After beginning the season on the road last year, things are back the way that they should be with the Cincinnati Reds opening the season up at home in the Queen City. At 4:10pm ET the Reds will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates to kick off the 2023 season.
Starting Lineups
Here’s the lineup for Opening Day:
Pittsburgh Pirates
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
| Oneil Cruz – SS | Jonathan India – 2B |
| Bryan Reynolds – LF | TJ Friedl – CF |
| Andrew McCutchen – DH | Jake Fraley – DH |
| Carlos Santana – 1B | Tyler Stephenson – C |
| Canaan Smith-Njigba – RF | Jason Vosler – 1B |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B | Wil Myers – RF |
| Jack Suwinski – CF | Spencer Steer – 3B |
| Ji Hwan Bae – 2B | Will Benson – LF |
| Austin Hedges – C | Jose Barrero – SS |
| Mitch Keller – SP | Hunter Greene – SP |
Starting Pitchers
Stats are from 2022.
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB% | K% |
| Hunter Greene | 125.2 | 4.44 | 1.21 | 9.0% | 30.9% |
| Mitch Keller | 159.0 | 3.91 | 1.40 | 8.7% | 20.1% |
| Links: Hunter Greene’s Stats | Mitch Keller’s Stats |
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Hunter Greene
Making his first start on Opening Day, Hunter Greene is going to look to pick up where he left off last year when over his final six starts of the season he posted a 1.02 ERA with 51 strikeouts and just eight walks in 35.1 innings pitched. During the spring he worked on using his change up more than last year, so keep an eye on that as he faces off against the Pirates this afternoon.
2022 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 257 | 55 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 8.2% | 26.5% | .239 | .311 | .452 |
| LHH | 274 | 49 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 9.9% | 35.0% | .205 | .299 | .389 |
Pitch Usage (in 2022)
| 4-Seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 99.0 | 88.1 | 90.2 |
| Usage | 53.8% | 40.9% | 5.3% |
Mitch Keller
Coming off of a good 2022 season, Keller’s record of 5-12 didn’t reflect his 3.91 ERA – but the Pirates offense didn’t do him many favors. In his career, Keller has been crushed by the Reds. In 11 games Cincinnati has hit .311/.410/.511 against him and his ERA is 6.80. That isn’t an early career anomaly, either. Last year the team posted an .897 OPS against him and his ERA was 7.07 when facing off against the Reds.
2022 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 357 | 82 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 7.3% | 23.2% | .257 | .326 | .386 |
| LHH | 330 | 80 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 10.3% | 16.7% | .276 | .359 | .390 |
Pitch Usage (in 2022)
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 95.8 | 94.4 | 79.0 | 84.6 | 91.4 |
| Usage | 34.2% | 20.8% | 15.8% | 22.5% | 6.7% |
When and Where
- Game time: 4:10pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 58°, sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
The Opening Day roster has been set
Cincinnati took their time setting the roster for Opening Day, but just after 11am this morning they made things official. You can check out the 26-man roster here, as well as read about all of the roster moves that needed to be made in order to get things set.
One Last Trip Around the Sun
Richard Fitch kicked off the regular season here at Redleg Nation, writing about what could be the final season for Joey Votto in a Cincinnati Reds uniform.
Baseball Prospectus ranks the Reds farm system 4th best
The crew over at Baseball Prospectus rated the Cincinnati Reds farm system as the 4th best in baseball this week. Only Cleveland, Los Angeles (Dodgers), and Baltimore were rated higher. The team was praised for their “very well-rounded position player group”, but it was also noted that the weakness was that “the pitching is a bit shallow and has command issues”.
Around the Beat
How Hunter Greene has always shined
Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote about Hunter Greene and how he’s dealt with the spotlight for what he can do on the baseball field. That’s even before he showed up on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school senior.
Hitters are the Enemy
Over at The Athletic, C. Trent Rosecrans talked with Derek Johnson about a philosophy he’s carried over from his time as a pitching coach in 1997 to now. There’s a lot in there from both Johnson and pitchers about how he goes about coaching and teaching – it’s an interesting read.
Exciting day! Let’s hope it’s a winning day and season.
lets go
Go Reds
I’ll have my day wrapped up in time to watch the game. Early dinner tonight due to a neighborhood meeting at 6:30, but we may just be back in the locker rooms by then. Hopefully, with that first W under our belts.
