Bruce willing to sign long term with Reds

[mroby85]

Originally Posted by 757690

It was only two months, but the last two months of last season, Bruce was better than Votto:

.377 .459 .798 1.257

It might have been a nice streak or it could have been him turning the corner and living up to his talent. When you consider that he had a .950 OPS last season if you don't count July (which you normally shouldn't do) I think the odds are that he turned it around.

And when you add in his Gold Glove caliber defense, I would say with a .950 OPS for the season, he can be better than Votto.

That said, I don't the Reds are ever going to have to choose between the two. They can afford both of them, as long as they are producing. What this team cannot afford are players who are not producing, no matter what they get paid. The secret to a successful mid market team is not keeping payroll low, it's making sure you get the most out of it. Willie Taveras was far more damaging to this team in 2009 than Aaron Harang was.

And more importantly, as you already said it was only two months.

[gedred69]

If Bruce ever learns to stop trying to pull everything, and concentrate on just putting the bat on the ball like Votto does, then the Reds could have a Morneau/Mauer-like duo, and the Reds would make the post-season just about every year. If the coaches feel like he can, sign him.

[lonewolf371]

Originally Posted by 757690

It was only two months, but the last two months of last season, Bruce was better than Votto:

.377 .459 .798 1.257

It might have been a nice streak or it could have been him turning the corner and living up to his talent. When you consider that he had a .950 OPS last season if you don't count July (which you normally shouldn't do) I think the odds are that he turned it around.

And when you add in his Gold Glove caliber defense, I would say with a .950 OPS for the season, he can be better than Votto.

That said, I don't the Reds are ever going to have to choose between the two. They can afford both of them, as long as they are producing. What this team cannot afford are players who are not producing, no matter what they get paid. The secret to a successful mid market team is not keeping payroll low, it's making sure you get the most out of it. Willie Taveras was far more damaging to this team in 2009 than Aaron Harang was.

Like the other guy said, only two months. Everyone has hot streaks, and most good prospects don't develop into MVP caliber players like Votto.

But I'd like to see both get locked up. It might actually be easier to sign Bruce right now, but keeping Votto is probably a higher priority since that would define how much money they have to work with Bruce.

I thought the Tulo comparison was a little high. Maybe Bruce can be like him, but he's not there yet. Upton had a pretty bad year but has the highest ceiling out of all of them.

[Todd Gack]

Originally Posted by mroby85

And more importantly, as you already said it was only two months.

Bruce did the same thing last year and look how we started this year.