40 replies to this topic

[SeanBerry]

The last time we saw the Reds, they were putting the finishing touches on a 74-88 season. They finished in 5th place and were 23 1/2 games out of first.

The good news? This guy is back!



The Reds have had what many would call a "boring" or generally "unproductive" offseason. Proof, you ask?

Time for classic game of Good News/Bad News!

BAD NEWS: 10/3/08 Sent OF Jolbert Cabrera outright to Triple-A Louisville. He refused the assignment and is a free agent.

Cabrera went .252/.310/.400 in 48 games (126 PA's). He's also the greatest player named Jolbert in baseball history. Look it up!

BAD NEWS: 11/20/08 Sent INF Andy Phillips outright to Triple-A Lousiville. Phillips refused the assignment and is a free agent.

Phillips used to play for the Yankees! This means some WEEI listeners believe he has no soul. He went .233/.300/.397 in 52 games (80 PA's)

TRADE: 12/9/08 Acquired C Ramon Hernandez and cash considerations from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for INF/OF Ryan Freel, INF Brandon Waring and INF Justin Turner.

Ramon Hernandez fills a major hole for them at catcher. They had the Bako/Ross combo last year and much like a Nazi, Paul Bako is never a good thing. But Ramon Hernandez? Seriously? He's 33 and looks like it. His OPS+ has been 88 and 86 the past two seasons and left many Oriole fans wondering last season "Who the fuck is Ramon Hernandez? He plays here? In Baltmore? Really? I mean... I pretty much stopped following the O's since Ripken left but I never even heard of this guy. You sure about this?"

Ramon Hernandez was a 2003 All-Star and went .257/.308/.406 in 133 games (507 PA's)

So what did it cost them? Ryan Freel is a nice player but he only has any value at all on avery good team. He's bst used a supersub and not one you depend on. He's always hurt and really dosen't do anything all that well. On a team like the Yankees or Red Sox or Mets, he would have real value. So where better for him to go then Baltimore? In all seriousness, I don't see the loss of Ryan Freel as a big deal. Freel went .298/.340/.359 in 48 games (143 PA's).

Turner and Waring were both in the Reds minor leagues last year and would have had little to no impact on the 2009 season.

GOOD NEWS: 12/12/08 Signed LHP Arthur Rhodes to a two-year contract. Non-tendered RHPs Matt Belisle and Gary Majewski.

Hey! It's a free agent signing! Hey! It's a 39 year old reliever!

In all seriousness, Rhodes fills a major hole for this team... of course it's a hole because Majewksi and Belisle were a massive combination of hurt and suck. Sadly Rhodes was mainly used as a LOOGY last year.

Majewski was a nightmare since Jim Bowden traded him knowing he was hurt. That trade may have cost Wayne Krivsky his job and Jim Bowden was forced to resign due to an embarassing and shady scandal. Hooray baseball! Majewski went 1-0, 0Sv, 6.53 ERA, 1.90 WHIP in 37 games (40 IP).

Matt Belisle is shit. Last year, he went 1-4, 7.28 ERA, 1.79 WHIP in 6 games (all starts) and 30 IP.

Last year Rhodes went 4-1, 2sv, 2.08 ERA, 1.25 WHIP in 61 games (35 IP).

GOOD NEWS: 12/15/08 Signed OF Laynce Nix to a Minor League contract and invited him to Spring Training.

Laynce Nix has managed to underwhelm and disappoint people everywhere he has gone. If Laynce Nix was a dog, he'd be nice looking dog you found at the pound and then he would constantly shit on your floor, hump your son's leg all the time and then get bone cancer and die when he was 5. Basically a waste of time.

Nix went 1 for 12 last year with the Brewers.

ACTUAL GOOD NEWS: 1/19/09 Signed OF Jonny Gomes, who had been with the Rays, to a Minor League contract and invited him to Spring Training.

I actually like this move a lot. This is exactly what they should be doing. Gomes is a player who has limitless power but needs a ton of work on making contact. He's going to be 28 so this is probably his last real chance and from all accounts in Tampa, he's a good clubhouse guy.

Plus he went out with some chick at my best friend's wedding. I guess her new boyfriend is still jealous years later. I would not fuck Jonny Gomes.