Player of the game: Jake Fraley (2/5, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
Months from now we all reminisce on this day as the start of Fraley’s historic 162 HR season
But of course the “adjusted HR” will be more like 48, so there’s going to be an asterisk.
Only ONE homerun?
Looks like Fraley is going to have to make a believer out of you.
Seriously, though, I’m expecting a big season out of Fraley. Something seemed to click for him late last year, and it looks like it carried over if Spring Training is any indication. Would not be shocked to see him slash around .280/.360/.500 with about 30 HR.
Opening Day is right there with Christmas morning for me. No matter how the season plays out, today is just so special and fun. My cynicism will be on hold till the weekend 🙂
If Phil keeps his mouth shut, Bob steps up to take his place:
Castellini: “Forget last year. There were some things that just went wrong for us. We had to trade those players to get maximum returns. It killed us… It hurt clubhouse morale. Forget it. It won’t happen this year.”
1:52 PM · Mar 30, 2023
Maybe he’ll sell by trade deadline.
Make us forget, Bob/Phil … demonstrate that is possible. Selling your shares would be a HUGE step forward in that direction.
The payroll for the Reds 26-man roster is $16,737,000.
Versus
Pirates: $52,737,500
The lowly Oakland A’s: $33,745,000
Mets: $228,874,999
That’s just depressing
Why is Votto’s $25M not included in this?
because he’s not on the 26-man opening day roster
I hope Benson and Barrero play well enough that Bell can’t keep them at the bottom of the lineup for long. I’d like to see Benson eventually become the leadoff hitter with India in the 2-hole so Benson will have the opportunity to manufacture runs with his speed while India is grinding out ABs.
This is my dream batting order, using the players in today’s lineup:
RF Benson
2B India
LF Fraley
C Stephenson
SS Barrero
1B Vosler
DH Myers
3B Steer
CF Friedl
Got a Vosler sighting, beautiful day at the park
Vosler has already had more MLB success than some of the guys on the roster, he’s not a bad choice as a lefty bench bat. It’s too bad he isnt a SS.
Wasn’t a complaint, he was 30 feet away from me
Oh, sorry. Hope you’re enjoying your day then, sounds super fun.
Well it’s time for baseball again. All of us on here are here because we’re big time Reds fans so I hope not only we but all Reds fans everywhere enjoy this day/game. Go Reds! 🙂
Let’s go reds! Sitting about 9 rows directly behind home plate right now and excited to HG in real life.
Awesome!!
Its opening Day!!!!!
Happy baseball’s back and excited for another season! Go Reds!
Where’s the pitch clock?
I’ve been looking for it too.
Baseball is sort of behind putting those clocks out like the NFL did
yeah I’d like to see it on the teleprompter.
its there but its hard to see, next to the score
Greene with a strikeout on the changeup.
Hopefully he learns to trust his changeup the way Luis Castillo did and it becomes his “out” pitch.
LOL at:
Vosler Bats: ?
On the batting order graphic.
hey we scored
Would I have liked more than 1 run? Oh yeah. But a good 1st inning with no K’s.
They’ve added the pitch clock to the lower part of the screen.
Yeah, I just noticed it too.
Wonder if GABP plans to add the display behind home plate like some spring training ballparks had.
I hope Greene can keep the pitch count down, because he has GREAT stuff today.
Excited to see what Barrero does this year, hopefully we see a breakout, even if that just means a .250 AVG with a little pop.
.250 with that defense will get it done.
Wow, what a play by Barrero!
Looks like they’re trying out different pitch clock graphics today to see what works best.
yea it noticed it has changed twice
If Barrero plays defense like that- he IS the Reds shortstop.
Ty Steve needs to hold the borderline pitch….he’s jerking the glove. Clear strike, called ball 4 from poor framing
You are right with this, he is jerking the glove to much.
Greene’s lost his consistency in the zone, and that’s costing him pitch-count wise. At this rate, he’s probably going only five innings tops.
He seemed to get rattled after that pitch clock violation.
That 105 mph pitch by Greene might be recognized as the fastest-ever MLB pitch. Statcast has it at 105.2. Previous record, to the best of what I can find, was Aroldis Chapman (also with the Reds) at 105.1
Now Statcast has removed that 105.2 reading on the Greene pitch. Not sure what happened.
Three guys in the booth is good. More talk time spread around. 🙂
Two Cincinnati guys supporting Sadak.
David Bell, that’s on you for batting Vosler 5th.
not even 5 innings…. and I know next to nothing about this bullpen
Not too much new to know about this bulpen.
Greene is channeling his inner Mahle
Nibble. Waste pitches. Foul balls. No soft contact . No 2 pitch or 3 pitch outs
Miss bats
It’s too bad that the Reds didn’t acquire Austin Hedges as a catcher for the team
With Will Benson batting 8th and Austin Hedges batting 9th, they could have had Benson and Hedges in the Batting order.
That’s all I got this afternoon. I’ll be here the rest of the week (and many grimace).
Short day for Greene. Looks like nerves got the better of him and he was slowly falling apart.
This is a learning experience for that young man. Hope he comes back stronger.
83 pitches, with 2 high stress innings near the end. I’m okay with the hook, just keep him healthy this year.
I disagree. It is an opportunity for a young guy to work his way out of the jam he got himself into. Bell always has too quick of a hook on the starters. Give him at least one more hitter. Just my opinion.
Greene last 3.1 with 83 pitches. Pops my balloon!
Cruz is bouncing every pitch.
New year…bullpen guy walks the 1st batter he faces
And the second, and the third…
Got to hand it to Bell, though. His new ST regimen has the BP in mid-season form right out of the gate.
I see why they brought Cruz to our bullpen
How do you walk two straight batters, your first two batters out of the pen, to let the go ahead run score.
How. How. HOW.
I have said all along that Bell chose the wrong opening day starter.
Lol
Cruz is all over the place. Seems like he can’t find his release point.
New year..Same bullpen
is this what we are destined for this year
The pitching will haunt. There’s so much pressure on our good players to perform that when they dont this is what can happen. Plus I’m not sold on our defense and that will just make the pitching worse.
I’m so glad I looked forward to this game all day and rushed home from work to see the first pitch. More good times for Reds fans.
Ty needed to block the wild pitch…or attempt to. went for the backhand.
Bell.
I rest my case.
Yep
Didn’t mind pulling Greene though I probably would have left him in. Didn’t understand putting Cruz in the game there. Do they not have a long man in the bullpen. Hitting Vosler 5th is completely indefensible IMO.
Lefty Young shoulda got the call to face Cruz, who destroys righties.
Yes. Bell.
Checking in and I see the Reds are talking an early lead in the race for last place. Six walks in three innings? Picked up right where they left off last year.
Sure glad they keep Bell and DJ.
Hey look, Reds get down and LDS starts posting about Bell.
@wkuchad, when a reliever walks 3, it’s time for new management. And spending some money
Cruz supposedly developed a splitter to give him another pitch. My non-professional critique is that pitch is nowhere near major-league ready.
I was listen-only for quite a while as I was grilling the chicken and peppers. It certainly didn’t “sound” MLB ready … 😀
That is his main pitch, which brought him success last year.
Maybe he got confused for a while and thought this was a cricket match.
Ok Steer…. not giving up yet
Woooooo!!!
Steer pulls one back!
Steer doing his part. Game is still early despite DTBell probably leaving Cruz in for 1-2 batters too many.
This is why people complain about David Bell. He spends all spring talking about building his pitchers arms up and then pulls Greene at 81 pitches. Maybe it was due to nerves but then he brings in Cruz who likely has the same nerves built up having never been apart of an opening day scenario either. The walks were predictable there
If you’re set on taking Greene out at that spot why not go with Young from the get go since O’Neil Cruz is a lefty and Reynolds had been batting from the left side all game.
Thank God he can’t pull his double switches anymore
I’m thinking Greene got rattled, so I’m not too upset about him getting pulled at only 81 pitches. But we saw the results … and we definitely can’t say we’re happy with them.
Yep. He still hasn’t really figured out how to manage a bullpen. And his love affair with mediocre journeyman hitting in the middle of the lineup might have cost them runs.
This comment did not age well.
Meh. It’s still the same bad decision whether it works out or not.
Maybe. I’d have hit someone else there personally.
I’m not sure he planned to take him out and Cruz was who was warm because of that. You’re not wrong, Young would’ve been much better there if he knew Hunter wouldnt get through the inning. Both probably shouldve been warming.
Yes!!! Bell.
Barrero needs to figure out how to battle guys that attack him low and away.
Opening his eyes would be a good first step.
He falls off and looks unbalanced a lot trying to get to it and I think that affects his other swings a bit.
A clean inning helps. Now for some crooked numbers.
Umpire missed at least 3 pitches that could have turned Cruz’s outing around.
HP Chumpire has missed a lot more than 3 so far today. Very inconsistent (again). But where else are we gonna go, right?
They were borderline, one or more looked like they clipped the zone. Some were good no-calls.
Young was an excellent pickup. If Bell goes to him originally last inning it’s a 2-1 or 2-2 ballgame right now
Yes. Bell.
Benson really regressed late Spring after all minor league guys left. I’m hoping he can seize control of an OF spot. He looks like a guy that can do damage.
I checked out after the first inning.Bases loaded and no outs and only get one run will always come back to haunt and did we also walk in a run?Not a good start but long way to go so we will see what the pen can do but Reds will have to do better at the plate.
Based upon today’s results, Greene looked like a Thrower and NOT a pitcher! I’m glad he can throw 100+ but to be an effective SP he needs to manage his pitch count (less than 20 pitches per inning) by pitching to contact and not walk a batter per inning! I know he is young and hopefully will take today’s outing as a learning experience.
Now, let’s chip away at the deficit and win the game!
Cannot, Cannot, CANNOT look at those 3rd strikes!!!
Terrible at bat by Tyler Stephenson
Vosler is killing the Reds in the 5th spot of Bell’s batting order!
Well this is a team that fights back…. nice to see…..
Way to go Vosler!!!
And nice heads-up hustle from Fraley.
Bell is a genius for batting Bell in that spot. LMBO!!
Is this Laughing My Bell Off?
Good thing he’s batting 5th!!!!! LOL
That’ll wake up the crowd and make Hunter Greene sleep a little easier tonight.
I was ready to complain about Bell having Vosler in the five hole and all the runners left on base by him…glad to be wrong!
Happy to see it from Vosler. But not changing my mind about it being a dumb decision though.
Second guessing is a wonderful thing for fans.
Hitting a journeyman that barely made the team in the 5 hole will lose more games than it will win. Hopefully this is one of the latter though.
Not today!!
Two out hits win lots of games and that was a big one right there.
OK! I take back what I said about Vosler! For now!
When Cruz came in to face some RH’s no one said a thing. The lefty young came in to face some lefties and got outs and we should have started with him. SMH!!
I was very disappointed to see Cruz in that situation. To me, he is a bridge to Diaz in the 7th or 8th…not a 4th inning guy. I understand it was a high leverage situation, but that is not the right situation for him in my opinion.
Yes.
OK, Mr. Benson. Show us how you played early in ST.
Nuts!!!
Do some still think we should have batted Benson 5th? Second guessing is a wonderful thing.
No one said we should have batted Benson 5th.
Stop with the strawman arguments.
I will when we stop second guessing.
This loss was lost by the players. Walls killed us. Along with a passed ball.
Benson in contention for the Golden Sombrero.
Not good.
Nice guy, can’t hit.
I know I’m late but Jake Fraley is going to put up some big number this year.
Not a stretch to assume 20+ HR, no shift is going to boost his average, and he has a good eye so the OBP will be way up there too.
https://www.redlegnation.com/2023/03/30/opening-day-preview-pittsburgh-pirates-vs-cincinnati-reds/#comment-889187
Wise man
I like this young guy…. nice multi inning effort there
Friedl with the lazy fielding that allowed Cruz to take 3rd unchallenged.
I place more credence in the Cowboy’s analysis of that play.
Awful AB by Barrero
Watched two over the plate then chased
wasnt Moreta ours last year
Yes. Traded him for a backup SS.
Wish Greene and Cruz had the strike zone this umpire just gave Moreta against India
Looks like this is one game where the pitch clock did NOT speed things up. We’re gonna be pushing 3 hours when this is over, assuming no extra innings.
