tradng leake is also smart, good point
tradng leake is also smart, good point
I just like it because it's an intelligent and well-thought out column and written well. I may quibble with parts, but its much better than Fay and C. Trent stuff.
I keep saying, Erardi is a real treasure. A beacon in the night of Cincinnati baseball writing.
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
Always Red (10-11-2013),BluegrassRedleg (10-11-2013),Chip R (10-11-2013),OC_Red (10-11-2013),SirFelixCat (10-12-2013),TRF (10-11-2013)
I agree that defensive infield is somewhat valuable, but the current trend of MLB, at least IMO, is to get the best hitters on your team.
The Cardinals have done this well. I would say that Berkman, Beltran, Holliday, and Adams are not the top choices for defense, but they sure can hit the ball.
Detroit has Fielder and Cabrera playing the corners at the same time, yet had one of the top offenses in the league.
So again, I wonder how much defense is really enough to make that much of a difference. How many extra outs or plays are you going to get from the best defender in the league versus an average one? I would much rather have his big improvement on offense and slight decline on defense.
I do agree that we should sell Leake high. But I would only move either Leake or Homer. Chapman is too electric for this team to just trade away. I want to see him a starter and I want to see him get a hit, apparently the fastest one on the team (before Billy came up). Anyways, I think that Homer is still the logical choice to trade. He is getting expensive and appears to want to test the market. I do not blame him either. Here he is the 3rd best, maybe the 4th with Chapman in the rotation. His value is not truly appreciated here with the quality arms. He could probably get more money elsewhere where he could be easily a 2 or maybe a 1 pitcher.
2015 Attendance 2-1 (4/6, 4/7,4/24)
2014 Attendance 1-3 (3/31, 4/12, 8/14)
2013 Attendance: 6-0 (4/3, 4/16, 4/17, 8/3, 8/21, 9/7)
The cardinals have always favored defense. Craig and Carpenter are very good, they always field a top notch defensive wiz at SS, Freese is very good at 3B. The OF is manned by two cannons on the corners and is very good in CF. It just happens these guys also hit EXTREMELY well. Their defense gets lost in that. Berkman is more the anomoly than anything else. Matt Adams... well he's a bench guy right now that was pressed into service fulltime. I've read where the Cardinals believe he's their 1B maybe next year. we'll see.
Dubito Ergo Cogito Ergo Sum.
THIS--- If Aroldis Chapman is still here, make him a starter.
I can’t say enough about this one. Not that anybody has to beg the guy, but it’s always better to pre-engage rather than force.
The Big Cajole begins with the facts: ‘‘Aroldis, the money is in starting.’’
It also ends with the facts: “Aroldis, the money is in starting.’’
And the winning is in the innings. All you give up is the 9th inning excitement.
Big deal.
Where’d the 9th inning excitement get you in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010? A total of 4 2/3 innings by the Cuban Missile in the postseason, and not a single advancement beyond the round in which the Reds were playing.
And how about that five-game losing streak to end this regular season? How’d the Missile do stopping any of that? He didn’t pitch a single inning.
joshua (10-12-2013),OnBaseMachine (10-12-2013)
I'll agree that Molina and Kozma are plus defenders (although his lack of offense pretty much negates the value of Kozma). But, I'm not sure that any of the other guys are PLUS defenders, not right now. The rest seem to be either average or below average. Hitting is where they have the advantage. They have more plus hitters than the Reds.
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.
Exactly! We need to finagle the best offensive lineup we can as long as the defense is at least average. Our pitching is strong, so why is the emphasis on the defense? 3 of the 4 teams in the LCS were tops in MLB in offense.
St. Louis and Detroit have questionable defensive players playing everyday for their offense.
Heck, look at the BRM. Sparky moved Pete to 3B so Foster could be added to the lineup.
I am not saying that we could ever get offensive production like that, but we can at least try to get our best hitters in as many games as possible.
I would say that BP is unmovable for anything comparable, so might as well keep him (just tell him to shut his mouth). Then you sign Guerrero and have him play 3B. Move Frazier to LF or vice versa if Guerrero's defense is really that lacking.
2015 Attendance 2-1 (4/6, 4/7,4/24)
2014 Attendance 1-3 (3/31, 4/12, 8/14)
2013 Attendance: 6-0 (4/3, 4/16, 4/17, 8/3, 8/21, 9/7)
Why wouldn't Billy Hamilton be the starting CFer in 2014? That does not make sense to me.
kheidg- (10-11-2013),Old school 1983 (10-11-2013)
I disagree on making Chapman a starter, even though previously I was strongly in favor of doing so. I do not believe that he was sent back to the pen because both he and Dusty wanted him there, though these may have factored into the decision. I think the decider was the lack of depth and command in his secondary pitches.
I suspect that the Reds can sign Arroyo for three years. If not, I agree with the qualifying offer. In either case, trade Bailey. They are not going to sign him to a longer term deal. It is time to move on while he still has trade value. I think they can get a good SP prospect in return as well as a power arm prospect for the pen. In case you haven't noticed, the good teams seem to have three or more guys in the pen that throw over 95. Profar would be great, but I wouldn't mortgage the future to get him.
Yes on trading Phillips. His ego seems to have outgrown his value. After Cano signs, I don't think the Phillips contract will be that hard to move. Nor do I see a need to take on a bad contract in return. Get a good MI prospect in return and pick up a stop gap on the FA market.
The conventional wisdom is that BA needs another year AAA. Perhaps. It seems to me that he has demonstrated an ability to learn quickly. I think he provide more value on the major league roster. When he does not start in CF, he provides value as a pinch runner. In an era of low scores and deep pens, the ability to steal a run in a close game becomes very important.
Pick up a veteran RH bat in free agency for the fifth OF'er. I don't have anyone in mind, but someone who hits LHP well would be ideal.
No one mentioned hitting coach, but it seems to me that the emphasis has to move away from pull hitting HR's, toward grinding AB's.
In general, get cheaper and rebuild the farm. I think the Reds can do this and remain competitive in the processl
Rounding third and heading for home...
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