The Reds have a good nucleus of young players: Hamilton, Hopper, Phillips, Encarnacion, Bruce in a couple of years, Joey Votto, Harang, Bailey, Livingston, Salmon, McBeth, Bray, Coutlangus, Sarloos, and Majewski. In a couple of years they will be good, but not without help from management. They need to build for the future.

 

Trade away Dunn, Griffey (even though he is the best player on the team, he does not want to be here, he wants to win a Championship.), Hatteberg, Gonzalez, Lohse, Stanton, and Milton, for some young Bullpin help, because the rotation would be set, Harang, Arroyo, Belisle, Bailey, and Livingston. Then the bullpin would be Bray as a closer, McBeth as a 7th inning, or 8th inning guy along with Majewski because he will figure it out. Then find a good right handed shortstop to hit in the fourth spot and that won't make as many errors as Lopez and Gonzalez.

 

The lineup would be good in a couple of years:

Hopper- RF

Phillips- 2nd

Hamilton- CF

_______- SS

Encarnacion- 3rd

Votto- 1st

Bruce- LF

Ross- C

Pitcher spot- P

I'm willing to live with a few errors by Gonzales. The fact that he has such great range sort of penalizes him in that regard. The positives — the many, many jaw-dropping plays I've seen him make this year — outweighs the negatives.

 

I'll keep him.

 

And what are there, three shortstops in the majors who can be a legit cleanup hitter? Reds might be looking an awful long time to fit to your agenda at the SS spot.

Hopper is not a young player. I believe he's older than Dunn.

Hopper is not a young player. I believe he's older than Dunn.

 

 

8 months older than Dunn.

I hope in a "couple" of years, Ross is not our catcher. And without sounding like a librarian, it's bullpen not bullpin.

Would be better in a couple of years with an entirely new bullpen from top to bottom / if the front office will loosen some purse strings, spend some money on players instead of bargin basement prices and talent.

 

Also, would be more than a couple of years but it would pay off BIG in the long run if they developed their minor league system/talent much better than they are now. I do not like te Braves but have to give credit where it is due. They have fantastic minor league system, they "develop" players and do not rush them up to the bigs.

 

Does it seem to anyone else that the Reds can get a very good prospect in the minor league system only to ruin them? I hope that this does not happen with Bailey.

Would be better in a couple of years with an entirely new bullpen from top to bottom / if the front office will loosen some purse strings, spend some money on players instead of bargin basement prices and talent.

 

Also, would be more than a couple of years but it would pay off BIG in the long run if they developed their minor league system/talent much better than they are now. I do not like te Braves but have to give credit where it is due. They have fantastic minor league system, they "develop" players and do not rush them up to the bigs.

Does it seem to anyone else that the Reds can get a very good prospect in the minor league system only to ruin them? I hope that this does not happen with Bailey.

Great point OldRambler.When it comes to minor league developement the Braves are at the top. I would like to see some new coaches in the organization. I also want to see a better fundemental approach to the game. These guys are supposed to be the best in the land but sometimes fail to make plays that Little league players make. The biggest thinng that the Reds are missing is a Leader There has to be someone that absolutely works his tail off, day in and day out and displays the character of someone who wants to win a Championship. Attitude becomes contagious.

Great point OldRambler.When it comes to minor league developement the Braves are at the top. I would like to see some new coaches in the organization. I also want to see a better fundemental approach to the game. These guys are supposed to be the best in the land but sometimes fail to make plays that Little league players make. The biggest thinng that the Reds are missing is a Leader There has to be someone that absolutely works his tail off, day in and day out and displays the character of someone who wants to win a Championship. Attitude becomes contagious.

I'd like to see BP fill that leadership role. How do you think JR affects someone taking a key leadership role now?

I'd like to see BP fill that leadership role. How do you think JR affects someone taking a key leadership role now?

Getting BP from the Indians was a steal. Phillips is one of my favorite Reds. I think he leads on the field but I am not sure if he is or can be a leader in the clubhouse. Not being there I have no real idea of what takes place but when I think of a leader in the clubhouse I think of a player like S. Casey. As for Griffey, he has shown some leadership but also seems to pout when things go sour. The injuries and his family problems (health issues) may have played a huge part of that as Griff appears to be a great family man. Players in todays game seem to take things for granted and IMO only play the game for the financial rewards and rightfully so but it is nice to see a guy that plays the game of baseball like I used to remember it. The biggest difference I see is that most players do not respect the older players that played before them and set the groundwork to make it possible for others to play the greatest game in town.

Would be better in a couple of years with an entirely new bullpen from top to bottom / if the front office will loosen some purse strings, spend some money on players instead of bargin basement prices and talent.