Last year Gomes went .182/.282/.383 in 77 games (177 PA's). I know that looks ugly but he was bangedup and his 2005-07 showed real promise.

GOOD NEWS: 2/5/09 Signed OF Jacque Jones and 1B/OF Daryle Ward to Minor League contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training

This is a GREAT move... if it's 2001!

What do you want me to say about this shit? They are filler at best. Jones is 34 and put up stats that a SoSHer may hav given the same number of PA's. He went .147/.239/.207 in 42 games (134 PA's) for the Tigers and Marlins. There's hope for you yet Ras!

Daryle Ward was not as bad but he did his best Jay Johnstone impression and wasted a roster spot all year by going .216/.319/.402 in 89 games (119 PA's) for the Cubs last year. He even got 3 AB's in the playoffs last year. Barring massive death or contraction, he will never play in the playoffs again.

That's the offseason folks!

Now that we covered that excercise in futility, I'll go over what lies ahead with the current roster this weekend.

[Lose Remerswaal]

Saw 3 Reds games in ST this year -- 2 at City of Palms, 1 at Bradenton, and this guy (Eric Davis):



Seemed to be in the best shape of anyone on the team.

For reasons we couldn't determine, Dusty really wants Aaron Fultz to do well.

If Jay Bruce does well, this team could win 80 games

Edited by Lose Remerswaal, 14 March 2009 - 07:39 AM.

[SeanBerry]

(NOTE: I am going to spend a large amount of time over this next week actually going over the different aspects of the team so if you are expecting Corsi Combover type post/links, you will be out luck until next week. Skrub may be the man to pick up the slack on that at least until next week.)

This Reds team is quite possibly the most boring team in baseball and I am sure I will spend the next week shitting all over them but before I do that, I'll spend today's post talking about te best part of this team, the starting rotation.

I actually like this piching staff and thinks it has some pretty real promise.

Rotation Depth Chart (via reds.com)
SP: Aaron Harang (6-17,4.78, 94ERA+)
SP: Edinson Volquez (17-6, 3.21, 140ERA+)
SP: Bronson Arroyo (15-11, 4.77, 95ERA+)
SP: Johnny Cueto
SP: Micah Owings
SP: Homer Bailey

Aaron Harang
Harang followed two fantastic seasons in 2006-07 with a season in 2008 where he mixed horrible luck with medicore pitching. I believe he was banged up and here's my proof and why I think he'll pitch better in 2009.

On August 21, he was 3-13, 5.59
By the end of th season, he was 6-17, 4.78

In his final 8 starts he went 3-4, 2.83 (17 ER in 54 IP). Not only that but that was pitching for a team that was counting dow the days before the season would end. When you consider his ERA was 3.32 on May 25 (after Dusty put him in relief in a 16-13 game that got out of hand), something went horribly wrong in June/July and mid-August.

Was it the summer heat allowing the balls to tee off in the humidity? Maybe but to that effect? From May 29-August 21, he was 1-7, 9.12 (52 ER in 51 2/3).

Let's repeat that in case anyone missed it.

From May 29-August 21, he was 1-7, 9.12 (52 ER in 51 2/3).

Was it Dusty putting him in relief in that 16-13 game?

Harang also lost 25 pounds over the winter. He's having an OK spring and looks better and better wth each start.

Berrydiction: 13-12, 4.11

Edison Volquez

With all respect to Geovany Soto, this should have been the 2008 NL ROY.

A brilliant 2008 where his only misstep seemed to be tiring down by the end of season. At the All-Star break, he was 12-3, 2.29. The rest of the way he went 5-3, 4.60.

Did guys figure him out? Was he hurt? Did he just get tired considering it was 20 more innings then he ever threw?

I really don't know. the K rate didn't change very much but this really concerns me:

Batter's line:
Pre-ASB: .212/.314/.292
Post-ASB: .260/.352/.436

Yikes. So not only did guys bash the ball way more against him, they were taking more pitches as well. That's not bad luck. That's bad pitching.

I'd be shocked to see him repeat his 2008 success.

Berrydiction: 14-11, 3.96

Bronson Arroyo

The always lovely EricVan said in 2004, he would a Cy Young one day.

If someone caught EricVan in a room with dozens of dead children and wearing a woman's nightgown, I wouldn't be shocked at all... but you know what? He wasn't that far off on this one.

