"Today was the byproduct of us thinking we can come back from anything." - Joey Votto after blowing a 10-1 lead and holding on for the 12-11 win on 8/25/2010.
"Today was the byproduct of us thinking we can come back from anything." - Joey Votto after blowing a 10-1 lead and holding on for the 12-11 win on 8/25/2010.
Is adding a lefty as important now?
Since pitchers need to throw to 3 batters or till the inning ends. Im not sure we are going to see a ton of match ups so much. You need guys who can get players on both sides out now, not just a guy who can only get a lefty out. Because if he comes in and doesnt do it then he has to face that righty who hammers lefty pitching.
HammerTime (02-03-2020)
Not a huge obsession. The Reds need a lefty. Garrett is good, but he fell apart last season from overwork. Reed might be OK, but he might get overexposed. People seem to be putting a lot of faith in a few innings. Big league hitters have been beating him since 2016. I want a third lefty in the pen as an alternative. A veteran who has had success before. I think people are exaggerating his year last year. His ERA+ was 101 which is average. He doesn't walk guys the way Strop does. He's not a world beater, but compared to Strop, he had a better year and he's left handed. If they got Watson, I'd still want somebody else better as well. I'm only interested in him because he's left handed and I don't want to see Garrett overused again. I'd rather have a better lefty, but I don't see any who might be available.
I am encouraged that Strop seems to get lefty hitters out. Maybe that will be good enough to keep Garrett from getting overworked. .
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!
Ken Giles is a solution. Ian Kennedy is a solution. Keone Kela is a potential solution if he's healthy. I agree that Givens and Watson would only be partial solutions, and I'd still want somebody better even if they had gotten one, but both had better years than Strop last year. Significantly better. There's probably somebody else out there, but those were guys off the top of my head who I prefer to Strop. Watson could easily be this year's version of Zach Duke, and the new rules may make him less useful, but I'm not satisfied with Reed as the only lefty alternative to Garrett. It's all about not seeing a repeat of Garrett falling apart again from overuse.
A solution is a guy who is an established high leverage reliever who had a solid year last year. Giles is my first choice. Of course I'd rather have Hader or Chapman, but they aren't getting those guys. I'd just as soon go with Kuhnel, Sims or even Bowman over Strop and I don't really want any of those guys in important spots at the beginning of the season. To me Strop is in the mix with those guys.
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!
Griffey012 (02-03-2020),OesterPoster (02-03-2020),OGB (02-03-2020)
You can't say "A solution is a guy who is an established high leverage reliever who had a solid year last year." yet also call Givens and Watson partial solutions, unless of course Strop is also a partial solution, but then there's no real complaint about Strop. After all it just isn't true that "Watson and Givens had significantly better seasons than Strop last year". In what aspect did Watson and Givens have "significantly better" seasons than Strop? They all three had pretty pedestrian years. I'm also not sure it is even fair to call Kennedy an established high leverage reliever. He is 35 and last year was his first season in the bullpen. I've said elsewhere I'd gladly add him into the late innings, but I wouldn't suddenly expect his arrival to "fix" anything. It would improve the pen barring surprisingly poor performance, but it isn't going to generate some dramatic improvement.
Watson got pummeled by lefties last year, even with the perks of pitching in the NL west. He had iffy numbers and a high HR rate. Zach Duke is probably an apt comparison. I feel much more confident with Reed over a 34 year old coming off that kind of season.
Giles would be a welcome addition, but I have no idea what the cost would be, likely high. If that's the case, I'd rather roll the dice and make a move early if the bullpen is an issue.
Which guy fits better in GABP? And which guy was better last season?:
Player A: 6.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 1.5 HR/9, 44% GB
Player B: 10.6 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9, 53% GB
Player C: 12.3 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 1.9 HR/9, 38% GB
Last edited by Griffey012; 02-03-2020 at 09:06 AM.
"Today was the byproduct of us thinking we can come back from anything." - Joey Votto after blowing a 10-1 lead and holding on for the 12-11 win on 8/25/2010.
Mth's whole argument boils down to "I don't like Strop because *reasons*."
No big deal. We all have those.
That's a good question.
I like number three due to elite K and BB numbers, but that fly ball percentage. Woof.
I'd need to look at WHiP, career numbers, and last three seasons numbers before making a decision.
Why is Ian Kennedy a poster boy for a quality, dependable reliever?
He had a good 2019, that's true.
https://www.fangraphs.com/players/ia...ats?position=P
With Strop, there are five guys I consider locks for the bullpen. Leaves three spots.
Reds have a pretty good list of unproven and bounce back candidates for the three spots. Several relievers who did well before an injury are interesting.
I would like one more bigger ticket reliever, but it’s not essential, there is talent to be mined by DJ and the staff.
I’m more interested at this point in getting a Brock Holt type for the infield. I’ve posted previously about the OF/IF imbalance and I’d rather see that addressed.
Last edited by Kc61; 02-03-2020 at 11:46 AM.
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |