Reds 2015- Marty Brennaman does not think Joey Votto should be trying to lead the league in on-base percentage

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/13/marty-brennaman-does-not-think-joey-votto-should-be-trying-to-lead-the-league-in-on-base-percentage/#comments

Got to love WLW, keep it positive guys! Cincy sports fans are a dark and cynical bunch, one bad season and they are back to the circle the wagons and shoot each other down.

I think everyone grew up loving Marty and Joe doing the games, but Marty has become really cranky in his later years. Dude has beef with Votto, Jay Bruce and Homer Bailey to start and probably half the rest of the roster.

It's because he is Canadian I'm certain.

Marty has some beefs. He's been riding Bailey and Bruce their whole career on and off. Bailey didn't go on the Reds radio after his no-hitters, which kinda says something.

It is a big year for Joey Votto. Votto has missed quite a few games the past couple years, it would be good to see him play a full year.

Jay Bruce was just lost after getting hurt last year. I hope it is a fluke, but you never know.

This club I think might have more 'ifs' in the entire national league.

I read Vegas opened with a line with the Reds at 81 wins and it has gone down to 79, spring training has started.

Homer Bailey has not yet thrown off a mound.

Kevin Gregg and Jason Marquis (ex-Card factor engage) invited off the scrap heap to spring training by Cincy.

Was he aware of the debate about his hitting approach that continued this offseason in Cincinnati?

Votto: “I think that’s to be expected because I am the guy who has the big contract. There are times where it can be a bit of a nuisance because I have to answer a question. Most of it is noise. I think that I’ve proven, when healthy, that I’m a helpful part of the team. I do my part.

“I have to be careful with what I say. In terms of being in the middle of it, sometimes I think it’s really, really silly. I’m not going to use the word ‘ignorant,’ but ignorant. I also think there’s some validity to it because it’s coming from a perspective that is being nostalgic. … Ultimately, it’s entertainment. I’m part of the entertainment industry. If there weren’t debates like this then, what the hell are we doing? I think this is great.

http://marksheldon.mlblogs.com/2015/02/21/votto-arrives-in-camp/

That's Mr. Vottomatic, he is a pro.

“Joey Votto is just a good, pure hitter,” Rose told USA Today on Feb. 11. “Why should he swing at balls out of the strike zone? Joe Morgan never did. Mike Schmidt didn’t swing at balls out of the zone. Ted Williams didn’t either. If Joey Votto was on the Big Red Machine, nobody would say anything. Joey Votto gets on base, and as long as you score 100 runs or drive in 100, you’re doing your job.”

When Scott was there, we had guys doing exactly what they were supposed to do. After Scott left, we had guys with two years in the big leagues, in the clubhouse, on their phones, laying down in the video room, just hanging out during games, not in the dugout, not cheering their teammates on. Our dugout looked like a ghost town.

After Bronson, the same exact thing. We had starters in there roping our (clubhouse attendants), like, cattle-roping our clubbies. Guys on their computers, buying stuff, hanging out in the clubhouse. We had a guy with a year-and-a-half in the big leagues wandering around the clubhouse, hanging out. We had a closer in there sleeping until the seventh inning. We lose that veteran leadership, that’s what happens. You can’t have that . . . it turns into a circus.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/22/mat-latos-on-reds-clubhouses-in-2012-and-13-everything-went-to-expletive/

I got to figure the phones will be lighting up on sportstalk WLW about this one.

Rose OTM

Votto could step up with veteran dugout presence, but no, he's too busy clogging the batter's box.

Mark Sheldon @m_sheldon
Re: Latos: Bailey countered "If this was a court of law, the cross examination would go after the credibility of the witness." #reds

zing

Yeah the rumors are that the Reds had enough of Latos with how he handled his injury last year and pretty much this deal was to cut bait on him.

supposedly skip schumaker called latos being dealt 'addition by subtraction'

this is the same skip schumaker who's put up -2.4 WAR over the last two seasons

Just something to remember about Latos claiming the Reds were rushing him back...

