Leake said the Reds lacked structure and lacked having everyone on board...instead they were going in opposite directions. There were some guys doing things their own way and without much fire. It was tough for Dusty to be demanding because he wanted to be liked by everyone.
This came from Lance Mccalister
Mario-Rijo (11-08-2013)
I saw this. Interesting it all came from Leake. I didn't really expect that kind of blunt honesty from him like that. Shows you everything that went wrong with this team under Dusty.
I agree. It was pretty obvious watching this team that they lacked heart, and fire. Honestly, it's pretty sad that professional players need to be motivated by their manager and don't just have that desire to win intrinsically, but they clearly weren't playing with a sense of urgency this season. Boston seemed to have the same issue recently on teams that were loaded with talent before having a major overhaul, and I wonder if the same thing is coming with this team. Especially with the BP rumors swirling.
markymark69 (10-24-2013)
The team lacked discipline all around. Think back about how many running mistakes they made this year, and how many times guys seemed to be out of it. Didn't Votto have three errors in one game? Things just didn't seem the same.
PriceIsRight (10-22-2013)
I couldn't agree more. I've never seen a team win 90 games and look so poorly doing it. You summed up the season very well, they just seemed to have a lack of focus. They couldn't do the big things, couldn't play small ball, etc. I just kept waiting for them to hit their stretch this season to meet their potential and it just never happened. The only time I ever really remember feeling good at all about this season was the week they took 6/7 from STL/LA, and that was more the team I expected to see all year. Not winning 6/7 from those teams of course, but just the style of baseball they played during that week.Originally Posted by Lewdog
Yeah I would get so pissed off when the Reds would get a guy on second with no outs or a guy on third with one out, and they couldn't get him in with sacrifice bunts and sacrifice fly balls. The Reds have to be one of the worst bunting teams in the Majors. Arroyo and Leake are about the only guys on the team that you can almost guarantee they will get a bunt down. The rest it's a gamble.
Agreed, and it was even more frustrating when it was players like Cozart who you really expect to be able to do small things like that. Not that guys like Votto should get a free pass, and he definitely contributed in the leaving guys on 3rd base category this year, but its even more unacceptable when middle infielder/backups without power can't get bunts down to get the runner over.
I may be wrong but I believe Cozart either tied or led the league in sac bunts.
Arroyo led the league with 16
Cozart had 13
Bailey had 11
Cingrani had 7
Those are all guys you would expect to bunt a lot. Pitchers and Cozart who was batting in the #2 hole behind Choo, where they were most often put in the situation to sacrifice bunt. The problem is, where are the rest of the guys on the roster?
Cozart was tied for the lead in sacrifice hits with 10, but he was also hitting behind a guy with a .423 OBP, so he could sacrifice him with his eyes closed.
The Reds were 2nd in MLB in sacrifice bunts. Not bunting enough was not the problem. If you want to get on specific guys for not being able to get one down when the situation arises, that might be legit, but the idea that this team didn't bunt enough is mindboggling to me.
jvs
I just know there were too many times where the Reds got a guy on second with no outs or a guy on third with one out, and they didn't get him in. Brandon Phillips was near the top of the league in hitting into double plays. He was 9th in the league with 19 GDP. That's not exactly what you want your clean up hitter to do.
When your #3 hitter is an onbase machine with fringe average speed, your #4 hitter is probably going to hit into a lot of double plays, if they make a lot of contact. If you are regularly bunting your #2 hitter, you are either giving away games by overbunting, or have built a tremendously poor lineup.
This team won 90 games. They don't have large, overwhelming problems winning regular season games. They need to get over the hump in the playoffs.
jvs
Choo hit a lot of doubles so having the #2 hitter bunt is a given. He had 34 doubles. Jay Bruce is the only guy on the team with more doubles.
Having your #2 hitter bunt after a double early in the game is not a good idea, unless your #2 hitter is very bad, in which case your problem is that your #2 hitter is very bad.
jvs
Well the Reds #2 hitter was bad all year. Plus with the pitching the Reds have they need to play 'small ball' because every run matters. The Reds aren't set up right now for that 'big inning.'
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