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- Thread starter brodybuck21
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Yup. Tank for five years to accumulate young talent and picks, then trade all of that away and more for guys you can't control or won't resign because why the fuck not? Finishing third in the NL Central is better than fifth!
Realmuto? Zach Duke?
Forget the hole in CF or the fact you've stockpiled everything but an actual, breathing, bona fide Game 1 or Game 2 starter should you trip ass over tea kettle into a playoff spot. Nine big league legitimate SPs going to spring training now but none of them is a proven ace.
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Season-long tribute planned to pioneering 1869 Red Stockings
DAN SEWELL (Associated Press)
The Associated PressFeb 11, 2019, 10:31 AM
View photos
In this compilation image, the entire Cincinnati Reds baseball team uniform lineup for the 2019 season is displayed, Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, in Cincinnati. The Reds will play games in 15 sets of throwback uniforms, including navy blue and a "Palm Beach" style, during a season-long celebration of the 1869 Red Stockings who pioneered professional baseball. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Joey Votto and crew will play games in 15 sets of throwback uniforms, including a navy blue and a red-pants ''Palm Beach'' version, during a season-long celebration of the city's baseball heritage highlighted by the undefeated 1869 Cincinnati team that barnstormed coast-to-coast in post-Civil War America. Baseball's first openly all-salaried club, the Red Stockings popularized eye-catching uniforms with knicker-style pants and bright red socks while elevating the sports with a variety of innovations.
''From a historical point of view and in the evolution of baseball as the national pastime, the 1869 Red Stockings were the cornerstone,'' said Greg Rhodes, the Reds team historian and co-author of ''The First Boys of Summer.'' ''It's hard to imagine the modern game of baseball without the Red Stockings.''
Six questions and answers about the anniversary:
WHO WERE THE RED STOCKINGS?
The powerhouse team grew out of the goal of a couple Cincinnati attorneys to build their local baseball club into one that could beat the best teams in the East. Baseball's postwar popularity had swelled and paying players, often under the table, became more common in what had begun as a gentlemen's game.
''This is a team comprised of the very best players that could be found and induced to come to Cincinnati,'' Thorn said.
The biggest coup was signing player-manager Harry Wright's younger brother George, a star who had been team-hopping.
That first payroll totaled around $10,000 for 10 players.
HOW GOOD WERE THEY?
Thorn considers the 1869 squad among the best all-time teams. They averaged more than 40 runs a game and remain professional baseball's only undefeated team after going 57-0.
Thorn says 19 wins came against teams also classified as ''professional.'' Rhodes says Harry Wright didn't count in the win total more than a dozen other victories against teams that weren't recognized by baseball's national association.
His older brother's records show George Wright batted about .630 with 49 home runs while averaging nearly six runs scored per game. Thorn compares George in all-around ability for his time to Alex Rodriguez at his peak; a feared hitter who was also a superb fielder (in the pre-glove era) with a powerful arm that allowed him to play unusually deep at shortstop.
With players under contract, Harry, an England-born cricket star, worked them hard on baseball technique and physical training. The Red Stockings developed calling fly balls, using relay throws, making defensive shifts, and intentionally dropping pop-ups to turn double plays (not allowed under today's infield fly rule). They ran the bases more aggressively than opponents, and Harry Wright was a relief pitching innovator, coming in with his slow ''dew drop'' to disrupt batters' timing after fast-throwing regular pitcher Asa Brainard.
HOW BIG A DEAL WERE THEY?
The Red Stockings took the nation by storm, playing coast-to-coast with swings through the East and a transcontinental railroad trip to California.
Wearing knickers with bright stockings instead of long pants gave the young (seven of the 10 were age 22 or younger), muscular players an eye-catching look that, the Chronicle of San Francisco observed, ''shows their calves in all their magnitude and rotundity.''
