Reds in talks (again) for Ludwick and Heath Bell?

[Vottomatic]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...&sct=hp_t11_a1

The Phillies and Reds are said to match best with the Padres since both those teams seek a righthanded-hitting outfielder and relief help. The Padres seem of a mind to hear what the Reds might offer since the match is probably best with them, but Cincinnati is more methodical in its dealings than Philly GM Ruben Amaro, who is in the Whitey Herzog school of direct dealing. The Cardinals, Yankees, Angels and White Sox are believed to be the other teams talking to the Padres about bullpen help. San Diego is relief central, with Heath Bell, Mike Adams and Chad Qualls. They also have outfielder Ryan Ludwick, who could help the Giants, Braves, Pirates or Indians as well as the Reds or Phillies. Reds GM Walt Jocketty has ties to Ludwick from St. Louis.

I'm interested in Heath Bell, but not Ludwick.

[drowg14]

Originally Posted by Vottomatic

I'm interested in Heath Bell, but not Ludwick.

I would agree with this. Except for his high strikeout rate I feel like Heisey is equal to Ludwick. Bell would be a nice addition though.

[DocRed]

Why would we want Heath Bell? He is not signed past 2011.

[brm7675]

Yep get those pitchers...I am sure that will help us score runs....

[bshall2105]

Originally Posted by brm7675

Yep get those pitchers...I am sure that will help us score runs....

I would rather have one of the best closers in the game in the bullpen instead of Jeremy Horst getting to watch a free MLB game every night.

[redsfan_12]

Originally Posted by bshall2105

I would rather have one of the best closers in the game in the bullpen instead of Jeremy Horst getting to watch a free MLB game every night.

+1

[mr. red]

I'd take Ludwick in the lineup offensively over Heisey. I'd also take Heath Bell in the 9th over Cordero. Not sure how CoCo would take to a set-up role though....maybe we would trade him?

[brm7675]

Originally Posted by bshall2105

I would rather have one of the best closers in the game in the bullpen instead of Jeremy Horst getting to watch a free MLB game every night.

Exactly how many attempts has Co-Co had so far this season? Why so low? Becasue our offense isn't getting the job done, so sure bring over another closer to sit out in the bullpen...yep smart baseball there...

[mr. red]

Originally Posted by brm7675

Exactly how many attempts has Co-Co had so far this season? Why so low? Becasue our offense isn't getting the job done, so sure bring over another closer to sit out in the bullpen...yep smart baseball there...

I'll say we have an inconsistent offense, but our offense leads the NL in Runs, 2nd in Hits, 2nd in Total Bases, 2nd in RBIs, 3rd in HRs, 3rd in OBP, 3rd in OPS tied for 4th in AVG, 5th in SLG.

And regarding pitching, we have a bottom 4 ERA and in the top 7 for Quality Starts. I'd say that the bullpen has been an issue to a large degree, because we aren't finishing the games like we did last year.

[brm7675]

Originally Posted by mr. red

I'll say we have an inconsistent offense, but our offense leads the NL in Runs, 2nd in Hits, 2nd in Total Bases, 2nd in RBIs, 3rd in HRs, 3rd in OBP, 3rd in OPS tied for 4th in AVG, 5th in SLG.

And regarding pitching, we have a bottom 4 ERA and in the top 7 for Quality Starts. I'd say that the bullpen has been an issue to a large degree, because we aren't finishing the games like we did last year.

How many games has our bullpen blown this year? What maybe like 4-5 total? How many games has our offense put up 3 runs or less? We put up 8 runs in one game then score like 2 the next 3-4. Again our pitching is fine, we need something that allows our offense to become more consistant and another bullpen arm doesn't do that. Give me a bat or two and someone who can leadoff and make contact, and we will be fine.

[mr. red]

Originally Posted by brm7675

How many games has our bullpen blown this year? What maybe like 4-5 total? How many games has our offense put up 3 runs or less? We put up 8 runs in one game then score like 2 the next 3-4. Again our pitching is fine, we need something that allows our offense to become more consistant and another bullpen arm doesn't do that. Give me a bat or two and someone who can leadoff and make contact, and we will be fine.

In 33 Save Opportunities, the Reds bullpen has blown 13 games.

[40YrRedsFan]

Originally Posted by brm7675

How many games has our bullpen blown this year? What maybe like 4-5 total? How many games has our offense put up 3 runs or less? We put up 8 runs in one game then score like 2 the next 3-4. Again our pitching is fine, we need something that allows our offense to become more consistant and another bullpen arm doesn't do that. Give me a bat or two and someone who can leadoff and make contact, and we will be fine.

[brm7675]

Originally Posted by mr. red

In 33 Save Opportunities, the Reds bullpen has blown 13 games.

And in how many games has our pitchers given up 4 runs or less and we lost? Again pitching is not the issue...

[40YrRedsFan]

Originally Posted by brm7675

How many games has our bullpen blown this year? What maybe like 4-5 total? How many games has our offense put up 3 runs or less? We put up 8 runs in one game then score like 2 the next 3-4. Again our pitching is fine, we need something that allows our offense to become more consistant and another bullpen arm doesn't do that. Give me a bat or two and someone who can leadoff and make contact, and we will be fine.

We need a # 4 hitter, period. Our pitching has improved considerably, and bringing in a hitter to help score more runs would help the pitching by easing some of the pressure on them to be perfect every time out.

[40YrRedsFan]

I am not real excited about Ludwick. I would rather see someone like Hunter Pence. It would be more expensive, but much larger upside with Pence being 5 years younger and a better run producer.