SB Nation User Blog: Slyde

Heroes of the Zeros: Shortstop

Slyde — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:27:45 -0000

All of you people who have been saying, "Wow, this has to be the worst position ever," here's the list you've been waiting for. It's kind of funny that coming into the aughts, the Reds were riding basically 48 straight seasons with 4 starting SS, all of pretty good quality. Since then, well, not so much. Good luck finding a worthy starter in this list. I really have no idea who is going to win this one. Voting is after the jump.

Click header to sort table by column
	Years	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	wOBA	WAR
Juan Castro	2000-2008	571	1469	1361	130	323	70	6	25	125	76	244	.237	.276	.353	.628	61	.269	-4.6
Royce Clayton	2006	50	164	149	13	35	8	0	2	13	11	32	.235	.290	.329	.619	56	.274	-0.7
Travis Dawkins	2000-2002	45	99	89	7	15	4	0	0	3	8	28	.169	.237	.213	.451	17	.201	-0.8
Alex Gonzalez	2007-2009	178	700	636	71	158	39	1	19	81	39	111	.248	.299	.403	.702	79	.297	1.5
Wilton Guerrero	2001-2002	119	236	220	25	67	6	2	1	12	9	30	.305	.332	.364	.696	78	.302	-0.7
Jerry Hairston	2008-2009	166	637	568	94	163	38	3	14	63	44	82	.287	.342	.438	.780	103	.334	2.5
Paul Janish	2008-2009	128	381	336	41	69	23	0	2	22	33	58	.205	.290	.292	.582	54	.263	0.9
Jeff Keppinger	2007-2008	188	778	700	84	202	40	4	8	75	54	36	.289	.342	.391	.733	90	.318	1.1
Barry Larkin	2000-2004	473	1850	1646	266	456	106	11	30	167	175	184	.277	.347	.409	.757	95	.329	4.6
Felipe Lopez	2003-2006	371	1566	1384	215	367	73	10	41	159	157	317	.265	.340	.421	.761	97	.331	2.7
Ray Olmedo	2003-2006	171	388	352	39	81	12	2	2	25	24	72	.230	.280	.293	.573	52	.254	-2.3
Chris Sexton	2000	35	118	100	9	21	4	0	0	10	13	12	.210	.310	.250	.560	43	.258	-0.3

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/20/2009.

Heroes of the Zeros: Third Base

Slyde — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:41:39 -0000

During the aughts, the Reds had 39 different players play at least one game at 3B, including Javier Valentin, Jason Larue, Dmitri Young, and Wily Mo Pena. There was also a fan favorite, a fan whipping boy, and a guy that is more famous for a single swing on another team than anything he did with the Reds. Who do you think is the starting 3B for the Reds All Decade team? Vote in the poll after the jump.

Other ballots: Starting Rotation | Bullpen | Catcher | First base | Second base

Click header to sort table by column
	Years	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	wOBA	WAR
Aaron Boone	2000-2003	455	1889	1681	242	451	101	7	70	257	144	308	.268	.335	.462	.797	103	.339	8.4
Edwin Encarnacion	2005-2009	514	2000	1764	236	462	109	4	71	263	185	364	.262	.345	.449	.793	103	.344	1.4
Tim Hummel	2003-2004	82	219	194	19	43	9	0	3	17	16	30	.222	.285	.314	.599	58	.258	-0.9
Brandon Larson	2001-2004	109	332	291	29	52	11	0	8	37	35	86	.179	.271	.299	.570	49	.258	-1.4
Andy Phillips	2008	52	80	73	11	17	3	0	3	10	6	14	.233	.300	.397	.697	80	.307	-0.2
Joe Randa	2005	92	368	332	44	96	26	1	13	48	33	52	.289	.356	.491	.847	120	.362	1.3
Scott Rolen	2009	40	162	137	24	37	7	1	3	24	19	20	.270	.364	.401	.766	102	.342	0.9
Adam Rosales	2008-2009	105	296	259	23	55	11	1	4	21	27	50	.212	.296	.309	.605	60	.275	-0.3
Chris Stynes	2000	119	420	380	71	127	24	1	12	40	32	54	.334	.386	.497	.883	120	.378	2.5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/18/2009.

Reds sign Laynce Nix to a minor league deal

Slyde — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:11:07 -0000

Reds sign Laynce Nix to a minor league deal

Thanks to Cincinnati Reds Twitter for such exciting news:
Reds sign OF Laynce Nix to minor league contract with invitation to Major League spring training camp.

