An Open Letter on the Lineup

[Caveat Emperor]

Dusty,

Can I call you Dusty? Alright, Mr. Baker -- we can maintain SOME sense of decorum in this debate.

I like you. I've been one of your quieter supporters until this point. I had reservations about you being hired, but you've been a firm hand guiding this ship I call my favorite team since you arrived. Abusing pitchers? Vet Love? Vicious rumors you've put to bed. You brought me playoff baseball, which I was fairly certain, like good Chinese food and a healthy indifference to high school athletics, didn't exist in this part of the world. I even bought a box of toothpicks the other day just to be ready for your bobblehead later this season.

I feel like we're boys, in the only sort of way that a 29 year old fan who buys $5 tickets for a seat he never sits in and a multi-millionaire can be. So please, take this advice from a trusted friend:

1. Stubbs
2. Phillips
3. Votto
4. Rolen
5. Bruce
6. Hanigan / Hernandez
7. Heisey
8. Janish
9. Pitcher

It's going to win you ballgames, and you should etch it in stone somewhere in case you forget what it looks like. Don't change it. By self-hypnosis tapes if you find yourself wavering.

We'll talk again when Yonder Alonso and Devin Mesoraco get called up.

Until Then,
- Caveat Emperor

[edabbs44]

Did you contradict your sig? ;)

[Caveat Emperor]

Did you contradict your sig? ;)

I flipped the sig after I checked GameDay again. ;)

[Homer Bailey]

1. Caveat Emporer
2. Homer Bailey
3. ?

[oneupper]

Sign me up!

[_Sir_Charles_]

LOL. Nice C.E.

I approve of this message. :O)

[reds44]

I'm in.

[edabbs44]

1. Caveat Emporer
2. Homer Bailey
3. ?

Profit?

I am willing to sign b/c I likey the lineup with those names in it, however I am of the mindset that lineup construction can be overblown at times. But in this case there is nothing wrong with the order of those names.

[Kc61]

I won't sign. Should play Freddie Lewis against Halladay. Can't have enough lefty bats against Roy.

[WVRedsFan]

I'm in. And I am not impressed with Lewis. Let's get this lineup in for the majority of games, except I'd play Renteria more than Janish. I just despise banjo-hitting shortstops.

[OnBaseMachine]

I'm in. And I am not impressed with Lewis. Let's get this lineup in for the majority of games, except I'd play Renteria more than Janish. I just despise banjo-hitting shortstops.

Renteria has a .573 OPS compared to Janish's .511 OPS. Toss in the fact that Janish is a significantly better defender and it's an easy decision as to who should start at SS. Neither one are the answer but Janish should get the majority of the playing time until the Reds find a better option.

[LvJ]

Agreed.

Tootles,

LvJ

[MikeThierry]

I even bought a box of toothpicks the other day just to be ready for your bobblehead later this season.


This made me laugh here.

Anyway, that lineup seems logical. I have no idea why Baker has a fetish for Gomes. He has to be one of the worst producing OF's in the game at this point.

[Redsfan320]

Yeah, I'm on board for this. If Rolen slumps, swap him and Bruce, or him and Phillips. If the catchers slump, bump Heisey up to 6th. If Heisey slumps put Lewis in there some. If Janish slumps (more than usual), get Renteria some time in there. But for now, as a base lineup, I'm good with this.

320

[PuffyPig]

FWIW, the Reds are leading the majors in runs per game.

[edabbs44]

FWIW, the Reds are leading the majors in runs per game.

You may want to check that, according to ESPN they aren't even leading the Central. Looks like the NYY and Cards are both scoring more per game.

[traderumor]

You may want to check that, according to ESPN they aren't even leading the Central. Looks like the NYY and Cards are both scoring more per game.bref.com say Reds lead NL in RPG, 5.02 to St. L. 4.98. NYY and the Indians are ahead of the Reds in AL.

This is great, like the lineup. Can they help the pitchers get the ball down and in or down and away in the zone to help improve our 3rd from last in the league pitching?

[PuffyPig]

You may want to check that, according to ESPN they aren't even leading the Central. Looks like the NYY and Cards are both scoring more per game.

You are correct on the Yankees, but wrong on the Cards. The Cards have scored 3 more runs buy played one more game.

[Far East]

FWIW, the Reds are leading the majors in runs per game.

Others have said this better than I, but a concern is that so many Reds' runs are in blow-out scores like 7-1, 8-3, 11-4, etc., but the hitting on other occassions come up short against TOR pitchers or in other low scoring game losses.

Of course, that might be true for most teams.

[nate]

You are correct on the Yankees, but wrong on the Cards. The Cards have scored 3 more runs buy played one more game.

Your point stands, though: scoring runs isn't a problem the Reds have.

Preventing them is another story.

[OldXOhio]

Under the heading "you know your rotation is weak when...."

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/stats/pitching/_/name/cin/cincinnati-reds

[buckeyenut]

bref.com say Reds lead NL in RPG, 5.02 to St. L. 4.98. NYY and the Indians are ahead of the Reds in AL.

This is great, like the lineup. Can they help the pitchers get the ball down and in or down and away in the zone to help improve our 3rd from last in the league pitching?

Actually, yes that lineup can help the pitching. How so? Heisey in, Gomes out. Big defensive upgrade which helps the pitching.

I also like the idea of doing
Stubbs
Heisey/Lewis (against tough righties)
Votto
Phillips
Bruce
Rolen
Hernigan
Janish

I don't mind Phillips in two hole, but given the year he is having and the idea of having Rolen protecting Bruce, I like dropping him down.

[Hoosier Red]

Others have said this better than I, but a concern is that so many Reds' runs are in blow-out scores like 7-1, 8-3, 11-4, etc., but the hitting on other occassions come up short against TOR pitchers or in other low scoring game losses.

Of course, that might be true for most teams.

I think that's true for every team.
That isn't to say that certain teams don't have better results in close games, or out scoring their opponents in low scoring affairs, it's just that those things rely more on luck and perfect timing than on an actual skill.

The NL Central could very well come down to who has the best record in games decided by 3 runs or fewer, or by who has the best record in games under 5 runs scored, but no one is "good" at scoring runs against top pitchers but not at "overproducing" against bad pitchers.

[WebScorpion]

The best part is they won with that lineup. Dusty is very big on 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' so I expect him to keep it this way for a while. :thumbup:

[traderumor]

Actually, yes that lineup can help the pitching. How so? Heisey in, Gomes out. Big defensive upgrade which helps the pitching.

I also like the idea of doing
Stubbs
Heisey/Lewis (against tough righties)
Votto
Phillips
Bruce
Rolen
Hernigan
Janish

I don't mind Phillips in two hole, but given the year he is having and the idea of having Rolen protecting Bruce, I like dropping him down.I don't think the pitching problems are defensive related. Sure, Heisey/Lewis for Gomes helps the D, but it isn't like Gomes D is anywhere near a primary factor for the bottom rung pitching we've been getting for the first two months of the season. It is all about poor pitching, simply. If we had league average pitching as we received last year, we are at least tied with the Cards at this stage of the season.