The Cincinnati Reds had to come from behind on Wednesday night in Boston but Spencer Steer’s 2-run home run in the top of the 7th inning got the job done, breaking a 3-3 tie and putting the Reds up for good. The win gives Cincinnati a series win with one more to play against the Red Sox.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (26-29) |
5 | 8 | 1 |
| Boston Red Sox (28-27) |
4 | 10 | 1 |
| W: Gibaut (5-1) L: Winckowski (2-1) SV: Farmer (1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Boston would strike first on Wednesday night when Masatka Yoshida homered down the right field line. The call was challenged that it was a fair ball, but the review upheld the call and the Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead. They would add another run in the 3rd inning when Boston picked up a single and then an RBI double from Rafael Devers.
Cincinnati would get a run back in the 5th inning with a little bit of a 2-out rally. Jose Barrero walked and came around to score when Luke Maile doubled off of the Green Monster in left-center. It wasn’t a 1-run game for long, though, as Enmanuel Valdez hit a solo homer off of Luke Weaver in the bottom of the inning to put the Red Sox up 3-1.
In the top of the 6th inning the Reds got out to a nice start when Jonathan India and Spencer Steer began the inning with walks, but back-to-back fly outs left things up to Nick Senzel to make something happen and make something happen he did. Senzel lined a single into center to bring India around to make it 3-2.
The Reds went back to work in the top of the 7th inning, loading the bases after an error and back-to-back singles from Kevin Newman and Matt McLain. Jonathan India grounded into a double play, but it did bring in Will Benson to tie the game up at 3-3. Spencer Steer followed up with a 2-run home run to put Cincinnati up 5-3.
After wrapping up the bottom of the 6th inning, Ian Gibaut returned for the 7th. He would retire Enrique Hernandez to start the inning but Enmanuel Valdez reached on catchers interference. Gibaut then got Connor Wong to fly out, but with two lefties due up the Reds called on Alex Young out of the bullpen. Alex Verdugo came through with a bloop single into shallow left field to put runners on first and second for Rafael Devers. He and Young would battled, but Devers came out on top as he worked a 10-pitch walk to load the bases and bring Justin Turner to the plate against his former organization. Young would come through and win this match up as he got Turner to chase a ball well outside of the zone and ground out to Matt McLain to strand the bases loaded and hold onto a 5-3 lead.
Lucas Sims took over in the bottom of the 8th inning and gave up a leadoff double to Masataka Yoshida before getting Rob Refsnyder to fly out for the first out of the inning. Jarren Duran then slapped a double down the left field line to bring Yoshida in to score and make it a 1-run ballgame. Boston then brought in pinch hitter Raimel Tapia, but he would line out to center and Durran was unable to advance. Sims wiggled out of the self-imposed jam with a 9-pitch strikeout of Enmanuel Valdez after falling behind 2-0 – he threw seven straight strikes that included five foul balls before a swinging strike ended the inning with the Reds up 5-4.
Still holding a 5-4 lead, Buck Farmer was called on for the bottom of the 9th inning. Farmer struck out Connor Wong to get things started and then got some help from Kevin Newman on a sliding stop to his left before firing across the diamond to get Alex Verdugo out. Rafael Devers worked a full count before flying out to the wall in dead center field to end the game and give Farmer his first save of the year.
Key Moment of the Game
Spencer Steer’s 2-run go-ahead home run in the 7th inning.
Notes Worth Noting
The win was the Reds 5th in a row. It guarantees a series win with one game left to play in Boston.
Matt McLain picked up two more hits and he’s now hitting .361.
Buck Farmer lowered his ERA to 2.60 on the season.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Boston Red Sox
Thursday June 1st, 7:10pm ET
Hunter Greene (1-4, 4.18 ERA) vs Chris Sale (5-2, 4.72 ERA)
I’m going to step out on a limb and say we won the Mahle trade. Steer and CES for a guy that couldn’t pitch at Gabp
Someone please call the cops. The Twins got robbed in daylight. 🙂
Krall has done pretty good overall. Think he’s gotten good value for players he had to move. Only one I really didn’t like was the Moreta for Newman deal. Just unnecessary. I was even happy with the Myers signing, which looks pretty bad right now.
Newman has performed way past my expectations but still, I’d rather have Moreta back. We have plenty of options to replace Newman.
Hanawi, the Newman/Moreta deal can be considered unnecessary only if you feel that having a starting SS is unnecessary. Who was going to be the 2023 starter at SS if you consider Barrero to be something other than a safe bet (which even JB’s most ardent supporters would not argue about)? Many here considered Kyle Farmer to be substandard as the starter. Farmer is > Barrero.
Would you have considered Matt McLain as a prudent 2023 MLB starter at SS, when he was strikeout prone, and only able to muster a .232 BA in his first exposure to AA pitching? There’s a world of difference between AA pitching and MLB pitching. And it was unnecessary to rush one of your top prospects at such a young age after a mixed performance in AA.
Do you consider Matt Reynolds to be a starting caliber MLB SS? Probably not.
The Reds needed a 2023 stopgap starter at SS until their top prospects got more seasoning. Trading a homer prone unproven reliever (with 38 IP in ‘22) for a shortstop who can play every day is a solid deal. Maybe Moreta has figured out his homer issues or maybe he’s a better fit for the Pirates than pitching half of his games at GABP. Who knows, but a couple months is a small sample size.
It might prove to be a win-win for both teams.
Keep the momentum going. Bring up De La Cruz and CES and make it even better.
Not sure if my favorite part of the game was the Steer home run or Welsh suggesting the Reds have a promotion where India gives out pearl necklaces….
Sadak sounded like he swallowed 3 or 4 punch lines and was silent, thank goodness
Because I was blacked out, I’m having to watch these games on NESN, the Red Sox’ home channel. Their announcers, who include Kevin Youklis and Tim Wakefield, are affable, enjoy themselves, don’t talk much about the game in progress, and won’t shut up. I don’t get headaches, but these guys give me one halfway through the second inning. I actually think Sadak is okay, but I like him even better after two days of NESN. I agree with Indy about the Mahle trade, fwiw.
Any time he quits spewing out endless no meaning stats it makes me happy.
Yes Siri , and hope he give up the whispery voice when making a point.
The only thing I don’t like. . . we are still 3 games behind the Brewers and 2 behind the Pirates.
I hear so much love for CES and DLC, which is rightful, actually. How about some love for Steer? I mean, if I recall correctly, this guy is still a rookie. Even if he isn’t, he barely misses that designation.
Steer is awesome. No arguments out of me.
Yes, Steer is putting himself into the early conversation for ROY.
Corbin Carroll says hello.
Carroll .290/.376/.519, 9HR, “Hello”
Steer .289/.356/.498, 8HR, “Right back at ya”
Defense would be the biggest separation, but still in the conversation.
