HAHAHAHAHA

Made you look, made you look !!

********************************************
<< THIS SPACE FOR RENT >>

Where I come from you get a shiv to the kidney for jokes like that.

Volquez made the squad.

He should get some props from fans, he has at least kept us (barely) out of the cellar.

Phillips should be there.
Another reason to ignore the so called ALL STAR game.
It is nothing mroe than a popularity contest.

Chase Utley is a great ball player, but Phillips is right there with him.
30/30 last year and should have won a gold glove.
Is having a another great season and should have a gold glove.

I did not mind that Jr. got the bump either....he is no longer an all star, a future Hall of Famer, but is not the best at his position anymore.

“…man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.”

Phillips cause would be helped if the Reds got rid of the two boat anchors around their necks...Dunng and Whiffey. Dunng looks for a walk every at bat to pad that important OBP stat. At the end of the year people will point to his 40 home runs and 100+ rbis. Give me a guy like Sean Casey that drives the ball. What did the Reds get for him anyway? Oh yeah, some guy that is completely out of baseball. douchebags. What in the world is Junior batting 3rd for all year? Stop the Madness! It is OVER for him. Bat him 7th and quit kissing his ass. He looked foolish in RF at Wrigley tonight.

Brewers get CC Sabathia, Cubs acquire Haren. Reds sit pat. Not much has changed.

Volquez should get the nod to start in the All Star game. League ERA leader on a crap team.

I cannot believe you seriously want Casey over Dunn. Both are hacks in the field, but Dunn produces way more. 100+ runs and 100+ RBIs Casey would never sniff today. Casey's 99 and 04 seasons were very respectable but you cannot seriously say that a Boston backup would be more valuable than a player that will make $15 mil next year.

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who undertsand binary, and those who do not.

quick comment to the Casey mention...USC, are you stuck in 1999?

and on another quick note...why does anyone really even care anymore, even with new management nothing has changed with the Redlegs...
I envy those who were able to catch the 70's, b/c you will never see a reds squad that successful let alone successful EVER AGAIN.

7 years going on 8, then going on 9, and then 10...
and then before he will even know it big bob will be giving Mike Brown company in the mediocrity history books...

I'll let Bronson lead me out of this message for this thread: "THEY'RE TOGETHER AGAIN! THEY'RE TOGETHER AGAIN!"

want to know the real reason Welsh is crying? another year of the same old boring bull****
hahahahaha, oh man...

Give me a guy like Sean Casey is not saying give me Sean Casey. Maybe a remedial reading comprehension class would help. The local adult school may have some openings.

Oh I get it now...it is not important you actually get Sean Casey, just somebody as equally craptacular as he is now.

Or did you mean the Sean Casey of yesteryear? One of his above average seasons or the crappy ones?

It was SO clear from your post.

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who undertsand binary, and those who do not.

Casey .303 lifetime BA and a .450 SLG%...not much to complain about there. As a Red: .370 Obp and .302 BA, 3 time All Star.

Similar player at same age is Mark Grace, not too shabby. I've done the homework for you. Here's a link:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/friv/scomp.cgi?I=gracema01:Mark+Grace&st=int&compage=31&age=31

Casey has the intangibles like personality and leadership in the clubhouse. All indications this is something sorely lacking today with Dunn and Griffey. Did you see Junior's homecoming in Cincinnati after #600? Embarassing that they cannot generate enough interst to sell out the ballpark. Maybe it has something to do with Mr. Sour Puss himself. How about his walk-off home run the other week. Boy, Jr was so excited! Here's some homework for you: Over the last few years, figure out how many rbi's Dunn generates with his home runs. Also, look at the situations (inning and score of game) in which he hits his home runs. You'll be amazed at how UN clutch he is. The most overrate player in our time.

Stick to football dude.

How has Casey played the last 2 years?



"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

Outside the two years I mentioned (5 years apart) casey was very mediocre. Look at how many runs he drove in and scored. The true measure of offenseive output. Dunn puts Casey to shame.

Batting average is the single most overrated stat in baseball.

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who undertsand binary, and those who do not.

"Batting average is the single most overrated stat in baseball."


Hold on a second. You would rather a guy strikeout 60,000 times like Dunn has than get on base? WTF!?!?!!?!?!??! I totally disagree on batting average. Especially when you're discussing lead-off hitters. Batting average is very important there. You're going to have to explain this one a little more, Draw.





"So he got fired? Big deal. It's happened to the best of us. So he got kicked out of his house by his 400 lb'ed wife?!?!? That's probably better for him anyways."-OldSchooler on ChrisMBHater's absence

OBP is 100x more important for leadoff hitter than BA.

What difference does it make it a guy hits .210 strikes out 200 times, but drives in 150 and scores 125. The argument I am making is driving in runs and scoring runs are so much more important than batting average that it renders batting average to the bottom of relevance.

Of course usually a high BA will have a high OBP, but that is not always the case. In fact, that is excatly why OBP for leadoff hitters, OPS for other hitters (or OPS+ for stat people)is a better measure of prowess at the plate than BA. You can distingiush the cases where BA is misleading by just looking at OBP or OPS in the first place.

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who undertsand binary, and those who do not.

"The argument I am making is driving in runs and scoring runs are so much more important than batting average that it renders batting average to the bottom of relevance."

Agreed.

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

"Give me a guy like Sean Casey that drives the ball."

where? the infield?? honestly don't know how you think I didn't comprehend what you said, or maybe it was you how has been hittin the bottle a little too hard lately...

maybe some aa meetings are in order for you sir

On any contending team, Dunn would be a tremendous asset. Esp in the AL. His problem is he is who he is and the Reds need a whole lot more than an Adam Dunn. The expectations placed on him in Cincy are ones he will never live up to. He is not a clutch hitter. Too many times with no contact made. On a team that has most of its roles filled, Dunn would be world famous. But then again, the expectations for him would be different than they are in CIncinnati.

Sean Casey was valuable as a clutch hitter (where DUnn is not) and was more than adequate in the field (Dunn is not). He also carried an intangible the Reds have sorely missed...leadership.

Yea give me a player LIKE Casey was - with his ability to make consistent contact and intangibles. Yea give me a player like Dunn. But only after you have two consistent table-setters in the 1/2 slots with speed, a Griffey-like player from 12 years ago, and a pitching staff to go around Volquez...who, by the way, is yet to be a proven commodity over the long haul. He looks promising as hell, but wasn't Bronson Arroyo on the All-Star team his 1st year in Cincinnati?

First move. Jocketty will can Dusty Baker and his ex-cubs and bring in Tony La Russa...

This year's Reds are a carbon copy of the 1956 Reds. They will lead the league in home runs, and finish next to last thanks to no pitching. At least back then, Cincy fans cared enough to stuff the All-Star ballot box (56 and 57) which led to the league ending the fan vote for a few decades...


Swamp

I would add that Dunn and Griffey worst contribution to the team is not on the field but in the locker room. Both guys are likeable and generally well liked by their team. But they are not leaders. Griffey is quiet and very humble. Dunn is a big joker. And nothing is wrong with either personality or the person it's personified in.

The problem is they have no leader on the team. Who is the leader?

When those two are left in that position, as they are now...by default, they set a poor example. They run slow in spring training. They talk when the manager is speaking. They're always f@cking around. They're lazy.

With a Jason Varitek type in the clubhouse, Griffey and Dunn are just the fun-loving vets who lighten things up. Without one, they set a poor example as lazy f@ck-offs.

On the field, their problems are many.

The top 5 priorities in upgrading this team before the deadline and in the offseason have to be...
1) A right handed power bat. Brandon Phillips isn't a clean-up hitter. He should hit second. A right hander with some power and a decent BA would do wonders for this team.
2) A GOD DAMN CATCHER! A quality catcher who can hit righties and lefties and throw people out at second base. The problem is, there are about 24 other teams looking for that guy as well. Paul Bako is a great back-up catcher. Davis Ross should be traded before the all star break.
3) A left hander in the starting rotation. Matt Maloney is pitching well for the Bats (I think he's 9-4 with and ERA in the mid 3's) but who knows what he'll be at the next level. Homer Bailey could end up being a great pitcher in the bigs...but I think the Reds should let someone else find out and trade him before he destroys any value he may have left.
4) Trade Dunn and/or Griffey. If you can't get any value, let them walk. Fans will be pissed. But it's best for all parties. The Reds can sign a right handed vet to play first and move Votto to left. Bruce plays right. And in center field...
5) A brand new fancy lead-off hitter that plays center field. Basically, a Corey Patterson that doesn't suck. A guy that can steal some bases, hit for average, and run center field with crazy range. Patterson can do all of those things...except for the most important one. He can hit the ball. He sucks. I can't believe that he'll play his last season in MLB with the Reds. Sad.

