2008 Cincinnati Reds

[SlimKibbles]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

Milton was a mistake from the get-go. He gave up a ton of HR's in Philly. Why in the world did the Reds think it would be any different at GABP?

[Motown]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

CF Corey Patterson
SS Jeff Keppinger
RF Ken Griffey Jr.
2B Brandon Phillips
LF Adam Dunn
3B Edwin Encarnacion
1B Scott Hatteberg (Votto has not been hitting and Dusty loves him some veterans)
C Paul Bako (David Ross is hurnt and will miss the first couple of weeks)
P Aaron Harang

Ross was on tonight's game, & pretty much said...he'll be ready opening day.
as for Votto...that 2 run bomb tonight didn't hurt

observations from tonights game.

Bailey is not ready folks...i hate to say it, but i don't think he's going North.
Mercker looked terrible, even tho he got out of that jam in the 8th.
his velocity isn't there...hell, if you pitch 86 to 89 FB...that's BP...& it ain't gonna cut it.

Keppinger looked sharp.
Phillips did not, Dunn did not..tho he hit his 3rd round tripper tonight.
Jr...meh
Encarnacion looks lost.
Patterson...meh

Offense: C+
Defense: B-
Pitching: C+
Coaching: B...i think Dusty kept on top for the most part.

[PhantomPain]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

Ross was on tonight's game, & pretty much said...he'll be ready opening day.
as for Votto...that 2 run bomb tonight didn't hurt

observations from tonights game.

Bailey is not ready folks...i hate to say it, but i don't think he's going North.
Mercker looked terrible, even tho he got out of that jam in the 8th.
his velocity isn't there...hell, if you pitch 86 to 89 FB...that's BP...& it ain't gonna cut it.

Keppinger looked sharp.
Phillips did not, Dunn did not..tho he hit his 3rd round tripper tonight.
Jr...meh
Encarnacion looks lost.
Patterson...meh

Offense: C+
Defense: B-
Pitching: C+
Coaching: B...i think Dusty kept on top for the most part.

Thanks for the report, Motown. Any chance you can watch today's game as well with Volquez pitching? I live in western NC so I don't get the opportunity, but would love to hear what you guys think of him. I haven't had the chance to see him pitch at all so I can only go by what others say.

[jake44np]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

Ross was on tonight's game, & pretty much said...he'll be ready opening day.
as for Votto...that 2 run bomb tonight didn't hurt

observations from tonights game.

Bailey is not ready folks...i hate to say it, but i don't think he's going North.
Mercker looked terrible, even tho he got out of that jam in the 8th.
his velocity isn't there...hell, if you pitch 86 to 89 FB...that's BP...& it ain't gonna cut it.

Keppinger looked sharp.
Phillips did not, Dunn did not..tho he hit his 3rd round tripper tonight.
Jr...meh
Encarnacion looks lost.
Patterson...meh

Offense: C+
Defense: B-
Pitching: C+
Coaching: B...i think Dusty kept on top for the most part.

There was just an article yesterday on Reds.com that said Ross would be starting the season on the DL. He is expected to miss the first 2 weeks. The guy hasnt taken a swing or caught a ball in a spring game yet, there is no way they will let him start the first game!
Merker will be cut in the next round of cuts according to C. Trent, and you are right Keppy looks ready for the season to start. At this point with all of Gonzalez's injuries and personal problems (I know it is his kid and I dont blame him at all) I wish the Reds would just name Keppy the perminate starter at SS. Phillips might not have looked sharp last night but he has 15 RBI's this spring, as for Dunn he looked in midseason form to me. He hit a HR and that was about it, thats what he always does. Your right about Edwin he is lost at the plate right now, 0 for 3 with 3 k's last night, he is hitting .170 this spring.

[Motown]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

Thanks for the report, Motown. Any chance you can watch today's game as well with Volquez pitching? I live in western NC so I don't get the opportunity, but would love to hear what you guys think of him. I haven't had the chance to see him pitch at all so I can only go by what others say.

Unfortunately, i won't be seeing Volquez pitch either. i haven't got to see him pitch as well. if Valentin had a interpreter last night, i could've made out what the hell he was sayin' ABOUT Volquez & Cueto.

[jake44np]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

Unfortunately, i won't be seeing Volquez pitch either. i haven't got to see him pitch as well. if Valentin had a interpreter last night, i could've made out what the hell he was sayin' ABOUT Volquez & Cueto.

I will be listening to the game shortly on 700 wlw, I will let you know how Volquez does.

