Agreed.Originally Posted by M2
I've been ready for Opening Day since October. I'm always pumped about baseball, especially around this time of the year. But this year, this is easily the most excited I've been since the 2000 season. With the Fab Four + Volquez plus Dunn/Phillips/EdE/Griffey I think this team could have a pretty darn good year. Only 62 more days, guys and gals. It can't get here soon enough.
My excitement level?
I'd say strong. To very strong.
I'm probably at 4 out of 10.
I loved the Cordero signing. Liked Dusty.
Hamilton for Volquez threw cold water on the season for me, because it was a realization that the Reds weren't going to get any significant pitching help.
I like the Affeldt signing. He'll struggle as a starter.. my prediction is that he's going to be a starter for at least the first 2 months. However, we had to sign someone to avoid being forced to start 2 rookies. I guess I rate his excitement factor as slightly above what I thought of Sarloos' arrival
[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!
You actually like Affeldt better than Volquez?I'm probably at 4 out of 10.
I loved the Cordero signing. Liked Dusty.
Hamilton for Volquez threw cold water on the season for me, because it was a realization that the Reds weren't going to get any significant pitching help.
I like the Affeldt signing. He'll struggle as a starter.. my prediction is that he's going to be a starter for at least the first 2 months. However, we had to sign someone to avoid being forced to start 2 rookies. I guess I rate his excitement factor as slightly above what I thought of Sarloos' arrival
School's out. What did you expect?
I am excited, even if the Reds don't have Eric Bedard, Johan Santana or Babe Ruth on their 40 man roster.
While I want them to finish in first, I'm just excited for that fact that soon they'll be playing America's game.
I think my Indians will repeat!
"In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)
I feel about the Reds the way I felt in 1986. I expect nothing. This organization has still done nothing to earn back my respect or admiration.
But it's January; I can't get revved about baseball yet.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
With pitchers and catchers reporting in a few days (yes, February is just arounf the corner), I'm always excited. In a little less than 8 weeks, we'll be playing baseball again. No more constant analyzation of the Super Bowl. No more endless NBA clips on SportsCenter, just baseball. I cannot wait. But I have my doubts about this team and where they are going.
Stormy said it best. I'm glad we didn't mortgage the future by trading away our best young players for a one-year contract witha pitcher who will demand far more than we can afford. that's a plus. That said, we still didn't address our starting pitching staff (and if you think Volquez and the other kid is the answer, you're Minnesota Fats in a game against the latest stud). I really don't expect either to pan out much this year. Further, i don't expect Bruce to get as much playing time as many think. I rather think that Freel will be playing on opening day in center field. That distresses me to no end. We still will depend on Mike Stanton to give us some innings and Juan Castro to fill in for defensive purposes (when will he retire? Surely, it will be soon). We'll play Hatteberg at first more than we'll play Votto and we still have that hole at catcher brought on by what will always be considered a unfortunate career year by David Ross two years ago.
So, as much as I anticipate the season, I'm still at a 6 out of 10. I realize that this is not the Reds' year and we'll see some of the old stuff we're used to. As long as teams in bigger markets can get the premium players and we get the prospects, that is the way it will be. We might catch lightening in a bottle (and I hope so), but we stand as an "iffy" team.
But let the games begin and I'll take our chances. Maybe Beslile will finally become a pitcher. Maybe Jay Bruce will be rookie of the year. Maybe Votto will make Dusty play him regardless of how well Hatte does. Maybe volquez and others will pan out. Maybe. This team is much improved and just to get 15 more wins will make all the difference in the world. Maybe not a pennant or a chance, but a difference.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, this team will compete for the NL Central division in 2008.
Well, Johnny Cueto pitched 192.0 IP of some pretty nice baseball last season. just saying...
"...You just have a wider lens than one game."
--Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky, on why he didn't fly Josh Hamilton to Colorado for one game.
"...its money well-spent. Don't screw around with your freedom."
--Roy Tucker, on why you need to lawyer up when you find yourself swimming with sharks.
Excitement level is high. Expectations for the Reds? Hard to say, but life with baseball always beats life without it. Come Opening Day I'll be grinning like a dead hog in the sunshine!
I've been to dinner at Jimmy Buffet's house, and I've eaten it at a homeless shelter. And there's great joy and harrowing terror to be found in both places.
-Todd Snider
I'm excited that we are playing in the NL Central.
Witty signature.
10/10. But it normally is every year anyway. I'm just always ready for some baseball.
Actually, the nearer we come to ST the less excited I become. Sure, sunshine, green grass, the crack of the bat on the ball and all of that is great. Even better is escaping the morass that is the X-games. But this year, this year that's not enough.
In the off-season the Reds went out and got a 'win now' type of manager. They got a 'win now' type of closer. They addressed their pitching needs by trading a possible future star to add depth on the mound---a 'win now' type of move. And then they stopped!
This division is up for grabs in '08. It's there for the taking by a team that's bold enough to reach out and grab it. The Reds started out acting like they wanted to be that team. They (Castellini especially) like to talk the talk. They started to walk the walk. And then they just stopped. It's almost like they are afraid to take that last step.
Hence, the nearer we come to ST the less I believe that the Reds will take that bold leap to grab the division. Red is a bold color but the Reds are not a bold team. And my excitement dwindles day by day.
Rem
there's still time, rem. I'd dearly love for them to pick up a #2-3 type of SP to compliment Harang and Arroyo, too.
When I get down about it, I try to remember that Arroyo was picked up at the end of Spring Training 2 years ago.
There's still time.
I certainly hope you're right, AR.
Rem
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