Is Suarez broken?

[Wonderful Monds]

I think they have to end the SS thing. I was pretty skeptical that it was tanking his bat, but anything you can do to help him stop being a complete and total black hole right now needs to be done. And India’s bat isn’t justifying this whole setup anyway.

Trade for a journeyman stopgap SS, put India there instead, whatever. It’s not working out.

[Kc61]

Last season Suarez, regular season -

July (31 PAs) .378 OPS.
August (108 PAs) .804 OPS.
September (92 PAs) .883 OPS.

The BA overall was a terrible .202 but the final OPS was a decent .781.

A hopeful indicator perhaps. I’d give him several days off, maybe the Dodger series, maybe hit him sixth rather than fourth after that. Lower the temperature, work with the coaches, and see how things develop.

[RedTeamGo!]

I think they have to end the SS thing. I was pretty skeptical that it was tanking his bat, but anything you can do to help him stop being a complete and total black hole right now needs to be done. And India’s bat isn’t justifying this whole setup anyway.

Trade for a journeyman stopgap SS, put India there instead, whatever. It’s not working out.

I’d put Blandino there

[TNRED]

Last season Suarez, regular season -

July (31 PAs) .378 OPS.
August (108 PAs) .804 OPS.
September (92 PAs) .883 OPS.

The BA overall was a terrible .202 but the final OPS was a decent .781.

A hopeful indicator perhaps. I’d give him several days off, maybe the Dodger series, maybe hit him sixth rather than fourth after that. Lower the temperature and see how things develop.

If you are dropping him in the order, why stop at sixth? He is the worst hitter on the team.

[MoneyInTheBank]

Suarez hit it hard today. Maybe he'll get a few to drop in and get his groove back

[Kc61]

If you are dropping him in the order, why stop at sixth? He is the worst hitter on the team.

Because I wouldn’t treat this as a crisis. Suarez is in a deep slump, it’s not the first time by any means for him or others. Last year Joey Votto was benched during an August slump as we’ll all recall.

I’d use modest measures to lower the temperature.

Give him a day off, maybe a few, let him work with the coaches, and maybe drop him a bit in the order without embarrassing him.

I wouldn’t start trading guys, or changing around positions. If history is a guide this too shall pass.

[757690]

I think they have to end the SS thing. I was pretty skeptical that it was tanking his bat, but anything you can do to help him stop being a complete and total black hole right now needs to be done. And India’s bat isn’t justifying this whole setup anyway.

Trade for a journeyman stopgap SS, put India there instead, whatever. It’s not working out.

If they do this, they have Garcia. He’s at least as good as a journeyman SS, and he will get needed MLB experience. His bat will be terrible, but so would any journeyman SS bat.

[zigbeenuthouse]

Suarez will come around at some point, hit around 240, 25 HRs, and about 85 RBIs....It's April and he's not in a groove yet and he's not hurt. He can hit the ball and will. What I think the Reds should do is trade him in off season for a starter. He's about 30 with a decent contract....off course he may turn around and be a beast for another team...it happens.

[KronoRed]

Do the Reds have a batting coach?

[GAC]

Do the Reds have a batting coach?

I think they only got a hitting coach, but don't quote me.

I start on Medicare end of this week. And as far back as I can remember it's good to see one aspect of the game hasn't changed ... the SLUMP! I got to witness some good ones in my time, and not just Reds either, but among the greats. We still ain't figured it out. What causes them. And why they can so quickly disappear as quick as they came. An enigma wrapped in a riddle.

Has anyone written a baseball book on The Slump? We've seen all kinds on hitting, pitching, fielding, coaching, even best ballparks. And written by managers, ex-players, and media pundits, drawing on years of experience, explaining what they know and understand. And that, IMO, is why there aren't any books on the Slump.

I'd have a better chance of explaining black holes to you then the dynamics of The Slump.

Unless there is injury involved, or some other "mitigating circumstances" are a factor, forcing the decision to bench .... leave him in there. I've already stated that I didn't like the move to SS. And after being at the game last Thursday and watching him? Lets say he's not the answer. But IMO I think they knew that too, but what they hell! They were saving money!