Lots of walks will do that…it is sped up though…just maybe a three hour game instead of four.
Nice to see Derek Law actually pitching for the Reds – instead of throwing
Nice coaching change by Bell. Effective relievers going more than an inning.
Real talk: does anyone else wish they’d stop with the “God Bless America” thing during the 7th inning stretch? This only started after 9/11, and they just sorta kept it. I think it’s pretty unnecessary.
I wish they would go back to the old 7th inning stretch pre-9/11, when things were more fun. Plus, it would shave a few more minutes off the game time.
agreed…. you know who doesnt do that….. the blue Jays
Take me out to the ballgame. Period
Yeah the whole faux patriotism is overblown in baseball.
+1000
I thought they played both. Traditional song after God Bless America. I really don’t have a problem with it. Baseball is patriotism as far as I’m concerned. It’s America.
I’m with you on baseball and patriotism.
At Minutemaid Park in HTX they sing “Deep in the Heart of Texas” after the SSB.
Baseball and religion?
No.
“America the Beautiful” I’ll sing along with.
Great song.
Farmer in and a 4 pitch walk to start the 8th.Now you know that this isn’t going to end well when we do things like this.
So the leadoff walk scores.
Hate to say it, but that’s probably the ballgame.
Walks! Walks Walks! Same BP approach as last year! 5 walks by 4 Reds RPs so far! Unacceptable!
Gonna be along season if we walk in runs and do little or nothing at the plate with the bases loaded which is what we have seen today.
That was a terrible 8th inning.You don’t run there cause even if Barrero makes the 3rd out,the top of the order is up in the ninth.Dumb just dumb and I am gone.
Geez, why pinch run Fairchild? Feels like over managing to me.
Its terrible
Steer has 2 walks and a bomb
Hes a young player so Bell does that to young players. Would he have taken out Suarez from 2019-21??? No way
Benson is 0-4 with 4 k’s
Fairchild got thrown out
He did that to Castellanos gis 2nd game as a Red and Castellanos publicly humiliated Bell taking fly balls in right after a game for the cameras to catch
Steer is or isnt your third baseman
Do u take out pete Rose in the 8th inning to pinch run Ed Armbrister and bring in Doug flynn to play 3b ? Do u pinch run herm Winningham for Chris Sabo and bring in Billy bates to play 3b? Of course not but Bell always let every young player where they stand
I hear you. I knew giving him credit for sticking with the relievers for more than an inning would come back to bite me.
I didnt think it changed the game that much, dang…
These walks man. Good God. Just brutal.
We’ve seen some flashes of pretty good defensive play at first base.
So far not the ball game I had hoped to see, to many walks, Stephenson has had a bad day. He just is not a good defensive catcher and the sooner the Reds recognize that the better this team will be.
Forecasting him to catch 60-65 games may be the admission he is not a great defensive catcher.
Other than his framing and not catching a terrible pitch that bounced a foot in front of the plate, what was bad about his defense?
The Reds are following the 100 loss season script so far..underperformance from the starting pitcher and a typical performance from the Reds bullpen.
That’s what happens when you don’t sign a starting pitcher or upgrade a horrible bullpen.
well there is losing and getting our heads bashed in…. willing to take a L right now… wasnt great but could have been alot worse
That’s one loss on Bell.
No, that’s a loss on Cruz and Farmer. I bet the ranch that Bell did not instruct the those two to walk as many as they could, or throw a WP.
It’s going to be a long, long season.
Yep. But maybe Bell’s last. One game closer to him being gone.
New season, same old Reds! Bad Bullpen, horrid base running, lack of clutch hitting, etc.!
A team doesn’t win many games issuing 9 walks. It’s way early but sure feels like where the Refs left off last year. A real, swift kick in the optimism.
#8 and 9 were 6 for 8. Unfortunately, the 6 were Ks. What a difference from the last days of ST to the first day when it counts.
Starters lasting 3.1 won’t be a formula for success, but it’s only one game.
This was a pretty typical Reds loss.
Starting pitching done early.
Bullpen walks too many batters.
Can’t hit with RISP.
Bone-headed Bell moves.