Author Darryl Brock, who retraced their travels for his historical novel, ''If I Never Get Back,'' describes women greeting the players by lifting their skirts to show their own red stockings. The team arrived at games singing a ditty that concluded: ''Red Stockings all will toss the ball, and shout our loud Hurrah!'' They showed off their skills in crowd-pleasing warmup drills.
Before mass media, they became a national sensation through telegraph reports, newspapers and national weeklies.
''The nation had been so badly divided (by war),'' said Brock. ''They were kind of a bonding influence ... the enormous excitement they generated.''
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TEAM?
The players got $50 bonuses and returned for 1870. They ran their streak to 81, traveled south to play in New Orleans, and compiled a 124-6-1 two-season total.
Then they folded.
''They were a terrific success on the field,'' Rhodes said. ''They could never quite figure out how to make it work financially.''
Home attendance tumbled in 1870 after the first losses tarnished their mystique. With stepped-up spending by other teams, the club's management saw salaries rising beyond feasibility.
''Like today, there was this tension between the bigger markets and the smaller markets,'' Rhodes said.
The Wrights headed to Boston, using the Red Stockings name, and helped form the club in 1871 that today calls itself baseball's oldest continuously operating team. Surprise: it's not the Boston Red Sox, but the Braves, who became the Braves while in Boston, moved to Milwaukee, and settled in Atlanta.
WHAT'S PLANNED FOR TRIBUTES?
All Major League Baseball teams will wear uniform patches marking 150 years throughout this season, and there will be special patches for caps for their opening day games, said Barbara McHugh, MLB senior vice president for marketing. There will also be season-long special content on MLB's social media channels, and McHugh said Commissioner Rob Manfred will be in Cincinnati for the March 28 Opening Day festivities and will take part in the annual pregame parade through the city.
The Reds, meanwhile, will have their own commemorative patches, with different versions for home and away uniforms.
And that's just for starters.
''You don't do it in one day or in one homestead or even in a month, so we're really taking the entire season to celebrate that and tell you about the history a little piece at a time,'' said Phil Castellini, the Reds' chief operating officer.
Some 20 benches will be placed around the Cincinnati region depicting handlebar-mustached mascot Mr. Redlegs, ready for fan selfies. The club's Hall of Fame and Museum will re-open in March after a sweeping renovation. On May 4, the Reds will open ''The 1869 Pavilion'' outdoors in tribute to the Red Stockings who played their first official game that date.
On July 5, an off day, the Reds plan an ''open house'' allowing fans to visit Great American Ball Park for free, mingle with the team, and finish with an on-field concert and a fireworks show.
The uniforms will represent historic events, such as baseball's first night game in 1935, and the best Reds teams such as the 1976 ''Big Red Machine'' team that swept the postseason. The 1911 blue road uniforms and 1930s lightweight ''Palm Beach'' style with red pants are examples of unusual styles. There will be no 1869 throwbacks, because that early, bulky style could hinder players, Castellini said.
New Reds manager David Bell is looking forward to the throwbacks, particularly a 1956 version. That's the year his grandfather Gus Bell helped the Reds tie the then-MLB record for home runs with 221.
''Wearing a uniform like that is an honor,'' said Bell, whose father Buddy also played for the Reds. ''You think about all the great players, the great people who wore those uniforms. It really means a lot.''
WHAT ABOUT THE CURRENT REDS?
After four straight last-place finishes, the Reds have overhauled their pitching and added past All-Star outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp for 2019.
''It's critical because our job on the business side of this franchise is to wrap the show around the game on the field,'' Castellini said. ''We were already throwing a great party ... It's important that you have that performance on the field, because that good time can only go so far.''
Lifelong fan Steve Pohlman, 47, and son Tyler, 18, turned out for the team's recent winter caravan tour and will be at 150th anniversary events.
''It's something I'll be able to tell my kids and grandkids about,'' Tyler said. As for the Reds' recent struggles: ''We've just got to stick with it. This is Cincinnati baseball.''
---
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/seaso...eering-1869-red-stockings-080324632--mlb.html
DAN SEWELL (Associated Press)
The Associated PressFeb 11, 2019, 10:31 AM
View photos
In this compilation image, the entire Cincinnati Reds baseball team uniform lineup for the 2019 season is displayed, Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, in Cincinnati. The Reds will play games in 15 sets of throwback uniforms, including navy blue and a "Palm Beach" style, during a season-long celebration of the 1869 Red Stockings who pioneered professional baseball. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Joey Votto and crew will play games in 15 sets of throwback uniforms, including a navy blue and a red-pants ''Palm Beach'' version, during a season-long celebration of the city's baseball heritage highlighted by the undefeated 1869 Cincinnati team that barnstormed coast-to-coast in post-Civil War America. Baseball's first openly all-salaried club, the Red Stockings popularized eye-catching uniforms with knicker-style pants and bright red socks while elevating the sports with a variety of innovations.
''From a historical point of view and in the evolution of baseball as the national pastime, the 1869 Red Stockings were the cornerstone,'' said Greg Rhodes, the Reds team historian and co-author of ''The First Boys of Summer.'' ''It's hard to imagine the modern game of baseball without the Red Stockings.''
Six questions and answers about the anniversary:
WHO WERE THE RED STOCKINGS?
The powerhouse team grew out of the goal of a couple Cincinnati attorneys to build their local baseball club into one that could beat the best teams in the East. Baseball's postwar popularity had swelled and paying players, often under the table, became more common in what had begun as a gentlemen's game.
''This is a team comprised of the very best players that could be found and induced to come to Cincinnati,'' Thorn said.
The biggest coup was signing player-manager Harry Wright's younger brother George, a star who had been team-hopping.
That first payroll totaled around $10,000 for 10 players.
HOW GOOD WERE THEY?
Thorn considers the 1869 squad among the best all-time teams. They averaged more than 40 runs a game and remain professional baseball's only undefeated team after going 57-0.
Thorn says 19 wins came against teams also classified as ''professional.'' Rhodes says Harry Wright didn't count in the win total more than a dozen other victories against teams that weren't recognized by baseball's national association.
His older brother's records show George Wright batted about .630 with 49 home runs while averaging nearly six runs scored per game. Thorn compares George in all-around ability for his time to Alex Rodriguez at his peak; a feared hitter who was also a superb fielder (in the pre-glove era) with a powerful arm that allowed him to play unusually deep at shortstop.
With players under contract, Harry, an England-born cricket star, worked them hard on baseball technique and physical training. The Red Stockings developed calling fly balls, using relay throws, making defensive shifts, and intentionally dropping pop-ups to turn double plays (not allowed under today's infield fly rule). They ran the bases more aggressively than opponents, and Harry Wright was a relief pitching innovator, coming in with his slow ''dew drop'' to disrupt batters' timing after fast-throwing regular pitcher Asa Brainard.
HOW BIG A DEAL WERE THEY?
The Red Stockings took the nation by storm, playing coast-to-coast with swings through the East and a transcontinental railroad trip to California.
Wearing knickers with bright stockings instead of long pants gave the young (seven of the 10 were age 22 or younger), muscular players an eye-catching look that, the Chronicle of San Francisco observed, ''shows their calves in all their magnitude and rotundity.''
Author Darryl Brock, who retraced their travels for his historical novel, ''If I Never Get Back,'' describes women greeting the players by lifting their skirts to show their own red stockings. The team arrived at games singing a ditty that concluded: ''Red Stockings all will toss the ball, and shout our loud Hurrah!'' They showed off their skills in crowd-pleasing warmup drills.
Before mass media, they became a national sensation through telegraph reports, newspapers and national weeklies.
''The nation had been so badly divided (by war),'' said Brock. ''They were kind of a bonding influence ... the enormous excitement they generated.''
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TEAM?
The players got $50 bonuses and returned for 1870. They ran their streak to 81, traveled south to play in New Orleans, and compiled a 124-6-1 two-season total.