[PhantomPain]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

I will be listening to the game shortly on 700 wlw, I will let you know how Volquez does.

cool, thanks jake. I will follow the box score but it would be nice to hear what the announcers have to say about him.

[PhantomPain]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

I will be listening to the game shortly on 700 wlw, I will let you know how Volquez does.

can that be heard on the net?

Any website that broadcasts reds games in spring?

[sportsdude]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

I watched parts of the game with the Jays last night, some quick impressions:

Edwin may be struggling at the plate but it looks like he's finally starting to play good defense. He had a nice pick in the first inning with a throw on target.

Homer Bailey, come on dude, throw the ball over the plate and let the defense do the rest. He threw more balls than strikes last night, had 6 walks but just 2 K. Man, if he honestly thinks he has it all figured out, he's delusional.

Jeremy Affeldt, not helping his own case. I thought he could challenge for a spot in the rotation, then I thought he could be a valuable member of the bullpen. Now I'm just hoping he can give us some decent innings.

The game was on FSN here and I want to know why, when and how the FSN broadcast team started referring to Francisco Cordero as "Coco". I was doing some work during the game and my attention was on my laptop when I heard them say Coco Cordero. I was like, "Who the hell is that and how did he get on the team?" Eventually figured it out, but yeah, definitely strange.

[PhantomPain]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

I watched parts of the game with the Jays last night, some quick impressions:

Edwin may be struggling at the plate but it looks like he's finally starting to play good defense. He had a nice pick in the first inning with a throw on target.

Homer Bailey, come on dude, throw the ball over the plate and let the defense do the rest. He threw more balls than strikes last night, had 6 walks but just 2 K. Man, if he honestly thinks he has it all figured out, he's delusional.

Jeremy Affeldt, not helping his own case. I thought he could challenge for a spot in the rotation, then I thought he could be a valuable member of the bullpen. Now I'm just hoping he can give us some decent innings.

The game was on FSN here and I want to know why, when and how the FSN broadcast team started referring to Francisco Cordero as "Coco". I was doing some work during the game and my attention was on my laptop when I heard them say Coco Cordero. I was like, "Who the hell is that and how did he get on the team?" Eventually figured it out, but yeah, definitely strange.

Maybe they got that knickname after reading this article (great article btw) and saw how "Coco" got to eat some free chocolate cake?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring...son&id=3301183

[PhantomPain]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

Another STRONG outing for Volquez against the Phillies:

5IP 5H 1R 1ER 1BB 5K's

jake, how can you not like this guy? I really hope him and Cueto have some weird rookie season where they are both winning nearly everything and setting records or something. Will be exciting nonetheless.

I wish Bailey would stop throwing so many dang walks. My goodness. It seems from things I have read that he has quite the attitude problem and may have worn out his welcome with the Reds. I hope not or if there is an attitude, that he realizes he isn't all that and a bag of chips until he can throw the ball over the plate.

How weird is it that Bailey was all the talk last year and now Cueto has passed him and will likely be in the rotation and Volquez who could never get it going in Texas might as well. Meanwhile Bailey may be heading south. I still think Bailey should stay with Cincy and pitch out of the pen for a bit. He will get much more experience there than in AAA, IMO.

[jake44np]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

Another STRONG outing for Volquez against the Phillies:

5IP 5H 1R 1ER 1BB 5K's

jake, how can you not like this guy? I really hope him and Cueto have some weird rookie season where they are both winning nearly everything and setting records or something. Will be exciting nonetheless.

I wish Bailey would stop throwing so many dang walks. My goodness. It seems from things I have read that he has quite the attitude problem and may have worn out his welcome with the Reds. I hope not or if there is an attitude, that he realizes he isn't all that and a bag of chips until he can throw the ball over the plate.

How weird is it that Bailey was all the talk last year and now Cueto has passed him and will likely be in the rotation and Volquez who could never get it going in Texas might as well. Meanwhile Bailey may be heading south. I still think Bailey should stay with Cincy and pitch out of the pen for a bit. He will get much more experience there than in AAA, IMO.

Hold your horses, I never said I didnt like Volquez. I said I didnt think he was ready to be an effective major league starter yet. Of course I said that and now he has pitched 2 great spring training games since then, dont get me wrong I am a Reds fan and I want him to be great!! I heard a great interview with Chris Welsch last night and he said he is really impressed with Volquez but that he would need to see him pitch in the regular season the way he is pitching now. He said regular season games are a whole different ball game.
On to Bailey I could not disagree with you more about him staying with the big club and pitching out of the pen. I dont know how much pitching experience you have but the guy is a staring pitcher and always will be. His future is as a starting pitcher so he should go down to AAA and start. You dont want to mess with the young guys head or more importantly his arm. I dont want to see him have to pitch every couple of days out of the pen instead of every fifth day as a starter. There is no need to put the unneeded strain on his arm, besides it is not like he wont get any coaching down at aaa. The Reds have a really good AAA pitching coach.

[PhantomPain]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

Hold your horses, I never said I didnt like Volquez. I said I didnt think he was ready to be an effective major league starter yet. Of course I said that and now he has pitched 2 great spring training games since then, dont get me wrong I am a Reds fan and I want him to be great!! I heard a great interview with Chris Welsch last night and he said he is really impressed with Volquez but that he would need to see him pitch in the regular season the way he is pitching now. He said regular season games are a whole different ball game.
On to Bailey I could not disagree with you more about him staying with the big club and pitching out of the pen. I dont know how much pitching experience you have but the guy is a staring pitcher and always will be. His future is as a starting pitcher so he should go down to AAA and start. You dont want to mess with the young guys head or more importantly his arm. I dont want to see him have to pitch every couple of days out of the pen instead of every fifth day as a starter. There is no need to put the unneeded strain on his arm, besides it is not like he wont get any coaching down at aaa. The Reds have a really good AAA pitching coach.

LOL...it seemed like previous posts that you weren't liking Volquez too much. But I agree he needs to pitch like that in the a real game as it is totally different. But eventhough it is only spring, he has been quite impressive as has Cueto sans that last outing.

As far as Bailey, I get what you are saying but don't think that a starting pitcher starting out in the pen is the end all be all. It happens all the time with young guys. I believe Nolan Ryan was even put in the pen before he was a regular starter because he was all over the place (at least that is what I had heard). Joba Chamberlain for the Yanks is a starting pitcher as well but they are choosing to put him in the pen for now, but I doubt it will stay that way. This stuff happens all the time to get a guy some experience pitching against MLB players and putting them in non-pressure situations. Builds their confidence as well.

Bailey is a starting pitcher and that is how he will make his name. But I don't see that AAA is going to do much more for him. He has been there now a couple of years and doesn't really have a whole lot more to prove there. Starting the year with the Reds, in the bullpen, is not a bad idea for him and in no way does that mean I want him to be a relief pitcher. I don't, I just want him to get better and I am not sure AAA is going to do that for him.

Everything seems to be pointing to him going to AAA anyway, but I honestly don't think it would be a bad idea to have him pitch out of the pen in the bigs.

[jake44np]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

LOL...it seemed like previous posts that you weren't liking Volquez too much. But I agree he needs to pitch like that in the a real game as it is totally different. But eventhough it is only spring, he has been quite impressive as has Cueto sans that last outing.

As far as Bailey, I get what you are saying but don't think that a starting pitcher starting out in the pen is the end all be all. It happens all the time with young guys. I believe Nolan Ryan was even put in the pen before he was a regular starter because he was all over the place (at least that is what I had heard). Joba Chamberlain for the Yanks is a starting pitcher as well but they are choosing to put him in the pen for now, but I doubt it will stay that way. This stuff happens all the time to get a guy some experience pitching against MLB players and putting them in non-pressure situations. Builds their confidence as well.

Bailey is a starting pitcher and that is how he will make his name. But I don't see that AAA is going to do much more for him. He has been there now a couple of years and doesn't really have a whole lot more to prove there. Starting the year with the Reds, in the bullpen, is not a bad idea for him and in no way does that mean I want him to be a relief pitcher. I don't, I just want him to get better and I am not sure AAA is going to do that for him.

Everything seems to be pointing to him going to AAA anyway, but I honestly don't think it would be a bad idea to have him pitch out of the pen in the bigs.

Homer only has a total of 69 innings pitched in AAA, he has not pitched in AAA for a couple of years. He is a 21 year old that spent most of his 2 years in the minors in A ball. As for comparing Joba and Homer I again disagree. Joba is a good releiver because he doesnt walk people. Homer's problem is control and the last thing a team needs is a reliever that comes in a walks guys. I dont think the bullpen would help Homer confidence at all.

[joshuar9476]

Re: 2008 Cincinnati Reds

from mlbtraderumors.com

The Phillies would like to conclude their offseason by swapping third baseman Wes Helms and the $2.9MM owed to him for a lefty reliever. According to Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Phils are talking to the Giants and Reds about Helms. Steve Kline ($1.75MM) or Mike Stanton ($3.5MM) are the targets.

Mike Stanton ..... Bloody hell just give them mike stanton. i didn't know anybody wanted that fat bastard.