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Post by reds4life1986 on Apr 4, 2015 14:14:10 GMT -5
Good god they love russel martin, bryson smith makes a fantastic run to beat the throw
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Post by redsfanman on Apr 4, 2015 16:07:37 GMT -5
Lark, they were spelling Cozart's name wrong last night too. I think they were too busy praising Russell Martin to notice. None of the (few) broadcasts of Reds games I've seen this spring have included a radar gun It seems like it'd be easy to add, and would make the game far more interesting to watch... I turned today's game off when Gregg came in. Next I knew Chris Carpenter was pitching... talk about turning it off at the right time... Maybe that's the French Canadian spelling. More likely it's the spelling of Jarred Cosart, whose name was being run across the screen with the story about his being cleared of gambling. Alas, they thought CoZart could've done something so interesting.
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Post by redskoolaiddrinker on Apr 4, 2015 18:12:56 GMT -5
You can see why Gregg is a former closer... Is it too late to cut him and not pay his salary?
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Post by psuhistory on Apr 4, 2015 22:50:38 GMT -5
You can see why Gregg is a former closer... Is it too late to cut him and not pay his salary? According to a lunar appendix of the CBA, during the next twelve hours the Reds can give him a dyed egg and option him to the Easter Bunny's franchise in the Green Grass League... Make it happen, Walt...
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Post by psuhistory on Apr 5, 2015 7:52:09 GMT -5
Fay: Reds Should Be Good for 85 Wins in 2015 John Fay, Enquirer, 4/4/2015
My prediction for the season? The Reds will exceed expectations. That's not exactly crawling out on a limb.
Most experts are picking them fifth in the five-team National League Central. Sports Illustrated has them finishing 73-89. (SI also has the Cleveland Indians winning the World Series, so it's fairly easy to doubt their prognosticating powers.)
But it's easy to see how the Reds have been overlooked and underrated in preseason forecasts. They finished last year 76-86. Their biggest offseason moves were to shed starters Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon in trades.
In those two trades, the Reds got a total of one player who made the Opening Day roster. That's Anthony DeSclafani. DeSclafani has looked good for the most part in spring training. But it's hard to imagine him giving the Reds what they got from Latos in 2012 or '13.
DeSclafani is the fourth starter. The fifth starter — once Homer Bailey returns — will be Jason Marquis, a veteran coming off Tommy John surgery. Marquis hasn't had a season with an ERA under 4.00 since 2004.
The back end of the rotation is the reason that anyone who knows OPS from GPS is picking the Reds to go nowhere.
But I think they're better than fifth in the division. In fact, I think they can contend in the NL Central and for a Wild Card spot.
Why?
Three reasons: 1) The lineup is significantly better than it was last year. 2) The bullpen is much better than last year. 3) There's depth in the minors if the back end of the rotation struggles.
First on the lineup: I've written a lot about Brandon Phillips' numbers dropping. But if he's your seventh hitter, that's a pretty good lineup. Reds manager Bryan Price finally acknowledged that Phillips will likely hit seventh. It's a little puzzling why it took Price so long to admit that, but it's clearly the right move.
Adding Marlon Byrd allows the Reds to drop Phillips to seventh.
But the biggest thing that will make the lineup better is a healthy Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. The only thing to really matter in spring training for the Reds was the health of Votto and Bruce. Votto was moving in spring training like he never had knee surgery. Bruce drove the ball to left like he did pre-knee surgery.
If Votto and Bruce are healthy - and Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco are close to what they were last year - the Reds have a pretty dynamic lineup.
Now onto the bullpen: The guy to watch is Tony Cingrani. He's been terrific since he was moved to the bullpen from starting. I think he can be a two-inning difference-maker. Burke Badenhop was terrible in the spring. But he's been very good the last three years. That counts a lot more than spring stats.
Manny Parra has looked like the guy he was in 2013. Kevin Gregg was a good closer as recently as 2013.
Finally, on the rotation depth: If DeSclafani or Marquis falters, the Reds have Michael Lorenzen in waiting at Triple-A. I thought Lorenzen pitched well enough this spring to win the spot Raisel Iglesias eventually got as Homer Bailey's rotation stand-in until he's healthy.
The Reds obviously went in a different direction with Lorenzen. But he, Robert Stephenson and Jon Moscot give the Reds starting pitching depth that they haven't had in years.
Those three reasons give the Reds a chance to contend. I could come up with three equally sound reasons why they won't contend. But Monday is Opening Day. It's time for optimism.
The Reds are no lock to be good, like they were in 2012 when they won 97 games, but I think they're a lot better than people expect. I'd guess they're good for 85 or 86 wins if things go right.
That should keep them in contention.
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Post by reds4life1986 on Apr 5, 2015 8:17:06 GMT -5
Good write up, The depth is a hell of a lot betterin the minors. marquis is looking ok maybe he'll give us two good months?? i dont know. I think the offense will be on and off. Im not writing off bruce, after one crappy season.... hopefully lol. Im confident in 4 hitters, votto, frazier, byrd, mesoraco, and If hamilton can be a bit better than 2014 that would be fantastic. For the first time ever the rotation is what i am worried about, two very young arms that have alot of learning to do! But thank god its baseball season again!
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