Loading ...What a wild ride it has been. We’ll have some post-mortems over the coming days and weeks, but for now, feel free to use this thread to reflect on the 2006 season, and all the surprises, excitment, and disappointment that we experienced.
Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Let’s hear them.
Dunn’s slam. Most teams would have rode that emotional high to a torrid hot streak.
May 11-Junior hits the 3-run homer to beat the Nats at GABP. I remember running around my house jumping up and down, trying to stay quiet because my dad had gone to bed after the bullpen had blown the game for Bronson.
Dunn’s walk-off slam against the Indians and Freel’s catch off Pujols also come to mind.
My season high was tying St.Louis on August 24th. for the NL Central lead, and then the low point was Sept. 1st. after losing seven straight and knowing the race was over. But instead of the usual collapse by Memorial Day, it happened three months later; that’s progress, all things considered. After a busy off-season, hopefully we can make the playoffs in 07.
Hmm. Those were all pretty good. I guess the best time was sometime in July when I started to realize we had as good a shot as anyone. Lowest time was the West Coast trip. A .500 season would have been nice, but 81-81 and 80-82 are essentially the same thing…not good enough.
This left a bitter taste in my mouth, starting with the panic trade at the all-star break, and seriously compounded by the way they messed the bed on the west coast swing.
I’d love to be optimistic about next year, and there are a few reasons to be, but Krivsky’s fascination with (mediocre) former Twins and purported desire to turn the Reds into a pitching-and-defense squad worries me greatly. If anybody in that front office doesn’t recognize that the offense is seriously broken, (and that the solution is something more than signing a Juan Encarnacion-level free agent) there’s no hope.
Good luck to Sean Casey and Dave Williams in the playoffs. Ironic isn’t it?
Friday April 14. I was eating at Union Station in DC, chatting with two older Orioles fans who were recalling the ‘70 World Series.
That night, I watched a 1-0 Harang win at St. Louis over Carpenter. This made me believe that I was watching a whole new ball club and made my season ticket package seem like a great investment.
I’d like to nominate Valentin’s walk-off. Also, the last home Pirate’s series, I took my dad to his first game at GABP and he was treated to a 14-7 win. It was a great game from the start…but the icing on the cake was after a Jason Bay home run, the ten-year-old that caught it in our section threw it back on the field and the usher brought him a ball and gavethem tickets to a future game.
I was at the ballpark for both Griffey’s and Dunn’s walk-offs. (the # run job vs. Nats and the Slam off Wickman and the Indians.) Both were my #1 and #2 best ballpark moments. The Dunn Slam may have been a bit better just because of how far they had to come back over 2 innings (Castro even hit a 3-run dinger in the 8th of that game).
Low point was definitely the West Coast Stretch. The baggy-eyed pissed off 10 days that I had to wallow in were unbearable.
Biggest Overall Disappointment: ADAM DUNN!!! Thogh he provided the best memory of the season, he was also the biggest piece of worthless trash. Look at his numbers for the year, look at them hard, then look at his carreer. He has become progressively and phenomonally WORSE in EVERY area each year since he has been up. If he put up even the #s that he did last year, there is no doubt in my mind that the Reds would be in the playoffs right now. He is not worth 7.5 million. Trade him while we can for pitching and get someone worth the money. PLEASE!!!
I’m definitely disappointed in Dunn’s season, but I’m not ready to use all the hyperbole Justin’s throwing around, either. I don’t know that 75 points of OPS was phenomenally worse, but it is definitely significant. I would love to know what’s going on with that guy. Everybody was thrilled to death when he started hitting for average in August (even though his walk rate dropped significantly). Then, he fell right off a cliff. Is it possible that he stopped being as selective, in an attempt to “be a run producer,” and pitchers just stopped throwing him strikes? I was so disgusted that I admit to not watching hardly any games in September, so I don’t know the answer.
I really would like to see the guy get it together, I really would. But he has just finished his 3rd full season and he continues to slide. Most players improve over their first few years in the bigs. It worries me that he has not… to the point that I think if there is a time to get out of his contract, it is now, before things get worse.
no, i don’t think dunn’s slide was due to “trying to be a run producer” (which i don’t think of as a bad thing by the way) in August. here are dunn’s month by month offensive numbers:
AP: 265/432/614, a very Adam Dunn like month, what he should be capable of.
MA: 212/328/535, the average dips and brings down the power with it, but the walks dip by more.
JN: 221/368/537, walks climb a little but not much
JL: 354/451/573, average brings everything up, but power slips and walks stay at a lower rate than in April
AU: 188/284/416, average disappears and takes everything with it, rates stay about the same though
SE: 157/333/265, average goes down, walks go up, and power vanishes almost entirely, outhit by several grandmothers.
Dunn’s sectivity dropped much earlier than July or August, and his Power was on the way out earlier two. He had one month where he was able to single his way back up to respectability, but then he fell off a cliff.
It occurs to me that he might have been hurt. or he might have been a greenie guy and not able to handle the long season. In any case, i don’t think it had anything to do with getting singles in July, and it’s clear he’s got a lot of work to do to right himself.
But is still stick with my previous position: i don’t think we need to rid ourselves of him, but i do think we should shop him because his percieved value around the league is probably higher than his real value. If we can get a GM to overpay for him because of the HR count, i think we could improve the team.
Dunn is one of those players that can get into a slump and stay there for long periods of time. He takes a lot of good pitches. I think he thinks that he is being selective at the plate and getting deep into the counts. However, if your called out on strikes, as he often is, what good did it do for you to take so many pitches? The whole has team looked tired the last month and a half of the season.
Dunn will be okay. He slumped in the second half but getting rid of him is ridiculous. With his power and OBP, he is valuable even with a low BA. Leave the guy alone. I predict a great season next year- just don’t expect a high BA. Accept him for who he is – a great offensive threat overall.
overall, I’m pleased with the Reds’ season … sure, I’d love to have been able to plop down some major ca$h for some postseason tickets, but at least the Reds were in the hunt for nearly 95 percent of the season instead of just 50 percent like seasons past.
Hugh D. Pohl,
I never mentioned average. Average is worthless in measuring offense, we all know this. Dunn played a full season and still came up short #s wise from last year. That goes for Avg, Slg, OBP, # walks, # HRs, # RBI, etc. It could be that he needs a day off here or there and maybe they shoulcd give that a try, but if the price is right, I say take a trade before we find out next year that he has no trade value.