and so Reds enter August with a BANG. The big fight with Pittsburgh that has yet to bring suspensions and fines from League Office. We can expect Garrett and manager Bell. Also Puig but that is Cleveland's problem now. The big trades of Puig, Roark, Gennett, Trammell. Coming in is star pitcher Bauer, a top minor prospect Hannah to ease trading minor prospect, and a player of Giants to be named later. So the smoke hasn't cleared with fans on all of that last 2 days of July.

Then there is Reds winning the last 3 series of July, Brewers, Rockies, Pirates. The Reds 5 games under .500 and 6 and 1/2 games out of First Place with 2 full months to play catch up. The Reds now having All-Star pitchers Castillo, Gray, Bauer and once an All-Star Wood hopefully healthy here on out, and young star pitcher Disco. In the bullpen a new version of 1990 Nasty Boys in Garrett, Lorenzen, Iglesias. The Reds have went from worst pitching last few years to great pitching now and it is this great pitching that they are going to try to climb that 6 and 1/2 games into First and they have over 50 games to do it. Plus they still have most of their hitting with Suarez at 29 homers on his way to 40 or more this season. Votto is back to hitting for more power in change to his batting stance. Good young hitters on Winker, Ervin, Senzel, Van Meter who prefers playing second base.

Reds traded some players but not in Reds usual way of calling it a season in July. They add one of the best pitchers in baseball to Reds already one of league leaders in pitching. The Reds Front Office officially says they ARE trying to end up in First Place THIS YEAR. So 6 and 1/2 games to make up the last 2 full months. It's not impossible. Other teams have did it in baseball. The Reds sure have the pitching and defense to do it and Reds are putting runs up now thanks to Ervin, Senzel & Van Meter up from minors.

So now up, AT ATLANTA BRAVES. Always a tough series. Reds go with Disco, Wood, Gray, Bauer on the mound.

So GO REDS TONIGHT and get a win behind Disco. It will take 3 out of 4 to win this series which is very hard to do. If Reds can take 3 out of 4 from a tough team like Atlanta, that would be a huge start to August and going for First Place. So again, GO REDS TONIGHT with very hot young Disco on the mound. As they go one game at a time on this race, the only way you can, one game at a time. Atlanta also has pitching, defense and hitting. This will be a tough series and a split would not be bad. Still, win tonight to get out in front on this series. Reds Fans remember Atlanta is a tough hard fought series. When you play them, you better pack a lunch. GO REDS.

So off of the Senior squad
Puig
Roark
Gennett

On the Senior squad
Bauer

Two spots coming up from the minors

Blandino and Schebler? Aquino? Someone else?

(08-01-2019, 09:07 AM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: So off of the Senior squad
Puig
Roark
Gennett

On the Senior squad
Bauer

Two spots coming up from the minors

Blandino and Schebler? Aquino? Someone else?

Good question.  Down an infielder and an outfielder.  They do have a couple guys who can play both.  

Aquino is filling one spot.

"The Reds announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Aristides Aquino from Triple-A Louisville."

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/08/reds-select-aristides-aquino.html

The Reds have 56 games left. They're sitting at 50-56, 6 games below .500, 6 games down in the loss column, and 6.5 out of 1st.

They have 8 games left with the Cards, 4 with the Cubs, and 3 with Brewers, 15 total. They have 4 games against the Marlins and 3 against the Mariners, not the best teams out there. They also have 6 against the Pirates making 13 games against teams not playing great baseball.

There are 7 teams not including division leaders with fewer losses than them in the NL.

28-28 would be .500 to close out the season but obviously they'll have to do much better than that to get back in the mix. Like winning 36 to 38 games out of the 56.

Does this team have what it takes to win 36+ games to close out ?

(08-01-2019, 01:52 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: The Reds have 56 games left. They're sitting at 50-56, 6 games below .500, 6 games down in the loss column, and 6.5 out of 1st.

They have 8 games left with the Cards, 4 with the Cubs, and 3 with Brewers, 15 total. They have 4 games against the Marlins and 3 against the Mariners, not the best teams out there. They also have 6 against the Pirates making 13 games against teams not playing great baseball.

There are 7 teams not including division leaders with fewer losses than them in the NL.

28-28 would be .500 to close out the season but obviously they'll have to do much better than that to get back in the mix. Like winning 36 to 38 games out of the 56.

Does this team have what it takes to win 36+ games to close out ?

The short answer is probably not.  But if the Cards and Cubs go on trading wins against each other, not allowing either one to grab a lead and keep it, who knows?  Anything is possible but it seems pretty unlikely when you consider how rare it is for them to string  bunch of victories together.  Losing Puig, you're not just losing his bat anf his glove and arm in RF(had no idea he was such a good fielder), but you're also losing his spirit and energy, which seemed pretty important to the rest of the team.  The young guys might be able to make up his production but who makes up for his clubhouse presence?