That ought to do it!

Heroes of the Zeros: Second Base

Slyde — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:35:10 -0000

Today's installment of vote for the best of the Reds worst moves us to second base. The Reds have seen some decent offense from 2B over the decade, and two of the best defenders they've ever had at the position. However, until Brandon Phillips came along in 2006, it was one of the most unstable positions on the team. This shouldn't be a difficult vote today, but who knows with you guys. Ballot is after the jump.

Other ballots: Starting Rotation | Bullpen | Catcher | First base

Click header to sort table by column
	Years	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	wOBA	WAR
Rich Aurilia	2005-2006	236	949	866	122	252	48	3	37	138	71	118	.291	.344	.482	.825	110	.352	3.2
D'Angelo Jimenez	2003-2005	260	1102	958	124	260	48	5	19	103	130	165	.271	.359	.391	.751	98	.335	3.3
Brandon Phillips	2006-2009	601	2542	2329	330	642	108	19	88	345	151	365	.276	.324	.452	.776	98	.330	5.2*
Pokey Reese	2000-2001	268	1051	946	126	228	40	8	21	86	79	168	.241	.303	.367	.670	68	.289	1.5
Donnie Sadler	2001	39	95	84	9	17	3	0	1	3	9	20	.202	.280	.274	.553	42	.251	-0.6
Bill Selby	2001	36	100	92	7	21	7	1	2	12	5	13	.228	.273	.391	.664	66	.277	-0.5
Drew Sutton	2009	42	76	66	10	14	4	1	1	9	7	20	.212	.297	.348	.646	70	.282	0.1
Todd Walker	2001-2002	221	964	873	120	260	59	3	16	96	76	123	.298	.356	.427	.783	101	.338	1.9

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/15/2009.

* Because FanGraphs only goes back to 2002, I have been using Sean Smith's WAR Database for WAR values except for 2009, which I have pulled from FanGraphs. Smith's WAR is calculated using different defensive metrics which rate Brandon Phillips much more poorly than I think anyone would actually say he is, and therefore lowers his WAR value dramatically. Using just FanGraphs, Phillips WAR with the Reds is 12.5, which I would guess is closer to a correct valuation of BP. However, for consistency sake, I have only included it in this footnote and am sticking to Smith's WAR in the table.

Heroes of the Zeros: First Base

Slyde — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:31:20 -0000

The debate on who is the All Decade 1B for the aught Reds is an interesting one. First base was a fairly stable position for the Reds during the 2000s, with 3 players accounting for 75% of the starts at the position during the decade. The six players listed below are the players on the Reds during the aughts who played more than 30 games and played 1B more than any other position while with the Reds. The ballot is available after the jump and you are only voting for the starting player.

Other ballots: Starting Rotation | Bullpen | Catcher

Click header to sort table by column
	Years	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	wOBA	WAR
Sean Casey	2000-2005	828	3458	3111	441	944	193	7	86	453	283	332	.303	.366	.453	.819	111	.353	10.8
Jeff Conine	2007	80	242	215	23	57	11	1	6	32	20	28	.265	.320	.409	.729	84	.316	0.0
D.T. Cromer	2000-2001	85	114	104	14	32	7	0	7	20	4	33	.308	.327	.577	.904	122	.354	0.4
Scott Hatteberg	2006-2008	291	1017	869	115	253	58	1	23	105	130	83	.291	.384	.440	.823	109	.358	2.3
Hal Morris	2000	59	78	63	9	14	2	1	2	6	12	10	.222	.351	.381	.732	84	.298	0.3
Joey Votto	2007-2009	306	1222	1079	162	334	77	4	53	185	134	223	.310	.388	.536	.924	139	.386	7.2

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/15/2009.

Heroes of the Zeros: Catcher

Slyde — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:09:41 -0000

Continuing on with our All Decade ballots, today we look at catcher. The Reds haven't had an All Star catcher since Bo Diaz in 1987, but they've still had what could be considered a solid crop of players at backstop since Johnny Bench retired. None of the guys listed below would likely be on most teams' All Decade squad, but that doesn't mean the Reds have had crap there over the last decade. They managed to get somewhat above average production out of the position a few years over the last 10, even if they weren't consistently good from year to year.

Now that we are into the hitters, let me explain what we'll be doing. For catchers, you will be selecting a starter and a backup, but you won't be doing that for any other position. After we get through all of the positions, I will have a day for selecting a left-handed and right-handed pinch hitter, and I will also take the the top vote-getter in the OF who is not a starter as the backup OF, and the top middle IF non-starting vote getter as the utility IF. That will give us a full 25-man roster for the decade.

So, if you are having a hard time deciding who should be the backup catcher, remember that the guy has a shot at being a pinch hitter, assuming he was used in that fashion frequently enough. Ballot is after the jump.

Other ballots: Starting Rotation | Bullpen

Click header to sort table by column
	Years	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	wOBA	WAR
Paul Bako	2008	99	338	299	30	65	11	2	6	35	34	90	.217	.299	.328	.626	64	.271	-0.6
Ryan Hanigan	2007-2009	126	402	346	34	92	9	1	5	22	48	42	.266	.363	.341	.704	86	.307	1.5
Ramon Hernandez	2009	81	331	287	25	74	13	1	5	37	33	34	.258	.336	.362	.699	84	.307	0.5
Jason LaRue	2000-2006	679	2441	2136	251	513	120	6	81	293	186	613	.240	.326	.416	.741	91	.314	6.2
Corky Miller	2001-2009	104	342	288	24	57	13	0	7	36	33	69	.198	.301	.316	.617	61	.276	0.0
Chad Moeller	2007	30	49	48	6	8	1	0	1	2	0	17	.167	.167	.250	.417	4	.175	-0.6
Dave Ross	2006-2008	254	817	692	86	157	34	1	41	104	99	203	.227	.324	.457	.780	96	.318	3.3
Benito Santiago	2000	89	277	252	22	66	11	1	8	45	19	45	.262	.310	.409	.719	79	.292	0.1
Kelly Stinnett	2001-2003	157	518	459	51	110	29	0	15	57	45	137	.240	.318	.401	.719	86	.306	-0.1
Eddie Taubensee	2000	81	291	266	29	71	12	0	6	24	21	44	.267	.324	.380	.704	76	.310	-1.3
Javier Valentin	2004-2008	441	1086	981	107	259	56	2	34	149	93	154	.264	.326	.429	.755	93	.322	1.0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/15/2009.

Heroes of the Zeros: The Bullpen

Slyde — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:30:45 -0000

As we continue our vote on the Reds All Decade Team, we look today at the bullpen. The Reds bullpen was a strength in the early aughts, but it also had some very lean periods in the middle of the decade before rebounding a bit the last two seasons. Below you will see the 28 relievers who managed to pitch 60 or more games out of the bullpen for the Reds between 2000 and 2009. The survey below will have you choose a closer, 2 right-handed relievers, 2 left-handed relievers, and 2 other relievers of your choice. Please be careful not to choose a pitcher for more than one spot as I will only count a single vote for that player.

One note before you vote, I didn't feel like doing the extra work it would take to separate a pitcher's relief appearances from his starts, so some of the stats below include starts as well as relief appearances. This mainly only affects Danny Graves (30 GS), Chris Reitsma (53 GS), and Matt Belisle (43 GS) with a couple other pitchers having a handful of starts in their numbers. Please try to take that into account when considering a player as best you can. Voting can be done after the jump.

Other ballots: Starting Rotation

Click header to sort table by column
	Years	G	W	L	W-L%	SV	IP	ERA	ERA+	FIP	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SO/9	BB/9	HR/9
Jeremy Affeldt	2008	74	1	1	.500	0	78.1	3.33	133	3.72	.260	.323	.410	.733	9.19	2.87	1.03
Matt Belisle	2003-2008	132	16	22	.421	1	341.2	5.06	89	4.54	.302	.351	.472	.823	6.06	2.53	1.24
Bill Bray	2006-2008	111	7	6	.538	3	89.0	3.84	118	3.40	.278	.348	.433	.780	9.20	3.84	0.81
Jim Brower	2001-2002	68	9	10	.474	1	168.2	3.95	114	4.49	.250	.328	.406	.734	6.30	3.74	1.01
Jared Burton	2007-2009	154	10	3	.769	0	161.0	3.47	128	3.73	.238	.322	.368	.690	7.77	3.91	0.73
Todd Coffey	2005-2008	213	12	9	.571	9	206.1	4.62	98	4.58	.311	.366	.476	.842	5.98	2.75	1.22
Francisco Cordero	2008-2009	140	7	10	.412	73	137.0	2.76	158	3.42	.238	.329	.327	.656	8.93	4.47	0.53
Jon Coutlangus	2007	64	4	2	.667	0	41.0	4.39	105	4.57	.250	.373	.362	.735	8.34	5.93	0.66
Danny Graves	2000-2005	318	29	35	.453	147	526.0	4.16	105	4.62	.279	.331	.451	.782	4.59	2.58	1.16
Daniel Ray Herrera	2008-2009	77	4	4	.500	0	69.0	3.52	122	4.00	.283	.354	.419	.772	6.78	3.52	0.78
Mike Lincoln	2008-2009	83	3	6	.333	0	93.1	5.40	81	5.66	.269	.357	.465	.822	6.36	4.15	1.64
Gary Majewski	2006-2008	88	2	6	.250	0	78.0	7.38	61	4.73	.388	.429	.562	.992	5.31	2.54	1.15
Nick Masset	2008-2009	84	6	1	.857	0	93.1	2.31	186	3.65	.213	.276	.334	.610	7.81	2.80	0.87
Hector Mercado	2000-2001	68	3	2	.600	0	67.0	4.16	111	4.26	.262	.354	.418	.772	9.67	5.10	1.07
Kent Mercker	2003-2008	179	5	4	.556	5	142.0	3.36	129	4.72	.256	.336	.447	.783	6.91	3.99	1.27
Phil Norton	2003-2004	86	2	5	.286	0	80.1	4.59	92	4.10	.263	.359	.380	.740	6.16	4.93	0.56
Brian Reith	2001-2004	73	4	12	.250	1	127.2	5.92	73	6.16	.292	.381	.542	.923	5.99	5.01	1.83
Chris Reitsma	2001-2003	125	22	32	.407	12	404.1	4.52	97	4.57	.280	.329	.456	.785	5.19	2.52	1.20
Dennys Reyes	2000-2001	97	4	7	.364	0	96.2	4.75	98	4.74	.254	.363	.395	.757	8.19	5.96	0.93
Arthur Rhodes	2009	66	1	1	.500	0	53.1	2.53	169	3.14	.198	.276	.299	.576	8.10	3.38	0.51
John Riedling	2000-2004	200	13	12	.520	3	274.1	4.13	104	4.37	.256	.345	.385	.730	5.97	4.43	0.69
Brian Shackelford	2005-2006	63	2	0	1.000	0	46.0	4.11	107	5.20	.229	.333	.388	.722	6.26	3.72	1.17
Mike Stanton	2007	69	1	3	.250	0	57.2	5.93	78	4.26	.315	.374	.462	.836	6.24	2.81	0.94
Scott Sullivan	2000-2003	279	22	12	.647	4	338.0	4.05	111	4.21	.246	.326	.408	.734	7.96	3.49	1.14
Ryan Wagner	2003-2005	108	8	4	.667	0	119.0	4.69	90	4.38	.274	.354	.410	.764	7.64	4.24	0.98
David Weathers	2005-2009	325	20	23	.465	61	336.1	3.56	126	4.37	.239	.317	.390	.707	6.21	3.67	0.96
Gabe White	2000-2004	137	10	3	.769	1	128.2	4.34	98	4.25	.256	.289	.467	.756	6.92	1.54	1.47
Scott Williamson	2000-2003	155	13	15	.464	35	229.0	3.14	143	3.53	.209	.326	.329	.655	10.73	5.42	0.71

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/14/2009.

Heroes of the Zeros: The Starting Rotation

Slyde — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:15:07 -0000

It's that time of the decade when people start creating lists of the best and worst whatevers of the past 10 years. I was going to do that too, but then I decided to make you guys do all of the work. So, over the next two weeks we will be voting on the players that we think deserve the title of All-Decade team member for the Cincinnati Reds. Each day, I'll present you with a new position, and you get to vote. While we do this, the running totals will be kept secret so that you will be surprised when we announce the final roster on December 31st. The maybe we can finally put to bed what might be the worst decade in Reds history.

We'll start with where it started to end, the starting rotation. The Reds haven't exactly been stocked with quality starting pitching during the decade, but you still have to figure out who the top 5 of the decade are. To qualify for the team, a pitcher must have spent at least 50% of his time with the Reds as a starter and he must have made at least 20 starts in a Reds uniform. The rest of the qualifications are up to you. I've listed the stats for the 23 pitchers that meet our minimum qualifications. The voting form is in this post after the jump.

