So far, no good

[flash]

The Reds have been outright horrible
Reds pitchers have pitched 14 innings. They have allowed 18 runs on 23 hits
Reds Hitters have batted in 15 innings. They have scored 5 runs on 10 hits. They did get three runs in the last inning to day.

Four of the hits came from guys who were not even invited to camp. I am glad they showed up.

This Scott Heineman may be a steal. I looked up his stats with the Rangers. The guy looks like he can hit. He is an outfielder. But he has never made an error his in his entire career.
Farmer did okay at short and Votto hit. A Rod hit a home run. Aquino got a triple. Finnegan pitched two shutout innings.

Does David Bell know what he is doing? Does the front office?

[kycatscinnreds]

Just be prepared for a long season. I'm gonna go watch some games since it's been 2 years. They are gonna stink, but what else is there to do?

[crashdavissports]

Mar 1, 2021 21:09:34 GMT -5 kycatscinnreds said:

Just be prepared for a long season. I'm gonna go watch some games since it's been 2 years. They are gonna stink, but what else is there to do?

I am going to spend my summer working on my house and yard. Do things with my kids before they graduate and I will just tune in once a morning to reds.com to get a recap of the night before. I don't care anymore. I even got rid of my cable package and went with streaming so I can't even watch a game if I wanted to. Resist the temptation.

[searay]

I too am not impressed. Last night I saw a lot of good arms but very little command. Granted it's early so the pitching may come around somewhat but of my, the rest of the team...

What was the philosophy in putting this team together? It's not a HR hitting team. It's not a speedy team. It's not a good hit for avg/high OBP team. It's not a good defensive team. How can one manage to combine all those factors and put 8 guys like that out on the field every night? How does that work? Given some of the hitters I saw last night, I gotta wonder, who's evaluating the talent? Who saw anything in hefty D. Grullon to bring him into camp? Dwight Smith Jr looked like a pitcher in that batters box vs lefties. 

I see a 75 win ceiling for this team this year and that's if Derek Johnson can work wonders with the young pitching. This team is a total failure of the front office

[flash]

I saw the game last night and I was impressed with he pitching. I Thought the strike zone was small. I did not see Greene pitch, but it looks like he had a rough time of it. Perez looked great for two batters, then really struggled to get the third out.

The catching was great Lagares had a steal, but the play could have been contested.

Heineman looked great again. I think this guy can hit. He has only played a first to spell Votto. He has spent his whole career in the outfield. He has even played in center field. He did get thrown out at home, but he had to go because it was a force at the plate. He made it closer than what I thought it would be. He might have been safe. That probably could have been challenged. Suarez painted the 3rd base line with a double. Brooks Robinson may have been able to throw him out, but he wasn't there. Farmer looked good. Things at short may not be as bad as some think.

The team is slow
The team has serious hitting problems. Too many k's. Of course the Angels pitching is horrific.
Then pitching is suspect at this point.

[searay]

Heineman was safe at the plate and it wasn't even that close

[flash]

The Reds looked good last night

Heineman looked good again last night. 1-2 with 2 SB. Guess this guy did not get the memo that he is not competing for a job. He was in left last night. (Does Senzel have options left?)
Stephenson Schrock and Guillon looked good also although Stephenson allowed a stolen base.

Perez Looked good on the mound. Osich really stuck
Warren looked all right. It will be interesting to see how the Reds handle him since he is a Bearcat.

[flash]

The reds looked bad again today.
Votto was all right 2-3
Suarez 1-2
Heineman did well again. 1-2 with a stolen base. This guy may not make the club, but he is showing that he belongs.
Barnhart was awful 4 SB's
Outside of Perez the pitching was horrible also. I don't know what Bell is doing. He seems to want to run every pitcher in the organization out there except for the ones that will make the club.

Holder does not belong on a major league roster. Ditto Oish, or Doolitttle.
I think the reds needs to trade Lorenzon. I don't see him improving.

[Deleted]

This team is not going to be good. No matter who wins the SS position will be below league average. The Bench no matter who makes it will be awful. All the bench candidates are 4A or worse type players. Defense will be horrible. More boring HR or bust lineup. Only positive on this club will be the pitching. They will screw up the rotation by putting Miley in it. He makes some money so come hell or high water if healthy he will be starting. Rotation should be Castillo, Gray,Mahle,Lorenzen and Antone. But one or both of Lorenzen and Antone will be stuck in the pen.
I have next to zero excitement for the season. Hoping they prove me wrong but I just don't see it.

