Albert Almora Jr.’s bases-loaded single in the ninth inning gave the Cincinnati Reds their first walk-off win of the year, 4-3, over the Atlanta Braves, before 21,418 at Great American Ball Park.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves (46-34) | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds (27-51) |
4 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Strickland (1-2) L: Minter (4-2) |
|||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Tommy Pham led off with a single against Braves lefty reliever A.J. Minter. Pham broke from first after apparently being picked off by Minter, but Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson dropped the throw from the first baseman, allowing Pham to arrive safely at second with nobody out. Joey Votto followed with a walk from Minter on a 3-2 pitch to put runners at first and second with nobody out.
During Votto’s at-bat, the Atlanta defense made its second gaffe in two hitters. Votto hit a foul pop between third base and left field. Three Braves fielders surrounded the ball, but none of them caught it as it dropped harmlessly foul. Had the Braves made the two plays they should have made, the situation would have been bases empty and two out.
Manager David Bell then summoned Jonathan India to pinch-hit for Mike Moustakas, and India was plunked by Minter to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Almora delivered his third career walk-off hit:
REDS WALK IT OFF!!!#ATOBTTR pic.twitter.com/8f81dMsML8
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) July 3, 2022
Cincinnati broke a 10-game home losing streak with the victory. It was the franchise’s longest home-losing streak since 1986.
The Offense
Over the first seven innings, the Reds were one-hit by Braves starter Charlie Morton. The only hit Morton allowed was a seventh-inning ground-ball single to center by Max Schrock.
Righthander Collin McHugh came on in the eighth, and started off well by striking out Moustakas. But then the floodgates opened. Almora singled to center, and Nick Senzel followed with a liner to right-center which centerfielder Michael Harris made a miraculous stop on to hold Senzel to a single and hold Almora at second. Matt Reynolds’ ground-ball single to center scored Almora to tie the game at 1, followed by this clutch shot by Brandon Drury:
The @Reds take the lead in the bottom of the 8th!!!! pic.twitter.com/WDZIaU4p48
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) July 3, 2022
Almora’s two hits led the Cincinnati offense, including the game-winner:
Run, Bert, run??#ATOBTTR | @albertalmora pic.twitter.com/0RohGRrzjn
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 3, 2022
.@albertalmora tells @JimDayTV what was going through his mind at the plate during his walk-off at-bat before getting bear-hugged from Joel Kuhnel.#ATOBTTR pic.twitter.com/ZqCwxDI3TQ
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) July 3, 2022
The Pitching
Starter Luis Castillo was tremendous, allowing only one run (a Marcel Ozuna solo homer in the fourth inning). He surrendered six hits, while limiting walks to only one, over seven innings. It was a dominant performance, one which certainly caught the eyes of all contending teams in need of starting pitching.
Jeff Hoffman pitched a scoreless eighth. He was followed by Hunter Strickland, who entered the game in the ninth with a 3-1 lead and in a save situation. But he surrendered solo homers to Ozuna and Harris in the ninth to tie the score at 3-3. Anyone who wants to blame David Bell for this team’s problems should consider that Strickland apparently is the best pitcher available for save situations. He surrendered two booming homers, in addition to a foul blast by Ronald Acuna Jr. which ended up at the top of the top deck in left field.
Castillo has pitched at his maximum potential for the past few starts, showing scouts for opposing teams that he can be a top-of-the-rotation starter. With that ability, production and still a year and a half of team control remaining, there is absolutely no reason General Manager Nick Krall should settle for anything less than a trade package of players who can help the Reds within the next year or sooner. Krall absolutely can’t settle for a package of Class A or AA prospects. Castillo’s value has perhaps never been higher than right now, especially with several contending teams looking for starting pitching.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
New York Mets at Cincinnati Reds
Monday, July 4, 6:40 p.m. ET
Taijuan Walker (6-2, 2.72 ERA) vs. Hunter Greene (3-9, 5.72 ERA)
Other then starting pitching this team is very bad.
Our highest rated prospect in AAA is hitting 215 and striking out 39% of his at bats. Our highest paid players are both hitting below 215 and still our owed over 50 mil dollars next year. The ownership of this franchise has destroyed it. As a lifelong reds fan this maybe the worst I’ve ever seen this team from top to bottom. I’ll continue to watch and hope for the best but I really don’t see this turning around for some time.
Also if I’m David Bell I’m praying they fire me and I can walk away with my money.
I agree about Bell, get out with what dignity you have left. Things are not going to get easier. On a positive Almora and Drury have turned out to be nice pick ups. Will they keep them? I also am starting to like what I am seeing from Senzel.
I think a little differently. If you remember the Planet of the Apes movie, Heston said after first seeing the apes: “if that is the best they got, we will be in charge in 6 months.” Rather rough analogy for sure; but with Krall, Bob and Phil, and several former player “advisors” with no public-facing role (except for Larkin as the announcer), the executive office was bereft of any leadership and direction except Williams (and of course he and his loyal hires who also found their way to the door some time ago).
So, why should Bell worry about his “reputation” when he is the only one left to lead no matter how bad it gets? This is as good as it gets for him and the current ownership still have 10-15 years to count their profits and nobody’s get any younger in that group.
@datadumpster, lead what a historical bad team?
Watched most of it on my phone while on a train. Felt good to finish one off for a change.
Unrelated – @ Doug Gray. My local ET listings are showing the 7/4 game starting at 6:40 not 12:45 (?)
Congrats to our reds. Seems like we can’t catch a break this year so it’s nice to see some of those break out way for a change. Awesome pitching by both starting pitchers.
With most of our young position players either hurt or far away from the majors, I like to find the silver linings because most of the older players won’t even be here in 2 months;
– Senzel for showing some fire and passion recently. I pray he stays healthy.
– India for taking 1 for the team
– Hoffman for putting up a zero run IP
– Almora for being clutch.
– Castillo for being our ace
Good to see the Reds win. The Reds came back off the mat and showed some fire doing it. Castillo was awesome. Braves made a big mistake taking out Morton. And Hunter Strickland…woof…I hate to pick on one guy but that was hard to watch. Bring on the Mets. Go Reds!
Pretty good baseball game. Braves are a nice team.
Reds have makeup DH against pirates Thursday so if Reds stay with 6 man rotation thru AS break, it will cut Castillo starts from 3 to 2.
Reds need to find a partner willing to pay elite asking price and 6 man rotation with the AS break is a way to limit Castillo starts to 3 more.
Almora and Senzel playing well together.
Hoffman would be my next choice for closer
A’s Frankie Montas pulled after 1 inning and not because of a trade. Velo down.
Reds could be sitting on top 2 deadline targets in MLB.
And the Reds would gladly give one away for a bag ‘o balls if they can attach Moose’s contract as well.
I fear the mediocrity and poor performance of our front office more than I do the guys on the field. Hoping that even the blind squirrel finds the nut this time, but not counting on it. Takes effort and willful ignorance to lose this much this long — Reds gonna be the Reds until they ain’t
“ And the Reds would gladly give one away for a bag ‘o balls if they can attach Moose’s contract as well.‘
That’s a nightmare scenario…..and not out of the range of possibility.
Bull Krall needs to be the one in the driver’s seat setting the terms on any trades.
That in itself is a scary proposition, as Reds are unlikely to take on anyone they need to pay.
This team is completely unwatchable sans Castillo and Mahle.
Greene and Ashcraft have returned to earth, their rushed development showing.
Lodolo still a question mark at best.
The rush to trade is overwhelming.
This will be Bull Krall’s career defining moment.
The man exudes zero confidence in his ability to pull something good off.
The organization is rudderless.
We finally won a game! Teams always look lifeless when they can’t hit and that last loss in Wrigley irked me, but they hung in there today. OS is right, both Senzel and Almora are both playing pretty well.
Get back Stephenson, Naquin, and Justin Dunn and this might be a .500 team on paper next year with a completely retooled pen. Can’t screw up trades though
The Reds gave away half their rotation last off season and seem to be hurtling towards unloading the other half.
My confidence in the Greene-Ashcraft-Lodolo-Overton replacement has crumbled.
Dunn performing well would be a huge shot in the arm.
Hih? A .500 team? You think Stephenson and Dunn can turn a team that is currently 24 games under into a .500 team?
Stephenson would have to hit .650 with about 143 Home runs and Dunn would have to win 43 games in the second half.
.500 next year probably includes some assumptions: 1. Continued development of young starting pitchers who, after all, are doing just what should be expected. 2)Good health of key players. 3), Bullpen repaired.
This is the first time I have been able to watch a series since 2019. This team is really bad. Bullpen is a disaster, and the team can’t/isn’t hitting. Losing Stephenson hurts, but they need more than one bat. Sadly I think Votto is done, especially with a weak lineup around him (he has still earned every dollar of that contract).
Don’t screw up the Castillo trade. Release Moose. Go for some lottery ticket prospects for Drury and Pham. I really like Almora as a 4th OF and spot starter, he is probably gone to, but he would be someone worth spending a few dollars on to extend. Mahle is a tricky one a decent back of the rotation guy but throws a lot of pitches. Trade him if SP demand is high. Unless he makes dramatic improvements he is probably affordable for an extension, if not trade during the off season.
Votto’s OPS in June – 1.034
Votto’s OPS in July – .856
He’s been one of the only good hitters on this team the last two months. Plus there’s literally no one pushing to replace him. Votto truly isnt a problem, esp on this team.
Votto ain’t the solution. 2022 is about findings solutions .
He turns 39.
First base is a premium hitting position. You dont put your best athletes at first base. You put hitters there.
Peers are fellow MLB first baseman.
Freddie Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt. Rowdy Tellez. Pete Alonso. Vlad Guerrero.Matt Olson, Ty France
Joey Votto is 2nd worst first baseman in 2022. Thats fWAR.
He’s hitting .214 .
It’s about solutions to an awful 2022 Reds team.
Votto isnt part of the solution to getting better.
@2020
Joey Votto is 0-7 in July.
How does he have an .856 OPS?
Not that July 3rd stats would buttress your argument after 3 days……
Joey Votto’s OPS by month and nearing the half way point
Mar/April: .434
May: 1.034
June : .856
July : .125
Year to date :
OPS: .719
fWAR: – 0.3
How bout we just judge on value at $25 mil in the context of current and future contributions to winning and statistical significance now that its nearly half way thru the year? How bout we judge votto against his first base peers? A premium hitting position.
2020, not sure where you are getting your stats. His July OPS, which is irrelevant with only three games is under 300, June was something like .855
I agree he is not the reason they are horrible and I would still give him starts, but when your best hitter is a below .800 OPS your team is not good
Last time I looked, the Reds didn’t have Vlad Guerrero, Paul Goldschmidt or Matt Olson on their bench.
I guess they could move Tyler Stephenson with his career high 10 home runs to first base or maybe Collin Moran.
Oops i meant may and june. Anyway yall can compare him to allstars on other teams if you want, but still no ones mentioned who we have thats a better option this year or next. So i dont get your point other than you just wish he was better. His contract doesnt matter and neither do his peers if he’s the best option the Reds have, and he was only bad one month out of three. You want moose there instead? Because thats what youll get if Votto isnt there.
Like, you can say he isnt the solution and then not even mention a solution. IDGI
WOW.
Joey Votto is now being measured against Colin Moran? Hes being paid $82 million to play 1b for the Reds in 2021/22/23? Who else do you compare him to other than his 1b peers? It’s Freddie Freeman for sure since hes being paid to win.
Votto is -.3 fWAR
Not a competitive player in July.
You can have your opinions…you can’t choose your facts.
lol you keep mentioning Freeman etc., If the Reds have access to one of those guys then by all means we would be right to jettison Votto. I’m not comparing him to anyone, Votto has been around league average so far even with his bad April and thats the best the Reds have. I guess I still dont see what your solution is, I’m not here to say I wish we had more production from 1B because sure I do. I’m just here to say that Votto is waaay down the list on things the Reds need to fix (Pen, rotation, SS, and esp the OF). IDC if Vottos contract is double or whos worth what – I’m not interested in sunk costs. I’m just looking at the roster and the AAA roster and I dont see anyone pushing Votto off the position.
And I have no interest in his July stats, obv they’re completely irrelevant. Sorry I mixed up the months above.
@2020
You aint getting it
Joey votto is being paid $57 million to hit in 2022 and 2023. . Hes not hitting.
Hes the worst hitting first baseman in mlb
What part of that dont you understand?
Maybe I misread the July part, so I guess ignore that last sentence.
Please stop mentioning his contract, its completely irrelevant to whether he’s done or not. Yes he’s overpaid for his production level, that doesn’t mean he can’t still produce. He made everyone eat crow last year, I personally dont see why he cant do it again. Check back with me at the end of the season with his fWar.
And maybe youre not seeing my point – that he’s been much better after a slow start. Whether it continues I guess we just disagree on.
