Reds Insider: Quick hits

Monday, April 21, 2008

Quick hits

This blog is taking a while to publish entries, so I'll get a few things out right now:

Score: 9-1 Dodgers, sixth inning

Belisle: In four innings, he gave up 12 hits, seven runs (five earned), one walk, struck out three, and allowed a home run. Fifty-two of his 84 pitches were strikes.

Jeremy Affeldt came in, then Josh Fogg, who hit Russell Martin with a pitch and surrendered a two-run homer to Nomar Garciaparra.

38 Comments:

at 9:27 PM

reds fest said...

I said at my previous post "If Fogg to the pen, doesn't he cause their meltdown? We don't need him anymore."

Shame on you, Krivsky.

at 9:37 PM

Anonymous said...

No matter who you put in there..Hopper, Freel, Valentine, Hairston Jr., or Patterson..these guys are (maybe) decent minor leaguers, but average at best major leaguers. They scare no one.

This team is terrible in all aspects of their play right now. Fundamentals, effort, everything.

They will finish last in the division.

And that sucks because I love the Reds.

Bring up Bruce and start paying him everyday. Play Votto everyday. Keep Keppinger at short. And keep bench players like Freel where they belong.

at 9:50 PM

Anonymous said...

edwin may be starting that breakout year predicted for him as we speak, good sign...

belisle vs penny w dodgers bullpen, as much of a guaranteed loss as there is going to be this season...
i think belisle is garbage...there are plenty of mlb players with great stuff and no command and they all...stink, unless its filthy and they are a closer (not belisle)

if bruce came up right now he would have the weight of the world on his shoulders (redlegs are floundering right now), bailey would not with volquez and cueto in the limelight...bring him up please let him work out his control in the bigs...he'll be better than belisle and fogg automatically

please tell corey patterson he is no good...couple of early homers and then...nothing

jeff keppinger is my boy need more like him in the line up

go reds ill be there tomorrow

at 9:50 PM

Todd McElmurray said...

Please, please move on from Fogg/Belisle and let Homer take his reps as the #5 already! Belisle could not hit the spots that Bako was asking for. Every time Bako called for a breaking ball low and away, Belisle would hang them right over the plate. The result was him getting crushed.

I point to AZ and their willingness to let their prospects play . . . seems to be working quite well so far. Wake up Wayne & Bob!

at 9:51 PM

Red Faced said...

U-G-L-Y. I could complain like crazy but I don't know what good that would do.

I think I'll go pull my finger nails out with a pair of pliers now. At least it won't be as painful as watching us bat.

at 10:04 PM

Unknown said...

The Reds have yet to win a series opener this year

The Reds have also yet to win a game that was broadcast in HD.

Tonight was the PERFECT STORM

at 10:06 PM

Steven Ross said...

We really should cut the dead weight from this team. Castro was a start but lets not stop there.

Belisle, Coffey, Dunn, Valentine, Hatty, Fogg, can go. Come-on! Bring Bruce & Bailey up. Get some new blood-spirit in this clubhouse.

Man, this is a boring team!

at 10:09 PM

jb said...

Bad Bad Bad
I would bench Dunn and tell Patterson goodbye. Bring up Bruce to play left with Hopper/Freel in center.
Give Belisle one more start. If he is this bad again - permanent AAA for Matt, hello Homer.

at 10:18 PM

Red Faced said...

Steve, 10:06, I agree with most of your dead weight list and the thing is most of those guys can be easily replaced with potentially better players from right in our own farm system so what's the hold up?

at 10:22 PM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

Maybe now all of the non baseball experts wanting Matt Belisle back in the rotation have learned what I have been telling them since the start of spring training. Matt Belisle STINKS!

Jorge Cantu another 2 hits tonight. Why was it again we let him go? But I guess Jerry Hairston is a much better option.

I guess Hopper spit in Baker's breakfast or something. Another great game out CF tonight.

Anyone know what Josh Hamilton did tonight?

Guess we should keep Dunn and Griffey and get rid of EE, you think?
ST CSA

at 10:24 PM

KevinFtMyers said...

Dear Wayne,

It has become evident that the Reds need a #3 or above starter, a big league catcher, and a couple of middle releif guys. Since it is very unlikely that all of this can get done this year, I propose that you go down to the banks and jump in the river.
Someone will pick you up in a boat, just like the drunk fool yesterday, and run you down the river to parts unknown.

I wish you well, and hope someday you may get another job in baseball.

Dear Walt,

I wish you luck in trying to get this team pointed in the right direction.

If I may make a few suggestions:

At the trade deadline, please be a buyer as if the Reds were in contention. Get guys that have time left on their contracts or guys you could pick up an option on. These guys should include the posistions I mentioned above.

