Orin Swift
Well-known member
Thats a classic Castellini experience right there, baby. Consider yourself blessed!
2025 Cincinnati Reds Thread
- Thread starter jtk
- Start date
wolves82
Highly Respected Expert
He is the Billy Madison of baseball, but he is not funny. Born into a lucky spot. Useless beyond imagination.
14Red
Well-known member
I don't want him in the lineup. I just want people to be fair about it and see how much the Reds are invested in him. Matt McLain has struggled nearly as much as Candelario and not one word has been mentioned. People like McLain, he's not making alot of money. It seems like in a lot of cases, the day a guy signs a big contract, they change in the fans eyes and expectations go way up.
Gh0st
Well-known member
Correct. Because that’s what a big contract means. Why would you pay someone more to do average or below average work?
wolves82
Highly Respected Expert
Yes, 3 catchers! Because it worked so well in the past.
With 9 guys starting that leaves 4 bench spots, when you carry 13 pitchers. If 2 of your 4 bench guys are catchers, the manager is screwed. Pretty much have to use a C in the DH spot, or you are completely hamstrung in terms of subs. The depth in this organization is abysmal.
Gh0st
Well-known member
It doesn’t help that running from first to home leads to a 10-day IL stint.
wolves82
Highly Respected Expert
Agreed. No argument with the top 3 this year, but Greene is somewhere in there 4th - 10th. One bad start in Colorado skews his numbers.
AEW Champion
Notre Dame = 2025 National Champions
NL teams with a losing home record so far:
Reds
Fish
Pirates
Rockies
Reds’ day game record: 7-9 (probably worse if narrowed down to early afternoon starts)
Reds’ record against anyone not named the Rockies: 15-17
The Reds’ best current alignment is to play two middle infielders in the corner outfield spots.
This is what mediocrity looks like.
Frankly, until Hays comes back, I’d play Fraley, Dunn and Callihan as little as possible and just go with this lineup every day:
SS De La Cruz
RF Espinal
3B Marte
LF Lux
DH Stephenson
C Trevino/Wynns
1B Steer
CF Friedl
2B McLain
Reds
Fish
Pirates
Rockies
Reds’ day game record: 7-9 (probably worse if narrowed down to early afternoon starts)
Reds’ record against anyone not named the Rockies: 15-17
The Reds’ best current alignment is to play two middle infielders in the corner outfield spots.
This is what mediocrity looks like.
Frankly, until Hays comes back, I’d play Fraley, Dunn and Callihan as little as possible and just go with this lineup every day:
SS De La Cruz
RF Espinal
3B Marte
LF Lux
DH Stephenson
C Trevino/Wynns
1B Steer
CF Friedl
2B McLain
wolves82
Highly Respected Expert
Hard to disagree with that. Definitely a disappointing weekend after Greene's great start Friday.
14Red
Well-known member
Well that weekend stunk. Nick Lodolo wasn't good Saturday, and the offense fell asleep yesterday. Fortunately the Cubs haven't been wildly hot so we are only 3 games behind them, but the pessimist would say we've had opportunites to either be tied for first or leading the division. It's why I say these games are just as important as the ones in August and September.
But I digress. We now go to an Atlanta team that on the surface looks to be struggling. And un-Atlanta like 15-18 and in 4th place in the NL East. Well, the deeper dive is they've had a WHALE of a schedule to date. They started the season in San Diego, followed by the LA Dodgers, they've played the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and just finished with the Dodgers again. So I'd say their schedule is skewed just a bit. They are likely better than a below .500 team.
The Reds are a .500 team and they've pretty much earned that. They don't hit consistently. They struggle with some of the details of the game like good baserunning and solid defense. Not so much the great plays, but the routine. The bad part is you see the potential. You see the upside. Yet in the play of games we just don't put it together all the time.
Our pitching staff will keep us in games, no doubt in my mind. The way this team can win games is to be able to score more consistently.
But I digress. We now go to an Atlanta team that on the surface looks to be struggling. And un-Atlanta like 15-18 and in 4th place in the NL East. Well, the deeper dive is they've had a WHALE of a schedule to date. They started the season in San Diego, followed by the LA Dodgers, they've played the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and just finished with the Dodgers again. So I'd say their schedule is skewed just a bit. They are likely better than a below .500 team.
