I've just about had my fill of Cozart, who appears to be Janish 2.0 featuring minor upgrades. I'm still not as Didi crazy as some others, but if he can be had for a reasonable price I'd certainly swing a deal.
“I don’t care,” Votto said of passing his friend and former teammate. “He’s in the past. Bye-bye, Jay.”
Here's what I'd do. Bring up Chris Nelson soon and let him play SS early in games. Then use Santiago when the Reds have a lead, bring in Ramon relatively early.
Reds are beginning to fall seriously behind in the standings, they have some hitters out injured. They can't just sit back waiting for Cozart to hit. Right now his OPS is worse than three of the starting pitchers with Cingrani, a fourth, very close.
I'd give Zack the next seven game home stand to show a hot streak, if not I'd just send him down or, if he can't be sent down, I'd bench him. I'd get Nelson up to the big club. (Or Gotay, don't know much about him, maybe him as a more natural SS.)
Last edited by Kc61; 04-26-2014 at 10:23 PM.
The older I get - the better I was
and yes - I hate the Cardinals (Reds fan since 1958)
I miss Raisor
I know it's not enough to make up for his dismal offense so far, but so far he's the third best defensive SS in the league this year, and has been the second best behind Simmons since he became the Reds regular SS.
Hoping to change my username to 75769024
REDREAD (04-28-2014)
The only problem bigger than the SS bat right now is injuries generally.
The pen is getting healthier. The hitters, with exception, are doing ok compared with expectations. And none of those exceptions are in Cozart's area code in terms of hitting numbers.
Reds now have Frazier and Mes hurt. This makes it even harder to live with a .404 OPS in the eighth spot.
Cozart's track record doesn't warrant waiting this out forever. The upside seems to be a .290 OBP hitter, which isn't really very helpful.
Really love his defense, but many shortstops can field well enough. Reds have to start to think about establishing a potent lineup going forward this year and for the next couple of seasons.
Last edited by Kc61; 04-26-2014 at 10:39 PM.
My answer is "big deal."
In my life, I've seen many, many good field no hit shortstops. It's a pretty common player type.
This kind of hitting performance on an NL team (with a pitcher in the lineup) is unacceptable. Maybe it's ok with a powerhouse lineup 1-7, but not on a team like the Reds. Give it another week or ten days and then move on.
Rooting for a sub .350 OPS...come on Zach!!
Go Gators!
He's starting to remind me do Manos de Oro
Well, he's not a good fielding SS, he's an elite fielding SS. And there have been plenty of playoff teams with worse options than Cozart as their starting SS, regardless of the rest of the team's makeup.
Of course, if he continues to OPS below .400, he needs to be replaced. But, if he can be the hitter he has been over his career, not a given by the way, he's an acceptable, if frustrating option.
Hoping to change my username to 75769024
I don't think the Reds view Nelson as an option at SS at all, they won't even have him play there in Louisville.
I too hope the Reds are looking into improving SS, I would love it if they could get DiDi, or another player to be an offensive upgrade over Cozart. I bet about 20+ teams would love to have an upgrade over their SS too though. Pickings seem slim. Doesn't mean Reds shouldn't be looking. If nothing else, make a strong push for Drew in June after the draft.
I'm not paying too much attention to the standings in April though. Several players have already been better on offense than most posters would have given them credit to be. Maybe they can mask Cozart for awhile longer.
_Sir_Charles_ (04-27-2014)
Reds are seven games out. If they lose the upcoming series to the Brewers (four games) they could be, say, nine out. At some point, the season becomes an uphill battle. We're not talking 4-5 games. And the Brewers are capable of having a good season.
So the deficit is becoming serious, if the Reds fall a bit further behind.
Funny, I've read here a dozen times that Cozart is not elite because he doesn't have elite range.
He's not Ozzie Smith. Let's not go overboard. He's never won a Gold Glove. Last year, I don't think Cozart was a finalist. They were Simmons, Desmond, Tulowitski.
He's a very good defensive shortstop -- and I personally love sure handed SSs. He's my type.
But it is manifestly irrelevant if he can't hit. I've argued on here with another poster that Cozart would improve offensively. I really thought he could. The other poster was dubious as I recall, and I now think he was correct.
The Reds have to focus on SS as the team goes forward, I'll leave it at that.
Last edited by Kc61; 04-26-2014 at 11:37 PM.
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