David Bell is just trying to keep things afloat. Since 6-1, The Club is 18-28 and getting no better. He can’t appear twice daily on Zoom and rip his players by telling the obvious truth. They’re the only players he’s got.
It’s not his doing that his team needed two position players to close out Tuesday’s debacle, or that the Reds have to consult the Elias Sports Bureau for negative nuggets such as the one they unearthed last night:
We can confirm that entering tonight, no Reds position player made 4 (or more) pitching appearances in a season since 1961 (expansion era).
That’d be Alex Blandino, who finished his appearance Tuesday by giving up a grand slam homer.
I can’t imagine the restraint it takes for a guy like Bell to say this about Amir Garrett, as Bell did Tuesday: “He’s just gotten off track a little bit the last two or three outings.’’
Yep, and the Titanic got a little off track when it nicked that iceberg.
The ’61 Mets? A little off track.
Edsels, Studebakers, Corvairs?
8-track tapes, telephone books, toaster ovens?
A little off track.
Garrett gave up two homers, a double and a single. His ERA is 9.56. I don’t know what Way Off Track looks like, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to.
Of Heath Hembree, Bell noted, “He has done a really good job, really helped our bullpen. We pitched him in all different sorts of situations. A different game tonight, maybe he ends up pitching the ninth. So we trust him.”
Hembree’s ERA rests at 4.91 this AM. He has been scored upon in four of his last five outings, eight runs in six innings.
I’m not making light of David Bell or the situation he’s in. I have no idea what I’d say day after day when asked questions about this lacking ballclub. Maybe the Reds should haul out some player personnel types to do some answering.
The bullpen is an obvious target. Counting position players Blandino, Max Schrock and Mike Freeman, the Reds have tried 19 different bullpen arms. They’ve ranged from perennial hope Sal Romano to 35-year-old Brad Brach and every Hembree, Hendrix and Fulmer in between. They’re down to throwing arms against the wall, hoping a shoulder or an elbow or two will stick. Come on down, Michael Feliz. Most of these guys are in their mid- to late-20s. The jury is no longer out on their MLB potential.
If the Reds continue not to distinguish themselves, David Bell will be fired, because that’s how it works. Some of it will be on him. It is his group of guys. It is his problem, if not his fault.
But the cupboard isn’t exactly overflowing with talent. It’s surprising to me how the Reds can go years without developing much all-star caliber talent. They often draft high, they say they’re throwing lots of money into scouting and player development, here and in Latin America. And yet while other organizations find suitable replacements when injuries hit, the Reds have David Bell saying what he said last night.
The bullpen malaise is a good symbol for the organization's overall floundering.
If you know you’re not going to be opening your wallet and letting players live there – and you’ve known that for a couple decades at least – why haven’t you been actively and innovatively accounting for that shortcoming? Since 1990, the Reds have won exactly five postseason games, two since 1995. Two playoff Ws in 26 years.
I give Bell big credit for his professionalism and his class and for keeping his dignity. I can’t imagine that’s an easy ask. Maybe by this time next year, or even later this summer, he’ll have Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene to talk about. That pair is currently ripping it up in Chattanooga.
Maybe next year will actually arrive for this franchise, for a change. It might be too late for David Bell, who’s only as good as the players he’s given. Meantime, he supports them. What choice does he have?
Now, then. . .
IF YOU WANNA FEEL GOOD ABOUT SOMETHING, try this slice from fangraphs.com:
Hunter Greene is still well-known to prospect hounds, but between Tommy John surgery and a global pandemic, he hadn’t taken the mound in an official game since July of 2018 and fell just outside of this year’s Top 100 prospects, checking in at 101. He’s back, and frankly better than ever. Pushed to Double-A due to a combination of talent and lost time, Greene has registered 41 strikeouts over 28.1 innings in his first five starts for Chattanooga while showing improved command and flashing a promising-but-inconsistent 88-92 mph slider. He’s not touching 100 mph so much as he’s just flat out sitting there at times, and while developing him as a starter makes sense in the long-term, a shorter-term exposure to big league life out of the bullpen has a chance to impact the Reds’ chances to change their outside-looking-in status in the NL Central.
HOW DID HE DO THIS? Mike Marshall died yesterday. OGs will recall him as a member of the despised Dodgers (back when the Reds and LA played in the same division) and as a pitcher who took the ball. Period. AP:
During his Cy Young-winning 1974 season with the Dodgers, Marshall set a record that will likely never be broken - appearing in 106 games and tossing 208 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. He finished the year with a 15-12 record, a league-best 21 saves and 2.42 ERA.
That resurrects a question frequently asked in This Space: Why can’t today’s pitchers even conceive of this? They’re bigger and stronger. They have the benefit of better science, nutrition etc. And yet, they can’t get off the bus without tweaking something. If they pitch two days in a row, they might as well stay at the hotel the next day.
If an organization could find a way to return to the past, when pitchers’ workloads were considerably higher than now, might that organization have an advantage over all others? At the very least, it could spend a roster spot on an additional position player.
Something else from the Marshall obit made me smile:
He famously preferred to jog from the bullpen to the mound when he entered the game, rather than ride in a bullpen cart, as most other relievers at the time did.
Raise your (liver spotted) hand if you recall bullpen carts.
WHERE ARE THE MEN? The Athletic lists its nine most improved NFL teams after free agency and the draft. The Bengals don’t make the cut.
AND FWIW. . . I’m hoping we can get a ban on the C-word this year. No more Culture talk, OK? Zac Taylor has made his point. The C that Marvin Lewis left him was spectacularly lacking, Taylor feels, even as Lewis’ worst teams weren’t as bad as Taylor’s first two.
The current coach is in Year 3. His purge is mostly complete. His defense, his coaches, his quarterback. His C. Let’s see some major improvement and no more C talk. K?
I’M LOATHE TO DO THIS, because it might cause the newest golden goose to be killed by popularity, but. . .
After a marvelous 18 at Aston Oaks yesterday, Bengal Boy, Pogo, Maximus and I found some dinner at the Biermkt out the River Road near Addyston. The initiated know where I’m talking about. It was Taco Tuesday: Two-for-1 tacos, meaning I got two of the best tacos of my life and a decent craft beer for $9.75.
Now that I’ve spilled those beans, a simple request: Please don’t go there.
TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . A top 5 tune all time for me, from a very good and little known guitarist, doing a remake of an old Tyrone Davis standard. Makes you feel good for having listened to it.
Source link
