You haven't been here for long if you don't think people here assume they can do it quite well and easily.
You haven't been here for long if you don't think people here assume they can do it quite well and easily.
To call that an improvement of players is a slap in the face. If you call those improvements then I don't know what to say. Yea, those are improvements to make every Red fan rush to the ticket office and, buy, buy, buy tickets. That is what the old man wants you think. OK, we will improve by 3 games from last season. Big Deal!
Good RF30. I'm glad you're happy with things, and I'll look forward to reading about how positive you are in, say, late July.
Keep the faith.
"Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?" ~ Jim Bouton
What he said.Originally Posted by Rojo
Where you been the past four years? I went through those. FWIW, looks to me like we've got 2-3 bad years coming up following DanO's current gameplan. Nothing gets better until this team figures out how to bring in some quality starting pitching. Ramon Ortiz doesn't even come close.
Which gets me back to what Rojo said.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
I want several million bucks, but that's not going to happen
Last year this team broke the record for worst ERA in its 130 year history.
This year, they broke it again.
Improvement? That's what some people are happy with? The notion that next year's Reds team might not be the worst one ever for the third straight year?
Forgive me if I expect this team to aim a little higher than "improvement."
Makes all the routine posts.
I'll agree the bullpen was a problem last year, and needed to be addressed. I'm not sure, however, that we needed to spend the money we spent on these guys. I don't mind the Mercker signing so much, because we definitely need a LH in the pen. But Weathers and Weber, in my mind, are question marks right now. Especially Weber and his health. There's no real way of knowing how these two will perform next year, and one might argue we could get similar performances from guys within our system, for a lot less money.
But if they're even average relief pitchers in 2005, you're right. It's an improvement.
I think this comes down to Randa vs. Freel. There are sound arguments for why Freel should be the third baseman, including batting him leadoff every day. In my opinion, it comes down to two things: Freel's bat/OBP/speed vs. Randa's glove, and the money. At a price of $2.15M, is it worth having Randa at 3B over a $400K Freel? (Or whatever Freel stands to make.)
Ortiz's stats have been laid out numerous times here. Even when he was posting his "mighty fine" numbers, he still had some problems (giving up home runs, for one). But more importantly, he has not posted mighty fine numbers in the past two seasons. Essentially we're gambling $4M~ on him being average, if you ask me. As has been said a number of times, why not take that money and go get someone who hasn't been on a big decline for two seasons?
I too think the team has improved. However, incremental improvements in the pitchng staff aren't going to get us very far. What you have to realize is that we're coming off a season where this team had the second-worst ERA in the majors, and the worst in Reds history. (IIRC.) So improving upon that not only should not be hard, but there also needs to be a *serious* improvement. And while I do think Weathers, Weber and Mercker will help the pen somewhat, if they're all healthy, Ortiz alone seemingly doesn't improve the rotation. Of course he could have a great year, but evidence indicates that is a long shot. Much in the same way that Hancock could have a good year, but it's unlikely.
Improving something that was awful to start with does not automatically make it good. This team could probably get by with an average pitching staff, but we have quite a few guys who either are below average, or for whom an average year could be considered a career year.
The problem with that statement is, what exactly have we "finally done" that we're all complaining about? It's not like we signed an ace pitcher and we're all sitting around moaning and groaning about it. We signed Ortiz, who is a huge question mark and had awful numbers last year; Weathers and Weber, question marks. Mercker will be okay, IMO, but I could still argue the money needed to go elsewhere. Randa ... well, what can you say? He's good with the glove?
Obviously everyone has a different idea of what the team could do to make them happy. I'd venture a guess and say that signing some starting pitchers who are healthy and have put up decent numbers in the immediate past would be a good place to start. Lock up Dunn to a LTC, or a three-year deal, whatever. Let us know he's going to be around. For me, at least, those are the two things I wanted this offseason, and neither have happened.
To sum up: Maybe the team is improved. But year after year, this team's success is contingent on "ifs". If these pitchers have career years, and if everyone stays relatively healthy, and if the young pitchers perform well, we are improved. I would like some of those ifs removed.
Last edited by RosieRed; 12-22-2004 at 05:24 PM.
