What do you guys think? I hate knocking on players, but he really hasn't been good for a while. Time for him to go or should we give him a few more shots?
What do you guys think? I hate knocking on players, but he really hasn't been good for a while. Time for him to go or should we give him a few more shots?
Batting him 2nd is so Dusty.
Valdez is the new Costanza is the new Harris
He plays so little but does stink...Gregorius has to get the backup MI job next year....but I can live with Valdez as bench guy this year.
Add Cairo in there too...our bench has been awful this year.
Yeah, I'd say we're stuck with him for this year. But next year the Reds have gotta come up with something better for the bench than Valdez and Cairo.
He is what he isOriginally Posted by WDE
A crappy hitter that can play many positions and play most of them well. The Reds knew that when they got him. It is nothing new or shocking, but you need players that can play any position on your team
If anyone needs to go it is Miguel Cairo, the only position he can play anymore is 1st base. He booted 2-3 DP at 2nd when BP was hurt and has been horrible at 3rd this season
Once Votto comes back you don't need Cairo or Valdez because Todd Frazier is God and can play every position.
What if this is as good as it gets?
He's pretty awful as a hitter, but if they'd just hit him 7th or 8th every time he gets a spot start it wouldn't be as frustrating. He's at least competent defensively and able to play multiple positions so as a backup utility guy, he at least does that. Once the team is back at full strength though he'll see less and less playing time as Frazier will just be moved around pending on off days hopefully.
Cairo definitely needs to pick it up though or be DFA
Newsflash!
Joey Votto does not care about RBI.
NEITHER SHOULD ANY OF US
Valdez doesn't bother me nearly as much as he seems to everyone else. Every team needs a guy that can be plugged in at darn near any position and play said position with competence. He's also a great bunter and while that might seem a very minimal thing, something like that can win a game or two every once in a while.
Defense wins games every bit as much, if not even more so than offense. I understand you have to have offense to win a game, no doubt, but having solid defense to prevent the opposing team from producing runs is every bit as important and Valdez provides us with that guy.
Cairo, unfortunately (as I REALLY like the guy and he did GREAT things for us in 2010) HAS regressed and going forward I don't see much use for him unless it's in the coaching realm, where I think he WOULD be a GREAT asset to the team. I have heard that he is a GREAT clubhouse guy/teammate and the little things like that are extremely important, especially with all the younger guys we're playing lately.
"I have heard that he is a GREAT clubhouse guy/teammate ".....this translates as: his career is on its last leg!
I'm not a big fan of him either, but I agree that it's important to have a guy like him on the team. The problem is that him and Cairo are pretty much the same players except Cairo can play 1B. They both have a terrible approach/plate discipline and don't offer anything power wise. Hell, even average wise.
When Valdez does get a start he should be batting 8th. I have no idea why Dusty decides to hit him 2nd sometimes. The part in the beginning of the season (when Stubbs was hurt?) Dusty hit him 2nd for a couple games straight and it just seemed like Votto was up with nobody on every time.
I wasn't expecting him to be a big slugger from watching him in the past. I've said it many times - I just wish he would change his approach. He swings like he's a cleanup guy when he should look for contact/swing at good pitches.
But I guess I can't really blame Dusty too much considering the job he's done.
So nothing changed.The part in the beginning of the season (when Stubbs was hurt?) Dusty hit him 2nd for a couple games straight and it just seemed like Votto was up with nobody on every time.
To me Valdez get's just the right amount of playing time with Votto being down right now. He has came up with a few big hits and other than his error yesterday has played really solid defense where ever he has been played. I know he isn't the best hitter but like others have said, every team needs a guy like Valdez. Sure I wish that guy would hit better, but overall he has been serviceable.
I like Valdez, I really do. He is a utility player that can play nearly every infield position. But I only see him as serviceable and nothing more. Yes he can pitch as we saw in 2010 when he beat us, but that is no reason to keep him on the team. His offense is nothing special and he doesn't seem to me that he offers experienced leadership like Rolen and Cairo (which keeps them on the team).
I do not see why we do not just try Billy in Valdez's spot. He is probably not as good defensively, but I think he could fill in for any infield position just as Valdez would. However, offensively I think Billy would make up for the defensive drop off. Billy is a switch hitter which can add a lefty bat to our lineup when needed. Plus this could help us groom him for the future by gaining the experience now, when we are 6 games up in the division, 26 games above .500, and 2nd best record in MLB.
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