| 27 May 2010
Anyway, who honestly cares, right? The bottom line is the Reds got the steal of the 2009 draft when they nabbed Mike Leake with the eighth overall pick and he's already become the ace of the staff. Who knows if that will continue all year or if he will eventually hit a wall, but right now, you would have to give him the nod over Johnny Cueto (4-1, 3.60) and Bronson Arroyo (5-2, 4.30). Cueto will look to continue his recent stretch of strong pitching when he faces the Pirates tonight as the Reds look to win the four-game series.
Anyway, I know everyone is enamored with the impending arrival of Stephen Strasburg (and Arolids Chapman to some degree) but Leake deserves a lot of praise for the way he's performed. He is mature beyond his years, comes right at hitters, has excellent command and has a wide variety of pitches.
Who will take Homer Bailey's spot in the rotation? It will either be Micah Owings or Matt Maloney (4-1, 2.72 ERA in 8 starts at Triple-A Louisville) and I'm putting my money on Owings. The problem is that he's been very good out of the bullpen (3-0, 3.43 in 21 innings) and the Reds need extra arms in their ‘pen, they certainly don't need to be taking good ones away.
However, with the call-up of 24-year-old rookie Enerio Del Rosario who was excellent this season at Louisville (1-1, 1.46, 3 saves, 24.2 innings pitched, 20 hits, 17 strikeouts, 4 walks), I think Owings will move to the rotation until Bailey is able to return from shoulder inflammation. And Bailey shouldn't be out for too long - he thinks he only needed to miss one start at most. But the team is being careful with him and you can't blame them.
And adding Owings to the rotation will allow the Reds to get his bat in the lineup every fifth day. Sounds funny to say that about a pitcher, but it's true: Owings is a good power hitter and he wasn't getting many at-bats as a reliever (just 9 all season thus far). Dusty Baker didn't want to use him as a pinch hitter in case he was needed later in the game to pitch.
Stubbs or Heisey? I don't know why Baker doesn't just give Chris Heisey a chance to show what he can do on a consistent basis. Even after playing well when given a spot start, Heisey is right back on the bench the following game. He is clearly a better hitter than Drew Stubbs and the Reds don't lose too much defensively with Heisey in CF (Stubbs is definitely better defensively, but there's not as big of a gap as there is compared to Heisey vs. Stubbs as a hitter). I would like to see Heisey as the everyday CF and to see Stubbs sent down to Louisville to see how he performs. You know a guy isn't very good at the plate when fans say things like "He's really starting to come on" despite the fact that he is batting .222 with a .689 OPS after 153 at-bats. Yes, Stubbs has been better of late, but he's simply not a good hitter and that is not going to change. And if you have a guy like Heisey who can give you good defense and solid hitting, why not give him a shot? If he fizzles (like Stubbs has so far) you can always go back to Stubbs or give someone else a shot (like Chris Dickerson) or make a trade (which is what many Reds fans are hoping will happen before the deadline).
Lights-out Rhodes: Set-up man Arthur Rhodes is almost too good to be true. At the age of 40, the lefty is 1-1 with a 0.47 ERA. He has given up just eight hits in 19.1 innings of action. He's also struck out 19 and walked just four. Those are staggering statistics and the Reds are fortunate to have him. He's in the final year of his two-year contract and hopefully the Reds will re-sign him, even at his age. He will want a multiple-year deal, but he deserves it. Closer Coco Cordero is usually an adventure when on the mound, but Rhodes is as good as they come in baseball as a set-up man.
What the hell is up with Masset? Nick Masset was supposed to be the right-handed version of Rhodes this year, instead he's pitched like a guy that the Reds got in exchange for a washed-up Ken Griffey Jr. In 21 innings, Masset is 3-3 with a 7.29 ERA and 28 hits allowed. He does have 32 strikeouts, but if he doesn't start getting outs, he's going to be pitching for Louisville soon.
As for why Baker keeps turning to him, it's called lack of options and past performance. The Reds are simply short on good bullpen arms and Masset was very solid the last two years. Baker is hoping Masset finds his old form and the rest of Reds country is too.
Summer Gomes: It's still amazing to me that no one wanted energetic power-hitting outfielder Jonny Gomes this offseason and the Reds got him back for dirt cheap (barely above the vet minimum at $1.2 million). Gomes is batting .285 (with an OPS of .831) and has six home runs and 27 RBIs. He has locked down the starting left field job and while I expect his batting average to drop, I think he's going to be productive all season.
I still hope the Reds trade for an outfielder (and a bullpen arm or two) before the deadline, but Gomes is the man for now and he's fun to watch. And if they do trade for an OF, maybe it will be a CF and not a LF and Gomes will be the starter all year. Baker will mix in Laynce Nix at times - and Heisey as well - but it's Gomes' job for the most part and rightfully so. He has earned it and then some.| < Prev | Next > |
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