Raisor would be a great manager because if Marty tried to pull his HOF stuff on him, Raisor could trump him with his 23 Nobel Prizes. Here's a preview of Raisor and his coaches.
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I did not see this article already posted, so if it was I apologize.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/con...09redsweb.html
Reds' Phillips anxious to bat cleanup
By Hal McCoy
Staff Writer
Thursday, February 19, 2009
SARASOTA, Fla. — His face always is complemented by a broad smile, but Brandon Phillips seems to be smiling broader and more often this spring — if that's possible.
Is a happy clean-up hitter a productive clean-up hitter? Or is that vice versa — a productive clean-up hitter is a happy clean-up hitter.
There hasn't been a pitch thrown in anger yet this spring, so that remains to be seen, but manager Dusty Baker believes Phillips is destined for an eye-popping season.
And, yes, Baker says Phillips is the team's No. 4 hitter.
"The way the lineup looks now, yeah, he'll be our cleanup hitter," said Baker. "He'll be better. Brandon is going to have a good year."
Phillips, 27, hit .261 with 21 homers, 78 RBIs and 23 stolen bases last season, scaled down numbers from 2007 when he hit .288 with 30 homers, 94 RBIs and 32 stolen bases.
"I'm big on realizing that a lot of players struggled in their third and fourth year," said Baker. "Now Brandon will adjust to what they were doing to him. Sometimes they wouldn't throw him a lot of strikes.
"Sometimes when you are in the middle of it, you can't see it," Baker added. "But when you are smart, like Brandon, and take some time away from it, then you step back and see things."
Phillips batted cleanup 114 times last season and is ready to do it again.
Phillips was unpacking specially designed red and black patent leather baseball shoes — special shoes for special feet.
"I love hitting fourth, even though I'm not the prototypical No. 4 hitter," he said. "I do have some power, but I'm not that guy you think of as a home run hitter.
"I'm going to do my best and I do think I've been doing good in that four-hole," he added. "If you look at our team, I'm probably the only player qualified to hit there, if you pay attention to it. We have a lot of lefthanders and we have to break 'em up."
He looked around the clubhouse and spotted Edwin Encarnacion and said, "and maybe him. It had to be me or Edwin and you have to take your pick. Dusty picked me and I feel like I'm ready to give us some more RBIs and some wins."
Phillips has the answer: If he is productive, he'll be happy.
I agree. EE seems to have a volatile personality. He seems quite withdrawn and appears to not like attention. And when he gets attention that is not favorable (criticism), he lets it bother (affect) him adversely.
And Dusty appears to want a guy in the role who is aggressive, will swing the bat, and make things happen. He's giving it to the right guy as far as the first two parts go.From what I've heard, no one wants Brandon to hit cleanup. Dusty may be putting the best face on it which he's good at. But if they are going to hit Votto 3rd and Bruce 5th to break up the lefties, they have to put a right handed hitter in there. If it isn't going to be EE, there really aren't any other options besides Brandon. Sure, they don't have to break up the lefties but, again, cleanup is a pressure position and that may be too much pressure for a guy who hasn't played a full season yet.
It ain't gonna matter though. What is he gonna "clean up" when your #1 and #2 guys won't be getting on base consistently and will have below league average OB% IMO.
He'll be like Dunner!... hitting meaningless solo Hrs :
"In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)
I honestly believe this is a disaster waiting to happen. Bphil will put over due pressure to hit homreruns and yikes he is a free swinger already.
2006 Redzone mock Draftee's- 1(st) Daniel Bard(redsox), 1(st sup)( Jordan Walden (Angels), 2(nd) rd.- Zach Britton(Orioles), 3(rd) Blair Erickson(Cardinals), 3(rd) Tim Norton( Yankees),(cuz its a Tim Hortons thing
Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever.
"If you look at our team, I'm probably the only player qualified to hit there"
That's Brandon Phillips, in a nutshell, folks.
"My mission is to be the ray of hope, the guy who stands out there on that beautiful field and owns up to his mistakes and lets people know it's never completely hopeless, no matter how bad it seems at the time. I have a platform and a message, and now I go to bed at night, sober and happy, praying I can be a good messenger." -Josh Hamilton
I'd love to hear what makes Brandon and his .754 OPS last season and career .733 OPS qualified to hit clean up. Phillips is a 6 hitter in my mind, in front of only Hernandez and Gonzalez (and the pitcher).
If you have to put a right handed in the 4 hole (which you don't because Votto is OPSing .833 vs. lefties in his career), I'd put the guy two years younger in there who had a .807 OPS last year and .801 for his career.
I'd love for some to present me something, anything, that makes Phillips more qualified than EE to hit 4th.
How does this quote not apply to EE who is now entering his 4th full season in the bigs?"I'm big on realizing that a lot of players struggled in their third and fourth year," said Baker. "Now Brandon will adjust to what they were doing to him. Sometimes they wouldn't throw him a lot of strikes.
Last edited by reds44; 02-23-2009 at 03:36 AM.
I would like to see if EE could bat third, to see if that would push his growth, development and confidence, while having a Votto hit behind him, along with two guys hitting in front of him that can get on base a higher percentage of the time.
I would love to see what EE could do with hitters in front of him and behind him.
That is a big stretch, IMO, as Phillips has to find 40 points or so to even get to EdE's level. Slugging is about the same (and expected to be the same in 2009, for the most part). But the OBP is way different. Add to that EdE coming into his power years and he could rightfully lay claim to an 850-875 OPS in 09.
Bruce, OTOH, has shown throughout his minor league career an affinity for both the long ball and the double. His career minor league slugging is .555. (Phillips? .418.) His OBP, too, has proven higher, by 30 points than Phillips. Plus, second-year players with his pedigree (and talent) either blow up or blow apart. My guess is he blows up.
Not only that, Phillips makes sense as a sixth hitter. He has pop, which should be necessary in a lineup that will need it throughout (as only Bruce profiles as a game-changer in terms of power). That plus power would be an exceptional weapon down in the lineup, after thumpers Votto, EdE, and Bruce.
His speed, too, would be a better weapon lower in the order. His stolen bases allow more opportunities for Hernandez and Gonzalez, two more low obp, high slugging guys to take adventage before the pitcher.
The only argument I can see is that Phillips may somehow keep all those low obp guys from being bunched together. (In a row, Phillips, Hernandez, AGon, pitcher's spot, and Taveras.) That many in a row would be an awful lot of outs a pitcher can speed through.
But Dusty's not that progressive, nor that smart.
You left out this part:
He didn't mention Bruce or Votto because they are lefties and it's expected those two will hit third and fifth. IMO he wasn't trying to take any shots at his teammates.He looked around the clubhouse and spotted Edwin Encarnacion and said, "and maybe him. It had to be me or Edwin and you have to take your pick. Dusty picked me and I feel like I'm ready to give us some more RBIs and some wins."
fwiw, I would bat Bruce or EdE cleanup.
Since the new leadoff hitter is a righty, why do the lefties still have to hit 3rd and 5th? Couldn't they just as easily hit 2nd and 4th?
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