Jeff Brantley is very good, Welsh not so much and B Lark, great player and great player.
The Reds Hall of Fame is so watered down. I guess I’d vote for Arroyo out of this group, maybe Harang next. Arroyo to me is the only one who might merit this type of consideration.
Brantley is excellent. Welsh is boring but competent. Larkin is terrible. Votto could replace Larkin tomorrow and we’d all be better off for it.
I really like Brantley and Welsh, really interchangeable for me. Both give alot of really good insight into the game. Ironically, I also like Sam LeCure and Danny Graves when he's been in there. I think relief pitchers seem to do a good job of color commentary.
Team halls of fame are going to be watered down, there isn't much use of having one if it's going to be really difficult to get in. Plus there isn't the rules. It should be about the fans and popularity. For me, I'd put Harang in this group. I have an issue with Rolen and Cordero in that they were in Cincy for such a short period of time, 4 years. Boone really only had one good season in Cincy. I'd put Bronson first, but this his first year eligible so he'll get in the next few years. Harang was our best pitcher in some pretty lean years.
I enjoy anyone that doesn’t take themselves so very seriously. Hence why Brantley is excellent. Welsh I feel talks down to the listener plus I personally know the guy a little. Just not a fan and I’m trying to be nice.
Yep. Highlight of many games is when Brantley is talking about eating. He knows baseball and especially pitching, but he's also funny.
As Lee Corso says, not so fast my friend. After Steer's 2-2 start with a double and homer Friday, he's 0-7. Let's just pump the brakes and see what he looks like the rest of the season and in spring training before we sign him to a long extension. It's baseball.
Those games - for your teams - are once a week. Baseball is every day. I don't need 3 days of post game talk and 4 days of pre game. It's not that complicated. I'll keep following the Reds the rest of the way.
Add to that if we had any assemblence of a bullpen, any at all, and that 50-58 would at least be reversed. I can put up with alot, but walks are absolute killers. Reds pitchers issues a grand total of 11 free passes last night, add to that the 9 hits the Cubs got an only giving up 9 runs is actually impressive.
Not that TJ Fridel or Jake Fraley is going to be candidates for the Reds HOF, but they have to drive you nuts with their hair. And I'd guess Castillo has no shot in your book. I think you have to really scale back your expectations for the Reds HOF. As we know now pitching records isn't what they once were, but Arroyo took the ball and ate up innings after innings in his career. I think this season we can really see the value of that as if you can hand the ball off the the bullpen in the 7th rather than the 5th, makes a BIG difference over the season. For me, Bronson is the best of this group to go in, but I'd put Harang in now and maybe Bronson in a year or two.
How can you not pencil Farmer in at one of the two left side infield spots? Can play multiple positions, tough competitor and has earned playing time on this team IMO. He's a .265 hitter through 2 1/2 seasons. They will not pay for a free agent at either of those positions that is better than Farmer. See Moustakas, Mike.
Believe me when I say this GCpro, I do like Kyle Farmer. I wish we had 8 of him to put into the field. The intangibles, the grit, the baseball IQ are al things I wish we could transfer. But he's 32 years old, the last two seasons, he's had 998 plate appearances, he has 25 home runs. And he plays half his games in a home run hitters ballpark. On a good team with a masher at the corner infield positions and corner outfield positions, you could get away with Farmer at short with the little power. But we need more at 3rd base. I just don't think he'll be a starter going into next season. Now after a month plus of Jose Barrero, I just don't see him as the answer at short. He's going to have to make some great strides during the off season and camp to have a shot at making the team. Do I see Farmer on the team next season, absolutely. I just don't think he's going to have an everyday spot unless there is injuries or other circumstances.
As I said they will not sign a better player than Farmer and for sure Barrero doesn't seem to be the answer. Maybe Farmer gets another year until DellaCruz is ready if he is not already. It seems most scouts feel DellaCruz would be better suited at 3b or CF because of his size. I'm sorry I don't have the optimism you posses.
So with no optimism, you're going to put a 32 year old, no power 3rd baseman in your lineup? 3B, 1B, LF, RF are power positions. Outside of the bullpen, our #2 need is getting the offense on track. We need some boppers. Now I know you may come back and say we had Suarez, Winker and Castellenos in those spots and we did, but like everything else, at what cost are you going with them? The Reds felt they were overvalued for their price tag, and it appears they were correct. Suarez is having a nice season for him with the homers, but still leads the league in strikeouts, and Winker and Castellenos are 140 games into this season and have a combined 26 home runs. Steer can play short or 3rd.
You answer your own questions. There are no other options beside Farmer. Solano, Steer, Reynolds and maybe even India are the same guy. I guarantee with Votto's contract still looming and Moustakas being one of the bigger busts in Reds history they are not getting players from anywhere but their organization. Who is left to trade that brings value?
From McDonald's!!! Ha! With the pitching, I can only think there must be a method to their madness where they want these guys to stay in the minors. I have no idea what good it did having Hunter Greene throw a Triple A start?? Heck start him in Chicago last night. I'd rather he throw to Ian Happ than some triple A player. Farmer is arbitration eligible, the Reds may decide to move him during the off season. There are always options. We picked up Matt Reynolds, Colin Moran, Donovan Solano. There will be other veteran players available next season.
This has no merit, just my own opinion. IF they do decide to move Stephenson, it won't be until 2024. No matter what anyone says, Joey is calling his own shot, and I'm honestly fine with that. He's a first baseman. I think you'll see him relinquish a little next year and DH some, but he hates to DH. Joey's a throwback.
One of my biggest non understandings is why teams sign 33 year old journeymen to fill roster spots rather than bring up organizational players. It’s one thing when you are filling out a competitive roster. Quite another when you are “rebuilding” whatever the heck that means. It appears a few other organizations are not afraid to do just that. I said a year ago that I would have preferred Barrero been up all this year playing SS. The club is terrible lets see if the kid can survive every day. Playing 40 games in a lost season is no different than triple A.
Ask yourself why Stephenson only has 605 PAs in two plus seasons. It is because he keeps getting injured behind the plate!
Because they are available and because they "sometimes" are cheap. I think one thing organizations are scared of doing now is bringing up guys too soon. I think our mode as fans are, we want to cut to the chase and immediately find out today if a guy is major league capable or not. It sometimes isn't that easy. I think the Reds regret pushing Billy Hamilton through the system as fast as they did. He never fully developed as a hitter- his minor league stats were not great. But he was forced up and he was good enough to stay for a few years, but never fully developed as a hitter.
I certainly hope your crystal ball is correct on him. But I feel for 2023, he's going to be the Reds catcher, no matter what any of us think. After that, who knows. All I'm providing is my opinion on what I think will happen, and also some balance. Stephenson has been good in spurts only. Claiming he's a savior is a bit of a reach. We are starving for a slugger, I see it.
No player, not even Joey Votto, should be calling the shots. If the organization thinks the team is better off playing Tyler Stephenson at 1B, then Votto needs to accept being the DH. Other than his longevity, he really has no room to gripe since his production has fallen off precipitously the past few seasons aside from a spurt in the late summer of 2021.
De La Cruz and Stephenson will be the middle-of-the-lineup hitters in a couple of years. The hope is that someone like Noelvi Marte or Cam Collier could come up pretty young and join them by 2025.