I don't think anyone is speaking to a negative attitude, I think that they mean he needs more work and experience to improve his craft and needs to accept that versus trying too hard to make it and thus over throw the ball. He is a very young and determined young man and that can work against him at this stage.Originally Posted by *BaseClogger*
The Reds only have two off days in April. They can skip a couple of starts, but they are going to need all five guys to start the season.
"...You just have a wider lens than one game."
--Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky, on why he didn't fly Josh Hamilton to Colorado for one game.
"...its money well-spent. Don't screw around with your freedom."
--Roy Tucker, on why you need to lawyer up when you find yourself swimming with sharks.
You are correct. That even includes an off day after Opending Day. That seems kinda weird, considering they are starting the season in March. However, I'd still put Cueto #5 and Belisle #3...
It's leap year and I think the Reds, at least for the past few seasons, have always had the day off after Opening Day. It seems though they have a much more difficult schedule in April than in years past when it comes to days off.
I agree with you about limiting innings pitched for the young guys though and I'd be trying to limit those innings at every turn. But I'd be more concerned with Volquez over Cueto at this point. Assuming both are in the rotation.
"...You just have a wider lens than one game."
--Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky, on why he didn't fly Josh Hamilton to Colorado for one game.
"...its money well-spent. Don't screw around with your freedom."
--Roy Tucker, on why you need to lawyer up when you find yourself swimming with sharks.
there is no reason to be more worried about Volquez's innings than Cueto's. Volquez threw 178.2 innings last year and he is also two and a half years older...
The Reds have scheduled a day off after opening day for as long as I can remember. There may have been exceptions, but can't remember any. I was always told that they did this so that, if Opening Day were rained (or snowed) out, they could make it up the next day. Nobody wants to issue 50,000 rain checks (now it is less I guess).
I worded my original post poorly; I knew they always took the day after OD off, but I always thought they had almost every Monday off in April...
Because I think Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto are going to give the Reds a better chance to win than Matt Belisle.
Yes, but the spots in the rotation don't matter that much. It's more psycological than anything else. After the first couple of weeks, the matchups get all scambled anyways...
I know but I'm saying I would rather skip Belisle than one of the two younger and talented kids because I think they give us a better chance at winning than Belisle. I also agree the Reds need to be careful with the two youngsters, like limiting the pitch counts and innings, but I don't think skipping Belisle's turn instead of Cueto/Volquez will really make much of a difference to their arm in April.
Last edited by OnBaseMachine; 03-15-2008 at 11:52 PM.
OK, you have convinced me. Thanks for the reply
The order of the rotation should be Harang, Arroyo, Cueto, Fogg, Volquez. I would break up the power pitchers with Arroyo and Fogg.
I might go a step further.
Harang, Cueto, Arroyo, Volquez, Fogg. If a 5th starter wasn't needed, Fogg would be skipped instead of Volquez.
It should be an interesting 2 weeks to see what happens to this roster. I imagine there will be a trade or two. And I imagine some guys that should be on the team will be spending some time in the minors.
"....the two players I liked watching the most were Barry Larkin and Eric Davis. I was suitably entertained by their effortless skill that I didn't need them crashing into walls like a squirrel on a coke binge." - dsmith421
The best way to protect a 22 year old is to slot him between the two workhorses. He doesn't have to be in the number 5 slot to skip a day. It looks like with either Fogg or Belisle the Reds will have a legitimate swingman that can spot start for any of these guys should they need skipped or pushed back a day. I have Cueto pitch in the two slot so he can be between Harang and Arroyo. In theory Harang and Arroyo will save the pen most often and the pen can be used more liberally when Cueto is pitching on the day between them. Cueto also threw some winter ball innings so his inning count for 2007 is really in the 190+ range. 200 innings shouldn't hurt him. The real risk is the 120 pitch outing which is more likely if he is following or preceding Fogg/Belisle in the rotation. I'd like to see them avoid any situation where Dusty thinks he needs to get an extra inning from Cueto because the pen was used up the day before. There is no way to completely avoid it I suppose, but I let him follow Harang to avoid it as much as possible and give the team the expectation that Arroyo can go deep the next day.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
I'd put Fogg at #5 and Belisle in the bullpen at this point...that of course meaning Volquez and Cuerto are in the rotation
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