Fair argument
Steer is not flashy and he’s not a ‘center of the action’ type player, but he does have grit which is a quality needed on a winning team. Winning one-run games is a positive indicator.
Steer has grit and a steady, solid approach. He’s a ballplayer. I also think he’s turning into an excellent defensive first baseman.
Steer is the prize in the cracker jacks. What a pleasant surprise he’s been.
Steer is proving to be a much better player than I thought he would be. Along with the other rookies, they have a great approach at the plate. This was a game I penciled in as a loss given the way it ended last night, but the win gives me hope that these guys can be relevant this year.
Awesome day for the system. The Reds with guaranteed a series win in Boston, AAA has CES, Hopkins, and Robinson perfecting the art of becoming the best AAA players they can be today.
Petty back, and healthy. He has started 4, 4 IP games so far with 1 ER for a sparkly 0.56 ERA. I’d like to see Petty in AAA, when the promotions start, Abbott to the Reds, Phillips to AAA, and Petty to AA.
After the trade Twins fans were blowing up social media over giving up Steer.
He’s at +200 pa for the season and looking very consistently productive.
A dinger every now and then is more than welcome.
Maybe Bregman like, without the cheating, of course.
Matt Mclain, wow I am very impressed. Guy looks like he has been playing for years. Can’t detect any fear or hesitation in him. Makes the defensive plays in tight situations with no problem and he was 2-4 again tonight. Huge shout out to Newman again. Great play in the ninth and he was also 2-4. Big hit of tonight of course Steer’s homer. Tough game tomorrow against Sale. Greene better bring his A game. Go Reds.
Newman’s been impressive. He’s carved out a positive role on a team with a lot of infielders. One of his outs was a 90mph line drive right at somebody.
Greene looked good in his last outing… I was wondering if he would appear in this series… The Reds have it going right now. I wouldn’t bet against them…
I’m impressed by McClain, too. And he’s looking more and more like a good shortstop; as redfan says, he seems unintimidated by tight plays or any other kind of pressure.
If Greene wants to be the ace, he’ll need to relish facing opponents’ aces. He’ll get there, and probably sooner rather than later.
Greene pitched very well vs the Cubs ace …
He’s a work in progress, but he seems unfazed by pressure. And level headed.
I think maybe we can stop writing Steer out as a key player in the rebuild. I cringed when I read that column by Jason L last week. Out of respect, I didn’t comment or criticize, but it felt out off base. I’m pretty confident he’s going to continue to prove his doubters wrong.
Also, can all the Newman doubters admit they were wrong? Dudes been money pretty much all year, offensively and defensively. Happy to see it! Barrero just has too many non-competitive AB’s. Still pulling for him, just has to become more of a grinder. Stop trying to yard every AB.
No, this Newman doubter will not admit to being wrong. Keep him against LHers and trade him soon to the first buyer.
I never expected that you would, LDS. I’d be riddled with anxiety about the fate of the world had you not answered as you did.
I’ll admit I was NOT a big fan of Newman but he’s winning me over! Awesome defensive play tonight plus a couple of hits to boot! As for Barrero, I agree his approach at the plate lacks discipline! I worry that the long grand slam he hit last night will encourage him to “swing for the fences” instead of just making good contact and putting the ball in play on a consistent basis!
Actually, Barrero’s SO rate is now under 30% and his BB % is over 10%. In the last two weeks, he’s hit .280 with a .400 OBP, giving him an OPS over .840. His WAR is now back to 0 (Newman is still negative as is Fraley’s). He has a higher Slg Pct than Stephenson and YTD is within .016 of Stephenson’s OPS. He’s 3rd on the team in BB/PA. So by the numbers, he should be playing more, not less.
Just saying Fraley has a negative WAR is ridiculous, it’s literally a tenth lower than Barrero’s nothing (0 vs -0.1).
That speaks to how well Barrero’s played on defense, and that’s with an obvious lack of polish to his glove side at SS and playing a new position. His role on the team is consistent with his numbers if you ask me, he’s getting plenty of playing time.
What’s ridiculous about factual statements? If Barrero is zero and Fraley is a tenth lower, Fraley is negative. His EV, HH%, and BABIP are higher than Fraley’s as well. It’s analytics right. That’s all we’re supposed to care about now.
Because its literally a tenth. Just disingenuous without providing the number.
WAR especially should be looked at like a +/- .3 at least, given the very dubious defensive numbers. There’s no difference for me between a 0 and a 0.1.
Barerro is optionable and they haven’t done it, and he’s been given a lot of rope as a struggling young player. I’m not sure what else you expect the Reds to do, he’s being treated like he’s a positive piece for the team. Your numbers provided bare that out.
maybe more like +/- .1, and this is all without mentioning there are two WAR numbers available.
@2020, I’m not a fan of most “analytics”. Things like BABIP are largely meaningless particularly over small sample sizes. Many are “curve fitting” with factor weights adjusted periodically. Nonetheless, some of Barrero’s tangible numbers like SO/BB do show an improvement. I expect Stephenson likewise to show improvement over time. I think the injury cost in each case was substantial. As for Fraley/Newman? Give Newman time in the OF and let him be Fraley’s platoon partner.
You say you dont like them, but you use them properly here anyway, and they are backing up what youre saying. The only thing that bugs me is you’re latching onto small numbers to fit your arguments, perhaps using these numbers out of spite against them which is…interesting. If you’re not a fan of them, why not bridge the gap and realize they have a use like you’ve done here but if you focus too much on BABIP or WAR you’re not doing it right.
I’m only happy about Newman’s production insofar as it means they’ll be able to get a better return when they trade him later this year.
He’s still playing far too much for my liking, and I’ll be much happier once his AB’s are going to a player who is actually part of the future, like Barrero or EDLC.
I just want the players that are here to play and perform, and if youre contributing positively you should have a role on the team. I truly dont care what their age or contract is. Newman’s contributed to wins lately so play him because of that, end of story. If they trade him great, but someone has to be in a bench role on this team. It ain’t gonna be EDLC. You say Newman’s playing too much but if you handed Elly the same amount of playing time he’s gotten, everyone would be livid. If Newman’s supposedly played too much, then Barrero’s playing plenty because its been the same amount.
That’s just the thing: Barrero should be playing MORE than Newman. They should not even have close to equal playing time.
And that’s the problem: Newman is supposed to be a bench player, but he actually has slightly more ABs than Barrero. Newman should have had half as many ABs, and those ABs had gone to Barrero instead.
That’s why I said I sincerely hope the only reason he’s playing so much is to increase his trade value. Otherwise, it’s complete short-sighted mismanagement.
Has a statistical analysis been applied to these statistics to show that 0 and -0.1 are statistically different numbers?
I don’t believe that each factor that goes into deciding these numbers is so absolute that a 95% confidence level can be established that shows that a 0.1 difference is a true difference. So, LDS, unless you can show me where to find the statistical analysis that shows otherwise, I believe that 0 and -/+0.1 are statistically the same number.
