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Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL (11)
Cincinnati 8
San Diego 2
WP: Ondrusek (2-0)
LP: Leubke (0-1)
BOXSCORE
POSITIVES
–Sam LeCure was simply brilliant tonight, tossing six innings, while allowing just one run on one hit, striking out eight (a career-high) and walking only two. A superb outing for a genuinely good guy.
–Aroldis Chapman probably pitched the most dominant inning he’s had as a major leaguer…and he didn’t throw a pitch faster than 98 mph. I don’t know if the Reds told him to dial it back, or if he’s tired, or if he is having arm trouble, or if the radar gun was off… but he was simply dominant. Eleven pitches, some incredible sliders along with a fastball that stayed mostly 93-95, and he set them down 1-2-3. Very strange, but effective, outing.
–In the bottom of the eight, Brandon Phillips made a great defensive play that kept the Padres from taking the lead. Loving watching BP pick it at second base. That was the single most important play in the entire ballgame.
I love this team. (The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II)
–Ryan Hanigan hit a big double in the 11th to score Gomes and give the Reds the lead. He also played great defense all night long, blocking a ton of pitches that could have really hurt the good guys.
–Drew Stubbs hit a ball into the Pacific Ocean. Two hits on the night, a run scored, and 4 RBI.
NEGATIVES
–Reds pitching had retired fifteen hitters in a row when Dusty Baker decided to summon Nick Masset from the bullpen. Masset, as he always does, promptly collected another blown save, allowing the Padres to tie the game. If it weren’t for the brilliant defense from BP mentioned above, he would have given San Diego the lead.
Masset is a train wreck right now. That’s the third lead he’s blown early in the season. Dusty needs to stop putting him in the game in tight spots until he can figure things out.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–The Reds scored six runs in the 11th, all with two outs. Wow.
–With the victory, the Reds hold a 2.5 game lead in the NL Central. They lead the Whiny Little Cardinals by four games. Heh.
–You simply cannot ask for more from a fifth starter than what Sam LeCure has given the Reds. If he keeps dealing like this, the Reds won’t be able to send him down when Homer Bailey and/or Johnny Cueto return from injury. It’s a good problem to have.
–Logan Ondrusek is the first right-hander in Reds history to begin his career 7-0.
–Why is it that Joe Morgan is so entertaining when he sits in the booth during Reds games, just talking baseball…and he was so annoying when he was on ESPN? It’s a genuine joy to listen to Morgan sit in with Thom and Jeff for a couple of minutes. (It would be more enjoyable if Brantley weren’t there.)
–Lot of tense moments in this game, but a lot of fun moments too. Reds go for the sweep later today!
The obligatory extra inning game in San Diego. I wonder if Aaron Harang’s arm was feeling sympathy pain as the game moved into the 11th inning.
The Reds are very gritty. They have a lot of players who can come up with a big play both in the field and at the plate.
I’d much rather listen to Brantley than Thom, who brings out the worst in the Cowboy. Thom is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Bring back GG.
Going for the sweep and a 4-2 road trip tomorrow, although expect the B lineup.
I love Ryan Hanigan. My confidence level is about 10 times higher when he is there compared to Ramon.
And the WLB lost (again).
An extra inning win in San Diego. When did we last do that ? Winning 2 close ones in SD. Once again, when did we last do that ?
Even last season’s team could not win in SD. Of course, SD does not have AGon now. That might have mattered in both games.
Thank you, BP, for saving the game in the 8th. When I saw Masset was brought in, I was mainly hoping that he’d limit the damage to 1 run.
I like Masset, he’s a good pitcher. He’ll straighten himself out and have another good season. Dusty was right to not “give up” on him last season, and he shouldn’t give up on him now. But with a 2-1 lead in the 8th, and with so many better options, you don’t give a struggling set up guy a golden opportunity to lose his 3rd game in a week. As Chad said, let the guy ease his way back into form. We have enough depth in the bullpen for that.
@Steve: Good point about having Ryan in. In addition to his big hit, do we get thru those tight situations in the 8th, 9th, and 10th without him behind the plate ? Maybe not.
@Steve: I hadn’t thought about that: wonder if Aaron Harang had any bad memories tonite ?
After video review: In the 10th inning, when Ondrusek used his hand to knock down a ground ball hit by Denorfia, BP was in position to make a DP. He waved his arms in frustration afterwards. So many twists and turns to that game.
