"This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

[Jackdog]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

Dusty Baker kills me. There is no way you can defend Willie Harris being in the lineup as the DH.

W Harris DH BA.114

[SlimKibbles]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

Here's what Brian Price has to say about Chapman....

Price said Chapman was getting people out with mostly fastballs, one reason he has thrown so many. Price also said Chapman continues to be a work in progress.

“I think a mix is good, but when he’s on and throwing with velocity and command and guys aren’t hitting it, you get a little reluctant to throw the slider,” Price said. “The after-effects of that is that the less he throws it, the more foreign the pitch becomes to him.

Coach Price...I understand what you're saying, but throwing that slider effectively makes that fastball more devastating and vice versa. If Chapman has the same arm motion on his slider as he does on his fastball, hitters are just guessing. If they guess fastball and they get the slider, they will be way out in front or their knees will buckle. If they guess slider, that 100 mph fastball will be in the catcher's glove before they realize they guessed wrong. But, you go on and keep letting every hitter who faces him just sit on fastballs all day.

[TheShizNo1]

He's just giving a PC answer right?

Seriously, what is this obsession Dusty has w/ Harris

[PhantomPain]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

He's just giving a PC answer right?

Seriously, what is this obsession Dusty has w/ Harris

Its the same obsession he has every year with the worst player on the team. Every single year it seems he has a pet on the team that he favors. I was shocked to see Harris go down the first time. Not shocked at all that he is back up and playing DH.

I am not a big fan of Dusty's but I will give him credit when it is due. Playing either ancient has beens, always wished they coulda beens and never will be players is something that irritates the crap out of me about him. That and those damn toothpicks and forearm bands. Not sure why but that irritates me LOL.

[slickdtc]

And that's why I'll never be a fan of Baker's. I can live with game decisions that go wrong; not every move you make is going to be the right one. But when you deliberately set the team up to fail, and cheat deserving players out of valuable playing time, that's something I can't get behind.

Someone needs to call him out. Repeatedly. Make this a point. Embarrass him until he changes. This isn't a one time thing. He's had this obsession with multiple players now. We could be losing potential wins by putting these duds in the lineup. That doesn't sit well with me in what's going to be a tight NL Central.

[Son of Sam99]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

Willie Harris = Willy Taveras

Also:


Record when Rolen starts: 9-18
Record when Rolen doesn't start: 29-12

[PhantomPain]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

Willie Harris = Willy Taveras

Also:


Record when Rolen starts: 9-18
Record when Rolen doesn't start: 29-12

Yeah, I like Rolen a lot. But the man needs to retire. It's time. Pull the trigger. Make him a coach, I think he would do well, although I did read an article about him missing his young ones at home. Maybe take a break from baseball, be a dad and come back later.

My favorite player of all time was Mike Schmidt. I literally cried, at age 14, when he retired. Thought he had more in him. In hindsight, he did the right thing. Rolen should call him.

[redsrule]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

Is Willie Harris married to someone related to Dusty like Taveras was? That would explain it.

[SlimKibbles]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

Is Willie Harris married to someone related to Dusty like Taveras was? That would explain it.

You mean Corey Patterson?

[Son of Sam99]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

You mean Corey Patterson?

Thats the other name I was trying to remember...

Harris = Taveras = Patterson

[Son of Sam99]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

Yeah, I like Rolen a lot. But the man needs to retire. It's time. Pull the trigger. Make him a coach, I think he would do well, although I did read an article about him missing his young ones at home. Maybe take a break from baseball, be a dad and come back later.

My favorite player of all time was Mike Schmidt. I literally cried, at age 14, when he retired. Thought he had more in him. In hindsight, he did the right thing. Rolen should call him.

I really don't like fans complaining when players play longer past their prime. The fact of the matter is its an outside observer saying they shouldn't be doing their job and the thing they love to do anymore.

That being said I of course understand as a fan myself the desire to remember your favorite athletes for when they were great, not for when they were fading.

So it comes down to the need for Dusty to realize that this guy's contributions on the field have dwindled to a point where the next guy up would be an improvement.

[redsfan4life]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

Scott Rolen's bat speed just isn't there any more. Too many pop ups to RF. His defense is still really good, so I don't really have a problem with him being on the roster. He should only be playing about 40% of the time though. We need some youth on the bench. Our bench is incredibly old and slow. Axe Cairo or Harris asap and call up someone with some wheels. I'd even be ok with Joey Gathright over Willie Harris as long as he's a bench guy. At least he can fly.

[PhantomPain]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

I really don't like fans complaining when players play longer past their prime. The fact of the matter is its an outside observer saying they shouldn't be doing their job and the thing they love to do anymore.

That being said I of course understand as a fan myself the desire to remember your favorite athletes for when they were great, not for when they were fading.

So it comes down to the need for Dusty to realize that this guy's contributions on the field have dwindled to a point where the next guy up would be an improvement.

What exactly is wrong with the bolded above? Isn't that what fans do? Are we not allowed to want the best for the team and a player? That sentence makes no sense to me whatsoever. Just because we say it or think it, doesn't mean he is hearing it. It isn't like we are calling him up saying "dude, you need to retire because you suck now." You are basically saying that nobody, including the media, should ever point out that a player that was once really good isn't anymore unless it is the player himself, the Manager or higher up execs.

Again, that makes no sense to me.

[redsrule]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

You mean Corey Patterson?

Same thing.

[SlimKibbles]

Re: "This one belongs to Reds fans" Official 2012 Cincinnati Reds

I really don't like fans complaining when players play longer past their prime. The fact of the matter is its an outside observer saying they shouldn't be doing their job and the thing they love to do anymore.

That being said I of course understand as a fan myself the desire to remember your favorite athletes for when they were great, not for when they were fading.

So it comes down to the need for Dusty to realize that this guy's contributions on the field have dwindled to a point where the next guy up would be an improvement.

I really understand what you're saying but kind of agree with Phantom on this one and think it's okay for us fans to make observations like that. By us buying tickets, we are pretty much paying for his salary. That doesn't give us the right to be jerks or something about it but I think Phantom's original comment wasn't out of line, although I do understand why it could rub a person the wrong way. Has Scott Rolen earned the right to play until he says otherwise? Well, maybe, but I don't know. His skills have dwindled and he hasn't been able to stay healthy the last couple of years. The former may be due in part to the latter. He probably does need to call it a playing career and start on the next phase of his baseball life which is coaching. I think he'll be a fantastic coach and manager some day. I really like Rolen a lot but I can't say I want to see him in the lineup every single game. Todd Frazier needs to be playing more. Rolen needs to be a part of this team though because of the veteran leadership. I personally think this might be his last season as a player, especially if his back just becomes too much, but we'll see.