But if they are committed to keeping him at SS, that they believe with time he'll improve as he's out there daily playing the position, not sitting the bench ... then, IMO, the same logic should be applied when it comes to his bat. Benching him does what again? Clear his head? Help him get it together? As an ex-ballpayer - sorry if I sound like Tracy Jones (lol) - when I was not playing well, the last thing I wanted as an established starter was benched. Sitting on the bench gave you too much time to think/dwell on it, and certainly wasn't affording me the opportunity to work through it. I'll assume Suarez w/ the hitting coach, is (or should be) out there in the cages every day working on it. Where is he suppose to "test" what he's doing, to see if it's working, if not on the playing field vs the opponent?

We're talking an established starter. Someone who has proven himself, has a track record. I, personally, throw out the entire '20 season performance/statistically on every ballplayer. It was one stress-filled, screwed up year due to the pandemic, Stay-at-Home orders, economic shutdown, 2,000+ daily deaths .... Lets play ball! Just too much.

It's the beginning of the season. It's April. It's 20 games. Lots of players have slow starts, bad Aprils. I remember Larkin having some.

With Moose out they had a chance to put Suarez back at 3B temporarily, give him a little break from the position, and use one of the four Stooges at SS. BUt then, maybe they thought that may make things worse for Geno?

[Flyer Guy]

Suarez is both a defensive and an offensive liability that leads to losing baseball games. But the Reds leadership cannot see it.

[Ron Madden]

Geno will be hitting 5th today.

[Kc61]

I think they only got a hitting coach, but don't quote me.

I start on Medicare end of this week. And as far back as I can remember it's good to see one aspect of the game hasn't changed ... the SLUMP! I got to witness some good ones in my time, and not just Reds either, but among the greats. We still ain't figured it out. What causes them. And why they can so quickly disappear as quick as they came. An enigma wrapped in a riddle.

Has anyone written a baseball book on The Slump? We've seen all kinds on hitting, pitching, fielding, coaching, even best ballparks. And written by managers, ex-players, and media pundits, drawing on years of experience, explaining what they know and understand. And that, IMO, is why there aren't any books on the Slump.

I'd have a better chance of explaining black holes to you then the dynamics of The Slump.

Unless there is injury involved, or some other "mitigating circumstances" are a factor, forcing the decision to bench .... leave him in there. I've already stated that I didn't like the move to SS. And after being at the game last Thursday and watching him? Lets say he's not the answer. But IMO I think they knew that too, but what they hell! They were saving money!

But if they are committed to keeping him at SS, that they believe with time he'll improve as he's out there daily playing the position, not sitting the bench ... then, IMO, the same logic should be applied when it comes to his bat. Benching him does what again? Clear his head? Help him get it together? As an ex-ballpayer - sorry if I sound like Tracy Jones (lol) - when I was not playing well, the last thing I wanted as an established starter was benched. Sitting on the bench gave you too much time to think/dwell on it, and certainly wasn't affording me the opportunity to work through it. I'll assume Suarez w/ the hitting coach, is (or should be) out there in the cages every day working on it. Where is he suppose to "test" what he's doing, to see if it's working, if not on the playing field vs the opponent?

We're talking an established starter. Someone who has proven himself, has a track record. I, personally, throw out the entire '20 season performance/statistically on every ballplayer. It was one stress-filled, screwed up year due to the pandemic, Stay-at-Home orders, economic shutdown, 2,000+ daily deaths .... Lets play ball! Just too much.

It's the beginning of the season. It's April. It's 20 games. Lots of players have slow starts, bad Aprils. I remember Larkin having some.

With Moose out they had a chance to put Suarez back at 3B temporarily, give him a little break from the position, and use one of the four Stooges at SS. BUt then, maybe they thought that may make things worse for Geno?

Good post, agree that The Slump would be a must read.

Slumps often seem to involve pressing. Player wonders if he’ll ever get another hit.

So sometimes a modest cooling down period, a couple days off, might reduce that tension.

But agree in general, enjoyed reading your post.

[GAC]

Good post, agree that The Slump would be a must read.

Slumps often seem to involve pressing. Player wonders if he’ll ever get another hit.

So sometimes a modest cooling down period, a couple days off, might reduce that tension.

But agree in general, enjoyed reading your post.

It's like being trapped in quicksand, and the more you struggle the tighter the grip the sand has on you, pulling you down. LOL

[goreds2]

He needs to lay off that low/outside pitch.

Until he starts drawing walks to prove he will lay off non strikes, they will continue to pitch him there.

There, I am the expert!!!