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/redsblog/2014/06/06/im-fine-i-could-pitch-today/10089327/

"I can tell you I'm about as healthy as I've been. I could pitch in a game if I needed to. Like I said, I can't do anything about it. If the cramp is the reason why I'm going on another rehab assignment . . . It is what it is."
“It's pretty bogus I have to go on another rehab assignment”
Mat Latos

The Reds want Latos to get to 90 to 100 pitches. He could have done that Wednesday, he said. "I could have," Latos said. "But I like I said, I'm a puppet on a string. I do what they want me to do for the most part."
Latos would not say if there's something else behind him going on another rehab start. "That's for him to tell you whatever it is," Latos said.

In the end, I think Latos spouting off will probably be bad business for himself more than anything going into his free agent year and considering there is currently a bit of a excess of starting pitching. The guy has now got a public record of being moved on by two clubs with him being difficult. Unless Latos comes off like a rocket this year and has a big year, I think he won't even be able to get a contract like Bailey already signed. And if that goes down, I'd bet this dude would be pissed by that fact.

Latos top memory with the Reds is him giving up the grand salami to Posey in the playoffs. Talk is cheap, the playoffs are forever.

he's an above-average starter who will be a free agent at age 28. unless he or his arm explodes this year, he'll get paid well enough

anyway, tough for me to hate a guy who named his pet 'cat latos'

It is going to be a long time before the Reds have that good a starting pitching staff. You could make an argument that the 2012 and 2013 Reds starting pitching staff was the best ever in the history of the franchise. They had a good bullpen both of those years too.

Looks like the last man standing is going to be Homer Bailey. I think the Reds should consider trying to sign Mike Leake to an extension. I think he could be a solid inning eater type starter for years kind of like his stylistic mentor Bronson Arroyo and seems to get pitching in GABP. I'd love to see Johnny Cueto get extended but it just isn't going to happen.

It should be considered with this years starting pitching that they should probably try to get more outs from Aroldis Chapman. I get it, he's never going to start, but the guy is built like a power forward, he can take more innings. You don't have to go crazy with it, just use him for 100 innings. That's not a crazy number, but it would be getting 3+ more games of innings out of the guy. I think if you are up in a tight game against a top hitting club, go to the missile for six or eight outs. I think it could be a cheap way to maybe pick up an extra win or two. He's booking Cincy first shot he gets, so put the guy to work while you got him. I think Chapman might become a trade piece to the Marlins or the Yankees if such a need arises for a playoff run. I've think the Yankees is probably got to be the place eventually Chapman ends up.

The Missile walks on to Morricone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"; that's definitely some showbiz that would work in Yankee Stadium.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/columnists/paul-daugherty/2015/03/05/paul-daugherty-reds-joey-votto-different-hitter-than-most/24442767/

As Votto says, "I'm a different hitter than most.''

"The whole thing has gotten to me, because I've had one season (2013) where I took a lot of walks, drove in fewer runs, and I hit fewer home runs than expected.

"I was still rehabbing my leg that year'' from two knee surgeries in 2012. "One of my lesser abilities was to drive the ball. I decided to do everything I can to get on base as often as possible. If that costs me in the RBI department, so be it.

"In that season, there is some validity to the argument that I was pro-everything but driving in runs. I get it. My thinking was, if there was a hierarchy of options, I would take the hit, then the walk, then driving in the run with an out. That is where people saw the difference in me.

"I felt like the pitcher who'd lost five miles an hour on his velocity. I had to be crafty.''

"My objective with men at 2nd and 3rd is to get one quality pitch to drive them in. If it's not available, I'm going to go to first base. I won't make any apologies about that.

"If I was just a guy who hit 24 home runs and drove in 100, I wouldn't be a special player,'' he says. "I wouldn't have gotten the contract that I have. What made me who I am was being able to do nearly everything.