Please say "thanks for coming out" to guys like Patterson, Fogg, Hairston, Weathers, and Coffey.

Please sign Dunn to a 4mil/ yr contract with incentives for BA, RISP, and playoff appearences. (Not HR #s) 4yr w/ opp 5 and 6. If he will not sign for that, then "adios el burro".

If Dunn does not re-sign then offer Griff the same contract with shorter term, (2 opp 3).
If he will not sign for that, then "so long Junior".

Finally,

Please see Jack in Blue Ash about concesions, promotional seating prices in the upper deck, and the psycology of baseball players. I have little doubt you will find his insights awe inspiring.

Sincerely,
Broken Hearted Reds Fan

at 10:25 PM

LongTimeRedsFan said...

Did anyone hear Krivsky describe Belisle's pitching tonight when he was in the booth? His response was that "Belisle had "good stuff" but was leaving it over the plate". Come on. Get a clue. That's not good stuff! That's the kind of thinking that's exactly what is wrong with the Reds. He has no clue. The thought process of "we have some good players here", Patterson, Hopper, Freel, Castro, Valentin, Ross, Bako (who has done a better job than either of the other two would have), Fogg (if Fogg was any good, some other team would have signed him), Coffey (DFA today!), has brought us exactly what we have. A team 1/3 or more full of minor leaguers or has beens. Whether you want them to stay or not, don't expect Dunn or Griffey to even think about coming back next year. Why would they? If I'm Dunn, I start looking forward to a mid season trade just to get out of here. No wonder Griffey would want to go back to Seattle. But don't expect WK to get more than some washed up minor leaguers for either.

at 10:30 PM

NVreds said...

man, this blog is tiring. we just lost a game that was penny vs belisle, cmon, you really thought we were going to win? there are 140 GAMES LEFT, yet somehow everyone is convinced they will finish in last. they will not finish in last. personally i'm not going to let a slow start screw up the game i love , if this continues at least we will start trading players and maybe we can get some guys in here that will turn out to be some good players, be it from AAA or trades.

Bringing up bruce is a really bad idea. Its a very very bad idea. lets have him make his ML debut, play CF, leadoff, and save our season all at once. that is way too much pressure, i want him up here to succeed, not to struggle so we have to send him down and crush his confidence. putting bruce in the lineup will not turn the team around, and that whole experience thing is a bunch of bull, the risk of getting bad experience is too high.

Bailey, i would consider calling up, i also would consider trying affeldt in the rotation, he does have some really good stuff, its worth a shot, and we need to figure something out, then guys like mcbeth or bray or roenicke can get shots.

belisle left tons of balls over the plate, he has a lot of movement on all his pitches, but its all easy to hit type movement, none of his pitches have that late break you like. he can pitch at this level, but he has to have pretty much perfect control.

listen, the season is very long, a bad start isnt good by any means, but there are a ton of games left. we need dunn & phillips to hit better, and having a leadoff hitter wouldnt hurt. screw this speed stuff, put keppinger in the leadoff spot. or even phillips maybe he stops swinging for the fences.

you can jump ship if you all want, or if you thought they would be bad you can crown yourself now. but there are 140 games left to play guys, seriously how many baseball seasons have you watched. we've played our series against a lot of winning teams, and the pittsburg series we had plenty of chances to score. I'm not calling playoffs for the reds, but they are not going to continue to lose like this, they are better than this. please wait at least a LITTLE longer before giving up on them. count to 140 and see how long it takes you.

at 10:33 PM

LongTimeRedsFan said...

When a player is having a tough time, he sits the bench for a game or two. With a manager.....well, how about if Dusty has to go sit in the nosebleeds for a game or two and BC tells WK to be the bat boy for the same games?

at 10:42 PM

LongTimeRedsFan said...

Another brilliant idea from Dusty.....Belisle struggles so lets have Fogg warm up and get ready.....

at 10:43 PM

Reverie Writer said...

This season is lost.

I can't believe that this team is this bad. They look good on paper.

What happened. This is depressing because i love the Reds and it makes me think my summer will be disappointing again.

I want to believe but seeing the Reds lose big AGAIN and seeing the CUBS (their simple name makes me nauseous) win again makes me depressed.

Please, let the season, not be over already.

at 10:44 PM

Anonymous said...

I will agree..it's a long season. But even the most optimistic Reds fan (which I consider myself to a fault) can see this team has, with exceptions, been out-matched. A few heroic walk-off or late inning comebacks is really all that's keeping this team from one of the worst records in baseball. Yes..it's a long season, but I would feel a lot better if they looked even remotely competitive. And Hopper in CF is not the answer. Neither is Patterson. So what's wrong with bringing Bruce up to start his big league career with the same opportunity afforded Votto? Nothing..and it's the right move. No matter how rose colored your glasses..this team is in trouble with the talent they are rolling out there right now.

at 10:50 PM

NVreds said...