In arguing about Barrero’s playing time, we’re handicapped by the lack of a particular piece of information: what are the organization’s actual–not supposed–views concerning his future role?
@2020, I used them because many here seem to like them – until they conflict with their own perceptions. Some of the numbers from Statcast, for example, are new information, e.g., EV. But most of the numbers are derived from the Sabremetrics community and derive from combinations of the same intrinsic stats: AB, H, SO, BB, HR, etc. They are at best descriptive. They are no better than Bell’s handedness obsession. I do think Barrero’s trend over the last month is in the right direction. Not as fast as we’d like. He still has a high ceiling and is the best defensive SS on the team at this point and that includes McLain. As for McLain, I hope he keeps hitting but the echoes of August 2019 linger in my mind. I don’t expect it to happen again, but it could. The biggest downside to the Reds winning is the increased likelihood of Bell being here next year, which I expected all along. His interview in MLB a couple of days ago where he was talking about how he had so much versatility and players to play multiple positions was concerning. He’s not the best manager to bring to a young team. At least, the interviewer asked him if that’s how his career went.
@Doc, WAR is absolutely not intended to be be a precise measure and doing so is one of the most common misuses of it as a statistic. I applaud what WAR attempts to measure and it definitely has it’s uses, but it is so commonly misunderstood and misused, I pretty much for the most part pay it no attention any longer.
Here are a few excerpts from Fangraphs, https://library.fangraphs.com/misc/war/ :
– WAR is an estimate. You should not use WAR with the expectation that it is precise to the decimal point.
– WAR is not meant to be a perfectly precise indicator of a player’s contribution, but rather an estimate of their value to date. Given the imperfections of some of the available data and the assumptions made to calculate other components, WAR works best as an approximation. A 6 WAR player might be worth between 5.0 and 7.0 WAR, but it is pretty safe to say they are at least an All-Star level player and potentially an MVP.
– Perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of sabermetrics is the way in which WAR is used. Given the nature of the calculation and potential measurement errors, WAR should be used as a guide for separating groups of players and not as a precise estimate. For example, a player that has been worth 6.4 WAR and a player that has been worth 6.1 WAR over the course of a season cannot be distinguished from one another using WAR. It is simply too close for this particular tool to tell them apart. WAR can tell you that these two players are likely about equal in value, but you need to dig deeper to separate them.
In my view, none of these numbers should be used as they are.
I didn’t have a problem with Newman only his expected usage. He has taken AB’s away from Barrero when this was the year to find out what we have in Jose. He still has a negative defensive WAR. I’ve said it 10x, Newman isn’t a bad player, just not someone that the Reds should build around.
I don’t think any team’s ever built a team around a bench player. Whomever he’s supposedly blocking should be playing more than he does anyway.
When Elly is up, Newman is superfluous to the roster. I certainly don’t blame the Reds if they want to keep a player that’s looked much more solid lately, but his spot is vulnerable.
I don’t know that he would be superfluous; he could be a bench player who can handle the infield positions competently and provide patient and often productive at-bats. Would Senzel take his place? He probably could, but he might be more useful in the outfield rotation.
Newman has gotten a lot of at bats as a third baseman, second baseman and DH. So he hasn’t taken away as many at bats from Barrero as these posts would indicate. McLain has taken far more. Newman has been exactly what he was supposed to be when acquired and that should be a positive thing.
Moreta has a 1.80 ERA. Newman is a role player on a nice little hot streak but had a sub-.300 OBP before that. The value that some people place on journeyman middle infielders like Farmer and Newman on this board is weird.
Farmer’s getting regular playing time on a 1st place team. Yeah, guess that’s “weird” too.
The Twins are barely above .500. Maybe giving regular playing time to a journeyman with a below .700 OPS is not the best strategy for success. Yes, weird.
2020 and Hanawi – Excellent points. I would like to see Newman traded when the team is ready to call up EDLC – unless Barrero is demoted which I don’t see happening since it didn’t happen when McLain was called up.
I still predict Farmer will wear a ring. He’s the kind of player you want on a winning team. He won’t be the best player on that team — he might even be a bench player. But he’s what you want to round out your roster. I’m also not suggesting the Reds should have kept him.
Barely above .500 and in first place is supposedly a negative? What in the world argument is that? Sorry he’s not on the Dodgers?
Farmer is a successful player and has value, he’s a glue player and unspectacular. Successful teams have these types of players whether you’d like to think so or not. That you dont place value on him is the weirdest thing we have going on here.
I don’t think the problem with Newman’s play is actually Newman or his play. It’s that his presence stands in the way of players people would rather see.
If they perform better, then you’ll see them more. It’s really not that crazy of a notion. If they’re going to struggle like Barrero has then bring him along slowly and they’re not so pressured to perform or get optioned. Slowly we’re seeing a turn around in him, why can’t that also be due to the way he’s been used?
Just a matter of time before Fraley heats back up. I’m thinking it’s going to happen vs the brewers this weekend
He’s a player I’ve been watching a bit more skeptically, LF might be a part of the team I consider upgrading this offseason. He’s still very important to this year’s team.
Right field needs updating first, well before left field.
Also true.
His power’s down (same as most of the team), but other than that he’s pretty consistent with his prior numbers. He’s reduced his K rate which is a positive (18% down from 22% and 28% the years prior). Dont know if those are connected, but he’s not hitting as well as I’d like a fringy defensive OF to.
I don’t really think he’s that good. Definitely not a starter-level player. Probably a 4th or 5th OF but behind Fairchild IMO.
Not many comments on the pitching. However, Weaver pretty much held his own given that he was pitching at Fenway, and the bullpen gave up only one run with no need to call on Diaz to close. Yes, it looked a bit dicey at times, but they collectively held Boston to four runs at home. Works for me.
I agree about Weaver. Good start in an intimidating situation. His change-up looked good and, mostly, his control, too. If he and Lively can keep this up, they are–at the least–buying the Reds a little time to find more pitching help, and increasing the chances of a modest playoff run this year.
Fun win. Love watching Steer hit and McClain’s a gamer and doesn’t look like a rookie. If the Reds can climb to .500+ before the break, I’d soft buy at the deadline but we may not like giving up the players team’s are going to be asking about. Marte will be a frequent ask.
How long will it be until we realize that Stephenson is a good hitter for a catcher but not the answer as a DH? Time to get CES up for DH and a little rotate between him and Steer at 1B and DH.
Yes. This.
CES as DH/1st baseman will produce a lot more runs than Stephenson.
Stephenson was really good two years ago, but didn’t play enough, with Tucker here. And hurt A LOT last year.
Keep Stephenson, as he WILL have a few big years in the future. Not everybody is “hot” at the same time. He will have a stretch this year when he will crank it up and be very productive.
Breaking a collar bone takes a long time to come back from. I don’t think he’s close to 100%.
I would let him get a big league at bat before making that prediction.