Arroyo will never win a Cy Young but he's a nice pitcher and I never thought he'd be that. And if he pitches for a good team in 2006, maybe he at least gets some Cy Young votes.

The shitty thing about Arroyo is ever since 2006, he's only gotten worse..but it's not as bad as the ERA would dicate. His walk rate has gotten worse each year and he has always given up a ton of hits so that concerns me.

He had the opposite season of Volquez as he got amazingly better in the 2nd half of the season.

Pre-ASB: 7-7, 5.96
Post-ASB: 8-4, 3.47

This Reds team is fucking stranger then Van. If they all got their shit together at the same time, they could win 95 games. This same group could just as easily lose 100 games.

Berrydiction: 12-14, 4.52

Part II tomorrow.

Edited by SeanBerry, 14 March 2009 - 04:54 PM.

[SeanBerry]

Starting Rotation Part II

Johnny Cueto

I'll come out and say it right now. I'm a fan.

He was not a good pitcher last year but he really showed signs that he will have a bright future.

He's unafraid to pitch inside (led the league in hit batsman last year) and had 158 K's in 174 IP. It's not easy to have 31 starts in the season you make you major league debut. It's even harder when you are only 22 and you had a grand total of 4 AAA starts.

He needs to give up less home runs and be more consistent from start to start but I think that will come in time. I am a fan.

Berrydiction: 15-10, 3.91 ERA

Micah Owings

Micah Owings got traded last season in the Adam Dunn trade. He never pitched for the Reds...but he played for them. He was actually used as a pinch hitter in FOUR games last year for the Reds... and went 2 for 4 with a double!

In 126 career PA's, Micah Owings is .319/.355/.552.

As a pitcher...what he typically used for he is 14-17, 4.97 94ERA+ in his career.

Owings had a nice rookie season in 2007 and even started a playoff game. Last season was borderline awful and at Age 26, he no longer young enough to get away with another season like last year.

I'd like to see the Reds use him as a pinch hitter this season in some of the days he does not start.

To be honest, I don't know what kind of season Owings is going to have. Usually when you see a guy regress that much and he's gong to be 26... it's fucking problem. Put a gun to my head and I don't see him starting 20 games in 2010...but he's got a chance this year.

I do know one thing... he'll hit this season.

Berrydiction: 4-9, 5.28

Homer Bailey

I believe very strongly to have any chance of having a successful season, you need to have at least 6 starting pitchers. Unless you are the 2004 Red Sox, you aren't going to find 5 pitchers to get 30+ starts for you.

The best part about the 2009 Reds is they have the extra starting pitcher. The question now is if Homer Bailey has any major league value for this season.

He's made a total of 17 major league starts over the past two seasons and has been beyond awful going 4-8, 6.72 68ERA+. He also had a really hard time in AAA last year as well posting a 4.77 ERA in 19 starts.

If I am the Reds and lucky enough to get out of spring training with my 5 starters intact, I bury Bailey in AAA until I need him. Hopefully that will build up confidence until he is needed.

This kid has talent. He did a great job in AAA in 2007 and seems to have lost confidence since getting creamed in the majors upon his callup. Even though he's only 23, he is starting to run out of chances and can not afford another season like 2008.

Berrydiction: 4-6, 4.91

[SeanBerry]

Is the Reds bullpen THAT bad?

Maybe not.

HOLDOVERS:
Francisco Cordero (5-4, 3.33 ERA, 34 Svs, 70 IP, 136 ERA+)
Dave Weathers (4-6, 3.25 ERA, 0 Svs, 69 IP, 139 ERA+)
Jared Burton (5-1, 3.22 ERA, 0 Svs, 59 IP, 140 ERA+)
Bill Bray (2-2, 2.87 ERA, 0 Svs, 47 IP, 157 ERA+)
Mike Lincoln (2-5, 4.48 ERA, 0 Svs, 70 IP, 101 ERA+)

NEW FACES:
Arthur Rhodes (4-1, 2.04 ERA, 2 Svs, 35 IP, 208 ERA+)
Nick Masset (2-0, 3.92 ERA, 1 Sv, 62 IP, 116 ERA+)

OTHERS:
Ramon Ramirez (4 GS with '08 Reds)
Josh Roenicke (has minor league success in 08)
Danny Herrera (Also had ml success in 08, only 24)

First off, that front 7 out of that bullpen is actually pretty decent.