I love how people complain about hamilton and cantu, very funny. like they would somehow make phillips and dunn hit, or belisle and arroyo pitch better.

come on listen to yourself, seriously, cantu? thats the solution to the team? hilarious, the guy has five errors already where would you play him?? 3rd? EE is younger, cheaper, has always been a slow starter, proably has more range, commits the same amount of errors, and he has way more upside. SS? 2B? 1B? pretty sure we got better guys there already.

Big dodgers contracts that arent worth it = schmidt, pierre, garciaparra, and jones (so far). and we gripe about small fish in stanton. Its sickening really. i can think of three teams this offseason that ate way more money. the health of the farm system is the reason i keep kriv, this was a very bad team before its not like we have a big market team where you can risk big signings like the cubs.

at 10:50 PM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

should be gone! Griffey, Dunn, Patterson, Hairston, Hatteberg, Valentin, Fogg, Coffey, Freel, Belisle, Arroyo, Ross, Bako, Baker, Krivsky and George Grande.
ST CSA

at 10:56 PM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

You play Cantu on the bench. A right handed hitter with power who can fill in at several positions. No one said he should be in the starting lineup although looks like it wouldn't hurt if he could play some LF. If you don't understand that, you don't understand baseball.
ST CSA

at 11:01 PM

NVreds said...

The season is not lost.

at 11:03 PM

Anonymous said...

Total agree with the Castro for Hariston move today so props to the Reds for something they are doing right, But here are the other moves i would make.

1.DFA Josh Fogg and Recall Homer Bailey from AAA Louisville, Replace Belise in the rotation with Homer and move Matt to long relief.

2.Trade Hatteberg for a player to be named later and or cash. And recall Jolbert Cabarea from AAA Louisvillle,

3.Recall Jay Bruce from AAA Louisville and send down Norris Hopper. Would like to send Freel down but due to options you send Hopper. Start Bruce in Center.

4.DFA Todd Coffey and Recall Bill Bray form AAA Louisville,

5.Drop Dunn to 8th in the batting order intill he prove he can do anything. If you can take anything from the game tonight look what the Dodgers are doing to Andrew Jones, I would take a similar approach to Dunn.

I just think these moves will shake up the club and change the mood. We jsut cant keep falling behind in the divison. I think playing the young guys gives us the best shot to win.

what do you think they should do john?

at 11:07 PM

Another losing season said...

I'm not one to jump ship...I never was on board. AAA hitting must really be bad if Belisle put up numbers like that down on the farm then gets smacked around by an anemic LA team that just came off a road trip which saw them score 3 runs in 3 games. Getting uglier by the week.

at 11:07 PM

NVreds said...

That cheap shot was uneccessary, i'm sure we both understand baseball. cantu is not a big deal. go buy a marlins hat and a rangers hat if you like reading their box scores more than the reds

at 11:18 PM

NVreds said...

dunn lower in the order is not a bad idea, put less pressure on him so he gets his bat going. personally i would trade him, but you not going to get much for him because he's only signed through this year, teams don't give up much for possible rent-a-players. not really sure what the best move is with him because you cant change his position.

at 11:22 PM

keepinitreal said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

at 11:24 PM

The Big O said...

Agree w/ NVReds, what a shame.. this used to be a good blog until a few VIs took up residence

i can't believe how much people complain on here, i think some people here would be calling for Tony Perez's head if he went 0-4. All offseason, with the Bedard and Blanton rumors, many people on here were adamant about keeping the young guys and saying that we have the chance at being a great team in '09 at the expense of this year. Yet now people are being ridiculously impatient and crying about every roster move. hilarious. There's still plenty of time to straighten the ship this year, and even if we do fall short, we're still in great shape for '09 with Cueto/Volquez/Votto/Bruce and maybe even Roenicke and Maloney making the club. Deep breaths everyone, let's not be so myopic.

at 11:28 PM

Unknown said...

A few observations on our Reds:

Affeldt does not have the mentality of a starter - he stunk there early in his career and again in spring training, but he's a gem from the 'pen.

Patterson, I wanted so badly to see succeed; he looks 100% exactly like the guy Chicago had a few years ago with the same name. Bring up Bruce and let him train on-the-job. Freel should be the overpaid $3 mil guy on the team - at one point he earned his pay.