I agree that Stephenson isn’t currently hitting at a level and profile befitting of the DH spot. However, his career numbers prior to this season suggest he is a good all around hitter, not just a good hitting catcher.
Stephenson’s career OPS/OPS+ coming into 2023 was .823/116. His OPB so far in 2023 is only .033 off his prior career OBP but his slugging this year is -.114 to his prior career levels. This is probably because his shoulder is not back to full strength following the injury and surgery in 2022.
This said, I believe the Reds would be better served using someone else in the DH role for the remainder of 2023; and, the most likely candidate is CES,
Jim, just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to post thoughtful and well-supported commentary.
I think your last sentence really nails the issue, though. TS may be an above average hitter no matter where he plays on the field (or not), but the real point in all this is that he would be that much better as a full-time catcher (assuming he doesn’t make you sacrifice defensive value).
Can’t be said enough; the real value in him is if he’s catching 100 games a year or so and a power threat is DH’ing. You start to slip beneath that, he’s always going to be a compromise.
100% agree. He’s a player who’s going to have an OBP of .350 or so with little power. Above average for a Catcher, but way below average for a 1B or DH. If the Reds make the determination after this season that he’s not capable of giving you 100 games a year at Catcher, it might be time to move on from him.
Stephenson’s career slugging % prior to 2023 was .454. That’s not going to get him to a .900 OPS. However, his .823 prior career OPS was good for an OPS+ of 116. That is more than just a good hitter for a catcher. His slugging % of .482 at the time he went down in 2022 would have been 11th in the NL, just ahead of Realmuto had it carried through to the end of the season.
Stephenson might play on the low end for HR among DH and 1B but largely make up for that on doubles. For me, the book is still out on whether when fully healthy he can carry the weight of DH or 1B.
Wow, I guess Bell is just ruining these young players and costing us wins. Please go back and look at your preseason projections on wins and bullpen success. I think he is getting better results than projections so far. No one agrees with all managers decisions but through first third of the season Bell seems to be at least meeting expectations. Team is performing well even with injuries and the bullpen appears okay under his management whether or not we would do it that way. Set back and enjoy competitive baseball and let the small stuff go.
this
Before the season, I said this team has the talent to be a .500 team, but Bell’s mismanagement would cost them about 5-8 wins, so they’d finish with about 75 wins.
Looks like I was exactly right.
With a better manager, this team would probably have a winning record right now.
Looks like to me they are going to finish at or above .500 where you say their talent lies, time will tell. They have been gaining on breakeven since fairly early in April. I see no reason that won’t continue. Many prognosticators had much lower expectations i.e. 100 lossses and other such nonsense. If they finish at .500 it would seem he met expectations at the least, possibly exceeding many earlier predictions. Again, time will tell.
the season’s 1/3 over and you’re exactly right? what?
They’re playing pretty well lately if you haven’t noticed. Why when they’re not playing well is it Bells fault, and then when they’re playing well it’s I guess the magical baseball fairies fault?
@ 2020ball
Yes, the Reds are exactly on pace for what I said they would finish. They currently have a .473 winning percentage, which projects to exactly 75 wins.
So yes, so far, I have been exactly right.
The Reds are playing well right now. It won’t last. But they will have other good spells later too. That’s the way a long baseball season works.
But I feel pretty confident they are going to finish with mid-70-something wins. With a better manager, they could push for low-80-something.
“Most people would rather be right than be happy.” – Abraham Lincoln
Conjecture. You don’t know. I’ve been tough on Bell in the past but he’s pushing all the right buttons now.
Great quote from Honest Abe. Consider, for a moment, how sad it is to be neither. We’ve really worn out the argument about Bell and the importance of managers. I can safely say, though, that with one or two effective starting pitchers, the Reds would have a better record. With everything else the same but a twice as many home runs, the Reds would have a better record. And so on…
You are exactly right now, but five games ago you were not even close to right. Since your projection was for the season, only at the end of the season can it be determined if you were right or wrong, not at some cherry-picked point.
Wow exactly right! What a gift.
Hey, hate the game, not the playa.
Point is, as of right now, the Reds are exactly on pace for what I predicted for the season.
I expect them to hang around this number the rest of the way. Sometimes they may go a few games over .500. Or they might drop down to 8 games below .500. That’s the way a long baseball season works.
They’ll have good stretches and bad stretches, but I think their record right now is pretty indicative of who they are with Bell as their manager.
C13J you say:
“Before the season, I said this team has the talent to be a .500 team, but Bell’s mismanagement would cost them about 5-8 wins, so they’d finish with about 75 wins.
Looks like I was exactly right”.
Don’t hurt your pitching arm patting yourself on the back …
Just because you approximated their WinTOTAL does not mean that they would win more with another manager as you also predicted. One has nothing to do with the other, and FWIW I also predicted a 75 win season. There were many here who predicted a 100 loss season, which I thought was ridiculous. It’s still early, time will tell.
Considering none of the big three starters have even met expectations, and there have been numerous injuries, one could surmise that they’re playing above expectations and Bell deserves a good deal of the credit. Heck, is there even one player on the entire team (other than Alexis Diaz) worthy of an all-star vote?
This team has exceeded expectations, and the players seem to play hard for Bell. The man deserves plenty of credit.
Earmbrister:
Yes, I’ll happily pat myself on the back for being right, at this point in time. Check back in at the end of the season. 🙂
Of course, in rating Bell as a poor manager, it’s simply my opinion. Just like your opinion is that Bell is the second coming of Sparky and is on his way to Cooperstown.
I will say this: It’s not hard to point out several games where Bell made head-scratching or outright bone-headed moves which ended up costing the Reds the game. He has made several more bad moves where the Reds won in spite of him, not because of him.
Another manager would certainly do things differently. Would it lead to better results? Maybe, maybe not. But I will say, it’s not a coincidence that Bell has one of the lowest salaries of any manager in MLB. As they say, you get what you pay for.
Sure it is easy to say that now. Truth is no one could of predicted where the Reds would be. Injures happen, players get hot and cold. Last time I looked the players play, pitch, hit and field.
Head-scratching only means that the commenter doesn’t understand the move. Boneheaded means that the commenter disagrees with the move. This is fine–opinions and all that. The trouble lies in taking it too seriously and forgetting that the alternative move you preferred might not have worked either. I won’t list again the dreadful losing seasons of acclaimed managers, but they’re easily checked.
“It wont last”
Jeez, im glad i dont watch the game like you do then. Keep thinking the manager is somehow worth -8 WAR when players rarely reach that high of a number. Its fine, your prediction through two months is spot on which seems like a silly thing to claim so early in the year.
Kevin H:
“Head-scratching” means the move does not adhere any logical, analytics-based formula. It’s just Bell saying “Well, let’s do this now, because that’s what I feel like.” And example of this is not letting Friedl hit against lefties, even though Friedl hits lefties just fine in his career.
