The Official 2021 Cincinnati Reds Thread

Castillo looked good. Bullpen held it together. Sims still makes me nervous when he's throwing fastballs that miss by 3ft.

Anderson also looked really good. Hopefully that doesn't turn into a norm for him or the Brewers will be tough to deal with.
 
Gh0st said:
Castillo looked good. Bullpen held it together. Sims still makes me nervous when he's throwing fastballs that miss by 3ft.

Anderson also looked really good. Hopefully that doesn't turn into a norm for him or the Brewers will be tough to deal with.
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Castillo and Sims - agreed, although I've heard Cowboy say that being a little wild makes not only the fans nervous, but it keeps the hitters nervous as well. He calls it "effectively wild" and it can be a good thing.

As for Anderson, he has a history of having games like that once a month or so, but his career numbers say he is a 4+ ERA and 1.33 WHIP guy. Brewers lineup is poo, beyond Yelich and Garcia. If they don't trade some bullpen for a bat or two, they won't stick in the race.
 
Omar said:
I think Bell deserves a lot of credit for keeping this team motivated. I do not believe they’ll be in contention come the All Star Break, but it’s nice to see them continue to fight.
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Pro athletes do not look to their coach/manager for motivation. They get to the top level by being extremely driven and focused. Just listen to Castellanos talk sometime - winning is the only focus.

I have been critical of Bell, but I do give him credit for not tinkering as much during this good stretch. He keeps running his best 8 guys out there, for the most part. I think Winker sitting out last night was match-up based. With 11 straight games, everyone needs a day off, and Anderson would have been tough on Winker.
 
wolves82 said:
Pro athletes do not look to their coach/manager for motivation. They get to the top level by being extremely driven and focused. Just listen to Castellanos talk sometime - winning is the only focus.

I have been critical of Bell, but I do give him credit for not tinkering as much during this good stretch. He keeps running his best 8 guys out there, for the most part. I think Winker sitting out last night was match-up based. With 11 straight games, everyone needs a day off, and Anderson would have been tough on Winker.
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I don’t think that’s entirely true. I think pro HCs can still motivate their players to some extent.
 
wolves82 said:
Pro athletes do not look to their coach/manager for motivation. They get to the top level by being extremely driven and focused. Just listen to Castellanos talk sometime - winning is the only focus.

I have been critical of Bell, but I do give him credit for not tinkering as much during this good stretch. He keeps running his best 8 guys out there, for the most part. I think Winker sitting out last night was match-up based. With 11 straight games, everyone needs a day off, and Anderson would have been tough on Winker.
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I'm sure it was. Heineman supposedly hits lefties well. Right now, Heineman has a harder time hitting beach balls than Winker does hitting lefties. I just think why not give Winker a day off in San Diego where a loss doesn't guarentee you lose ground in the division race. I'm sure they'll face a lefty in a 4 game series there.
 
wolves82 said:
To me it is all about adding to the bullpen. I do not claim to know about the guys in the minors except Lodolo and Greene. I want those 2 to remain in the rotation, and in the minors for now, for reasons I laid out earlier.

I'd be willing to trade some OF depth (Aquino, Shogo, Naquin) or Moustakas (when he is healthy), for bullpen strength. Best targets would be the Indians, Brewers, Rays. All have good pens and could use a bat.

The lineup is rolling now. Moustakas is a dilemma. I fear injecting Moose will mess up our mojo. Moose playing 3b causes Suarez to go back to SS where he clearly is not as comfortable. And I don't want to mess with India, he needs to be the everyday 2b. If we can find an AL contender that needs his bat, and will take his contract, I'd love a bullpen guy for him at this point. I can live with Farmer at SS and batting 8th with the rest of the lineup clicking. If Senzel gets healthy, I would work with him at SS.
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I"m all for adding bullpen depth, I don't see the Brewers trading any of their bullpen, it's great. I don't think Shogo or Moustakas is tradable, contracts are too much for what they've done.
Our best bet is going to be guys who are last chance guys who just find someway to get guys out. Now with Antone's elbow, I worry this is going to be a continuing problem. Hopefully Lorenzen can be back soon and Garrett seems to be straightened out to some degree.
 