Belisle is not a starter, nor has he ever been one - he did well as a reliever one year, then our shocking lack of depth forced him into the #3 role. Put him back into the bullpen instead of Fogg and watch him excel.

Bailey, from September and this past month (3 or 4 starts), deserves Belisle's spot.

Harang, Arroyo (will come around, but only pitch him at night), Cueto, Volquez, Bailey is our rotation for 4 more years - let's see it now.

Pen is Belisle, Affeldt, Coffey, Mercker, Weathers (replaces Coffey or Lincoln when he leaves the DL), Burton, and Cordero.

We're still a contender in 2008, but the favorite in 2009...

at 11:35 PM

keepinitreal said...

Where are all the "it's still early" posters? Dusty Baker doesn't buy into that theory. I've heard him say as much on his pre-game show. Losing too many games this early is a lot like going into debt. It's a very difficult hole to dig out of. When a team starts to fall this far behind so early, they won't be able to afford another long losing streak come summer.

at 11:55 PM

Another losing season said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

at 11:58 PM

Another losing season said...

The only reason to consider this team a contender is the fact they have not been mathematically eliminated yet.

at 12:02 AM

Rob Dicken said...

Weathers (replaces Coffey or Lincoln when he leaves the DL)

I agreed with what you said until you mentioned Lincoln. He's been one of if not our MOST SUCCESSFUL guy out of the pen this year. He's saved us in a lot of situations.

Jorge Cantu would not be bad coming off the bench. $3 million is stupid for any bench player (even Freel). You get rid of Freel and Castro and eat both of your contracts, you're paying $6 million essentially for Jorge Cantu. Do the math. It couldn't be done. He went somewhere where he had a chance at starting.

Josh Hamilton is gone from the Reds...don't know if anyone noticed that yet or not. Just throwing that out there!

Oh yeah....NVReds...you 'da man! Some people on here cover up for their inconsistencies in baseball rhetoric by telling other people they don't know baseball. These are the same people that completely ignore statistics and ARE STILL judging players by performances made 3 weeks into the season. Sad, sad city of fans we have here.

Funny how SOMEONE wants to get rid of this whole team. I had a good kick out of that. Same person that told someone else that they don't know the game of baseball. Very childish!

Rough start to the year, but quit being impatient, people! Teams will go through similar slumps throughout the season. Hopefully we can capitalize on it then like the other teams are now.

We have the best starting pitching (aside from that dreaded 5 hole) in the NL Central. The bats got to wake up!

at 12:20 AM

Red Faced said...

OK I have to say I agree with a lot of what pitsburgstelers had to say in his post and Dave your comment about not pitching Arroyo during day games is right on. He's like 1-7 or something in day games this year and last.

Some are talking about moving Dunn down in the order and I agree but I can't see him lower than say 7th.

at 5:21 AM

nickstyle said...

I agree with just about everything Dave had to say except I do like Patterson a little more than Freel at the same price. But either way I think it's time for Jay Bruce to get the call up. Centerfield has turned into a black hole where it seems the Reds do not get any production no matter if Freel, Patterson, or Hopper are in. I don't think Bruce would have to bat leadoff either as Keppinger could bat first but who knows what Dusty would do.

at 8:28 AM

JackBlueAsh said...

Getting rid of the majority of "this team" would not be a bad idea nor could it be any worse than it has been over the course of the seven seasons.

I guess some are just afraid of having to deal with success and are comfortable with a losing team year in and year out

Not a "rough start"..just a continuation of the same bad baseball as last year

Patterson is not better than he was in Chicago.. Hes weak offensively and will always be

at 8:46 AM

Rob Dicken said...

Jack, we will always tend to disagree with our outlooks on this team. This team has the talent to win a lot of ball games. But, there's the dead weight that keeps dragging us down.

It's not Dunn, it's not Griffey. For the last two seasons, it's been the dreaded start of the year, and not to mention, there's always one aspect of this team that is dragging us down. That awful 5 hole in the pitching rotation has lost us 3 games alone!

Remain positive, Jack! If that's possible!

at 11:41 AM

Cheviot Sports Authority said...

Cantu would be making 750,000 to $1 mil and would be a much better option for this team than Ryan Freel or Happy Haiston. By the way he is now hitting .314. Not bad for somebody who "stinks". He could also play some first base and Votto some LF. By the way posting under a bunch of different IDs just makes you look even more childish.
ST CSA

at 4:34 PM

Rob Dicken said...

Yep. CSA, you're right. I will admit defeat against your logic which has absolutely no backing besides pure opinion.

I don't post under different IDs, quit accusing me of that crap. If you would check people's IDs by just clicking on them, you would be able to see this!

Previous Posts

Monday, April 21, 2008

Quick hits

38 Comments: