Reds Insider: Astros 5, Reds 3

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Astros 5, Reds 3 - middle of 5th

Not a good day for Johnny Cueto. He gave up two more runs in the top of the fifth. It's no surprise that Lance Berkman accounted for one of them with an RBI double to right, scoring Darin Erstad , who had singled to drive in Hunter Pence. Cueto has allowed five runs on seven hits.

77 Comments:

at 3:09 PM

Unknown said...

The House of Cards have fallen.

Fire Sale

Please get rid of Dunn.

at 3:24 PM

Unknown said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

at 3:24 PM

Unknown said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

at 3:41 PM

Brad said...

FIRE Jockety! It's obviously his fault they're 0-2 under his leadership!!!

someone pass me some sugar, my kool-aid is awfully sour!

at 3:41 PM

Firefly said...

What did Mr. Castellini say? We are not going to lose? Great way to back up that statement these last 2 games. By the way, Patterson and Harston Jr should be benched for at lesat 2 games each for their marvelous base running. Or lack there of.

at 4:24 PM

Popcan said...

Why are the Reds so terrible?

at 4:26 PM

Reality Czech said...

I always try to be optimistic but I am fed up now.

Dusty is talking about stats - Dunn and his 40 homers and Griffey and his 30 homers. We have a collection of stat compilers, like a fantasy baseball team, not guys who are winners. What does it take to get an enforcer and a competitor (or two or three) in that clubhouse? Griffey and Dunn are not going to lead the way to wins with their laid back demeanor.

How about some chin music for Berkman for crying out loud? His elbows are in the strike zone. He really is only that good against the Reds. Dusty - how about some chin music stories for your team about the days of Hank Aaron and Bob Gibson? Well? Are the meek Reds afraid?

This team's biggest problem is lack of competitive desire. All of those millions of dollars and the losses pile on. There are problems everywhere but the manager, the owner, whoever happens to be the GM cannot make an athlete want to compete every pitch of every game. Show some emotion - break a bat, throw a cooler, scream at the umpire, does anyone really care in that dugout? I hope Jocketty can figure that one out.

RC

at 4:33 PM

Anonymous said...

Is it time to try to move Junior and let Bruce play right field?

Cueto, Bailey may as well learn up here so just let all the potentials come play for the future.

My take anyway...

at 5:07 PM

LittleRedMachine said...

WK's achievements. Overall, more positive than negative

2-12-06: Scott Hatteberg signed to a one-year, $750K deal.
2-13-06: Adam Dunn signed to two-year, $18.5MM extension.
3-20-06: Acquired Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena.
3-21-06: Acquired David Ross for Bobby Basham.
4-7-06: Acquired Brandon Phillips for Jeff Stevens.
5-26-06: Traded Cody Ross to Marlins for a player to be named later.
June '06: Selected Drew Stubbs eighth overall in draft.
7-6-06: Acquired Eddie Guardado for Travis Chick.
7-13-06: Acquired Gary Majewski, Bill Bray, Royce Clayton, Brendan Harris, and Daryl Thompson for Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez, and Ryan Wagner.
7-26-06: Signed Hatteberg to a one-year, $1.65MM extension.
7-31-06: Acquired Rheal Cormier for Justin Germano.
7-31-06: Acquired Kyle Lohse for Zach Ward.
8-7-06: Acquired Ryan Franklin for a player to be named later.
8-16-06: Acquired Scott Schoeneweis for a player to be named later.
8-28-06: Signed Javier Valentin to a one-year, $1.325MM extension.
9-25-06: Signed Juan Castro to a two-year, $2MM extension.
11-20-06: Signed Alex Gonzalez to a three-year, $14MM contract.
11-20-06: Signed Mike Stanton to a two-year, $5.5MM contract.
11-20-06: Traded Jason LaRue to the Royals for a player to be named later.
12-7-06: Acquired Josh Hamilton for cash.
12-7-06: Selected Jared Burton in Rule 5 draft.
12-12-06: Signed David Weathers to a two-year, $5MM contract.
1-2-07: Traded Brendan Harris to Rays for cash.
1-10-07: Acquired Jeff Keppinger for Russ Haltiwanger.
2-6-07: Signed Aaron Harang to a four-year, $36.5MM extension.
2-8-07: Signed Bronson Arroyo to a two-year, $25MM extension.
4-16-07: Signed Ryan Freel to a two-year, $7MM extension.
4-27-07: Traded Chris Denorfia to A's for Marcus McBeth and another player.
5-9-07: Released Rheal Cormier.
June '07: Selected Devin Mesoraco 15th overall in draft.
10-31-07: Exercised '08 options on Hatteberg, Dunn, and Valentin.
11-28-07: Signed Francisco Cordero to a four-year, $46MM contract.
12-21-07: Acquired Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera for Josh Hamilton.
1-23-08: Signed Jeremy Affeldt to a one-year, $3MM contract.
2-15-08: Signed Brandon Phillips to a four-year, $27MM extension.
2-21-08: Signed Josh Fogg to a one-year, $1MM contract.
3-3-08: Signed Corey Patterson to a one-year, $3MM contract.
4-8-08: Released Mike Stanton.

at 5:41 PM

Anonymous said...

