OK, I'm a pastor so maybe I am ultra sensitive on this subject, but please - let the men who were hired to do their jobs do their jobs. For some reason, many church members think they could do my job better than me. I would never show up at thier job and tell them how to do it better, but they have no problem attempting to "guide" me to do things better, i.e. their way. I know how WK and Dusty feel.
Dusty Baker, a winning ML manager, has not managed one regular season game for the Reds and some of you seem to think he's clueless. Long playing career followed by successful managing career and some of you think he should study the game - at least the game you see.
WK, on the other hand, only makes stupid trades and has no clue about baseball talent. Forget that he was one of the key people in keeping a low budget team in the hunt year after year, not to mention in a place without the tradition of Cincy and a horrible home field. Forget that he picked up Arroyo and Phillips and traded for what looks like a very solid starter in the off season, shipping out a risky, but talented OF.
Seriously, it reads like talk radio often sounds, people who have nothing better with their life to do than complain about their favorite team. Instead of complaining about Dusty and WK, I plan to cheer and pray for them.
Last edited by Va Red Fan; 03-22-2008 at 01:59 AM.
Well said Pastor. But I do wonder why Corey will be starting in CF apparently against right handed pitching when last year he could not get on base against right handed pitching. I think is OBP was .286 if I remember the splits against rhp.
If Bruce isn't ready, I'd rather see Freel and Hopper split time out there.
I agree Dusty has far more experience and inside knowledge than any of us on this board. But why Dusty? Explain your thinking to us!
I'm not crying that copatt is in the lineup at all
Can someone please fill me in on how the FA works for minor leaguers??? Someone said that keeping Bruce in AAA for 2 months mean we have him for another year. What exactly does this mean? Can someone please fill me in...
I think many on this board jumped way too soon when they attacked Patterson. He has talent. I think he will do fine. He has tools that Freel and Hopper do not have. I think he was a good addition.
I understand that many people on this board have a certain way of looking at things baseball-wise as it pertains to what it takes to make a baseball team or player successful. People dislike Norris Hopper because he has a low OPS or Patterson can't possibly be a successful leadoff hitter because of a low career OBP. There are also those that criticize Adam Dunn for his low batting average. It is important to remember that in all cases when discussing a player/teams pros and cons, whether we like it or not, it is basically a philopsophical argument. There are no certainties concerning baseball stats. Strong tendencies yes, but no certainties. I'm going to show you the season OBP's of 9 players from a previous season and their games played and AB's. These are the only players who have at least 100 G's and 300 AB's from this team
Games/At-Bats/OBP
1. 121/364/.304
2. 118/376/.291
3. 125/435/.345
4. 148/567/.343
5. 158/614/.358
6. 139/504/.327
7. 127/453/.347
8. 145/503/.339
9. 109/309/.381
Not very good huh? I would also point out that not one player of these 9 players slugged over .498. 4 slugged under .400 for the season. Not very impressive at all offensively wouldn't you say? But in the end results are what matter and all 9 players won World Series rings that season. The season? 1990.
Last edited by Handofdeath; 04-08-2008 at 07:31 PM.
I will gladly give Corey his due--he has started the season verrrrrry well....however, I will stick to my guns--I still think trading Hamilton in part was because we had the next big thing in Jay Bruce--he should have been the Opening Day starter in center...
The reds have always had hitting. Sure Hamilton was good but we have Bruce waiting. We have not had a good pitching staff this decade, and even longer probably. Now we finally are starting to build a good young pitching staff. Sure Hamilton was a stud but we NEEDED pitching more.
Reds 2010 NL Central Champs
I just wanted to throw some props his way, considering all the negativity that was going on towards him. He's done a fine job thus far in center field, and deserves some credit for it. The Reds came up short last night, but he had a couple clutch hits, not to mention his homer that tied the game against philadelphia in the 8th, to go along with the great center field defense he's been playing. Thats all I really have to say, just wanted to give some credit where it's due.
I think CPat has played well for us so far and has grown on me a lot. I would love it if he was moved down in the order, though.
Not a leadoff man, but he's doing solid in center thus far. Still waiting for the bottom to drop, as is typical Patterson.
Is it "next season" yet?
the "negativity" that was going on towards Patterson, at least in most cases, was based on his career numbers. What else does one have to go on? The hope that everything he's done up to this point was just getting ready for this year? He is a good defensive CF, has some pop, and some speed. He is not a guy that should be batting at the top of the order and his numbers this year bear that out. His .286 OBP so far this year is not that far from his career number and likely will be pretty close to it at the end of the season. He will get some hits and some home runs but he just doesn't get on base enough to justify batting him first
More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
Exactly if we could find a better option for the leadoff and move Patt down to the 7th spot, he would do enough for this team that I would not be against signing him up for a long term option, and once Stubbs is ready CP could move over to LF and have a OF in the near future of CP, Stubbs, Bruce......That is one heck of a defensive OF.
What we should do for right now is move Kepp to the leadoff, Votto to the two hole and CP to the 7 hole. No Votto is getting some protection with Griff behind him, allowing him to get better pitches to hit and to get his bat going.
My ideal lineup right now at this moment with the regulars would be
Kepp
Votto
Griff
BP
Dunn
EE
CP
Bako
Close, but I have:
Votto
Encarnacion
Dunn
Griffey
Keppinger
Phillips
Patterson
Catcher (OK, Bako for now)
As much as he's struggled, Encarnacion has a higher OBP than both Phillips and Patterson. He and Votto should be allowed to focus on getting on base and not worry about driving in runs. Dunn needs protection, badly. Keppinger will hit wherever you put him right now. Phillips and Patterson both have the power to drive in the middle-of-the-order runs and the speed to manufacture runs at the bottom of the lineup.
Sadly, none of this will happen.
FIRE DUSTY Never mind. The man is clearly a genius.
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