"I came here to kick ass and chew bubble gum... and I'm all out of bubble gum."
- - Rowdy Roddy Piper
"It takes a big man to admit when he is wrong. I am not a big man"
- - Fletch
It can certainly lead to confidence. Dusty isn't going to pinch hit a guy who struggles to hit a slider against Carlos Marmol (throws 50% sliders over the past few years), but he might pinch hit a guy who seems to crush sliders. Mesoraco for example, last year hit curveballs and sinkers very well. Tossing him in as a pinch hitter against say Jake Westbrook who throws 70% sinkers/curveballs would be awfully ideal and give him a likely advantage. But that won't happen, because you can't pinch hit your back up catcher. Maybe other guys do well against their pinch hitting opponent and it gives them a little something here or there to build upon. Mesoraco doesn't get that chance. It also doesn't give him that chance of facing live pitching nearly as often. He could literally go 4 days without seeing a single at bat. That isn't ideal.
Not saying it's ideal. But the situation will change if he gets on a roll. He never did last year, and at minimum, that is mostly Mes' fault. The sporadic time certainly doesn't help, but it can't be the only excuse. Lots of talented players find a way to make it work regardless of the chance they are provided.
Not judging anything. I'm a Mes fan.
At the same time, hard to look at last year's stats and suggest he desrved more playing time than Hanigan who had more than a serviceable year.
There's a difference between evaluating a player's future and analyzing what they have done to date.
On a team contending with a reasonable catching option already in place, Mes is simply put, going to have to earn more playing time before he is handed it.
While I am sure there are those out there who would argue for Mesoraco to play more than Hanigan, I don't think that is exactly what is being argued here. More that his playing time should not be determined solely by who he will catch, but to have both guys catch everyone. Find a way to get both guys playing regularly and not sitting for extended periods of time (off days on the right days will also lead to Hanigan sitting for 3 days in a row).
I think Siap should start the season in the bullpen and only be moved to the rotation if one of the starters falters or is injured. Maybe he should even start the season in AAA--he has options.
It is on the whole probable that we continually dream, but that consciousness makes such a noise that we do not hear it. Carl Jung.
Revering4Blue (03-26-2013),wlf WV (03-26-2013)
Baseball is way too variable to say things like that.
Based solely on randomness, the Reds could play the calibre of baseball that would suggest they should be 10+ games ahead of the nearest team, and still lose the division/wildcards. Not to mention the risk of underperformance and injuries.
It happens to someone all the time.
My thought would be that the Reds wait until things are looking comfortable before they start putting winning second to developing. For a team that has won 2 playoff games since the mid 90's, I'm not taking winning for granted. It certainly hasn't seemed very easy.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
Yes it was, kind of. I wanted Mesoraco to play back to back days, but I also wanted to see both guys play back to back days, as well as play semi-regularly. Keep both guys fresh, but also don't sit either guy for too long. Why not just go H-M-H-H-M-M-H-M-H-M-H-H-M-M-H-M-H-H-M-H-M-M-H-M-H-H-M-H-M-H-M-M-H-M and so on and so forth? Each guy can get regular time and regular rest. That is never going to happen with Baker though. You can do that while still keeping a 60-40 ratio of playing time.
Puffy (03-27-2013)
I think you are right about the calibre of the team. But in actuality these predictions at this level don't make sense.there aw too any variables beyond the control of talent to follow these guidelines. Booking a playoff spot before the fact in baseball is imply a disservice to the known variables that make up baseball.
That said, I think the reds are a playoff team. But I don't want to doing anything that decrease their chances of making the playoffs because at the moment it is not in the best interests of the team.
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