What's wrong with Homer?

[Tracy Jones]

I was talking to my brother the other day (an Indians fan) and we were discussing the Reds in general, and Homer in particular. He threw out the theory that his new contract has made him complacent...no longer hungry. I think there is some credence to this.

Think back to 2010-2011. Homer was pretty much labeled as an injury prone, over-hyped bust. His future with not only the Reds, but as a major league pitcher, was in serious doubt.

Then in 2012-2013, while still inconsistent at times, he put together some long dominant stretches where it appeared he had blossomed into the pitcher he was hyped to be in his MiLB time. He was pitching for his career the last 2 years, and of course, the big pay day that ultimately came last winter.

I think the complacency theory has merit because I find it hard to believe that if Bailey were still looking to become a free agent after this season, that he'd be pitching like this. There's no way to get inside his mind and heart to know the truth, but I do think that it's nearly impossible to keep that same hunger after you've hit the lottery, so to speak...particularly if you don't really LOVE the game or have the desire to actually be GREAT...and I'm not sure Homer does. He seems to enjoy his hunting and farm life far more than he enjoys baseball to me.

Could just be a "slump" that he's going through, but I think this theory needs to be considered, and we all need to hope that it's not true or the Reds are in big trouble going forward with the size and length of this contract.

[Kai Slater]

I've never been totally sold on Homer as a big contract worthy pitcher. Those two no-hitters have given him a lot of favor with the front office decision makers and feed the notion that he is worthy based on potential.

I do believe he does have ace-quality potential, however, his track record thus far has been inconsistent at best. Flashes of brilliance mixed with many disappointing starts. We often wonder which Homer Bailey will show up today. I won't pile all the blame on him as we've seen our anemic hitting and inability to consistently drive in runs in key situations this year along with a luke warm bullpen.

But, yeah, I agree with Tracy Jones on this one in that I hope the Reds don't end up really regretting Homer's big contract. Here's to hoping he gets things turned around soon!!

[Assembly Hall]

Didn't Homer have like 3 quality starts in a row before this last outing?

Although I think some valid points have been voiced along with some normal concerns it is only May 18th and I do believe he is 3-3. Maybe it is just me, but I think Bailey gets stronger as the season gets longer.

[Tracy Jones]

Didn't Homer have like 3 quality starts in a row before this last outing?

Although I think some valid points have been voiced along with some normal concerns it is only May 18th and I do believe he is 3-3. Maybe it is just me, but I think Bailey gets stronger as the season gets longer.

True, he does seem to get better as the season progresses, at least the last couple of years, but what if like I said, that hunger he appeared to have to improve is gone? It wouldn't be the first time this has happened to a player once he signed a huge deal, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. I just have a hard time believing he would be struggling like this if he were still a pending free agent looking for that big deal the Reds gave him.

I'm not ready to panic, but to me, this is worrisome. I really didn't expect this.

[Assembly Hall]

Maybe Homer doesn't like cold weather?

[Tracy Jones]

Maybe Homer doesn't like cold weather?

I don't think so. He actually had an excellent April last year, struggled in May (not like this) and was fairly solid the rest of the season.

[Assembly Hall]

Well as you get older the cold weather does affect you more. Right now I aint concerned about his contract, I am more concerned with Bruce and Votto.

[Tracy Jones]

Well as you get older the cold weather does affect you more. Right now I aint concerned about his contract, I am more concerned with Bruce and Votto.

Oh so am I, but I really expected great things out of Homer.

Maybe I'm just a victim of my own expectations, but I really expected him to take that final progression into a front line starter this year.

[NC-Red]

money got to his head and stopped working hard probably

[RedlegJake]

No, Homer hasn't stopped working. He is pretty much following his career pattern - inconsistent early results, getting stronger as the year goes. I'll worry if we get into June and July and he isn't stringing together several good starts. I AM watching with some concern because with that contract I think we tend to want dominant Homer all the time but at this point I'd call it a mild worry rather a concern really. I don't think it is complacency either. He seems to be throwing that cutter a lot, eschewing his hard fastball rather than mixing them up. It shows in his average velo - down a couple mph. Cueto excels because he mixes stuff up and no one knows what is coming. I think Bailey gets very predictable in his pitch pattern - something Hanigan seemed to push him to avoid.

[scotly50]

Maybe he is pressing thinking he has to throw better because of his contract and has become worse.

[PeteRoseDay]

He's honestly just not that great of a pitcher. Don't get me wrong. He's a solid #3, and even #2 on some lesser SP teams, but people expect way too much from him. His 2 no hitters set the expectations far too high. He does not have ace potential. He is what he is.

[RedTeamGo!]

money got to his head and stopped working hard probably

['69]

Homer has to learn how to pitch better in cooler weather. Without looking up his starts, I don't remember any in temps less than 50 degrees.

[NC-Red]

watching his game today it's evident that Homer fools NOBODY. The Cardinals have hit him hard and he's lucky the Reds have made some nice plays to save runs from piling up on him. He just is a bad pitcher this season no way around it