[Norris Hopper]

The offense is very worrisome.  I think to find any respectibility, three things will have to come true:

1. Senzel is a bonafide stud and plays 125 plus games.
2. Winker continues his 2020 success.
3. Votto is halfway reborn, meaning very good at the plate, though not elite, which is too much to ask at his age.

I think there are some reasons to expect declines in a lot of the other bats and the projection systems seem to agree with this.  Zips projects the trio of Suarez, Moustakas, and Castellanos to produce 4.6 less war than their 2019 output.  Hopefully, they are wrong.

A Tyler Stephenson breakout could be a wildcard but Tucker's defensive value is a factor, as he was 6th in the majors in 2020 among catchers.  I think the catching tandem will be a bright spot.

The pitching should be a little above average.  I think it is an important year for Amir Garrett.  I wouldn't place my bet on him becoming a quality closer but that is mostly a gut feeling.  He is a young 28 and still developing feel (hopefully).  Garrett is confident he can do it and I like his spirit but if he doesn't dependably keep the ball in the yard, he will not get the role of closer.  He was the worst Red in 2020 at 1.96 HR/9 in 2020 (not including the  irrelevant Stephenson, Nate Jones, Matt Davidson, and Joel Kuhnel).  Raisel was about 6 times less likely to give up the longball, albeit in a small sample size.  But if Garrett gets that number to about the 1 HR/9 mark, then his other numbers might play.  Of course, that's basically what Lucas Sims was last year.

[searay]

Amir Garrett has to keep from falling in love with his slider. He has an intimidating fastball. He needs to mix these pitches so hitters can't time them up.

It's depressing to see the players they have in camp. After all this losing they should have a bevy of young talent coming up. The Dodgers have had a decade of winning, have traded many young players and their talent in an early March ST game is still far above ours. Depressing indeed and shows how poorly our team is run and how poorly they judge talent. 

75 wins is the ceiling for this team but more likely, they'll flirt with 90 losses again. The best thing they have going for them is Derek Johnson and he'll likely move on after Bell is fired (or contract not renewed after this year).

I don't see how the offense can get out of its own way if Votto continues to decline. The front office has really screwed up by not drafting/developing an offensive minded 1B to push him. We have to get good offense out of that position. If Votto becomes Todd Benzinger we're in trouble

[Deleted]

Mar 10, 2021 8:56:46 GMT -5 Norris Hopper said:

The offense is very worrisome.  I think to find any respectibility, three things will have to come true:

1. Senzel is a bonafide stud and plays 125 plus games.
2. Winker continues his 2020 success.
3. Votto is halfway reborn, meaning very good at the plate, though not elite, which is too much to ask at his age.

I think there are some reasons to expect declines in a lot of the other bats and the projection systems seem to agree with this.  Zips projects the trio of Suarez, Moustakas, and Castellanos to produce 4.6 less war than their 2019 output.  Hopefully, they are wrong.

A Tyler Stephenson breakout could be a wildcard but Tucker's defensive value is a factor, as he was 6th in the majors in 2020 among catchers.  I think the catching tandem will be a bright spot.

The pitching should be a little above average.  I think it is an important year for Amir Garrett.  I wouldn't place my bet on him becoming a quality closer but that is mostly a gut feeling.  He is a young 28 and still developing feel (hopefully).  Garrett is confident he can do it and I like his spirit but if he doesn't dependably keep the ball in the yard, he will not get the role of closer.  He was the worst Red in 2020 at 1.96 HR/9 in 2020 (not including the  irrelevant Stephenson, Nate Jones, Matt Davidson, and Joel Kuhnel).  Raisel was about 6 times less likely to give up the longball, albeit in a small sample size.  But if Garrett gets that number to about the 1 HR/9 mark, then his other numbers might play.  Of course, that's basically what Lucas Sims was last year.

There is no need to name Garrett or anyone else the closer. Having one guy pitch the 9th inn. When your winning by 3 runs or less is crazy.
Your best relievers should be used in high leverage situations. Whether it is the 6th inn or later. Never understood the whole closer tag.
If your up a run in the 7th and the opponents best hitters are due up if starter is out you go to your best reliever in the 7th.
Worry about keeping the lead in 7th.

[Deleted]

Doolittle throwing BP. He is done. Another great signing by this clown show front office. He has been terrible last couple years mid 30s yep he is done.
Either starts season on IL or idiot Bell uses him late in games after he blows 5-6 games DFA in May. This clown show club rolls on.