The Reds team how it is now

[fewfirstchoice]

2 questions for all of you Reds fans (if there are any left with the way Walt is going this off season, possibly the worst Reds off season ever).

1) Will you go to a Reds gam ein person this year if the roster stays the way it is. I have been to at least one Reds game every year I have been alive. But if Walt goes into the season with this team I will not attend one this year. Walt is in the running if DanO for being the worst GM the Reds have had so far. He still could turn it around but I doubt it.

2) How far under .500 do you think the Reds will finish. Im going to say a record of 69-93 if the roster satys how it is. Now if Walt goes out and gets run producer to put in the middle of he lineup I think they will finish 6-8 games above .500. A run producer is all the Reds are from having a solid year. I just cant underwhy Walt wont sign a run producer. He said the payroll will be in the 80 to 85 million range. If EE and Stormy get a combined 7 million in salary that putds the Reds around 68-70 million in pay roll. So to say the least they should have around 8-12 mil. spend. I for just think Walt is telling the fans what they want to hear and plans on doing nothing. If Bob wants to win he will fire his friend now and hire a GM that has a idea of what to do.

I am really not looking forward to this year. I really hope the Walt and the Reds make me eat my words but I truly doubt they will. I would be totally shocked if the Reds win the 69 games I said they would above with the team Walt has put together.

[Griffey012]

There is not a player with that is reasonably available to the reds who will get them 16-20 more victories over whatever replacement player they put in LF will get them.

[fewfirstchoice]

Its not just the player that will get them that many more victories. Its what that player does for the team and the players around him. A run producer in the middle of the order would mean a great deal to other players on the team aswell. If hte Reds sign or trade for a run producer itw going to impact the whole lineup and not just that one player. I agree one player doesnt win you 16-20 more victories in a season. Its what that one player does that makes the other players on the team better along with his self.

[timothy1]

1) I plan on going to a couple money and Lord willing because it is a good family outing and the atmosphere at GABP is great. Just going to the game is fun in itself. I like a winning team to root for but even if they're not winning, just going is fun.

2) Probably 10 games under .500

No matter how it goes, always consider, there could be no Cincinatti Reds to root for at all.

[tbball10]

1) i live in atlanta, and i will make it to a couple of games... Dan O stocked our farm system with some pretty nice high-end talent, so he did some real good things.

2) i think they will finish 79-83ish, although i could see them making a run at the wild card if some things go there way. there pitching is gonna be solid and i think their offense is better than last year. i'd be comfortable with a dickerson/ gomes platoon in LF, rather than giving money to an older guy that will block prospects when they are ready.

[dunner13]

1. Everyone on this board is going to go to game if they have the chance to. Its the middle of january and your posting on a reds board and probably checking it at least daily, bottom line is we are all die hard fans. So we may gripe and complain but will support this team probably til we die.
2. This team can potentially contend for the wild card. I know, i know your gonna say what did we add since last year that gives us that many more wins, the answer is experience. Not with veterans but with your young guys. Volquez, cueto, bruce and votto all have more experience which should make them better. If bruce hits .280 with 30 HRs thats adding a bat to the lineup that is bigger and better then any that are available right now. If votto takes the next step thats another big bat that we didnt get as much out of last year. I think alot will hinge on EE, which scares me. I wish we had gotten rid of him and picked up another 3B. But if he can hit and at least be a decent fielder that will help us alot.

[Dunnateher]

Spending money doesn't translate to wins. Everyone wants a Fat Albert or an A-Rod in the middle of the order but they are few and far between. Developing talent is the easiest and cheapest way to build a ballclub, and it also takes money for scouting and such. Our current economic times changed all teams outlook this year (even the Yanks though they went the other direction). Too much emphasis is placed on THIS year every year when the main strategy should be to make a plan and stick with it. The Reds have built a good young core that needs to play in the bigs to get better and not signing 30-35 stopgaps just so we finish close to .500. If the market and the team's record dictate an addition is needed come June then so be it. Let the kids play to truly gain a perspective of where the Reds are headed

[UPRedsFan]

I may not make a regular season game but will watch everyone one on MLBTV and I am going to spring training. How could you not want to watch the continued development of the young guys. To me the most enjoyable part of last season was the last couple months when Dickerson and Hannigan and some of the others were getting results.

I don't think they'll contend for the division. Chicago's too strong. Wild card - maybe. 4 things could concievably happen that would make September games matter.

1. Cueto builds on last year's experience and takes a huge step forward. He regularly gets through innings 4,5, and 6 like he did 1,2, and 3 last year. Harang, Volquez and Cueto form a starting trio with sub 4 ERA's and give the Reds a solid chance to win every night regardless of who's on the mound for the other team.

2. Jay Bruce is our big impact bat. Jay builds on last year's experience and breaks out with an OPS around 900. Bruce and Votto form 2 of the best offensive pairs in the league. They become our Braun/Fielder, Lee/Ramirez, Berkman/Lee, Howard/Utley, Holiday/Helton (ok that one's gone now). You get the drift. I can see this happening and I'm sure Joey and Jay can too.

3. Dickerson and Keppinger/Hairston (take your pick) combine to form a platoon in LF that OPS's above 800. Dickerson should never sit against a right handed pitcher. He'll vastly improve the defense and add power to the lineup. Keppinger looks like an all star against left handed pitching - check out his splits even last year when he struggled. Hairston, I hope spends more time in center and puts Willie in a pinch runner role.