Wait a minute? So now half of you don't want to blow it up and bring up all the AA guys from Chattanooga? Make up your mind?
 
wolves82 said:
Pro athletes do not look to their coach/manager for motivation. They get to the top level by being extremely driven and focused. Just listen to Castellanos talk sometime - winning is the only focus.

I have been critical of Bell, but I do give him credit for not tinkering as much during this good stretch. He keeps running his best 8 guys out there, for the most part. I think Winker sitting out last night was match-up based. With 11 straight games, everyone needs a day off, and Anderson would have been tough on Winker.
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Winker off Anderson, 1/1, 1 of our two hits.

I'm tired of the lefty / righty crap. Winker / Castellenos/ Votto/ Suarez/ all have proven to be able to hit major league pitching, righty or lefty. If Bell just said he wanted to give Winker a day off, ok. But don't throw it in there that you're "using this opportunity because a lefty is starting"? It's laughable.

If I'm managing the Reds, unless Winker and Castellenos tells me they'd like a day off, they are in the lineup, period. Scott Heineman should only play if there is an injury, double switch or some other reason.
 
14Red said:
Wait a minute? So now half of you don't want to blow it up and bring up all the AA guys from Chattanooga? Make up your mind?
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Only one person said that. The rest of us just said make a decision one way or the other. The Reds have a history of straddling the fence and turning 4 year rebuilds into 7 or 8 years.
 
Gh0st said:
Only one person said that. The rest of us just said make a decision one way or the other. The Reds have a history of straddling the fence and turning 4 year rebuilds into 7 or 8 years.
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And I've said the Reds, by design, CAN straddle the fence at this point. A nice blend of youth and experience.
 
14Red said:
Winker off Anderson, 1/1, 1 of our two hits.

I'm tired of the lefty / righty crap. Winker / Castellenos/ Votto/ Suarez/ all have proven to be able to hit major league pitching, righty or lefty. If Bell just said he wanted to give Winker a day off, ok. But don't throw it in there that you're "using this opportunity because a lefty is starting"? It's laughable.

If I'm managing the Reds, unless Winker and Castellenos tells me they'd like a day off, they are in the lineup, period. Scott Heineman should only play if there is an injury, double switch or some other reason.
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In general, I agree with you, play the best guys almost all the time, matchups be damned. Bell did too much of that L/R matchup stuff last year, he has been somewhat better this year about fielding his best lineup more consistently.

I realize numbers and facts are a problem for you. But get it right. Winker got his hit off Williams in the 8th. He's a righty. And for the record, Winker hits .369 off righties, with a crazy 1.15 OPS. Against lefties he hits .265, with a 0.700 OPS. So the lefty/righty thing is fairly real, and a smart way to handle the occasioanl day off. You need to believe in numbers a little.
 
14Red said:
And I've said the Reds, by design, CAN straddle the fence at this point. A nice blend of youth and experience.
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No, they can't, for reasons I've already mentioned. Castellanos will not be on this team next year if he opts out of his contract. The Reds won't be able to pay his asking price without increasing payroll. You either decided to win with him this year, if you are in contention, or sell high. All they get if he walks away next year is a draft pick. He could single handedly restock your farm system this year.

That's how small market baseball works. You can't afford these big contracts that come after success, so you sell high to keep the prospect pipeline full. The Reds will never be a team of superstars like the Yankees.
 
14Red said:
And I've said the Reds, by design, CAN straddle the fence at this point. A nice blend of youth and experience.
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Blending youth and experience is fine. But not making a decision to either be a buyer or seller does not work. Straddling the fence leads to a series of so-so seasons.

Reds management needs to decide if they want to try to go for it this year, if so trade a bat or two from our depth and shore up the pen. We have the 2nd worst pen in the MLB, behind Colorado. Tough to contend when every lead seems precarious. If come late July, it is not going well, make the decision and off-load some talent to prep for the future.

I personally think this team will stay in the race by virtue of the offense, and the rotation has been much better the last couple weeks. Our starting 8 is the best in the division, bar none. Rotation is only second to Milwaukee. So if the pen can perform like it has the last 5 games, or something near that level, we have a contender.
 
wolves82 said:
Blending youth and experience is fine. But not making a decision to either be a buyer or seller does not work. Straddling the fence leads to a series of so-so seasons.

