Alfredo Simon

Is this for real?

Baltimore didn't want him, and his stats justified that decision. Since we got him, he's been one of the best arms we have in the pen, and as of late one of the most trusted in my eyes. An excellent fastball and great breaking stuff, and he goes a few innings if you need him to.

Maybe being in the pen allows him to throw that extra mph, and this was the role he always could have succeeded in. Maybe the transition from the AL East to the NL Central helped him. Maybe Price just altogether fixed him?

I tend to believe that it's a mixture of all three, and he (along with The Team) has benefited greatly. Having this kind of pitching is a great problem to have, and it's not something a mid-twenties Reds fan has ever seen at this level.

It just makes you wonder why no other team took a flyer on him. Your opinions?

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Originally Posted by bigredmechanism

Is this for real?

Baltimore didn't want him, and his stats justified that decision. Since we got him, he's been one of the best arms we have in the pen, and as of late one of the most trusted in my eyes. An excellent fastball and great breaking stuff, and he goes a few innings if you need him to.

Maybe being in the pen allows him to throw that extra mph, and this was the role he always could have succeeded in. Maybe the transition from the AL East to the NL Central helped him. Maybe Price just altogether fixed him?

I tend to believe that it's a mixture of all three, and he (along with The Team) has benefited greatly. Having this kind of pitching is a great problem to have, and it's not something a mid-twenties Reds fan has ever seen at this level.

It just makes you wonder why no other team took a flyer on him. Your opinions?

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This guy has won me over. This guy is a huge reason why the Reds have one of the best bullpen in the league. He's had one bad outing which was one of his first and I wrongly judge him from that performance. Since then, he has quietly been great.

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Originally Posted by Trajinous

This guy has won me over. This guy is a huge reason why the Reds have one of the best bullpen in the league. He's had one bad outing which was one of his first and I wrongly judge him from that performance. Since then, he has quietly been great.

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He had like 3 bad outings, one REALLY bad, all early in the year. Lately he has been a major asset and I'm sure all of us have flipped our opinions. His career numbers were terrible before joining the squad.

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Originally Posted by bigredmechanism

Is this for real?

Baltimore didn't want him, and his stats justified that decision. Since we got him, he's been one of the best arms we have in the pen, and as of late one of the most trusted in my eyes. An excellent fastball and great breaking stuff, and he goes a few innings if you need him to.

Maybe being in the pen allows him to throw that extra mph, and this was the role he always could have succeeded in. Maybe the transition from the AL East to the NL Central helped him. Maybe Price just altogether fixed him?

I tend to believe that it's a mixture of all three, and he (along with The Team) has benefited greatly. Having this kind of pitching is a great problem to have, and it's not something a mid-twenties Reds fan has ever seen at this level.

It just makes you wonder why no other team took a flyer on him. Your opinions?

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My opinion is that Walt is an excellent G.M., and he continues to do great things through the front office. The only thing holding him back is Dusty's reliance on used-up, aged Veterans. Dusty appears to have a veto on many deals.

They say that if a Gambler/G.M. is right 55% of the time, he's outstanding. Walt seems to get it right at the 75%+ rate.

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Originally Posted by Kingspoint

My opinion is that Walt is an excellent G.M., and he continues to do great things through the front office. The only thing holding him back is Dusty's reliance on used-up, aged Veterans. Dusty appears to have a veto on many deals.

They say that if a Gambler/G.M. is right 55% of the time, he's outstanding. Walt seems to get it right at the 75%+ rate.

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Interesting, I've never thought of that before. Which deals do you think Dusty vetoed?

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Originally Posted by Kingspoint

My opinion is that Walt is an excellent G.M., and he continues to do great things through the front office. The only thing holding him back is Dusty's reliance on used-up, aged Veterans. Dusty appears to have a veto on many deals.

They say that if a Gambler/G.M. is right 55% of the time, he's outstanding. Walt seems to get it right at the 75%+ rate.

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So it was Dusty that signed the likes of Valdez and Cairo and also extended Rolen into his late 30's? I guess it was also Dusty that demanded no left handed help off the bench? Why are we talking about the same deficiencies offensively over and over again for the past 2+ seasons?

I'll give Walt credit for some of the moves he has made, Simon being one of them. But to suggest that the creation of the Reds roster is being somehow hampered by a manager that has limited input into how it is created is just showing your bias against Dusty.

The fact is that the pitching staff is outstanding and Walt derserves a ton of kudos for that. Having said that construction of our position players leaves a lot to be desired and that falls on Walt's desk.

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Originally Posted by Kingspoint

My opinion is that Walt is an excellent G.M., and he continues to do great things through the front office. The only thing holding him back is Dusty's reliance on used-up, aged Veterans. Dusty appears to have a veto on many deals.

They say that if a Gambler/G.M. is right 55% of the time, he's outstanding. Walt seems to get it right at the 75%+ rate.

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Simon is older than the rest of the bullpen crew, so I have no idea who the used up-aged veterans we are talking about

I'm becoming a fan of Simon. I do wonder though if he would be able to handle the pressure coming in with a 1-run lead and men on the corners, or bases loaded w/no outs. He has been utilized in "we've already lost this game" situations. There isn't much pressure when you're down by 5-8 runs and you're thrown into a game.

Is there a reason he's typically used in losing situations? I think we're something like 4-18 in games he's pitched or some ridiculous stat like that, but his ERA is sub 1.5 now. He has good enough command and "stuff" in my opinion to be used instead of others who may be struggling such as Bray or LeCure. (yeah, I know Bray is a lefty)


Go Reds!!

As we saw with Dave Duncan and the Cards, the right pitching coach can do wonders for some pitchers. Maybe Price found something in his delivery and such and that small change helped? Also has Simon ever pitched in teh NL? If not then hitters don't know him that well. Also lets not forget that pitchers alot of times do better in the NL over the AL...

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Originally Posted by EMAW

Simon is older than the rest of the bullpen crew, so I have no idea who the used up-aged veterans we are talking about

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Seriously?

Rolen, Cairo, Valdez, Patterson, Cabrera, etc., etc., etc.

You preferred Janish over Cabrera? WOW
Cairo and Valde are bench players
Patterson was not that old when the Reds signed him, he was on the way down though
Would you have prefered Rosales over Rolen, I know Rolen has not been very good this year though, will give you one point for that

Simon has been a closer before and should be again if Chappy goes to the rotation IMHO.

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Originally Posted by EMAW

You preferred Janish over Cabrera? WOW
Cairo and Valde are bench players
Patterson was not that old when the Reds signed him, he was on the way down though
Would you have prefered Rosales over Rolen, I know Rolen has not been very good this year though, will give you one point for that

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These are really strange posts to try to comment on. There's so much you put here, the rebuttal could be 20 pages in length. Corey Patterson alone had 100's of pages devoted to his uselessness. Janish not only was light's out better than Cabrera Defensively, but had a better OBP than Cabrera. When you're batting in the top of the lineup in front of Votto, the goal is to get on base at any cost.

And, where does Adam Rosales come into the picture? Any number of others would have played 3rd Base instead of him, including not having to deal with this fiasco of Rolen on the team this year taking away at-bats from Frazier. Frazier would be further developed than he is right now. What a wonderful thing that would be?

He's been pretty clutch of late, but has also danced around some potential trouble of his own doing. He's not exactly shutting people down, but has been effective in tight spots nonetheless. It will be interesting to see how he is used moving forward.