My thoughts on the day's moves:
I'm interested to see what McBeth does. I agree that it's worth a go. I mean, really, why not? Maybe he'll rock the house.
I don't have a clue what Moeller is doing back with the squad. Well, ok, I do, I just don't like the move. From Narron:
“The catching situation, Chad Moeller is going to get a chance to catch some for us. It will put (Javier Valentin) back in a role where we can use him anytime during the game to pinch hit. The catching part of it; Moeller and David Ross will do the bulk of it.”So, basically, this move means that Valentin is going to get fewer plate appearances than Moeller, with Ross returning to the starting role. Granted, Valentin's appearances will be in higher-leverage situations, but again, this still means that Moeller will probably get more plate appearances and thus more opportunities to add runs than Valentin. All so that Narron doesn't have to worry about an emergency situation in which he has to use Valentin to pinch hit and then Ross gets injured after Valentin's out of the ballgame.
Wasn't Hatteberg a catcher prior to moving to Oakland? I know that his arm isn't what it was, but why can't he be the emergency catcher? I just don't get this. Instead of carrying a high-contact hitter like Keppinger, much less a quality young (albeit slumping) third baseman like Encarnacion, the Reds are keeping a catcher on the squad who can't hit and has a substandard throwing arm. Not the move I'd make.
It will be interesting to see what happens the next time the Reds need a 5th starter. That Livingston isn't staying with the club is a bit surprising, but given that they won't need a 5th starter until May 22, it does make sense. It will be interesting to see what they do at that point. Bailey has to be in the mix, though I'm concerned about his walk rates at AAA (hopefully the time off with his groin problem will help)...but even so, it might be time to see what the kid's got. It's not like they'd have to worry about pushing him too hard in the middle of a pennant race.
J, Its just a rumor I heard from one of the guys I know who feed me stuff sometimes, but apparently some of the pitchers don't like pitching with Javy behind the plate. They just dont communicate well. Again, all just a rumor, from a guy who works for another NL team, so take that for what its worth, but it could explain the Moeller thing.
ReplyDeleteHowever the Moeller thing bothers me a lot less than the sending down of Brad Salmon and keeping Mike Stanton. I get that Wayne would have to have some real 'guts' to go to Castellini and tell him he needs to eat another 6 million in contracts, but he just brings nothing to the team in the teams weakest area.
I hope to see McBeth tonight, although I hope its a fast game because these WC games are keeping me up way to late with having to leave for work at 7 here on the east coast....
As for Bailey, I think that the fact we are out of it actually gives Wayne a chance to keep him down for a little more. Bailey is throwing a ton of offspeed stuff and is just working on getting it better, which is the reason for the walks, but it does appear to be getting better. We shall see.
Good stuff on Bailey, thanks for that. If that's indeed what is happening, I'm less worried than before about those walk and strikeout totals. I do hope they give him plenty of time to let that groin heal, as we obviously don't need some sort of cascade-induced arm injury. I'm sure they'll be extremely careful about it, of course.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Valentin thing, it wouldn't surprise me if that's true... But whether that might result in differences in pitcher performance is questionable. Most studies I've seen haven't shown much of a consistent effect of individual catchers on anything aside from throwing out base runners. -j
Yeah, I have seen some studies that say catchers basically don't affect the game as far as pitching goes.... As a former pitcher I always have a slight disagreement with that idea, granted I guess I only pitched in HS. We will see how it all works out, although in the end 3 catchers, 2 catchers and a pinch hitter.... none of it matters because none of those things are the Reds problem and neither addresses the problem.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that at some point catchers do matter, but it might be that at the major league level it doesn't matter all that much.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree that it doesn't make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things, although it may have the effect of reducing the offensive output of our catchers. And offense has been a problem this season. -j