How 'bout those Reds?

Kevin McClave wrote:
> Wow.
>
> This group is always somewhat sparsely populated (I've always wished
> there were more participants...of the other Usenet groups I frequent,
> the NY Giants group has always had more activity...and the Springsteen
> group rec.music.artists.springsteen is historically among the most
> active in Usenet), but I honestly don't ever remember it being *this*
> quiet during a season...any season, even the other bad ones.
>
> I'm not really complaining as much as making an observation.

Given the revolving door that the front office and manager's job has
been.....I can root for Jay Bruce and Joey Votto. I can root for the
pitchers. Dumping Dunn has really taken the wind out of my sails as a fan.

Either they don't think Adam Dunn is a good baseball player, or they
have decided they can't pay a good baseball player. That means the only
hope the team has of becoming competitive is to draft and develop
talent. ....They have a GM known for being unable to build a farm system
and a manager whose known for preferring veterans.

I watched during the Boone years, I'll pay attention now, but I don't
hold out a lot of hope.

dfs
 >> Stay informed about: How 'bout those Reds? 

"David Short" <David.no.Short RemoveThis @Spam.Wright.Please.edu> wrote in message
news:g96m8k$eek$1@posting.glorb.com...
> Kevin McClave wrote:
>> Wow. This group is always somewhat sparsely populated (I've always wished
>> there were more participants...of the other Usenet groups I frequent,
>> the NY Giants group has always had more activity...and the Springsteen
>> group rec.music.artists.springsteen is historically among the most
>> active in Usenet), but I honestly don't ever remember it being *this*
>> quiet during a season...any season, even the other bad ones.
>>
>> I'm not really complaining as much as making an observation.
>
> Given the revolving door that the front office and manager's job has
> been.....I can root for Jay Bruce and Joey Votto. I can root for the
> pitchers. Dumping Dunn has really taken the wind out of my sails as a fan.
>
> Either they don't think Adam Dunn is a good baseball player, or they have
> decided they can't pay a good baseball player. That means the only hope
> the team has of becoming competitive is to draft and develop talent.
> ....They have a GM known for being unable to build a farm system and a
> manager whose known for preferring veterans.
>
> I watched during the Boone years, I'll pay attention now, but I don't hold
> out a lot of hope.
>
> dfs

That pretty much sums up my feelings -- except I hardly can stand to pay
attention to the team at this time.
 >> Stay informed about: How 'bout those Reds? 

On Aug 28, 7:07 am, Kevin McClave <kmccl....TakeThisOut@SPAM666twcny.rr.com>
wrote:
> Wow.
>
> This group is always somewhat sparsely populated (I've always wished
> there were more participants...of the other Usenet groups I frequent,
> the NY Giants group has always had more activity...and the Springsteen
> group rec.music.artists.springsteen is historically among the most
> active in Usenet), but I honestly don't ever remember it being *this*
> quiet during a season...any season, even the other bad ones.
>
> I'm not really complaining as much as making an observation.

Part of the slow trafiic is due to a change in your posting frequency.
I remember a few years ago you could be counted to start tons of
topics each season; most of them more than passing drivel too.
 >> Stay informed about: How 'bout those Reds? 

On Aug 28, 10:10 am, David Short
<David.no.Sh... RemoveThis @Spam.Wright.Please.edu> wrote:
> Kevin McClave wrote:
> > Wow.
>
> > This group is always somewhat sparsely populated (I've always wished
> > there were more participants...of the other Usenet groups I frequent,
> > the NY Giants group has always had more activity...and the Springsteen
> > group rec.music.artists.springsteen is historically among the most
> > active in Usenet), but I honestly don't ever remember it being *this*
> > quiet during a season...any season, even the other bad ones.
>
> > I'm not really complaining as much as making an observation.
>
> Given the revolving door that the front office and manager's job has
> been.....I can root for Jay Bruce and Joey Votto. I can root for the
> pitchers. Dumping Dunn has really taken the wind out of my sails as a fan..
>
> Either they don't think Adam Dunn is a good baseball player, or they
> have decided they can't pay a good baseball player. That means the only
> hope the team has of becoming competitive is to draft and develop
> talent. ....They have a GM known for being unable to build a farm system
> and a manager whose known for preferring veterans.
>
> I watched during the Boone years, I'll pay attention now, but I don't
> hold out a lot of hope.
>

I dont think i've been this optimistic about the Reds pitching staff
in over a decade. I'm serious. They've got 4 starters, a closer, and a
righty/lefty setup combo that could realistically put up solid numbers
in 2009.

Volquez has emerged as the new ace of the staff; he's been able to be
more than effective for 5 months now. Harang has probably had phsical
problem all season. A winters rest and recuperation could be enought
to return him to 200+ innings of ~4.00 era. I think Arroryo has
figured out his problems. His ERA has been very high this year, but a
lot of that stems from his April disarray and that game where he gave
up 10 runs in less than an inning. I'd be interested in seeing how
many quality starts each starter has. I'm excited about Cueto as the
4th starter. Frankly he sucked more often than not this season but
thats to be expected at this stage in his career. i think he's a good
bet to turn into another Volquez next year.

Bray is beginning to provide some return from the Kearns/Lopez-for-
nothing debacle of a couple years ago. Hopefully, Burton can recover
from his injury. Cordero should be adequate as closer.

The 5th rotation spot has been a total black hole this season. The
winning percentage in games started by someone other than our 1-4 guys
has to be well under .250. Just an absolute disaster. It cant possibly
be that bad next year. We've got a few decent young candidates and I
expect Walt to make a 5th starter a priority.

Now, about that offense....
 >> Stay informed about: How 'bout those Reds? 

On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:53:05 -0700 (PDT), tmbowman25 DeleteThis @yahoo.com wrote:

>On Aug 28, 7:07 am, Kevin McClave <kmccl... DeleteThis @SPAM666twcny.rr.com>
>wrote:
>> Wow.
>>
>> This group is always somewhat sparsely populated (I've always wished
>> there were more participants...of the other Usenet groups I frequent,
>> the NY Giants group has always had more activity...and the Springsteen
>> group rec.music.artists.springsteen is historically among the most
>> active in Usenet), but I honestly don't ever remember it being *this*
>> quiet during a season...any season, even the other bad ones.
>>
>> I'm not really complaining as much as making an observation.
>
>Part of the slow trafiic is due to a change in your posting frequency.
>I remember a few years ago you could be counted to start tons of
>topics each season; most of them more than passing drivel too.

Huh. Well, thanks.

I guess they've just beaten the life out of me baseball-wise.
 >> Stay informed about: How 'bout those Reds? 

On Aug 28, 11:29 pm, Kevin McClave <kmccl... RemoveThis @SPAMBUNKERtwcny.rr.com>
wrote:
> On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:53:05 -0700 (PDT), tmbowma... RemoveThis @yahoo.com wrote:
> >On Aug 28, 7:07 am, Kevin McClave <kmccl... RemoveThis @SPAM666twcny.rr.com>
> >wrote:
> >> Wow.
>
> >> This group is always somewhat sparsely populated (I've always wished
> >> there were more participants...of the other Usenet groups I frequent,
> >> the NY Giants group has always had more activity...and the Springsteen
> >> group rec.music.artists.springsteen is historically among the most
> >> active in Usenet), but I honestly don't ever remember it being *this*
> >> quiet during a season...any season, even the other bad ones.
>
> >> I'm not really complaining as much as making an observation.
>
> >Part of the slow trafiic is due to a change in your posting frequency.
> >I remember a few years ago you could be counted to start tons of
> >topics each season; most of them more than passing drivel too.
>
> Huh. Well, thanks.
>
> I guess they've just beaten the life out of me baseball-wise.

I moved to Cincinnati in 1995.

This will be the first year I didn't go to a single game.

Sad, ain't it?

Cheers,
--Jeff
 >> Stay informed about: How 'bout those Reds? 

