Reds

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Reds 0.5 games out of the Wild Card. D'Backs passed the Cubs for the 2nd spot after the sweep. Cubs/Marlins tied for 3rd. Chicago is slipping but have a good schedule this week vs the Pirates and Rockies. Arizona gets the struggling Giants, Yankees and White Sox next. Marlins beat the Braves 16-2, get the Mets & Brewers this week. All of a sudden the 'easy schedule' isn't so much as an advantage. Only Miami gets a tough opponent with Milwaukee but just swept the Braves. Cincinnati is going to have to pull it together and start winning at home.

 

[M4CAT]

Reds 0.5 games out of the Wild Card. D'Backs passed the Cubs for the 2nd spot after the sweep. Cubs/Marlins tied for 3rd. Chicago is slipping but have a good schedule this week vs the Pirates and Rockies. Arizona gets the struggling Giants, Yankees and White Sox next. Marlins beat the Braves 16-2, get the Mets & Brewers this week. All of a sudden the 'easy schedule' isn't so much as an advantage. Only Miami gets a tough opponent with Milwaukee but just swept the Braves. Cincinnati is going to have to pull it together and start winning at home.

All of those teams still have to go out and play those games too. Anything can happen. Be wary of teams out it or already clinched to rest starters which effect those particular games.

 

[cole854]

Abbott has been stretched as far as he can this year and Williamson has not looked like himself before the COVID IL.

Teams have figured Abbott out. He doesn't have the power to continually attack the zone as he tries to do. He needs to get another pitch in spring training and adopt a Maddux-like approach.

We have no idea what "himself" is regarding Williamson....way too early to tell. Covid had nothing to do with it.

 

[trueblujr2]

Honestly, I have seen enough from Lively that I do not want him apart of the starting rotation next year. If the Reds have plans for him to be a long man out of the bullpen, that's fine. Phillips needs more seasoning at AAA. Roll with Greene, Ashcraft, Abbott, Williamson, Lodolo for 5 starters if all are healthy.

The Reds are set with infielders, see what top prospects like Arroyo & Stewart can fetch on the open market as far as an ace with team control, reliable, eats innings and be the difference maker on a young pitching staff that can mentor these guys. Even with the rotation above, there are still question marks about the durability of Lodolo & Greene and will the rookies take the next leap forward in 2024? Get a front line ace that has been through the fires of a postseason run if you are serious. Reds will never be big free agent spenders to go out and sign that guy without having to use the farm system.

As of now, there are going to be a bunch of top infield prospects within a year or two of reaching MLB that will be blocked. Like Dan O'Dowd says, former GM and a analyst on MLB Network, prospects aren't just for building up your team but to make the necessary trades as well to fill holes too.

I don't think Lively played into their long range plans as it was. He was an insurance policy. He was starting out of Necessity. I would have to think his long term future on the club, if there is one, is as a middle reliever. he might be decent as a spot starter to give some guys a week off, but at this point, i'm not convinced the Reds can keep a pitching staff healthy at all for any extended period of time. They need to have about 9-10 guys ready and available to start at the MLB level coming out of Spring just because it's a damn near certainty at least half of them will miss some significant time due to injury.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Teams have figured Abbott out. He doesn't have the power to continually attack the zone as he tries to do. He needs to get another pitch in spring training and adopt a Maddux-like approach.

We have no idea what "himself" is regarding Williamson....way too early to tell. Covid had nothing to do with it.

Teams have not "figured" Abbott out, he has simply hit the rookie wall and is exhausted pitching about double the innings than any point in his career. If you knew baseball, would already know this. Once again, another baseless attack against one of the Reds best players. Why do miserable reprobates like you even watch? Williamson was progressing along just fine and was establishing himself as one of the most consistent Reds pitchers before COVID so yes I would say that has something to do with it. It took Greene a couple of starts to bounce back after COVID as well. If you actually watched the games, you might learn something about baseball.

 

[jameslee32]

If the Reds ever wanted to have a good homestand, this would definitely be the week to do it.