Then they folded.
''They were a terrific success on the field,'' Rhodes said. ''They could never quite figure out how to make it work financially.''
Home attendance tumbled in 1870 after the first losses tarnished their mystique. With stepped-up spending by other teams, the club's management saw salaries rising beyond feasibility.
''Like today, there was this tension between the bigger markets and the smaller markets,'' Rhodes said.
The Wrights headed to Boston, using the Red Stockings name, and helped form the club in 1871 that today calls itself baseball's oldest continuously operating team. Surprise: it's not the Boston Red Sox, but the Braves, who became the Braves while in Boston, moved to Milwaukee, and settled in Atlanta.
WHAT'S PLANNED FOR TRIBUTES?
All Major League Baseball teams will wear uniform patches marking 150 years throughout this season, and there will be special patches for caps for their opening day games, said Barbara McHugh, MLB senior vice president for marketing. There will also be season-long special content on MLB's social media channels, and McHugh said Commissioner Rob Manfred will be in Cincinnati for the March 28 Opening Day festivities and will take part in the annual pregame parade through the city.
The Reds, meanwhile, will have their own commemorative patches, with different versions for home and away uniforms.
And that's just for starters.
''You don't do it in one day or in one homestead or even in a month, so we're really taking the entire season to celebrate that and tell you about the history a little piece at a time,'' said Phil Castellini, the Reds' chief operating officer.
Some 20 benches will be placed around the Cincinnati region depicting handlebar-mustached mascot Mr. Redlegs, ready for fan selfies. The club's Hall of Fame and Museum will re-open in March after a sweeping renovation. On May 4, the Reds will open ''The 1869 Pavilion'' outdoors in tribute to the Red Stockings who played their first official game that date.
On July 5, an off day, the Reds plan an ''open house'' allowing fans to visit Great American Ball Park for free, mingle with the team, and finish with an on-field concert and a fireworks show.
The uniforms will represent historic events, such as baseball's first night game in 1935, and the best Reds teams such as the 1976 ''Big Red Machine'' team that swept the postseason. The 1911 blue road uniforms and 1930s lightweight ''Palm Beach'' style with red pants are examples of unusual styles. There will be no 1869 throwbacks, because that early, bulky style could hinder players, Castellini said.
New Reds manager David Bell is looking forward to the throwbacks, particularly a 1956 version. That's the year his grandfather Gus Bell helped the Reds tie the then-MLB record for home runs with 221.
''Wearing a uniform like that is an honor,'' said Bell, whose father Buddy also played for the Reds. ''You think about all the great players, the great people who wore those uniforms. It really means a lot.''
WHAT ABOUT THE CURRENT REDS?
After four straight last-place finishes, the Reds have overhauled their pitching and added past All-Star outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp for 2019.
''It's critical because our job on the business side of this franchise is to wrap the show around the game on the field,'' Castellini said. ''We were already throwing a great party ... It's important that you have that performance on the field, because that good time can only go so far.''
Lifelong fan Steve Pohlman, 47, and son Tyler, 18, turned out for the team's recent winter caravan tour and will be at 150th anniversary events.
''It's something I'll be able to tell my kids and grandkids about,'' Tyler said. As for the Reds' recent struggles: ''We've just got to stick with it. This is Cincinnati baseball.''
---
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/seaso...eering-1869-red-stockings-080324632--mlb.html
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Those 90 home unis might as well have 11 as the number instead of 90. I can't see anything else there.
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LH reliever Zach Duke signs 1-year deal with Reds
The Associated PressFeb 11, 2019, 7:08 PM
Duke agreed to the deal last week. It was completed Monday after he passed a physical.
