You can “stick a fork” in this year’s season. Unfortunately, the horrendous overall hitting (one of worst BA’s in the majors) did not magically get any better after the All Star break. You just can’t win (even with good pitching) when you hit something like .220 as a team.
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Fangraphs has a “clutch” stat, and the Reds are 29th in that metric. So not only do they have a poor batting average, they are even worse in key moments.
This would be yet another reason for their terrible 1-run record of 9-21. White Sox at 8-25 are the only team worse.
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Joey Votto calls it a career. One of the greatest Reds of all time. Sad that the castellini’s didn’t do more around him during his time here. But I look forward to his day in cooperstown. TBS or Fox needs to get him in the booth for the playoffs
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I’d listen for Dan Patrick and see if Joey’s going to be on either Thursday or Friday
Just once, I’d have loved to see him suit up for the Blue Jays and play vs the Reds in this series
Reds are gonna make the playoffs! Haters who hated on me: I was wrong!! It’s gonna happen now. I believe!!!
His announcement post says, ‘I tried with all my heart to play for my people. I’m just not good anymore.’ Alas, time goes undefeated. But I imagine Joey still has a bright future in his other endeavors, whether it be broadcasting, managing, coaching, chess or just driving a bus.
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Abbott went on the IL today. Can anyone here on MHT pitch?
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Sorry Yellow. I am as big a Reds fan as you will find, but I just don’t see this inconsistent team “getting over the hump” and making the playoffs.
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I was kidding. Some implied I was harsh and that I didn’t understand the 107 rotisserie style metrics then presented. All of the said metrics proved to be false idols.
The Reds suck. Just like I said they would in May. Shitty management. Crappy roster. They need to unplug the machine and after it’s done saying “TILT” reset it all. This team isn’t built well.
I have worries about the Bengals but not as much.
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It’s a good thing they can build next years team around a full season of Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Noelvi Marte and TJ Friedl.
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That’s the part that stinks most about this season. Most young teams looking to get out of the rebuild will spend the first year or two finding out if the players are good enough to be a part of the team, and if not, finding someone to plug the hole. I think McLain showed enough his rookie year, and either way the team also has India. I think Friedl hits well enough and plays good enough defense that it’s not worth looking for an upgrade there. However, CES and Marte are still question marks, and hoping to compete next year, the fewer question marks the better, but I just don’t see the team making backup plans this offseason, because backup plans can be expensive.
With all that said, I hope the team gets a full-time DH, even if it’s Steer, because our DH slot has been awful, even though it is our regular players filling it often times.
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Exactly, found out nothing more about McLain, CES, and Williamson. Marte only a half season, and appears he isn’t ready (which is fine, he’s still just 22). Ashcraft also only half a season…is he best as a reliever? You knew it’d be a mixed bag of results, and that some guys would regress.
Add in the lost-to-injury minor league seasons for prospects Edwin Arroyo and Ty Floyd, the disaster from Connor Phillips, and the regression of every hitter in AA and AAA. At least Rhett Lowder looks awesome, Chase Petty has shown some glimpses in the 2nd half, and there are a ton of promising hitters at the A/A+ levels.
McLain’s injury gives me more concern than his ability to play at the MLB level. Marte has steadily improved since rejoining the team, remember with him his winter was also shut down early due to the hamstring injury.
They have strength in numbers in the infield but the corner outfield spots are where they can make the most improvement to me either in the free agent market or by trade. Getting Benson out of here and out of the lineup is needed. Fairchild and Fraley are nice bench pieces at best.
In defense of Fraley, he has had a really weird year. He missed parts of spring training after his daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia, and I believe he has missed some days during the season to be with her. Then, shortly after the season started, a virus went around the clubhouse, and it did its worst on Fraley, who ended up missing a week, and still feeling weak for a while even after he returned. And no wonder, during his sickness, he lost 20 pounds, which he hasn’t been able to regain due to being in season and his daughter and everything. He’s also had a few injuries that he’s been dealing with. Despite all of this, he’s still hitting .273 with a near .330 OBP, and a .1 WAR (which is obviously not good, but better than a lot of the players on the team). And the reason for the low WAR is that his power numbers have cratered, possibly on account of the weight loss.
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Team BA is .231. De La Cruz is tops w a .265 average. Tough to win consistently with that stat, although as of late some bullpen collapses have really hurt us w some crushing losses.
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The season is quickly falling apart, but Friday will be Lowder day. Hopefully he performs well and solidifies a role for next year’s team.
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Yeah this season is effectively over…that last wildcard spot is too far away as the losses have piled up since the all-star break. May see some line up changes as Bell tries to find a cohesive team for next year.
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Would like to see Greene get 2-3 more starts after his bruise is gone; McLain get back to playing in games; Williamson start a few times the last half of September (after a couple more AAA rehab outings); Connor Phillips miss a few more bats in AAA while keeping the 98-99 velo with reduced walks; Lowder get his feet wet and throw at least 1 real good outing with the Reds.
Yep all about developing and looking for positive signs for next year now.
Unless this franchise makes major changes the sweepstakes van ain’t coming.