OK. Where's the punchline? Don't you know you're not supposed to post here without saying something clever? :RedinDC:
Kiddig. Nice post. I couldn't agree more.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
RedsFan30, I think your confusion can be summed up as follows: you think the signings/trades the Reds have made are enough to make them a contending team. There are plenty of us here, including me, who wanted the team to do something gives us a legitimate hope to reach the postseason, not just a marginal upgrade of the team we had, which in my opinion, is exactly what they did. Last year's team trotted out the worst rotation in team history. Their solution was to trade for a starter who compiled an ERA in the 5's as a starter in 2004. That's great if the moves they've made excite you; they don't do it for me unless the goal is to finish ahead of the Brewers and Pirates, which is what it appears.
What do you want from life
To kidnap an heiress
or threaten her with a knife
What do you want from life
To get cable TV
and watch it every night
There you sit
a lump in your chair
Where do you sleep
and what do you wear
when you're sleeping
What do you want from life
An Indian guru
to show you the inner light
What do you want from life
a meaningless love affair
with a girl that you met tonight
How can you tell when you're doin' alright
Does your bank account swell
While you're dreaming at night
How do know when you're really in love
Do violins play when you're touching the one
That you're loving
What do you want from life
Someone to love
and somebody that you can trust
What do you want from life
To try and be happy
while you do the nasty things you must
Well, you can't have that, but if you're an American citizen you are entitled to:
a heated kidney shaped pool,
a microwave oven--don't watch the food cook,
a Dyna-Gym--I'll personally demonstrate it in the privacy of your own home,
a king-size Titanic unsinkable Molly Brown waterbed with polybendum,
a foolproof plan and an airtight alibi,
real simulated Indian jewelry,
a Gucci shoetree,
a year's supply of antibiotics,
a personally autographed picture of Randy Mantooth
and Bob Dylan's new unlisted phone number,
a beautifully restored 3rd Reich swizzle stick,
Rosemary's baby,
a dream date in kneepads with Paul Williams,
a new Matador, a new mastodon,
a Maverick, a Mustang, a Montego,
a Merc Montclair, a Mark IV, a meteor,
a Mercedes, an MG, or a Malibu,
a Mort Moriarty, a Maserati, a Mac truck,
a Mazda, a new Monza, or a moped,
a Winnebago--Hell, a herd of Winnebago's we're giving 'em away,
or how about a McCulloch chainsaw,
a Las Vegas wedding,
a Mexican divorce,
a solid gold Kama Sutra coffee pot,
or a baby's arm holding an apple?
School's out. What did you expect?
What Do You Want?
It's too complicated
What do you mean?
It's too hard to state it
What do you do?
It's not what but whether
Who do you love?
I'm in love with leather
What do you want?
I don't know what is it
What do you need?
I just need a minute
What will it take?
It will take forever
Who do you love?
I'm in love with lethargy
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
- I'll take Ramon Ortiz over Corey Lidle
- I'll take Weber, Weathers, and Mercker over Rielding, Norton, and Padilla (or Matthews)
- I'll take Joe Randa over Brandon Larson
Championship caliber? I doubt it....but improvement, and steps in the right direction, and hell...perhaps they're not finished making moves -- and NO long term contracts with these vets that would gaurantee their tenure if they have injury problems
I'm seeing more THIS offseason than LAST offseason - I'm willing to give this "plan" time as long as they're showing that there actually is one
Very well said Rosie.
-Ortiz vs. Lidle is like organic eggs vs. regular eggs. One may or may not be better for you, and at the end of the day eggs are still high in cholesterol.
-Agreed on the bullpen.
-I'd probably take Randa over Larson too, unless Randa's money could go to a starting pitcher. In which case I'd take Freel over Randa, and be happy about it.
Maybe these are steps in the right direction. But if they are, they are the tiniest of baby steps. I hear you re. no long-term contracts for veterans, but come next off-season we could be right back where we were this offseason: Few, if any, good starting pitchers, and a bullpen that will have been bruised by the massive amount of innings it will have pitched.
I have been right here......look when i first started posting.
I was not saying in any way that i am satisfied with the off-season.
It would make me happy if they would sign Mohr and either Perez or Millwood.
Yet i know that would not be enough.
I am just responding to those who say only a championship would make them happy. It would make me happy also but i am also a bit more realistic...right now....that this is not going to happen...and that contending for a divsion title or WC this year......would make me happy. And by contending...i mean like they were contending in 1999.
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