2013 Cincinnati Reds Thread

[Warner2BruceTD]

GREAT piece on Votto from the Toronto Sun, taking you through his thought process before signing the extension, and some awesome quotes from the Brenneman's, Hal McCoy, Votto, etc.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/04/14/joey-votto-legend-in-the-making

[Slateman]

Speaking as a Nationals fan ... Votto is amazing.

[Warner2BruceTD]

4-6, here are my thoughts...

The Bad...

-Obviously the team is not hitting. Painful to watch at times.
-The bullpen is taxed because they seem to play extra innings every night. This day off couldn't have come at a better time.
-Even when they score a rare run, it ends up being bad news, as both Phillips & Cairo have pulled muscles rounding third base to score. Doh!

The Bright Side...

-The team has pitched well overall, especially the tired, beat up, taxed bullpen.
-This team has four wins, and would probably have ZERO if not for Aroldis Chapman being untouchable and shutting teams down for two inning chunks in three separate wins, and notching a hold in his other appearance.
-The hitting will come around. I would be concerned if this was a bad lineup, but we know this is a upper echelon offensive team.


Nick Masset can't come back soon enough. With Masset in the mix as the set up man, and Bray rounding into shape (I hear a rumor he would have started the year on the DL had Masset been healthy), Chapman can eventually replace Bailey or whoever gets hurt first in the rotation. But thank god he's been in the pen, or 1-9, 0-10 is a very realistic possibility.

[Rudi]

The Reds run total through 9 games was the lowest in franchise history [post 1900]

[Rudi]

via Mark Sheldon...the Reds have called up Todd Frazier aka The TODDFATHER. Not sure what the roster move is officially yet, but it is speculated to be Cairo to the DL

[Warner2BruceTD]

Yeah, Frazier was on the same flight to STL as Sheldon. I guess the Reds are making sure the plane doesn't crash before they announce the move.

[Rudi]

Cairo to the 15 day DL, Frazier up. Official

[Warner2BruceTD]

Reds "fans" are intolerable.

They rip Baker for the slow start, then he changes the lineup, and they still rip him.

Herp Derp, why is Cozart leading off, why is Strikeout Stubbs batting second Herp Derp!

Cozart has the highest batting average on the team, and Stubbs is in the middle of a 5-game hit streak. That wacky Dusty Baker, trying to get base runners on in front of Joey Votto! Fire him!

Entire lineup (except for Cozart & Stubbs, ironically) is in a slump. It will happen to everybody. It happened to the Reds out of the gate. They will hit their way out of it at some point. Blame the manager if you want, but its a waste of time.

[Rudi]

The Reds message boards are hilarious right now. I don't post on them I just read them for humour most of the time. There are already threads talking about who they want to replace Dusty, with names like Terry Francona and Tony Larussa being thrown around.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Ever notice that Arroyo ALWAYS spins around and grabs his cock when he gives up a dinger?

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=20751271&topic_id=&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_20751271&v=3

[Warner2BruceTD]

Yeah, yeah "SSS", I know...

After hitting .350/.405/.579 in the 2nd spot in the order this year, Cozart is now 0 for 8 in the leadoff spot. After hitting .182/.250/.182 from the 7th spot in the order, Drew Stubbs is now 4 for 9 with a HR batting 2nd.

...Votto protection, eh?

[Warner2BruceTD]

You know, keep in mind that in the midst of a terrible offensive slump, the Reds have played the Cardinals six times, the 10-4 first place Nats four times, and a pretty solid Marlins team three times. Seven of those games on the road. That's a tough schedule, so 5-8 considering the AWFUL hitting isn't the worst case scenario, here.

Coming up for the Reds:
@ CHI
vs SF
vs HOU
vs CHI
@ PIT

The offense is going to hit at some point during this stretch, and this isnt exactly Cards/Marlins/Nats. Reds can play .600 ball during this stretch.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Up until a month ago, the national media had done everything in their power to shoehorn the Reds franchise into predictability, and in the process I believe they warped some of us fans as well. We were told this franchise couldn't sign Joey Votto. We were told we'd given up "the future" to trade for Mat Latos. We were told that this team was "all-in," and that we had a mere two years to see the fruits of two decades of frustration.

I know we all read that, and I know we all soaked it up. The evidence is rampant all over Red Reporter. You can use the search function at the top right of the page to find out, if you'd like.

But then, somehow, things changed...internally, at least. Maybe Walt read the press; Bob Castellini certainly did. Somewhere, lost in all of the fervor and screaming about the Reds pushing all their chips into the middle, the Reds brass pulled a fast one on all of us.

Joey Votto was given an extension. Brandon Phillips was given an extension. Nick Masset was given an extension. Sean Marshall was given an extension. The "Votto Window" as we'd known it was shattered, and the "Votto Era" began.



It's almost 10pm MST, and I'm sitting on my couch, drinking a tasty beer, and wondering about the state of my fanhood. I don't mean to state that I'm giving up on being a Reds fan forever, and I certainly don't mean to state that I'm giving up on being a Reds fan this season.

I simply started thinking...what's the fucking rush?

Tonight's loss turned the page for me. As I sat and pondered how to accurately describe the play on the field, reflected upon the minor epiphanies I'd had watching the first 12 games, and tried to muster up a way to describe it all, it hit me: Relax, damnit! This is just the beginning! Why do we have our big, red, obnoxious panties in such a bunch?

Whether or not Dusty Baker is the answer at manager is not the premise of this argument, so I'll leave that aside. What I will say, however, is that the Reds are in the unique position to experiment a bit while not risking a wasted opportunity.

It's time.

Rolen and Cairo are redundant, so one of them needs to go. Wilson Valdez and Willie Harris are redundant, and likely both of them need to go. Todd Frazier is 26 years old and needs to be in the majors...so make that happen. We don't need Ryan Ludwick, so let him go as well.

And for God's sake, we just signed Brandon Phillips for 5 more seasons...can we please give the damn guy a rest?

The perceived urgency put in place by this team's leaders is what gets me the most. Latos, Cueto, Leake, Bailey, Arroyo, Chapman, Votto, Phillips, Cozart, Frazier, Heisey, Stubbs, Bruce, Masset, Marshall, Bray, Ondrusek, and LeCure will all be here for multiple years if we want them...so what's the damn urgency to burn through them now? We finally assembled a roster suitable for the long-haul, yet we began to crucify them after Game 2.

Let them breathe, cut the fat, let the team begin to grow up a bit, and relax.

We've got years to watch this group grow. It's enough to make me forget the last two weeks.

clap gif

13 games into a very long ride with a very good group. M'fers need to relax.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Mat Latos career ERA splits
March/April 6.28
May 2.41
June 3.55
July 2.54
August 3.35
Sept/Oct 3.86

[Warner2BruceTD]

Watching people like Willie Harris attempt to play 2B really makes you appreciate how awesome Brandon Phillips really is.

What purpose does Willie Harris serve? He has one hit and is batting .077. He can't play defense. He's 0-the season as a PH. He brings nothing to the table. Designate this guy for assigment and call up a left handed kid from AAA if you must have a left handed bench player. Better yet, just call up Paul Janish, at least he plays defense and isnt any worse with the bat.