Man Chad… a little harsh on Gomes there aren’t ya? I’m not going to say that 10th inning play was good, but they did have him playing shallow for it.
All in all, a great night, albeit —HEART ATTACK— central.
Wow. What a night. I love this team. The icing on the cake – Chris(0-2)Carpenter gave up 8 ER in 4 innings. You all remember that dbag don’t ya?
i was reading the game recap on the espn link and saw this funny oops:
“….Gomes put the Reds ahead 1-0 with a two-out RBI double in the first inning after consecutive singles by Tony Phillips and Joey Votto…..”
TONY PHILLIPS!!!! good job espn.
Martys line of the night, ‘and the reds have blown it wide, spanking open.’
That game gave me chills. So so so many chances to pack it in and say “This just isn’t our night” but time after time every guy on the roster seemed to refuse to go away without a win. The defensive plays were absolutely spectacular. Any one of them would have been a hit against most teams and no one would have blamed the defenders…well hit balls at good spots that any defender coukd have said “No way I can get to that.” But not this team. Ondrusek got out of two jams that most relievers would have wilted in. And with 2 outs and no one on in the 11th they all could have said maybe next inning…
Not to rehash the great debate from yesterday, but how can ANYONE not want Brandon Phillips on this team for the long run? I don’t think it is hyperbole at all to say he is the best 2nd baseman in baseball through the early part of this season.
I don’t think that’s what anyone is saying…I think what they’re saying is that he won’t be affordable…for the money and length of contract he’ll want.
@Bill Lack:
I know. Like I said I dont think we need to have the whole discussion again, but man did he look great last night.
Also, not that I didn’t enjoy the theatrics, but why didn’t we just leave Chapman in to pitch e 8th? He only threw about 9 pitches and looked amazing doing it. He’s naturally a starter so here’s no reason to think he couldn’t sit down for 10 minutes and get back in to it. You’re clinging to a one run lead and you know Masset is struggling. Your whole bullpen has been working overtime the last few games. I don’t understand why we aren’t trying to get as many innings out of Chapman as possible.
I really like watching LeCure on the mound. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but he Knows How To Pitch.
What a difference a WIN like that makes going into day two of severe sleep deprivation. Full disclosure, (gulp) I went to bed after the Reds batted in the 10th. I know, I know don’t give up on these Reds, but my alarm goes off at 5:30am, cut me some slack.
I find it impossible to not root for a guy like Sam LeClure. He is truly making the most out of his opportunity.
BP’s play in the 8th was goosebump worthy. We are all spoiled of his talents at second base.
Speaking of talents… I REALLY need to take my talents to RN as opposed to twitter this season. I used to post here quite a bit before I found twitter a few years back and I sense that my days tweeting are comimg to a *close, at least during the baseball season anyway. One can only take so much…
*I’ve said this more than a couple of times and well, yeah.
@eric nyc: I would really like to see the Reds stretch him out once a week or so. Where is the foul in having him pitch two frames from time to time?
Has anyone been able to look at the pitchfx data to see what is going on with Masset? Is his velocity down, location off or is it just bad luck? I remember seeing in a thread someone suggesting he was throwing too many breaking balls, but I have not been able to see him live to get a sense if there is a real problem versus just what happens to relievers in small doses.
Sitting pretty right now with at least a 3-3 road trip, hopefully they can make it 4-2 today.
With Chapman looking simply dominant last night, while not topping 98mph, and also struggling on back to back days, he’s making it pretty clear that he’s best suited for the starter role. Hopefully the powers that be are taking notice
If LeCure keeps this up, I don’t see how they can send him down when Cueto and/or Bailey are ready.
I think Maloney goes first..not sure who goes second.
@Bill Lack: Probably, but that would still mean someone coming out of the rotation.
@RiverCity Redleg:
There is no doubt this team is going to have some difficult decisions to make on the pitching staff in the near future.
If Bailey came back today, I think Maloney would go down and Leake would go to the bullpen. Then LeCure and Wood will both have another start or two in before Cueto is back and hopefully the picture will be clear of who will be sent down. Whoever it is though, we’ll all sleep easier knowing we have at least one solid major league caliber starter keeping loose in Louisville for whenever the next injury occurs.
