Red Reposter seeks a reasonable middle ground

Dusty, once again, addressed the Drew Stubbs situation
He knows the #FARRDUSTY crowd has been in full throat lately. "Everybody’s looking for the perfect team and the perfect lineup," he said. "There aren’t any. You know what I mean. Even the mighty Yankees aren’t perfect. We’ve got a better record than they do."

I think what Dusty is trying to say here is, "Dudes, chill out. We have the best record in baseball. What more do you want?" And I certainly sympathize with him. But I will stake out my position to the right of Dusty, but to the left of the #FARRDUSTYs. The Reds have the best record in baseball, and I'm not so blind as to miss that Dusty is a positive contributor. But some of the #FARRDUSTY arguments are not without merit, either. Continuously pencilling in your two worst hitters at the top of the lineup is indefensible. My assumption is that once Joey Votto comes back, Stubbs will be relegated to the lower third and hopefully this vitriol will subside. But I won't hold my breath for either.

Jonah Keri at Grantland weighs in on the Reds sitch
The two big story lines, of course, are what to do with Todd Frazier and WTF the top of the order. Regarding the top of the order:

"How rare is this configuration on a winning team? Try this. According to Elias Sports Bureau, in the history of baseball, only 11 World Series winners have regularly started multiple position players with on-base percentages of .290 or lower; none of those teams have batted two sub-.290 OBP guys 1-2 in the order. If the Reds win it all with Cozart and Stubbs setting the table with torn paper plates and dirty napkins, they'll have accomplished something no other team has done in 100 years."

Again, I think Dusty will reshuffle the lineup when Votto comes back, but yeah.

ESPN's Da Craz has a nice write-up about ROY Frazier
It's nothing you probably didn't already know, but it's still a really nice national piece spotlighting our boy. I might just make me a Todd for lunch today, hold the mustard.

Jocko talk-o re: Votto
It sounds like Joey is feeling good during his rehab assignment and should return to the Reds this weekend. Good news. He also discussed September call-ups. He says three will be called up on Saturday and then three more will up on Tuesday (when the Bats season is over). He also talked about whether or not Billly Hamilton could get the call. "I’m going to go watch him this weekend," Jocketty said, "but probably not."

In case you missed it yesterday
The Reds (and everyone else) announced the prospects whom they will be sending to the Arizona Fall League. Billy Hamilton will playing the prestigious top-prospect league, though the most interesting bit is that the Reds listed him as an OF. Didi Gregorius, Donald Lutz, Andrew Hayes, and Curtis Partch will also play for the Peoria Javelinas. FanGraphs has a nice sortable table of all players in the league.

Jeff Passan at Yahoo discusses the historic nature of Aroldis Chapman's season
It's one of the best ever, you know. But, as many may recall, it almost didn't happen. Chapman was supposed to be a starter. He only went to the bullpen when the need arose, and as Dusty quips, "It was with much opposition, I might add."

For those of us who want little more than to see Chapman in the starting rotation, this seems to be good news. He clearly wants to be a starter. I think at least some of the decision makers want him to be a starter, too. So yeah, it's something to keep an eye on moving forward. But for now, he's the best relief pitcher in all of baseball, and maybe ever. So that's really neat.