-They paid way too much money for Cordero, but the fact remains he was a nice closer fr them last year.
-Rhodes and Weathers are both as old as dirt but any good team has to re-evaluate the bullpen each and every season and the fact remains that Weathers and Rhodes were both valuable bullpen arms last year.
-Burton and Bray are both young guys who had nice seasons last year. There does not seem to be any real reason why they can't continue that success.

The bad part of this pen is there is no depth. the three young guys have had various degrees of success in the minors but none of them has any success in short call-ups as relievers. Ramirez was good as a starter but he was not coming out of the pen and he was the worst minor league pitcher out of the three of them last season.

The other shitty thing for the Reds is while Masset and Rhodes could provide value, they are going to miss Jeremy Affeldt who signed with the SF Giants as a free agent. You could make a case that Affeldt was the best reliever the Reds had last season.

Finally, as much shit as Dusty Baker gets (and he deserves his lion's share believe me) give him credit for doing a nice job with the bullpen of this team last year. Masset got better coming over to Cincy. Bray finally got his shit together after injuries and youth plagued his early career. Cordero and Affledt didn't miss a step coming over to new teams.

I'll say this.... not only is the Reds pen not THAT bad, it's not bad at all.

In fact, it's going to be a strength.

[SoxFanSince57]

Reds manager Dusty Baker said he plans to meet with Gary Sheffield on Thursday.

"We are going to talk," Reds GM Walt Jocketty confirmed. "Dusty talked with him [on Tuesday]night. The two have a history. We have to wait for him to clear waivers [Thursday], but we'll talk after that. We have interest because he is a legitimate big bat to add to our lineup." It'd be more than a little ironic if the Reds signed Sheffield to play left field after bragging about how much more athletic they are now with Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. gone. It wouldn't necessarily be a bad gamble to sign him, but it'd almost certainly lead to the Chris Dickerson/Jonny Gomes platoon being replaced when sending Willy Taveras to the bench would be the much better idea.

RotoWorld

[Lose Remerswaal]

They'd be better off activating Eric Davis

[brewdawg819]

Interesting article on ESPN:

http://sports.espn.g...o...&id=4033671

[Madwoman]

Joey Votto led the Reds to a brief moment tied for the division lead, but since then has been plagued by unexplained dizziness which has forced him to take himself out of a couple of games and miss others completely. Votto is to be examined again today to try to determine what is causing his troubles.

Reds Wait for Word on Votto

[Wingack]

Votto is "out" with a personal issue. Placed on the 15-day DL.

[Lukiewerle]

Just stumbled across this... link.

The Reds held a closed-door clubhouse meeting after the team bus arrived. Votto is not with the club and it was believed he returned to Cincinnati.

"He's dealing with a personal issue. He wants us to respect his privacy about that," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

No more details were revealed, at Votto's request. There was no timetable for a return.

"They weren't informed about what was wrong," Baker said of the meeting. "I just told them we have to stick together, even more than ever. Whatever it is, we need to support him. This is like a member of your family. Right now, he needs their support and love and understanding something they might not even understand."

Apparently, this has less to do with the inner ear infection than originally speculated but again -- details are at a minimum.

[ScottT158]

Do the Reds (or a potential future team) consider yanking Micah Owings off the pitching staff entirely and using him exclusively as a 1B/OF?

[Country Sinker]

The Reds have too many starting pitching woes to pull Owings off the starting 5. Believe it or not, up until this past Sunday their bullpen had the lowest ERA in the NL. This came from the media, I do realize that ERA is undeterminable with inherited runners v. runs scored, etc. The Reds also have a backlog of Dodgers proportions in the OF and it looks as though Votto is going to pull out of his personal issues and remain a solid 1B.

[SoxFanSince57]

The Cincinnati Reds have talked internally about obtaining third baseman Scott Rolen from the Blue Jays.

The trade would re-unite Rolen with general manager Walt Jocketty. The two were together in St. Louis when the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series over the Detroit Tigers.

The Jays are looking to dump payroll and Rolen earns $11 million US this year and in 2010, the final two years of an eight-year $90-million contract he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002. Rolen has been the Jays' best hitter this season, batting .330 with six homers and 34 RBIs and is working on a 25-game hit streak.

