Last year Reds were having fun and winning. Fraley and the whole Viking Helmet thing started. All Reds were having fun with it, and when Elly De La Cruz brought up he really joined in the fun. Then old veteran Votto came off injury at mid season, and took some of the fun out of it. Some players had to go to the bench more to get Votto in the line-up. The Old Veteran didn't seem to be into the whole Viking Helmet thing like the younger players. So now Votto is gone and I say bring back The Viking Helmet. They have 162 games, and I like that these young players have Fun and enjoy coming to the ballpark. That is better than some teams I've seen that just show up, sit in the dugout, lose and go home, and don't seem to care. Plus Reds have Diaz as The Closer and some good young pitchers and good young hitters.

I'm looking forward to the young Reds team in 2024, I think they are going to be very Fun to watch. I think they have good chemistry in the dugout as a Team. Reds were around 1st place Memorial Day and 4th of July and I think Reds will put up Wins and be right up there again. I'm glad I have Reds games on cable TV. Some years they were too boring to watch, but not last year. The Reds young players may not be the biggest names in baseball yet, but they can pitch, play defense and hit and run the bases as good as most teams. By all means, bring back The Viking Helmet, and let these young players have some Fun and Win some games.

This young Reds team gives me a reason to turn to the Reds Cable Station again. 2021 and 2022, just couldn't watch that station, but Reds were Fun again in 2023. A Fun, Young Team. Looking forward to 2024. I read Fraley's daughter is doing better on her cancer, and that is good news for The Fraley Family. Now Fraley, Stephenson will get more at bats with Votto gone, and those guys can hit, plus Reds added a free agent hitter and Reds still have a lot of depth seeking playing time.

I also loved that baseball put in the pitch clock and took away the slow player defensive shifts, it really speeded up the game. Baseball had been turning into watching a never ending chess match. I grew up when games went 2 hours, not 4 or 5 hours, so I loved the faster paced games in 2023. Plus, I like seeing players at their positions, I would not have wanted to see Brooks Robinson shifted over by 2nd base in his era, or Joe Morgan moved near shortstop. To me that wasn't baseball. Getting rid of The Shift Card Time Outs and putting in The Pitch Time Clock was a great move by MLB.

Votto had a great career here. They will need Joey Votto Day and put him in Reds HOF and retire his number and put up his statue. I do like that as he leaves, the Reds have a good, young, exciting team returning, and they look good to me. It will indeed help Reds Ownership that the Votto and The Moose highest paid Reds ever contracts are now gone as of 2024., that will help out Reds financially going forward.

I hope fun turns into World Series champs. We are due.

I believe they'll be fun to watch and probably competitive at a minimum. Hopefully they can make the post-season, we'll see ?

I think, as it always does, it probably comes down to our pitching staff. Can they develop and take the next step ? Can they pitch into the 6th and 7th innings in more games and keep ERA down ? Can Greene become a true #1 ? Can Lodolo come back from his injury ? Will Abbott have a sophomore slump ? We'll see.

I hope it's fun.

(02-11-2024, 07:11 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I believe they'll be fun to watch and probably competitive at a minimum. Hopefully they can make the post-season, we'll see ?

I think, as it always does, it probably comes down to our pitching staff. Can they develop and take the next step ? Can they pitch into the 6th and 7th innings in more games and keep ERA down ? Can Greene become a true #1 ? Can Lodolo come back from his injury ? Will Abbott have a sophomore slump ? We'll see.

I hope it's fun.

It's rare for any SP to go 6-7 these days though. Baseball has gone the way of "twice through the batting order, then it's bullpen time". And that's fine I guess. What I'D like to see out of our SP is *minimal damage* and staying healthy. Our BP is deeper than last year, and last year it was a strength, so I have no problem if our SP only go 5-6 provided they aren't getting shellacked.

(02-12-2024, 01:56 AM)The D.O.Z. Wrote: It's rare for any SP to go 6-7 these days though. Baseball has gone the way of "twice through the batting order, then it's bullpen time". And that's fine I guess. What I'D like to see out of our SP is *minimal damage* and staying healthy. Our BP is deeper than last year, and last year it was a strength, so I have no problem if our SP only go 5-6 provided they aren't getting shellacked.