(08-01-2019, 02:07 PM)McC Wrote: The short answer is probably not.  But if the Cards and Cubs go on trading wins against each other, not allowing either one to grab a lead and keep it, who knows?  Anything is possible but it seems pretty unlikely when you consider how rare it is for them to string  bunch of victories together.  Losing Puig, you're not just losing his bat anf his glove and arm in RF(had no idea he was such a good fielder), but you're also losing his spirit and energy, which seemed pretty important to the rest of the team.  The young guys might be able to make up his production but who makes up for his clubhouse presence?

I tend to agree

Since the 1-8 start they're only like a game over .500 Bauer may give them an extra win, perhaps two ? But for them to go say 36-18 ummm I just don't see it. 

I'm just hoping they can close the gap a little and make it interesting. It's been quite some time since we've had something to cheer about in August and Sept.

(08-01-2019, 01:52 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: The Reds have 56 games left. They're sitting at 50-56, 6 games below .500, 6 games down in the loss column, and 6.5 out of 1st.

They have 8 games left with the Cards, 4 with the Cubs, and 3 with Brewers, 15 total. They have 4 games against the Marlins and 3 against the Mariners, not the best teams out there. They also have 6 against the Pirates making 13 games against teams not playing great baseball.

There are 7 teams not including division leaders with fewer losses than them in the NL.

28-28 would be .500 to close out the season but obviously they'll have to do much better than that to get back in the mix. Like winning 36 to 38 games out of the 56.

Does this team have what it takes to win 36+ games to close out ?

With this pitching?  Yes.  

The Reds have former 3 cy young candidates in the rotation in Gray, Wood, and Bauer. They have the pitching to make a run if they can win more 1-run games and last until last month of season at which point the schedule is easier. They need a win streak of 9-10 games however.

(08-01-2019, 03:27 PM)psychdoctor Wrote: With this pitching?  Yes.  

I hope you're right. It seems like it's been forever since we've mattered late in the season.

Senzel CF
Votto 1B
Suarez 3B
Ervin LF
Iglesias SS
Aquino RF
Peraza 2B
Barnhart C
Desclafani P

Aquino gets to hit 6th. I view this similar to when the Reds batted Dunn 8th to shoot for two lead off sections in the lineup.

Well, I hit post early by mistake on that last one(good weed). I was going to add that the Reds are more built around 1-2-BAM with Suarez than the traditional power in the 4th slot. Having Ervin, Iglesias, Aquino kind of reflects that two lead off sections in the line up the Reds from about 12-15 years ago.

Peraza steps up and pulls the Reds back to 3-1. Nothing wrong with DeSclafani. The Braves early lineup is very, very good.

Tonights Line-Up Stinks.....Really, Peraza and Aquino ???? They can now play Winker, Ervin, Senzel, Van Meter, Dietrich, Farmer more in OF and Van Meter, Dietrich, Farmer more at second. They can now get these bats in the line-up.....and the big move is to play Peraza and Aquino ???.....That is a LAST PLACE line-up, not a trying for First Place as Reds said Wednesday. Peraza never has developed into what Reds hoped, and why they need to sign Iglesias at short. Who is Aquino, are they kidding with this awful line-up. Well, it didn't score any runs, and that line-up never will. Never Will.

So Reds lose opener and will lose all the games with Atlanta with Peraza and Aquino at the plate. If they get their good hitters in, Reds need to take 2 out of 3 now just to get the split. Pirates must have bounced Bells head off that bat too many times in that fight, for him to come up with Thursdays line-up.

Instead of Peraza have Van Meter, Dietrich or Farmer at 2nd. Instead of Aquino have Ervin, Winker, Van Meter, Dietrich, Farmer, Senzel in the OF.....This isn't rocket science. Reds have 2 months to catch up, but they don't have time to figure out a simple thing like this. The Braves could sweep them and send Reds way backwards with Reds line-ups like last night.

I don't care what Aquino did in minors. Right now Van Meter needs to be playing every day. At 2nd or OF, but he needs to play every day. and what about Winker, Ervin, Senzel, Dietrich, Farmer ? Is Aquino the teachers pet moving to the head of the class ???

So here they are, getting Bauer, but then benching the bats that have been hitting and winning 3 series in a row, makes no sense.

I'm very upset with the Reds tonight. They have a team to make a run at First Place, but NOT with line-ups like Thursday Night. Pitchers will make mince meat out of Peraza, Aquino, Barnhart and the Pitcher and that is too many easy outs in a row to win. Meanwhile, Van Meter with best swing on the team rides the pines. Bell is Dingy if he stays with this.

I will add that you can not take Puig, Gennett, Van Meter, Winker, Dietrich, Farmer out of this line-up and replace them with Peraza and Aquino and expect to win any games, I don't care who is pitching for Reds. The very idea of Van Meter with his great swing sitting on the bench just makes me sick. Oh, they can play whoever they want, they can also finish 20 games out of First Place in Dead Last. To Bengals Fans, benching Van Meter who out played Puig to play minors Aquino, is like Bengals benching Mixon to play Al Bundy who scored 4 touchdowns in a game for Polk High School. I don't care if Al calls himself the Master of Disaster or whatever, you don't do it.