2009 Lineup
1) CF New fancy lead-off hitter (Switch)
2) SS Phillips (R) (Phillips has too much range to let him play second)
3) RF Bruce (L)
4) 1B New Quality Vet (R)
5) LF Votto (L)
6) C New fancy catcher (R)
7) 2B Keppinger (R) (He plays good D and hits for average)
8) 3B Anyone but EE. He of the potential that never arrives.

-------------------------------------------
President of the FalconGoose Association of North America or FANA.

lc, replace the Donkey in LF with a guy 'like Sean Casey'. I see you are have mad man love for Dunn.

Swamp and Gretto, excellent points in all.

Nice to have some relevant sports talk in here.

"What difference does it make it a guy hits .210 strikes out 200 times, but drives in 150 and scores 125. The argument I am making is driving in runs and scoring runs are so much more important than batting average that it renders batting average to the bottom of relevance."

I don't get this comment.

It's like saying, "who cares if your QB only completes 25% of his passes, as long as he throws for 50 TDs and 4,000 yards?"

Sure, but that is never going to happen.

If you bat .210 and drive in 150 and score 125, to me that says that you are playing around a bunch of great players who are always on base when you bat and drive you in when you are on base. How does that mean you are a great player?

On the other hand, if you bat .350 and have few RBIs and runs, you are likely in a real crap lineup where no one else is hitting.

If I was signing FAs, using your formula I would end up overpaying for a bunch of players whose stats were inflated by the quality of team they were playing on, rather than solid players irrespective of their team.

I get how RBIs reflect clutch hitting more so than batting average, and runs reflect good baserunning while average does not. I am not saying average is the be all end all of player evaluation, my point, rather, is that average is as important and that RBIs and runs are not "so much more imporant" that they render average irrelevant.

Seriously, Draw, are you going to defend this or not?

Surely you had some point in saying that it is all about RBIs and Runs, or were you just saying that of the top of your head?

"It's like saying, "who cares if your QB only completes 25% of his passes, as long as he throws for 50 TDs and 4,000 yards?"

Sure, but that is never going to happen.

If you bat .210 and drive in 150 and score 125, to me that says that you are playing around a bunch of great players who are always on base when you bat and drive you in when you are on base. How does that mean you are a great player?

On the other hand, if you bat .350 and have few RBIs and runs, you are likely in a real crap lineup where no one else is hitting."

First of all, that's apples and oranges. Each plate appearance is a discreet event. That is not true with a passing offense. And, despite this difference if my QB threw 50 TDs and moved the ball, I would not care what his completion % was.

If you bat .350 your OBP will be at least .350, which is decent. Some batters flirt with .300 BA and have an OBP of just over .300, which is not that good. The moral of the story is that OBP is more predictive of run potential, regardless of what type offense you bat in, good or bad. On a better team, Dunn would scored even more, and probably would have driven in more. The Reds were batting him 7th for part of the year for god's sake.

Your point about comparing the RBIs and runs of 2 different players from different offenses (and the opportunities presented to each hitter) is well taken. Notice in one of my above posts I reference OPS+ as being the ultimate stat and OPS+ does account for your offense, park factors, and historical factors. I thought that was beyond this discussion, so I just left it at mentioning the stat.

Bottom line, I would take a .250 batter with a .375 OBP over a .333 hitter with an OBP of .350 assuming their slugging was approximately equal. My point still remains, OBP is better predicter of offensive skill and potential than BA.

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who undertsand binary, and those who do not.