Nick Lodolo was lights out as he struck out 12 batters in 7.0 shutout innings. But the Cincinnati Reds bullpen couldn’t get the job done in the 9th inning as two relievers combined to give up three runs while recording just one out as the Philadelphia Phillies walked-off the Reds 3-2 on Saturday evening.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (3-4) | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| Philadelphia Phillies (3-5) | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Vasquez (1-0) L: Diaz (0-1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
It didn’t take very long for the Cincinnati Reds to get on the board. Spencer Steer hit a 1-out, solo home run – his second homer of the year – to put the Reds ahead in the top of the 1st inning. It was no cheapie, either, as it landed well beyond the fence in dead center, going an estimated 438 feet. Nick Lodolo did his part in the bottom of the inning as he struck out the side.
In the bottom of the 3rd inning the defense just couldn’t get things done. And it almost came back to haunt them. Almost. An error by Nick Lodolo and a passed ball led to runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs. Kyle Schwarber then hit a ground ball towards third, but Spencer Steer was playing back and more towards shortstop with the lefty at the plate. He had no shot at a throw to first base, but sped towards a diving Cristian Pache and attempted to tag him out. The umpires ruled Pache safe, and a run scored on the play to tie things up. But after a long replay challenge the call was overturned and the tag occurred prior to the run crossing the plate and ended the inning with Cincinnati still up 1-0.
Nick Lodolo cruised from there. He picked up 12 strikeouts and allowed just three hits in 7.0 shutout innings. The Reds offense went quiet, too, as Lodolo and the team held onto a 1-0 lead. Alexis Diaz came into the game in the 8th inning and he struck out the side. In the top of the 9th the Reds picked up an insurance run after Kevin Newman walked, TJ Friedl singled, and then Newman scored on a sacrifice fly by Jake Fraley later in the inning.
Alexis Diaz returned for the bottom of the 9th inning and things didn’t go according to plan. Nick Castellanos walked and moved up to second on a wild pitch. Then Alec Bohm singled to put runners on the corners. Brandon Marsh followed up with a single to make it 2-1, and that’s when the Reds went to the bullpen and called on Ian Gibaut to take over. The first pitch he threw turned into a game tying sacrifice fly. Brandon Marsh would then steal second base before Bryson Stott singled in the game winning run as the Phillies walked off the Reds with a 3-run 9th inning.
Key Moment of the Game
Sending Alexis Diaz back out for the 9th inning.
Notes Worth Noting
The 12 strikeouts for Nick Lodolo set a new career high. He had previously struck out 11 batters in a game twice – in back-to-back starts in September against the Brewers and the Pirates.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Philadelphia Phillies
Sunday April 9th, 1:05pm ET
Connor Overton (0-0, 11.25) vs Taijuan Walker (0-1, 8.31)
I’m convinced that even the people on this site who insist on defending Bell would consistently make better strategic decisions than he does.
Couldn’t agree more
This game was a perfect example of why the “bring in your closer for the top of the order” argument doesn’t work. A closer is rarely the same pitcher after sitting between innings and coming back out for a second.
With Young in the pen, you bring him in for the 8th and your closer for the 9th.
I’m so sick of Bell overthinking it. He’s not smarter than conventional wisdom, no matter how much he thinks he is.
Diaz through 14 pitches to strike out the side in the 8th. He hadn’t pitched in 5 days and the rest of the pen has been used frequently. Running him back out there was not a mistake. Probably no one associated with this team feels worse than Diaz after blowing the game and rendering Lodolo’s effort a quality start instead of a win.
To say this one is on Bell is laughable.
I would never use the word “smart” and Bell in the same sentence!
I liked sending him out in the 9th, and if he’s cruising along, great. But when he can’t throw strikes to the first guy he faces, I’m very concerned. At the very least, the pitching coach is going out there immediately. When he’s struggling with the next guy, there’s no way I’m leaving him in to face a third guy. If someone here would have left him in at that point, then I guess Bell isn’t the only one who has no feel for the game, but that doesn’t make his decisions any smarter.
