SB Nation User Blog: Dude Rock

Update on Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke

Dude Rock — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:40:10 -0000

Since being traded to Toronto, Stewart has pitched 7.2 innings for their triple A team in the PCL. He has allowed 9 hits, 1 ER, 4 BB's, and 6 K's for a 1.17 e.r.a. in relief.

Roenicke has pitched in 9 games for the major league team, giving up 7 ER's, 11 hits, 8 BB's, and 12 K's in 12.1 innings for a 5.11 e.r.a. Batters are hitting .234 against him.

For those who are interested.

Castellini lied to Reds fans

Dude Rock — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:07:53 -0000

He buys team and pretends to want to field a winner. He fires Krivsky and states we aren't going to tolerate losing anymore. At what point do we begin to believe Castellini?

Walt Jocketty was suppose to be some kind of wizard at putting together teams. Lincoln? Tavares? Hernandez? Weathers?

Dusty complains over and over about fundementals but can't even put together a correct lineup. The team is abysmal at fundementals, but the organization, from Owner, to GM, to manager do nothing about it.

Meanwhile, the Cards add DeRosa, Lugo, and Holliday. They mean business and obviously the Reds ARE going to tolerate losing for quite a while longer. Nice job Castellini.

It's been fun. Thanks for the lies. When you do start to win, send someone else up to the podium because I don't believe you anymore.

How would you fix this Reds team?

Dude Rock — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:24:40 -0000

Well, Jay Bruce is most likely out for the season with a broken wrist. It looks severe, and that would require several months to heal. Doesn't the triple A season end before September (hence September call-ups)? Which would mean that if Jay healed in the next month in a half, a rehab stint would be unlikely. My opinion is they shouldn't rush Jay back, let him get fully healthy, have Jeff Brantley explain to Jay Bruce how pitchers are taking advantage of him, and then hire an outstanding hitting coach to help Jay make adjustments to improve his hitting against lefties and against offspeed and breaking balls. Then send him to Winter Ball and let him work on all of that out of the spotlight.

The Reds are too cheap-minded to admit signing Willy Tavares was a huge mistake. I'd DFA him immediately after the All-Star Break. It amazes me (stats off of Lance McAlister's blog) that Dusty would continue to put Tavares at leadoff when, out of 133 hitters in mlb with atleast 300 plate appearances, Tavares ranks 129th out of 133 hitters with an OBP of .283 (Jay Bruce has an OBP of .284). Out of 133 hitters again, Tavares is dead last in OPS at .575. This team has had two key elements in the starting lineup all year with incredibly lousy on base percentages. No wonder this team struggles to score more than 2 or 3 runs per game. Didn't they learn anything from the Corey Patterson experiment? It's like deja vu all over again. Seriously.

This team is not going to contend with it's current roster. Nor do I see management adding more payroll in this economic climate, and the fact that attendance is not likely to hit 2 million this year, as they've yet to hit 1 million. Also, because the Reds farm system seems to be loaded more than other teams' farm systems, potential trade partners seem to ask for more from the Reds than other teams. Jocketty continually eludes that his trade offer was better than St. Louis for Derosa, but that Cleveland wanted more from the Reds than St. Louis. Seems to be the norm when you have alot of good prospects. Let's just stick with the plan and continue to develop these guys.

I read the message boards and hear fans complaining how the Reds rushed Jay Bruce to the majors (what did he have left to prove in the minors?) and that they did the same thing with Homer Bailey. You can't seriously tell me that Bailey's 18 previous starts over the last 2 years didn't have a positive impact on his major league development? Would Jay Bruce ever have had to deal with opponents devising a way to get him out and finding his hitting flaws if he were still in triple A? Once a player has proven all they can prove in the minors, it's time for their major league development to begin. I would say Drew Stubbs and Chris Heisey are about there. Same for Matt Maloney. I can see Travis Wood and Zach Stewart probably ready after one more season in the minors. And why isn't Wood in triple A? The major league club is improved, but lacks the offense to get over the hump and push them to contender status. If what we have isn't exactly working, shouldn't management be looking to promote some of these minor league guys who are dominating triple A (Heisey has dominated double and triple A this year). Time to see what the kids can do. I'd bring up Heisey and stick him RF the rest of the season unless he completely implodes. I'd consider bringing up Stubbs or waiting until September and platooning him with Dickerson. Let Gomes and Nix platoon in LF. That solves your OF.

Shortstop is another problem. Would you risk promoting a guy from double A (Cozart)? Valaika isn't exactly tearing up triple A. Or do you continue to stick Janish and Hairston out there?

I'm ready for the future. That's where I stand. The lineup they keep trotting out there isn't getting it done. You have to ask, what would it hurt to bring guys up and see what they can do? The White Sox promoted Beckham (2008 1st round draft pick) and he barely had a minor league stint. Talk about rushing a guy to the majors. In 114 appearances, 8 doubles, 3 HR's, 19 rbi's, and batting .263. The future is now. The White Sox realize this.

Management has been patient enough with this team and given them every chance to succeed. Certain players are not getting it done. The future is now!

