Comments on: Lineup Shenanigans

By: mike

mike — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:34:46 +0000

yup that was my point (sorry for not being clear) I think the Reds haven’t needed 13 pitchers and they could have used an extra bat pretty much the entire year

By: GregD

GregD — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:20:52 +0000

Mike
re your roster moves:
- the move (sutton for burton) dropped them from 13 pitchers to 12 pitchers.
- Lincoln is on the 15-day DL

By: mike

mike — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:06:20 +0000

I have been telling myself to stop using OPS for many reasons but one of them that it doesn’t include stolen bases. So here is a better look at the Reds hitters and their production. Adjust Runs Created/Game

RUNS CREATED/GAME DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE PA
1 Joey Votto 5.79 10.80 5.01 182
2 Jonny Gomes 5.46 10.47 5.01 84
3 Ryan Hanigan 1.38 6.39 5.01 154
4 Laynce Nix 0.70 5.71 5.01 177
5 Chris Dickerson 0.62 5.63 5.01 186
6 Brandon Phillips -.02 4.99 5.01 294
7 Jay Bruce -.43 4.58 5.01 303
8 Jerry Hairston Jr. -.71 4.30 5.01 254
9 Ramon Hernandez -.97 4.04 5.01 276
10 Willy Taveras -1.93 3.07 5.01 271
11 Alex Gonzalez -2.52 2.49 5.01 198
12 Adam Rosales -2.58 2.43 5.01 149

By: mike

mike — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:56:45 +0000

some #s to think about. I know Dusty doesn’t have “time to think” about it but I find it interesting on many levels

Reds top hitters this season vs Right handers
OPS
1.000 Votto
.914 Gomes
.856 Nix
.837 Bruce (batting 7th)
.802 Dickerson

and worst
.452 Richar (only 6 AB)
.553 Gonzo
.568 Rosales
.588 Taveras
.631 Janish
.655 Hairston Jr
.692 Hernandez
.731 NL League average

By: mike

mike — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:48:02 +0000

were is EE?

The Reds finally did what they should have done from the start of the season
carry one fewer pitcher. They called up Sutton today and sent Burton down

with EE seemingly ready this is an interesting move

now recall EE and send Richar down
call up Heisey and release Taveras
release Lincoln and call up one of Maloney, Manuel or Wood

By: GregD

GregD — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:45:20 +0000

Via the Fay blog
- no Taveras tonight!
- but Hairston’s at SS
- and Richar the non-3b w/another start at 3b

baby steps…

Dickerson cf
Hairston ss
Votto 1b
Phillips 2b
Nix lf
Hernandez c
Bruce rf
Richar 3b

By: GregD

GregD — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:39:26 +0000

Burton’s overall numbers since the threat of being sent to the minors before Lincoln was DL’d have been a lot better. He appeared exclusively in Losses the past month, and was only brought into one game in the past month when the team had the lead.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:07:31 +0000

Sutton! All right! I’m excited to see what he can do. (I hope he gets to play a little!!)

Funny that he’ll wear #27 — the number of Keppinger, the guy he was traded for (if I recall correctly).

By: Travis G.

Travis G. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:55:03 +0000

Per Rob Butcher:

The Reds have recalled from Louisville IF Drew Sutton (#27) and optioned to Louisville RHP Jared Burton.

By: Matt WI

Matt WI — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:13:30 +0000

I understand the point about appreciating what the team has done… and there is such a thing as going too far with looking for the next thing to “fix” (i.e. give an inch take a yard with the team improvement). But, I think the flaws that are pointed out on this board most frequently (SS issues, Willy T leading off, lack of Hannigan playing time) seem dead-on. That Dusty or others in management don’t seem to adjust what appears to be obvious makes one question their baseball IQ. It’s like sometimes Dusty is the stereotypical dad who manages his kid’s team and plays his son/daughter and his/her friends at the expense of the team.

By: Matt WI

Matt WI — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:08:09 +0000

This is an excerpt from the on-line chat:
mw5225: When are we going to see Chris Heisey or Drew Stubbs up with the big club? Are they progressing fast enough?

Miller: Heisey and Stubbs are both having good years in the Minors and progressing nicely. Both can play center field and give us many options in the outfield over the coming seasons.

I think it’s interesting Miller specifically mentions that they play CF. Make anything of that regarding Willy T?

By: GregD

GregD — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:07:08 +0000

Typically, a projection assumes that the opening day lineup does not play all 162 games. The bench plays into that, too.

I’d say that the loss of certain offensive players has been offset by pitching that has performed much better than expected. Cueto with a huge step forward. Owings much better than last year’s #5. Masset & Rhodes much better at the end of the game. And Cordero went a long time before blowing his first save, his only blown save of the year. His 2007, 2008 and career rate say that he should have 3-4 blown saves at this point in the season.

So, if you told me on April 1st that those players would miss singificant time AND those pitchers would play as well as they had, .500 would be a believable outcome.

Again, it’s not just that they are at .500. It’s that they are at .500 with their best players on the pine (or in the minors.)

By: Y-City Jim

Y-City Jim — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:59:13 +0000

The reason that Dusty is bad at explaining his decisions to the press/public is that after he gives a terrible answer to a question, no one follows it up with ‘What?’, they just let it go

Maybe the sports media needs to get tanked up before the press conference.

By: David

David — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:40:25 +0000

Chris, Greg and Doug…

I suspect the three of you thought that the Reds would be a .500 team WITH a full strength club, not without the pieces noted which was my point.

If you would have known EdE would miss almost the entire first half, Votto would miss a month, Volquez would miss a handful of starts, and Bruce’s line would be .215/.297/.463 what would you have prognosticated? I guarantee it wouldn’t have been .500.

So, the fact that the Reds have been at or above .500 for the majority of the season, with that, you don’t think that expectations have been exceeded thus far? Seriously?

Moving the goalposts Chris? You are the most pessimistic person on here. I’m keeping the posts right where they have been and am impressed with how this team has been able to compete in spite of everything. If anything you are moving them by suddenly expecting this team to be better than .500 at this point. How can you honestly say they aren’t having a good season? Surpassing expectations is my definition of a good season. What are yours? I know – World Series and you’ll be saying the Reds suck right up until they win the thing.

Dusty is far from perfect. I too would prefer seeiing Dickerson on an everyday basis. BUT the fact of the matter is, the team has had a good season thus far and remains in contention.

By: Travis G.

Travis G. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:23:28 +0000

My pat line going into the season was that the Reds would be “suprisingly awful.”

Lots of people were excited about the young pitching and the new emphasis on speed and defense, but I was worried that the young pitchers would regress or miss time with injuries, I wasn’t impressed by the defensive improvements in CF or at SS, I was concerned that a collective inability to get on base would neutralize the speed, and I thought they needed more power from LF.

All of those things have come to pass, more or less, but they’re still in the hunt thanks to a lousy NL Central. It’s not too late to make some improvements!