Dennis,
I would use them in the same sentence, if you add the word NOT in there.
Luke, it works except when it doesn’t. The same thing–exactly the same thing–can be said about conventional, hidebound, save-your-closer-for-the-ninth strategy. The Reds don’t have anyone else in the pen who is even close to Diaz in ability. It was a very close game and the top of the Phillies order was due up. Hindsight is 20/20, but I for one would have been filled with dread (well, had inklings of dread) had anybody else in the Reds’ pen been called upon to pitch the eighth. It’s certainly possible that Gibault would have pitched a clean eighth or ninth, but there’s no knowing that he would have. We all knew that the bullpen would be the team’s Achilles’ heel this year, just as it has been for a number of preceding years. We can argue about who pitches when but Bell or any manager is limited by the talent of the available players.
I’m not defending Bell. But he is far from the reason this team is terrible. His in game management is not the reason we lose. Ownership’s reluctance to put forth the resources to build a quality product is why we have a losing team. Firing Bell will not change that in my opinion. Until ownership is willing to invest in their team it will matter very little to me who manages the reds.
That’s the thing. This team isn’t terrible. Tons if young talent on both sides of the ball. You can’t have a top end starter do what Lodolo did, leave after 7 with a lead, and mismanage the game the way he did. You can say he isn’t to blame all you want, but he 100% costs the Reds multiple games a year.
And I’m not saying this team is good, just not terrible. But they are 5 to 10 games better than they are with Bell as manager.
That is not true.! He had his best reliever on 5 days rest to close out the game.
Firing Bell won’t make the team suddenly great, but it would make the team better if he were replaced with a smarter manager. They needed to get through one inning without giving up two runs. As bad as this bullpen is, they actually have a few guys who are capable of pulling that off. When you’ve got a guy on the mound who’s already thrown more pitches than he normally does, and he’s clearly struggling with control, then it’s time to use one of the other guys.
When Diaz walked the leadoff batter in a situation where a walk is absolutely the wrong thing to do, that was a huge red flag. At the very least, you send the pitching coach out right there. Bell didn’t. When he continues having control problems with the next hitter, it’s a no-brainer to remove him and take your chances with another guy whose ERA is well under 9.00. Bell had a lefty and a righty warming up who’ve both managed to get through multiple innings without giving up multiple runs. He chose not to take advantage of them until it was too late. That’s not the roster’s fault.
Jim T., he did have his best reliever on 5 days rest, and completely misused him. A closer prepares for 1 inning, the 9th. He should not have brought him in for the 8th. He does not prepare to sit in the dugout after getting 3 outs to go back out. Statistics show a closer is rarely the same coming back out. He has a great closer, just didn’t use him as such. He also has a reliever in Young who hasn’t given up a run all year. He could have set him up. But instead he hung Diaz out to dry in the 9th and brought in Gibaut to blow it. You can’t spin that as good management.
Luke you’re a good manager after the fact. No doubt. But I asked the question when he was sending him back out for the ninth. Also this bull pen is notorious for walking the lead off hitter. Asking Diaz to throw 2 innings in that spot with Overton and Cessa on the horizon trying to get 2 innings out of Diaz with how much the other guys pitched already is not a bad idea. Especially with the rules now being if you start the inning you have to face 3 batters.
Here is my question. Yes, the game is close in the 8th inning why not bring out Young or Gebut (sp) All the bullpen has been rested for 2 days. You can’t tell me Bell doesn’t trust any of his relievers to get 3 outs in the 8th.
Also want to say it seemed like Diaz was rocking so I get why he goes a 2nd inning.
As much as I hate losing, a part of me wants the Reds to finish last in the NL Central this year and/or lose 100 games! Maybe, just maybe, the Reds FO will have the courage to fire Bell. And, yes, I know HE did not lose this game but his in-game management is questionable at best! And, he needs to change the batting order when the facts are obvious!
Amen, there are plenty of other people out there who I am sure would be happy to try their hand at managing the Reds,
In 2022, Diaz tossed scoreless innings all four times he was asked to pitch two innings.
Having Diaz pitch a second inning, you mean? Isn’t that preci9sely what so many have been clamoring for?
Not me but my opinion is not popular here either. I only let my closer go in the 9th inning. So, they used him in the 8th, and he shut them down 1,2,3. but no one is perfect, and he obviously cooled off during the top of the 9th.
Lodolo was definitely a big bright spot and the star of the game for the Reds. Any time we can get seven innings and zero runs from our Big Three it’s awesome.
Yes, he pitched like a top-of-rotation arm tonight. Good trend.
Agreed. My long standing belief is that a good contending team needs an outstanding lefthanded starting pitcher and the Reds have it. Lodolo was dynamite for seven innings and the Phillies knew it. A tough collapse for Diaz but it occasionally happens for all teams and their closers.
I’m tired of beating on the Bell so I just leave it at the post presser when our manager said that Diaz should have been good for 30 pitches after not being active for a while. Enough said.
Nick Lodolo, who makes a much better impression on the post game than the aforementioned, became the first Reds LH pitcher with 0 runs and 12 Ks since 1972. The other guy was Tom Hall (whom I was old enough to remember but don’t). He went 10-1 that year and had a quite nice career.
Might take in one of the games next week in Atlanta. They actually had to stop selling season ticket packages and open a waiting list or risk not having any single game tickets so that may impact an impulse decision.
I suppose there is some advantage for the Reds when you just drive to the park, pull up and get a ticket as opposed to planning days in advance for the ticket and parking not to mention the traffic and higher price! Still not sure but the Gwinnett Stripers (Braves AAA team) is about a 45 minute drive so maybe the 45 mph zone is the ticket I need.
Tom Hall, “The Blade.” Dude was so skinny if he turned sideways, you couldn’t see him. Makes SanMartin look robust.
Bell doesn’t pitch or hit he just manages the game.He just doesn’t do it very well.Nobody empties his bench like he did today as early as he did just because of his tendency to want to match up in the 7th of a one run game.He has two lefties and his 3rd catcher facing a lefty in the ninth when it was still 1-0 and yes the lefties came through with 2 productive outs to make it 2-0.No problem sending Diaz back out there but no way Bell is seeing what everybody else is seeing in the ninth.Yes he fanned the top of the order in the eighth but there are 3 tough outs to go and he must have checked out cause again he ain’t seeing what we are seeing.Don’t know if it bothers me more when he overthinks like the 7th or doesn’t think at all till its 1st and 3rd with no outs and one run already in like the 9th.
We all enjoyed the game, lots of positives, fraley getting a lefty lefty sac fly, lodolo gem, Diaz good 8th, steer and Stephenson looked good.
It was interesting to have Diaz in the 8th it paid for off. It was a red flag to half him at that high of pitches and walk the first batter.
Very disappointing to lose 3 straight, Tom we need to get back on track and be 4-4.
On the bell topic, not a bad call on the 8th, but clearly was suprised Diaz was t pulled earlier. I see both sides and the reality is there is no real answer.
I think management was betting on Antone, Sims, Santilla to just be studs, Santilla IMO has the only chance at a career at this point, sims and Antone are bonus if they have anything in the tank.
All I am saying is let’s keep watching we have a fun team and later we will see 3-4 top prospects and have more fun.
Let’s spend money this off-season please…
Sadak on Steer’s home run, “into the shrubbery.”
He must have been channelling the Knights Who Say Ni!, “We want, a shrubbery!”
+10000 for getting the reference.
Bell, has no feel for the game in front of him. Diaz, is the closer, not the setup and closer. Wasted Lodolo’s brilliant performance.
