2013 Cincinnati Reds Thread

[KnightNoles]

Aroldis Chapman today: 5 ip, 2 er, 6 k....ZERO WALKS

Chapman spring numbers: 16 ip, 2-0, 2.12 ERA, 18 K, 2 BB

He's topping out at 99mph and has added a splitter to his fastball/slider.

ANOTHER EDIT: Chapman's slider was topping out at 96mph. ffs, that's unhittable if he's locating it.

[Rudi]

My head hurts thinking about all this. What does it all mean? I need to know if Chapman is going to be in the rotation, or if we are going to send him to the pen come Opening Day. It just doesn't seem like we would continue starting him in Spring if that was the plan. Something's gotta give. Whether it be Bailey traded, or to the bullpen...none of this is making sense right now. We have 6 starters who have all pitched themselves into the rotation in my opinion, so what do we do?!

[KnightNoles]

what do we do?

give me tickets to opening day and more, nooo?

[Warner2BruceTD]

Maybe the plan all along has been to start Chapman in Louisville, unless there was an injury. Maybe this is why the answers are non committal, because the decision has already been made. Now that Chapman has been so lights out though, and the fact that the bullpen will be down two key components, the shit is complicated.

I'm not very comfy with Bray as the only lefty in the pen, but it looks like Dusty might go against his personal grain and use the C-word. If that's the case, it gives you two lefties if you need them, but also offers the flexibility of using Marshall in the 9th if you don't have two high leverage lefty vs lefty situations in a given game. The problem with that, is there is no Masset right now, who would have been one of the two or three guys used to close (Marshall, Arredondo). Ondrusek?

[Rudi]

Thought this was kind of funny.

Cubs optioned LHP Travis Wood to Triple-A Iowa.
An easy call, as Wood has allowed 16 earned runs on 18 hits over just 8 1/3 innings this spring, good enough (or bad enough, really) for an obscene 17.28 ERA. We still think the 25-year-old southpaw can be a decent back-end starter in the long run, but he obviously has some things he needs to work on.

[KnightNoles]

Random emotion of the night

Book it...! Girlfriend got tickets to May 11th game against the Nats woooop!

[Rudi]

Although it is most likely just the hot humid Arizona air, Cueto has been giving up deep balls like Bronson Arroyo of last year in Spring. Not really that concerned, just something to keep an eye on once the season starts.

[Warner2BruceTD]

John Fay says the Reds could option Mike Leake to start the season (they won't need 5 starters until April 11), and take and extra bat up north, which would allow Frazier and Francisco to make the team out of camp. That's actually a great idea, because by then you are bound to either have injuries or have real non spring perfromance to base decisions on.

[Rudi]

That's not a bad idea, would that also = Chapman being the 4th starter or what

[Warner2BruceTD]

John Fay: What does the rotation look like for opening day?

Dusty: We've got Cueto, Latos, Bronson.

Fay: And Leake?

Dusty: I didn't say Leake.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dusty said Leake was in the rotation last week, so if you read between the lines, Leake is being optioned to AAA until April 11, the first game the Reds need a fifth starter. This means Frazier is probably coming north, because he was likely the odd man out because he has options and Francisco does not. Six man bench for the first week and a half of the season.

[Rudi]

Was just on the Reds ticketing site...They FINALLY caught up with the real world and now allow you to actually pick the exact seats you want. It used to be you could just pick a section of the stands, which was annoying because to me because I would always keep trying over and over to get seats closer to the field. Now you get a interactive little view of the whole stadium that shows every seat that is available to purchase.

[Warner2BruceTD]

C - D. Mesoraco
1B - J. Votto
2B - B. Phillips
3B - S. Rolen
SS - Z. Cozart
RF - J. Bruce
CF - D. Stubbs
LF - C. Heisey

C - R. Hanigan
IF - M. Cairo
3B/1B - J. Francisco (out of options)
OF - R. Ludwick
UTIL - P. Janish (options), W. Valdez, W. Harris (minor league deal), or T. Frazier (options) Spring Training Battle Royal of scrappy guys!

