westsider

Pulling Latos after 109 pitchers is a perfectly defensible position. Latos isn't the most effficient pitcher, in terms of pitch counts, and would have likely gone well over 120 if he completed the eighth inning. He is a valuable commodity and there is no reason to extend him that far. Besides, Latos did his job, the offense didn't.

Facing A hitters in AA?

I don't know anything about what kind of pitching environment exists in Pensacola, but he is obviously pitching well there.

As a general rule, there is little reason to get too excited about prospects until they have some success at Double-A.

Without a doubt and he did it with basically 2 pitches and still is...

So shouldn't have Cingrani's numbers in Bakersfield be looked upon as being even more impressive?

I don't know anything about Hamilton's defense, but if the Reds think he is capable of playing shortstop in the major leagues, they would be ill-advised to move him to another position.

About three years ago, some were touting Todd Frazier as a potential Reds shortstop, even after the Reds had moved him to third base and the outfield in the minors. Teams don't move a shortstop to another position if his defense is MLB-caliber.

Pierre's offensive value is basically his batting average ... if he hits .310-.320, he has some OBP value. If he hits .280 or so, as he usually does, the OBP isn't very good. Throw in the average defense, no power and terrible arm, and he's not a very good player.

I don't know about the rest of the California League, but Bakersfield is a whopping 408 feet above sea level.

How so?

I see your point but Hamilton isnt a HR hitter no matter where you put him so Im not sure exactly how much affect the Cal LG has had on him...With is speed he is going to get 2Bs and 3Bs no matter what park you put him in...If anything the smaller Cal LG parks would make it harder for him to get 2Bs and 3Bs because the OFers dont have to go as far to track down a ball down the line or in the gap...

Actually, Albert Pujols spent much of the 2000 season in the Midwest League, then made the Cardinals' opening-day roster in 2001. Of course, even then there were some faint whispers of question about Pujols' age.

You guys found one player. A player that was/is most likely older than he says. Bad idea, plain and simple. Young guy playing a new position and being introduced to it in the show. Has disaster written all over it.

No but he also didn't show the same improvement in the plate discipline category as Hamilton has as he advances through levels...Furcal actually got worse and he only spent a total of 43 Games in High A and 3 in AA...Furcal had more walks than strikeouts, 41-36 in Low A, once he got moved up to High A in his 43 Games he walked only 14 times and struckout 42 times...He also hit .293/.343 in A+ which was actually down from what he did in Low A...

 

Hamilton already has played 81 Games at High A and has 49 Strikeouts to 67 Walks and a .326/.415 line...That is a huge improvement over what he did in Low A...

Furcal's High-A team was Myrtle Beach, one of the toughest pitchers' parks in all of pro baseball, and it was only a 43-game sample.

Hamilton went from the Midwest League, generally favorable to the pitcher, to the California League, which is a monstrously better hitting environment.

Never said he was good but he also got a taste of AA and AAA before going to LA...Hamilton is a much better prospect, a better base stealer, better athlete and has better plate discipline...

 

Without ever seeing what Billy does against AA pitching though it would be hard to say he would be any better than Gordon at the Big League level right now...Long term Billy is a much better prospect and if he could hit .300 and continue his SB success rate at AA for a month I would be willing to say that he could help the Reds more so than what Gordon has LA and more than Stubbs has the Reds...The problem is he hasnt played CF yet...One month of similar success at AA as he has had in A+ and I would be more confident in saying he could probably give the Reds a .250 AVG and a .320 OBP but right now all I can see is Gordon type numbers which arent exactly an upgrade...

A little comparison between Hamilton and Gordon:

Gordon, age 21, Midwest League ... .301-3-35 in 538 AB, .362 OBP, .394 SLP, .756 OPS, 73 SB, 25 CS

Hamilton, age 20, Midwest League ... .278-3-50 in 550 AB, .340 OBP, .360 SLP, .700 OPS, 103 SB, 20 CS

Gordon was a little better, overall, just in terms of raw stats, but a year older negates much (if not all) of that. California League stats are no comparison because Gordon skipped that level to play the next season at Double-A.

I like replay for some things ... disputed home runs, fair/foul, catch/trap and safe/out calls.

Some things have to be worked out on those fronts ... where are batters and runners going on hits that were initially called foul, etc. But I feel that if we have the capability to get calls right in replay, we need to use it. It's up to baseball to get a system in place that can work smoothly and not overly disrupt the game.

I know someone that has some connections to the Reds' organization ... he always blamed Griffey for what he felt was Dunn's lazy attitude. He said Dunn worked hard when he first came up, then started spending time with Griffey and "big-leaguing it."

I like Bernie Miklasz, but he's acting a little homerish there.

Cueto is having a better year than Hamels ... he's fourth in the league in ERA, and he's second in ERA among guys eligible to be picked for the ASG roster because Beachy had surgery and Dempster is on the DL. It isn't like Cueto is working in a pitcher-friendly environment, either.

There is speculation that Tony used the "Sunday" excuse for Greinke as well and that it stemmed from an incident last year.

LaRussa then, in veiled tones, intimated that the Brewers were trying to hurt Pujols, who had been battling some issues with his wrist. Greinke pitched the first game of the series, and if I remember correctly, Greinke exchanged some verbal barbs with LaRussa through the media.

Greinke also took some verbal shots at Chris Carpenter during the playoffs last year.

8 RBI is better.

 

 

It's a very slight edge and BP's defense puts his ahead easily IMO.

And the 60-point OBP edge and 100-point OPS edge are pretty significant, too.

Disagree. He's got a a little better average, and one more HR, but Phillips is the by far the best defensively. Who would you rather have on your team based on this year alone?

Cueto is the indefensible snub.

No just last season. Dunn had some prolific years in the mid 2000s. No way do I want todays Adam Dunn over Jay Bruce. Nor would the Reds obviously. And again we are in fantasy land with Dunn fans. Jay Bruce does not make anything near what Dunn was preparing to demand. So if Dunn was still here, Jay Bruce wouldn't likely be here. Oh and I doubt the 1st basemen, Oh what's his name? Joe something? Yeah he wouldn't have been offered a deal that keeps him here for 10 years. So you like Dunn? Thats fine. I'll take Bruce and Votto and Phillips.

I still see 416 at bats in the 2 spot which is a good chunk of at bats...Batting 9th is invalid and the at bats there dont even compare to the numer of at bats hitting second...

For the record, I get why the Reds traded him. No question about that.

 

I just think Dunn takes unnecessary criticism because he was on a team with no pitching.

416 at bats there over the course of multiple seasons :confused:...

Who's to say if Dunn was hitting Second in front of Votto his WAR wouldn't be even higher? Dunn is a .276 hitter in his career batting second with a .388 OBP and that's without ever hitting in front of Votto where it has been proven to inflate guys numbers ala Stubbs...

Ah, another World News Daily sighting ...