Reds @ Cards 4/17/12

[Mutaman]

Originally Posted by texasdave

This offense is playing like crap and nothing else really matters. One or two runs a game is gonna get you about 50 wins. If you're lucky.

Agreed. But in his last two appearances (of the three hes made this year) Bray has really been a stiff.

[Mutaman]

Originally Posted by Stray

Bray has been a solid reliever for us in the past. Willie Harris is just a bad baseball player.

Bray is good when he comes into a nonpressure situatuion. When the game is on the line and there are runners on base, he has not been so good. He's been that way ever since he's been here.

[texasdave]

Originally Posted by Mutaman

Bray is good when he comes into a nonpressure situatuion. When the game is on the line and there are runners on base, he has not been so good. He's been that way ever since he's been here.

Then what does that say about a manager who brings him in with the game on the line twice in a row? Especially when he isn't ready coming out of Spring Training? Especially when his track record in those situations is so obviously miserable?

[Ohayou]

Originally Posted by Falcon7

The bottom line. A team that CAN NOT HIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The bottom line. It's mid-April and you people are already in panic mode. Way to live up to the stereotype, Cincinnati. God, I hate our fans sometimes.

[Mutaman]

Originally Posted by texasdave

Then what does that say about a manager who brings him in with the game on the line twice in a row? Especially when he isn't ready coming out of Spring Training? Especially when his track record in those situations is so obviously miserable?

Baker never should have brought him in for the Arroyo game. Big mistake that made no sense.

Tonight with the two lefties coming up, it was either him or Chapaman. And I am not one of those guys who feels you bring in Chapman in every game. You have to look at the big picture.

The real answer is that he's still far from 100%, and he should have been put on the DL until he was ready.

[bcmachine]

Originally Posted by Ohayou

The bottom line. It's mid-April and you people are already in panic mode. Way to live up to the stereotype, Cincinnati. God, I hate our fans sometimes.

Point taken, but you have to admit we can't keep throwing away games like that against our top rivals. And yes, we basically threw it away. Cueto must be livid. What a waste of a performance.

He could have brought Chapman or Marshall in for the last couple of hitters. Hindsight is 20/20, but foresight is priceless.

[Mutaman]

Originally Posted by Ohayou

The bottom line. It's mid-April and you people are already in panic mode. Way to live up to the stereotype, Cincinnati. God, I hate our fans sometimes.

The lack of left handed hitting was a problem going back to 2010. Walt did nothing about it prior to 2011 and he's done nothing about it prior to 2012. Its not about panic, its failing to try to address an obvious problem.

[texasdave]

Originally Posted by Mutaman

Baker never should have brought him in for the Arroyo game. Big mistake that made no sense.

Tonight with the two lefties coming up, it was either him or Chapaman. And I am not one of those guys who feels you bring in Chapman in every game. You have to look at the big picture.

The real answer is that he's still far from 100%, and he should have been put on the DL until he was ready.

IMO, with two on and one out that is a high leverage situation. Marshall should have come in. Why are you saving Marshall if you think the game is over by bringing Bray in? That makes no sense to me. If Bray coughs up the lead. Game over.

[bcmachine]

The main worrying thing is we're starting to dig ourselves a whole that will be hard to get out of. These are the kinds of games that the manager is supposed to win for you, in the sense of tactical awareness and execution. You can't get it right all the time, but you have to get it right most of the time if you hope to be near the top at the end of the season.

[bcmachine]

Dusty seems to have an extra-inning approach as an incremental increase in the ability of our pitching, so if we got to the 13th or 14th inning we'd finally see Chapman or Marshall. In the meantime, opponents are shutting us down and we are giving up game-winning SFs and wild pitches from Bray and Simon. It's a hard call, and easy to be an expert online, I realize, but it just seems as if we are being outclassed tactically late on.

[Mutaman]

Originally Posted by bcmachine

Dusty seems to have an extra-inning approach as an incremental increase in the ability of our pitching, so if we got to the 13th or 14th inning we'd finally see Chapman or Marshall. In the meantime, opponents are shutting us down and we are giving up game-winning SFs and wild pitches from Bray and Simon. It's a hard call, and easy to be an expert online, I realize, but it just seems as if we are being outclassed tactically late on.

Dude, we're scoring one unearned run a game. Nuff said.

[texasdave]

It has been a hideous start. I don't think anyone can dispute that sad fact. But I still like the starting pitcher match-ups the next two games. And leaving St. Louis only two games back would be close to a miracle. It can be done though.

[fielder's choice]

This team has no chance of making the playoffs unless it adds a bat.

[Mutaman]

Originally Posted by fielder's choice

This team has no chance of making the playoffs unless it adds a bat.

Correction: This team has little chance of making the playoffs unless it adds a lefthanded bat.

[texasdave]

Timing is everything in both sports and life. I wonder if Walt knew for certain that he was gonna pick up Noodles on waivers if he would not have pulled the trigger on the Francisco-Hoover deal. Or maybe the Reds were fed up with Francisco and he gonna get moooo-ved anyway for showing up as fat as a cow.