Offense? Reds took one of their biggest strengths and made it a glaring weakness

It definitely appears the Reds took one of their biggest strengths and made it a glaring weakness. This offense is simply brutal to watch right now, which makes the big trade look more and more questionable. There are simply too many outs in the lineup as it stands currently

The Reds need to add some type of dynamic offensive player via trade or free agency in the offseason. Who would have ever thought that with all of the pitching questions the Reds have had over the past several seasons?

well i think this is ourl last chance, and maddux might no hit us

they cant postpone can they since they got more at bats that we did

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Originally Posted by redlegs7089

they cant postpone can they since they got more at bats that we did

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This is a mute point for tonight, but as long as the go-ahead run wasn't scored in that extra at-bat, they can call it. The Dodgers led at the end of the last completed inning. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

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Originally Posted by EKURed

It definitely appears the Reds took one of their biggest strengths and made it a glaring weakness. This offense is simply brutal to watch right now, which makes the big trade look more and more questionable. There are simply too many outs in the lineup as it stands currently

The Reds need to add some type of dynamic offensive player via trade or free agency in the offseason. Who would have ever thought that with all of the pitching questions the Reds have had over the past several seasons?

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This is just how I feel. And the worst part is that I don't really think the pitching is that much better either. So basically we took our biggest strength and then sapped it in order to... keep our weakness the same. Painful, painful reality is setting in now, and it makes me feel sick.

They look like they're sleep walking right now but they're not as bad offensively as they look now. They actually were fine right after the trade. Getting Freel into this lineup hasn't hurt them. Sure Clayton is a dropoff from Lopez but Felipe was not the offensive force he was last year either.

They've just got to shake this slump. This year is reminding me of the late 80s Pete Rose managed teams. Those guys would fall out of it in August and the offense shut down. As the dust settled they finished a distant 2nd. That might be this year's fate. However with the league's mediocrity, they may stay in this thing regardless.

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Originally Posted by Sea Ray

This year is reminding me of the late 80s Pete Rose managed teams. Those guys would fall out of it in August and the offense shut down..

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bro it happened all the time in the 90's too

I'm not convinced it's a glaring weakness any more than just a slump.

Even when Kearns and Lopez were there, I recall a few stretches where the team couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. It's too early to say whether this is the result of a depleted offense or the team simply can't catch a cold right now - let alone catching a break or catching fire.

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Originally Posted by KalDanielsfan

bro it happened all the time in the 90's too

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30 years. 3 playoff appearances.

It's happened too many times.

They went from the Big Red Machine to one of the the bottom 10 organizations in all of baseball.

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Originally Posted by BuckeyeRedleg

30 years. 3 playoff appearances.

It's happened too many times.

They went from the Big Red Machine to one of the the bottom 10 organizations in all of baseball.

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the curse of Paul ONeill..he won one with the reds, left and won how many with the yanks?

I think the offense is weaker with Kearns, Lopez and WMP gone. I don't think there is any doubt about it. The slump will end, but the team does not have as much firepower.

If the pitching and defense continue to improve, I still think the Reds will be a better balanced team and win many more games. I do think there has been much better pitching under Krivsky and somewhat better defense.

The problem (other than the current hitting slump) is that right now the overall talent level is just average. The team is about .500 in a weak NL. Improvement is needed in almost all areas.

But the basic concept of emphasizing pitching and defense, and being less concerned with offensive power, makes sense. I think over time this approach will lead to contending seasons.

Why has the offense been so bad?
Jr has performed like a 6 hitter rather than a 3 hitter.
Freel and Aurillia and Phillips are hot and cold.
Encarnacion is over his head.
Clayton is horrid. And our management is not willing to make a position change in the middle of the season.

I'd love to see us move to a lineup like this. I think it can be successful but I also don't think we will see it.

vs RHP
Freel 2B
Hatteberg 1B
Dunn LF
Encarnacion 3B
Griffey RF
Ross C
Phillips SS
Denorfia CF

vs LHP
Freel 2B
Denorfia CF
Dunn LF
Encarnacion 3B
Griffey RF
Aurillia 1B
Ross C
Phillips SS

Thing for me is, where would we upgrade the bats? OF for Denorfia is a possibility in that lineup, but if we have Freel at 2B and Phillips at SS, I don't see a big need for upgrades. We just need Jr to start swinging the bat.

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Originally Posted by Brutus the Pimp

I'm not convinced it's a glaring weakness any more than just a slump.

Even when Kearns and Lopez were there, I recall a few stretches where the team couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. It's too early to say whether this is the result of a depleted offense or the team simply can't catch a cold right now - let alone catching a break or catching fire.

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I have to agree with you. The series of games they played immediately after the trade showed this team could win. In the nine games after the trade, we scored six or more runs five times. We were 7-2. I don't know the team average during that time, but I'm guessing it was pretty good too.

We are in a collective funk and need a little bit of luck in putting together some hits to win some ballgames here.

If you buy into the theroy that we lost the last 3 games because AK and Lopez's bats were gone that means you also have to buy into the theroy that the Reds offense was a consistent run producer that never got streaky before the trade.

Our offense was like this with Kearns and Lopez in the lineup too. We would go series' where we couldnt hit or score anything.I hope we come around for this Braves series or we could be trailing the wildcard by 2 games, ouch.

I say stick back to the lineup where Dunn is batting second and just add David Ross in there as much as you can. But I dont think Narron likes giving LaRue limited playing time.