SP - J. Cueto
SP - M. Latos
SP - M. Leake
SP - B. Arroyo
SP - H. Bailey

LR - S. LeCure
MR - J. Arredondo
MR - L. Ondrusek
LOOGY! - B. Bray (L)
RH setup - N. Masset
LH setup - S. Marshall (L)
CL - R. Madson

That's the projected 25 man roster.



Pitchers in the mix - A. Chapman, J. Francis (minor league deal) A. Brackman, J. Judy, C. Fisher (out of options), J. Smith, C. Zavada (non roster), K. Teixera (non roster), C. Reineke (non roster), R. Mahay (non roster)

Reds are in a unique postion of not really needing Chapman to fit into any particular role. They have five starters, plus Jeff Francis. They have two very good left handed RP's. Dusty & Jocketty insist he is being prepped to start this year, even if that means starting the year in Louisville. The make-up of the loaded bullpen suggests this is the truth.

There are always surprises, there are always injuries. If Arroyo is shot, I could easily see Chapman replacing him in the rotation, with Arroyo filling the long relief/emergency starter role, and Sam LeCure heading to Louisville. If a key RP goes down, I can see Chapman heading to the bullpen, potentially giving the Reds the most dominant lefty bullpen in all of baseball.



Other batters in the mix - IF C. Valaika, OF D. Phipps, and curiously four non-roster invitee catchers...CORKY MILLER, Dioner Navarro, Brian Esposito, Tucker Barnhart

Valaika is stuck behind about 19 other utility guys, and has options, so he's Louisville for sure. Phipps needs somebody to get hurt, and if that was the case, they would probably sign a scrap heap vet anyway. If Mesoraco isn't ready or one of the C's gets hurt, Navarro would be the first guy up. CORKY MILLER is back as essentially a player/coach in Louisville, and here's hoping we see him September 1.

Not much has changed...

C - D. Mesoraco
1B - J. Votto
2B - B. Phillips
3B - S. Rolen
SS - Z. Cozart
RF - J. Bruce
CF - D. Stubbs
LF - C. Heisey

C - R. Hanigan
IF - M. Cairo
3B/1B - J. Francisco (out of options)
OF - R. Ludwick
UTIL - P. Janish (options), W. Valdez, W. Harris (minor league deal), or T. Frazier (options) *TWO WILL BE KEPT IF LEAKE IS OPTIONED* - One looks to be Frazier, who is raking. There is an open 40-man spot if they want to give it to Harris. Valdez would have to be released or waived if he doesn't make it. I have no idea if he would even accept a minor league assignment. Janish, amazingly, still has options and can easily be stashed in Louisville.

SP - J. Cueto
SP - M. Latos
SP - (M. Leake) - likely starting season in AAA for roster purposes
SP - B. Arroyo
SP - H. Bailey/A. Chapman

?? - H. Bailey/A.Chapman
RP - S. LeCure
RP - J. Arredondo
RP - L. Ondrusek
RP - A. Brackman/C. Fisher/J. Francis/??? (Masset 15-day DL)
RP - B. Bray
CL - S. Marshall

[Rudi]

Again I try not to put much stock into ST stats but I do not like these numbers.

Reds rank 13th out of 16 NL teams in walks with only 71 walks

They Rank first in K's with 255 nobody else is even close

Pads are next with 217

[Warner2BruceTD]

Reds are going to strike out a lot.

I just shoulder shrug it. It would be nice if they could cut down on the K's, but people make way too big a deal out of it.

[Rudi]

For those who aren't interested in Final Four basketball, the Reds/Giants game is the FREE GAME OF THE DAY on MLB.TV. Francis on the mound, Marshall also going to pitch. Most of the Opening Day starters are playing