Kevin. I totally respect your passion for the Reds and and I love your never give up attitude, but, dude. Roll one and relax. :-)-~~~

Until they are mathematically eliminated, I always think my favorite teams have a shot and can go on a run to make the playoffs but this is what happens to a #5 starter, ask Tyler Mahle.

Teams will put in a few backups in one game, hope for some magic and play their best matched lineups in the next four games with their better pitchers. Look for a more solid lineup as they go on a stretch with Wood, Bauer, Gray and Castillo pitching.

Great place to get a rookie's feet wet(no pun intended). Road game, Righty vs Lefty, backup manager, everybody talking about trades, fights, suspensions . . . Get the nervous first at bat out of the way and then hope for a few more relaxed at bats later in the game. Now that the ice has been broken, it'll hopefully be easier for Aquino to come in late in a game as a pinch hitter because he's already started a game, he's part of the team now. That's kind of why I still want to see Dietrich traded and Blandino get another shot. He might play better and more relaxed now that a lot of the guys he came up with in the minor leagues are in the Reds dugout now. He has the ability but he looked every bit of the part of a scared Rookie last year with SEVERAL "at bats" where said bat never swung.

Barnhart has been hitting pretty good since coming back from the DL and Farmer is the backup catcher right now. He's not going to be playing a lot in the field until Casali comes back and everyone else on the bench last night was a left handed hitter. I expect VanMeter to be a regular. This was just a day off for him and Winker against a left handed pitcher. Winker pinch hit against the lefty and looked over matched as he struck out on three pitches.

And Peraza? Early on in his career I said, there's something about this kid, but I just can't put my finger on it. The main thing that I've always liked about him is the way he carries himself. Never too excited after a big hit or bummed after a strikeout or an error. The moment is never too big for players like that. Brantley said last night that he's been hitting .300 for the last two months. Like Suarez and VanMeter, Peraza is very calm and relaxed at the plate. He did last night what we all praise Iglesias for doing, he had a two out RBI single to knock in their only run in a rain shortened game. I'd play Peraza over Dietrich any day of the week, 2nd base or OF. He's the perfect player to have on the field to adjust your defense around a double switch. I could be wrong, but, after pitching Tuesday night, I believe he's played every position this year except first base and catcher. It would be nice to have All-Stars at every position but you still need players like that to win.

Reds need to take the next 3 games from the Braves. Pain and simple.

Reds spanking the Braves thus far in the 5th.

Just when you think you've seen the dumbest base running, Winker comes along. He was on first and the Reds just scored a run on a sac fly. Braves decide they are going to appeal to third to see if Farmer left early. So Winker takes off on the pitchers first move and is about halfway to 2nd if not a bit farther when the ball gets to third base and for some reason comes to a dead stop as the 3rd base ump gives the safe sign. He was toast at that point for the 3rd out. Initially it was actually a great heads up play cause he would have been easily safe if he doesn't stop.

(08-02-2019, 10:12 PM)cinci4life Wrote: Just when you think you've seen the dumbest base running, Winker comes along.  He was on first and the Reds just scored a run on a sac fly. Braves decide they are going to appeal to third to see if Farmer left early. So Winker takes off on the pitchers first move and is about halfway to 2nd if not a bit farther when the ball gets to third base and for some reason comes to a dead stop as the 3rd base ump gives the safe sign. He was toast at that point for the 3rd out. Initially it was actually a great heads up play cause he would have been easily safe if he doesn't stop.

Lotta heads got scratched on that one.  Suarez was at the plate too.

Good 2nd outing by Wood. Seems he needs to avoid allowing home-runs, especially with the Reds and GABP.

Reds win behind solid pitching by Wood. Take the next 2 from the Braves and they will inch back up to 4 games under .500. This team is so frustrating.

Nice win. Nice to go from Wood to Bauer. Win Saturday and get the series split with Gray on the mound Sunday to go for series win.

I liked Van Meter at 2nd because it opens up OF for other players. I'ld like to see Van Meter and Iglesias at 2nd and SS, sorry Peraza fans but Iglesias is flat out better.

Aquino has the worst batting stance and swing I've ever seen. His right and left foot and body all pointing heading towards right center as he points his bat out like he is Babe Ruth calling a home run to center. Not until pitcher is in motion towards plate does he bring his feet and body into the batters box and plate to line-up to swing. That may work in the minors. I can see major league pitchers eating him alive. He is not ready to hit when the pitch starts out. The good pitchers will have him too late on every pitch. That stance may work in the minors, it won't work in the Bigs against major league change ups and such. It is one of the worst batting stances I've ever seen. As the pitch is coming he is moving his feet backwards into the box, not forward and that is called stepping into the bucket. All his movement is sideways and backwards, not a sweet swing moving forward. Now Van Meter has a great stance and swing.

With Van Meter at 2nd, I would love to see Iglesias at short and in the outfield Senzel, Winker and Ervin. Votto and Suarez and Barnhart. Just ONCE I would like to see THAT line-up.

GO REDS SATURDAY and guarantee at least a series tie ....but with a chance to win series Sunday.....GO REDS.