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/lh-reliever-zach-duke-signs-1-deal-reds-225402234--mlb.html
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well shit, he’s no Matt Joyce though
Reds' Spring Training opens to a different feel
Newcomers Gray, Kemp among early arrivals to join Bell
By Mark Sheldon MLB.com @m_sheldon
Feb. 12th, 2019
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The uniforms were still red, and the player development complex was where it's always been. But following an incredibly busy offseason by the Reds, quite a lot of other things looked and felt different.
It wasn't just that there were new faces when Reds camp opened Tuesday with the reporting of pitchers and catchers for physicals, there was a different vibe that could be felt in the hallways and clubhouse.
"One thing that comes to mind is just a real positive energy around the organization and in the city," said Reds manager David Bell, himself one of the new guys. "It's hard to put your finger on it, but you just sense that there's momentum, and it becomes really important to keep that going. But I wouldn't underestimate the importance of that either."
Besides hiring Bell and 10 new coaches to join holdover Freddie Benavides, the Reds were one of the most active clubs this winter. The rotation was revamped via trades for Sonny Gray, Tanner Roark and Alex Wood. The offense was boosted by adding Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, and reliever Zach Duke was officially signed as a free agent on Monday.
Even though there were no scheduled workouts until Wednesday, many players were on the practice fields throwing and hitting. After all the talk about what the Reds might do in 2019, it was time to get ready to do it.
"Being outside, get some nice weather and get to meet some of the guys, there's a lot of excitement around here," Gray said. "It's relieving and nice to be here and to officially get started."
Kemp was one of several early arrivals among position players. The full squad is not scheduled to report until Sunday.
"You get in here, get your work, get to see and learn about new guys," said Kemp, who came over with Puig and Wood from the Dodgers in the Dec. 21 seven-player trade. "Things that you didn't know about guys that you played against for a while. I look pretty good in red."
One of the new members of Bell's staff is hitting coach Turner Ward, who was with Puig and Kemp in Los Angeles. Like Puig, Kemp said he has a good relationship with Ward.
"We had a good season last year. He's a great hitting coach," Kemp said. "I look forward to working with him some more. When I got traded, he's probably one of the first people that I called, like, 'Man, I can't get away from you.' We spent a lot of time in the cages the past year."
Much of the expected progress hinges on the success of the three new starters -- Gray, Wood and Roark -- to boost a rotation that had the second-highest ERA in the National League and the most homers allowed.
"It's cool, coming in, and we're jacked, man," Gray said. "We've all three been on winning teams for a majority of our careers, which is great. We've been around it, know what it takes. There's a lot of looking around, meeting guys, learning names, learning faces. Meeting those two things together, there's a lot of excitement. I think everyone can feel it."
Cincinnati has endured five straight losing seasons, including the last four of 90 or more losses. The many transactions underscored the need for a culture change in the clubhouse and the direction of the Reds.
The rebuilding mode may be considered over, but it doesn't mean the Reds are instant contenders.
"We have a lot of work to do, a ton of work to do," Bell said. "But things are headed in the right direction and good momentum and good energy. Talking to all of the players and people around here, there's a difference between being excited, I think, and really feeling like something special -- even if we're at the very beginning stages of it. I certainly get that sense from talking to other people and I get that myself."
https://www.mlb.com/reds/news/different-atmosphere-as-reds-open-camp/c-303844804
Newcomers Gray, Kemp among early arrivals to join Bell
By Mark Sheldon MLB.com @m_sheldon
Feb. 12th, 2019
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The uniforms were still red, and the player development complex was where it's always been. But following an incredibly busy offseason by the Reds, quite a lot of other things looked and felt different.
It wasn't just that there were new faces when Reds camp opened Tuesday with the reporting of pitchers and catchers for physicals, there was a different vibe that could be felt in the hallways and clubhouse.
"One thing that comes to mind is just a real positive energy around the organization and in the city," said Reds manager David Bell, himself one of the new guys. "It's hard to put your finger on it, but you just sense that there's momentum, and it becomes really important to keep that going. But I wouldn't underestimate the importance of that either."