"Some say I'm selfish. My approach is the complete opposite of selfishness."

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/03/30/exclusive-reds-unveil-naming-sponsor-for-hot-new.html?ana=yahoo

I know there is no irony in cash money deals, but the Horseshoe Casino sponsoring a bar at Great American Ballpark is pretty LOL. You know those river cities are shifty places.

It does have me wondering if there are any other MLB parks that have a casino like a few blocks away?

there's a casino 0.8 miles from pnc park in fellow river city pittsburgh

tbf, the casino's most explicit link is with the penguins, as its existence helps pay for their hockey arena

lumière place casino is 1.0 miles from busch (and across the street from the football dome)

so, yeah

NL Central is up and open for some gamblin'!

It doesn't look like the Reds are going to be able to make a deal with Johnny Cueto. They got so much money tied up in Votto, Phillips and Bailey for quite a few years, they can't take on a 200+ million dollar deal. Unless the minor leagues and draft improve, the Reds are going to get stuck in the doldrums of MLB. After those contracts I kept thinking about what the Twins have gone through for the past few years. They bet big on couple of hometown grown bats and both of them injuries pretty much blew the deal and like Reds now with Cueto are probably not going to be able to keep their ace. They had a nice window of success but then it is to the basement with you and the club has a bunch of the budget caught with guys that are hurt. Yanks, Angels, Dodgers and Red Sox can deal their way out of a couple bad contracts, the Reds like the Twins not so much.

buck up – if the J's can trade away Vernon Wells' contract, anything can happen!

@dschoenfield
Jason Marquis makes the #Reds. Great story, but last time he had a positive WAR was 2009. 72 SO, 68 BB with SD in 2013.

Wow, Sam LeCure going back to LeMinors. LeCure has been a pretty good bullpen arm the past few seasons for the Reds although he seemed to tire and lost velocity in the second half. You see it all the time with relievers, it seems after a couple of years of 60-70 games they fall apart. Sam seems like a pretty good dude so I hope he can pull it together down in l-ville.

Well so far, so good. I got to like Bryan Price not taking a page out of the Dusty Baker lineup handbook and going with an all scrub lineup after such a late night in game 2.

Joey Votto: “Man, I think I’m a bad mother-er.”

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/11/joey-votto-man-i-think-im-a-bad-mother-expletive-er/#comments

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/2206929c5f71c14a5bf2708504ef669cadf8eb8a/c=0-0-600-800&r=537&c=0-0-534-712/local/-/media/Cincinnati/redsblog/2014/04/08//1396998035000-Votto-mountie.jpeg

I think Kevin Gregg might want to start going over his retirement plans, I don't think he is going to be around for much longer after a week like this one.

i didn't realize he was still around!

Yeah, Gregg and Manny Parra should talk, maybe they could carpool to go and talk to a retirement specialist.

This is a pretty good and detailed overview of the Reds' starting rotation.

http://redlegnation.com/2015/04/08/the-cincinnati-pitching-arsenal-repertoire-for-every-reds-starter/

A bit hot-headed:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/redsblog/2015/04/20/bryan-price-reds/26101107/

BP: Ah, f***. I'm just, I'm f****** p****** up a rope in this f****** business. Because everyone has to know everything all the f****** time. That's not my f****** obligation, it's not their obligation. You know why f****** Billy Hamilton didn't f****** play? The other day? Because his f****** finger's hurt and he couldn't hit right-handed comfortably. Right? So that's something that I need to know and no one else needs to know. No one else needs to f****** know it, and all of a sudden it's out there. His f****** fingers are sore. It doesn't benefit us. It wasn't from you, but it doesn't benefit us one bit to f****** announce to the f****** other teams that we're playing to bring in lefties when they need to f****** get Billy out. There's no benefit. So, I'm f******, to be honest with you, I'm f****** sick of this s***. I'm sick of listening to this f****** s***, I'm sick of f****** the f****** second-guessing b*******, you guys can do whatever the f*** you want, but I'll tell you this — I'm not going to f****** tell you everything about this f****** club, because you f****** guys are going to out there and sniff it out anyway. I don't f****** like it one f****** bit. I bend over backwards to be honest and direct with you f****** guys and you stick it right up my f****** a** — and the f****** team's a**. And I'm sick of it. What do you got? If you don't got anything, get out and I'll do this f****** interview with Marty. You don't have anything? Just get out, please.