 

[kybloo92]

I don't think Lively played into their long range plans as it was. He was an insurance policy. He was starting out of Necessity. I would have to think his long term future on the club, if there is one, is as a middle reliever. he might be decent as a spot starter to give some guys a week off, but at this point, i'm not convinced the Reds can keep a pitching staff healthy at all for any extended period of time. They need to have about 9-10 guys ready and available to start at the MLB level coming out of Spring just because it's a damn near certainty at least half of them will miss some significant time due to injury.

I never thought they had plans for him to be a long term fixture in the starting rotation, just saying you can't keep relying on guys like him, Weaver and Spiers to come from out of nowhere and expect to contend. Lively pitched some good games, they certainly need to have him in middle relief among others pitchers like him stretched out in Louisville to carry the load once injuries come which is why he is here this year. 9-10 guys is a lot, I think they need to narrow it down to 5-6 viable options without question to start 2024.

Cincinnati needs to use their prospects to get a controllable ace rather than having to go into another season without an established starting 5. Reds have 5 options if everyone is healthy but like you said it's damn near certain multiple are getting injured. IMO, go into next year with an ace, Greene, Abbott, Ashcraft, Williamson & Lodolo. A front line starter such as Castillo on this team that can shutdown an opponents offense in the event the offense is not clicking would be huge. Reds have capable pitchers of doing so in a year or 2 though I'm not ready to call any of them aces yet. Still a work in progress.

 

[mrschwump]

I never thought they had plans for him to be a long term fixture in the starting rotation, just saying you can't keep relying on guys like him, Weaver and Spiers to come from out of nowhere and expect to contend. Lively pitched some good games, they certainly need to have him in middle relief among others pitchers like him stretched out in Louisville to carry the load once injuries come which is why he is here this year. 9-10 guys is a lot, I think they need to narrow it down to 5-6 viable options without question to start 2024.

Cincinnati needs to use their prospects to get a controllable ace rather than having to go into another season without an established starting 5. Reds have 5 options if everyone is healthy but like you said it's damn near certain multiple are getting injured. IMO, go into next year with an ace, Greene, Abbott, Ashcraft, Williamson & Lodolo. A front line starter such as Castillo on this team that can shutdown an opponents offense in the event the offense is not clicking would be huge. Reds have capable pitchers of doing so in a year or 2 though I'm not ready to call any of them aces yet. Still a work in progress.

You're right, Reds need what was once called a "stopper." A guy who could stop losing streaks before they get started and eat innings at the same time, Castillo's a good example. Greene, Ashcraft, Lodolo have yet to go through a season injury free. That's a lot of idle time for SPs. Pitchers are so babied nowadays, we may never see a true stopper again.

 

[kybloo92]

You're right, Reds need what was once called a "stopper." A guy who could stop losing streaks before they get started and eat innings at the same time, Castillo's a good example. Greene, Ashcraft, Lodolo have yet to go through a season injury free. That's a lot of idle time for SPs. Pitchers are so babied nowadays, we may never see a true stopper again.

Absolutely, have to be dependable to eat innings and last all year that will relieve some work off the bullpen. All of the teams going to the World Series at least have 3 of these aces that could easily lead the Reds pitching staff and have 2-3 solid setup men before their closer that the game is over by the time the game is in the bullpen's hands. If the Reds could land one of them to anchor the rotation ahead Greene, Abbott, Lodolo & Ashcraft, would be huge.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Bader to the IL, Phillips starting tonight. The lineup is decent tonight though I would put Marte ahead of Votto in the order.

 

[mrschwump]

Bader to the IL, Phillips starting tonight. The lineup is decent tonight though I would put Marte ahead of Votto in the order.

No CES. SMH.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

No CES. SMH.

Overlooked his absence, figured there was someone benched I was missing that should be in there.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Reds just DFA'd Hunter Renfroe to bring back Fairchild. I liked Renfroe's power potential, mashed at GABP last year and maybe if players actually got consistent at-bats he could have found his rhythm. Couldn't have anyone else cutting into Senzel's playing time..