Little Red you left the Hamilton for Volquez deal off your list.

at 5:42 PM

ST fan said...

A great list of WK's deal. I agree, more pluses than negatives. THANKS for the list.

at 5:43 PM

INDYREDFAN said...

good post little red machine, Wayne did a pretty good job, however whats done is done, hopefully the reds can get into a flow and make a run. The last time they were in the playoffs I was 9, and the Bengals have only had one good season in my coherent lifetime. I should of chose a better city to root for.

at 5:43 PM

Another losing season said...

Horrible day, horrible series, horrible home stand. It's not getting any better. Being negative at this point has nothing to do with being a fan and I always get a kick out of someone trying to make that distinction.

When the Reds start making the necessary moves, I won't be so negative. Notice I didn't say anything about winning.

at 5:44 PM

Gunner said...

Excuse me, it is every Red's fan god given right to be grumpy and vent when they suck like they are sucking right now. Hoover is jealous at how well they suck. Just like wins & losses, its part of this great game we call baseball. Reds win, we all laud them with praise, forgive them for past failures and ride the wave. When things go bad, and they are playing the way they play now, people will vent their frustrations. I too am very grumpy with the current state of the Reds. We have perhaps the best pitching staff we have had in memory and are yucking it with the worst clutch hitting I have seen by a Reds team since Larry Bittner was our #4 hitter. We all would love to think our lineups would be better than Dusty's ... and our personnel moves would fix all our problems .. and that in itself makes the conversations worth having.

at 6:01 PM

Unknown said...

"It is time to take this team and gut it just like a fish"

-guess who

at 6:08 PM

LongTimeRedsFan said...

Dusty talks about Homer and JB needing to learn how to win....then he goes out with today's lineup in support of Johnny? You think Griffey and Dunn and others weren't listening to all the hype this spring about Bruce, Votto, and Homer, thinking....this is our season. Then Dusty sends them to the minors or starts veterans over them, and they watch the same retreads get signed, Patterson, Hairston, Bako (has done a good job), Fogg, Coffey stays with team....you think they weren't thinking "here we go again"? Griffey and Dunn have already seen how many seasons of the same old same old? Those are the decisions that took the life out of this team even before they came north.

at 6:15 PM

Mr. Doom and Gloom said...

a little perspective from national mlb writer jayson stark...

Ready, Aim, Fire Dept: Reds owner Bob Castellini has no idea how many people in baseball he alienated by firing his GM, Wayne Krivsky -- as well-liked and highly respected a man as you'll find in the business.

"They just went from a team you root for to a team you root against," is the way one veteran baseball man put it Wednesday.

Sure, Krivsky made his share of mistakes. Goes with the turf. But have there been three bigger steals in the past two years than Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena, Brandon Phillips for Jeff Stevens, or Josh Hamilton for 50,000 bucks? And Jeff Keppinger for Russ Haltiwanger is right up there, too.

So why was this guy fired again? Because this team came out of spring training with a little promise and then started 9-12? Ridiculous. The Yankees, Phillies, Cubs and Rockies were all 9-12 or worse last year this time -- and made the playoffs.

"There's nothing worse than these owners who treat the national pastime like it's the frigging stock market," said an official of one team. "They think it's got to keep going up, up, up, every day. But that's just not the way it works. This is a game of human beings."

at 6:17 PM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

QUOTE:
"WK's achievements. Overall, more positive than negative"

What team have you been watching? This team finished 72-90 last season and is worse this year. Who do you think is responsible for this roster?

Doesn't really matter though does it?
Seems ownership agreed with the fans who are tired of the crap on the field.
Bye, bye dinosaurs.
St CSA

at 6:24 PM

LongTimeRedsFan said...

Why is it OK for JB and Homer to still be in Louisville? Why are they different than Johnny and Edinson? I seem to remember that Johnny had no ML starts before this season, and Edinson only had a couple, didn't he? Even Joey Votto only has a few weeks ML experience from last year. Why can they get their experience in Cincy, but Jay and Homer need to get their experience in Louisville? And don't say Homer needed to work on some things....isn't that also the job of Dick Pole?

at 6:37 PM

Tucker said...

If I am correct our record is now worse than it was last year at the same time under Jerry Narron, even with all the great young pitchers we have now

Team was put together poorly and Baker was the wrong person to manage the personnel on this team

Cheviot Sports makes a great deal of sense and I agree, its the record that counts

Oh well..another goofy year in Redsland

at 6:45 PM

jdeezman said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

at 6:48 PM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

Just in case some of you missed it. Here are just some of The Amazing Krivsky's Hall of Famers:

Joe Mays, Estaban Yan, Mike Burns, Jason Johnson, Chris Hammond, Brad Salmon, Jason McBeth, Rheal Cormier, Mike Stanton, Bronson Arroyo, Todd Hollandsworth, Mark Bellhorn, Corie Patterson, Ricky Stone, Jason Ellison, Ben Coats, Todd Coffey, Juan Castro, DeWayne Wise, Brandon Watson, Rick White, Sun Woo Kim, Quinton McCracken, David Ross, Pedro Lopez, Alex Gonzalez, Gary Majewski, Royce Clayton, Bill Bray, Ryan Freel, Chris Mihalik, Josh Fogg, Victor Santos, Kirk Saarloos, and I am sure I am leaving many out.

and its just the bad signings and acquisitions. Why wasn't Johnny Cueto here last Sept to get his feet wet? Where is Jay Bruce? Why was Jorge Cantu let go? Why has the catching situation never been addressed? Why did it take so long to rid this team of Jerry Narron? We won't even get into the contract munching. There is even more of that going need to happen for this team to be competitive.

I am sure he is a nice guy. You know what they say about nice guys.
St CSA

at 6:51 PM

Unknown said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

at 7:56 PM

KevinFtMyers said...

Interesting, Jayson Starks take on this. Do people like Krivsky so much or dislike Jocketty and or Castellini?

Well, whatever, I guess it doesnt matter if other baseball people are rooting for the Reds.

The fact still remains, this team needs an attitude adjustment and the only way to do that is with personel changes.

at 7:56 PM

ST fan said...

Castellini seems to be a "ready, fire, aim" guy. Or even "fire, aim, ready."

at 8:01 PM

Unknown said...

Here we go again. Fans focusing all their attention on Patterson, Hairston, and Bako.

Griffey, Phillips, and Dunn have provided absolutely nothing for this team, and those are the guys paid to carry us!

Bako's bee extremely solid and more than a pleasant surprise, Hairston in limited at bats so far has been good, and I think I read where Patterson leads the team in extra base hits.

Griffey, Phillips, and Dunn; WORTHLESS so far!

at 8:02 PM

Steven Ross said...

Jocketty will make some moves pretty quick. Although, not many trades are made in late April/early May.

However, it's time to get rid of deadwood and those mired in a losing mentality. We can start with Dunn! He's a DH, plain & simple. Cut the cord, move on.

It's only April so all is not lost. We'll get the ship turned around.

at 8:02 PM

ST fan said...

Current laments of a life time fan: 1. REDS are leaving Sarasota. 2. Time-Warner and FSN each blaming each other for failure to carry REDS on TV this year in NE Ohio. (they did last two years). 3. Good GM is fired 4. Griffey still not a leader 5. Team is losing.

at 8:11 PM

ST fan said...

A repeat from a previous comment of mine. Hall of fame manager Sparky won WS in 75 and 76 with RHers batting 4,5,6 (Foster, Bench, Perez in some order). So why can't Baker bat Griffey, Dunn, and Votto 4,5,6??? I don't buy the "left-handed specialist pitcher" argument; not every team has one, they often walk batters, and will wear out pitching to 3 lefties in a row.

at 8:16 PM

REddlegg in Colorado said...

Reds stink, well atleast so far they do.

but a lot of other team are right where we are as of now.

here's a positive ,Cub lost today in CO.I was at the game,1st one of the season.It was a great day for a baseball game & to watch all those fairweather cub fans groan & moan was worth it.

Now the rockies is a team that is built right,Young,talented, & cheap.I wish the reds could get it together.

at 8:20 PM

ST fan said...

REDS:

Lead-off batter. D
Second (Kep): B+
Third (Jr) C
Fourth (BP) C so far
Fifth (AD) D
Sixth (EE) B-
Seventh (Vot) B
Eighth B

Pinch hitters: C-

Starters: A-, F, B, F, B
Bullpen as a whole: B

Manager: C

Average that out (C+/B-) and it's not a winning team.

at 8:27 PM

Another losing season said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

at 8:30 PM

The US has a security interest in my soul. said...

Sorry, John, but this blog keeps getting worse and worse (in regards to user comments)...maybe now we dont have as many attacks as there was before, but I feel like there is just too much moaning and groaning (notice i think this as I moan and groan)...Chill Out People, its a game, have a little bit of fun, and who knows maybe we'll start winning...

at 8:31 PM

Another losing season said...

This team is loaded with paycheck cashers and nothing else. Kevin in Ft. Myers made the excellent point they need an attitude adjustment. I would be happy to just see a little attitude now and then.

at 9:09 PM

Dave said...

I believe baseball people liked Wayne because >> his handshake was as good as his signature. Not a bad epitaph.
On the other hand, his relations with sportswriters, fans & apparently, owners, were terrible.

What's so hard? I don't blame BobC.

at 9:41 PM

Grizzlyfox said...

Are any of you guys that are blaming Dunn paying attention. Here's some stats(which I know some of you hate) since April 13th--
Griffey & Phillips combined-- 15 for 83, for an AVG .181. They have a combined obp of .191. They've scored 6 runs combined, and have 10 RBI, with 3 DP hit into and a CS.
Adam Dunn on the other hand, is 8-31, for an AVG of .258, above his career average, with 9 walks and 8 K for an obp of .425, with 6 runs and 3 RBI. Dunn has been on in 17 of his last 40 plate appearances, Griffey and Phillips a combined 16 of 84.
Yet you blame Dunn? His RBI totals won't go up if the two guys ahead of him can't get on or hit into DPs. Last ten games, for every 5 hits on DP from those guys. That's awful.
This team will continue to struggle until the black hole that are the 3 & 4 spots in the lineup figure it out. A .191 obp from those spots is not going to get it done if Bonds was in the 5 hole.

at 9:42 PM

Unknown said...

I have to apoligize for my previous statment on here. I'm just frustrated with all the losing. What do we need to do? I mean its frustrating. I want them to win so bad.

at 9:56 PM

sabr_blogger said...

"We have a collection of stat compilers, like a fantasy baseball team, not guys who are winners. What does it take to get an enforcer and a competitor (or two or three) in that clubhouse? Griffey and Dunn are not going to lead the way to wins with their laid back demeanor."

Reality Czech, I hate to break it to you, but basball games are won by the team that scores more runs than their opponents. Chin music, knocking down hitters, destroying watercoolers, and "being a winner" (whatever the heck that means) counts for exactly.... um, nothing on the scoreboard. Thus, it does not bring wins. I realize the new statistical analysis era is scary and foreign for some, but it's how the evolved teams win. See Red Sox, Boston (Epstein, Theo). Josh Byrnes in Arizona is another example of enlightened GMs.

Unfortunately Jocketty is an old schooler - one of the better ones at least, but of the class Executivus Dinosaurus nonetheless.

at 10:06 PM

KevinFtMyers said...

Clueless, I thaught you made a couple of interesting statements and decided to check them out.

Griffey leads team in RBI, runs scored, IBB, and beleive it or not, # games played

Phillips leads in stolen bases but also leads in strikeouts.
For a second baseman though, you cant dismiss his .989 fielding %.

Dunn leads team in BB, OBP, and times on base (all go hand in hand).

So, Griffey is doing alot more than nothing, (.1000 fielding by the way). Philips is under performing at the plate but is playing top grade 2nd base. He will come around.
Dunn is contributing, but NOT the way he should. He should also be leading in things like SAC hits, HR, and extra base hits.

Keppinger is the leader in XBH, with 7 2b and 1 3b
(Patterson is tied w/ Phillips and Bako with 1 triple each.)

Anyway, Dunn is the only one even close to being "worthless". Having said that, Dunn and Phillips should be driving in more runs.

They will in time, and all three are the type of players that, based on their history, do get it done over the course of the season. Now that doesnt mean that these guys can bring a championship to Cincy.

I think the issue with Griffey and Dunn should be complacency, and I dont know if it can be solved without (at least) splitting them up.

Phillips is probably the best player on the team, so youve got to just deal with a slump when it comes.

The other 3 you mentioned, again based on their history, do NOT get it done over the course of the season, hence the question marks and apprehension.

at 10:36 PM

Joe said...

Got to have a few hopeful if not positive posts here tonight.

1)Harang starting Friday night, that is positive and reason for hope.

2)EE is hitting well and it seems to be picking his defense up a bit too.

3)Votto is playing as well or better than expected. Bako has been a real lift behind the plate. Keppinger is playing great.

4)Belisle is throwing Saturday and we should not have to wait long to see if he is going to make it as a starter or not. That means Bailey may be rushed to the big leagues sooner than Dusty wants.

Sorry guys, I had another negative post about the Reds state of afairs typed and ready to submit. But I just didn't think your hearts or heads could stand another one. So, I decided to go positive on you.

at 10:54 PM

Jeff said...

"This team is loaded with paycheck cashers and nothing else"

Good insight. I'm sure nobody on this team cares about winning or is making any attempt. Glad someone got to the heart of the problem.

at 10:59 PM

KevinFtMyers said...

Career all time Cincinnati Reds

Ken Griffey JR

Slugging: 2nd .522
OPS: 4th .884
HR: 8th 199
Ab per HR: 2nd 15.4

1 current Red ranks higher than JR in OPS, HR, and Ab per HR:
Adam Dunn

The stats we all care about:

Division titles 0
Pennants 0
Championships 0

Your move Walt!

at 12:19 AM

JerBear said...

It's hard not to be negative about the Reds.

As much as some people wanted Krivsky out, it just adds another cloud of darkness around the Reds.

I think it was Castellini's first bad move of his ownership. Firing Krivsky may have been necessary at some point, but to do it after 21 games?

The more you think about it, it's kind of crazy what Castellini did. It reminds me a little bit of the Tony Perez firing.

I'm sure all the "baseball people" hate Castellini because Krivsky was like them. They are sticking up for their own jobs/professions.

I actually like Castellini. He cares which is the first thing you need in an owner.

But he's going to have to learn some patience. You can't force winning on an organization.

Anyway, is it possible the Reds could be worse than last year? It doesn't seem possible, but record wise they are heading in that direction.

The thing I like about Jocketty is that he said they need to change the culture within the Reds. Maybe Krivsky said the same thing...

But I don't think that's just saying something that people want to hear. The Reds organization has been a loser for the last 8 years. There's a certain mentality probably even with certain players that drastically needs to be changed.

I think they could start by just going with all their youth and using this year as a rebuilding year. Forget trying to win now, and you may find that you actually do win now more than before by playing as much youth as possible.

You can't just easily trade Dunn, Griffey, Arroyo, and some of the other veterans. But I think they need to seriously explore trading some of those guys.

They'd have the fans behind them also if they ended up going the youth route...enough of my opinion!

at 12:45 AM

Unknown said...

WHERE HAVE ALL THE GREAT CFs GONE?!

I was looking out there at our CF options when Bruce takes over right...there's no more great CFs!!! As recently as 5-10 years ago, we had Griffey, Jr., Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, Bernie Williams, Jim Edmonds, and Kenny Lofton still in their primes and putting up numbers, yearly.
Now, I'll grant Ichiro is a better leadoff/CF than Lofton, but where are the rest of the guys?! Jones has been an above-average defensive outfielder for 5 years (no one else has noticed until this year that he's gotten FAT - 250+ lbs.). Hunter is in decline, Edmunds is almost gone (Jr. is, he's in right). Who's left? Granderson is solid, but not spectacular, Sizemore is good, but overrated (he dives at everything cuz he's a step slow), as is his clone, Eric Byrnes, and Beltran is getting up there, too.

Griffey, Jones, and Edmunds were 3 go-get-it CFs who rank on the all-time lists...are there really 3 guys out there now who can match their gloves, let alone bats? I was just thinking it over, I'd love to pack Dunn, Gonzo, and a prospect up for the best young CF in the game to pair with Bruce...Sizemore or Granderson, with BJ Upton up and coming?!!! I think we're better waiting for Stubbs to make it up...

at 7:20 AM

keepinitreal said...

The great John Wooden once said to: "Never mistake activity for achievement" As shown on this blog, Krivsky was very active, but where is the achievement?

at 7:37 AM

JackBlueAsh said...

I was predicting 5 days ago that WK would be fired.

Eight years in a row that this team has stunk and many still are making excuses for the real stinkers like Dunn and Griffey

This team has not been put together well and Dusty baker is the wrong manager for this team

And slowly but surely, the young miracle pitchers like Cueto and Volquez will come back down to earth

46 million for a closer that this club is not even ready to use..too funny

Joe there is nothing positive to be found in eight years of losing

GO REDS

at 8:23 AM

Anonymous said...

Maybe Dusty can paraphrase that scene from "Bull Durham":

(after dumping a bunch of bats in the shower)"You lollygag around the infield......you lollygag when a ball is hit to you in left! You lollygag when you have a hitters count! So what does that make them?"
Dick Pole: Lollygaggers, sir
Dusty: LOLLYGAGGERS!!

at 8:46 AM

KevinFtMyers said...

Dave, you make som excellent points about center field. Which is why noone is going to trade a CF to us. Especially for a couple of over rated guys like Dunn / Gonzo. It would take Cueto to get a Granderson or Sizemore.

The kid they just signed out of the Dominican is supposedly a real deal CF.

John, how about an update on this kid? Is he @ the Dominican facility, or stateside?. Are we looking at 2010, 2011? (an educated guess would do)

Thanks!

at 9:06 AM

Mr. Doom and Gloom said...

here's something positive...they're playing late on the west coast the next couple of days so i probably won't stay up and listen on the radio.

at 9:09 AM

Rob Dicken said...

I really wish people would quit acting like Jay Bruce is going to be the savior of this team.

His strikeout to walk ratio in the minor league is horrendous. He has a 16/4 K/BB ratio. That's absolutely terrible, and one of the reason he's still in the minor leagues. He strikes out way too much and never walks. It's like a bi-polar version of Adam Dunn. Even Adam Dunn hit near .300 in the minor leagues.

With Bruce's strikeout to walk ratio and mediocre defense, if we bring him up too early we're looking at a left-handed version of Jorge Cantu. A guy that can't hit left-handers well, .OBP sucks, and makes an out 3/4 of his at bats.

Let him get some seasoning in the minors and learn how to take a walk.

On a side note, Dusty needs to grab a solid lineup and use it. Flip-flopping every single game isn't going to cut it. There needs to be some sort of solidarity with it.

at 9:20 AM

Joe said...

Anybody heard how John Fay is doing?

at 9:37 AM

JackBlueAsh said...

Little Red Machine..

85% of all transactions you mention have been failures..
Id be happy to wake up and find that Dusty Baker was fired and Ronnie Oester was made manager..

THis team is just a bunch of good ole boys collecting their paychecks managed by a good ole boy collecting his

at 10:10 AM

Anonymous said...

The Pope couldn't turn this team around.....They have No Heart!!! On top of that gleeming quality is the Front office, top to bottom, is the biggest joke in all of baseball!! No direction, no plan, no class....say what you want, Marge was better than anything we've seen since!

at 10:29 AM

don s said...

When is Dusty going to swallow his pride and admit that Corey P is just not going to get the job done. I was surprisingly pleased during spring training and the first few games of the season with C.P. But he has been a disappointment at every stop. We are loaded with more high caliber outfielders then the Bengals are with criminals and prima donas. So, what's the problem? Give these other deserving ballplayers a chance. They can't do any worse and they may find a real diamond. Also, I can't remember ever seeing a base stealer break for 2nd (and with a good jump) and change his mind (in no-mans land) and go back to first. This is called the Majors for a reason.
And to "ryan". You have a right to be better than the rest of us and not want to hear anything negative. But we are FANS and we remember being proud of the tradition and excellence of the Reds. Just look at the empty seats. I used to go to Riverfront when there wasn't an empty seat.
I now live in Baton Rouge and I'll drive out in the country to try to get the WLW signal just to hear the game. So "ryan" don't pretend you're a bigger fan than the rest of us just because we demand a winner.

at 10:32 AM

Steven Ross said...