4. Edwin. He powered up a bit last year. I think he's 26 this year. Coming into prime years. He is our cleanup hitter. .280 30 HR 90 RBI sounds reachable. Edwin is the key to the offense in my opinion. If he does this, they'll be fine and we'll be watching baseball instead of football in Sept.

[fourrunhomer]

If my financial situation changes, I will go to some games. I'm layed off right now and that makes it not prudent to go. Even after I am called back to work it will probably take a couple months to get things caught back up to where they need to be. That said, I will still be a Red's fan no matter what. I will watch as many games as I can on FSN or listen to as many as I can on the radio. No matter who plays for them. I am a Red's fan.
As for saying this or that person is a terrible GM, the last really bad one was Bowden. DanO did not have the immediate results we all wanted, but he built the farm up for the future. Part of the credit for the success we will have in the near future will have to go to him. Krivsky will also have to be given much of the credit. He continued to build the future of this team. I believe he was let go way to soon as I believe he was on the right track. As for Walt, it's too early to tell. I was not a proponent of his hiring because I felt Krivsky was on the right track and should not have been let go. Whether or not his hiring was because of his frienship with Bob C. I do not know. That said, I believe this team is better than most people think it is. There are four hitters with at least 25-30 HR power. I believe as a team they will get on base more than last year and should hit with runners in scoring position much better. If things stand as is, the key will be whether EdE can procuce in the 4 hole. The pitching staff is better than it has been in years. The key here will be Harang bouncing back. I believe this is the year he wins 20 games. Last year was a fluke. If he would have had a solid team around him,he would have two Cy Young awards.
Yes I would like to have a LF to push EdE from 4th to 6th and allow Phillips to go from 6th to 2nd in the order, but I believe this team can compete.

[Orenda]

I don't expect the Reds to compete even if they sign an Abreu or trade for someone else. Right now I don't see enough separating the Reds from Houston, St. Louis, and Milwaukee outside of the "potential" for the pitching to rebound. I think they are a 75 win team tops, unless the pitching rebounds and they get improvements from Phillips, Bruce, Taveras and Hernandez.

With that said I will still try to make a couple games and these are a few of the story lines that will keep me interested.

1.Youth movement- I don’t expect to see many guys taking the time to watch a potential double hit off the wall and being held to a single because they thought it was a HR.

2. Jay Bruce should improve his numbers this season, I still say he was rushed a little as I think he obviously needs a little refinement on his plate discipline but I think he will be able to get his OBP up to around 340.

3. Johnny Cueto, Edison Volquez, Homer Bailey, Daryl Thompson, Matt Maloney, Micah Owings- Cueto and Volquez will hopefully be starters from here on out and if the Reds can find another arm in that group that can contribute for them that bodes well for the future.

4. Chris Dickerson- He was fun to watch last year, hopefully his SO don't hurt him and he can keep getting on base effectively.

5. Adam Rosales, Danny Richar, Wilkin Castillo, Danny Dorn, Sean Henry, Shaun Cumberland, - A lot of these guys could see some valuable playing time this year if things don't go as planned.

6. The Bullpen- I expect the pen to be pretty good this year and there will be decent depth out year as well.

7. Will Harang rebound?

8. The Edwin experiment- he is valuable offensively but he needs to provide some defense at 3rd, maybe the arbitration process will give him a little extra incentive to perform.

9. A minor league system worth following- Obviously the system isn't perceived to be as strong without Bruce, Cueto, and Votto but there are still guys worth keeping an eye on who will be at AA or above (Valaika, Stubbs, Dorn, Frazier, Alonso, Fransisco, Heisey)

[TheBigLebowski]

I am probably setting myself up for a huge disappointment but, I actually think the Reds are going to be a good team this year - perhaps very good. We'll have the best starting rotation we've had in some time. Our bullpen should be as good as it's been in years. If EE has the breakout year I am expecting and Votto/Bruce/Dickerson continue to develop, well, I see no reason why we can't score enough runs to win. And who knows - maybe Willy Tavares won't be Corey Patterson 2.0.

The only thing that really concerns me about this team is our defense. Even in a best-case scenario I don't see any way we're better than league-average defensively.

[timothy1]

I was thinking about this a little bit. You know what? Towards the end of last season, after Griffey and Dunn were gone, they really pulled together and played some exciting games.

Anything can happen... So i change my previous answer of number 2 to: Wild Card contender... Cubs may get to the palyoffs but they'll blow it. They always do...

[ChatterRed]

I think the Reds will be better this upcoming season than last year. I'm not saying playoffs, but I think most of their weaknesses have been taken care of.

5th Starter - Micah Owings, Ramirez or others
SS - Gonzalez, Hairston, Keppinger
CF - Tavares or Dickerson or Bruce
LF - I think they will find someone
The infield remains the same. The pitching remains the same and is decent. The defense should be slightly improved with Griff and Dunn gone.

Same team minus the bad apples.

[UPRedsFan]

Hey I like the optimism in this thread!

[DannyB]

Im going to try hard to get to the 2 games here.I plan on catching one in Cincy when I go up for vacation.