“Bone-headed” mean Bell does something obviously wrong and then gets out-coached as a result, such as burning his whole bench in one inning.
It’s not hard to figure out, although it seems to be a mystery to you.
Sorry, the above comment was directed to greenmtred, not Kevin H.
Manager salary? You lost me there.
I dont think Bell is that much better than anyone else, but i do i think the players are the ones who win and lose games because theyre the ones on the field. A manager on a good team will win, on a bad team will lose. Even the good teams lose sometimes believe it or not.
All i want from the manager is to put in the work and get players to buy in and play at maximum effort and be trying to win. Thats it. The magical 8 win manager you think is out there doesnt exist. Dusty Baker for years batted his worst hitter leading off and still got wins. Because his players would play for him, simple as that.
Im an arrogant (expletive) and not even i think i could tell what moves supposedly lost all these games. The moves you’d make might not work out either, but i guess i just cant convince you of that.
Burning your bench is being outcoached?
I really dont get why everyone wants Bell to save his bench all the time. Sounds pointless to me when we dont have long extra inning games anymore. Id rather the manager were trying to win any way he can, even if it doesnt always work.
It’s fine to burn your bench when you’re in the 8th or 9th inning. It’s idiotic to do it in the 5th inning. What if someone gets injured? You’re going to have a pitcher play the outfield for half the game?
Yeah that’s exactly what I’m gonna do in the very rare occurances of an injury. I personally dont want a manager thats going to manage scared. Try and win the game and if it doesnt work out and there a pitcher in the OF for 2 innings, who cares?
There is much mystery in life. One mystery is why I’ve never heard of the manager’s handbook with well-established rules for making decisions. Fans see one slice of the game and the players. We judge a manager’s decisions based on that slice and, of course, there’s a lot of information that goes into making managerial decisions that you and I don’t have access to. Does Bell make mistakes? Decisions that don’t work? Of course he does. Every single manager in the history of the game has made mistakes. Fans have the luxury of judging these retrospectively and, having watched a lot of baseball on tv and played when we were kids, we make the mistake of believing that we know more than whoever the manager happens to be. We’ve heard this same sort of relentless criticism about every single manager the Reds have had going back to before Dusty Baker. Had we been Tigers’ fans in 1983 when they lost 103 games, we’d be hearing the same criticism of Sparky Anderson. It’s so easy to mistake opinions for facts.
I would have to go back and look at what I predicted for win total but I think I said it was 84 or 87? What I know I said is that our bullpen will be top 10 at the end. That looks pretty good . This team will win this division . Book it.
+100
Yeah, Bell ain’t so dumb when the players perform, is he?
Absolutely true. True for every manager in the history of the game.
It took John Wooden 15 years to win a championship at UCLA. I’m not saying Bell is John Wooden. But I do think I see why the Reds are sticking with him. His teams play hard – play with grit – don’t quit. And at some point, he’s going to have that mentality along with some exceptional talent and I think the sky is the limit. This team is “earning” its way out of the bottom.
What a fun team! Another competitive start from Luke Weaver – that will work every time. He doesn’t have to be perfect.
Good job by Newman, McLain, Senzel and Barerro in being on the base paths. I’m starting to see Steer as a core piece of the rebuild.
Would like to see much, much more from Stephenson. If anyone deserves to lose at-bats among the regulars it is probably Stephenson. We need more from the DH spot.
Hoping Friedl is ok and wishing health to all the players (major and minor leaguers).
Steer is definitely part of the rebuild, and I’m baffled by people who thought he wasn’t. My onlyajor problem with Steer is he’s living up to his prospect assessment of “all bat, no glove”. I’d really like to see him be the primary DH and platoon partner with Fraley in LF once CES and EDLC arrive.
I look forward to the following team sooner rather than later:
RF Friedl
CF McLain
2B India
SS EDLC
1B CES
DH Steer
LF Fraley
3B Senzel
C Stephenson
Bench:
C Robinson
INF (Some journeyman signing like Newman or Farmer)
UTL Barrero
OF Fairchild
OF Hopkins
Barrero is your INF, because I seriously doubt they ever carry 14 position players
I’m ok with that.
The thing is, the Reds have a lot of players capable of playing multiple positions, so they can move around as needed to keep their bats in the lineup.
To a wit:
C: Stephenson, Robinson
1B: CES, Steer, Stephenson
2B: India, McLain, Steer, Barrero, Senzel
SS: McLain, Barrero, EDLC
3B: Senzel, EDLC, Steer, CES, India
OF: Friedl, Fraley, Hopkins, Barrero, Senzel, McLain, Fairchild
DH: Literally anyone as needed
So there is some flexibility there, but I’d like to see most of the players have “regular” positions.
I’m good with it all but don’t give up on Maile. He has a good arm and calls a good game. His hitting has been a pleasant surprise. I like Robinson but don’t remember much about his defense. This is the first year he has really hit, so let’s see if he and Maile can keep it going.
Maile is 32 years old. Chuckie Robinson is 28.
Maile is on the tail end of his peak years, while Robinson is in the middle of his peak years. Those 4 years make a huge difference.
I know which I would want for the future, and therefore which one should be playing now. Maybe Maile can be traded for a B-level prospect, or could be packaged for something better.
Criticism of Steer’s defense ignores context. First, we only have very small sample sizes of data for 3B, his primary position in the minors and college. Also, the data contradicts the scouting reports, which assessed him as an average fielder (BA = 55; MLB = 45; RML = “average”). As for his play at 1B, he played two games at 1B in the minors–both last season after he was traded to the Reds. That’s it as a collegiate or professional. No work at 1B in Spring Training either. Essentially, he was asked to learn a new position in the Majors. Thus, we shouldn’t expect to see the polish necessary to even be average there yet. He simply lacks the experience.
P.S. Defensive metrics are positive on his work at 2B (all last season), although as already stated, 2B was not/is not his primary position.
I’ll argue that Steer has not only exceeded expectations with his bat, but he has also demonstrated he can provide versatility that will give the Reds the flexibility they need to accommodate EDLC, CES and Marte in the lineup when they promote, maximize the DH to keep players healthy reducing the number of days off players need to maintain optimum performance., and respond when injuries occur. Even if his defensive metrics stay slightly below average for his career, he’s the kind of player that can help the Reds optimize the rest of their position players. In short, his defense may be just as valuable as his hitting. Way too early to view it as a weakness.
intense, playoff atmosphere tonight. I think this reds team is here to stay this year. I honestly am not worried that much about the pitching. these guys are competing and keeping the team in games.
My big concerns are Stephenson, Fraley and Fairchild. they are all struggling to make contact. Stephenson in particular worries me. I just think it will likely take a full season for him to totally recover from the injury. But what do you do in the meantime? He IS The third best defensive catcher on the team and not hitting enough to justify being DH at this point.
What do they do for the rest of 2023 (about Stephson still not back to full strength)? Call Ghostbusters in the form of Christain Encarnacion-Strand. Put CES into the DH slot and forget about anyone else there unless he stumbles.
