About 94 wins. Bruce finally emerges all year, Stubbs is more consistent. Potential Issues are Dusty riding slumping guys in LF or 3b. Starting depth overcomes any issues. Bullpen solid.
About 94 wins. Bruce finally emerges all year, Stubbs is more consistent. Potential Issues are Dusty riding slumping guys in LF or 3b. Starting depth overcomes any issues. Bullpen solid.
84
Hugs, smiling, and interactive Twitter accounts, don't mean winning baseball. Until this community understands that we are cursed to relive the madness.
91 wins...
2010 Mock Draft Selections (picking for Rays)
Bryce Brentz
Brandon Workman
Kris Bryant
Matt Lipka
Rick Hague
89
Central Champeens.
0 Value Over Replacement Poster
"Sit over here next to Johnathan (Bench)...sit right here, he's smart."--Sparky Anderson
95.
They may start slow due to some of the minor injuries here and there, but I don't see this team as WORSE than last year. I'm really shocked at the majority in here, wow.
72 wins.
87 wins
90 wins.
94-68, Repeat as NL Central Champions, and play much better in the playoffs, but fall just short in the NLCS.
This team led the NL in OBP and SLG last season and I think their offense will IMPROVE.
I also think they'll cobble together a slightly better overall pitching performance even though there are many questions for the rotation at the beginning of the season. I think Lecure and Maloney (heck even Scott Carroll did it) can keep this offense close enough to win. I think Homer and Cueto will return fairly quickly and finish strong anyway.
I can't see any injuries to the starting eight causing much of a problem. Votto being replaced by Alonso may be the worst that could happen. I think Francisco can give us more offense than Rolen, but we'd take a big hit on defense. Conversely, Sappelt could give us more OBP, less SLG, and a big boost to the defense in left. I think he and Mesoraco will be part of the starting eight by the end of the season (and during the playoffs) whether by force or by (injury)chance.
Cheers!
"This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again." -- Terence Mann
I'm thinking 88 wins. The offense will be there, and the pitching will come around, but it will take some time for everything to gel. This team isn't quite there yet coming out of the gate.
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. -- Carl Sagan (Pale Blue Dot)
86 wins
They're a below-average team if post-ASB Mike Leake (which we're still seeing this spring), Matt Maloney, and Sam LeCure have to log significant innings out of the rotation.
Cueto and Bailey have no set timetable for their return (Debut?), no firm diagnosis of what exactly the problem is, and no real treatment plan other than "rest and hope it gets better." As was pointed out in another thread, they could hop back on the mound in mid-April and experience the exact same pains/ailments that sidelined them in the first place and it would be back to square one. And, of the healthy bodies, Volquez looks like he needs GPS and a personal navigator to find the strike zone, and Bronson Arroyo has an illness which has a primary symptom of fatigue and weakness -- perfect for any pitcher you're counting on to do heavy lifting for a rotation.
The rotation, currently, is an outright disaster. If Bailey and Cueto come back before the start of May, I think the team can do well and compete for a playoff spot. If both those guys are missing come June / July, I don't see how this team posts a winning record.
Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022
84 wins and the most disappointing season since 2000.
It doesn't help to have all those starting arms if they're either off form or on the shelf. The starting pitching won't be broken all year, but it's cause for concern and a root cause if this team fails to meet expectations. That being said, I think this team has a ceiling of around 98 wins if they can work through their issues. That is, they have a chance to be very good.
All models are wrong. Some of them are useful.
My head says 87 but my heart says 88. I usually go with my head, but will go with my heart this time and say 88.
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