When will these numbnuts realize that they keep wasting their starting pitching, if they refuse to back it up with a quality bullpen? The only positive thing a good starting pitching staff followed by garbage ‘pen does is improve the SP’s trade value. Are we playing baseball here or just trading cards?? What a waste.
?
Absolutely ?% spot on
Figured it out! It’s my fault the Reds lost today! I foolishly thought that with a 2-0 lead and Diaz likely to pitch the bottom of the 9th inning a win was highly probable! So, I went out and cleaned my pool filter! Came back, logged on and discovered the 2022 Reds have returned! Again, not Bell’s fault for using Diaz in the 9th because players are paid to perform! Diaz’s downfall, along with most of the Reds BP pitchers, was walking the leadoff batter! One last thing! Not going to win a lot of games scoring only 2 runs!
I concur. A walk to lead off the ninth is just as bad as a homerun in that situation. Nibbling around the edges and changing pitches. Just throw the ball over the plate. Just throw strikes. If you can’t do that, then you should not be on the mound with a 2 run lead in the 9th. But the real problem is our hitting. The offense stinks. I don’t care what the current individual batting averages say. We have only a couple or three players that can hit a baseball in the clutch. The rest are chokers and weaksticks.
>>>Not going to win a lot of games scoring only 2 runs!
With this current team,..I don’t expect more than 2 runs, unless the opposing pitcher can’t throw a strike and walks us around the bases. We only have two or three players in the line-up that you can usually count on to put a bat on the ball in the clutch.
@bug
You are correct. Scoring only 2 runs is not going to win you many ballgames. Sure the pen needs to be better, but two runs is not going to get it. No matter what Bell does.
Well, Dennis, don’t do that again! The pool filter can wait. You can’t assume that Gibault or anyone else in the pen would have gotten out of the eighth with a winnable game for Diaz to save.
The wheels fell off Diaz’s wagon when Castellanos got in his head when he got to third and took a walking lead to home.
Welcome to the big league Mr. Diaz.
Comments: 22
Bell Mentions: 17.
Too early to say but watch the Bellwether assuming it makes any difference.
the failure to spend money or trade prospect capital for some reliable relief pitching is kneecaping what could be a fun team. I’m not going to give up on these guys. There’s a lot to like on both sides of the ball. That said the thought of playing 20 straight days with this bullpen will scare even the most diehard fan.
Absolutely ?% spot on
Did you guys hate it the five previous times Diaz went two innings and didn’t allow a base runner or just when it doesn’t work?
I’ve always said Bell’s insistence on using guys for just one inning is dumb. He was smart to send Diaz back out to
start the 9th. The problem is that he then ignored the obvious signs that Diaz was having problems, because he’d made up his mind. One of the things I think all of Bell’s critics agree on is that he pays more attention to his own theories and ideas than the reality of what’s happening on the field. When a guy is cruising along, he’ll take him out because he’s decided it’s best to take him out. When a guy is struggling, he’ll leave him in because he’s decided it’s best to leave him in. He hits a guy third who’s looked really bad for several games in a row. A guy who’s looked good may hit 8th. He always seems to be trying to prove he sees or knows something the rest of us aren’t aware of, and he’s almost always wrong.
Exactly! It’s Bell’s in-game management, or lack thereof, that drives me nuts! Plus, he has a propensity to be stubborn and not make a change when the signs are obvious a change is necessary! Feelings be damned! Not everyone deserves or gets a trophy at the end of the game! The goal is to win the game by whatever means necessary!
If you’re saying Bell likes to plan things out, make up his mind, and then has a very hard time adjusting to game time/real life situations then I agree with you. He DOES NOT like to deviate from his plans.
I’ve harped on this for 3 years about a robotic manager relying on his voluminous data almost exclusively at the expense of developing a game sense and situational decision making skill. His conclusions based on the “Data” usually result in the game outcome being sent to the “Dumpster.”
The fact that he has only done it 4 times is a red flag. He walked 3 batters in one of those games so wasn’t like he was nails.
Bell is a cyborg
You are watching artificial intelligence as a manager
Baseball is situational. Anyone could see 1 batter into the 9 th diaz had lost it . He was missing and lost
The cyborg didnt adjust
AI cant adjust
Please give me a human being as a manager
Lou Piniella
Davey johnson
Sparky anderson
Even dusty baker?!?!?!!!
I don’t think D Bell will be replaced as long as B Bell is in the front office.
D Bell had a losing W-L record in the minors and has a losing W-L % in the majors (although he had two seasons slightly above .500).
He’s just not a good manager. His team isn’t great but he is just not good at all.
I asked the Microsoft Bing AI Bot whether David Bell is a competent MLB manager. Below is Bring’s reply. I changed one word (swapped out “a human for “a person”), modified some punctuation, and inserted a few paragraph breaks to make Bring’s response more readable in this format…..
Some people may wonder if David Bell is a competent manager, given his mixed record with the Reds. In this context, a person might say that David Bell has shown some strengths and weaknesses as a manager and that his competence may depend on factors such as the performance of his players, the expectations of the fans, and the support of the front office.
A casual fan might say that David Bell is doing a decent job, but he could do better with more talent and experience.
A more critical fan might say that David Bell is not cut out for managing, and that he should be replaced by someone more proven and successful.
Old-school: Those excellent human beings had losing teams when they had poor talent. An alternative possibility is that Bell simply had more confidence in Diaz than he had in anyone else and figured that Diaz had enough gas in the tank and enough talent to right the ship in time. He was wrong. I wish he’d brought in Mariano Rivera or Rob Dibble,
Shame to lose that game. You are correct- reds bullpen has some serious holes and the staff as a hole lacks quality depth
Orioles returned to respectability last year by spending on the bullpen. These are the types of losses that add up over the year to 90 losses. Good teams dont lose that game.
1) Front office isn’t going to fire Bell until his contract is up. Reds aren’t going anywhere this year. Bells contract is up at the end of the year. It’s still a year of sorting.
2) The bullpen is the same if not worse than the last ,what seems like, 100 years. It’s Diaz and then it’s pray and close your eyes . Front office is to blame for that.
3) What seems like forever ,is the mediocre pitchers the Reds have faced over the last five years and they turn into Sandy Koufax. The guy today could barely touch 90 and had nothing but off speed stuff but as usual the Reds made him look phenomenal. Let’s not even mention the Phillies bullpen.
4) The three catchers would be nice if they all could at least hit. Casali does a good job behind the plate and he puts it in play here and there. Maile? Defense good, offense is the same as the other 40 catchers they tried last year. He is a liability as a hitter.
5) Newman in the 5 hole? I like the guy and brings depth but 5 hole? I think we have a lot of problems if Newman is our 5 hole guy.
6) Friedl needs to play every day. The guy is a player.
On item 3), I agree! The Reds, this year and in recent years, make mediocre pitchers look like Cy Young! Repeatedly fail to hit behind the runner, NOT hit into double plays, and hit sacrifice fly balls when the situation warrants! Not sure why, but frustrating to watch, over and over!
You pull a pitcher in a tight game late when he’s struggling. Period.
Bell asleep at the wheel again.
I like Diaz, but he’s a young pitcher with less than half a seasons worth of closing games. 2 innings was a lot to ask him to do tonight. He’ll be fine, but put him in better situations.
Lodolo looked great, I wish they didn’t push Ashcraft back. We’re likely to get swept now.
“I wish they didn’t push Ashcraft back”
Me too.
I’m far from a Bell apologist….I wish he had been replaced 2 years ago. However, I think he handled Diaz perfectly today.
Perfect 8th….K’d the side.
Started the 9th with a walk….concerning.
WEAK (86.6 mph) ground ball….seeing eye single.
Even WEAKER (83.8 mph) ground ball past Vosler.
Belll pulls him as pitch count is high.
Look…I wanted our best RP to have a chance finish it, and Bell gave him a chance.
There’s plenty to things to fault Bell about. Today wasn’t one of them.
Did you not notice the wild pitch, all the pitches that were nowhere near the target, the foul balls that were hit hard, and all the bad pitches the Phillies were swinging at to avoid being walked? The hits may not have been screaming line drives, but they were the predictable result of bad pitching.
I did, but you can’t pull a relief pitcher, especially your best one, everytime 2 guys get on base.
Josh Hader tonight, leadoff walk, soft single, wild pitch.
Full counts everywhere. 29 pitches.
No runs scored.
Got the save.
No, not EVERY time. This is where it comes in handy to have a manager who can see what’s going on and make a sound judgment about what’s likely to happen. Some managers have a knack for it, others don’t. Hader has 135 saves, Diaz has 11. Hader hadn’t pitched the 8th, Diaz had. Hader had a 3 run lead, Diaz had a 2 run lead. A smart manager wouldn’t treat those situations as if they’re identical. Bell doesn’t seem to be able to sense those rather important differences. (And I guess you don’t either.)
Agreed
who is ready for Overton to turn it around tomorrow?
ESPN Stats & Info
Interesting factoid from ESPN tweet:
“@ESPNStatsInfo
The Phillies had lost 74 straight regular season games when trailing by multiple runs in the 9th inning before their comeback win over the Reds tonight.”
If your team is off to a rough start, have faith. The Reds will be on your schedule eventually
Absolutely! Every team in the NL can’t wait for the Reds to roll into time! No cure for a losing streak than a series against the Reds! Now a sub-500 record and I doubt they will get to or above 500 the rest of the season! A team is generally a reflection of their manager! Just watch a post-game news conference by Bell. Lifeless, unenergetic, uninspiring that would put any chronic insomniac to sleep!
I agree. But, he isn’t going anywhere. I’ll not be surprised if he gets yet another extension. He’s connected and the Castellini group rewards nepotism and loyalty, regardless of performance.
“Just watch a post-game news conference by Bell. Lifeless, unenergetic, uninspiring that would put any chronic insomniac to sleep!”
Dennis – LOL Cut it out. You’re killing me. hahaha To be honest I used to say the same kind of things about Dusty Baker. Some managers are like that more than others I guess.
Melvin; you’re right. I expect that you guys have seen a few Bill Belichik post-game press conferences?
Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that his teams won a few games here and there.
Too many gaping holes in the line-up. Weaksticks up and down,..and also, over on the bench. The Reds have some Minor leaguers that can actually hit a baseball, but they choose to keep them in the Minors and play hitless wonders,..game after game,..year after year. Myers has no business in the Majors!!! He’s an automatic out,..usually 3 pitches. That’s on Bell and Krall, and whomever else is making these horrible decisions. Lopez can hit a baseball,…McLain,… and on and on. Instead we play whiffers. We may be the worst hitting team in baseball,..and it’s not going to get any better until they send some of these weaksticks down and bring up some baseball players. Benson has no reason to be on the team,..and so many others. There are Little Leaguers that have a better chance at the plate than some of these guys.
Agree,
Myers appears to be toast. I prefer Aquino, at least he could throw guys out.
