Jay Bruce

[saint4]

It is time. I am going to say it agian. It is time. He is hitting .366 with 8 home runs, 33 RBI, and 7 stolen bases through 39 games. It is time. I would be one of the first to say don't rush him, but it is time. He can not really improve more down there, but if he coems up now, and gets in the lineup, he can improve and get used to Major League pitching now and be ready for a run next year. He is talented, and he is good. He is going to be one of the best in game in about no less than 5 years. If you brought him up now, it would not be rushing, it would be a great learning experience and great to be around the club house, learning from the older players like Griffey (as long as he is still here).

 

He has nothing left to prove in the Minor Leauges. He is tearing it up down there, and he is obviously the best player in the entire minor leagues. He is young, but it would not hurt one bit to bring him up, and give him a shot.

 

I agree that if we do bring him up, we can not bench him or send him back down. We need to stick with it. He is a better hitter than Patterson, and better contact hitter than Dunn. He is going to give some production, and that would be great. We don't have to bat him leadoff, like some people want. We need to bat him 8th if he comes up, so there is not that much pressure to carry the team. This Reds team needs to be shaken up a little and some more excitement. This would be the perfect opportunity. I know Walt will make the right decision with him, whether it is to bring him up or leave him down in the farm system. He is the expert, and I am not, but this is what I think about the matter.

[greendevil]

I don't think they want to stick him in center... With Hairston looking to stick in the lineup everyday for awhile I don't think they have the leadoff problem anymore because I think he can do it... But I'm not convinced they want to put him in center, and Freel is swinging a pretty hot bat right now... I say wait til the break at least...

[saint4]

I don't think they want to stick him in center... With Hairston looking to stick in the lineup everyday for awhile I don't think they have the leadoff problem anymore because I think he can do it... But I'm not convinced they want to put him in center, and Freel is swinging a pretty hot bat right now... I say wait til the break at least...

 

Hairston is playing Short right now, and Freel can really play anywhere. They just play him in the outfield every game.

[westsider]

No one sees Bruce as a leadoff hitter ... but he has done everything he can do to merit a promotion.

[greendevil]

No one sees Bruce as a leadoff hitter ... but he has done everything he can do to merit a promotion.

 

The last knock I saw on him was his On base percentage... What is that up to?

[greendevil]

Hairston is playing Short right now, and Freel can really play anywhere. They just play him in the outfield every game.

 

Hairston and Freel are both swinging hotbats right now and providing good top of the lineup options. I don't think there is anyway you can take either one out of the lineup right now, and there is nowhere else to put Freel considering they aren't going to move Griff or Dunn, Encarnacion is swinging a lot better than he was earlier this season and playing pretty well in the field actually, BP holds down second, and Votto has arguably been you second best hitter behind Kep the whole season...

 

And if they were going to shake things up, I don't think they would do it after a 3 game sweep of the East division leaders...

 

I'm not disagreeing, because I don't thinkn there is much more Bruce can do in the minors, but until they vacate a corner outfield spot I don't think there is room...

[westsider]

The last knock I saw on him was his On base percentage... What is that up to?

Bruce isn't drawing a great number of walks, but he had a .398 OBP at Louisville as of Thursday night.

[greendevil]

Bruce isn't drawing a great number of walks, but he had a .398 OBP at Louisville as of Thursday night.

 

Last I heard the people in charge with the Reds wanted him to get that to about 60 points above his batting average...

[westsider]

If Jay Bruce is the future cornerstone of the franchise, who the heck is Ryan Freel to keep him in Louisville?

[greendevil]

If Jay Bruce is the future cornerstone of the franchise, who the heck is Ryan Freel to keep him in Louisville?

 

I don't think that is the issue, because even if Freel wasn't swinging a hot bat, if they wanted Bruce in center, they had plenty of opportunities to have him there already this season and chose not to, so I don't see why they would change their minds now...

 

And just a side note, we are paying Freel 4 million a year... Not that that has much to do with anything...

[westsider]

Every indication is that Dusty doesn't believe Bruce is a centerfielder, although apparently the rest of the organization disagrees with him.

[oldrambler]

I am anxious to see Bruce up to the bigs myself and I think that we definately will see that but probably not untill later in the season.

I also agree with the line of thought that goes if you bring him up, commit to him and don't leave him on the bench. Should that be the case then he is better of in the minors getting all the reps and AB's he can.

[greendevil]

Every indication is that Dusty doesn't believe Bruce is a centerfielder, although apparently the rest of the organization disagrees with him.

 

Then thats when ole Walt should step in and say "Look, play him in center, everyday. He is an everyday player from now on."

 

I still don't see why now would be the time when you have two top of the lineup guys swinging a hot bat and coming off a sweep...

[SvFan4life]

I brought this up in the Reds thread and people said he wouldn't be up anytime soon. I said they should bring him up and give him an everyday spot. I know it's rough, indications are that Bruce will be taking Griffey's place when he is traded. I feel badly about that, seems the Reds front office is more worried about Griffey struggling at the plate and getting to 600 homeruns just so they can put some more fans in the stands, rather than trying to place a competitive team on the field so they can compete day in and day out. Bruce should be playing and Griffey should be gone, end of story!

[westsider]

Then thats when ole Walt should step in and say "Look, play him in center, everyday. He is an everyday player from now on."

You would think ...

I still don't see why now would be the time when you have two top of the lineup guys swinging a hot bat and coming off a sweep...

It's Jerry Hairston and Ryan Freel, for goodness sake ... it isn't like those guys are going to be a big part of the Reds' next good team.

 

If Bruce is one of the building blocks of the franchise, and if he's ready for a promotion, it's time to pull the trigger.