(This post was written by long-time friend of the Nation Michael Howes.)
I have started to wonder just how bad this offense is. It’s not the worst in baseball (which is shocking) and the As and Giants are significantly worse offenses than the Reds so far this year.
But how does this Reds offense compare to the worst Reds offenses in the last 60 years? Sixty years is a long time. Here are the worst Reds offenses in that time:
team EQA
.235 1951
.247 1949 & 1982
.248 1950
.249 2009 & 1983
.252 2003 & 1997 & 1953 & 1952
The big culprits for the offenses were:
1951: Adcock, Usher, Merriman, Stallcup, and Pramesa
1949: Lowrey, Wryostek, Merriman, Sauer, and Stallcup
1982: Householder, Trevino, Oester, Lawless, and Landestoy
1950: Lowrey, Usher, Stallcup, Adcock, and Merriman
1983: Concepcion, Walker, and Cedeno
2009: Gonzo, Taveras, Hernandez, EE, and Rosales
I should also add how the team finished in each of those seasons: 7th, 6th, 6th, 6th, 6th, and not over .500 in any of them.
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One way to look at this question is that the Reds Runs Created Above Average total is -51. Lets look how that compares to other teams right now/this year:
RCAA
1 A’s -55
2 Reds -51
T3 Royals -48
T3 Giants -48
5 Mariners -44
6 Diamondbacks -43
The saving grace of the Reds? Stolen bases; otherwise, they might be the worst offense in baseball right now.
But who (IF ANYONE) on the Reds has contributed in the positive?
RCAA (PA)
1 Joey Votto 18 (151)
2 Laynce Nix 3 (136)
3 Ryan Hanigan 2 (114)
In other words THERE IS NO OFFENSE WITHOUT VOTTO. Hernandez, Taveras and Gonzo are a combined -37. But lets get a bit more detailed. Where are the Reds weakest positions?
RCAA Rank
3B -21 WORST in baseball(EE get well soon)
SS -16 5th worst in baseball
CF -13 4th worst
With Nix playing instead of the slumping Dickerson (and Dickerson showing he’s really a CFer) and the call up of Gomes, LF is no longer a major weakness. Oh sure, it’s a weakness but not the biggest.
Dusty really needs to wake up and make Dickerson the starting center fielder. (Note to Dusty: I figured I’d let you know Taveras and Dickerson don’t hit lefties that well…yup it’s true…so if a lefty starts think about Hairston in CF.)
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I was shocked when I looked at Willy Taveras’s numbers, even though I first looked at them before he went 0-4 last night (seeing 7 total pitches — what a leadoff hitter!). Then, as I usually do, I got interested in how they compare to other Reds CFers in history.
Here are the worst individual hitting seasons by a Reds CFer with at least 200 PA:
OPS+ PA Player Year
48 392 Corey Patterson 2008
51 333 Bob Usher 1951
53 222 Willy Taveras 2009
57 501 Bobby Tolan 1973
63 358 Cesar Geronimo 1973
64 375 Taylor Douthit 1932
67 304 Ryan Freel 2007
67 217 Wally Westlake 1952
67 391 Dain Clay 1944
68 310 Lloyd Merriman 1949
(N.B.: This is a compilation of some posts from the last day or two as we’ve reflected on the poor offense we’ve seen lately.)