westsider

Mississippi Valley State can't participate in post season play next year due to APR issues. Sean Woods move to Morehead St. makes a lot more sense now...

4. Why are the Reds in win-now mode? Maybe you thought they were when it looked like they would not attempt to sign Votto and Phillips. That was not the case as it turned out was it? This is a young team that has very good talent locked up long term.

Not sure why Harris is the DH instead of Frazier unless Dumsty just wants to get Frazier more time in LF.

A 6 foot 6 Lefty that throws mid to upper 90's and has first round ability but most teams were scared to draft him because of sign-ability issues, yes...Take a step back, I said he was a comp I never said he was David Price...Garrett has a long way to go and hasn't played a ton of baseball, but many scouts have drooled over his potential...The comps of David Price linked to Garrett are all over the web, it is what it is simply a comp and a pretty good one imo...Garrett is 20, Price is 26, its not a huge stretch that over these next 3 years developing in the minors Garrett being the insane athlete that he is could be similar to Price...Price spent 3 years in the SEC at Vandy, so obviously he was much more polished...

 

From an SI Article..."Garrett was staging a one-man pitching audition a month before MLB's First-Year Player Draft, which begins on Monday. The 6-foot-5 lefthander cut an imposing figure on the mound, but neither his teammates nor the scouts knew what to expect. Garrett hadn't thrown in a game since June 2010, when he went straight from the NBA Players' Association's Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va., to USA Baseball's Tournament of Stars in Cary, N.C. There he showed some life in his arm, but walked seven batters in 4 1/3 innings. Garrett said he wasn't in baseball shape then; he believes that had he focused on the game -- rather than going to Findlay, which only has a basketball team -- he would have been a top 10 prep baseball prospect. Which is why he and his father, Darrow, decided it would be worthwhile to give pitching one more shot before the end of high school.

 

"My dad always tells me," Amir said, "don't let good talent go to waste."

 

On March 6, following the conclusion of Findlay's regular basketball season, Garrett went to his hometown of Los Angeles to get instructions on a throwing program from Jaeger Sports. Its founder, Alan Jaeger, has developed a long-tossing and surgical-band exercise program that has benefitted pitchers such as Trevor Bauer, a UCLA righty who's expected to be a top five pick on Monday. Jaeger said Garrett's fastball was clocked in the mid-80s during that visit. Garrett stuck with the program in Nevada, and on recommendation from Orlando Cepeda Jr. of Legacy Sports Group, began receiving thrice-weekly instruction from Nick Aiello, the pitching coach at College of Southern Nevada, where phenom Bryce Harper played one season before going No. 1 overall in the 2010 MLB Draft.

 

"When Amir started here, he was pitching like a guy who was 5-9, not 6-5," said Aiello, who made key mechanical adjustments to stretch out Garrett's delivery. "Now, he's getting a ton of leverage."

 

Despite the fact that Garrett's unveiling was coming just two months after he'd returned to throwing, Aiello was confident it would be a success. He staked his reputation by telling scouting friends, in less refined language, that they would soil themselves when they saw Garrett's combination of size, athleticism and arm action in person.

With a horde of radar guns pointed at him on May 4, Garrett's fastball hit 92 miles per hour, then 93 and peaked at a stunning 96. News of it spread like wildfire among scouts; 22 more came back to see Garrett throw on May 24, and four more watched him on May 30. He hovered in the low 90s during the latter two sessions, which were less impressive, but he remains one of the more intriguing and mysterious prospects in this year's draft -- a David Price-sized lefty with an untaxed, explosive arm and barely any high school statistics. Jaeger, who has worked with scores of professional pitchers, said that the velocity Garrett was able to gain in just seven weeks was "mind-altering," and thinks he has yet to hit his radar-gun ceiling.

Findlay Prep's Amir Garrett choosing between St. John's, MLB - Luke Winn - SI.com

Price dominated the SEC, the best college baseball conference in the nation, and was a consensus top-rated player.

There is no comparison, not a valid one, until Garrett actually does something on the mound.

Yay :clap:...Many of the guys I posted about have spent the year between 2 different levels...I was simply posting there 2012 Overall Stats and their current level of Play...Joseph has been at AA and AAA, Lotzkar has been at A+ and AA, Villareal has been at AA and AAA...

He's had 1 start in AA I believe.

1. Tony Cingrani- AA - 74 IP, 53 H, 17 BB, 91 K's, 1.45 ERA

10.Amir Garrett- 2011 22nd Round Pick, has yet to pitch...He is very raw athlete but has drawn comps to David Price...Plays Basketball for St. Johns...

Boxberger is also only 24 years old and in his first year above AAA. Grandal is a switch hitter. I'll bet if you ask 1000 people today the vast majority would tell you that it looks like a bad deal. Look at these stats year-to-date and remember that Volquez pitches for the worst team in baseball so the record is going to be pretty bad. Eerily similar to this point.

 

GS QS CG W L K BBi INN HA ERA WHIP

Latos 14 5 0 5 2 70 26 79.2 86 5.20 1.41

Volquez 15 8 0 3 7 76 51 87.2 73 4.11 1.41

If the deal was suddenly reversed, what would the Reds do with Alonso? He would rot on the bench or toil away in Triple-A. Volquez, like all pitchers, has benefitted from pitching the majority of the time in Petco Park. Boxberger would be in the minors, as would Grandal.

The Reds are in win-now mode, and understandably so ... they made this trade to win now, and I bet later in the year you would rather have Latos on the roster than Volquez. And that's what this trade amounts to at the moment.