The Reds had a scout in St. Petersburg to watch Rolen this week as the Jays played the Tampa Bay Rays.

Besides dumping cash, the Jays are looking for prospects in return.

The Reds, however, have dangled third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, 26, who started 143 games at third for them last season, hitting .251 with 26 homers and 68 RBIs.

http://www.torontosu...085181-sun.html

[Country Sinker]

I found this article on Joey Votto's minor league host family to be touching story. It also made me realize the value in these families that help shape a major league player's rise to the top. They obviously offer their homes from the heart and don't mind if they ever get any recognition for it.

Host Family helps Votto through his tough time

[Country Sinker]

Dusty Baker is the stupidest fucking manager on the planet.

EDIT: I'm so mad, I couldn't spell "stupidest" the first shot

Edited by Country Sinker, 23 July 2009 - 03:07 AM.

[JMDurron]

Dusty Baker is the stupidest fucking manager on the planet.

EDIT: I'm so mad, I couldn't spell "stupidest" the first shot

What did he do this time?

[Country Sinker]

I am a baseball fan - clear and across the board, so why I am so upset about a little meaniless game I was at last night since the Reds haven't won one off the Dodgers the last 12 times they have played in LA seems a bit strange to be bitching about on a Red Sox board.
But I was also in the stands in '02 for Game 6 and I watched Dusty hand it all right back to the Angels by the way he mismanaged the pitching. Hell he practically walked it over to their dugout on a silver tray. I've also been at Wrigley way too many times to count hanging my head in complete disgust wanting the past 3 hours of my life back and whatever I paid for my food. There was absolutely nothing wrong with giving Pete Mackanin a chance. But some buttlick in the FO wanted to bring a 'name' in. Seriously, I could go on and on about my "relationship" with Dusty Baker and his pitching staff over the years, but I would rather spend my time on my favorite team, the Red Sox and what they are doing to win it this year and just hope that the Reds 'just do the right thing' by the 31st and make my life easier.

[Country Sinker]

Willy Taveras was scratched today with a sore left wrist.
Jerry Hairston Jr. is batting leadoff and playing center field. Taveras is batting .240/.279/.290 this season with 21 stolen bases.

[Country Sinker]

Prior to the below announcement, the Reds had a TBA on this for the last few days. VERY curious if a trade is in the works with the "corresponding roster move"

RHP Justin Lehr is expected to start for the Reds tomorrow night vs the Rockies.
A corresponding roster move will be made prior to tomorrow’s game.

[Country Sinker]

This just released by the Reds:

Acquired from the Blue Jays 3B Scott Rolen and cash in exchange for 3B Edwin Encarnacion, RHP Josh Roenicke and minor league RHP Zach Stewart. Rolen is expected to join the club tomorrow.
Acquired from the Yankees minor league C Chase Weems in exchange for IF/OF Jerry Hairston Jr.. Weems will be assigned to Class A Dayton.
Selected from Louisville the contracts of RHP Justin Lehr and RHP Kip Wells.

The "and cash" was not previously reported. I am very interested in seeing Justin Lehr throw today. Kip Wells, not so much....

[Country Sinker]

Edinson Volquez cut his simulated game short on Friday after feeling pain in his troublesome right elbow.

RHP Kip Wells will wear uniform number 38.

No uniform number yet for Rolen.

[Country Sinker]

RHP Edinson Volquez is scheduled to have right elbow surgery Monday, August 3rd.

Scott Rolen will wear uniform number #27
Drew Sutton changes to #15

[Country Sinker]

For any Dusty Baker "fans" glutton for punishment -
Game 6 of the '02 World Series is on the MLB Network channel.

[Country Sinker]

RHP Edinson Volquez this morning had surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament (“Tommy John”) and torn flexor mass in his right elbow.
He is expected to miss approximately 12 months. The 90-minute procedure was performed by Reds medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek.
Volquez went 4-2, 4.35 in 9 starts for the Reds this season.

So can Rolen pitch? Hey back-up SS - Paul Janish can throw off the mound, but can he actually pitch is still a question - his ERA is 49.50

[Wade Boggs Hair]

EDIT: I can't read.

Edited by Wade Boggs Hair, 03 August 2009 - 12:57 PM.

[JulE6]

Any word on what Edwin Encarnacion's role will be with Scott Rolen on the team? Will he pinch-hit? Will the Reds try to trade him?

Encarnacion went to Toronto in the deal.

[Wade Boggs Hair]

Encarnacion went to Toronto in the deal.

Thanks. I can't believe I missed that.

[BosoxTiger55]

When, oh when, will baseball's general managers learn that Dusty Baker is poison to the pitching arms of young stud pitchers?

It was last week that we heard the announcement that ex-Cub Mark Prior was cut loose by the San Diego Padres, one of the earlier victims of Dusty's propensity to run young pitchers 75+ innings past their previous career highs, and to have them throwing 120+ pitches in numerous games before they develop the stamina to do so.

Now another potential ace goes under the knife. I saw a lot of Edinson Volquez pitching against the Cubs (one of my local TV teams), and I loved watching him work. Now his next start is at least a year away, and there is a cognizable chance he will never reach his potential.

I know that some on this board think like Nolan Ryan, and just don't accept the idea of monitoring pitch counts, and developing stamina in young arms by incrementally adding to their innings pitched each season, but here is another example of a rookie or near rookie losing a season to overuse by Dusty Baker.

Just stop abusing young pitchers, Dusty.

[Wade Boggs Hair]

When, oh when, will baseball's general managers learn that Dusty Baker is poison to the pitching arms of young stud pitchers?

It was last week that we heard the announcement that ex-Cub Mark Prior was cut loose by the San Diego Padres, one of the earlier victims of Dusty's propensity to run young pitchers 75+ innings past their previous career highs, and to have them throwing 120+ pitches in numerous games before they develop the stamina to do so.

Now another potential ace goes under the knife. I saw a lot of Edinson Volquez pitching against the Cubs (one of my local TV teams), and I loved watching him work. Now his next start is at least a year away, and there is a cognizable chance he will never reach his potential.

I know that some on this board think like Nolan Ryan, and just don't accept the idea of monitoring pitch counts, and developing stamina in young arms by incrementally adding to their innings pitched each season, but here is another example of a rookie or near rookie losing a season to overuse by Dusty Baker.

Just stop abusing young pitchers, Dusty.

I like to rag on Dusty Baker as much as the next guy, but are you sure this is causation and not (at least mostly) correlation, or just bad luck?

Volquez leaped from 120.2 total IP in 2006 to 178.2 IP in 2007, which is not good. He then only jumped 17.1 IP from '07 to '08 (196.0 IP in 2008), but he was 17th in total pitcher abuse points ("PAP") and 18th in average PAP per start. In 2009, he hadn't thrown more than 110 pitches in any start, and isn't in the top 100 for either total PAP or PAP/start. I don't pretend to be an expert on the usefulness of PAP, so take from it what you will.

I'm not saying Dusty wasn't a factor at all in Edinson Volquez's injury -- he may have played a role -- but it's not like there's indisputable evidence that Volquez was ridden into the ground by his manager and got hurt as a direct result of it either.

To be sure, Dusty Baker is an awful manager. But I'm not positive he should get all the "credit" for Volquez's TJ surgery.

Edited by Wade Boggs Hair, 03 August 2009 - 01:43 PM.

[Wade Boggs Hair]

To somewhat answer back my own post, I'll copy/paste this comment from BBTF:

He did ride Volquez pretty hard down the stretch last year. From Aug. 12 on-

Aug. 12 - 112 pitches
Aug. 17 - 97 pitches
Aug. 23 - 103 pitches
Aug. 29 - 110 pitches
Sep. 3 - 117 pitches
Sep. 8 - 119 pitches
Sep. 13 - 121 pitches
Sep. 18 - 111 pitches
Sep. 23 - 98 pitches

The usual caveats apply - we'll never know if this workload caused Volquez's injury, and most of those starts were close ballgames. But the Reds weren't in contention, and during a time when most managers would be easing up on a young pitcher's workload, Dusty Baker stepped on the gas.

http://www.baseballt...ament_replaced/

[Country Sinker]

Reds owner and CEO Bob Castellini confirmed Wednesday that manager Dusty Baker will return for the 2010 season.

"Absolutely," Castellini said. The Reds were just two games out of first place on July 4, but have gone 5-22 since and are now hovering just above the Pirates at the bottom of the National League Central. Baker is 120-149 as the skipper in Cincinnati. His Reds went 74-88 last season and are headed for a worse finish this year. "We’re going to turn this thing around," added Castellini.

[Sille Skrub]

Reposting this here:

Last Reds season for Hal McCoy.

[Country Sinker]

Well Dickerson's back, but Rolen's going on the 15-day DL today.

[Country Sinker]

According to Baseball America, the Reds '09 1st round pick, RHP Mike Leake has been signed:
Link

[Country Sinker]

Press Release from the Reds PR Dept.

After examinations in Cincinnati earlier today, C Ryan Hanigan will go on the Reds’ disabled list with a concussion and OF Chris Dickerson

will go on the disabled list a severely sprained left ankle. Both suffered injuries in yesterday’s game at Pittsburgh.

The club has 11 players on its current disabled list, indicated in red below. Overall, 19 Reds players have made 20 appearances on the DL this season.

In time for tomorrow night’s game in Milwaukee, the Reds are expected to promote OF Darnell McDonald (#16) and C Corky Miller (#37). Corresponding 40-man roster moves also will be announced tomorrow.


I couldn't get the below to line up, but I think y'all get the gist re: the magnitude of injuries here.

2009 Disabled List (19 players, 20 appearances)
On Date Off ^Games
Player/Injury DL Eligible DL Missed
Edwin Encarnacion (left wrist) 4/28 6/27 7/3 29-29
Nick Masset (left oblique) 5/19 5/26 5/26 4-3
1-Edinson Volquez (back spasms) 5/22 6/1 6/1 5-4
Joey Votto (stress) 5/30 6/14 6/23 8-13
2-Edinson Volquez (right elbow) 6/2 6/17 - 25-48
Mike Lincoln (bulging disc, neck) 6/17 6/28 - 20-40
Alex Gonzalez (right elbow) 6/20 7/4 7/24 10-18
*Wilkin Castillo (left shoulder) 6/23 8/20 - 18-37
Danny Richar (left shoulder) 7/3 7/18 - 13-33
Jay Bruce (right wrist) 7/12 7/27 - 10-27
Ramon Hernandez (left knee) 7/20 8/1 - 8-24
Jared Burton (right shoulder) 7/26 8/9 8/10 4-10
Chris Dickerson (right shoulder) 7/27 8/11 8/11 4-10
Micah Owings (right shoulder) 7/27 8/11 8/19 6-16
Scott Rolen (concussion) 8/11 8/23 8/23 3-8
Willy Taveras (right quadriceps) 8/19 9/3 - 2-3
Johnny Cueto (right shoulder) 8/20 8/31 - 2-2
Aaron Harang (appendicitis) 8/23 9/5 - 1-0
Ryan Hanigan (concussion) 8/25 9/9 - 0-0
Chris Dickerson (left ankle) 8/26 9/9 - 0-0
* 60-day disabled list, ^ Team record in games missed

[David Laurila]

Yes, it was a weekday day game, and a makeup game to boot, but this is still pretty depressing:

"Fewer than 2,000 fans showed up for a matchup between the NL Central's bottom dwellers, played in a hushed atmosphere that better suited a tennis match. Foul balls clattered around the 42,000-seat ballpark, and the players' banter could easily be heard by the few fans in the stands."

http://sports.espn.g...ameId=290831217

[Country Sinker]

Groan, this is so depressing for me on many levels.
I was there for Opening Day in '06 and the place didn't even look 1/2 full.

[Country Sinker]

The Reds will renew the contracts of third base coach Mark Berry, first base coach Billy Hatcher, hitting coach Brook Jacoby, bullpen coach Juan Lopez, bench coach Chris Speier and bullpen catcher Mike Stefanski; will not renew the contract of pitching coach Dick Pole. Unfortunately Dusty Baker's contract is not up for renewal.

[Country Sinker]

Even their play-by-play guy can't take this shit anymore:

FOX Sports Ohio broadcaster George Grande, the television play-by-play voice of the Cincinnati Reds for the past 17 years, announced he is opting out of the final year of his contract. After a 45-year career in the broadcasting business, Grande has decided to conclude his current role as a full-time Reds announcer to spend more time at home.

[Country Sinker]

For the Reds' Fan Appreciation Day the attendance was 20,940 & they averaged 21,579 per game this season.