Brandon Phillips

Dude Rock — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:39:16 -0000

BP takes alot of crap for hitting into alot of DP's, but I gotta say, he's da man. When everyone is struggling, he's carrying the offense. I think people forget he's picking up the power drought with Dunn gone, Votto out, and Bruce struggling. Props to BP. 11 HR's so far. He's on pace for 25 HR's and over 100 rbi.

And defensively, he is probably one of the most underrated players in baseball. 3 rbi's yesterday.

How patient are you?

Dude Rock — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:45:27 -0000

This is a different kind of post. This is not a rant or vent. This is a question for the posters on this site.

How patient are you? Would you rather stand pat, with Votto and EE coming back in the next 2 weeks, and avoid trading any of the farm system..........OR.........are you saying we are so close let's make a trade and go for it?

I get impatient, but I have followed the farm system closer the last 2 years than I ever have. I would hate to trade anyone named Heisey, Frazier, Wood, Stewart, Soto, Stubbs, Bailey, Maloney, Fairel, Alonso, Cozart, and others..............and even the current draft has me excited to see Leake and others.

It's been a long time, but I say stand pat. This could just be a bad stretch, and things could get better soon. Maybe Bruce makes adjustments. Votto returns and gives the team a shot in the arm offensively. Hopefully the team-wide slumps are the worse they get all season. The rest of June will say alot. We do play most of our games on the road this month.

Let's be honest

Dude Rock — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:44:39 -0000

Tavares was a bad signing.

So was Lincoln.

Burton gave us every reason to believe he would return to form in terms of a succesful relief outing.

Masset is better than advertised. The dude has nasty stuff and makes opposing hitters look really stupid.

Everyone including my grandma knows Cordero should not have pitched after the rain delay the other night. Dusty really looked stupid on that one.

EE probably won't play this season, and that's okay. This team has no reliable third baseman.

Reds lose in 14 innings; Cubs are nearly as bad

Dude Rock — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:27:15 -0000

Well, considering the Cubs payroll is approximately $65 million more than the Reds, I guess they got their money's worth.........barely. The Cubs aren't much better than we are........and we got all kinds of guys injured and what not.

Dusty pulled all the wrong punches today. Horrible. The offense is anemic. I'm pretty embarrassed to be a Reds fan right now. How many times in extra innings did they get the leadoff batter on and not score?

We have great pitching until you get to Lincoln and Burton. Burton was lucky. I think Dusty mailed it in when he sent Lincoln out there. And what kind of management keeps a guy like that??? Castellini, Jocketty and Dusty are really stinking up the joint.

Other than signing Hernandez, what good moves has Jocketty made? Tavares and Lincoln were weak signings.

Embarrassing to lose to a pathetic team like the Cubs. Geez, if we had spent $65 million more, I guarantee we'd win the division. They can't even hardly contend.

Matt Maloney's debut

Dude Rock — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 06:06:06 -0000

I gotta say I was very impressed. Many say he had trouble early on.........I beg to differ. Soriano hit a hard double to left, I'll give you that. But the hit batter on the bunt attempt was bogus and just bad luck. It was a high fast ball that Theriot should have been able to get out of the way of. I thought that was just bad luck. Sure, Dickerson made a good catch, but it was a bloop single type hit, which just happened to fall in a tough place, but still a nice play. Maloney pitched well considering all the drama in the 1st inning.

Same for the 2nd inning. Another bloop double that feel short in left field and bounced into foul territory. A throwing error on Hairston. Another nice play by Dickerson to throw out the runner. Maloney stayed composed the whole time, even striking out Dempster and then Soriano with bases loaded to still allow no runs. Impressive, despite the drama. Good test of his composure.

After all that, I thought he settled down and pitched a really good game. Giving up only 2 runs in 6+ innings is a quality start. And he doesn't have overpowering stuff.

He definitely gave the organization something to think about. I hope he gets another start while Volquez is out. I'd like to see him a second time.

The lack of offense continues to frustrate big time. With Votto out, Bruce isn't getting anything to hit and he still swings. Bruce should be walking 4 times a game with the lack of pitches to hit. And now Nix is starting to see no pitches to hit. I think this team is becoming overagressive at the plate and needs to get back to being more selective. I see guys swinging at alot of bad pitches.

The Reds are frustrating

Dude Rock — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:31:28 -0000

Well, I was really excited about this team and the youth movement. They finally have the pitching, but they can't hit.

Joey Votto is the backbone of the offense and he's out. Tavares looked like a nice addition but he's constantly injured and he's also gone into a hitting funk.

Jay Bruce looked like he was going to replace Dunn's power, and instead he's replaced Dunn's low average and K's. We have no legit third baseman. Our SS is coming off an entire season of not playing. LF was filled by giving tryouts, although I do like Laynce Nix.

I gotta really question management on this one. Or maybe they didn't expect this team to contend? Maybe they wanted to see what they had this year and made the changes for next year after evaluating everyone? I dunno. Frustrating to say the least. I think we lost 11 games in May by 2 or less runs. We lost last night 2-1. Very frustrating. The pitching keeps us in it and nobody can get a clutch hit.

Just had to vent.