Maybe Votto switched from Butch Harmon to Hank Haney and is still working out the kinks.
Maybe Votto switched from Butch Harmon to Hank Haney and is still working out the kinks.
jojo (04-19-2013)
Surprisingly, I actually DID think I'd see that day. There's not a player on the Reds I'm higher on than Bruce. His talent is immense. He's got the prettiest swing from a Reds hitter since Jr. I agree that Joey'll be fine, but I think we're simply seeing the maturity of Bruce like we're seeing in Homer.
I don't think we have an up and down team. I think we have a team that's won two division titles in the last three years, a team that won 97 games last season, a VERY talented team that most fanbases would kill to have. Every team other than the Braves are up and down this early in the season. Crazy hyperbole and flipping out over every loss really serves no purpose in baseball. I remember in 2010 after we blew six run leads TWO DIFFERENT TIMES in the ninth inning, everyone thought we were done. Also got swept by the Cards in August. That team sailed to the division crown.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
_Sir_Charles_ (04-19-2013)
I'm looking around but I can't find the double like button. The worst day of the year is the end of the baseball season. The best day of the year is every day WITH baseball.
Even on a bad day, you can find the bright spots. Jay's looking great at the dish. Latos looked great. Broxton had an excellent turnaround game. Several bright spots. If you're going to expect to win them all, even against bad teams, you might as well switch to following a different sport ASAP. Enjoy the journey, the final result isn't EVERYTHING.
No offense, but it seems you are overreacting -- albeit in a different way -- as much as anyone else is. Message boards would suck if everyone had the same way of looking at things. I've said it before; game threads are like a few friends getting together to watch a game together. Different personalities, different opinions, different reactions. Take my brother for example: it never fails that during the first few minutes of a Bengals game, he'll text me and say "we're beat", "we suck", etc. Then we go on to win and he's praising the team afterwards. Different strokes for different folks.
I have no doubts that Votto will be back to being Votto, but he's had some horrible at bats lately. His bat looks slow, and his timing is way off. Time for a day off tomorrow. Let Hannihan play 1st.
Immense? Maybe a bit of a stretch Chuck... Avg. is really good for him, but the slugging is horrible. But he does have twice the RBI'S as Votto, and his slugging is almost as good as Joey's .377.
H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
21 5 ...0 ..0 ..8 .6 .21 .296 .351 .366 .717
Last edited by Falcon7; 04-19-2013 at 10:27 PM.
Well, like I said, I haven't really paid attention to his splits. But the power, well he's NEVER been a HR hitter. Ever. Career high of 6 in 2011. 5 in 2010. Down to 2 last season. But HR's aren't the only stat for power, right? He had a career high in doubles last season. 14.
He's always been a pretty decent player for batting average and well above average for OBP. Where's the drop off on those? Outside of this current slump obviously. He's still not striking out, he's still walking as much or more than he K's. Outside of this current month, I haven't seen any clear change in Hanny at the plate in several years. But I'll take your word for the thing with the splits.
Even if you're right and he is on the decline...his defense still makes him good enough to be a starter. Whether Mes forces his way into that role should depend on Mes' defense IMO. I've seen poor mechanics on blocking balls, I've seen poor footwork and reaching for balls, and I've seen poor throws to 2nd in terms of accuracy. However, I've also seen him absolutely CRUSH the ball. They may not all be falling in, but he's smoking the ball right now.
Tough decision IMO. Plus bat/negative glove vs. negative bat/plus glove. For me, I stick with the plus glove because it's more likely that the bat comes around quicker than the glove does. Hopefully Mes proves me wrong and I'm just seeing some poor games defensively.
I'm not talking about his stat line or even his career numbers. I'm talking about his ceiling. Jay Bruce is a fantastic TALENT. Now whether he capitalizes on that to the fullest extent remains to be seen. But I don't think anybody disputes his ability. He wasn't the #1 player in the minors as a fluke.
Different opinions is one thing. Overreactions are another. Overreactions aren't even differing opinions. They're emotional responses triggered without taking a moment to cool down and think about what a person is saying.
Presumably people post on message boards like this because they either like said team or want to talk about said team (though a few just like to cause trouble). I've yet to find anyone that wants to post about their favorite team because they enjoy overreacting emotionally. You're right different opinions are the lifeblood of discussions. Overreactions aren't opinions, though. They're simply emotions that aren't under control.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
So Votto is not Votto.... but more like Todd Benzinger and someone said Chapman's velocity was off and he looked like he was in discomfort after leaving the mound. I am depressed just reading it all.
When it comes to sports, overreaction is the norm, IMO. My brother (the king of kneejerk reactions) and myself (much more laid back) are polar opposites when it comes to our personalities while watching our favorite teams, but he's just as big a fan as I am and we both consider ourselves "realists". I have a good time with it. This isn't a life or death deal. I think people should let others express themselves any way they want, and if it bothers you, ignore it. GO REDS
I'm guessing Votto will go on a nice tear once it warms up and he gets right. It's April.
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