Hey Rednat. I seem to think differently about the Reds current situation. Most of my concern is with the pitching. Two of our big three have been underperforming and the third is on the IL. Weaver and Lively have been over performing and not sure how long that can go on. Maybe bring up Abbott and go with a six man rotation? Not sure how many starts the SP have gone six innings or more but does not seem like a whole lot and that puts a lot of pressure and innings on what seems to me to be a banged up bullpen (6 on IL I think) with only one left handed reliever. Of course we do agree on Go Reds. 🙂
One thing that bugged me was their 2nd run. 2 outs and a man on 2nd and Devers hits a double w Justin Turner on deck. I’m not letting Devers beat me there. Turner is 38 and under .700 ops vs righties. Weaver wasn’t bad and I liked it when they signed him, but he needs to up his baseball IQ like Lively
I agree on that. Sadak kept saying Bostons lineup is strong but it’s lacking in my opinion. Definitely one of their weaker lineups compared to the past. I would pitch around Devers as well.
The NESN commentators, in one of their infrequent comments on the game in front of them, mentioned that Devers had been slumping for awhile. Pitching to him didn’t work out this time, but the Reds will have been aware that he hadn’t been hitting well. It seems reasonable to me try to avoid putting runners on in a close game. Devers isn’t Barry Bonds.
Sometimes the batter just wins the encounter. If it were so easy to control, all games would be double no hitters.
This isn’t a knock on Barrero, however I think he could go 0-15 and some would still say he is better than Newman, and part of the future. Newman could go 10-10 and some would say he is just a role player and has no future. I truly don’t understand the logic used.
Does batting average matter anymore as Newman is batting 274. Barrero is batting 231. I do find the left and right handed splits interesting, and both players have been playing well lately.
As of April 22 Barrero was hitting 0.255 and Newman was hitting 0.200
Despite that, from that point forward, Bell played Newman in 20% more games, and gave him 15% more AB’s.
And with more the more consistent playing time that was given to Newman, he has been able to hit his way out of his slump. Good for him.
But I think a lot of fans are baffled why the guy with a lot more upside (defense, power, speed, youth) is not being given those same opportunities for regular playing time to work thru batting adjustments which are given to the mediocre vets.
He has been given the opportunities Newman has been given. Newman isn’t, in my opinion Medicore. He is a good a solid vet.
Barrero HAS been given the same opportunity to work through batting adjustments as Newman. They have EXACTLY the same number of plate appearances.
Newman has performed better than Barrero, as the back of his playing card would predict. Even with some improvement this year (76) Barrero still has a career OPS+ of 36. Newman is 89/80 and the comparison last year is 10 for JB and a 95 for KN.
McLain is earning his playing time, Newman is earning the backup PT, Barrero not so much. Despite this, Bell has continued to give Barrero opportunities. Bell tends to play his whole bench, and the players seem to play hard and well for him.
I think batting average is what really tells the story. Its not about how hard you hit it, its ALL about getting on base safely.
Wow Kevin H that’s the best comment on here in a long time. Some on here are so dogged to see their pet player succeed, even at the expense of the team. There are some that were upset when McClain replaced Barrero. Now they want him to play anywhere as long as he’s on the roster.
Newman is going to be 30 years old in two months. Barrero just turned 25 two months ago.
Newman has, statistically speaking, about 2 more good years left before he begins to sharply decline. Barrero has not even hit his prime years yet.
Barrero put up some spectacular numbers in AAA which led to his call up 2 years ago. Despite that, he has never been given consistent playing time. Kevin Newman’s absolute best season was when he put up a 110 OPS+…. 4 years ago. His career OPS+ is 80.
We already know who Kevin Newman is. He’s ok, but fairly mediocre. He’s nothing great or special. Barrero needs consistent playing time and ABs to see if he can be great or special, like the way he was playing in AAA when he was called up and promptly sat on the bench by David Bell.
It’s an absolute travesty that Kevin Newan has slightly more ABs than Jose Barrero at this point of the season. The only way it makes sense is if they are trying to get Newman’s trade value up to trade him later this season. Otherwise, it’s pure, short-sighted mismanagement.
Hi CI3J. IMO that is exactly what the Reds are trying to do get his trade value up. Clearly Reds are rebuilding with youth and someone like Newman is not a long term solution. I personally don’t try to make more or less than what he means for this team. Kind of same situation with Myers however in his case shame he has been hurt/underperformed since he arrived. Not sure we can get much for him at the trade deadline like we hoped when we signed him. Sure he’s pretty bummed out about it as well. As for Barrero jury is still way out on him if/when he will make it in the bigs. I think his AB’s will go up a lot more after the trade deadline. So many moving pieces with the Reds right now and we have not even mentioned Votto coming back. LOL.
Exactly this CI3J
CJ, why is it a black or white choice?
Perhaps there are 3 or more possibilities, including your two:
1. Increase Newman’s trade value
2. “Pure short sighted mismanagement”
3. Bell wants to win games and is playing the player who has consistently performed better.
That said, both Barrero and Newman have had exactly the same number of plate appearances. So perhaps we need to add another possibility:
4. Barrero is getting playing time that his performance has yet to warrant (i.e. the FO is giving him the benefit of the doubt because of his perceived ceiling).
If Barrero wants more playing time he might want to earn it.
Earmbrister:
As someone else in this thread pointed out:
As of April 22 Barrero was hitting 0.255 and Newman was hitting 0.200
Despite that, from that point forward, Bell played Newman in 20% more games, and gave him 15% more AB’s.
So it seems like “earning” playing time has nothing to do with it.
Barrero was outperforming Newman early on, yet Newman was given more playing time from that point forward. Not coincidentally, since Newman has been playing more often than Barrero since that time, Newman is hitting better.
Further, how would you explain someone like Wil Myers still playing over other players?
Sorry, but the “earning” playing time is complete bunk.
By this logic, we should credit the manager/coaching staff for looking beyond the raw and small sample size numbers and correctly anticipating which player was likely to have the most success, right?
P.S. I too was critical of the playing time distribution between Barrero and Newman, but I was wrong.
Early on, when Barrero was outperforming Newman, neither of them were doing squat. For the purposes of this discussion we’re seemingly forgetting that a player’s in-game at-bats are far from being the only work he does on hitting, and teams can also evaluate players based on that. I think we should consider that the Reds may not view Barrero as a high-ceiling regular starter anymore and, anyway, between McClain and EDLC they may reasonably feel that they’re covered.
BK:
That does not seem to be the case. It seems Bell chose to give Newman more playing time simply because he was a “vet”. Who knows what Barrero would have done if he had gotten consistent ABs like Newman was given. It’s very possible he would be far outperforming Newman by now.
But, since Bell seems determined to never give Barrero a chance, I guess we’ll never know.