That said, I also saw a lot of things to be positive about. Opening Day is always weird, not everyone deals with the nerves well (looking at you, Greene, Cruz, and Stephenson). I still think this team has some talent and once the spotlight is off of them, they should be able to string some good baseball together.
That is, as long as Bell gets out of their way.
Also, I have a sinking feeling that Barrero and Benson having bad days at the plate means we’re not going to see either of them for a week or more. Bell is just looking for an excuse not to play them, and they just gave him one.
Curious: what were the bone headed Bell moves?
>>>what were the bone headed Bell moves?
1) Going to the bullpen too soon. 2) Bringing in a right hand relief pitcher to a right handed batter. 30 Leaving that pitcher in two batter too long. That’s just three of the bone head moves that cost us the game. Bell is good for 20 to 40 losses per year with those kind of moves. But that’s to be expected. One game closer to him being gone. That’s the good news.
Sorry,..correction,..bringing in a right handed picher to a left handed batter.
“20 to 40 losses per year”
And just like that, every post you make going forward has zero credit.
Barrera will be at SS next game. Benson may get the day off because Rich Hill the Pirates starter a lefty.
I would be ok with going 0-20 to open the season if it means Bell would be gone …..but I’m not sure that would even do it
I concur. One game closer to him being gone.
One loss certainly brings out some ridiculous comments to kick off the season.
lol ikr
What is ridiculous is pretending it’s just ONE loss. It’s been 101 losses since last April. Not so ridiculous now,huh?
haha, case in point
So 2020, are you saying the Reds, under David Bell, didn’t lose 100 games last year?
Gave the game away with the walks and punching out 15 times and just to be sure Bell gets involved in the 8th with that terrible display of managing.
Good grief! I’m not a Bell fan, but the Bell haters seem to have zero common sense. This loss had nothing to do with him.
Heh. That’s great, Buddy.
It’s the 9th. inning, there’s two outs and you’re down one run and you’re down to your last strike with the tying run on second. If the pitch is anywhere near the strike zone you do not take it but swing.
I can’t blame Bell, I would like to, Greene under performed, should have been Lodolo. Cruz was horrible, Farmer did what Red’s relievers do late in games, Stephenson had a poor game catching and the truth is looking back this game was lost in the bottom of the first inning. Teams like the Reds can’t afford to load the bases with nobody and only score one run and that fell on Stephenson. It was a bad day for one of the teams best players. Barrero also looked like last year and not this preseason. Oh well back it Saturday.
Game wrapup now live: https://www.redlegnation.com/2023/03/30/nine-opening-day-walks-doom-reds-in-5-4-loss-to-pittsburgh/
I guess I’m glad I had to work late and missed the fun.
Benson: Golden Sombrero
Farmer: First batter walk, four pitches
15 Ks out of 27 outs. Yikes.
9 walks.
Barrero: in 2022 form.
Steer: victim of the Bell shuffle.
India looking like India.
Vosler delivers.
Young delivers.
I was hoping for more frome Greene.
161 games to go.
I really dont understand why everyone thinks pulling Steer was so consequential. It didnt even affect the game like…at all. Giancarlo Stanton got pulled for a pinch runner today.
Agree completely.
Two biggest issues today is Greene’s pitching inefficiency and bullpen’s inability to throw a freakin’ strike.
I think Cruz was up just in case Greene got into trouble and they were clearly looking for about 90 pitches from him today. It burned them not having Young throwing at the same time, but it wouldnt surprise me to see that from the best of managers too. I might have let Greene face one more batter personally. Those complaining about Bell’s staff management arent wrong, they’re just taking it way further than it needs to be. Everyone’s ready to jump off a cliff so they can find more reasons to complain about this team more.
I don’t think pulling Steer was consequential to the loss given where he was in the batting order at the time.
I’m more reacting to the Bell shuffle of paying a lot of attention to rotating players around for minimal apparent benefit while the far more crucial problem of first batter walks goes unmentioned and unattended to.
Yet again.
It’s problem #1…moreso than #4 or #5 starter or who is going to be the 5th OFer.
But it never gets mentioned.
I’d love to hear Bell say in his post game mewling: “This is a problem we’re having and it has to stop and we’re going to address it.”
Would go a long way with me accommodating his compulsive lineup shuffling.