 

[mrschwump]

Overlooked his absence, figured there was someone benched I was missing that should be in there.

CES one of the few actual power hitters you have and you sit him in the heat of a pennant race? Crazy.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

CES one of the few actual power hitters you have and you sit him in the heat of a pennant race? Crazy.

I just don't get it. How do you justify keeping Senzel over Renfroe who came to the Reds having more home runs at the time before Steer this week and Hunter is 2 years removed from hitting 31 HR & 96 RBIs. Reds have one player with 20+ HR and in a hitter's park, that's not good enough. Sure India and some of the rookies would have gotten 20+ if present all year but Cincinnati needs hitters that put up the power numbers Griffey, Dunn, Pena, Winker, Castellanos, Ludwick & Bruce did in GABP. Judge would hit 80 a year in GABP. 20-25 HR should not be the standard.

No wonder they lose more at home than on the road with a team that lacks power hitters and keep flyball pitchers like Luke Weaver for 4 months. What has Fairchild done to deserve a roster spot over Renfroe? Already used an option on him, should have kept him in AAA while Hunter stayed in Cincinnati. I was thrilled when they claimed Renfroe and thought he was a nice late season steal. Others here did too so the sudden shift to change now is crazy.

 

[maysvilleky]

Reds just DFA'd Hunter Renfroe to bring back Fairchild. I liked Renfroe's power potential, mashed at GABP last year and maybe if players actually got consistent at-bats he could have found his rhythm. Couldn't have anyone else cutting into Senzel's playing time..

View embedded media

Why? What’s Fairchild bringing to the table at this point?

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Why? What’s Fairchild bringing to the table at this point?

Good question. Could have utilized the option used on Fairchild to stash him in Louisville and keep Renfroe who probably had the most raw power on this team. When the Reds were looking for outfield help during the offseason, he is one I wanted but never thought he would end up here. Renfroe scored 2 of the 4 runs yesterday. Also had valuable postseason experience in 2020-21 that would have helped a young team. I think you are right what you said the other day, managing like they don't want to make the postseason and being content with the results of 2023 riding that momentum into '24.

 

[kybloo92]

Teams have not "figured" Abbott out, he has simply hit the rookie wall and is exhausted pitching about double the innings than any point in his career. If you knew baseball, would already know this. Once again, another baseless attack against one of the Reds best players. Why do miserable reprobates like you even watch? Williamson was progressing along just fine and was establishing himself as one of the most consistent Reds pitchers before COVID so yes I would say that has something to do with it. It took Greene a couple of starts to bounce back after COVID as well. If you actually watched the games, you might learn something about baseball.

I actually agree somewhat on the Abbott comments about his repertoire to take him to the next level and I think continuing to work on his change up would benefit him. As far as Williamson, owe it to him to get healthy. He was much better from July on prior to getting sick. 2.45 ERA in July, 3.67 in August before going on the IL.

 

[kybloo92]

Marte with an RBI double. Benson nearly sent one out of the park with 2 on, run scored on a sac fly. Up 2-0. Marte certainly has looked the part in a small sample size so far. MLB Network was talking about how beneficial his call-up along with the other rookies experience this year going into 2024.

 

[jameslee32]

Renfroe (BA .128) obviously didn't bring any more to the table than Fairchild (BA .223) in his limited AB's and isn't nearly as fast. An argument can be made that the Reds really aren't giving any vet the benefit of the doubt other than Votto. Louis Cessa was released in May. Will Myers got DFA'd in June. Even Senzel got optioned to Louisville this year. Not sure I disagree if Krall is determined to promote from within. Now if we got Bell to play them we might have something to build on.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Renfroe (BA .128) obviously didn't bring any more to the table than Fairchild (BA .223) in his limited AB's and isn't nearly as fast. An argument can be made that the Reds really aren't giving any vet the benefit of the doubt other than Votto. Louis Cessa was released in May. Will Myers got DFA'd in June. Even Senzel got optioned to Louisville this year. Not sure I disagree if Krall is determined to promote from within. Now if we got Bell to play them we might have something to build on.

