2011 is over, let's plan for next year.

[Slyder]

For kicks, I did a little computing.....Reds schedule is incredible "easy" in August, especially the first two weeks. I know those teams consider us easy as well, but that's not the point.

If we went 11-5 let's say and the Brewers, Cards, and Pirates all played around .500 (I have the Brewers one over, the Cards .500, and the Pirates two under) here is what the standings would look like

Brewers
Cardinals 2
Pirates 3
Reds 4

That would at least keep me interested.

Now, as far as getting that 11-5 mark.............

I highly doubt it unless there's some major shake up on this team that wakes it from the doldrums.

I would argue we need a change at the top of the lineup more than a big bat in the middle. More guys on base in front of (Insert big bat here) means that pitchers have to pitch them differently. My thoughts on Stubbs is that he is what he is, a guy with power and speed who is going to strike out. I think he over thinks what he is doing when he bats leads off and it messes with his head. A permanent move down in the lineup and let him get settled there. He could provide some of that power we need if he is able to move down in the order. Would you consider Jimmy Rollins on a 2 or 3 year deal as an option?

Has Alonso been played at 3b at all since being drafted?

I know I am probably the only one who will think this but would there be any way for us to get Starling Marte from the Pirates at the deadline? I saw him play here for the Power and have wished that the Reds would get him. With thoughts of him being a "leadoff guy of the future". He has the speed and career ba of .298, obp of .358, and a career success rate of 74% on stolen bases.

I really try to avoid suggesting trades because I don't follow the minors of most teams well enough to really know value outside of a select few because theyre mentioned here (Surkamp for Hernandez). But my goal would be 1 get a hammer to help Cueto at the top (Jimenez, Shields), 2 Pick my horses and cash out on some of the guys that are blocked (Grandal could fall in this category), 3 Upgrade SS or LF (Rollins).

[Reds/Flyers Fan]

For kicks, I did a little computing.....Reds schedule is incredible "easy" in August, especially the first two weeks. I know those teams consider us easy as well, but that's not the point.

If we went 11-5 let's say and the Brewers, Cards, and Pirates all played around .500 (I have the Brewers one over, the Cards .500, and the Pirates two under) here is what the standings would look like

Brewers
Cardinals 2
Pirates 3
Reds 4

That would at least keep me interested.

Now, as far as getting that 11-5 mark.............

The Mets were supposed to be a breather after a brutal stretch, especially the last two games after Carlos Beltran was removed from the NY lineup.

That didn't exactly work out as planned.

[edabbs44]

I know you're the king of cherrypicking stats (especially regarding Gomes and Heisey), but Gomes was -17.7 UZR last year. And for half the plate appearances in 2009, he was -6.2. I think it's fair to say he's at least -10 UZR, probably more like -12. Anyway you cut it, that's not decent defensively. You can try to spin the fact that he's been decent this season any way you want, but the reality is he has never been on the positive side of UZR ever in his career.

We are talking about how Gomes supposedly "hurt" the team this season. So I am just looking at what he did this season, not in 2009. Call it cherrypicking if you'd like, but I think it is somewhat more relevant. Especially since we are talking about past performance and not future performance.

And you can call my analysis cherrypicking if you'd like, but I applied similar logic to my analysis of Janish last year and called him a very possible sub .600 bat. That didn't go over too well at the time. Especially when he was over .700 last year. I was told that I was cherrypicking and that we have to look at the aggregate and that I was cutting up into small samples and all that.

[edabbs44]

The Mets were supposed to be a breather after a brutal stretch, especially the last two games after Carlos Beltran was removed from the NY lineup.

That didn't exactly work out as planned.

Yep, was thinking the same thing. When you are one of those same "pushovers", it's hard to call anyone the same thing.

[edabbs44]

Jay Bruce is 21st in the NL in OPS. That is incredibly cost effective. What on Earth are you talking about?

Seriously, are we truly complaining about the guy with the 21st best OPS in the NL and throwing around words like "cost effective" when he is making chump change and inferring its not good enough?

Bruce is/was a huge key to this team this season. They likely cannot afford the type of bat that he has the talent to be. So they need him to be that bat.

Plain and simple, he needs to be ahead of guys like Gaby Sanchez, Freddie Freeman and Michael Morse. He should be right there with Justin Upton. And not just because of one otherworldly stretch of games.

[Edskin]

The Mets were supposed to be a breather after a brutal stretch, especially the last two games after Carlos Beltran was removed from the NY lineup.

That didn't exactly work out as planned.

That is why I put "easy" in quotes. No doubt teams can look at us and say the same thing, but after the Giants we have the Astros and Cubs who are awful, the Rockies who are not good and the Padres who stink. I said 11-5 would get us back in it, I'm thinking we go 9-7 or 8-8.

[Ghosts of 1990]

Bruce is/was a huge key to this team this season. They likely cannot afford the type of bat that he has the talent to be. So they need him to be that bat.

Plain and simple, he needs to be ahead of guys like Gaby Sanchez, Freddie Freeman and Michael Morse. He should be right there with Justin Upton. And not just because of one otherworldly stretch of games.

Really, really well said.

[smith288]

Stubbs is one guy that absolutely makes my blood pressure sky rocket everytime I watch him bat.This guy has all the talent in the world to become a really good player.When players has speed like he does they go up there with a idea to lay down bunts,hit that ball in the ground so they can beat out that groundball. Not Stubbs thow! He goes up there swings at every pitch he see's and is never patience at the plate and most of the time he is swinging to the fences like a clean up hitter does.


I would send him down to the minors in a heartbeat for the rest of the year so he could learn what a leadoff hitter is suppose to do.By next year if he still is doing this crap then they have to come up with another idea and another leadoff hitter.

Stubbs stinks on ice when he gets more than 2 strikes on him. He has to attack the first good pitch he sees or else he gets himself in a hole...that's the Stubbs quandary.

[oneupper]

Stubbs stinks on ice when he gets more than 2 strikes on him. He has to attack the first good pitch he sees or else he gets himself in a hole...that's the Stubbs quandary.

Which also makes him more suited to hit down in the lineup, rather than leadoff.

He hit leadoff in only 34 games in 2010, the rest 6th or 7th mostly.
That seemed to work. Why mess with what's working?

[HokieRed]

The problem with hitting Stubbs down in the order is that it does leave the team without a leadoff hitter. Everybody's made fun of Dusty's making up the lineup by positions, but there is something to this. Typically the leadoff hitter is going to come from one of 3 positions: CF, SS, 2b. You've got to get power from somewhere and it's usually the corners, which tends to mean those guys are not going to lead off, and C goes without saying. But if you look at next year's club, the SS is going, likely, to be a rookie, Cozart, who may be acceptable as a leadoff hitter but is probably not a guy you want there, at least until he's had a few hundred at-bats. Phillips is not ideal in the spot either, both because his OBP is generally not that high and you'd like to have his power a little lower down. That leaves the CF position--i.e. Stubbs--or LF, and if this is from within, say Sappelt. But then you have turned one of the two prime power positions on the field into a leadoff hitter's spot. To me, the conclusion's clear. Put Sappelt in the leadoff spot and in CF, and get a big bat for LF--or use Alonso or Votto there.

[Slyder]

The problem with hitting Stubbs down in the order is that it does leave the team without a leadoff hitter. Everybody's made fun of Dusty's making up the lineup by positions, but there is something to this. Typically the leadoff hitter is going to come from one of 3 positions: CF, SS, 2b. You've got to get power from somewhere and it's usually the corners, which tends to mean those guys are not going to lead off, and C goes without saying. But if you look at next year's club, the SS is going, likely, to be a rookie, Cozart, who may be acceptable as a leadoff hitter but is probably not a guy you want there, at least until he's had a few hundred at-bats. Phillips is not ideal in the spot either, both because his OBP is generally not that high and you'd like to have his power a little lower down. That leaves the CF position--i.e. Stubbs--or LF, and if this is from within, say Sappelt. But then you have turned one of the two prime power positions on the field into a leadoff hitter's spot. To me, the conclusion's clear. Put Sappelt in the leadoff spot and in CF, and get a big bat for LF--or use Alonso or Votto there.

It's why I suggested going out and getting Jimmy Rollins if he were to hit Free Agency next year. Would that be a good enough option to move Stubbs down? Maybe try the following start of next year at the top...

1 Rollins SS
2 Sappelt LF/Phillips 2b

Has Alonso played 3b at all since being drafted? I thought I read he had played there a bit at Miami or is he "in case of emergency only".

[HokieRed]

It's why I suggested going out and getting Jimmy Rollins if he were to hit Free Agency next year. Would that be a good enough option to move Stubbs down? Maybe try the following start of next year at the top...

1 Rollins SS
2 Sappelt LF/Phillips 2b

Has Alonso played 3b at all since being drafted? I thought I read he had played there a bit at Miami or is he "in case of emergency only".

Or let Phillips walk, go all out after Reyes, and move Cozart to 2b.

[Slyder]

Or let Phillips walk, go all out after Reyes, and move Cozart to 2b.

Are you willing to pay Reyes in the ballpark of 6 years 120 mil to 7 years 140 mil? Because I guarentee you that with the type of year he has Boston will do almost ANYTHING to make him fit.

[HokieRed]

Are you willing to pay Reyes in the ballpark of 6 years 120 mil to 7 years 140 mil? Because I guarentee you that with the type of year he has Boston will do almost ANYTHING to make him fit.

Pretty much agree here. I think he'll wind up in Boston. So we keep Phillips and put Sappelt in CF and the 1 spot in the lineup.

[smith288]

Which also makes him more suited to hit down in the lineup, rather than leadoff.

He hit leadoff in only 34 games in 2010, the rest 6th or 7th mostly.
That seemed to work. Why mess with what's working?

Im sure not arguing that point. He's misused for sure.