I'm so tired of people trying to justify Dunn's OBP. He walks but doesn't put the ball in play. Hello! I'm not paying this guy $13 mil to take base on balls.

I was watching the D-backs game the other night and the announcers were talking about a stat where the batter makes contact. Doesn't matter if it's a hit or out. Does he put the ball in play. Dunn would be at the bottom of the list.

at 10:50 AM

jdeezman said...

Want to learn about our new GM?
It's long, but I think we could use this info John, so please humjor me with this novella.

Here is a good overall look at WJ;

Brian Gunn On Walt Jocketty
Brian Gunn is a regular at Baseball Analysts and The Hardball Times, among other places. An excerpt of his piece on Walt Jocketty follows.
WALT JOCKETTY
By Brian Gunn
New Reds GM Walt Jocketty was a big-game hunter with the Cardinals. He generally looked elsewhere for talent, and he landed some of the biggest names around. Here’s a brief look at his legacy.
JOCKETTY’S STRENGTHS
Jocketty built arguably the premier National League franchise of this decade. Since 2000, the Cardinals own more regular-seasons wins than any other NL team, won more playoff games, won more league titles, and, of course, won it all in 2006.
How did Jocketty do it? First of all, he was fearless. A master wheeler-dealer, nobody did a better job turning lemons into lemonade, often flipping questionable talent for marquee players.
Consider:
Jocketty landed, via trade, Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renteria, Darryl Kile, Scott Rolen, Dennis Eckersley, Todd Stottlemyre, Fernando Vina, Larry Walker, Will Clark, Adam Wainwright, and Woody Williams.
Here are the most notable players he gave up to get them: Eric Ludwick, T.J. Mathews, Kent Bottenfield, Adam Kennedy, Braden Looper, Pablo Ozuna, Manny Aybar, Jose Jimenez, Placido Polanco, Bud Smith, Steve Montgomery, Jay Witasick, Juan Acevedo, Chris Narveson, Jose Leon, one year of J.D. Drew, and the waning days of Ray Lankford’s career.
It’s an astonishing haul. Generally Jocketty would use the same formula: go after some established but underappreciated star, give up a few middling prospects for him, let him soak in the cozy St. Louis fan experience, win ballgames, re-sign the guy to an extension (often with a hometown discount), win more ballgames, then repeat the whole process as one big feedback loop. Jocketty was a master at that (and he was probably the best trading-deadline dealer there ever was – that’s how he got McGwire, Clark, Williams, Rolen, Walker, Chuck Finley, and Fernando Tatis).
Jocketty’s other big strength? Cobbling together a pitching staff on the cheap. It took him a while to get the hang of it – Cards’ hurlers in the ‘90s were usually awful. But Jocketty, along with rehab specialists Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan, were able to buy low for arms like Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan, and Darryl Kile, and let them succeed in front of those reliable St. Louis infielders. At its best it worked beautifully. For example, in 2005 the Cards led the majors in ERA with a starting rotation that cost, altogether, $17 million – or less than what Roger Clemens alone made that year.
JOCKETTY’S WEAKNESSES
He was never that great at developing talent from within. Oh sure, he had his moments – he drafted and signed both Rick Ankiel and J.D. Drew when other teams wouldn’t touch ‘em for fear of being out-negotiated by Scott Boras. And of course, Jocketty was responsible for Albert Pujols, merely the best player in the league, if not all of baseball. But by and large the Cards’ cupboard ran rather bare during the Jocketty years. Baseball America has recently ranked them near the bottom of all major-league farm systems, and the Cards have been especially weak locating talent overseas. Perhaps that’s the flipside of Jocketty’s wheeling-and-dealing prowess – it gave him a sense that the team didn’t need to develop from within in order to succeed.
Jocketty’s other big weakness was that he tended to construct rather shallow rosters. Often the ballclub would be led by big shots like Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen, while the margins were raggedy at best. Cards fans no doubt remember some of the team’s biggest playoff games left in the hands of shlubs like Craig Paquette, Garrett Stephenson, or Jason Marquis. To be fair, however, Jocketty improved in this area over the last couple years. The Cards’ bench and bullpen were among the best in the league this past year, and role players were crucial to winning the World Series in 2006.
JOCKETTY’S BEST MOVE
Landing McGwire was a masterstroke that rejuvenated the franchise, but I’d still go with the trade of Bottenfield and Kennedy to the Angels for Jim Edmonds. In 1999 Bottenfield was an 18-game winner while Edmonds was an underperformer clouded by “character issues.” But Jocketty noticed that Bottenfield’s peripherals were weak, Edmonds were strong, and he moved on a deal. Kennedy ended up a dependable starter in Anaheim, but Edmonds ended up the best centerfielder in baseball for a number of years.
JOCKETTY’S WORST MOVE
I can still remember December 18, 2004, when the Cards traded starter Danny Haren, reliever Kiko Calero, and hitting prodigy Daric Barton for Mark Mulder. As others have pointed out (I can’t remember where), Calero for Mulder straight-up would’ve been a poor deal for the Cards, to say nothing of losing Haren and Barton. When I first heard the news I became literally sick to my stomach, and the feeling hasn’t quite gone away.

at 10:55 AM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

Bob Castellini and I agree that getting rid of Krivsky was necessary for this team to contend. I am finished defending this decision.

