2011 Cincinnati Reds

[javagt]

Pitching keeps getting worse.... This has been the problem for a long time...

[Charge]

Fisher has lost ever extra inning game he has pitched in this year. Why do they keep putting him in?

[BBallin fool]

Pitching bad Wood today.

[fuzzhead]

Pitching, just like last decade, is the obvious problem. It was nothing spectacular last year, about middle of the road. Cueto has promise. Bailey, if he can stay healthy, has promise. Volquez is a head case and that has always been his downfall, even before he was with the Reds. Just think, we could have Josh Hamilton playing left field instead of platooning if not for the Volquez trade! Arroyo was projected to have a down year by a lot of people before the season ever started, but I still think he'll get it together and pitch well over 200 innings if he stays healthy. He looked pretty sharp Friday. Wood has the Volquez syndrome: hit him early and he will try to pitch around you and beat himself. The Reds need a legitimate ace of the staff. They have the depth to give up some prospects to acquire someone. You can talk about the lack of hitting in LF and SS, but at the end of the day, they still have one of the best team BAs in the NL and they're merely at .500. The Phillies, Giants, Marlins, Braves, and Diamondbacks all have significantly lower team batting averages, yet they all are in much better shape record-wise than the Reds because they all are currently getting anywhere from decent to excellent pitching. Hitting comes and goes, pitching/defense wins championships. That's been the secret to the Cardinals for the last 10 years.

[FANOSPORTS]

They should have kept Hamilton and the offense would have been great. Until the Reds go out and spend (I know, small market) some dollars for real pitching like the other teams, they'll never win the whole thing again. The last upteen years that has been their biggest need and it's not been addressed. You can develop all the young arms you want but when you have to use them before they're ready then it may kill their career before it's started. Spend the dollars and get some solid notable pitching before it's too late and all the offense they have now goes bye bye to free agency and they go another 20 years between winning a pennant.

[fuzzhead]

An overused bullpen is a direct effect of bad/inefficient starting pitching. The key to them winning the division last year was the fact that that they took advantage of hitting terrible pitching from their counterparts in the Central and fattened their BA. They couldn't beat the Cardinals last year because they couldn't hit against them. They can't beat the Pirates this year because they can't hit decent starting pitching. Also, they live and die by the long ball this year. They aren't playing good small-ball. They aren't running the bases as well as they did last year. They made a living last year beating the teams they were supposed to beat. Arroyo and Cueto had great years and they were able to shoe-string together a pitching lineup that worked, using the likes of Leake, Wood, LeCure, etc at different points in the year. They have some decent young pitching but they need an ace to add stability.

[dazed&confused]

sophomore slump. They will compete for titles the next few years.

[BBallin fool]

GO REDS!!!

[fuzzhead]

The Reds should sweep this dreadful Cubs team. If Volquez can't come up with a quality start tonight, he shouldn't be in the lineup. We should also smack Davis all over the park. At this point in time the Cubs are the worst team in baseball and should be treated as such.

[Orange and Brown]

LETS GO REDS, LETS GO REDS!!!!!!

[BBallin fool]

JMO The 105 man is done pitch 2/3 of a inning gave up 3 runs at that level. O-BOY Not good.

[BBallin fool]

4-ever!!! True and funny !!! But still GO REDS!!!

[FANOSPORTS]

Tonight's debacle, let's just walk the bases loaded and then give up a game winner. This bullpen is unreal.

[fuzzhead]

It'd be nice if the Reds could take 3/4 from the Giants today. It'd almost guarantee a winning West Coast road trip - occurances which have been very scarce since I've been following Reds' baseball. Cincy's pitching staff has really gotten the benefit of going against poor-hitting teams in Chicago and now San Francisco who is watered down with injuries. We need to take at least 2 out of 3 from the Dodgers with Blue Jays and Yankees rolling into town next up. The Brewers have made the Cardinals look pretty bad the past two nights. If they jump into first and the Cards continue to slump, Reds fans have to like their chances with the way Cincinnati has owned the Brew-Crew.

[BBallin fool]

ESPN Tonight !!! GO REDS!!!

[Orange and Brown]

If Cueto, Wood, and Leake can stay healthy and be joined by renewed Volquez and Arroyo, the Reds COULD challenge. I maintain that Arroyo is NOT healthy. Since being diagnosed with mono he hasnt missed a start. Anyone else imagine doing what he's doing with mono?

33 games in 34 days has debilitated this pitching staff IMO; especially the bullpen and apart from someone coming up or a trade, I dont see any relief before the All-Star break.

The Reds need more consistent offense out of the OF trio of Heisey/Stubbs/Gomes, and 3B has been a wasteland offensively. Finally, Im not convinced that Janish is the long term answer at SS and Renteria doesnt have the range to play there everyday. If the Reds get their LF/3B offensive problems solved, they can afford to plug Janish in the 8 hole and just leave him alone IMO.

You hit the nail on the head!

[fuzzhead]

Over the last 8 games, Reds' starters have a 2.17 ERA and have gone 5-1. Granted, 7 of these games were against the Cubs and the Giants - teams who've had trouble getting runs all year - but it's still good for my nerves. Arroyo was solid against the Dodgers again. It'd be nice if the Reds could knock Kershaw around again tonight and Cueto could have yet another masterful performance, only with the bullpen not blowing it this time.
Janish's BA continues to creep up, as he had another good game last night. His defense is solid. If his offense clicks and he can get his average up at least above .250 by year's end, he's ok in my book. Should the Reds be out of contention at season's end, I think Heisey should be allowed to start the overwhelming majority of the time in left field. Gomes is not the answer and Fred Lewis, along with Renteria, is simply a one year-and-done hired gun like Cabrera was last year (only not as good at the plate). We need to see how Heisey can hit on an everyday basis.

[BBallin fool]

GO REDS!!!

[The_Legend_of_Northwest]

I am concerned that Stubbs is trying to break Adam Dunn's single season strikeout record. It doesnt matter how fast he is if he doesnt even make contact; especially for a lead off hitter. You cant steal first base.

Adam Dunn's team record? I think he's going after Mark Reynolds MLB record (223 K's )

[fuzzhead]

Well, the Reds got the series victory last night with Cueto having another great outing and Votto and Stubbs following with clutch hitting late in the game when it counted. Going for a rare sweep of the Dodgers in LA this afternoon, heading into the day a mere 2.5 games behind the Cards and Brew Crew, both of whom blew leads last night against very bad teams in Washington and Chicago, respectively.
The Reds will have tomorrow off, then be at home for series against the Blue Jays and Yankees. Then they head out on the road to finish of the month against two more AL East teams, Baltimore then Tampa. The first week of July, they'll rematch the Indians in Cincinnati and then perhaps one of the most important stretches of the season: a road trip just before the All-Star Break which features a 3-game set with the Cardinals and then a 4-game trip to Milwaukee. Lots of baseball to be played.... Go Reds, as always.