The Reds are a .500 team and they've pretty much earned that. They don't hit consistently. They struggle with some of the details of the game like good baserunning and solid defense. Not so much the great plays, but the routine. The bad part is you see the potential. You see the upside. Yet in the play of games we just don't put it together all the time.
Our pitching staff will keep us in games, no doubt in my mind. The way this team can win games is to be able to score more consistently.
Gh0st
Well-known member
I realize the 24 run outburst skews the stats, but also another season with a positive run differential and only hovering around .500.
oldpolecat
Active member
Ouch. Hope Calihan will be ok.
Spartacus1987
Well-known member
Omar
Well-known member
No, he’s not going to be ok. He broke his forearm in half. Good chance that’s it for his career.
wolves82
Highly Respected Expert
When you start the year with only 2.5 actual MLB caliber outfielders in the entire organization (Friedl, Hays and Fraley against righties), you have a problem. A lot of games we have middle infielders playing LF and RF. Dunn, Callihan (a natural 2B in the minors), Benson and Hinds are AAA players.
We all said in the off-season "go get big bats for the OF". Krall and his group did add Hays, but that is it. So we have a glut of infielders. Elly and McLain are fixtures of course. That leaves Steer, Marte, Lux, Espinal, CES and Candelario looking for ABs at 3B/1B/DH. So they end up playing the corner OF a lot.
We all said in the off-season "go get big bats for the OF". Krall and his group did add Hays, but that is it. So we have a glut of infielders. Elly and McLain are fixtures of course. That leaves Steer, Marte, Lux, Espinal, CES and Candelario looking for ABs at 3B/1B/DH. So they end up playing the corner OF a lot.
It's really is an odd phenomenon.
It can't just be "luck" anymore, but it's also hard to pinpoint exactly why this continues to occur. All I can come up with is that it's simply a team that constantly does stupid things to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This is where the fundamentals and intangibles come into play, and they are just not improving there.
Spartacus1987
Well-known member
Outside of the Cleveland series I don't plan on watching this team once again this season. Just haven't shown any reason for me to waste my time to watch them
AEW Champion
Notre Dame = 2025 National Champions
The one thing the offense is able to do on occasion is gang up on really bad pitching.
The Reds have a +30 run differential and are 18-18.
Take out the 14-3 rout of Kumar Rocker and the Rangers. Take out the 24-2 rout of old man Charlie Morton and the O’s (who have the worst pitching in MLB so far).
That leaves the Reds at a -3 run differential with a 16-18 record in their other 34 games, which is basically right where you’d expect a 16-18 team to be.
Yeah, there are a couple pretty significant outliers in there.
kdiamond
Well-known member
I can see just from repsoses in here why Cleveland fans are better than Cincitucky fans .. The Indians havent won a world series since 1948 .Havent ever even been to a Sooper Bowl and last won an NFL title in 1964 yet ,their fans keep supporting the Browns and the Indians .Meanwhile The Reds have won multiple worold series and been to 3 Super Bowls and when they are down or even average the fans turn away and ignore them . Maybe its just the stale sterile feel of GAPB and /or the JUngle thing is old and tired At PB Stadium? Real fans .LEt the Diamomnd know what the deal is
wolves82
Highly Respected Expert
Columbus guy, old enough to watch the NFL before the Bengals existed, so I am a Reds fan and a Browns fan for 55 years. Both fan bases have some negativity on board.
I try to be positive and I still follow the Reds closely but it is very hard to be optimistic when the owners have no designs on winning. The coaches and players want to win, but ownership won't spend up, and the front office spends the little they are given very unwisely. That's what the deal is.
kdiamond
Well-known member
Indians team like a does not open the purse strings either Paul Dolan is criticized alot for that BUT somehow they make playoff runs here and there and they do devope players ( especially their home grown pitching) so there is a certain love afair with the Inidans even whn they are avg or below.But the Browns can go 0-16 ( which they have) and that stadium is still filled with loyal orange and brown bleeding fans . its crazy . Too bad Cinicitucky doesnt have a third pro team NBA or NHL . I think NHL would go over well in the tucky