What you are not getting is
1. Joey Votto has a guaranteed contract. He is going to be paid $52 million dollars rather he plays or not.
2. The Reds have no one better right to play first base right now. So, he is not holding anyone back.
3. Even if Joey Votto walked away from his contract (something no one in their right mind would do) what make you think the Reds ownership would re-invest the $52 million back into the team? Certainly, nothing this owner has said or done would make you draw that conclusion.
It seems you would like to see Joey Votto replaced by someone who doesn’t exist, so the Reds can save money that will not be reinvested into team.
Makes perfect sense.
Again I’m not saying Votto is the problem or that he doesn’t deserve his contract. I’m saying father time has defeated him and pitchers don’t fear him anymore. If 37 year old Votto is the best hitter in the lineup your lineup isn’t very good.
My post was not to bash Votto. It was to point out the team is really bad
Very long post, sorry, but frustrated with the Votto comments lately.
1. Votto’s contract. I can’t believe we’re still bringing this up. I thought last year finally put the petty discussion of the value of Votto’s contract to rest. I guess not. Some can never be satisfied.
Votto’s contract was initially valued at $225m over 10 years covering 2014-2024. Due to the 2020 season he was only paid a pro-rated portion of his contract, $9,259,259 instead of $25m. So the total amount of money Votto will be paid is just under $210m.
The running 5 year value of WAR is $8.12m according to Fangraphs and that’s with 2021 historically low $5.5m. (Two of the seasons were over 9)
He’s accrued 30.3 bWAR (typically my preference for WAR) or 26.3 fWAR. So his contract value is either $246m or $213.5m depending on which site you want to use. Either way, with 1.5 years left Votto has clearly established good (excess) value for his contract.
2. No one has said Votto is having a good season, just that he’s not the problem. People have pushed back on the ideas that litter this site, that Votto should hang it up as he’s clearly washed up. I believe that thought to be very pre-mature. Pointing to his 5/20-July stretch would indicate he’s not quite as dead as some want to pronounce him:
A. Votto got off to a slow start that’s dragging his overall line down.
From 4/7-5/1 until he went on the IL he slashed .122/.278/.135/.413. That’s very poor. Historically, April has been Votto’s lowest OPS production month, and it appears to worsen as he ages. That makes sense, anyone over 35 knows that the body just doesn’t respond, recover, or warm up as quickly. To pile onto, this ST was truncated meaning Votto had even less time to ramp up, and likely has a greater effect on him due to his age.
B. Since returning from the IL Votto has slashed .265/.371/.515/.886 which is very good. And with 39 games and 159 PA during that stretch it’s approaching the territory of sample size that is legitimate. During that stretch his OPS would tie him with Freddie Freeman, good for 17th in all of baseball.
C. Of course Freeman, etc, has done that for a whole season. This isn’t evidence that Votto has been good for the entire season. That’s not being disputed or claimed. It’s just that he’s far from finished for the season. His recent stretch covering about 1/4th of the season has been very good, top 20 in all of baseball good. That’s not someone you give up on, especially considering his overall trend of starting off slowly and heating up. That’s literally playing out still. And he’s coming off a season in which he was a top 15 hitter in all of baseball. Patience would be a wise approach.
3. I keep seeing people compare Votto to other 1B and discussing how he’s the worst 1B out there. Ok, fine, if that’s the metric you want to use and hill you want to die on. It’s flawed to me. One, because Votto’s age differentiates him from other 1B. Two, it continues to discount the positive trajectory Votto has been one for the last month and a half. 3. It’s not like the Reds have other better options.
As to point one: Comparing Votto to Vlad at 23 or Josh Bell in his prime isn’t apples to apples. Comparing him to Freeman, Goldschmidt, Cron etc still isn’t exactly an apt comparison as those guys are all under 35 and at least 5 years younger. How about Albert Puljols and his .611 OPS. Or even other all-time greats in their age 39 season? Larkin had a .726 OPS/94 OPS+, Rose had a .706 OPS/94 OPS+, Perez had a .705 OPS/98 OPS+ all during the age 39 season. Currently Votto is sitting at .718 OPS/93 OPS+. All of that is very comparable to what other All-time great and HOF players did in their same aged season. That’s the comparison that is most relevant, IMO.
To point three, the Reds rank 23rd in OPS for 1B at .696. Votto sports a .717 OPS while playing at 1B with by far the most PA. That means the others playing 1B have drug the overall OPS line down over 20 points.
The Reds RF (.589, 24th) and CF (.603, 27th) production is worse overall, yet Votto’s 1B comparison compared to his peers is constantly brought up while I’ve yet to see as often how we’re struggling at those positions. 2B, FWIW, has essentially the same production output .697 OPS but checks in at 17th overall in baseball. Also FWIW, Votto has contributed a .747 OPS at DH, one of five contributors over 30 PA which the Reds check in at 6th overall for the DH position.
In conclusion: Votto has not been good overall this season, yet. He also missed about 3 weeks and had a slow/poor start. His recent trend of bigger sample size has demonstrated he can still be a valuable hitter for the Reds.
Even though Votto has not been good, he’s still been at worst the Reds 5th best hitter (behind Drury, Farmer, Pham, and Stephenson) and by far the best 1B option the Reds have trotted out there. Give him time to build on his recent stretch and it’s not out of the realm of probabilities that he ends up having a solid season offensively. It’s really his BA that’s dragging down his overall line. His BABIP is currently 65 points lower than his career mark. Both his isolated slugging and BB% are good. I believe it’ll correct, it already is.
In a lost season, why complain about Votto. He’s given the Reds everything he could be expected to. He’s put together a Hall of Fame career while staying in a Reds uniform. He’s great with the fans, he’s never had an off-field incident, he’s been a great teammate and representative. Why the urgency to replace him with AAA journeymen? Why not enjoy watching him climb up the all time lists. Why not celebrate him the way Perez, Bench, Larkin, and Rose are celebrated in Reds country? He’s a generational talent, enjoy him while you can.
Very good post, Votto. The commenters here have changed over the years, with fewer now paying much attention to advanced stats. Joey’s BA is drawing lots of comment, but his OBP (statistically a better measure of value than BA) is .337. Decent, and 4th best on the team behind only Pham, Farmer and Stephenson. Of course he isn’t the player he once was, but he approached it just last year and the Reds are not being held back by him this year. We should indeed be celebrating him for his great career.
Thanks H4V, said far better than i could
+100
The more I think about it, I’d like the Reds to try and offer Drury and Almora contract extensions before the deadline, to see if they would take 2-3 yr deals. If no extensions can be reached, see what can be brought back in a trade. Other players that the Reds should be looking to trade are of course the obvious, Castillo and Mahle, Pham, Farmer, Garcia, Solano, Reynolds, Naquin, Minor, Strickland, Hoffman, Cessa, Warren and Detwiler. It’s time for the youth movement in Cincinnati. We have too many players that are without options and it results in having to make decisions by DFAing players instead of promoting and optioning. Getting younger, more flexible and bringing in more talent in the upper minors should be the keys to building sustainability in the organization. Louisville recently is a team of retreads, especially the pitching staff. Chattanooga and Dayton have some good talent and 2023-24 should have competitive Louisville and Chattanooga teams. Supplementing the talent that we already have would go far in creating sustainability for the Reds behind our young talent of Greene, Ashcraft, Lodolo, Stephenson, India and Senzel. If the organization does it right before the trade deadline this year, fans can be optimistic about the future of the Reds.
I agree with all of this. I would take it onestep further and sign Mahle, Naquin and Detwiler. We need outfielders for next 2 years – unless some trades bring back major league ready talent. We have no left handed relievers in the organization and we need 1 solid veteran to stick around and be a leader of the starting staff.
You need to be running the Reds.
For Mahle, I imagine that you’re looking for a long term type extension. The Reds don’t have great history with long term extensions and have to change their mindset for sustainability. In a year with few quality starters heading into the deadline, I don’t think Mahle’s value can get any higher than it will be in the next few weeks. Not a FA until after the 2023 season is a trade advantage that the Reds can leverage to get the maximum in return. As for Naquin and Detwiler, they’re both on the wrong side of 30 with no roster flexibility. The Reds can target LH pitchers in trades that would be younger with options. Gotta go all in for the youth movement. The management of the Reds have to take a hard look at our neighbors in Goodyear, the Guardians. With the 4th lowest payroll of $69M, they sport a 40-36 record and are strongly in the wild card race presently. They have only 3 players on the 26 man roster over 30, both catchers and a reliever. Only 6 of the 26 don’t have options and the majority have 2 or 3 options. A high majority of their roster were either drafted or acquired in trades. They have no players over 30 in their minor league system at the moment and a high majority of their minor leaguers were either drafted or acquired in trades. I’m hoping that the Reds can come close to developing a sustainable organization that mirrors the Guardians in the near future. It must start this month.
Almora Jr. and Drury would both jump at a three year deal. They have played well for us, but I don’t think most teams will be beaten a path to their doors. Almora Jr. is hitting .260 with not much power. I believe Drury isn’t vaccinated or at least he couldn’t play for the Reds when they went to Toronto. If that is the case, he is probably unlikely to get many offers from American League teams. He almost assuredly would not get any offers from the AL East. That really limits his marketability. Maybe he would be willing to get the Jab for the right deal. Who knows?
The Reds can probably get both back if they want.
For Drury, any AL team outside of the AL East will only play 3, possibly 4 games in Toronto as part of a home and away. Insignificant in a 162 game season. Even if you take out the 5 AL East teams, there are probably 10-15 teams that will still be in the playoff race. Almora at .260 leads all Reds OFs in average and he has the same amount of HRs as Stephenson and Naquin with about the same amount of ABs, same as Farmer, who has 85 more ABs and just 1 less than our number 4 batter, who has 60 more ABs. He even has 1 more RBI than our 4th batter. Almora can play all 3 OF positions and plays with passion and intensity in the OF. He reads the ball off the bat better than any of the other OFs.
Hard to get too excited about this win! Same problems with the bullpen able to hold any kind of a lead. Yes, leads have been rare this season but good teams close games out! Resigned to the fact that LC will be gone soon but frankly he deserves to play for an organization that cares about the team, the fans and winning!
My take is that Bull Krall has gotten caught up in the ‘trade deadline!’ Mania and feels he HAS to trade Castillo to teach that China Shop a lesson.
This would be a trade to define his career.
And the rush and hysteria to make a trade doesn’t bode well for someone with his very limited experience.
Add to that the likelihood of someone w initials PC pushing to tack Moose’s contract onto a trade and water down any return, and Bull’s limited abilities will be overwhelmed.
What would Krall do w that savings, anyhow?
Sign another 1-year of another Pham or Minor?
Krall is outmatched in the office as the Reds are on the field.
Got to appreciate the wins, especially against the first place teams. The Reds had lost the last 10 homes games, and that hurts ! Scoring only 1 run the two previous, shows how low things have gotten. Playing top notch competition can make the Reds giant killers, if the opposition lets down, and the Reds catch fire. I look forward to playing the best. And the Reds will at least win a few…
Another Win for Benevides for Bell gets ejected. Seriously the guy seems to get along well with the players and runs the team better over his history over the team.
Oh, please.
Bell was still running the team. He was probably down the stairwell from the dugout in the locker room, telling Benivides what he wanted done. I’m sure Fred Benivides is a great guy, but he still works for David Bell.
Managing a baseball game ain’t rocket science. These guy aren’t splitting atoms out there, and it shows. There are and have been a lot of dumb major league field managers out there.
The Reds’ haven’t been scoring, yet the player that leads the team with HR’s, RBI’s, Slugging, etc, had a day off. Yet, when he did pinch hit (Drury) , had a key two-run double.
That’s what you call…. I don’t know, what do you call that?
Dumb luck?
IDK
Bell got kicked out/suspended of like 7 games in 2018.
That puts Benavides at like 6-2.
Yup…small sample size but put me in the camp that Bell isnt the biggest problem but hes not part of the solution either
I’d like Benavides to get august and September. he’s earned his opportunity.
2019
My honest opinion is that Bell is a lousy manager, compared to about anybody. Sure, the Reds are losing and it is always easy to accuse the Manager, who does not play, bat or pitch.
But he is responsible for preparing the team and, indirectly, coaching the players. His staff was allegedly selected by him.
When this kid Strider (23) can shut down the Reds on Saturday, yet our guys can’t seem to manage anything consistently, I begin to question just how good their pitching coach really is.
People endlessly complain about the bullpen, but…who makes the pitching calls? The catcher or the bench? Because I have watched Kuhnel, in particular, the last few times out, and EVERY TIME he gets tagged hard, it is his slider. I would file that slider and not throw it again. He throws a 97 mph 4 seamer and a +96 mph 2 seamer, which are hard to hit (when he gets them in the zone). As a reliever, that’s ALL he needs. Yet the slider keeps getting called, and when it’s in the zone, it gets tagged. The three run homer off of Kuhnel the other night was on a slider. Who calls this stuff? The catcher? The bench? Is anybody paying attention? Are these people dummies?