and 11 uses of a vulgar term for feces (two bovine, one equine

The Cincy media is very prickly for a small market club. To be honest, the Reds have perhaps needed someone to go all Lou Pinella around the clubhouse for a couple years.

Reds have gotten their ass handed to them in St. Louis for the past few seasons.

Between this and the Phillips incident last year, losing Rosencrans sure seems to rile them up.

cincy media has a point, but that's a+++ baseball from bryan price

same writer as B Phillips butthurt btw

we need audio

u rang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wROe2dzJDqY

it's bleeped, sadly

http://bcdownload.gannett.edgesuite.net/cinci/35546123001/35546123001_2270231281001_video-still-for-video-2270242624001.jpg?pubId=35546123001

Yikes this Reds bullpen is pretty much gasoline.

Reds do some weird crap with their roster. The bullpen's continues to melt down with using guys like Gregg and yet Tony Cingrani hasn't pitched in two weeks. Mesoraco's hip is screwed up and probably won't catch for a while, but he's on the roster. Sam LeCure although seems to be doing ok in obviously a small sample at Louisville. This doesn't even count getting caught and pretty much having to give away Daniel Corcino a couple weeks back when they got caught on Mesoraco's injury. Is there some financial reason they don't put Mesoraco on the DL, shit if I know but it seems like the Reds do quite often play 2 or 3 men short.

Hopefully Mesoraco's hip isn't totally damaged and it ends his catching career as I guess this injury can be pretty bad.

The Reds are often weird ass club to follow.

http://www.redreporter.com/2015/4/24/8493551/devin-mesoraco-cincinnati-reds#comment_tease

As I was saying, why would the Reds hesitate on putting him on the DL in the first place? It's April, take two weeks and see how it goes. They have seemingly done this over and over for the past 3-4 years where they will have guys on the roster who can't play for two weeks THEN they put him on the DL. What is the financial gain of playing short? Strange and stranger...

Burke Badenhop pretty much just did his Kevin Gregg impression tonight.

Tony Cingrani again did not pitch yet they say he is not hurt. Wotta joke.

how does your fucking post fucking help the fucking reds, i must ask

Bailey to have TJ

Damn it, Joey.

not sure where you've gone, earlnash, but i hope it wasn't because of my post, which was merely intended to mimic bryan price's rant

didnt realize what a killer yr frazier was having, mlb leader in xbh rn

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CH5X5V-UkAAEqVG.jpg

The Twins figured out how to get Billy Hamilton not to steal - put the pitcher on base ahead of him.

"I'm not sure what it means when Brayan Pena is second on the team in on-base percentage, but one possibility is that Brayan Pena hid first base in his home." - Matt Sussman, BP

Billy Hamilton is headed to the disabled list with an injured shoulder. He is expected to be out until early September.

votto since the ASB has pretty much turned into 2000s barry bonds: .393/.567/.735, 245 wRC+

http://sportsworld.nbcsports.com/joey-votto-ted-williams-too-patient/

i really love votto so much. i mentioned to joe P on twitter that he's sort of the baseball equivalent of manu ginobili, who like votto is a student of the advanced stats movement and is utterly religious about playing the odds (in ginobili's case, maximizing 3 pointers and layups, avoiding midrange shots, going for 2-for-1s)

btw votto's post-ASB OBP is now .584

he has been a monster, it's insane

since august 19th he's been on base at least twice in every game except one. and in the one game in that stretch where he didn't walk at all, he went 3 or 5 with a home run instead.

This season has been sad. I don't know if it has been 82-83 Reds sad, but pretty poor.

Teams just don't even bother pitching to Votto right now. Sad thing is that they just can't get hits in key situations.

Raisel Iglesias is pitching pretty darn good though, if unrewarded.

Reds bullpen outside the back end is pretty much kerosene, but part of it is they have been getting a lot of short starts with the rookie rotation.

seems like they've done the right thing tho. iglesias is good, winker's coming, if votto and frazier can hang on and finnegan works out . . .

is it too late to make aroldis a starter?

I think Aroldis kind of pushed back when they came to him before about trying to start but someone should explain him the economics of Clayton Kershaw's contract and maybe that would change his mind.

One thing they said a few years ago when making the Missle the closer, which by multiple injuries they needed one was that he was not strong in other parts of being a starter. Chapman's windup is kinda slow and his pick off move wasn't very good at all.

Eugenio Suarez has had a nice season at the plate. What the Reds do between him and Zach Cozart coming back is one question. There are some that think the Reds should eat some of Phillips salary and maybe deal him to move Suarez to second. Suarez is definitely a step back with the glove from Cozart.

DeSclafani has been pretty solid too, Reds definitely they did well getting him and Suarez for Latos and Simon.

Cueto other than that one amazing start has been kinda meh in KC. Boston's GM already said with his delivery and history he wouldn't sign him. Going to be interesting to see where Cueto ends up. I think the Reds are going to need an inning eater starter ala Arroyo.

VOTTO, a historic season

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/jabo-joey-vottos-unfortunately-historic-season/

joey votto calling the rage-waaaaahmbulance with a tantrum for the ages tonight, chill bro have a bud light

Joaquin Andujar is on everyone's mind.

happy 32nd to joey votto!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/COjXgl8U8AA0MRl.png

birthday rage

http://www.craveonline.com/images/stories/2011/2012/October/Film/Myth%20of%20Macho/Full%20Metal%20Jacket/Full_Metal_Jacket_Bathroom.jpg

I guess when you walk 130+ times a year, you think you REALLY KNOW THE f'n STRIKEZONE.

oh, he wasn't wrong at all -- it was a terrible call

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/numlocation.php?pitchSel=453265&game=gid_2015_09_09_pitmlb_cinmlb_1/&batterX=62&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=1&s_type=3&league=mlb&pnf=&zlpo=

two-game suspension for votto

He'll still get on base two or three times.

just hoping he maintains his appeal until after their series with the cardinals

I can't see them making him sit Saturday or Sunday, MLB probably won't review the case until Monday I would figure.

Got to take your victories when you can get them this year and winning three in a row against the Cards after the Reds have played so awful for the past couple of months feels pretty good. Hopefully they can bring out the brooms tomorrow and finish them off.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPeQQGEWsAAUYhd.png

drive in some runs, joe morgan

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/joey-votto-on-aging/

What a fxxxed up season. It seems like they are going to lose out. Worse Reds club since '83 and really kinda worse considering the club back then was all farm hands and Dave Concepcion. This year's Reds is pretty much what happens when you start AAA pitchers for over 100 games.

@MrGregDulli
Congratulations to @ctrent for a well deserved Ohio Sportswriter of the Year award. Gonna have to get crafty making @Reds compelling in '16.

I TOLD YOU CINGRANI'S GOING DOWN NOW

a+

My god, I cannot even fathom the bile on WLW sports talk with this Reds hot stove and the Bengals black hole like collapse. That is a dark and cynical show when things are going well.

Having as good or even better a season than his MVP year. I think he might cross over into sure-thing HOF status along the way; his analytic numbers are going to be so good, his relatively modest career H/HR/RBI totals won't matter. A second MVP wouldn't hurt.

tot missed this on Sunday

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/joey-votto-went-0-for-0-with-five-walks/