Reds Tidbits (2008 season)

[Thump]

Lucked into some box seats for tonight's game against the Bo Sox.

Anyone else going?

 

[Dryden]

Lucked into some box seats for tonight's game against the Bo Sox.

Anyone else going?

So you got tickets to watch the Reds explode in a fiery crash? Lucky you!

I really wanted to take my son to tomorrow afternoons game, but I've got a damn class reunion tomorrow night.

 

[Thump]

So you got tickets to watch the Reds explode in a fiery crash? Lucky you!

I really wanted to take my son to tomorrow afternoons game, but I've got a damn class reunion tomorrow night.

Looking forward to Harang breaking some MLB record for amount of HR's given up in one outing.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Sorry I missed all the fun the past couple of nights. I was on the road and made myself take a Reds sabbatical. Had a feeling after that first Cards game that the boys were getting ready to quit and looks like I was right.

People always say I'm nuts to want him gone because of the 30/30 stuff and good defense but I'd trade BP's ass in a new york minute for a fair return. I will say that when he's going good/bad or indifferent. His OBP is completely BA driven and when he loses the ability to hit his way on the man just can't take a walk. He and Pokey Reese will be fishing together sooner rather than later.

Given our managers insistance that he bat 4th just makes it worse. Even when BP is hot his complete lack of discipline at the plate hurts us from the point ov view that a good disciplined team can get a tough starter out of the game quicker by taking a lot of pitches per AB. BP rarely goes past 3 pitches in an AB regardless of outcome.

Dustys use of BP and others....what can I say? I'll use the same line for him that I did for Boone, Miley and Narron. I don't blame a moron for being a fucking moron. I blame the guy who hired him or continues to employ said moron.

So we are at that magic point in every season when its obvious this festering pile of shit for a team needs to be blown to the 4 winds save for a select young core of players. Now we will all debate it who and what we could get back to mold the team going forward all the while knowing they won't do shit.

This sad game will play out for a couple more season's and before you know it the window will have closed on the current young core of talent and they will be the ones we are talking about moving to hopefully build a winner in the distant future.

WJ has a chance to break that cycle but if he doesn't start doing something besides reorganizing the minor league system he's going to miss the chance. Probably not fair but I think he's going to get an even shorter rope than the last GM. I know he will from me, I am not one to sit back and take losing/mediocrity well at all. This shit needs to end.

I love Bphil...No thought here of trading him...30/30 at second with his defense is great...But not in the 4 hole...He is about a 6 or 7 hole hitter...

Someone needs to sit him down and tell him to take a pitch...It is hurting the team...I honestly don't think there is anyone in the dugout or whatever that realizes that are hitting approach is falling right into the other teams hands...I mean they talk about us having to get to our bullpen in the 6th or 7th inning all the time and how their arms are getting tired and they need a night off etc...Well why not turn the fucking tables...Is it that hard to pick up...

I mean they have this stupid L-R-L concept stuck in their heads so much and how it may effect the other team being able to us the bullpen, well why don't they think about working the count, and finding ways to hit good pitches or swing at good pitches...

Bruce, Dunn, and Votto are about the only guys on the team with a good approach at the plate...Dunn just has a contact issue...

I think that I might need a break after the series this weekend...I will give them the weekend and if they take the series from the BoSox I might keep watching...If not I will take a break for a little while...

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I love Bphil...No thought here of trading him...30/30 at second with his defense is great...But not in the 4 hole...He is about a 6 or 7 hole hitter...

Someone needs to sit him down and tell him to take a pitch...It is hurting the team...I honestly don't think there is anyone in the dugout or whatever that realizes that are hitting approach is falling right into the other teams hands...I mean they talk about us having to get to our bullpen in the 6th or 7th inning all the time and how their arms are getting tired and they need a night off etc...Well why not turn the fucking tables...Is it that hard to pick up...

I mean they have this stupid L-R-L concept stuck in their heads so much and how it may effect the other team being able to us the bullpen, well why don't they think about working the count, and finding ways to hit good pitches or swing at good pitches...

Bruce, Dunn, and Votto are about the only guys on the team with a good approach at the plate...Dunn just has a contact issue...

And when they put together a string of good at-bats, good things happen. Look at the 7th inning last night...
1. Votto grounds out on the first pitch.
2. Ross works the count. Fouls off several pitches. Lines double to right center.
3. Andy Phillips falls behind 0-2, then works a walk. I think he fouled off a couple pitches, too.
4. Sir Sux-a-lot grounds out on first pitch.
5. Janish falls behind in the count. Fouls off a couple pitches. Walks.
6. Griffey falls behind in the count, works a walk.
7. Brandon Phillips goes up hacking at a guy who has already walked 3, including the last two. :tic: Gets lucky on the 0-2 count triple. A better RF gets to that ball.
8. Dunn flies out to center. (I think it was 2-2 count)

4 good at-bats paired with a wild pitcher and some good luck = 4 runs. Even after seeing Ross and APhillips taking pitches and getting on base, Capt. Suckass still swings at the first pitch. Even after seeing that the 4 guys who worked the count got on and the two guys that swung at first pitches made outs, BPhillips was STILL swinging out of his shoes on the first two pitches.

I think that I might need a break after the series this weekend...I will give them the weekend and if they take the series from the BoSox I might keep watching...If not I will take a break for a little while...

Ha. Keep telling yourself that, man. You'll be there watching them Monday night no matter what happens this weekend. It's a sickness. It really is. And just when you finally have given up on them, they get hot and drag you back in kicking and screaming.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

And when they put together a string of good at-bats, good things happen. Look at the 7th inning last night...
1. Votto grounds out on the first pitch.
2. Ross works the count. Fouls off several pitches. Lines double to right center.
3. Andy Phillips falls behind 0-2, then works a walk. I think he fouled off a couple pitches, too.
4. Sir Sux-a-lot grounds out on first pitch.
5. Janish falls behind in the count. Fouls off a couple pitches. Walks.
6. Griffey falls behind in the count, works a walk.
7. Brandon Phillips goes up hacking at a guy who has already walked 3, including the last two. :tic: Gets lucky on the 0-2 count triple. A better RF gets to that ball.
8. Dunn flies out to center. (I think it was 2-2 count)

4 good at-bats paired with a wild pitcher and some good luck = 4 runs. Even after seeing Ross and APhillips taking pitches and getting on base, Capt. Suckass still swings at the first pitch. Even after seeing that the 4 guys who worked the count got on and the two guys that swung at first pitches made outs, BPhillips was STILL swinging out of his shoes on the first two pitches.

Honestly this is like fuckin rec league softball, bush league shit...We had a guy on our team that just didn't understand baseball/softball really, and we needed 6 runs...We worked the bases loaded on walks...We tell the guy to wait for the pitch and take a strike...First pitch over his head he grounds into a double play...That is what I feel like with these fuckers some times...It is just funny because they are so fucking predictable...It would be like in football running the same play out of the same formation and that being the only play...The pitchers know that he is going to swing, so WTF are they going to throw him anything good...They will make it be a strike but a pitchers pitch, so if he its it they get a 1pitch 1out scenario which is the worst thing for a pitcher and honestly other than not making an out it isn't like you made the pitcher work, you just got a hit...

Ha. Keep telling yourself that, man. You'll be there watching them Monday night no matter what happens this weekend. It's a sickness. It really is. And just when you finally have given up on them, they get hot and drag you back in kicking and screaming.

It is like fucking clockwork...Never fails...

 

[Jaxbuck]

I love Bphil...No thought here of trading him...30/30 at second with his defense is great...But not in the 4 hole...He is about a 6 or 7 hole hitter...

Someone needs to sit him down and tell him to take a pitch...

He's not going to learn plate discipline at this point in his career. Obviously the return has to be right but he's availible if I'm the GM. Like I keep saying, I want no part of BP in a few years when his contact starts slipping.

It is hurting the team...I honestly don't think there is anyone in the dugout or whatever that realizes that are hitting approach is falling right into the other teams hands...I mean they talk about us having to get to our bullpen in the 6th or 7th inning all the time and how their arms are getting tired and they need a night off etc...Well why not turn the fucking tables...Is it that hard to pick up...

Scary when an idea as solid as plate discipline/working pitchers/getting on base is not only unseen by the manager but openly ridiculed by him as a "fad" prior to the season starting. Folks, always remember this man wasn't misquoted when he said OBP is overrated and that all walks do is clog the bases. He honestly in his heart believes that to be true.

I said when the rumors os Dusty being the manager started that you couldn't pick a worse manager for this team if you tried. He hasn't abused the young pitchers like I was afaraid of, yet, but he's done nothing to change my original point of view.

Bruce, Dunn, and Votto are about the only guys on the team with a good approach at the plate...Dunn just has a contact issue...

Spot on. Dunn will work a pitcher, he's just got a huge hole in his swing but at least he forces you to execute and hit that spot. If you miss your spot he'll either make you pay by taking the walk(again remember our manager thinks thats bad) or hitting a monster HR.

Do the math of 100 pitches. Thats the magic number when a guy starts to be in danger of getting pulled from a game no matter how well he's pitching. If you make him throw more than 5 pitches per PA you are working on getting him out of there before the 7th, less than 5 per PA and your fucking around with later than the 7th and the backend of a teams pen.

Its really not that hard when you think about it, even if you don't get a hit you can take a few pitches, foul a couple off and be positive about having a productive AB even if you make an out. It makes each guy think about his small part of a team effort and that every AB counts.

Wild hackers like BP will bail a guy out by swinging at anything and doing it quickly in the AB. Again, or manager thinks this is good.

Anyway, its all much ado over nothing. They won't change. Its the same cycle every year. They will fuck up every chance they get to remake the team into a contender. We will all get our hopes up in the face of all reason and then be frustrated as hell about this time next year when the results are nowhere near the expectation.

Lather,rinse and fucking repeat.

 

[jlb1705]

I understand why Brandon Phillips bats #4. Gotta break up the lefties (well, some people think that), he hit 30 home runs, and he rakes against LHPs.

Why not put Votto in that spot though? He's lefthanded, but he hits against LHP, so if somebody brings in a lefty reliever to face Bruce/Griffey/Dunn, Votto is capable of making them pay. He can hit, he has about equivalent power to Phillips if not a little more, and he can take a pitch.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I understand why Brandon Phillips bats #4. Gotta break up the lefties (well, some people think that), he hit 30 home runs, and he rakes against LHPs.

Why not put Votto in that spot though? He's lefthanded, but he hits against LHP, so if somebody brings in a lefty reliever to face Bruce/Griffey/Dunn, Votto is capable of making them pay. He can hit, he has about equivalent power to Phillips if not a little more, and he can take a pitch.

Why not put Dunn in the 4 hole?

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I know the game is not close to being over, and Bphil is still doing his 1st pitch swinging, but this is why this team can be successful...We are playing good ball thru 4 innings, making the correct smart plays, and we are making this pitcher pay for his mistake pitches, and not chasing much outside the zone...

 

[Bestbuck36]

I agree totally CB40. Great defense tonight as well.

Is it me though, or does this ump have a shitty strike zone? Every other pitch Harang is throwing up there look like strikes to me and he's calling them balls.

Monster shot by Dunner last inning. That ball was outta there before the camera man could even find it.

 

[buckeyefool]

Is it me though, or does this ump have a shitty strike zone? Every other pitch Harang is throwing up there look like strikes to me and he's calling them balls..

Gotta agree about that strikezone.

Thump curious as to how many front runner red sox fans were at the game tonight.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Nice win tonight...Another one of those hey look we have a good/solid team, and we can play up to par with the best teams in the league...

 

[jlb1705]

Nice win, but I'm not about to get sucked in again by this team - at least not until they fix all of these things:

• Losing games the other team tries to give away.
• Losing games that Harang starts (I know, they won tonight)
• Losing 60% of their games inside the division.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Nice win, but I'm not about to get sucked in again by this team - at least not until they fix all of these things:

• Losing games the other team tries to give away.
• Losing games that Harang starts (I know, they won tonight)
• Losing 60% of their games inside the division.

I agree with all these...I think they are getting better at taking advantage of games teams are trying to give away...They really took advantage against FLorida this year with their poor defense, extending innings because of it...

Harang has struggled some at times this year...Yeah he has been unlucky as well...Hopefully tonight gets him back on track and the team plays better with him on the mound...

The last one is really the key...Those are the teams they play the most...If they could start beating teams in the division it would be a huge step in the right direction...That is really where the losers mentality comes in...It is the teams that have continually owned you, even tho you are the better team...You have to over come that and get over the hill...