Cincinnati Reds: Things That Must Change in the Queen City

After 10 very up-and-down games, the Cincinnati Reds are 4-6 and have failed to meet expectations so far.  The offense has struggled mightily, and despite some decent pitching performances, it hasn't fared much better.

Clearly, changes need to be made. Some of them are pretty obvious, and others aren't so much. Still, the issues are there, and they should be addressed sooner rather than later.

That being said, let's explore this team and how it can be changed for the better.

Send Drew Stubbs to Louisville

Let me go ahead and say this—if you disagree with me on this, that's fine. I will respect your opinion. That is, unless you try to justify it by saying he's fast—don't waste my time by trying to tell me that.

I understand that Drew Stubbs has some of the best wheels in the game. The problem is that they're not going to be used if you aren't on base. Through two full seasons (plus 42 games in 2009), Stubbs is a career .248 hitter with a disappointing .322 on-base percentage.

He has over 100 more strikeouts than hits, and it's worth noting that he amassed a whopping 205 of them last season. Stubbs has neither the vision nor the plate discipline to hit major league pitching. 

Would a trip to Louisville help? There's certainly no guarantee, but we cannot sit around and watch another disappointing season by Stubbs. Something needs to be done about him in the lineup, because he's not getting the job done.

Sit Scott Rolen

I've always been a big fan of Scott Rolen. His dedication, hard work and stellar play all serve as great inspirations and reasons to love him.

Unfortunately, Rolen's time has passed. He's hitting a dismal .094 so far this season and has been utterly ineffective at the plate. It's not just that Rolen isn't getting hits—the contact is weak.

Furthermore, his glove isn't what it used to be. Granted, that doesn't make him error-prone, but injuries that plagued him last season have taken their toll, and you can tell that he has a lot of problems trying to make the plays he once did on a routine-basis. Plays to his left appear particularly weak.

While I'm not opposed to keeping him on the active roster, I definitely think Wilson Valdez should start in his place, at least for a few games. That way, we can gauge Valdez's performance and see if he'll be a good season-long fix. Further, it'd be nice to get Todd Frazier back to the bigs, but he's only hitting .194 in Louisville, so I don't see that happening.

Rolen has nothing left to prove—his place right now is as a bench player.

Lose Some of the Dead Weight in the Bullpen

I'm 21 years old, and I feel like I'm repeating this year after year. It seems that bullpen problems are constantly biting the Reds. 

I will never understand what possessed the Reds to go out and sign Alfredo Simon just before the start of the regular season. Furthermore, I will never get how he was pretty much guaranteed a big-league spot with little to no evidence of being an effective pitcher. 

He's got a career ERA of over 5.00 and has made a bad impression in his first few outings as a Red—an 0-1 record with a 5.06 ERA to be exact.

Nick Masset can also be included here. I know he's on the DL, but I've not liked Masset since day one anyway. He gave up 76 hits in 70 innings of work last season—yeah, he's not fooling anyone. People try to blame his struggles on injuries, but if you're a Reds' fan and remember Paul Wilson, then you know that that argument is moot.

Jose Arredondo is also strutting on some thin ice right now—no control.

Establish an Every-Day Left Fielder

This is something small, but I think it'd do some good for one of the two guys vying for the position.

First, you have Ryan Ludwick—a veteran who is on his sixth team in the league. There's no doubt he's got power to him, but his career .260 batting average causes me some concern.  His career stats are all strengthened by his career year in 2008 when he hit .299 with an impressive 37 homers.

On the other hand is the youngster Chris Heisey. He's now in his third year with the MLB team, and his role has never changed. He's always been a platoon guy in the outfield, never having gotten a proper chance to start.

In terms of stats, it's hard to give either one an edge right now, because neither of them have gotten off to a good start. I'd feel more comfortable finally giving the young Heisey his chance to be an every-day player.

Keep Homer Bailey on a Short Leash

My original intent with this slide was to make a push for Aroldis Chapman to finally start a big league game—however, I can't support that right now because he's the best man coming out of the bullpen.

That being the case, I've tweaked the idea of the slide. Right now, I've got no problems with Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo and Mike Leake. Mat Latos is a newcomer, so I'm not going to pass judgment on him yet. As for Homer Bailey, he's been a massive disappointment.

He's a career 25-25 pitcher with a 4.91 ERA. Add in his injury issues over the last three seasons and a level of arrogance that never seems to leave him and you've got a massive issue. I'm not saying pull him from the rotation (yet), but he's on the thinnest of ice.

Sam LeCure or Chapman would love that spot.