The young, exciting, rebuilt Cincinnati Reds have announced that 34-year-old journeyman Scott Feldman will be their Opening Day starting pitcher. Well, the Reds did say when they signed him that Feldman was flexible in his role for the club.
Scott Feldman to start Opening Day
Let’s hope he does well so we can trade him for prospects. *snicker*
Thought it would be Finnegan
Thought it -should- be Finnegan……….(or maybe Garrett)
There, -fixed- it (grin)
I know its Opening Day, but realistically this game matters no more than the other 161, so why not start a journeyman 34-year-old, who’s started Opening Day for two other clubs and is not going to be rattled by the pressure of the moment? Sounds better than starting a young player (Finnegan) who is looked upon to be a part of the next great Reds team, although he’s probably the 4th starter or a bullpen piece on the next great Reds team.
opening day starter looks good on the trade resume…maybe
Only if you are trading said player to the Cincinnati Reds.
Scott (Corey) Feldman and the Lost Boys….gonna be a long year
I still can’t wait though….weird? Its like standing in line for 30 minutes to see Al Pacino play Jack Kevorkian
Wow! Not doing any good for Finnegan’s confidence heading into the season. Typical Price. Giving the opening day nod to someone who should be in our organization for many years makes way more sense than a stopgap 1 year rental. Heck, he may only be around until the trade deadline. Another reason Price should not be the manager of the Reds. DW hire Mike Sarbaugh before it’s too late!
Finnegan should just look at it as opening day starter by default and forget about it. With a healthy staff, Finnegan would not have been in that position. Bailey or Disco would’ve been the starter on opening day. Still, he must feel slighted. Price said Feldman earned the right over Finnegan. If you really want to give it to a pitcher that earned it, Garrett or Romano would be our starter on opening day.
If not being named opening day starter is going to shake Finnegan’s confidence, he is destined for a very short career as a major league pitcher.
This announcement is clearly premature…how do we know we won’t pick up a reclamation project on waivers at the last minute who we could plug in to start? /s
Theoretically you start your bed pitcher on Opening Day because that means he could get 33 or 32 starts and yes so could your Day 2 starter, but after that the odds go down. Again that is theoretically, and probably means nothing. The problem is the statement it makes about how unimportant this season is. How important is the “rebuild.”
Disappointing on several levels.
Opening Day? Well, the bullpen will be fresh.
Jimmy Haynes would be proud.
Dick Williams’ proclamation that the Reds were going to start getting results from the rebuild this year looks very premature at this point. I’m having trouble seeing the Reds as much better than they were last year. Sure, in a perfect world scenario they could break .500, but this rotation could be pretty terrible.
Why put the added pressure of Opening Day starter and (temporary) no. 1 status on the shoulders of Brandon Finnegan?
He turns 24 next month, pitched 172 innings last season and got hit hard, for the most part. He needs to continue to be worked with and sheltered, not promoted in the rotation.
The Braves have Colon, Dickey and Garcia in their starting rotation for a reason. Their young pitchers aren’t ready to assume starting spots. Atlanta might hit lightning in a bottle and contend this year, but why risk young arms on such a slim possibility?
With the all of the arm problems already evident around the Reds, the last thing I want to see in 2017 is another young guy overworked or rushed into the rotation.
That has to be their reasoning. I’ll also add that after the first time or two in the rotation it doesn’t really matter. Just a bummer for those attending opening day with a retread as your starter. But who knows. Feldman might pitch a gem.
Patrick, not every thing is a data based decision. Not in real life or baseball. We just agree to disagree on that viewpoint.
The Blue Jays limited Aaron Sanchez’s innings last season, despite no recovery from TJ surgery or data-driven reason to do so.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2016/aug/04/innings-limit-toronto-aaron-sanchez-bullpen
Atkins and Shapiro had a good record in developing the Indians’ young pitchers.
Whether it’s pressure or trying to win games at the expense of personal development, it’s all unnecessary risk with Finnegan with little hope of meaningful return this season.
agreed with above….on the atkins/shapiro comment only question i have is doesn’t seem like other clubs move pitcher quicker than reds overall. what do stats say on that? is it something that jim has brought up recently on med stats??
In the spirit of Joey Hamilton and Jimmy Haynes.
I think it’s a experienced based decision, next in the line after Bailey and Disco, no one else
“The young and exciting, rebuilt, Reds”……. Im still laughing. Lord, I’m afraid, it is going to be a rough couple of years.
Looks like Price has taken a page from Dusty Baker’s book and gone with the gritty vet. Not exactly the way to go if you’re trying to find out whether the young guys can play.
The worst part is the reasoning given by Price. Not that Feldman is their best pitcher. Not that he’s going to be a cornerstone of the rotation. But because he’s a veteran. A savy veteran at that, who can “control the strike zone” to the tune of 3BB/9 and 5.5K/9.
This is the exact same reasoning that got us Jason Marquis, Alfredo Simon 2.0, and a Kevin Gregg the set up man.
You listen to Dick Williams and think the organization might be turning a corner, but then see inane things like this and realize it’s the same old pig just with fresh lip stick
Glad I got a season ticket package for the Louisville Bats, instead of buying Reds tickets. Closer, cheaper, and it’ll be infinitely more fun.
Maybe we can bring “gritty” Skip back.
it makes a lot of sense actually, do you really want an over amped rookie/almost rookie taking on the extra pressure of opening day in Cincinnati? The fact that Feldman has already been an opening day starter twice made this decision… that and the fact that no one else made any sense with both Disco and Homer out.
In any event former pitching coach & present (for now) manager Bryan Price has made this bed, & will have to lie in it. Feldman is his choice. Let’s just hope he’s held accountable.
12 seasons = experience
I honestly don’t see what the big deal is. Are people really up in arms about whether Finnegan pitches game 1 or game 2? It doesn’t really matter at all.
The truth of the matter is that either Bailey or Desclafani would be starting Opening Day if they were available. Feldman is a one-year stopgap, and Finnegan profiles as a # 4/5 starter down the line. Neither really belongs out there on Opening Day, but here we are.
I am as critical of Price and his adherence to “roles” as anyone, but this is a non-issue. Move along.
I agree….Opening day is overrated. Its just one of 162. Feldman’s last 3 years with Houston…total of 350 innings with a 3.64 era. That’s pretty good for pitching in a AL park thats so short to left! He might be decent this year til the innings start to add up.
I really don’t have much expectations for Feldman this year. Hopefully he pitches well enough so that we can get a decent prospect for him come July. But I’m not holding my breath.
I’m not expecting Finnegan to tear things up either. But that’s ok. Not every staff can have all 1’s and 2’s. A dependable guy to lock in as the # 4 or 5 guy is still valuable, and that’s where I see him ending up eventually.
I really wouldn’t have cared which of the two they let pitch Opening Day, and which does the second game. In the grand scheme of things, it is irrelevant.
They should have just said TBD 30 minutes before game time…when the entire pitching staff draws straws. That would be…interesting…and quite ingenious. Oh well.