Reds Offseason: Decision Time

[gametime]

And it shouldn't, unless you can add some "O" while maintaining the "D".

 

Agree 100%...

[gametime]

God I hate talking about next season. It sucks...

[BigGreenHorse]

Number one need is a fifth starter and get rid of Leake. Second you find a good Manager that can manage a game. Third you find a centerfielder who can make contact and still play solid in center. Put Cignati in the pen and replace Arrydondo or Ondrusek so you have a lefty. Rolen retires. Leave Chapman as closer and then send Valdez and Cairo on a bus anywhere and have Gregorious and Rodriquez as some quality bench next year and they will go far. :thumb:

[shamrock fan]

Well with my bad taste currently for Hannigan, I make a concerted effort to see if Meso can handle the catching duties.

 

I realize Hanigan had a disappointing second half of this series, but he is one of the most underrated catchers in MLB. He was cold today, offensively. But I wondered yesterday if things would have been different for Mike Leake if Hanigan had been behind the plate.

 

 

 

As to Mesoraco, I liked him this year; he just picked a bad time to get into a fight with an umpire, because they called up Navarro and his bat got somewhat hot.

 

 

It's a shame they couldn't find a way to keep Ramon Hernandez in some role as mentor/occasional sub/PH.

[shamrock fan]

I'm just not willing to give up an extra run every game or two as Meso learns how to call a game at this level with a staff this solid. Not yet, at least.

 

I'm fine with moving Stubbs as long as it isn't Heisey getting the job. Again, you can't have the backbone be pitching and D if you aren't rock solid up the middle. With Stubbs you know the defensive side is covered even with his massive flaws on O. With Heisey you get worse on D and about equal at the plate...

 

Again, I don't see how Drew Stubbs(.213) is so much better than Chris Heisey(.265). I've been to about 20 games personally, plus watched or listened to the others, and I don't see a dramatic difference defensively. I don't hate Drew Stubbs or love Chris Heisey. I just don't see why some people think you can't interchange them, or that Stubbs is superior offensively or defensively.

[futurecoach]

Number one need is a fifth starter and get rid of Leake. Second you find a good Manager that can manage a game. Third you find a centerfielder who can make contact and still play solid in center. Put Cignati in the pen and replace Arrydondo or Ondrusek so you have a lefty. Rolen retires. Leave Chapman as closer and then send Valdez and Cairo on a bus anywhere and have Gregorious and Rodriquez as some quality bench next year and they will go far. :thumb:

 

Leake is a very solid guy to have as your #5 starter. Don't let a poor post season start change the fact, that he really is not that bad of a guy to have as your #5. Now obviously if Chapman gets moved in to the rotation, he will be the one out.

[Qryche11]

I am One that feels the only thing that will save Dusty's job is the 38 LOB Stat in this NLDS.

 

Stubbs is not the answer and the Reds need to strengthen their bench.

[spindoc]

IF Dusty is gone, it won't be performance based. That's just retarded.

[98NCCalum]

Number one need is a fifth starter and get rid of Leake. Second you find a good Manager that can manage a game. Third you find a centerfielder who can make contact and still play solid in center. Put Cignati in the pen and replace Arrydondo or Ondrusek so you have a lefty. Rolen retires. Leave Chapman as closer and then send Valdez and Cairo on a bus anywhere and have Gregorious and Rodriquez as some quality bench next year and they will go far. :thumb:

You really need to stop talking about baseball.

[malachicrunch]

I'm not too worried about leadoff hitter. We've been complaining about that spot for years, yet they have been pretty successful recently without addressing to our desires. I think one off season issue is with Votto. They need to figure out ( and soon ) if he is ok and just not back to full strength, or is there still an issue and get it taken care of immediately. They need him producing at an MVP level next season. Other than that, I think they stand pat.

[spindoc]

I wonder if Walt has another Latos deal out there he can pull off? He's been money in the offseason. I wouldn't want another guy pulling the strings for my roster than Walt. You have to think that with everyone healthy that this team will get better offensively. Frazier is an upgrade at 3rd. Cozart will improve with ABs. BP, Bruce should have similar success and of course Votto will be able to finally have time off to get over the hump (probably poor choice of words there) with his knee (and I'm of the opinion that it's mental more than physical). While I think Ludwick is a solid LF option, I think there will be others out there if he's not the guy in LF next year. I do wish we could fast forward Hamilton and see what we've got. I'm not insinuating that we have a very narrow window, more that I'd like to strike while the iron is hot. I'd like to improve the bench a little with another utility guy other than spidermonkey or Cairo. I like Heisey and Paul off the bench but it'd be nice to find a utility inf who was actually an offensive threat. I'm excited about the hot stove.

[UKMustangFan]

How about trying to sign that tool Angel Pagan? He'd be a huge upgrade over Stubbs offensively, and he seems like an above average defensive CF'er....

 

I think they go after a starting pitcher as well.

 

I don't believe Dusty will be back. Just a hunch, and not because he wasn't asked back.

[AverageJoesGym]

I agree to an extent, especially on bringing back Ludwick. If they think Hamilton is the guy for the future in CF, I wouldn't be shocked to see one more year of Stubbs to bridge the gap. Not that I agree with it, but if they are trying to buy 1 more year to get Hamilton ready I don't know if they have much wiggle room there. And I wouldn't exactly call Hanigan an automatic out. He hit .274 with a .365 OBP.

 

And to be fair they were below average at a lot of spots offensively this year and won 97 games in the regular season. Pitching and D is how this thing is constructed right now, and I don't see that changing...

 

I think they've got a great thing going with their pitching. I know that they won 97 games this season but going by their run differential that was about 6 more games than what they should have. Also, they made it through a season without a starter missing a single turn in the rotation. I just don't know if you can count on both of those trends continuing. I think they need an offensive upgrade to take a step forward. I wouldn't want them to take a signifcant step back defensively in center but adding a solid producer there would be worth a small drop defensively. Great season though and they look to be contenders for the next 5 years.

[malachicrunch]

I'm just not understanding the want for another pitcher. The Reds have one of the best staffs in baseball. That would be the least of my concerns

[HammerTime]

I'm just not understanding the want for another pitcher. The Reds have one of the best staffs in baseball. That would be the least of my concerns

 

Agreed, 5th starter is way way way down my list of worries.