“It seems Bell chose to give Newman more playing time simply because he was a “vet”.”
This is an unsupported assumption, that has not applied to other young players outside of Barrero.
BK:
There is no other logical explanation why Bell made that decision. Barrero was outperforming Newman, yet Newman was given more ABs from that point. The only major difference between the players is Newman is a 30-year old vet, and Barrero is not.
I’m happy to entertain any other logical conclusions you may have.
Barrero was not outperforming him, neither was performing.
I really hope that Barrero turns it around. He is showing some modest signs of doing that, and could help the Reds if he did. He has now had more than 2000 professional at-bats, over 400 of them in MLB. It’s certainly possible that his use–not being installed as an everyday starter–is detrimental to his development, but this a theory being presented as a fact. Another theory is that, after 2000 professional at-bats and who knows how many as an amateur, he may actually be what he appears.
The other explanation is that the coaches see far more than the few at-bats we omniscient fans see.
Even a bigger question to me than Newman over Barrero is why is Friedl on the bench and not starting against a LH pitcher? Someone is taking his spot which is ridiculous since he’s one of our best hitters no matter who the pitcher is.
.333/.364/.429 vs. lefties
.325/.379/.508 vs. righties
Reds have a winning month! 15-14 in may. Playing with house money today but job well done -5 game road winning streak? Bullpen solid young hitting solid and defense better. Weaver and Lively glueing the rotation back together. Brewers coming to town for a meaningful home series in june ? Lots of good Reds news.
Reds win today and this will be a historic road sweep of the cubs and red sox- high water mark since summer 2021 for this team and a road trip to remember for awhile.
Given how hard times have been for the Reds the last decade, I suspect even a 5-1 trip through Wrigley and Fenwick would be fondly recalled at least until the team is an established contender, be that soon or several more rebuilds down the road.
Key 4-game home series against the Brewers coming up. If they really want to make a run for the division, this one is a good chance. Still amazed with McLain’s skillset, the guy is for real.
For all the criticism he gets, Bell has been handling the roster and bullpen pretty well in the last few weeks.
To my mind, it is not a coincidence that the Reds uptick has come when a flurry of outfield injuries and the arrival of McLain, almost certainly with orders that he play SS every day, have reined in Bell’s tendencies to micromanage games.
Also, look at the 7 and 14 day OPS numbers for Fairchild and Barrero. These guys know they could be the bubble players for EDLC and CES; and, they are rising to the occasion given by the opportunity.
Almost Certainly??? LMBO!!!!
Bell is in his fifth year as the Red’s manager–his managing is in alignment with the Front Office. The notion that he must be ordered to play certain players is simply an RLN myth.
Oh Jim W, not you too. It sounds like you’re saying the Reds’ recent success is in spite of Bell.
Do you think it’s a coincidence that the Reds started playing better when Myers got injured?
It could be. Then again, maybe it isn’t.
You have to take away Bell’s toys in order to force him into doing the right thing. That’s why I sincerely hope Kevin Newman is traded later this season.
Myers is not one of Bell’s toys, he’s the biggest offseason signing Krall made. Yes, Myers has been disappointing so far, but most of us were in favor of the signing at the time.
Right, but since some people claim Barrero hasn’t “earned” his playing time, how can anyone say Myers has “earned” it either?
Has he “earned” his playing time just because he’s a gritty vet? Because you can be sure, if he hadn’t gotten injured, he’d be in top 5 for number of ABs on the team with his 44 OPS+.
Or are you saying he “earned” his playing time because he cost money to bring in?
Myers had a long track record of performance coming into this season. His early season playing time should not have been contingent on demonstrated progress like Barrero’s was. This is what is called the false equivalency fallacy.
BK:
And why is that?
Plenty of other teams have already DFA’d vets with “a track record of performance”. Why is Myers different?
Because he is on the Injured List?
Obviously, I meant before he was on the injured list.
No need to be intentionally obtuse.
Because there is literally zero depth in the org in the OF. And itd been barely a month and a half.
Hopkins has emerged which helps that but no org is going to spend significantly on a player and then just DFA him after a month with very little at the position in the minors. Is sounds stupid to do that if you ask me. The only player he was blocking was Benson, who was actually worse.
His spot is vulnerable IMO, it wouldn’t surprise me if they cut him loose at this point when he comes off the injured list. His spot is especially vulnerable when Votto is ready.
Look, I’m not being obtuse and I’ve already answered your question.
Myers has a long track record of success. That means, a good team won’t overemphasize the meaning of a slump. Also, they have tons more information that we do to be able to deduce whether his slump is caused by a decline in skill. Moreover, the Reds cut Moose, Akiyama, and others that they owed money, too. It is possible he’s tried to play through the shoulder problem he’s currently dealing with. So, they simply don’t have a pattern of doing what you are suggesting.
If Myers wasn’t injured, Bell would be playing him regularly, and they would not be winning as much.
Give Bell below average options, and he will use them….take them away and he suddenly becomes competent.
Hey VaRedsFan. In fairness to Bell on this particular point there are 7.5 million reasons why Bell would have play Myers if healthy. Not to mention if the Reds are to get anything for Myers at the trade deadline he has to have AB’s and performed halfway decently unless ownership decided to okay for Res to eat his salary and DFA him but not likely.
Yep, as I said earlier, only when you take away Bells toys is he forced to do the right thing.
I hope Myers is DFA’d and Newman is traded so Bell will once again be forced to do the right thing. It’s not hard to be a good manager when you have no choice but to play the right players.
Of course, Bell will still screw things up by doing things like caring way too much about handedness of pitchers/batters instead of looking at the actual analytics, but at least he won’t be wasting ABs on mediocre vets like Myers and Newman any more.
Another fun (if a bit frustrating) game to watch. Regardless of the outcome tonight, we showed up in Fenway, played hard, and won the series.
Too bad MLB robs us of the game tomorrow night in their quest for nickels at the sacrifice of paying fans. At least that’s the last one this season I won’t be able to watch.
A sweep would be extra sweet. Wondering if Friedl plays tonight or gets another day off. I noticed he was in a hoodie last night, so that pretty much told the tale we all expected. Hammy’s are tricky things.
That will really stink if Friday is EDLC’s debut.
It will Stink.Fish.Pot!!! 😛
Apple time, correct? If EDLC is up on Friday, I guess I will burn my alternate Apple ID for a free trial.
Yes. Apple coverage at 5PM EDT.
Thanks, Mark. The real bite is that if Apple has any flexibility in their game choices and the Reds keep playing well and have EDLC on board, the Reds will become Apple darlings.
From what I can gather, the Apple/Peacock unholy alliances are locked in at the beginning of the season. Peacock I can get around with a quick trip to the UK.
So I think we’re good.
You should sign up for Apple TV. They have a lot of good content to make the $6 worth it for a month. Plus you get to hear not Sadak announce a Reds game, that alone is worth $6.
