No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
With the return of Hairston, with his .325 BA and .370 OBP, does he get to play? If so, where? No more DH and all the main guys are healthy and available.
Infield of Votto, Phillips, Kepp, and EE seems healthy.
Outfield of Griffey, Dunn and Bruce is healthy. Does Hairston replace one of these?
Too bad he isn't a catcher.
Reds will now face a number of lefties. Can't imagine Hairston sits against them.
Something has to give.
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
Been wondering that myself. Griffey's hitting better lately, but he would still be my choice because of defense.
Anybody think there's a chance Bruce goes back down to find his stroke?
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kc61
With the return of Hairston, with his .325 BA and .370 OBP, does he get to play? If so, where? No more DH and all the main guys are healthy and available.
Infield of Votto, Phillips, Kepp, and EE seems healthy.
Outfield of Griffey, Dunn and Bruce is healthy. Does Hairston replace one of these?
Too bad he isn't a catcher.
Reds will now face a number of lefties. Can't imagine Hairston sits against them.
Something has to give.
Good point. I imagine you'll see Hairston at short, third, and in the outfield for most of those starts. Mangement will sit Griffey twice, Dunn once, and Bruce twice to make room for Hairston.
Who am I kidding. He'll be lucky to get in a game.
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
I think Hairston will see time at SS and 3B primarily. At least while his bat is hot.
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fearofpopvol1
I think Hairston will see time at SS and 3B primarily. At least while his bat is hot.
Maybe Hairston plays infield against righties. But against lefties you want Kepp and EE in the game as well as Hairston.
Maybe Griffey or Bruce will platoon for awhile?
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
An honest question here.
Could this be just another case in which Reds Fans can't wait to turn a very good utility player into an everyday starting player?
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ron Madden
An honest question here.
Could this be just another case in which Reds Fans can't wait to turn a very good utility player into an everyday starting player?
No. Question here is not about the long term. Eventually, if Hairston slumps, he won't start.
But for now he's hitting .324 with a .370 OBP and is the team's best lead off man. Should he sit?
Or to put it differently, should the Reds play five lefty hitters against lefty pitching with Hairston, a good righty, sitting on the bench?
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
I see no problem with playing the hot bat.
IMHO, Edwin, Kepp, Bruce, Votto and Dunn have more of an upside towards the future than Hairston does. I really don't care that much. which side of the plate they hit from.
:)
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
What I am realistically hoping for:
Keppinger
Votto
Griffey
Phillips
Dunn
Encarnacion
Bruce
Catcher
What I would do:
Keppinger
Votto
Encarnacion
Dunn
Phillips
Bruce
Griffey/Hairston (I really don't care)
Catcher
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ron Madden
An honest question here.
Could this be just another case in which Reds Fans can't wait to turn a very good utility player into an everyday starting player?
Of course. That's what fans do. Freel gets hot and you should play him everyday. Same with Hairston and maybe even Hopper. Trouble is that over the long haul these players will do nothing for your team. I play the hot hand while it's hot. When it cools off (as it will inevitably do) you go back to the normal. My guess is that Dusty will continue to put Patterson in the lineup from time to time and the hot from Hairston will go away before he knows it. Jerry Hariston has to come down to earth sometime. Just like David Ross did. Recognizing it is what I fear. I have no faith.
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
Not a bad problem to have really. :p:
Better to have too many good players than not enough. When Alex Gonzalez comes back the problem is even "worse".
Maybe it is time to make a trade. We have some good pieces that contending teams might be willing to give us something good for. I would imagine many teams would like to have Hairston, Keppinger, Encarnacion and Griffey. It is just a matter of what they are willing to give up. Those players are not keys to our core foundation of Bruce, Votto, Phillips and Dunn so I would not be surprise to see any of them traded if the return is good enough.
If the trade offers aren't enticing enough I would be happy to keep them all. We know for sure there are going to be more injuries, so chances are good we will need all these players for the season. It is always nice to have good players on the bench too. I would much rather have Hairston available as a pinch hitter in a crucial situation than to rely on Valentin, Patterson or Hopper.
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AtomicDumpling
Not a bad problem to have really. :p:
Better to have too many good players than not enough. When Alex Gonzalez comes back the problem is even "worse".
Maybe it is time to make a trade. We have some good pieces that contending teams might be willing to give us something good for. I would imagine many teams would like to have Hairston, Keppinger, Encarnacion and Griffey. It is just a matter of what they are willing to give up. Those players are not keys to our core foundation of Bruce, Votto, Phillips and Dunn so I would not be surprise to see any of them traded if the return is good enough.
If the trade offers aren't enticing enough I would be happy to keep them all. We know for sure there are going to be more injuries, so chances are good we will need all these players for the season. It is always nice to have good players on the bench too. I would much rather have Hairston available as a pinch hitter in a crucial situation than to rely on Valentin, Patterson or Hopper.
I look for multiple trades and Gonzo being a principal, if he's healthy (btw, no reports on him--hope we had insurance). Few teams want anything to do with Hairston and Griffey. EdE is a possiblilty but I wouldn't give up Keppinger unless it was a monster deal. And please no more pitching deals unless it's for bullpen help and it includes Hopper, Freel, or Valentin/Ross/Bako. I fear this team will look so different in August when I make my trek to GABP that the club will look foreign, but I'm up for that. Just give me a winner and I have faith that Jocketty will do that.
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
FWIW, the Reds offense went south without Hairston and he fills two needs -- righty bat and high OBP (lead off). Against lefties, I think it would be a very bad move to sit Hairston. (I would play him against righties too, but that's me.)
Griffey should be the one sitting against lefties most times. He hasn't hit lefties and could use the reduced schedule at this stage. I'm not sure this works politically, but it works baseball wise.
I agree that the good hitting this year by Hairston and Keppinger are pleasant surprises and a good "problem" to have. Right now they have, respectively, .370 and .380 OBPs. That's what the Reds need at the top of the lineup. With Dunn's high OBP I would consider hitting him third. That's how the top of a batting order should work.
As for Hairston's impending decline, over the years in sports I've seen many players develop certain skills later in their careers. I think Hairston may have learned to hit to all fields and to become a good contact, OBP man. Since he is also versatile in the field, I wouldn't be so fast to discard him. He sure fills a role on this team right now.
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
KC's right. In a perfect world, Jr. sits against the lefties.
Re: No more DH for Reds -- who sits?
Chris Welsh did raise the issue of resting Junior yesterday. I just don't think he's an everyday player any more. Playing 2 games out of 3 might speed up his bat a little (or keep it from getting any slower). This isn't a slam on Junior, just an acknowledgement of his 38 years and his abused body. Time waits for no man.
I like Hairston as a fill-in guy but I don't think his defense at any one postion is good enough to warrant an every-day slot there (SS, CF, etc.).