And for whoever was asking about Mallet, it is certainly not his velocity. He’s throwing 97 mph strikes in every outing. It’s his command on his breaking ball, and for some reason his insistence (or Dustys?) on having him throw way too many of them. In Petco park I don’t know why you don’t just throw low fastball strikes on every pitch and let your defense do the rest. That’s what’s made Bell so good there.
Too much Mel Kiper draft analysis invading!
“Masset, as he always does, promptly collected another blown save …”
That’s not really fair. BS: 2. He’s struggling, to be sure, but he’s hardly the worst pitcher in baseball.
What’s up with Maloney?
Just saw the video of the Phillips play in the 8th. Ho-hum… if you by ho-hum you mean jaw dropping.
@eric nyc: You beat me to the post, Eric. If Dusty has half a brain last night, he would’ve recognized that this wasn’t the situation to try and get Masset ‘straightened out’ and used Chappy for 2 innings. Dusty can preach about not giving up on guys blah blah, but you also have to put them in a position to succeed, dude. How did a third consecutive horrible outing in a clutch situation HELP Masset? If anything, the loss of confidence could extend his slump. Managerial malpractice, plain and simple.
@eric nyc: You’re kidding, right? You think Travis Wood might be sent down? Just the most consistent pitcher on the entire staff?
It’s gotta be Leake, if Lecure stays, but I would bet a lot that Lecure goes down.
@Dave Lowenthal: I’m with you. Wood is locked in pending any epic meltdown over several starts… which his career stats don’t even suggest. Leake and Lecure on the hot-seat when the big boys return. Again, a great problem to have.
@Dave Lowenthal:
Slow down, slow down. I wasn’t making judgement calls on anyone. First of all, I think Wood is clearly better than Leake, but I still think Leake would go to the bullpen before Wood because they’d rather keep Wood on a regular starting schedule if he has any struggles and they run out of room on the rotation. Leake was being groomed for the bullpen all Spring so even if he’s the “inferior” pitcher, he still has a better shot at staying with the club if he loses his starting spot. I think it’s MUCH more likely Wood shows more consistency over his next 2-3 starts and LeCure comes down to Earth a bit and ends up back in Louisville, just like you said. BUT, it won’t be automatic. It will depend on the performances over the next few starts. And if we end up with a healthy Cueto and Bailey and LeCure continues to pitch like he has his first 2 starts, he could give Wood a run for his money. Remember Wood had a bad outing last time up. Let’s see how he does today.
B phil’s stab was 8 on the top 10 plays. Weak
@bho52: Good point about Chapman “showcasing” his suitability as a starter last nite. At the speed he was throwing, he could easily build up to go 7+ innings. And he pitched like a starter, excellent command and not just throwing the ball.
I still feel that both Cueto and Bailey are going to struggle to get back to the major league team before June at the earliest. Both have issues that don’t cure themselves overnight and usually end up with needing surgery.
@eric nyc: @Sultan of Swaff: Everyone seems to agree on the charge of managerial malpractice on bringing Masset in the 8th last nite.
Leaving Chapman in was the most obvious option, he’d only thrown 11 pitches and was dominant.
I know what Dusty would say: “Pitching the 8th inning is Masset’s job.” That’s way too inflexible. He feels that he’s standing by Masset, but (as pointed out above) he was putting him in a high-pressure situation that could prolong the slump. And given that he’s a player’s manager, I wish he’d been a little more concerned with taking away the win from LeCure.
BP’s play was out of this world. And he’s made remarkable game saving plays for us before. I won’t even bring up the issue of extending him, that gets into economic issues. But his value to the team should not be understated.
When he is hitting, it has a big impact on our offense. Maybe this season will be one where he hits more consistently. And his defense is extraordinary.
He also plays with passion. And a swagger that has helped this team become more confident. Aside from Joey, he’s the player I least want out of the lineup due to injury.
@pinson343:
I don’t know how Chapman isn’t starting by the end of the year. His game has improved so much, and he was already pretty great. On a few day’s rest he has shown he can be as dominant as they come and he can slice through innings with minimal pitches thrown. Now he’s showing he can control his speed, bringing his fastball down into the 90′s while still being able to gas it up to 103 and throw his slider for strikes. If he’s still pitching 2-3 innings a week by the time September rolls around, it had better because our starters are pitching lights out one through five. Another couple months of “grooming” in the bullpen and there’s no excuse not to start him.
Except you cant go from throwing 15 or 20 pitches 3 or 4 times a week to throwing 100 every 5 days.