Reds management needs to decide if they want to try to go for it this year, if so trade a bat or two from our depth and shore up the pen. We have the 2nd worst pen in the MLB, behind Colorado. Tough to contend when every lead seems precarious. If come late July, it is not going well, make the decision and off-load some talent to prep for the future.

I personally think this team will stay in the race by virtue of the offense, and the rotation has been much better the last couple weeks. Our starting 8 is the best in the division, bar none. Rotation is only second to Milwaukee. So if the pen can perform like it has the last 5 games, or something near that level, we have a contender.
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Does it though? I trust that we have enough depth in our everyday guys we don't need to add anything there. Now bullpen, absolutely, but I'm not willing to give up much to get bullpen help.
You know a guy who may bring something back to us, but I'd hate to get rid of is Tucker Barnhart. Tucker will not be back next year at his salary. He's got enough time and is going to command a decent salary on the open market. Stephenson is the catcher of the future, no question.
I agree, we will stay in the race, but there is a big difference in being a playoff team and being a contender for a title. I'm not convinced we have enough starting pitching, let alone bullpen to even sniff a world series. And you're not going to get the starting pitching we need without parting with Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo.
 
wolves82 said:
In general, I agree with you, play the best guys almost all the time, matchups be damned. Bell did too much of that L/R matchup stuff last year, he has been somewhat better this year about fielding his best lineup more consistently.

I realize numbers and facts are a problem for you. But get it right. Winker got his hit off Williams in the 8th. He's a righty. And for the record, Winker hits .369 off righties, with a crazy 1.15 OPS. Against lefties he hits .265, with a 0.700 OPS. So the lefty/righty thing is fairly real, and a smart way to handle the occasioanl day off. You need to believe in numbers a little.
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That's right, he got his hit off righty Williams, who's deadly vs. ALL hitters.
 
14Red said:
That's right, he got his hit off righty Williams, who's deadly vs. ALL hitters.
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Williams is very good - that is not the point. You said Winker got a hit off Anderson, who is lefty. It was the key point of your entire post, and it was wrong.
 
zeeman said:
What if going into August, Greene is dominating AAA and the Reds are a couple of games out?
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But of course he will dominate AAA, because you claim it is a joke. Easier than AA.

If the Reds rotation is doing fine and is healthy, I wait to call him up Sept 1. Play the long game.
If the rotation is hurting, have to think about it. My inclination is still to play the long game with him, but pennant race could change that.
 
Nobody mentioned that we won with 2 hits yesterday - crazy. And we are in the midst of another pitcher's duel today. Barny just knocked in Votto for a 2-1 lead in the 7th. Let's GOOOO!
 
wolves82 said:
But of course he will dominate AAA, because you claim it is a joke. Easier than AA.

If the Reds rotation is doing fine and is healthy, I wait to call him up Sept 1. Play the long game.
If the rotation is hurting, have to think about it. My inclination is still to play the long game with him, but pennant race could change that.
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You do realize that you’re not always right, right?
 
Nice win. Pitching looked overall solid the past 3 games. Cubs facing deGrom tonight, so possibility of only being 2 back. They seem to be catching the Padres at the right time.
 
wolves82 said:
But of course he will dominate AAA, because you claim it is a joke. Easier than AA.

If the Reds rotation is doing fine and is healthy, I wait to call him up Sept 1. Play the long game.
If the rotation is hurting, have to think about it. My inclination is still to play the long game with him, but pennant race could change that.
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Greene has a dominant fastball and a very good slider. His third pitch is below average and needs work. This is actually ideal. He has the stuff to help this team win this year from the pen but his third pitch needs work so next season he spends 3 months in AAA to polish the 3rd pitch. That would be enough to slow down his arbitration clock as well as super two status giving the Reds an effective arm in the pen without trading anyone this season and ensure that Greene is here in his prime and at the cheapest price possible.
 
Reds are going to need to keep winning at a high clip...
Brewers have 10 games against Colorado and Arizona. Very likely the Brewers return to their winning ways.
 
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