Soto flied out, Stubbs flied out, and Mesoraco grounded out. A 1-2-3 5th inning for Herrera. 6-1 Reds.
Zach Stewart will pitch the bottom of the 5th.
Soto flied out, Stubbs flied out, and Mesoraco grounded out. A 1-2-3 5th inning for Herrera. 6-1 Reds.
Zach Stewart will pitch the bottom of the 5th.
-Zach Stewart is now pitching
-Chris Heisey moves from right to center
-Sean Henry takes over in RF
-Craig Tatum replaces Mesoraco behind the plate
I think Stewart threw a 1-2-3 5th inning.
Doug with a mention on the live blog.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
Thanks for the updates OBM.
sounds like Stewart made hernandez look real bad, lots of nasty fastballs and sliders,Thom said he's being groomed to be a starter this year
Stewart: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
6-1 Reds after 6.
Originally Posted by icehole3
Whoa, really? That's surprising.
he said he's pitching at 93-94 and then Merker said that means he can reach back throw a 96 when he needs to.
said something about he had 33 pitches the other day and that they wanna get him up to 60 and so on and so forth, Merker said its hard to get them up to 100 pitches, it's easier to go the other way whatever that meant.
Thom said Stewert will be a starter this year, but they may not be grooming him to be a starter, just stretching him out. It is not uncommon for guys destined for the bullpen to be used as a starter in the minors. it allows them to face more batters and develop faster.
Thom and Merk talking about the Twins scoring a lot of runs without hitting homers and conclude that smart ball and timely hitting works. No mention of OBP...
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
I know I heard it, he said he was being groomed to be a starter. He also mentioned he was talking to Reynolds so that had to be where he got his info. He said he spoke to Reynolds and that the brass was very happy with Buck.
It didn't really work with Sean Watson, but I still like the premise...
I was at the game, and here are some observations:
Not to sound too cliché, but it really does sound different when the ball comes of Nefi Soto's bat.
Chris Heisey didn't have a particularly-good day, but he managed to get things done (bunt single, sacrifice RBI, and a walk). I saw hardly any power from him in batting practice, and he hit only one ball out of the infield in his five plate appearances (a pop-up to center). I can totally see why he's viewed as a reserve outfielder down the line.
Danny Dorn is the real deal. His swing is faster than I expected, and it looks like his frame might fill out a little more.
Sean Henry looked very weak, and he's smaller than advertised. I still can't figure out how he has hit as many homeruns as he has. He looked like a slap hitter, and he didn't impress during the game, but he's another guy like Heisey who can probably figure out ways to get things done.
Zack Cozart has improved from the last time I saw him. He's doing a much better job of going to the opposite field, but it's still very hard to say how well he will do as he advances.
Devin Mesoraco looked very good in the batting cage. The bat slipped out of his hand a couple times, which is to be expected, but he did a great job of hitting the ball anywhere it was pitched. As long as he has decent plate discipline, he should be fine as a hitter. His receiving skills seemed better than a lot of people give him credit for, but I did see some slight difficulty in communicating with Jordan Smith at one point.
It's too early for me to make any judgments on Yorman Rodriguez, but he was definitely raw. He hit a line drive homerun in BP, but you can tell that he's still learning some hitting fundamentals.
Craig Tatum impressed me quite a bit. He looks like a much different hitter from the last time I saw him. It's possible that my memory is bad or that he was just having a good day, but he was making really good contact.
Todd Frazier just looks like he belongs on a baseball field. He was 3-4 with a HR, but he got caught in a pickle following a single, so someone might need to work with him on being less aggressive. His homerun was a blast, though.
Yonder Alonso looked great, but more seasoning should be good for him.
Juan Francisco popped out a couple times, but at least he took a walk. It seemed like all three pitchers were very hesitant to give him something hittable.
Chris Valaika cost his team by hitting into two first-pitch double plays, but his homerun to left field was a nice blast.
Chris Denove was better than I expected. He's a little older than a lot of the other guys, so I think that helped his cause, but he seemed like he could hold his own at the plate. He warmed up with the Futures team, but he played for the Reds. Is Hernandez or Hanigan nursing an injury?
I saw Chris Dickerson having a good conversation with Danny Ray Herrera as they were both catching fly balls during batting practice. Dickerson showed Herrera his scars from when he jumped into a wall at Fifth Third Field a few years ago. I asked Danny Ray if he knew if he had made the team yet, and he said he won't know until tomorrow.
Jerry Hairston, Jr. picked up from where he left off. Maybe he finally made some needed adjustments from earlier in his career.
Physically, Laynce Nix looks like a beast, but he didn't do anything that jumped out.
Joey Votto looked like Babe Ruth at times. I know that may be taboo, but he stood out above the rest. Jay Bruce stood out, too, and made a great catch against the wall in right-center.
Ramon Hernandez played first base for about half the game.
Danny Richar looked very good on defense and had a nice double with the count full.
Edwin Encarnacion's homerun to center was an absolute bomb.
Luis Bolivar spelled EE at third and actually looked decent at the plate. He's a big underdog, so I'm rooting for him.
Alex Gonzalez looked slick in the field. I think he's going to be fine. He had an RBI-double and a walk.
Jonny Gomes practiced at first base, but it's obvious that he still has a bit to learn there. It looks like it might take a lot of infield practice before he's comfortable there.
Adam Rosales made a horrible swing when he was struck out by Aguido Gonzalez, but I would still be surprised if he didn't make the team.
Johnny Cueto's stuff was dynamite, and I expect him to improve this year.
Danny Ray Herrera did what he does and threw a 1-2-3 inning.
Pedro Viola has good stuff, but he was getting the ball up too high, and everyone was crushing the ball.
Josh Roenicke threw back-to-back wild pitches at one point, but he pitched well enough to get out of what could have been a nail-biter of a finale.
Zach Stewart was impressive but a little wild at times. It was fun to watch Dickerson and Hernandez try to react to Stewart's nasty stuff.
Phil Valiquette threw a first-pitch strike that looked like he might have finally turned a corner in his development, but his off-speed pitches didn't have much command, and he threw a lot of pitches over the middle of the plate that got crushed.
Aguido Gonzalez' stuff didn't jump out to me at all, but he seems like he knows how to pitch. If he ever gets behind a hitter, I could see him struggling more than most, but as long as he stays ahead in the count, I think he'll find ways to get hitters out.
Carlos Fisher looked electric. I'm really excited about him.
Darnell McDonald looked like he deserved a roster spot more than Nix, but they both seemed pretty replaceable.
Like Dusty said, Paul Janish looks stronger this year.
Wes Bankston played right field, but he didn't have a chance to do anything noteworthy other than popping out to left.
That's the first bad outing Viola has had all spring. He dominated everyone he faced up until today.
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