And I know doing this wouldn’t have our 12 best pitchers in the majors, but we already have 1 starter (Maloney) getting little to no work in the big league pen. Keep Maloney in the long role. Whoever loses out when Bailey and Cueto return should be sent down to continue starting.
@jrob45601:
That’s why I said by the end of the year. If you have to send Chapman to Louisville for a couple weeks to give him some starts then that’s fine, especially if our starting 5 get healthy and we can have Leake and LeCure in the bullpen. Chapman just looks too good right now to be wasting away in that setup spot. I didn’t think he’d come out his second season this hot.
The more logical (and probably beneficial) path for Chapman’s development as a starter would have been the same as last year. Starting in the minors for half a season, working on command, secondary pitches, and increasing his work load from last year. Then bring him up in the bullpen late in the season, and a job in the rotation next year. By starting the season in the bullpen, they have pretty much conceded that he will not do any starting this year. Unless of course, Bailey and Cueto both end up needing surgery.
Also remember that as good as he looked last night, and as good as his season line looks so far, that was the first time. The rest of his outings thus far he has been “effectively wild” to put it mildly.
@jrob45601:
The only time he looked all that wild to me was his last outing when Dusty pitched him on consecutive days. It clearly doesn’t agree with him, which should be all the reason in the world to get him out of the bullpen and back starting.
Not just talking about walks. If you watch how often and how far the catcher has to move the glove to catch even the strikes he has thrown, its easy to see that he has a lot of trouble putting the ball where he wants it.
@jrob45601:
I’m not an expert, but I always feel like that is an overrated way to judge pitches. It comes from listening to a lot of commentators…and certainly if the catcher sets up for a fastball low and inside and ends up having to move his mitt a foot and catch it on the outside of the plate, it was a missed pitch. But when you talk about a guy like Chapman and particularly about his breaking ball, I don’t know how a catcher DOESN’T have to move his glove that much. That pitch breaks about 2 feet, but the catcher has to follow it all the way just in case it doesn’t break the way it’s supposed to. So you see Hannigan and Hernandez sweeping their mitt all across the plate following the thing, that doesn’t mean it was a missed pitch. And unlike last season, when he misses with his fastball he’s missing low and away, which at 100+ mph is an unhittable pitch. He looks vastly improved over last year.
sometimes i feel like BP is toying with us. Babe Ruth once said he could bat .500 if he didnt try to hit home runs, and NOBODY doubted him. Not saying Brandon is the Babe, but he has that type of quality where everything comes almost too naturally to him. When we asked him to bat clean-up, the SECOND BASEMAN muscled up and hit 30 HR. now we’re asking him to hit in the two hole and stay within himself, and hes doing just that hitting in front of Vottomatic. Its not even the stats, hes hitting like a 2-hole hitter. (Having watched Carl Crawford come to fenway the past 7 years, I know what one looks like)
He slows the game down in his own head, makes a barehanded play on a ball in the hole, and hums it to first to get the out. i dont care what you think about chase utleys defense. No one besides Phillips, Hudson, or Ellis makes that play. And in the box, i’d take DatDudeBP over either.
He said himself he wants to make an average of what the top second basemen make:
Dan Uggla: 5 yr, 62 mil
Rickie Weeks: 4 yr, 39 mil
Robinson Cano: 3 yr, 39 mil (remaining)
Chase Utley: 7 yr, 85 mil
im not even including ian kinslers (4/22mil) because we all know hes underpaid although he is comparable to phillips offensively(althought not defensively)
average: 4.8/56.25
so if he will agree to a 5 yr, 57 million dollar deal(average annual salary 11.4M) you wouldnt want him back?
thats what, a 2Mil increase in Pay? With Coco coming off the books and (hopefully) increased revenue, we might be able to afford him.
You know what happens when you pay too much attention to the bottom line? you become the Florida Marlins. Good once every five years.
Management doesnt seem like the type to do that.
I know im going to take a hit for my stance, but it is what it is.
How is it that I’m the least reactionary person here about Masset?
Jeez, he’s had three outings with runs, two of them it was one run, and yes, the other was pretty bad, although he nearly got out of that with one run.
You’d think the guy had 10 bad outings or something. He’s a bullpen pitcher, and they have high variance year to year and month to month. The most likely situation is that he’ll come around and be better than Cordero this year, just like he was last year. And some of you guys want him in AAA or the back end of the pen?
