Your post makes no sense. You'd never have someone running if the guy on second stayed put, therefore whether there is a runner occpuying second or not, the base is always open.
At an individual level, that sucks. Their problem is much larger than that, though. The scouting and management up and down the organization needs a reset. Individual players not getting the attention they should get is a symptom.
We've been beating that talking point to death here for years now. The Lowder example is just one of many I can name in that time. There is talent in the organization, it is a top 10 ranked farm system overall. Cincinnati can develop pitching. The development of position players, in particular outfielders and catching prospects is the biggest concern. Cincinnati routinely is an organization that will not fast track prospects like other teams such as the Braves.
I somewhat agree with what you say about being doomed since day one. Injuries before the season even began and dating back to last season has effected the entire 2024 season. Keeping around the inept Bell, Joel McKeithan, poor training staff and a front office with too many chiefs and not enough Indians who would rather sit on a deep farm system than try to be aggressive and improve this team. Until Bell is gone, this organization will not win anything in the postseason. Instead, Bob just gives them all another promotion without ever accomplishing anything to earn them.
Go to MLB.com, click on the Reds link then click on "Front Office." This organization is the very definition of "Top Heavy." Bet those listed, and it's almost too many to count, don't have a clue what most of these people are doing or are supposed to be doing. And their minor leagues are a joke. AA Chattanooga, and AA is just a heart beat away, is currently 40 games, that's FORTY games, below .500! Worst record in organized baseball. What's Lowder learning from that?
It's still a symptom. Sounds like no one wants to know WHY it's happening. Me, personally, I think it's because they don't want to start the clock on these guys. Trading reasons. It's certainly not because the talent at the big league is so great that there isn't any room for the prospects.
Did anbody here disagree with you? I literally said it is a point we have been beating that dead horse for awhile now. Not sure why you would think no one wants to know why the Reds some of these guys aren't developing like a Austin Hendrick or a Jay Allen buried in the minor leagues for years now. Reds don't need to be worried about TOS clock when they are going to move these guys before their arbitration is up anyways and the latest collective bargaining rewards teams for fast tracking prospects if they place high in ROY voting. When organizations like Cincinnati choose to rebuild with fire sales every so often, can't afford to retain players, then they need to be more aggressive in calling up prospects like Atlanta or Tampa Bay with these narrow windows to contend in.
Rhett Lowder has improved lately down there in Chattanooga so much that he should get called up. He is starting to come into his own and it is high time they move him to Louisville for a few starts if there is any shot of him joining the rotation to begin the 2025 season. Sometimes seasons like this happen when they push a load a prospects up to AAA like they did with Hinds, Aguilar, Hurtubise, Dunn, Arroyo would have been at AAA and last year with Marte, Richardson & Abbott to Cincinnati. Also, this season Zach Maxwell excelled down there, called up to Louisville and would love to see him in Cincinnati as a September call-up. My biggest concern still is the lack of depth with outfielders and catchers in this system should something else happen to Tyler Stephenson. No one in the system is close to being Major League ready yet.
It is a bunch that has their heads stuck up their asses. What is the point in keeping Rece Hinds in Louisville to delay the future and having Will Benson on the roster right now? One of Hinds best games as the NL Player of the Week he had multi-home run game vs the Marlins. Cincinnati plays Miami this past week and he is still down in Louisville. Hasn't been seen since the double-header was scheduled vs the Braves before it got postponed.
And I'm literally telling you that it is not a dead horse. The problem isn't that they don't bring guys up fast enough, they simply don't have a system for building rosters. The Reds have routinely traded away talent, whether they're close to arbitration or not. They're not a well-run organization. When they're ready for a fire sale, they simply try and get rid of the most expensive contracts, without much else of a plan in place. Why you include Atlanta in the conversation is weird. That's an insult to Atlanta!
You are literally the most unhinged person on this forum. Can't see that people agree with much of what you say. You are wrong if you think these players are getting promoted as fast as other organizations. The Atlanta reference went right over your head. Tampa Bay and Cleveland are two other small market teams who can rebuild and stay above .500 on a consistent basis. They are organizations that know how to develop talent from within and do so at a much faster rate than most teams. Something Cincinnati should be doing much better at than they are. That is why I bring other teams up in a coversation to prove it is being done and it is just one of the areas Cincinnati is deficient at in the minor league system. When you are a small market team and build teams with prospects instead of being big spenders, there is no time to be worried about player clocks when they are going to be traded off regardless someday. When you lose as much as Cincinnati has, there is no excuse for the pipeline to be bare of talent and it is not. Most of this team's issues are a result of injuries and David Bell.
www.mlb.com
Greene has been bringing it. The thing that's kept him from winning a few more than he has is run support. thankfully he got some of that last night, but even that was shaky until Candelario hit his 2 run shot to extend the lead. I remember his game against Detroit that was also really good, he left with a lead, before Cruz came in and gave up a bunch of runs to cost him a win.
Have to give the Reds a lot of credit this series for playing well. We've seen them win some good series this year, but the next step will be to build onto it. Can't let what happened after the Yankees sweep take place and get swept by the Tigers. That has been the Reds problem all year. Like Barry Larkin said, .500 baseball won't win you anything so the Reds need to take this next series vs Kansas City. Beating the Royals will be huge, they have had a nice season. Continuing this 4-game win streak will tell us a lot if the Reds have rounded the corner or if we see them revert to how they have played all season after riding a momentum high off a series win vs the Yankees, Braves, Phillies and Dodgers. Got a glimpse of what this team is capable of despite all of the players on the IL who would significantly help this roster.
Mets don't have a spot locked up. Only 2.5 games ahead of Reds/Cards/Giants. Even Braves could collapse.
Of the teams in the Wild Card race, the Mets appear to be as likely as any to fade away. Just not buying that team right now. Cardinals are slipping thanks to the Reds. San Francisco's pitching staff is one of the best in the league currently, though the NL West with AZ, SD, LA and SF will be beating up on each other in head to head matchups. Atlanta just got Harris back but still missing Ozzie Albies for at least another month. If the Reds can get McLain, Suter, Williamson & Gibaut back, that is more help returning than any of these teams going for the 3rd Wild Card spot.
I looked ahead at the Reds future schedule the next 2-3 weeks and there is no excuse for them to not come out of that stretch looking pretty good and hopefully making up a lot of ground before having to face Milwaukee and Houston. KC is no slouch, but after them it's the Blue Jays, The Pirates and the A's. The Cardinals get the Dodgers, then Brewers then Twins next up so they may be out of it by next week. Especially if The Reds can at least take 2 of 3 from KC, and Win the next three series against teams they should beat.