It’s pretty comical how some people are comparing the Reds team of a couple years ago.There’s even one post somewhere whining that the coaches are helping the players enough.A lot of these guys were guys no other team wanted but people think coaching should turn them into Ty Cobb or Tom Seaver.Wake up !!
Naquin coming back this week. Who goes? Schrock?
I’ll throw this one out there for fun for 2023:
LF Brandon Nimmo FA
2B India or more expensive scenario Benintendi (FA) batting 2nd/LF w/India leadoff
1B Stephenson
3B Drury
DH Naquin
C Jonah Heim (trade for Castillo)
SS Farmer
RF Almora
CF Senzel
Thats not a bad lineup. They should free up approximately $26/mil year without Minor, Castillo, Solano, Pham, Cessa, and Strickland. I’m just ignoring Joey and Moose for my own mental health.
Nimmo is a proven leadoff man and Jonah Heim has 12 hrs in 193 at-bats (.259) and he’s a switch-hitter. After paying Nimmo then you spend the rest on the bullpen. Mahle gets extended from the massive Moose/Joey $ coming off the books in 2024. Rotation for 2023 is Mahle, Ashcraft, HG, Lodolo, and Justin Dunn.
We also get a solid lefty arm in the Castillo trade.
This team might approach .500…..esp if they manned up and got Benintendi
I like it Indy x Farmer. Ive seen Benintendi in person in high school play. He’s freaky fast and ridiculous bat speed. Took him 9 seconds to hit a triple,
I hope heim was a throw in. His numbers are fine i guess, but why youd move TS off of catcher for him baffles me. Way rather have Votto in there.
Would like to see them acquire two OF personally.
Farmer can no longer do the job defensively as the everyday shortstop. At the right price, there is a place for him as a supersub who starts several days a week and gets spotted into other games in favorable matchup situations as the game evolves. Depending on what happens with some other players, Farmer could also emerge as a starting 3B but that would be less desirable than having him in the supersub role.
Castillo to the Mets for Alvarez who is a catcher or Baty a 3b/of. Both will be ready next year if not this year. Slude one of them in that lineup.. Krall is in the driver seat with the best trade piece. Make it happen.
I like Benintendi for the Reds. He can sign with the Reds for 2 years, and beef up his power numbers. I think he’d be 29 after the 2 year contract. Then he can get his big contract, and the Reds don’t have to sign a long term deal with an overly expensive FA. Those are the kinda deals I think the Reds need to be on the lookout for every offseason. I could be wrong, and Benintendi is going to get 5 years 100M+, but I doubt it.
Texas is only 5 games out of the AL Wild Card. I don’t see them trading a current starting player (Heim) when their objective is trying to make the playoffs.
Frankie Montas A’s pulled after 1 inning with tightness soreness and inflammation in shoulder and is day to day.
What big market teams are sending top prospects for that?
Reds are in the drivers seat.
And Bull Krall is the driver.
Fasten your seat belt, check your air bags, your accident insurance and St. Christopher statue on the dashboard.
Red’s are in the driver’s seat? Certainly not for the NLC title.
Good crowds this weekend. I am worried ownership is starting to realize they can draw just as much of a crowd being bad as they can being good. Cincinnati is centrally located, cheap tickets, fairly nice weather. It is starting to become a destination vacation for out of town fans
Listening to the game, it seemed plays by the Braves drew louder responses. Unfortunately, it appears your statement is correct & ownership will not make any changes.
Considering the Red’s record, a holiday weekend, a half stadium full at 21,400 was not bad.
2 winnable games before the Allstar break. I wonder if the league would step in to block a Castillo trade in the spirit of competitiveness. He is about the only red that gives them a chance to win. Without him the 1962 Mets loss record is still possible. That would be at least somewhat embarrassing for the league
Sunday was another big night for Stuart Fairchild at AAA. He had a HR and single to push his OPS back up over 1.000 (58PAs) since his return to the Reds organization after a couple less successful days. His total composite OPS for 2022 with all organizations is now .925 with a wRC+ of 130 in 143PAs. His K rate is 28% overall; 25% with the Reds org.
TJ Friedl is also quietly starting to get his act together at AAA. For the season, 133 PAs at AAA, his OPS is up to .837 with a wRC+ of 123.
IMO the Reds really need to get long looks at both these guys at the MLB level before the end of the season. By long looks, I mean starting at 4-5 games a week over an extended period unless they just fall totally flat.
On his 3rd organization Jim. Why would this be if he could hit mlb pitching? Is he not getting a chance? Not good enough? We both know hitting triple A is different than mlb pitching.
I will say though it couldn’t hurt. Frankly I would like to see Mike Saini get moved to triple A.
Fairchild has been with 4 organizations this year.
DBacks>Mariners>Giants>Reds
He has had a total of 28MLB PAs in 20 game appearances, 17 last year and 11 this season. That is not enough of a sample to even call a small sample. Meanwhile his AAA career OPS is >.900 and his AAA wRC+ is at 130.
Fairchild went from the Reds to the DBacks (along with Josh VanMeter) for reliever Archie Bradley. Most folks saw Fairchild as the key piece in the deal for the DBacks.
Clearly, there was a disconnect between him and the DBacks despite the outstanding 2021 AAA season he had with them in 2021. He was brought up late in 2021 but then (mis)used like the Reds have a tendency to do with guys who are on a roll at AAA then sit the bench and get a start once every 2 weeks when called up.
The move to the Mariners was a straight cash deal which would seem to have been a change of scenery deal. The Giants needed an OF and traded old friend Alex Blandino plus cash to the Mariners for Fairchild. Three weeks later, the Giants needed a 40 man roster spot and DFAed Fairchild. The Reds claimed him on waivers off the DFA.
The Reds had drafted Fairchild with a higher draft pick than they drafted the likes of Jesse Winker (38 vs 49 overall) despite the fact Winker technically went into the books as a 1st rounder (comp pick) while Fairchild was officially a 2nd rounder at 38.
If there had been any red flags about Fairchild in the several years he was with the Reds, why would they have claimed him at this time.
@Jim
I like Fairchild and think he needs regular playing time in a lost season. I’m not as high on Friedl as an everyday player, but certainly as a 4th OF who plays good defense and can run and plays hard and competes. Pham is the guy who needs to go. He blatantly said he’s all about stats and creating a market for himself. Naquin is FA as well and wont be a Red in 3 months. These 2 guys need to go ASAP.
Almora is playing hard and is a credible pro outfielder. Senzel is starting to get going and sustain some health.
I’d like to see Fairchild, Senzel, and Almora. IMO, also seen enough bad outfielders wearing the Reds uni that I dont want a bat only guy hiding in LF or converted infielder or DH plaything the OF( no offense Max Schrock).
Also like to see Krall get an elite OF prospect as part of the castillo package. You need 4 outfielders always.
Fairchild, Senzel and Almora can get a good look the rest of the season and you add a young big bat and see what things look like
Pham needs to go.
Read your latest comment. Makes sense to me. Great post
Strickland gives up two bombs in the 9th to tie it then still gets the win. Needs to be a Team win and not individual. He didn’t deserve it.
27 wins by the 4th. Ouch. So many problems.
It’s being reported the Mets are going to be active at the deadline in needof a versatile bat. They arent trading any of their top prospects and would prefer to accept bad contracts instead. They want Trey Mancini but cant see the O’s trading him without getting a prospect haul.
Perhaps the Reds trade Drury as a rental bat who is at peak value and Mets (or other big market team)take on Moose and his contract. Perhaps the Reds could throw in $4 mil in cash as part of Moose’s buyout for 2024 and the Mets throw in a AA reliever with upside.
Drury is not going to retrieve any meaningful prospects as a utility player enjoying a career year and soon to be FA.
I like Drury and a salary dump for Moose means nothing to me because they’re going to suck next year anyway. Drury doesn’t have a big looping swing like Scooter or Dietrich and he takes the ball to RF which is huge for cheapies in Gabp.
I’d be more open to trading Naquin because he always seems to have some kind of nagging knee/leg issues and he’s 32 I think? Watched the Twins the other day and they have like 3 dead spots in their lineup despite having some elite talent. Naquin might really be able to help them.
I like Drury as well
I just dont think the Reds and Krall are in “add contracts ” mode.
If you are Drury, this is the day you’ve been waiting for…an All-star and ready to see what 30 other teams are willing to pay for a career year.
Naquin is a free agent after this season.