4-19-26 Reds @ Twins 2:10PM

[Ladeda]

He has a .337 OBP. That's above average, not an auto out.

LEague averagage OBP is .322. His best trait, OBP is barely above average and that's not someone I want in the #2 hole-- especially since he has an OPS of 57. Definitely not someone I want anywhere near the top of the lineup. Granted, that's not his fault he is batting 2nd, that's on the manager. He's a negative WaR player at the moment-- has -4 defensive runs saved per the fielding bible.

The Reds are dead last by team in terms of WaR at 2B. -.7. McLain accounts for -.6 of that. Dead last.

He is who is he is-- I know people like him, but he's basically among the worst starting 2B in all of baseball. (The Reds are also dead last in LF, CF and RF-- quite the amazing accomplishment.)

That said, with all his faults, I'd rather see McLain batting leadoff, then EDLC, Sal and Saurez with Friedl dropped in the order.

I know people are happy the Reds won, and people are biased towards their team-- but McLain is not good nor is even average. The Reds need for him to figure it out and become an average 2B by year end. At least there is hope he can turn it around-- there are a few other guys whom we all know won't be able to turn it around and become average.

Reds steal another win- that's all that matters for the day. Just keep grinding out wins, until reinforcements arrive.

[Ron Madden]

Walk off Challenge

The Robot Ump and PJ share the Save with Ashcraft

[foster15]

Walk off Challenge

I can't wait for the day that it's a 3-2 pitch challenge with the bases loaded and 2 outs. Team needing strike 3 to win game. Ump calls it strike. Road team fielders celebrate, call reversed. Or of course home team needing walk to win game, Ump calls it ball, home team celebrates, call reversed,

[LeatherPants]

That would be great. And I think Matt will be over 600 and closer to 700 OPS as the year goes on. For now though an OPS under 600. Even in this day of tough pitching. That’s not good. Average at best player even with his D

He's a below average hitter, he is not an "automatic out", which is what you said. A 333 OBP in today's game is nowhere near an "automatic out".

[mth123]

Again. Happy that you are his number 1 fan. An OPS under 600 is not good. Even with that OBP. He should not be hitting hire than 7th. He’d be a good 9th hitter with Elly. Like Ohtani batting lead off for the Dodgers and then Sal hitting 2nd trying to drive him in when he does get on base. Even in the 60s hitters like Mazeroski and Bobby Richardson could OPS just over 600.

I'm not his #1 fan. I've been telling everybody for a couple of years that he's not the offensive centerpiece that this board thinks he is and have been called names and raked over the coals for saying so.

But if he's going to get on base at an above average rate (which means he's not making outs at an unacceptable rate) while being the team's smartest baserunner and a gold glove caliber defender, I'll chalk that position up as a plus and move to other problems.

[Tony Cloninger]

He's a below average hitter, he is not an "automatic out", which is what you said. A 333 OBP in today's game is nowhere near an "automatic out".

My apologies for the wrong terminology. He’s still not walking enough to off set his weak hitting. Not even doubles power. I’m sure he will be better as the year goes and into a 700 OPS if he continues to drive the ball the other way and not try for homers. But if he does and turns into Dan Uggla on his best days. That’s good too. As of right now he’s not.

[Ron Madden]

The Reds are 3-0 so far this season in extra innings
The, Reds were 3-12 last season

[Boss-Hog]

Here's my perspective. But please keep in my that my perspective on this lovely Sabbath day might be clouded by the fact that I woke up feeling like I had attended back-to-back concerts by Styx and ZZ Top. Look, I'm an old third baseman. I love watching good third base play. I like having the best third baseman on the planet at third. Baseball is entertainment for me. I want to be entertained by dazzling plays. The offense is putrid and boring, so any entertainment value I can get from watching a guy who is better defensively than Brooks Robinson at third, I'm all in for.

I'm also a realist. The Reds brought in Ke'Bryan to catch balls , not hit balls. I think Tito and Krall both like the guy a lot. They're not playing Geno at third every day. Not gonna happen. They're not moving away from Hayes. They're not buying a $20 million 3b bat whose OPS exceeds Andre the Giant's bar tab. Never happening. Also, the Reds aren't winning any pennants in this modern day landscape of baseball as long as the LA Dodgers remain in the National League. Since Reds' pennants appear to be a thing of the past, I'll take Gold Glove entertainment anytime I can find it.

I did think Ke'Bryan would hit more than he has so far. I still think he will hit some, certainly enough to justify his claim to the hot corner on a Reds team. Now, if they dump Ke'Bryan for another Moose or Candy, it's not like I'm gonna go outside and set fire to all of my Toto albums. I just want some fun, exciting baseball this summer. If Reds' baseball ,minus Ke'Bryan, is more fun and exciting , then I'm up for that.

I'm not saying Reds' fans should be happy with poor hitting from the third base position. I'm unhappy with the poor hitting from 2/3 of our lineup. I just stated the obvious. Ke' is about as popular here as a serial killer.

I appreciate your honesty, and I also enjoy good defensive play, whether that's at third base or otherwise. I do think there's a baseline level every starter needs to be able to hit at no matter how good their glove is, and that threshold should be higher at positions that aren't up the middle like third, and unfortunately, Hayes isn't at that level right now. He's the one who stands out the most, at least to me, but he's far from the only one not currently carrying his weight offensively.

[Kingspoint]

Hopefully a conference boost for Hinds.

???

[CrackerJack]

Looks like a dog fight. Best division in MLB so far (figures).

[Nepa]

Reds are 14 and 8, not 13 and 8.

Looks like a dog fight. Best division in MLB so far (figures).

[LeatherPants]

I appreciate your honesty, and I also enjoy good defensive play, whether that's at third base or otherwise. I do think there's a baseline level every starter needs to be able to hit at no matter how good their glove is, and that threshold should be higher at positions that aren't up the middle like third, and unfortunately, Hayes isn't at that level right now. He's the one who stands out the most, at least to me, but he's far from the only one not currently carrying his weight offensively.

He isn’t the only one struggling but he’s struggling the most and there’s an easy fix already on the roster. Add in the fact that Geno has now said multiple times he’d rather be playing the field and that DHing has a negative affect on his hitting they need to make the change immediately.

[RiverfrontRed]

He's a below average hitter, he is not an "automatic out", which is what you said. A 333 OBP in today's game is nowhere near an "automatic out".

But it's dropping and will likely land where it was for all last year -- .300

[Boss-Hog]

He isn’t the only one struggling but he’s struggling the most and there’s an easy fix already on the roster. Add in the fact that Geno has now said multiple times he’d rather be playing the field and that DHing has a negative affect on his hitting they need to make the change immediately.

Jim made this point in a separate thread, and below is what I said to him there:

We'll see if Hayes' performance changes anything, but I can't imagine the Reds didn't discuss the role they had in mind for Suarez before he signed here. Based of everything I've seen on the matter, he was always supposed to be the primary DH with some third base and first base starts mixed in.

[Scott1965]

He isn’t the only one struggling but he’s struggling the most and there’s an easy fix already on the roster. Add in the fact that Geno has now said multiple times he’d rather be playing the field and that DHing has a negative affect on his hitting they need to make the change immediately.

Did you see his stats? Of course small sample but Geno in his handful of game at 3B has hit much better than he has at DH.

Probably lucky it is Geno and not a lot of other players. Geno would never cause a problem in the clubhouse over this.

Many players would cause turmoil over not playing a position due to Hayes.

It woukd be totally different if Hayes could hit anything close to league average. That is never happening again though.