I don’t have a problem with him pitching the 8th last night. It’s game 11, not game 111. What I do have a problem with is forcing each reliever to pitch one inning. But that’s a general criticism of Dusty and many other managers too.
@cliff:
2 years for 12 mil? Yes. 3 years for that? Maybe. 5 years. Good luck against everyone but us.
@cliff:
Amen. Great post. I know this is going to ignite the argument from yesterday, but I think a 30 year old BP is worth every penny of $11-12 a year. And I think he’d be willing to take a 4 year deal. Plus, is there anyone you’d rather have doing the negotiating than Walt Jockety? He’s the master of making a mid-market team perennial contenders. BP is more than the sum of his stats – he’s the heart of this team IMO. Votto is going to be Votto, Bruce and Stubbs are the future, Chapman is the freak of nature…but BP is the engine. Jockety and Castenelli will do the right thing.
@eric nyc:
He is no where near ready to be a starter on the major league level and he won’t be by just pitching an inning here and an inning there this season on the major league level. IF and that is a huge IF for this organization right now, want him to be a starter, he needs to be in Louisville pitching every 4th or 5th day, going 5-6-7 innings each outing, learning new pitches and learning how to pace himself.
Can someone tell me what’s up with the 3:35 PDT start today? That’s like a playoff game start time on the west coast.
@dn4192:
I totally agree. That’s what I’ve been saying – if we need to send him down for a bit, let’s do it. I don’t think he’ll be ready before August, but he could be starting by then and would be a huge boost in the home stretch and hopefully the post season. As for pacing himself, he seems to already be doing that out of the bullpen. That’s a big part of why people are pushing for him to make the transition sooner than later.
first of all, Phillips was the first to come out and admit his hatred for the WLB’s. that alone is worth, what, 5 million?
second of all, were always talking about how he will leave because hes an athletic player with the “Wow” factor and he’ll get paid as such, etc etc. well an “athletic” player is exactly the kind of guy who ages well and plays great ball into his later years. Think Larkin, Vizquel, etc. Plus hes never had an injury history so its not like hes got a medically stitched body that might explode if you poke him in the wrong place.
Thoughts:
* I don’t blame Dusty for putting Masset in for the 8th last night. Now, if he does it again…
* Chapman pitched an inning Sunday – 24 pitches. Given the investment in that right arm, I’m okay with limiting him to one inning at a time, at least when he’s mildly fatigued and the rest of the pen is available.
* BP’s play was tremendous, but I actually think Janish makes that play fairly easily if BP stays out of the way. I’m not critical of BP in any way – the ball was on his side of the bag – but it’s an easier play for Janish and he was in position to make it.
* Ondrusek was effectively wild, and the Padres were ineffectively over-aggressive.
* Gomes played that ball terribly and got very lucky. He should be ignored or mildly criticized. Thom’s calling it a “great play” was ridiculous. Even worse was when Brantley joined in after the commercial.
* Great game by Hanigan.
* Bruce looks much better at the plate. His walk in the 9th was a great plate appearance.
* Great victory., and one where you can really start
@Dave Lowenthal:
These past few nights have wrecked my sleep schedule.
I’m all for it. Happy hour game.
hes not bonds or jim rice.
hes not griffey or frank thomas
and hes definitely not lance “fat elvis” berkman.
@Chris Garber: isnt a routine play by gomes a great play?
For me, its not a matter of Phillips ability at all. If you go with next years option plus 4 years, he has a better chance to maintain a high percentage of his current production than most players. I know that this past offseason was the first chance to see what Castellini is willing to do payroll wise with a winning team, and they did very well. But past history tells us that the Reds cannot afford to keep this entire team together. And for me at least, Phillips is the odd man out. Hopefully the guys that write the checks will prove me wrong. But I still wouldnt go past 2016 or 12 mil per.
I’ve re-watched the Gomes catch a bunch of times after hearing all the criticism – mostly from commenters here. First of all, he was playing pretty far in to begin with. That’s not his call, that’s his assignment. Now, he didn’t get a good jump on the ball at all. Fair enough. He took one big step in that he had to correct for. But after that, he sprinted to make the adjustment and made a pretty great backhanded leaping catch on the run. Are we really so jaded by Bruce and Stubbs that we will not only overlook the quality of the adjustment and subsequent catch but actually jump on him just because of the slow break? I think some of you are being a LITTLE over critical on this one. I don’t know why Thom Brenneman is gushing so much over Gomes’ defense, but I will say that (aside from the error opening day) he has looked markedly improved in the field. He made another nice play running down a foul ball right against the wall I believe in the 7th or 8th last night, too. Just ease up on the guy is all I’m saying.