Weaver shows that it’s actually possible to throw changeups to right handed hitters. I hope Hunter Greene was taking notes.
CES has 7 walks in their last 5 games. I know chemistry is a touchy thing, but what else do these guys have to prove? Maybe you just let Stephenson catch and let CES DH/1B. Steer has some flexibility. You add power to this lineup and they could be electric
Yes, yes, 1000 times yes!
There is an article up on last nights game and Bell is appreciating Steer because he proactively told Bell he’s willing to play multiple positions to accomodate any roster crunch.
That’s awesome. Gotta love the guy
Thank you Spencer Steer! Just became one of my favorite players.
Agreed.
Barerro’s GS and Steer’s hr last night were totally crucial to both wins.
Losses without.
If Reds had a proper HR threat or two in the middle of the lineup along with the Friedl, McLain, India, Senzel, Steer (even Newman!) on base activity that could be a big changer…..
Take pressure of Stephenson.
SP could stay in another inning, less stress on the bullpen.
Love it all but fingers and toes crossed that somehow Stephenson can avoid injury playing full time catcher. Bunch of broken bones and concussions and lots of time on the IL and 6-4 225 does not say catcher to me. It says DH or 1B or IL.
Stephenson is 1 inch taller than Maile and 2 inches taller than Casali.
They all weigh about the same.
I’d rather risk an injury to Stephenson than have him batting DH/1B. Let’s face it, this isn’t his year offensively. Now if he regains his strength, and starts knocking the ball all over the yard, that’s a different story.
TS has been proving why this weird plan was a bad idea all along. If he slumps even a little it looks foolish. Keep him at C, I’m not going to handle him like he’s glass after a few freak injuries.
Bell is doing a great job developing a team atmosphere and defining roles. His challenge is blending veteran’s and rookies while still competing. Not an easy task.he is doing it while getting some very good results. I’m not proclaiming him manager of the year but 1/3 of the way through the season he has exceeded my expectations.
I don’t disagree Jim, but that’s going to become even more challenging once EDLC and CES are called up. But I’m excited to watch how it unfolds.
Bell doesn’t really have any “veterans” in the normal sense. Myers and Votto are hurt, and Myers has DFA written all over him, soon enough. Casali, Maile and Newman are newcomers and part-timers. Aside from the catchers and the oft-injured Senzel, almost every position player on the roster is a 3rd-year or less. Newman at age 29 is the only non-catcher under 30, and Fraley is the only 28-year-old.
Youth is the last remaining market inefficiency in baseball, and the Reds are taking advantage of it.
@OBE
You accurately predicted the Reds would DFA Moose
I dont see the Reds DFA ing Myers, instead playing him in RF till the trade deadline hoping he gets a hot month. You think theres a chance Myers isnt a Red anytime in june
@Old-school
I personally hope Myers is DFA’d. Plenty of other teams have already DFA’d vets at this point in the season. Myers is not helping the team win, and if he’s DFA’d that opens a spot on the 40-man for CES, Abbott, or Hopkins.
There is no point keeping Myers around. Even if they do trade him, the best they can get is some B-level prospect. Oh, and someone to take the remainder of his contract, which may be the real motivating factor for keeping him around.
Then again, they got rid of Moose and ate that money. Don’t see why they couldn’t do the same with Myers.
With the Brewers, Dodgers and Cardinals on the arisen now is the time for EDLC and CES. If this team is serious about the future it has to happen. I would send Benson and one of the catchers or Fairchild down. 1B = Steer and CES, 2B = India, SS = Mclain, 3B = EDLC, LF = Senzel, CF = Freidl, RF = Fraley, DH = CES and Steer, C = Stephenson, Bench = Barrero, Newman, Maile or Casseli, Fairchild or both catchers. You would have all kind of possibilities to move people around with all the movable pieces. On a side note Hopkins could soon be on the way. The biggest question is what to do with Myers and maybe Votto some day.
I’m afraid Fraley is strictly a platoon player. He needs a partner.
Once Myers is ready to play, he needs to spend a long rehab assignment in Louisville until he shows he can hit the ball.
Especially the lower outside corner pitch.
This thread of comments isn’t as overrun with discourse of the De La Cruz and Encarnacion – Strand fervor and calls to urgency to act soon, which the prevalence of I find kind of amazing in itself. For me the story of this team are the performances they are getting from the Weavers, Williamsons, Gibauts, and Livelys. Nobody would be in a rush to get anyone up this year if it wasn’t for some really unexpected pitching performances. Its amazing to me that we fans almost expect the Reds to call up a no name pitcher, have them go against established big leaguers, and TAKE IT FOR GRANTED that they will get the job done. Yes, Friedl, Senzel, Steer, McClain, Fairchild, Newman, Barrero and even Maile have all done better than I personally counted on. How many wins does Green have? How many wins do Ashcraft and Lodolo have? Yet…here we are. Its remarkable to say the least and perhaps so remarkable that it is indeed understandable why national pundits still aren’t on the Red’s bandwagon. No Votto production… No Myers production… How long can this flaming match burn?
Buck Farmer too. It’s been a wild ride
You’ll see appreciation on what Lively, and Weaver have done, but that’s not the same as excitement about the future. Elly is the top prospect in all of baseball by at least 2 major publications, and CES, Hopkins, and Abbott are looking every bit the part of major league ready. That’s whats going to generate excitement in the fan base.
Line up is out. Hopefully, this team keeps
Rolling!
I wonder if Friedl is available off the bench.
If he is sitting because of his hamstring, probably the one thing the trainers least want him to have to do is run in sudden bursts or sprints. That would not seem to leave much he could do on the field as an OF or at the plate as a batter.
Reds are 5-0 on this current road trip, as we know, however to me that says something about this team and how Bell is managing.
For all the criticism I do believe acknowledge he has done well managing. Even the bullpen, as he knows who is available and who isn’t. Etc..
YES, This has been his best managerial season so far. I would be curious to hear what the young players like Steer and McClain feel about Bell. the veterans definitely respect him. Seems like the young guys do too.
I just love the style of play this year. grinding out at bats, running up pitch counts, intelligent aggressiveness on the bases, not relying so much on the home run. Bell should get credit for implementing this style for sure.
I’m not critical of Bell on here because everybody else is and it’s like beating a dead horse. He has made some moves that are headscratchers to me but what manager hasn’t. Red Sox manager has made some this series and so didn’t Aaron Boone. The players seem to enjoy him and laugh with him and India is always holding a conversation with him in the dugout. I don’t get into much about whether he is good or not because I don’t know what is going on behind the scenes. People are mad at Newman but it isn’t his fault he plays. The guy is having a decent year and he is helping the team out. He would be a great bench piece for this team. Like a 12th guy. You need people on the bench like Newman. You aren’t going to sit Marte or Senzel on the bench for 3-4 games and then play him once and then sit again. People like Newman are needed. Bell is the least of their worries.Lets see what he does with a talented team.