Click header to sort table by column
	ERA+	FIP	GS	Years	G	CG	SHO	W	L	W-L%	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	HR	OPS
Jose Acevedo	78	5.17	54	2001-2004	68	1	0	16	21	.432	304.1	334	198	189	97	222	5.59	58	.830
Bronson Arroyo	113	4.47	136	2006-2009	136	8	3	53	50	.515	871.2	887	424	387	260	630	4.00	119	.755
Homer Bailey	81	4.92	37	2007-2009	37	0	0	12	13	.480	195.0	217	129	118	97	132	5.45	23	.803
Rob Bell	92	5.93	35	2000-2001	35	1	0	7	13	.350	184.2	176	112	105	90	145	5.12	41	.840
Brandon Claussen	85	4.96	57	2004-2006	57	0	0	15	27	.357	309.2	351	195	176	120	223	5.12	47	.824
Johnny Cueto	94	4.87	61	2008-2009	61	0	0	20	25	.444	345.1	350	191	177	129	290	4.61	53	.792
Lance Davis	97	4.66	20	2001	20	1	0	8	4	.667	106.1	124	60	56	34	53	4.74	12	.808
Ryan Dempster	66	5.27	35	2002-2003	37	1	0	8	12	.400	204.1	236	150	145	108	150	6.39	30	.856
Elmer Dessens	115	4.47	80	2000-2002	104	2	1	28	27	.509	530.1	564	246	232	148	306	3.94	66	.756
Osvaldo Fernandez	88	4.60	28	2000-2001	35	1	0	9	9	.500	159.0	172	95	93	64	71	5.26	14	.775
Aaron Harang	106	4.07	193	2003-2009	195	13	6	69	73	.486	1231.1	1288	606	572	315	1043	4.18	169	.767
Pete Harnisch	92	5.80	29	2000-2001	29	3	1	9	9	.500	166.1	181	105	94	63	88	5.09	32	.836
Jimmy Haynes	84	5.05	56	2002-2004	57	1	0	17	25	.405	306.0	354	188	172	145	183	5.06	38	.820
Luke Hudson	87	5.44	25	2002-2005	31	0	0	10	11	.476	139.0	124	83	76	81	98	4.92	18	.790
Cory Lidle	80	4.95	24	2004	24	3	1	7	10	.412	149.0	170	95	88	44	93	5.32	24	.832
Kyle Lohse	101	4.24	32	2006-2007	33	2	1	9	17	.346	194.2	213	109	99	52	131	4.58	23	.777
Eric Milton	77	5.40	66	2005-2007	66	0	0	16	27	.372	370.1	439	256	240	103	231	5.83	73	.850
Ramon Ortiz	80	5.66	30	2005	30	1	0	9	11	.450	171.1	206	110	102	51	96	5.36	34	.882
Steve Parris	98	5.10	33	2000	33	0	0	12	17	.414	192.2	227	109	103	71	117	4.81	30	.858
Elizardo Ramirez	75	5.30	26	2005-2007	31	0	0	4	14	.222	142.2	176	106	97	47	86	6.12	24	.876
Ron Villone	87	5.92	23	2000	35	2	0	10	10	.500	141.0	154	95	85	78	77	5.43	22	.871
Edinson Volquez	128	3.90	41	2008-2009	42	0	0	21	8	.724	245.2	201	107	94	125	253	3.44	20	.681
Paul Wilson	86	5.00	66	2003-2005	66	1	0	20	21	.488	396.2	450	231	215	130	240	4.88	60	.817

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/13/2009.

I will only be accepting your first vote, so don't bother trying to stuff the ballot box, you cheaters. I don't care how much you want Jimmy Haynes in this rotation Dan O'Brien, you only get one vote.

Ruining Your Weekend on a Friday Night

Slyde — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:41:40 -0000

Ruining Your Weekend on a Friday Night

Lest you forget, the organization's fascination with speedy centerfielders did not start when Dusty Baker got here. The brutal text:
Jim Bowden, the Reds' general manager, declined to discuss the Yankees' involvement, but an official familiar with the Wells talks said Steinbrenner called Bowden Saturday night and offered pitcher Mariano Rivera and catcher Jorge Posada.

Bowden, looking to cut his payroll, obviously decided he preferred Goodwin, a 23-year-old left-handed hitter, who in 87 games with the Orioles last season batted .263 and had 22 stolen bases in 26 attempts.

(hat tip: BBTF)

Winter Meetings Day 4: Rule 5 Draft Thread

Slyde — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:18:56 -0000

The Rule 5 draft is going on right now. The Reds' roster is at 40, so they will not be taking anyone, but they can still lose a player or two. In fact, they already have. The soul-sucker, Ben Jukich has been taken by the St. Louis Cardinals. Here's hoping that he can't stick.