Time for some accountability pills less we want another 3-20 April
Bell – use Diaz in 8th fine but have an arm ready for the second batter if he loses the first. Long inning goin into bottom of 8th and 9th. Also why givault vs Farmer? Isn’t farmer our setup man given what we signed him for (hair splitting I know)
Diaz – hard to be taken as a serious closer if Castellanos making faces at you on third is gonna rattle you. Start eating nails and get nasty
Defense – been wishy washy all year clean it up boys it’s embarrassing
Krall – You’ve got a big 3 and compliment it with no bullpen. You are the gm. Fix it. Tired of hearing well we can’t rush I guy to the majors blah blah. If you can throw strikes get them into this bullpen yesterday
Whole organization – stop placating losing. It’s not ok to lose. Reds and almost all of their affiliates last year and this year keep finding ways to lose games. Enough! Fix it and stop settling for we’ll get ‘‘em tomorrow
Well it could be worse. The trash pandas, the Huntsville AA team where I live, were playing Chattanooga, the Reds AA team tonight. They were playing a double header so games were 7 innings long. Going into the top of the 7th the Trash Pands led 3-0 and had a no hitter. Chattanooga scored 7 runs in their half of the seventh. But they did not get a hit. There was 1 error, 1 wild pitch, 6 walks, and 4 batters hit by pitch. The Trash Pands lost a game where they allowed no hits 7-5. Talk about a meltdown by your bullpen. And all 7 runs were scored with two outs….jeez!
That’s an all timer.
What’s more concerning is the the Lookouts were no-hit in the game. Probably had a ton of strikeouts too. Not good.
The season is a hell of a lot more enjoyable if you look at it as a slapstick comedy. After several years as a Reds fan I’m now actively rooting for them to lose each game in the most humiliating and demoralizing fashion. I figure I’m far less likely to end up disappointed.
My only argument with the season thus far is that there’s not enough *variety* in their bumbling. Bullpen implosions are cool and all, but they get boring if there are too many in a row. I want to see some more sensational losing. You know, base running errors, dropped fly balls, balking in the winning run, seven walks in a row, that sort of thing.
Still, from where I’m sitting this is a promising season.
>>>My only argument with the season thus far is that there’s not enough *variety* in their bumbling. Still, from where I’m sitting this is a promising season.
Heh. I hear you.
>>> I want to see some more sensational losing. You know, base running errors
You mean like when Friedl got doubled up at first base on a simple flyout to right field? When he didn’t even slow down at second base on the popout, but ran right on to third base to complete the DP?? That should have brought a smile. Sad,..but (I must admit) funny.
I’m ready for him to bring Fernando Cruz back into the mix on a regular basis like they did at the end of last year with his 1.23 ERA in 14 games. Cruz led all the minor leagues in Saves last year and was impressive in ST too.
Yes
Thoughts on this game;
– bell doesn’t have a track record of using relievers for multiple innings. Sure he does it occasionally but it’s rare. Tells me he is already worried about his bullpen 2 weeks into the season. Not a good message to Send but not too my cvs to ask either.
– 2nd, reds know they don’t have the starting outcChing or bullpen to win low scoring games. The offense needs to score more than 2 runs. The odds of our bullpen holding a 1 run lead with 2 innings to go are just slim and none this year. The players and coaches need to understand this.
– can’t really blame the loss on the manager. Maybe he should have pulled Diaz quicker but it’s clear that Diaz is the best bullpen pitcher so why not 2 innings after 5 days off. Players have to perform.
– lodolo is a stud.
Bell is not a good manager… period. This team could be halfway decent if everything falls into place, but the bullpen is obviously the weak link. Synergy is real in sports. This team has shown some signs of building team chemistry. The best thing any manager can do to try to help his team and especially a weak bullpen is set clearly defined roles. Diaz should only pitch the ninth inning. He needs to pick who he thinks is his second most reliable BP arm and make him the set up man. Although, I have to admit that I’m not sure who that setup man should be.
I believe we are going to see some of the better prospects that are currently in the minors before the all-star break. Is the 172 days for a year of service time rule still in effect? If so, I do not blame management for waiting at least 16 days before bringing up a quality prospect. I would not be surprised at all to see De La Cruz, CES, McClain, and Williamson all up to the bigs this year. I for one would be excited to see the team go super young this year and start to see what they got. I do not believe that you can ruin a potentially great player by bringing them up too soon. It does however, expose the overhyped. Almost all of the most exciting players in the MLB today are players that got their shot early. If you can play, you can play. It’s just baseball. Most delays for premier prospects are really about service time manipulation and trying to time up a team’s best shot at winning windows.