Walt Jocketty has his hands full but I am very confident that he can right this ship quickly. It may be too late to salvage this season as he is hamstrung with several overpaid, under producing players who are subsequently nearly impossible to deal.

It is a shame that Reds fans are still suffering after 7 consecutive losing seasons, but with a qualified GM, we are now at least on the right track.
ST CSA

at 12:05 PM

ST fan said...

Hamilton was 0 for 5 last night.

at 12:16 PM

Frank Robinson's Ghost said...

Well, Heck --

I guess we're not done with losing Bob. Maybe you could rehire Krivsky and fire him again?

That should do it. Fool

at 12:23 PM

Another losing season said...

So what should we expect from Walt? I have no idea. Be interested to read what you guys think.

at 12:25 PM

JackBlueAsh said...

excellent posts CSA and Rob Dicken

its still is a shame that we wasted 3.5 million a year on Baker when we needed a Ron Oester

thanks for the info Jdeezman

at 12:42 PM

wardog said...

Lets look at the possible outfield for next year. Both corners will be or could be gone. The management needs a win now attitude and time will run out on this team. Grif and Dunn are paid to swing the bat they strike fear in the pitchers, Jay Bruce will not be feared and should not be leading off in the Majors, remember Eric Davis? Took awhile in minors and a move from the lead off to get going.

at 12:56 PM

Jeff said...

Instead of thinking in terms of percentage of good moves and bad moves, I prefer to think in terms of the of talent gained verses talent lost. I can think of a number of talented players and prospects Krivsky got for very little, but struggle to come up with many quality players that we lost for little or no return. If you brought up Hamilton, I’d respond with Volquez. If the names Kearns and Lopez came up, I’d say that their performance with Washington suggests we gave up very little and got two good prospects in Bray and Daryl Thompson in return.

at 1:45 PM

Kurt said...

I don't agree about not brining Bruce up. He is not the savior but you can't tell me that Hopper, Freel, Paterson or Hairston are better than him. He is rated the #1 prospect in all of baseball and won minor league player of the year last year. That says the kid is very talented and the experts don't usually miss with the #1 guy.

He is no Adam Dunn either. Yes he K's a lot, but he is young and will cut down on that total. His OBP as of right now is .366, which is pretty good. He is hitting .400 vs LH this year, so he can hit them. He has no erros this year and his defense is pretty good and he has a good arm, unlike Dunn. He needs to be in center field everyday. They need to stop babying these guys and give them experience. Hopefully Walt reads this....

Homer should be up here, but that is a whole other story.

Go Reds

at 1:46 PM

reaganspad said...

I agree with JerBear, worst move since firing of Doggy in 44 games.

There is nothing that has been done these 20+ games that he could not have justified in February when the Jock was hired.

The Jock probably would have made the deal to send Votto and Cueto to Balty for Bedard (is he still on the DL?). Thanks Wayne

Hate the cubs

at 1:55 PM

Will T. said...

I called it during spring training. The Reds should have made a deal for Cliff Lee. The Indians were shopping him and look what he has done so far. It would be safe to say that we probably wouldn't have probelms with the 5th starter slot, now would we?

at 2:24 PM

Tucker said...

Firing WK was the best that Castellini could have done. Should have been done last year. This was just a continuation of the same terrible team we had last year and something needed shaking up

Jocketty has a great track record and hopefully players like Griffey and Dunn will wake up and start earning their paychecks and set a good example for the younger players. If not..goodbye and good riddance.Thank you

T

at 2:35 PM

Rob Dicken said...

Kurt, Bruce's OBP is up because he is getting 2-3 hits per game right now. He's on a tear. BUT, he's not going to do that in the major leagues.

If you're striking out 4 times as much as walking, you're just not doing a very good job. Essentially, your OBP will decrease because of that. Are Patterson, Hopper, and Freel any better than Jay Bruce? No, but at this point they aren't any worse either (from an OBP perspective). Take that how you want it, but just hitting home runs and having a bunch of RBIs are only two of the vital statistics that make a quality hitter.

Minor league numbers are minor league numbers...they don't mean squat in the MLB. Brandon Larson, Ryan Wagner, and Phil Dumatrait should be a perfect examples of that.

at 2:52 PM

gonz said...

Everybody, listen to the wisdom of Cheviot Sports Authority (which part of Cheviot, by the way? I grew up on St. Martin's). I, too, am tired of weak-kneed Reds fans who would rather the team cower in mediocrity than take a bold step with proven management.

Folks just need to relax. You can't criticize every little thing.

at 3:07 PM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

at 3:38 PM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

practically neighbors Brian. Played a lot of rubber ball as a kid many years ago in St Martins parking lot before they built the addition to the school and ruined it.
St CSA

at 3:57 PM

Rob Dicken said...