@cliff:
Gomes did make a pretty good play on that ball down the line. Not sure if it would have been fair, but it did end an inning (cant remember which). Other players get to that ball, but I didnt think Gomes had any chance on it.
Cocos dollars transfer to Phillips and then hopefully increased revenue can cover the other increasing obligations to some of the other players.
@Dave Lowenthal: No clue. When I lived there, the Padres started Wednesday getaway days at 12:35 like normal people.
News story on the Padres start times. Guess it started last year.
“The thinking in changing to 3:35 was two-fold: 1) Workers wanting to attend the games wouldn’t need to miss a half-day of work, and 2) parents could bring children after school.”
Article goes on to say that attendance was lousy at that time. To me, you ruin the point of the “businessman’s special,” which is that you can work a half day, then catch the ballgame, then get back to the office or home early.
A 3:35 start puts you home at 7:30 — in many cases, later than if you had worked the whole day.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/02/later-midweek-start-not-hit-padres/
on chapman: i think a few people are blowing his early success out of proportion. now, i want him to be a starter as much or more than anyone, and think he should be in the minors right now.
but remember, this is a guy who didn’t dominate aaa as a starter last year, and it wasn’t just because of his command, which may or may not be improved. it was because he doesn’t really have a third pitch. he still needs to develop a change or split if he’s going to be able to go through a lineup multiple times. developing a pitch like that isn’t something you can do over a few weeks.
on phillips, right now it looks like his option would be a good value to pick up, especially with coco coming off the books, and i would try to extend him another year or two with lower base pay.
but look what has happened to utley. first year of his contract he was a beast, but his slugging has dropped over 100 points over the last three years and his defense has dropped over the last two. now he’s injured with no real time table for return, and the phils owe him $15mil this year, and next, and the year after. then consider all the other 2b who have declined rapidly in the early thirties: Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Brian Roberts to name a few.
it’s a tough call with phillips because he’s a big part of the team and you don’t want to let him go. but if he can get that 5 year deal proposed above, i hope it isn’t the reds who are giving it to him. the odds that he will be worth anywhere close to what he’ll be making in his age 34-36 seasons are extremely low.
I heard one of the Reds broadcasters talking about this not long ago, he said that Mario Soto won a lot of games with 2 pitches (fastball/change).
Maybe, but (assuming a 5 yr deal) his odds of being worth more than his annual salary in his age 30-34 seasons are alot higher.
@al:
I’d normally agree with you on Chapman needing a third pitch, and in the long run he definitely will, but he is SO unique with the two pitches he has that he could easily be the exception to the rule. When he’s throwing accurately (which I do believe he’s improving at) his fastball is almost unhittable. And as a batter, I don’t even know how you swing at his slider. Now that he’s throwing that for strikes, I don’t know what other pitch he’d need.
@eric nyc: you could be right in that he certainly seems pretty unique and could be a general exception to many rules.
however, 6 losses and a 3.57 ERA in AAA suggest that he’s not a magician.
the pitcher he’s been most compared to as a starter is randy johnson and at the height of his dominance he was throwing a cange or split more than 10% of the time.
again, i don’t think the two of us are that far apart, as i think chapman should be starting right now for the bats, i just disagree that he could be ready for the majors as soon as he’s stretched out.
@al: comparing BP to baerga or roberts is an insult to BP, body wise. hes a better athlete whereas roberts is more of a technique base stealer and baerga was more hitter than athlete.
and utley isnt half the athlete BP is. he makes everything look hard.
Ideally he’d develop a good splitter. I dont’ think it’s really even worth working on a changeup with him – what is a changeup to a guy who throws a 105 mph fastball? Does he throw it at 90-93 mph? Then it’s basically just a normal fastball for big league hitters. It’s not like he’s going to throw a 105 fastball and an 85 changeup with the same delivery so what’s the point. So a splitter would make more sense to give him a little variety on the fastball…but even then, how much is a splitter really going to break when it’s getting to the plate at 100+ mph? Even if he got it down PRETTY good, it would basically be his only real hittable pitch, so I don’t know why he’d use it all that often. You kind of have to throw the rulebook out with a guy like Chapman…I just don’t know if there’s any precedent for him.
