04-28-2009, 11:42 PM
<!--quoteo(post=33895:date=Apr 28 2009, 10:31 PM:name=Butcher)-->QUOTE (Butcher @ Apr 28 2009, 10:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=33803:date=Apr 28 2009, 08:43 PM:name=ruby23)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ruby23 @ Apr 28 2009, 08:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=33793:date=Apr 28 2009, 08:26 PM:name=Butcher)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Butcher @ Apr 28 2009, 08:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]
Their starting lineup:
Ramon Hernandez -- replaces Bako. Automatic upgrade.
Joey Votto -- played last year. Was great. I expect him to take a step forward. Slight upgrade.
Brandon Phillips -- played last year. Won a gold glove. Bad BA, but hit 21 homers. 30 the year before. Could go either way. Push.
Alex Gonzalez -- replaces Keppinger. Neither one is great, but Gonzalez hit .272/.325/.468 for the Reds in 2007. I'm leaning towards upgrade, but I'll give it a push to be fair.
Edwin Encarnacion -- played last year. Could take a step forward based on his age. Maybe not. I'll give it a push.
Chris Dickerson* -- replaces Dunn. Downgrade. Although I'm sure there are some on this site who would argue otherwise.
Willy Taveras -- replaces Patterson. Upgrade.
Jay Bruce* -- replaces Griffey. Upgrade.
Sorry. I'm not seeing the downgrade.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's because you live in a fantasy world. Hernandez doesn't replace Bako, he replaces Valentin, they're the same guy. Gonzalaez doesn't replace Keppinger, he was the starter last year. Encarnacion is hurt and is on the verge of losing his job. Their OF went form Griffey, Dunn, Bruce to Dickerson, Tavares, Bruce, that's a huge, huge, huge downgrade. Patterson was a starter for about a month last year. Their bench is terrible and missing Freel, Keppinger, and Ross. Jerry Hairston Jr. is currently playing almost everyday. You're insane if you don't think their team has taken a huge step back offensively, that's about all Len and Bob talked about in the first series.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
- Bako had more than twice as many plate appearances as Valentin last season.
- Patterson played in 135 games and had 392 plate appearances last season. That's more than just a starter for about a month.
- Is Hairston hurt? Because he's only played in 11 games this year.
Anyway, I guess we'll see where they end up. I'm not saying they're going to take the division -- only that they'll win more than 74 games. I'm guessing they're at least a .500 ballclub.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's cause Valentin got hurt, but the combo of Valentin, Bako, and Ross had almost the exact same numbers as Hernandez. Patterson started 82 games, so maybe he started regularly for 2 months. Hairston is just starting to play more because Encarnacion is hurt and Gonzalez isn't 100% either. The Reds aren't gonna be .500 and they're gonna be lucky to match those 74 wins.
Their starting lineup:
Ramon Hernandez -- replaces Bako. Automatic upgrade.
Joey Votto -- played last year. Was great. I expect him to take a step forward. Slight upgrade.
Brandon Phillips -- played last year. Won a gold glove. Bad BA, but hit 21 homers. 30 the year before. Could go either way. Push.
Alex Gonzalez -- replaces Keppinger. Neither one is great, but Gonzalez hit .272/.325/.468 for the Reds in 2007. I'm leaning towards upgrade, but I'll give it a push to be fair.
Edwin Encarnacion -- played last year. Could take a step forward based on his age. Maybe not. I'll give it a push.
Chris Dickerson* -- replaces Dunn. Downgrade. Although I'm sure there are some on this site who would argue otherwise.
Willy Taveras -- replaces Patterson. Upgrade.
Jay Bruce* -- replaces Griffey. Upgrade.
Sorry. I'm not seeing the downgrade.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's because you live in a fantasy world. Hernandez doesn't replace Bako, he replaces Valentin, they're the same guy. Gonzalaez doesn't replace Keppinger, he was the starter last year. Encarnacion is hurt and is on the verge of losing his job. Their OF went form Griffey, Dunn, Bruce to Dickerson, Tavares, Bruce, that's a huge, huge, huge downgrade. Patterson was a starter for about a month last year. Their bench is terrible and missing Freel, Keppinger, and Ross. Jerry Hairston Jr. is currently playing almost everyday. You're insane if you don't think their team has taken a huge step back offensively, that's about all Len and Bob talked about in the first series.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
- Bako had more than twice as many plate appearances as Valentin last season.
- Patterson played in 135 games and had 392 plate appearances last season. That's more than just a starter for about a month.
- Is Hairston hurt? Because he's only played in 11 games this year.
Anyway, I guess we'll see where they end up. I'm not saying they're going to take the division -- only that they'll win more than 74 games. I'm guessing they're at least a .500 ballclub.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's cause Valentin got hurt, but the combo of Valentin, Bako, and Ross had almost the exact same numbers as Hernandez. Patterson started 82 games, so maybe he started regularly for 2 months. Hairston is just starting to play more because Encarnacion is hurt and Gonzalez isn't 100% either. The Reds aren't gonna be .500 and they're gonna be lucky to match those 74 wins.