I agree on 5 or 6 innings.  5 qualifies as a Win for the pitcher, if the bullpen does it's job.  By the 5th or 6th, most pitchers are up to Pitch 100 and it's time to pull them.  Maybe not in Little League, but this is a 162 game season.  They play almost every day from start of April to end of September, and as one Reds called his book, The Long Season.  I'm also against trying to get 2 innings out of a Closer such as Diaz, again it's a Long Season.  Let the Set Up Man and the Middle Relievers earn their paychecks as well. Of course you can use the sane relievers 162 games, so you need Depth.  Also, on Defense, when you can get an out, get an out. When the Defense forces Pitchers to get more than 3 outs in innings, Bad Defense is to blame, not the Pitchers.  

If Reds starters can give 5 good innings for a Quality Start and have Reds in the ball game, you take that and run with it all season if possible.  The 100 Pitch Count seems to be The Standard in MLB.  Those 30 pitch innings kill you.  However when Reds are at bat, I'm keeping an eye on how fast Reds can get other teams starter near Pitch 100.  If Reds are making 1st Pitch Outs and going down on 3 pitch innings, The Reds are sure to lose. If a Red batter makes the pitcher throw 10 pitches in one at bat, that is hard on the other teams pitcher. That stat means more than exit velocity or ball angle off the bat stuff. Really, a home run is a home run, be it just over the fence or hit in the upper deck, it still counts the same on the old scoreboard. Tony Perez would hit them in the upper deck, Johnny Bench were line shots over the fence, but regardless of launch angle, a home run is a home run. Often a Gapper for a double wins a game as much as a homer. Working that Pitch Count up on a Pitcher is Key, and get that other teams Starter out of the game, wear out their bullpen over the 3 or 4 game series. Some teams are not deep in their bullpen. Hopefully Reds will have a Deep and Solid Bullpen. They went out and got Bullpen Help this off season, plus good young pitchers moving on up from the Minors. Diaz is the Anchor. He is pretty good.

Corbin Burnes pitching for the Orioles will help the Reds this year. He always got hot in the 2nd half of the season and seemed to consistently keep the Brewers just out of the Reds reach. Having a wide open division is going to help keep this team interesting as long as they continue to improve. I expect some drop off by a player or two but these young guys need to seize this opportunity to play a full season and grow as players and as a team.

As far as starting pitchers and innings, let's hope that they emulate Abbott and learn how to properly nibble on the corners of the strike zone to keep their pitch count low. Too many 'Mahle-esque' efforts with 90 plus pitches after 4 innings. Abbott's arrival may be the biggest motivation that Greene has ever had. Everywhere that he's pitched, he was the ace. Not so, anymore.

(02-14-2024, 02:23 PM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: Corbin Burnes pitching for the Orioles will help the Reds this year. He always got hot in the 2nd half of the season and seemed to consistently keep the Brewers just out of the Reds reach. Having a wide open division is going to help keep this team interesting as long as they continue to improve. I expect some drop off by a player or two but these young guys need to seize this opportunity to play a full season and grow as players and as a team.

As far as starting pitchers and innings, let's hope that they emulate Abbott and learn how to properly nibble on the corners of the strike zone to keep their pitch count low. Too many 'Mahle-esque' efforts with 90 plus pitches after 4 innings. Abbott's arrival may be the biggest motivation that Greene has ever had. Everywhere that he's pitched, he was the ace. Not so, anymore.

I feel the same about Abbott. There are some out there that think Abbott is a prime candidate for regression and I don't think so at all. The guy just knows how to PITCH. Some pitchers just seem to "get it" when they get called up, and I feel like Abbott falls in that category. My bold prediction for this year is HE turns into the staff "ace / TOR arm" by season's end!

(02-14-2024, 04:10 PM)The D.O.Z. Wrote: I feel the same about Abbott. There are some out there that think Abbott is a prime candidate for regression and I don't think so at all. The guy just knows how to PITCH. Some pitchers just seem to "get it" when they get called up, and I feel like Abbott falls in that category. My bold prediction for this year is HE turns into the staff "ace / TOR arm" by season's end!

I sure hope Abbott takes that leap forward. As you say he seems to be one of those guys that just "get it".