Besides hiring Bell and 10 new coaches to join holdover Freddie Benavides, the Reds were one of the most active clubs this winter. The rotation was revamped via trades for Sonny Gray, Tanner Roark and Alex Wood. The offense was boosted by adding Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, and reliever Zach Duke was officially signed as a free agent on Monday.
Even though there were no scheduled workouts until Wednesday, many players were on the practice fields throwing and hitting. After all the talk about what the Reds might do in 2019, it was time to get ready to do it.
"Being outside, get some nice weather and get to meet some of the guys, there's a lot of excitement around here," Gray said. "It's relieving and nice to be here and to officially get started."
Kemp was one of several early arrivals among position players. The full squad is not scheduled to report until Sunday.
"You get in here, get your work, get to see and learn about new guys," said Kemp, who came over with Puig and Wood from the Dodgers in the Dec. 21 seven-player trade. "Things that you didn't know about guys that you played against for a while. I look pretty good in red."
One of the new members of Bell's staff is hitting coach Turner Ward, who was with Puig and Kemp in Los Angeles. Like Puig, Kemp said he has a good relationship with Ward.
"We had a good season last year. He's a great hitting coach," Kemp said. "I look forward to working with him some more. When I got traded, he's probably one of the first people that I called, like, 'Man, I can't get away from you.' We spent a lot of time in the cages the past year."
Much of the expected progress hinges on the success of the three new starters -- Gray, Wood and Roark -- to boost a rotation that had the second-highest ERA in the National League and the most homers allowed.
"It's cool, coming in, and we're jacked, man," Gray said. "We've all three been on winning teams for a majority of our careers, which is great. We've been around it, know what it takes. There's a lot of looking around, meeting guys, learning names, learning faces. Meeting those two things together, there's a lot of excitement. I think everyone can feel it."
Cincinnati has endured five straight losing seasons, including the last four of 90 or more losses. The many transactions underscored the need for a culture change in the clubhouse and the direction of the Reds.
The rebuilding mode may be considered over, but it doesn't mean the Reds are instant contenders.
"We have a lot of work to do, a ton of work to do," Bell said. "But things are headed in the right direction and good momentum and good energy. Talking to all of the players and people around here, there's a difference between being excited, I think, and really feeling like something special -- even if we're at the very beginning stages of it. I certainly get that sense from talking to other people and I get that myself."
https://www.mlb.com/reds/news/different-atmosphere-as-reds-open-camp/c-303844804
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Derek Dietrich and Reds finalize minor league contract
The Associated Press
Feb 19, 2019, 8:10 PM
Derek Dietrich and Cincinnati have finalized a minor league contract, giving the Reds another infield and outfield option.
The 29-year-old had spent all six of his previous big league seasons with the Miami Marlins and would have been eligible for salary arbitration, but he was designated for assignment on Nov. 20 and became a free agent.
He made $2.9 million last year, when he hit .265 with 16 home runs in 149 games while playing mostly in left field. He is a .254 career hitter with 60 homers.
Cincinnati announced the move Tuesday.
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/derek-dietrich-reds-finalize-minor-league-contract-011032729--mlb.html
The Associated Press
Feb 19, 2019, 8:10 PM
Derek Dietrich and Cincinnati have finalized a minor league contract, giving the Reds another infield and outfield option.
The 29-year-old had spent all six of his previous big league seasons with the Miami Marlins and would have been eligible for salary arbitration, but he was designated for assignment on Nov. 20 and became a free agent.
He made $2.9 million last year, when he hit .265 with 16 home runs in 149 games while playing mostly in left field. He is a .254 career hitter with 60 homers.
Cincinnati announced the move Tuesday.
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/derek-dietrich-reds-finalize-minor-league-contract-011032729--mlb.html
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Fungo Squiggly
Mortal enemy of all things Bucky
Yahoo Pickem Champ
Former Game Champion
'18 BPCFFB II Champ
'18 Keeper League Champ
Who the fuck is Derek Dietrich?
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