Brad Salmon, Phil Dumatrait, and Bobby Livingston are all pitching very well at Louisville, and I wouldn't have a problem bringing any of them up to replace Rheal Cormier. I don't really have an answer for the offense, but there's zero reason not to shake up the bullpen.