Latos...could he become an ace this year??

[AintlifeGrande]

Originally Posted by Todd Gack

Is he going to stop throwing a fit on the mound in series deciding games? Remains to be seen. It just depends on his maturity. . . and probably his wife's too.

I like to see that fire in emotion in a pitcher.We have not had a Reds pitcher in quite some time with that passion.But if you want to equate that with ''throwing a fit''then go ahead.

[Todd Gack]

Originally Posted by AintlifeGrande

I like to see that fire in emotion in a pitcher.We have not had a Reds pitcher in quite some time with that passion.But if you want to equate that with ''throwing a fit''then go ahead.

You missed the point. Anyone can have emotion. . . most players. He still hasn't learned how to harness it. He's immature and so is his wife and they both show. He'll mature at some point and I think it's sooner rather than later.

[alwaysawarrior]

Originally Posted by Todd Gack

You missed the point. Anyone can have emotion. . . most players. He still hasn't learned how to harness it. He's immature and so is his wife and they both show. He'll mature at some point and I think it's sooner rather than later.

First off who cares if his wife is immature? I don't really care what she does as I never intend to pay to watch her do anything. Secondly I blame a large part of his blowup in the playoffs on Dusty, who managed with no sense of urgency. I was watching the game with my father and in that inning said, they better pull him, he's done he won't be able to get Posey out. Dusty managed that whole series with no urgency and did the same thing there. Mat lost his focus, but Dusty didn't do much to help the guy out.

[Todd Gack]

Originally Posted by alwaysawarrior

First off who cares if his wife is immature? I don't really care what she does as I never intend to pay to watch her do anything. Secondly I blame a large part of his blowup in the playoffs on Dusty, who managed with no sense of urgency. I was watching the game with my father and in that inning said, they better pull him, he's done he won't be able to get Posey out. Dusty managed that whole series with no urgency and did the same thing there. Mat lost his focus, but Dusty didn't do much to help the guy out.

She seems like Doug Christie's wife. And that's not a good thing.

[alwaysawarrior]

Originally Posted by Todd Gack

She seems like Doug Christie's wife. And that's not a good thing.

Again who cares....She's a 23 year old who probably feels overshadowed by her husband so she says stupid crap. As far as I know she's never been in any kind of trouble, and again I don't really care what she does as long as Mat is the one pitching.

[Beatlessp]

Originally Posted by alwaysawarrior

Again who cares....She's a 23 year old who probably feels overshadowed by her husband so she says stupid crap. As far as I know she's never been in any kind of trouble, and again I don't really care what she does as long as Mat is the one pitching.

I have a Twitter...but I don't think I follow Dallas.....what have I missed that everybody on here hates her?

[mattfeet]

Originally Posted by JB12

I know it's easy to ruminate on the bad and forget about the good, but remember Latos is the same guy that mowed down that Giants lineup in game #1 (in OCTOBER).

He started off great in game #5 as well, it wasn't until the 5th inning where he gave up those runs (6 to be exact). Yes, that inning was dark spot, on an otherwise good season in Cincinnati, however (in hindsight) we can't just sulk over the bad.

I agree. Mat was not the reason we got swept at home by the Giants. Until that 5th inning, I'd almost crown him the Reds' MVP for the division series. Yes, he might be a bit immature at times, but he also brings a "Don't mess with me" attitude to the mound which I, for one, LOVE. Mat is going to be a huge piece of this team moving forward and I cannot wait.

[mattfeet]

Originally Posted by Beatlessp

I have a Twitter...but I don't think I follow Dallas.....what have I missed that everybody on here hates her?

I don't hate her at all. She's just a very opinionated mid-20's smart girl that has the drama associated with that description. It rubs some people the wrong way, and it can get trying at times, but overall I think she's worth the follow. She does interact with the fans, writes her own Reds' blog, and puts herself out there, which I have to give her credit for doing.

-Matt

[Goose]

Yes he definitely can, will he? It would be great and I think his odds are good.

[JB12]

Originally Posted by mattfeet

I agree. Mat was not the reason we got swept at home by the Giants. Until that 5th inning, I'd almost crown him the Reds' MVP for the division series. Yes, he might be a bit immature at times, but he also brings a "Don't mess with me" attitude to the mound which I, for one, LOVE. Mat is going to be a huge piece of this team moving forward and I cannot wait.

I agree, I love the fire, BUT when I see this on coming from another pitcher, I LOATHE it.

I remember watching Mat pitch against the Reds in 2010 (@ San Diego) and remember thinking at the time he was a punk. Gomes hit a blast in the left field warehouse seats that gave the Reds the lead and Latos stared him down as he rounded the bases.

[REDREAD]

Originally Posted by Todd Gack

You missed the point. Anyone can have emotion. . . most players. He still hasn't learned how to harness it. He's immature and so is his wife and they both show. He'll mature at some point and I think it's sooner rather than later.

Yep, most 24 year olds still have some growing up to do. I imagine it's even harder when you are a major leaguer.

I'll be interested to see what kind of start Latos gets off to this year. He's known for having a horrible first 4 weeks.. I wonder if he'll start strong this year.. The Reds made some adjustments to him last year.. They told him to stop using one of his pitches (which was mediocre and getting hit hard), then Matt took off. Hopefully he carries over the success to April 2013. It would be great to get off to a good start.

But as far as the original question, I consider Latos an ace now. Cueto too.

[Sir Luke]

Latos WILL turn into an ace caliber pitcher. He is still second string to Cueto though.

[Blood Red Path]

Originally Posted by New York Red

You could make the argument Latos is already an "ace" type pitcher. He pitched an entire season without missing a start, pitching in one of the worst ballparks for a pitcher, lost only four games and ended with a 3.48 ERA. Both his WAR (4.2) and WHIP (1.161) finished just outside the top ten of all MLB pitchers. I don't think being the #1 starter has anything to do with being an "ace", since a lot of teams have no ace and several teams have more than one. I guess it's all in the definition.

^^
This.

If by "become an ace" you mean take over the team's first spot in the rotation, then no, probably not. That spot is Ceuto's.

If by "become an ace" you mean become a guy who can be relied on to be the stopper and consistently bring nasty, top-of-the-rotation caliber stuff that makes hitters look bad and routinely puts the team in a position to win, then I would argue that Latos is already that kind of pitcher and doesn't need to "become" it.

[Captain13]

Originally Posted by Blood Red Path

^^
This.

If by "become an ace" you mean take over the team's first spot in the rotation, then no, probably not. That spot is Ceuto's.

If by "become an ace" you mean become a guy who can be relied on to be the stopper and consistently bring nasty, top-of-the-rotation caliber stuff that makes hitters look bad and routinely puts the team in a position to win, then I would argue that Latos is already that kind of pitcher and doesn't need to "become" it.

^^What he said.^^

[LukeSho]

I think part of Latos continuing to mature will be evident in how he starts outs out in April the next 2 seasons. He's been really slow to get going at the beginning of the year, and I think we'll start to see more consistency out of Mat from start to finish as he keeps progressing.