That. Not to mention, how many of you have been crying about relievers being limited to 1 inning (me included). Gibaut is notorious for walking the 1st batter of giving up a hit, then buckling down. In that instance, he wouldn’t have been my choice.
Diaz was credited with both a hold and a loss. How does that make any sense?
Could you ever imagine Gibson, Carlton, Seaver, Ryan, Marichal, and Koufax coming out of a 1 – 0 game after 7 innings just because they had thrown 106 pitches? They would have strangled the manager had he even attempted to remove them from that kind of game. Lodolo should have continued pitching in this game. And those guys I mentioned did it all of the time on 3 days rest, and today’s pitchers do it on 4 days rest, and are praised to the heavens if they go 7 innings now. They’re paid to pitch, and pitch well. When they do, let them pitch!!!
Who?
If Bell would have replaced Diaz after walking the lead off hitter in the 9th this board would have exploded. Furthermore if he would have done that and the reds would have still lost, well I think you see what I’m indicating.
There is something in between removing him after a walk and waiting until there’s been a walk, wild pitch, several more bad pitches, the tying run at third, the go-ahead run at first, with nobody out. This sort of all-or-nothing thinking is one of the reasons Bell is such a bad manager, and the people who think he gets criticized “no matter what he does” are guilty of the same sort of all-or-nothing thinking.
I think Bell made the right decision sending Diaz out for the 9th inning. He was dominant in the 8th and there was no reason to think he would suddenly lose it. Diaz lost the game but Gibaut allowed the winning hit. Unlike almost every one else on this site I believe Bell is becoming a good manager and if he stays with the talent coming up I wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually won a Manager of the Year award. If his decision was to replace Diaz in the 9th and the Reds lost the uproar over his decision would have been even worse.
David Bell isn’t the problem, but he isn’t the solution either. Just a weak link in an organization full of weak links.
+1000
He is a perfect fit for the organization he is part of.
The culture of losing has to end. David Bell is not solely responsible for it but he is a big part of it. As far as I know, the man has never had a winning record as manager outside of the Covid season. At this point, I’m hoping that the record is bad enough, by the end of May, that they give them the boot and hire someone from far far away..
To paraphrase the great Jim Palmer, about what he said in reference to Earl Weaver. What does David Bell know about winning, he never has. Time to change turn this page, sooner than later.
Pete if we change manager in order for me to be ok with the hire it would have to be under new ownership. Otherwise foryabout it.
I understand where you’re coming from and I live in Charlotte North Carolina. At this point I don’t care if they sell the team and they move to Montreal. I just want a good team to follow.
The organization needs a complete overhaul. Getting rid of David Bell should just be the tip of a very large iceberg. I really do like what I see out of Nick Krall as far as bringing in young, talented ball players. I’m very dubious that they can be developedproperly though. The organization needs a thorough house cleaning and Krall should be able to hire his own people. Not leftovers from the last administration.
We still have a chance to be just like last year. Still only 3 wins WooHoo!!!
But hey at least the team is mostly fun to watch this year.
Teams need a bridge in the 8th to get to your closer in the ninth. If the Reds/Bell has no confidence or does not have any reliable set up man then expecting your closer to give you two innings all the time is bad news. If he does get you the save he is not going to be available for at least the next game and where does that leave your team for that game?
Pitchers like Connor Phillips, Andrew Abbott, Lyon Richardson, Brandon Williamson and or Chase Petty should make their MLB appearance in the Reds bullpen. Why not put some talent in the pen, instead of the usual washed up reliever(s) that the Reds usually depend upon?
If anyone shows they are too talented in relief they can be moved to the rotation.