When I sat in my seat at Great American Ballpark last April, I like many of the other Reds faithful had tremendous hopes for our boys in red. With a lineup that bolstered power in the middle with Dunn and Griffey, a consistent hitter at second base with Brandon Phillips, and a base stealing specialist in Freel, I figured the Reds would be in good shape at least until August or so. Little did I know that the Reds bullpen and a slew of injuries would quell those hopes faster than you can say "Edwin Encarnacion to the minors!" I saw a team that completely flat-lined before June even got going, and the team that took playoff hopes well into August just a year before was no where to be found. Well, one Jerry Narron-less season later, I have these same high hopes for the sentinels of the Ohio River. Though I expect maybe a 3rd or 4th place finish at best, I think this is year one of the Dusty Baker experiement that could bring a welcomed edition to the left field championship banners. Those 70s championship banners sure do look lonely, by the way. So let's get down to business. I will break down the team, and how I think they will fare, by position.
Catchers:
The Reds split time last year at the backstop between Javier Valentin and David Ross with Ross being more productive in terms of home runs. However, Valentin had a higher batting average and almost as many RBIs in 100 fewer at bats. Because Ross will start the season questionable and injured, we should see alot of Valentin. The bottom line is neither catcher is stellar for sure, and they are almost too similar (and too mediocre) statistically for me to favor one over the other. I'll be happy as long as they don't have too many passed balls and hit well at the bottom of the order.
Grade: I'll go with a B- because I hear talks of Ross being dealt because of his consistent injured status. Let's hope we can get a slugger in there if it is the case.
1st Base:
I am thrilled about the emergence of Joey Votto. I think he will be a fabulous addition to this lineup. I will say, in Hatteberg's defense though, that this was not a big problem spot last year. Hatteberg held down the fort, and he produced some solid numbers. Now with Votto, I feel like the Reds went from dating a girl on the dance team to dating a cheerleader. I have very high hopes for Votto, but I wouldn't be surprised if Dusty went with the vet to start the season. Votto was a beast at the end of the year with a .321 average and 4 long balls.
Grade: I'm obviously a Votto fan, and I think the Reds have depth here...which is rare for them. A-
2nd Base:
8 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
aaron ruther about 1 year ago
Didn't even mention Hopper....? I think he is very underrated. Another Ross-Valentin issue is that Valentin can't catch, hits but can't catch.
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Jacob Bridges about 1 year ago
yeah I didn't even mention him even though he is pretty solid coming off the bench. totally an oversight. I will admit that I don't think he will compete for a starting job like many people feel he will because I think Bruce will easily eclipse his talent. Will be interesting to see what happens behind the plate, though. I personally like the fact that Valentin is a hitter, but I think Dusty will use Ross more solely because of the reliable defense.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
wow. it never ceases to amaze me that only in the world of sports can someone know nothing about the subject about which they write and get away with it. you are an idiot.
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Jacob Bridges about 1 year ago
anonymous? Well that shows some courage indeed on your part. At least post under your name on this site, so we can all observe your sporting expertise. I'm sure your analysis is just WORLDS ahead of mine. anonymous coward.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
You don't like Encarnacion. What isn't to like? He had a sophmore slump last year, but he came back like hell in the second half. I guess you would have prefered him to consistantly hit in the 180's all season? Adam Dunn is the center piece of this lineup. He gets on base hits and hits homeruns. Check out his OPS. You will see that he is one of the most productive hitters in the game.
Do you honestly think Ryan Freel has much left in the tank? He is a max effort player who has bad knees. He loses s step he goes from being a slightly above average, all be it useful player, to a below average player.
Patterson has a career OBP below .300. He will be hitting lead off. That sickens me. Even though he won't have guys who can get on base in front of him, people like you will complain that Adam Dunn doesn't get enough RBI's.
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Jacob Bridges about 1 year ago
I didn't say anything about Dunn's production with RBIs. I said he has no hustle in the field and strikes out a lot. Can you deny any of those two things? He does hit quite a few HRs and has good RBI numbers, but I still think he is lazy. And yes, I think Freel has some left in the tank. It worried me when he was hurt often last year, so I might eat my words about him. However, I have faith that he will produce at least average numbers again this year.
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aaron ruther about 1 year ago
Jacob...I love where your heart is...as a Reds fan....Freel isn't very good. He's overmatched as MLB hitter. Great utility guy and good defensively but little more. Bruce just got sent to Louisville so so much for eclipsing(probably money - future consideration more than anything) Hopper is good. Patterson will fill in in mean time......Go Reds.
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Jacob Bridges about 1 year ago
well i dont know about patterson. he hasn't really lived up to the hype in the past, but i'm all for second chances. I really just appreciate those guys who go out there and bust their ass like Freel does (and also why i was so hard on Dunn). I heard that about Bruce which is fine. He will be up in no time especially if Patterson doesn't pull through for ol' Dusty.
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