Renfroe was here 2 weeks, scored 2 runs yesterday when the rest of the team wasn't doing anything. Hardly as much of a chance as Fairchild/Senzel/Myers etc continue to get and Renfroe's track record speaks for itself. Fairchild's career numbers don't even equal what Renfroe has done in 2023 alone. If you are comparing Fairchild's total season numbers to 2 weeks of play of Renfroe, then lets look at the entire picture of what Renfroe brings to the table. In 2023, 10 points higher on the season at .233 hitting 20 bombs, 60 RBIs. Benson and Friedl give them plenty of speed in the OF and this team lacks power more than anything. Nitpicking cold spells is not exactly fair when you can point to any 2 weeks of Fairchild that were arguably as bad as anyone on the team.

 

[jameslee32]

I just don't get it. How do you justify keeping Senzel over Renfroe who came to the Reds having more home runs at the time before Steer this week and Hunter is 2 years removed from hitting 31 HR & 96 RBIs. Reds have one player with 20+ HR and in a hitter's park, that's not good enough. Sure India and some of the rookies would have gotten 20+ if present all year but Cincinnati needs hitters that put up the power numbers Griffey, Dunn, Pena, Winker, Castellanos, Ludwick & Bruce did in GABP. Judge would hit 80 a year in GABP. 20-25 HR should not be the standard.

No wonder they lose more at home than on the road with a team that lacks power hitters and keep flyball pitchers like Luke Weaver for 4 months. What has Fairchild done to deserve a roster spot over Renfroe? Already used an option on him, should have kept him in AAA while Hunter stayed in Cincinnati. I was thrilled when they claimed Renfroe and thought he was a nice late season steal. Others here did too so the sudden shift to change now is crazy.

Disagree. I liked the way they were playing when they weren't hitting many HR's. Seems like the big ballpark's on the road are actually all the proof you need in a Reds desire to change with the rules and play more small ball. I'd be curious how many 1-run games they've won on the road with these youngsters and primarily a veteran bullpen.

Needless to say, I was sick and tired of waiting for Griffey and Dunn to hit the 3-run HR 20 years ago but the biggest thing is it just didn't work in GABP for whatever reason.

 

[jameslee32]

Renfroe was here 2 weeks, scored 2 runs yesterday when the rest of the team wasn't doing anything. Hardly as much of a chance as Fairchild/Senzel/Myers etc continue to get and Renfroe's track record speaks for itself. Fairchild's career numbers don't even equal what Renfroe has done in 2023 alone. If you are comparing Fairchild's total season numbers to 2 weeks of play of Renfroe, then lets look at the entire picture of what Renfroe brings to the table. In 2023, 10 points higher on the season at .233 hitting 20 bombs, 60 RBIs. Benson and Friedl give them plenty of speed in the OF and this team lacks power more than anything. Nitpicking cold spells is not exactly fair when you can point to any 2 weeks of Fairchild that were arguably as bad as anyone on the team.

I'm not comparing Fairchild to Renfroe because that would be dumb.

 

[mrschwump]

OF defense and long ball potential takes a hit with the Renfroe move. Makes me wonder why they even signed him if he was going to be Barraroed so quickly.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Disagree. I liked the way they were playing when they weren't hitting many HR's. Seems like the big ballpark's on the road are actually all the proof you need in a Reds desire to change with the rules and play more small ball. I'd be curious how many 1-run games they've won on the road with these youngsters and primarily a veteran bullpen.

Needless to say, I was sick and tired of waiting for Griffey and Dunn to hit the 3-run HR 20 years ago but the biggest thing is it just didn't work in GABP for whatever reason.

Small ball doesn't work well in GABP either. Look at the contending teams. We're the only one that has a losing record at home. When this bunch of rookies finally reaches their potential, they will be 5 tool players with plenty of speed and pop. Won't be all or nothing power hitters.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Benson 2-run home run!!!

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

I'm not comparing Faircihld to Renfroe because that would be dumb.

So was cutting Hunter Renfroe..

 

[jameslee32]

Will Benson should be playing more.

 

[mrschwump]

Uh-oh....Benson with 2 out 2 run HR, likely puts him on the bench tomorrow.

 

[jameslee32]

So was cutting Hunter Renfroe..

Perhaps but Krall isn't giving the slow, aging vet an opportunity here like in the past. My argument is if the rule changes gave Krall religion about speed and baserunning, then play Benson and all the fast youngsters and lets see how far this goes. It got us this far already.

 

[jameslee32]

Small ball doesn't work well in GABP either. Look at the contending teams. We're the only one that has a losing record at home. When this bunch of rookies finally reaches their potential, they will be 5 tool players with plenty of speed and pop. Won't be all or nothing power hitters.

Hope so but it is working on the road with the big outfields for whatever reason.

 

[jameslee32]

Steer looks like he wants the Twins to pay dearly for trading him.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Perhaps but Krall isn't giving the slow, aging vet an opportunity here like in the past. My argument is if the rule changes gave Krall religion about speed and baserunning, then play Benson and all the fast youngsters and lets see how far this goes. It got us this far already.

It doesn't make sense to ever pick him up to begin with just to drop him this soon. His power with Fraley playing hurt and has postseason experience could have helped this team with still 2 weeks to go. Only Votto, Senzel and Bader have that on this team. Fairchild this late in the season should have stayed in AAA since an option was already used on him. I agree Benson should play everyday, no question about it. Been saying that all the way back in February was on here stating I expect big things from him, like Adam Jones. Jones only topped 30 home runs twice but was good for about 25 & 80 every year. Benson, India, McLain & Marte all can be 5 tool players in this lineup.

 

[jameslee32]

It doesn't make sense to ever pick him up to begin with just to drop him this soon. His power with Fraley playing hurt and has postseason experience could have helped this team with still 2 weeks to go. Only Votto, Senzel and Bader have that on this team. Fairchild this late in the season should have stayed in AAA since an option was already used on him. I agree Benson should play everyday, no question about it. Been saying that all the way back in February was on here stating I expect big things from him, like Adam Jones. Jones only topped 30 home runs twice but was good for about 25 & 80 every year. Benson, India, McLain & Marte all can be 5 tool players in this lineup.

Agreed and the possibility was there but Bader and yes, Fairchild fits better with the Reds style of play. The future is bright. No question about it.

 

[M4CAT]

Best start by far for Connor Phillips 6 innings, 1 run vs a winning team. Hope I don't jinx it if he goes out in the 7th.

 

[M4CAT]

Yeah I should have not posted.

 

[jameslee32]

Yeah I should have not posted.

Nice pitch for strike 3 by Phillips.
Also strikes out the next batter to end the inning.
Longest start (7 innings) in nearly a month (Ashcraft 8/22).

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Agreed and the possibility was there but Bader and yes, Fairchild fits better with the Reds style of play. The future is bright. No question about it.

I forgot EDLC but I think that one goes without with saying his power/speed. Those are 5 guys who have pop and can play a small ball style of play better fit on the road in bigger ballparks. Have to wonder that far down the roster if Fairchild even gets called back up if Bader does not go on the IL. Perhaps Martini gets booted but even then the threat of power Renfroe offers if you all of a sudden lose someone like Steer/CES and could have even kept Fairchild. Friedl even has decent pop for his size and his speed is a huge bonus to this lineup.

 

[jameslee32]

Steer is 3 for 4 with an RBI vs his old team. Love that shit! Great trade!
Even Senzel getting with the small ball.
Reds playing add on. Votto 2-run single. 7-2

 

[jameslee32]

Reds, Cubs and Marlins all tied for the 3rd WC spot, a half game behind AZ and 3.5 behind the Phillies right now.