Why is it that a couple of bloggers still feel the need to contradict other posters constantly? Just state your opinion, no need to always try to belittle someone else's. These 'paste and bash' comments are really very childish.

Says the person that consistently and completely ignores factual information given to him by numerous different people based on his certain opinions.

I'm not saying people don't still bash people on here, because they still do. But a lot of it has to do with disregarding FACTUAL information given to them time and time again. It's an insult to people's intelligences when that's done and more or less (to an extent) a lack of respect. By ignoring stuff like that, you're bound to create an argument with someone. Everyone's wrong every now and then or they make a statement that consists of falsified information. If you are, just admit you're wrong and move on. It's not that big of a deal. Don't ignore your disprove opinion and disrespect other people by posting your same falsified opinion over and over again.

It seems to me that there is almost a double standard here...you're aloud to state an opinion, but you're not allowed to prove someone's opinion wrong. Just doesn't seem right to me! Isn't that the point of a debate?

A world without something wrong would be pretty boring!

at 4:19 PM

Kurt said...

Rob
If he won't hit like that in the bigs, then he would not be rated as the #1 prospect. They the experts say he will do that. Is that today, maybe, maybe next season but all signs say he will be able to hit accourding to the experts. Strikeouts always come with power hitters. If he can't do any worse then what we have, then why not have him up here, because the rest are not the future like he could be.

I understand that minor league numbers don't always mean someone is good, but they are indicators to a point. But the BIG difference between the guys you mentioned is they were never rated as high as Bruce or talked about by all of baseball like he is. Bruce is on a different level than them.

Last 7 years #1 prospects
07 Dice K, not really a rookie
06 Delmon Young
05, 04 Joe Mauer
03 Mark teixeria
02 Josh becket
01 Josh Hamilton

Now all these guys have done pretty well, so you could argue that Bruce will be a good player based on past #1's doing well. You are not rated #1 if they think you won't hit or pitch in the bigs. Of course he might be a flop, but history says he won't. Lets hope he isn't because we need to get some youth in the outfield.

Go Reds

at 4:36 PM

JF said...

Can we beat a younger less talented team tonight with our ace on the mound?

Will Jocketty and Castellini embrace their inner Jay Bruces before the Reds fall 10 games out of first, or 10 games under .500?

Will Hairston Jr. win the NL batting title with an all-time record average of .467?

Will Krivsky be tabbed to become the General Manager of the Texas Rangers?

Anyone?

at 6:02 PM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

JF, good question. I think Wayne Krivsky will get another GM job right after Bob Boone and Jerry Narron find major league managers jobs. Maybe he can find something in public relations.
St CSA

at 6:14 PM

KevinFtMyers said...

GrizzlyFox,

Im not sure a 10 game stretch is a large enough sample to declare one player more valuable than another. A month or even like 100 AB's is more telling.

You are correct in your assesment that he needs guys on in front of him to drive them in, but he has had guys on, its just not always Phillips and Griffey.

Dunn has the lowest slugging % of any starter, even lower than guys like Patterson and Bako, based on season stats so far.

Dunn has been better of late, but he is way behind. Hes going to have to go on a 12 for 30 stretch with like 5 HR and 10 RBI to catch up. He can and will do it, but Griffey and Phillips will come around too.

I think everyones just tired of our "#1 guy" watching called 3rd strikes, popping up, and taking walks.

The walks are especially frustrating, because unless it is an intentional walk, he gets at least one drivable pitch in between those 4 balls per at bat. Maybe not a homerun ball down broadway, but a x base hit type hitable pitch. But because its 2-0 or 3-1 hes letting it go, like hes waiting on that 4th ball.

He should be able to, and be ready to, take any pitch in or around the strike zone and get good wood on it. He isnt and doesnt.

Guys who do:
Manny Ramierez
Albert Pujols
Vlad Guerro
Gary Sheffield

Guys are pitching to these guys pretty similarly to the way Dunn is pitched, but they all have less strikeouts and less walks.

Why? The last thing on their minds is a base on balls. They come to the plate to hit, not just get on base.

at 8:28 PM

Rob Dicken said...

Kurt...

I still don't think you understand what I am saying.

I am not saying that Bruce won't be good. I am not saying that at all. I am just saying that right now he has a big whole in his game that could potentially hurt him in the MLB. Right now, his strikeout to walk ratio is not good. Anyone that only walks 4 times in 77 at bats is very impatient and doesn't really belong in the lineup. We already Brandon Phillips and Corey Patterson who doesn't walk a lot and strikes out quite a bit. Too many of those players and it will hurt this team worse than it already is.

At this point, Bruce really can't hurt this team, but when this team is actually good, he definitely won't do this team any good by never walking and making an out 70% of the time. As I said before...Jorge Cantu numbers.

Hell, he may improve...he may not. At this point he needs to though to be a solid major leaguer and provide the Reds with a quality bat in this lineup.

You can hit all the homers in the world and have a .300 average...but it also matters what you do beyond that. If you're only walking 4 times in 77 at-bats...you're essentially padding your own stats and not helping your team. If that makes any sense.

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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Astros 5, Reds 3 - middle of 5th

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