Loading ...In last night’s game thread, Chris linked this, which contained some interesting items:
Griffey paid Bruce ultimate compliment, saying then that he thought he was looking at a young version of him. But Bruce disagreed, “There’s only one Ken Griffey,” he said.
Ummm, Jay? Only one?
Bruce, the 12th player drafted in the great 2005 draft (eight players picked ahead of him, including Justin Upton, Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Braun reached the majors before him), has always been a considered a phenom.
Wow, what a draft. Eight players picked ahead of Bruce reached the majors before him. That’s inconceivable.
Reds righthander Edinson Volquez, who shut down the Phillies Wednesday night and beat Brett Myers on a night Myers carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, has such a deadly fastball-changeup combination that he appears to be the early favorite to start the All-Star Game, only one year after he pitched in A-ball (or “high A” as Volquez described the level).
Either way, it’s yet another amazing Reds rookie story story (there are at least three, with first baseman Joey Votto also off to a big start). Watching Volquez the other night pitching against an impossibly difficult Phillies lineup in the ridiculously unfair Citizens Bank Park, and then listening to him later, he’s somewhat reminiscent of a young Pedro Martinez. His fastball and changeup are in the realm of a young Pedro. And so is his winning personality….
That arsenal, along with the league’s unfamiliarity with him, helps explain his 1.32 ERA, which is nearly a full run lower than anyone else in baseball (Tim Lincecum of the Giants is second at 2.23). And he’s the first pitcher since 1945 to begin a season with 12 straight starts without allowing more than two runs.
Wow. Just…wow. There’s nothing more we can say about this kid.
See, Reds fans? There are reasons to be excited about this franchise.
The 2005 draft was one of the best in a long time for who it produced.
Any way, the Reds have a very bright future with Volquez, K-ueto! (lol), and I’m not giving up on Homer yet. As well with Bruce and Votto (and Dunn and Phillips and Harang)
I like our team and think next year we’re going to make the playoffs
Makes you think about the big picture a bit. We have a solid window of opportunity starting next year (though I’m still not counting us out of the wild card). As in, what do we want this team to look like over the next few years? If the assumption is that Dunn, Phillips, and Encarnacion will be around, then we have to start thinking about high OBP, tough-out kinda players to balance the lineup out. Otherwise, 3-1 games like last night will occur as often as they do now. To that end, we can make strides this year by moving Votto up in the lineup, possibly to leadoff. To me, this lineup offers the best mix of righty-lefty and having the best OBP guys batting the most.
Votto
Kepp
Bruce
Phillips
Dunn
Griffey
EdE
Hairston/Hopper/Free
Ross
Now we just need a manager with enough cojones to make it happen. I know, fat chance.
Also, is anyone else stunned to read that as of now, Bailey is still penciled in to pitch this weekend?!?
Dunn is a high OBP guy and is currently leading the NL (2nd overall) in pitches per plate appearance with 4.41.
Adam Dunn is leading the team in OBP (Bruce is ahead of him right now but hasn’t played in nearly as many games), so I’m not sure how batting him 5th would utilize our best OBP guys when Votto’s and Phillips OBP are not that high relative to other players on the team
Fun Fact – Griffey has a better OBP than Votto or Phillips or EE for that matter lol
The only thing that holds back my optimism is Dusty. I like the guy a lot. I think he’d be a lot of fun to hang out with, but I’m concerned about his love for the human out machine. I also don’t understand why the lineup must always be left-right-left-right.
Baker on Bruce in CF:
Bruce has started 14 games in center, five games in right and one in left.
“Ultimately, he’s a right fielder,” Baker said. “He can play both. There’s not much difference now. He gets good jumps on balls.”
Bruce’s speed is above average.
“But you want a burner out there,” Baker said. “Patterson is more of a center fielder type. You want to keep Jay’s bat and his legs fresher longer. There’s a lot of running out in center.”
“….There’s a lot of running out in center.”
But not, unfortunately, on the base paths when Outterson is playing.
How many possible excuses can toothpick have for playing Patterson? This is unbelievable. This is along the lines of using Castro to pinch-hit for Hamilton. It’s just one of those moves so incomprehensible as to cast scorn on anything else you do…..That’s it, Dusty. I scorn you. Feel the scorn.
That scorn made me throw up a little in my mouth.