But it’s relative changes in speed that matter. Especially if he’s starting, he probably won’t gas it all the time. Being able to change speeds is a great asset.
Uuuuugh. Francisco gets the start today. I’d say this is a make or break game for that kid. If he doesn’t come up with some big hits he’ll be heading back to Louisville when the team flies back.
@eric nyc:
Why do you think that? Whom do you think the Reds believe would be a better option?
@dn4192:
Frazier if it HAS to be an infielder, but really Francisco is mainly on the team to be a bat off the bench, so I’d give Sappelt a call up and live with Cairo or even Renteria at 3rd on Rolen’s off days. Francisco has been a waste of a roster spot so far and he’s AWFUL in the the field. He’s only here to hit homeruns and he isn’t coming close to doing that.
@Matt WI: i have to disagree. this is like strasburg in college. he throws the ball so hard and so fast, average hitters cant catch up with it. to them, the changeup IS a fastball. he couldnt develope a change because college hitters mostly werent good enough to catch up with his fastball would just sit on a changeup they could mash. that the very asset that makes his fastball so good would hurt his change. what makes him so good is that most of the time, all but the best of major league hitters cant even catch up with it. he needs to develope a circle or vulcan change, something with real movement for it to be effective. otherwise batters with slower bat speed(and elite hitters able to adjust) are just gonna run into an average speed fastball from a pitcher with shaky control and crush it precisely because theyre too slow for his best stuff. hope that made sense.
@RiverCity Redleg: i think that by the final year of his deal phillips will be a cagey base stealer with the discipline that comes with age. he’ll still have some(albeit diminished) pop and still stellar defense. if he played SS his defense may be an issue, bit playing on the right side of the bag he can still be a plus defender. and i dont care what anyone says, hes the heart of this team. Votto and Rolen lead by example, but they arent the rah-rah type. Phillips gives them the attitude a young growing team like them needs to build confidence in the face of veteran opponents.
One thing with Brandon Phillips leaving on a big free agent contract, is where is he going to go? Phils, Red Sox, Yanks and the Braves are setup with high dollar 2nd basemen already. I don’t doubt if he has a career year, there will be a market, but some of your usual suspects are not going to be dealt into the hand. Votto could run into the same thing in three years, as so many of the big market teams are already bought into long term deals at first – especially whatever happens with Pujols and Fielder after this off season.
I’ve got the Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Tigers all with money to spend and looking to improve their rosters after this season or next if Phillips option were to be picked up. There are teams out there who can offer more years, dollars, and a higher ave salary than the Reds.
@cliff:
I don’t think a lot of people give BP enough credit for his intangibles. You look at his numbers and even with the Gold Gloves he doesn’t seem like an elite player. But when you watch him step on the field, the guy looks like a superstar. Stats don’t tell the story of BP’s value to this team. I think you could see his number hanging up in GABP in 20 years if we give him an extension.
@earl: @eric:
Matt is right, he has to have a different speed pitch, and actually Strasburg is a perfect example.
He throws his change (even though it’s as fast as LeCure’s fastball) 16% of the time and it’s his second most effective pitch.
The point is that some big league hitters can time his fastball, we’ve seen it, he does give up line drives sometimes. But it’s a lot harder to time his 100 mph fastball if you also have to be ready for a 90 mph fastball(change) with more movement.
That’s why starters have to have one, because the third time through, the hitters all have you timed much better and the pitcher has to keep them off balance.
As for a splitter, it’s really just a type of change, and no body throws a splitter at the same velocity as a 4-seam, it’s just not possible. Splitters go slower because they have more rotation and the pitcher doesn’t have fingers behind the ball to power it.
So splitter or straight change, whatever he can develop, Chapman will need one to be an elite starter. He is unique in some ways, but he’s not going to be the first ace ever with only two pitches.
@cliff: the thing about sitting on a change up is that it’s not supposed to be possible, because it’s supposed to have the same delivery as the fastball.
one of the things the nats were working on with strasburg was not tipping his change as much as he did in college.
if it were possible to just sit change up, and not get beat by fastballs routinely, everyone would do that because even if you can catch up to a 95 mph fastball, it’s a lot easier to hit 85.