Anthony Castrovince: Reds pay heavy price to acquire Mat Latos | MLB.com: News

 

Okay so I found this article and apparently the trade market was pretty bare so the Reds must of thought there wasnt much to pick from...The Reds wanted to acquire a top end guy to go along with Cueto and they pulled the plug on Latos or else another team probably would have...Once again I agree with the link that the Reds overpayed for Latos though and thats why I was kind of curious if they considered anyone else like say a Gio Gonzalez especially with the Reds lack of a left handed starter...

You have to give up something to get something ... and in this case, it was more quantity than quality. Really, the Reds didn't give up as much as one would think at first glance.

Whether blocked or not in the Reds system both Alonso and Grandal are both BA top 50 guys and would have been coveted by a lot of teams

It just seems like the Reds didn't really consider any other trades before pulling the trigger on the Latos deal...

Does one three one bomb equal 2 strike outs ?

According to the batting averages:

 

Votto 359

Phillips 290

Hanigan 289

Frazier 276

Heizy 275

Cozart 258

BRUCE 252

These are the batting averages BEFORE tonights game.

 

Numbers don't lie, and no Dusty will never have Hanigan at the top of the order.

 

I was done posting on the baseball thread until somebody shook my cave. You all want to use numbers , there they are. Enjoy the game!

Hanigan isn't an everyday player, so his numbers are flawed. When the Reds talk hit and run,HANIGAN is in the conversation NOT BRUCE. Sounds to me like I'm not the only one who thinks the way I do. Did you catch a foul ball and Bruce signed it for you? :lol:

Dusty will never do it, though, because Hanigan is a catcher and can't run and doesn't fit his idea of what a leadoff hitter should be.

Fair enough...Sounds like you have a good idea about the game and no bias towards a certain team, that's good like I said I enjoy debating with you...It's good that someone goes against the grain and FWIW I wasn't on here at the time but I don't know why anyone would have ever hyped up Rosales or Thompson :lol:...It's still early to tell if your right on Frazier/Cozart...I might have just gained a little better understanding of you as a baseball fan and the way you call your shots and I won't take your accounts of what you see so personal from now on...Keep calling them how you see them and so will I, I'm sure we will disagree many more times but now I understand why a little more...

Some were touting Rosales after he got off to a hot start at Louisville one year, and some were hyping Thompson just before he was promoted.

And actually, you can add Francisco to the list, too.

I'll put my record up against anyone's on here, nkufan23 ... I call it like I see them. Over the last few years, I've countered the hype on a lot of Reds' "prospects" (Dickerson, Keppinger, Rosales, Thompson, Stubbs, Alonso, Cozart, Frazier) and have usually been proven right.

I'm a baseball fan, period. I keep up with all 30 teams in some capacity, more than just any particular team. And if it seems like I go against the grain, it's because I'm not blinded by hype or loyalty to a certain team.

On May 10, you posted this:

"You do realize he has hit #2 for weeks now and the Reds are rolling and Stubbs is hitting as well as he ever has...What make Cozart a good #2 hitter? I love Cozart more than anyone on here but I would rather have Stubbs and his speed hitting second...If he puts it in play he has a chance to get on base, so wouod Revere thats what you want in front of Votto...Cozart can handle the 2 hole but I would rather see him down in the order after Bruce, I see him as more of a run producer and he is still young..."

Since then, Stubbs has gone 18-for-79 (.228) in the #2 spot in the order, so apparently the #2 spot wasn't the thing that was going to get Stubbs' bat going.

Bottom line, you're not a very knowledgable baseball fan, and you're especially not a very good judge of talent. You pounce on every hot streak and try to make it out to be something it isn't. You did it with Cozart last year, pronouncing him to be a potential impact bat for the Reds, and you do it routinely.

The Reds have had Stubbs and Heisey in their system for years. They apparently feel that Stubbs is the better centerfielder of the two, especially defensively, based on years of watching those guys at various levels, from the minors to the majors. Some of their defensive stats in the minors seem to bear that out.

Heisey is hitting .381avg/.391obp in his last five consecutive starts in CF...Since May 14th Heisey is batting .323avg/.347obp in 23 Starts + ONLY 1 Pinch Hit Appearance out of 28 total games the Reds have played during that time period...In that same stretch since May 14th Stubbs is batting .227avg/.318obp in 20 Starts...The both have started together in the same game in only 15 out of the 28 games...

Have you been watching Heisey this week in center? Don't think it has hurt the Reds at all with him out there. The past year and a half hasn't been exactly a hitting exhibition by Stubbs...

The infamous quote he made has been referenced throughout this thread, specifically by yourself, rockmom & Trinity Alum. Aside from RM mentioning Rand Paul, I didn't see any other names listed.

 

I certainly don't condone what McConnell said, nor do I believe his words to be anything remotely resembling leadership. At the same time, I wholeheartedly believe other Congressional leaders over the last decade or so share similar desires & display just as little leadership.

Give him an 'A' for honesty but an 'F' for putting party above country.

Key losses (from the team that played Hazard) ... William Higginson (best WR-DB), Louis Love (big-play WR), Shain Ross (all-WKC LB). Best OL was hurt and out that game, and it sure seemed to be a big loss.

Also ... star DE LaBront Scott had moved to Murray and was ruled eligible there, but word is he may be moving back to Mayfield.

Stubbs gets the time because his defense is superior to Heisey's ... Heisey may have had a shot in CF in another organization, but it wasn't happening in Cincinnati and he doesn't hit enough to hold down a corner.

So what is the beating your wife question referencing? I'm only 37:D

Even if you answer no, answering it implies that you once did.

Just listened to it ... Stern was a little aggressive, but frankly, it's warranted with Rome.

I suspect the "beating your wife" comment is lost on the younger generation ... anyone over 40 probably gets it.

Rome is such a tool ...

^Not to mention Jurrjens is middling around in the minors. Yeah, Heisey's so good he was almost dealt for a minor leaguer! Yay! :lol: