Reds @ Cards....Game 3

• mhs95_06

  Fisher's ERA ballooning due to subsequent pitchers not being able to strand runners inherited from him.
• dave

  bottom line is this team really sucks against good pitching, they are so far off from being a playoff team it's sad. they would be lucky to score 2 runs a game in a series against philly or st louis.
• jordo212000

  

  Massett needs a break from the big leagues. Send him down.
  
  Can somebody tell me why they brought up Heisey? One of our top prospects is decaying on the bench so that Laynce Nix can mail in his patented 0-4 day with 2 strikeouts
• BCBulldog

  

  You kidding me Stubbs?! That's the second misplayed ball off the wall today. Why is this guy on the field?!
• dave

  there are a lot of AAAA players on this team, they don't have better options in louisville.
• BCBulldog

  

  dave wrote: there are a lot of AAAA players on this team, they don't have better options in louisville.

  True, but starting and leading off every day is not what Stubbs needs right now. He is actually worse than Patterson and Tavares.
• jordo212000

  

  BCBulldog wrote: True, but starting and leading off every day is not what Stubbs needs right now. He is actually worse than Patterson and Tavares.

  I agree that Stubbs should not be hitting lead off at this point, but let's not get carried away here.
  
  Stubbs OBP: .287
  Patterson (2008) OBP: .238
  Fast Willy (2009) OBP: .275
  
  Thus even though Stubbs hasn't been making much contact, he is still a better leadoff guy than either of those guys. Just imagine what Stubbs' OBP would look like if he hit a little more often
• mhs95_06

  They brought Heisey up to fill a spot and give a position player to make moves with at the end of games. Do we want Heisey in there instead of Stubbs? Or Nix in there for Stubbs, so Stubbs can "rot on the bench"?
  
  Against lefties, Gomes is going to be in LF. Against righties in LF it will be Nix, and sometimes Gomes like it has been. I'd expect Nix to spell Stubbs in CF against a righthander sometimes, and Heisey to spell Bruce in RF against some lefties, but I think that's about all for Heisey except to make moves late in games, or fill for injuries.
• BCBulldog

  

  jordo212000 wrote:

  BCBulldog wrote: True, but starting and leading off every day is not what Stubbs needs right now. He is actually worse than Patterson and Tavares.

  I agree that Stubbs should not be hitting lead off at this point, but let's not get carried away here.
  
  Stubbs OBP: .287
  Patterson (2008) OBP: .238
  Fast Willy (2009) OBP: .275
  
  Thus even though Stubbs hasn't been making much contact, he is still a better leadoff guy than either of those guys. Just imagine what Stubbs' OBP would look like if he hit a little more often

  You make a good point. I guess I was focusing on average and strikeouts a little too much. Even as a sabremetrics guy, I still find myself looking at BA way too often. One thing that I do see with him is that he has got to shorten his swing. 27 Ks this early in the season is unacceptable. He needs to figure out if he wants to be a slugger in AAA or a leadoff in the bigs. Add in a little bunting-for-a-base-hit and maybe he can earn his keep as a leadoff. Until then, he is a #8 hitter or pinch-runner.
• BCBulldog

  

  mhs95_06 wrote: They brought Heisey up to fill a spot and give a position player to make moves with at the end of games. Do we want Heisey in there instead of Stubbs? Or Nix in there for Stubbs, so Stubbs can "rot on the bench"?
  
  Against lefties, Gomes is going to be in LF. Against righties in LF it will be Nix, and sometimes Gomes like it has been. I'd expect Nix to spell Stubbs in CF against a righthander sometimes, and Heisey to spell Bruce in RF against some lefties, but I think that's about all for Heisey except to make moves late in games, or fill for injuries.

  Stubbs is not a big league player right now. If they do pull him from the lineup, which they should, they should send him back to AAA to get right.
• jordo212000

  

  BCBulldog wrote: You make a good point. I guess I was focusing on average and strikeouts a little too much. Even as a sabremetrics guy, I still find myself looking at BA way too often. One thing that I do see with him is that he has got to shorten his swing. 27 Ks this early in the season is unacceptable. He needs to figure out if he wants to be a slugger in AAA or a leadoff in the bigs. Add in a little bunting-for-a-base-hit and maybe he can earn his keep as a leadoff. Until then, he is a #8 hitter or pinch-runner.

  Yeah he does seem like he is swinging for the fences a little too much. He had a lot of similar at bats in this series vs. the Cards. He definitely had a pattern in his ABs. He'd get up there, watch the first pitch go right past him down the middle, swing at a breaking ball for strike 2, and then swing at strike 3 (usually another breaking ball) and that would be that. You also can't forget the fly balls to CF that seemed to land in the exact same spot every time.
  
  Stubbs needs to have a talk from the manager from "Major League", the one that yells at Willy Mays Hayes and tells him he needs to hit it on the ground and leg it out more often. As for the bunting, I saw one replay where Freese (STL 3B) standing on the edge of the infield grass. I don't think the Cardinals were allowing him to bunt.
• jordo212000

  

  mhs95_06 wrote: They brought Heisey up to fill a spot and give a position player to make moves with at the end of games. Do we want Heisey in there instead of Stubbs? Or Nix in there for Stubbs, so Stubbs can "rot on the bench"?
  
  Against lefties, Gomes is going to be in LF. Against righties in LF it will be Nix, and sometimes Gomes like it has been. I'd expect Nix to spell Stubbs in CF against a righthander sometimes, and Heisey to spell Bruce in RF against some lefties, but I think that's about all for Heisey except to make moves late in games, or fill for injuries.

  That's completely ridiculous if that's what they are doing. This isn't football. Players don't benefit from taking mental reps, they need to be in the lineup swinging the bat. Heisey is getting nothing from watching Laynce Nix go 0-4. If you want a guy to be the "end of the game guy/extra body" bring up one of the old super subs (Drew Sutton). Don't bring up a top prospect and let him collect dust on the bench. Either play him (some at least) or don't bring him up at all.
  
  Nix is hitting .185 on the season. (.217 vs. righties, .000 vs. lefties). I see no reason why he should consistently be in the lineup. At all.
• mhs95_06

  jordo212000 wrote:

  mhs95_06 wrote: They brought Heisey up to fill a spot and give a position player to make moves with at the end of games. Do we want Heisey in there instead of Stubbs? Or Nix in there for Stubbs, so Stubbs can "rot on the bench"?
  
  Against lefties, Gomes is going to be in LF. Against righties in LF it will be Nix, and sometimes Gomes like it has been. I'd expect Nix to spell Stubbs in CF against a righthander sometimes, and Heisey to spell Bruce in RF against some lefties, but I think that's about all for Heisey except to make moves late in games, or fill for injuries.

  That's completely ridiculous if that's what they are doing. This isn't football. Players don't benefit from taking mental reps, they need to be in the lineup swinging the bat. Heisey is getting nothing from watching Laynce Nix go 0-4. If you want a guy to be the "end of the game guy/extra body" bring up one of the old super subs (Drew Sutton). Don't bring up a top prospect and let him collect dust on the bench. Either play him (some at least) or don't bring him up at all.
  
  Nix is hitting .185 on the season. (.217 vs. righties, .000 vs. lefties). I see no reason why he should consistently be in the lineup. At all.

  Yes, that's why I thought Sutton had a chance to be the one coming up. I'll bet he would have been if his stats would have been better.
  
  I agree that Stubbs needs to hit it on the ground more. He's tough to get out when he hits it in the 5/6 hole, and he out to take a shot on the bunt frequently also, especially when there is a runner on 1B and none out, even one out.
• CinciX12

  

  Seems like we really broke the bats out today. Would have been nice to pick a game up on the Cards but I can't say I'm surprised.