 

Also, would be more than a couple of years but it would pay off BIG in the long run if they developed their minor league system/talent much better than they are now. I do not like te Braves but have to give credit where it is due. They have fantastic minor league system, they "develop" players and do not rush them up to the bigs.

 

Does it seem to anyone else that the Reds can get a very good prospect in the minor league system only to ruin them? I hope that this does not happen with Bailey.

 

On your point about the farm system: The Reds have made incredible leaps and bounds over the past 2-3 years in terms of improving. It's still not great, but that has to do with Bowden's raping of the farm system to acquire "5-tool" players.

 

Be patient. It will continue to improve. I have heard of a handful of national observers state that the Cincy farm system is as well-stocked as any in the majors. Rome wasn't built in a day. As bad as it seems, the Reds are only a couple players away from turning it around; a wholesale blowup of the team is not the answer.

On your point about the farm system: The Reds have made incredible leaps and bounds over the past 2-3 years in terms of improving. It's still not great, but that has to do with Bowden's raping of the farm system to acquire "5-tool" players.

 

Be patient. It will continue to improve. I have heard of a handful of national observers state that the Cincy farm system is as well-stocked as any in the majors. Rome wasn't built in a day. As bad as it seems, the Reds are only a couple players away from turning it around; a wholesale blowup of the team is not the answer.

I hope that you are right, just seems to me that whoever is in charge of "developing" players is not doing their job. JMO and I could be wrong. Imo they need to not rush these players to "the show" and the scouting of prospects imo needs to improve.

Getting BP from the Indians was a steal. Phillips is one of my favorite Reds. I think he leads on the field but I am not sure if he is or can be a leader in the clubhouse. Not being there I have no real idea of what takes place but when I think of a leader in the clubhouse I think of a player like S. Casey. As for Griffey, he has shown some leadership but also seems to pout when things go sour. The injuries and his family problems (health issues) may have played a huge part of that as Griff appears to be a great family man. Players in todays game seem to take things for granted and IMO only play the game for the financial rewards and rightfully so but it is nice to see a guy that plays the game of baseball like I used to remember it. The biggest difference I see is that most players do not respect the older players that played before them and set the groundwork to make it possible for others to play the greatest game in town.

:thumb: :thumb: Great post here cville!! Imo the definition of a leader on a team would be a Derek Jeter / Cal Ripken, Jr. type. Not so much bc of their talent but rather by them being All Class in the way that they conduct themselves on AND off the field. You imo were 100% correct on S. Casey, he is a perfect example of a leader. MLB needs more like Him and Jeter.

The Reds have a good nucleus of young players: Hamilton, Hopper, Phillips, Encarnacion, Bruce in a couple of years, Joey Votto, Harang, Bailey, Livingston, Salmon, McBeth, Bray, Coutlangus, Sarloos, and Majewski. In a couple of years they will be good, but not without help from management. They need to build for the future.

 

Trade away Dunn, Griffey (even though he is the best player on the team, he does not want to be here, he wants to win a Championship.), Hatteberg, Gonzalez, Lohse, Stanton, and Milton, for some young Bullpin help, because the rotation would be set, Harang, Arroyo, Belisle, Bailey, and Livingston. Then the bullpin would be Bray as a closer, McBeth as a 7th inning, or 8th inning guy along with Majewski because he will figure it out. Then find a good right handed shortstop to hit in the fourth spot and that won't make as many errors as Lopez and Gonzalez.

 

The lineup would be good in a couple of years:

Hopper- RF

Phillips- 2nd

Hamilton- CF

_______- SS

Encarnacion- 3rd

Votto- 1st

Bruce- LF

Ross- C

Pitcher spot- P

 

This isn't a bad line-up or tades. But why trade Hatteberg, Griffey, and Gonzo???? Hatteberg is a solid hitter and above average fielder and he gives you a great at-bat every time unlike players like Edwin and Ross. He also has some power. Griffey and Gonzo will give us depth and veteran leadership. And also some hitting.

This isn't a bad line-up or tades. But why trade Hatteberg, Griffey, and Gonzo???? Hatteberg is a solid hitter and above average fielder and he gives you a great at-bat every time unlike players like Edwin and Ross. He also has some power. Griffey and Gonzo will give us depth and veteran leadership. And also some hitting.

 

We would get the most out of those 3 than any others, but I see what you are saying and I agree 100%. GOnzo has great range, Hatteberg is a great at-bat and fielder, and Griff is well, Griff. We get the most out of those though.

I've got a bad feeling, the Reds will move Dunn, in the next few weeks, to get some "potential" players, for the future.