Thursday, February 28, 2008
Spring Training is Here!!
Hi everyone...I'm back.
I took a month of because I was so exhausted from my writing training regiment I was undertaking. Hopefully my writing will be less obtuse and vapid.
(note: exhaustive training = reading a couple of articles on the intergoogle about how to write better. Also, I refuse to be less vapid. REFUSE!!!!)
So...now that I am back to hysterically writing about things that don't actually mean much...here are my thoughts on this year's Cincinnati Reds.
- I have mixed feelings about the hiring of Dusty Baker. One one hand...he wins everywhere he goes (but never a World Series). One another hand...he tends to bury young players in favor of "veterans". This is not what the Reds need. They have a really nice young team coming up. I would much rather have Jay Bruce playing out of position in CF than to bring in 54 year old Kenny Lofton. One a third hand...he seems to get a lot out of his players. They like playing for him, and he demands excellence. But on the giant 4th hand is the fact that he thinks OBP is over rated ("they just clog up the bases"), he thinks pitch selection is over rated. And yet, puts a premium on "scoring runs". I ask this...how does one score runs without people on base? HOW? Solo home runs? I'm just not sure about this
- I predict Jay Bruce starts the season in AAA, tears it up, and is with the Reds by June at the latest. He will the proceed to have a solid season and hit .290 with decent power numbers. I hope this prediction is wrong and he starts the season with the Reds
- I think Homer Bailey has a great year and becomes the real #2 starter ahead of Arroyo
- I think Johnny Cueto plays for the Reds at some point and pitches lights out
- I think David Ross will still not be able to hit
- I think Reds fans will inexplicably love Ryan Freel because "he plays the game the right way"...which I disagree with. I think the "right way" to play the game is "well". Which Ryan Freel does not do. He is WAYYYY overpaid for a lead off guy who strikes out a lot and doesn't have a very good OBP (although I suppose that would be good in Dusty's eyes!)
- I think Adam Dunn will continue to put up great power/OBP numbers as he has his entire career. Yet people on the radio will continue to ream him for the things he doesn't do well.
- I think Jeff Keppinger should be the starting SS and Alex Gonzalez is no better. (If you look at their defensive metrics...Keppinger is only very slightly worse defensively.)
- I think the bullpen is vastly improved with the addition of Francisco Cordero, which helps everyone out
Even with all of that...I still don't think we make the playoffs. Still a year away.
Here's hoping I'm wrong!!
Subscribe to the DIA FeedLabels: Adam Dunn, Cincinnati Reds, Dusty Baker, Homer Bailey, Jay Bruce
Posted by Adam Wilson ::
8:37 PM ::
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