On Aug 29, 3:58 am, OrangeDood <gocincinn....TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Aug 28, 11:29 pm, Kevin McClave <kmccl....TakeThisOut@SPAMBUNKERtwcny.rr.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:53:05 -0700 (PDT), tmbowma....TakeThisOut@yahoo.com wrote:
> > >On Aug 28, 7:07 am, Kevin McClave <kmccl....TakeThisOut@SPAM666twcny.rr.com>
> > >wrote:
> > >> Wow.
>
> > >> This group is always somewhat sparsely populated (I've always wished
> > >> there were more participants...of the other Usenet groups I frequent,
> > >> the NY Giants group has always had more activity...and the Springsteen
> > >> group rec.music.artists.springsteen is historically among the most
> > >> active in Usenet), but I honestly don't ever remember it being *this*
> > >> quiet during a season...any season, even the other bad ones.
>
> > >> I'm not really complaining as much as making an observation.
>
> > >Part of the slow trafiic is due to a change in your posting frequency.
> > >I remember a few years ago you could be counted to start tons of
> > >topics each season; most of them more than passing drivel too.
>
> > Huh. Well, thanks.
>
> > I guess they've just beaten the life out of me baseball-wise.
>
> I moved to Cincinnati in 1995.
>
> This will be the first year I didn't go to a single game.
>
> Sad, ain't it?

I've been to six games this year: two Cardinals games because my pal
is a Cards fan, two Braves games because I follow Atlanta, one Mets
game because my brother-in-law is from Queens, and one Brewers game
because work paid for it (and gave us $20 worth of free vouchers,
which almost gets you two hot dogs and two beers.)

I've seen some good stuff this year (two Volquez starts, Bruce's first
homer, Griffey's 599th) but when I realized I'm going to the games
despite the Reds rather than because of them... that's a bummer. The
Cardinals series was after the Dunn trade, and the stadium was just
dead. Great weather, weekend game, division rival, lots of out-of-
towners and still less than half full.
 >> Stay informed about: How 'bout those Reds? 

tom dunne wrote:
> On Aug 29, 3:58 am, OrangeDood <gocincinn....DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> On Aug 28, 11:29 pm, Kevin McClave <kmccl....DeleteThis@SPAMBUNKERtwcny.rr.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:53:05 -0700 (PDT), tmbowma....DeleteThis@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>> On Aug 28, 7:07 am, Kevin McClave <kmccl....DeleteThis@SPAM666twcny.rr.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> Wow.
>>>>> This group is always somewhat sparsely populated (I've always wished
>>>>> there were more participants...of the other Usenet groups I frequent,
>>>>> the NY Giants group has always had more activity...and the Springsteen
>>>>> group rec.music.artists.springsteen is historically among the most
>>>>> active in Usenet), but I honestly don't ever remember it being *this*
>>>>> quiet during a season...any season, even the other bad ones.
>>>>> I'm not really complaining as much as making an observation.
>>>> Part of the slow trafiic is due to a change in your posting frequency.
>>>> I remember a few years ago you could be counted to start tons of
>>>> topics each season; most of them more than passing drivel too.
>>> Huh. Well, thanks.
>>> I guess they've just beaten the life out of me baseball-wise.
>> I moved to Cincinnati in 1995.
>>
>> This will be the first year I didn't go to a single game.
>>
>> Sad, ain't it?
>
> I've been to six games this year: two Cardinals games because my pal
> is a Cards fan, two Braves games because I follow Atlanta, one Mets
> game because my brother-in-law is from Queens, and one Brewers game
> because work paid for it (and gave us $20 worth of free vouchers,
> which almost gets you two hot dogs and two beers.)
>
> I've seen some good stuff this year (two Volquez starts, Bruce's first
> homer, Griffey's 599th) but when I realized I'm going to the games
> despite the Reds rather than because of them... that's a bummer. The
> Cardinals series was after the Dunn trade, and the stadium was just
> dead. Great weather, weekend game, division rival, lots of out-of-
> towners and still less than half full.

I saw the Dunn grand slam off Madduz and a couple of Volquez starts. One
of Junior's early home runs. ....I'm far enough away and busy enough
with other stuff, that I really have to make an effort to get down
there. It's tough to make that effort. I believe I've been to 4 games.

dfs
 >> Stay informed about: How 'bout those Reds?