tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post3111302350624590066..comments2023-10-20T06:12:38.934-07:00Comments on Redlegs Baseball: The Mat Latos TradeLark11http://www.blogger.com/profile/06571198327064220683noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post-18799390579214472622012-01-22T16:53:33.058-08:002012-01-22T16:53:33.058-08:00How many home runs would Greinke give up in GABP o...How many home runs would Greinke give up in GABP over a full year of starts there I wonder?Dylanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024643490426922584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post-22147581738072883802012-01-22T16:50:24.581-08:002012-01-22T16:50:24.581-08:00And Yonder definitley has a position to play in a ...And Yonder definitley has a position to play in a year when Votto is gone. And I know your not one of those that think they will re sign him. Because that is growing amongst people i talk too and is just ridiculous. It would be over a quarter of what they spend on the entire team.Dylanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024643490426922584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post-90948293630163584142012-01-22T16:44:56.342-08:002012-01-22T16:44:56.342-08:00My pessimism is because honestly look at the offen...My pessimism is because honestly look at the offense up and down. Yeah, Votto is great. But Rolen is finished. Stubbs got exposed, their is no bounce back and it is a pipe dream to think he can hit at a major league level. Bruce is what he is, his shoulder will always fly open, he is weak. And heisey hit .250. And Cozart hit .250 in the minors so what do you really expect in the majors? And what can you really expect from Mesoraco, a rookie catcher? Yonder was a stud, watch him the batters box. His swing and approach are excellent and everything Jay Bruce isn't. Yeah, Yonder was the answer, sorry to say guys. Yeah, he played some bad games in left. But played 66 games in the minors in left and did well enough to warrant 66 games. And after he struggled he went back out there and did decent enough according to everyone. He vowed to lose 15 pounds in the offseason. So, yeah, i think he could play left as well as Ludwick. And if Votto has no protection, how valueable is he? He's shown that he swing at bad pitches if you look at his june- august numbers. His strikeouts went down when Alonso was protecting him in the line up. Those stats you use on the offenses ranking are very misleading. They were great in april, may and part of june. Then the offense really tailed off because other teams learned that they have no one but Votto to drive in runs. My pessimism comes from projecting what the offense is going to do based on what they did over the last part of the year when it mattered. I don't deal in IF Stubbs and Bruce will get better. They won't. They got exposed.Dylanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024643490426922584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post-56804238179173019232011-12-25T11:55:59.626-08:002011-12-25T11:55:59.626-08:00Pete,
I agree. The Brewers system was thinner tha...Pete,<br /><br />I agree. The Brewers system was thinner than ours, but they decided to make a big postseason push before Prince left town. And, it worked, they made the playoffs. And, even though Prince is likely to leave and the system is thin, they still had enough pieces on the roster to make another postseason push in 2012. Of course, a 50-game suspension for Ryan Braun would be a big hit, but the Brewers will be fine for the short run. In a few years, maybe they'll be a different story.<br /><br />As for Yonder, I think his small sample size performance in 2011 has people overly excited. He's a good, professional hitter and that certainly has value. But, is he going to be an MVP like Joey Votto? I tend to doubt it.<br /><br />It's entirely possible that we sold Yonder at the pinnacle of his value. I certainly don't think letting teams see him play 150+ games in the outfield would drive his value up. And, any regression in offensive production, which is likely for sophomores, would also drag his value down.<br /><br />The Reds needed to decide: Yonder or Votto. Honestly, the answer probably came down to which player brought in more value in trade. Regardless of which decision they made, it was well past time that the organization MADE the decision.<br /><br />Now that they have committed to a course of action, they can focus on executing that action to the best extent possible.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment!<br /><br />Best,<br />LarkLark11https://www.blogger.com/profile/06571198327064220683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post-86621080310879372622011-12-25T11:46:46.903-08:002011-12-25T11:46:46.903-08:00Dylan,
Obviously, we'll have to agree to disa...Dylan,<br /><br />Obviously, we'll have to agree to disagree. In Latos, the Reds added another top of the rotation arm who, along with Cueto, will be in Cincy for the next few years. <br /><br />As for the offense, I find it odd that you consider any offense that has Joey Votto in it to be awful. This team scored the 7th most runs in all of baseball last year and the 2nd most in the NL. Was the offense too streaky? Yes. Was the offense park-aided? Yes. But, at an absolute bare minimum, it's a solid offense. More likely, it's a very good offense. And, a legitimate possibility that it will be a great offense.<br /><br />On Yonder, he had no position to play. The notion that he could realistically play leftfield was a pipe-dream, nothing more. In his short stint out there last year, he did a faceplant into the Wrigley Field wall, turning the play into an inside the park homer in the process and managed to injury himself out there. The guy is NOT an outfielder. You can argue that we should have kept Yonder over Votto, but I don't see the argument for keeping them both. It wouldn't work. <br /><br />And, on Yasmani, he's not better than Mesoraco. So, where would Yasmani play? Or, were you envisioning Votto, Yonder, and Yasmani platooning at 1b? <br /><br />Both the offensive prospects we gave up were blocked. Plain and simple. They had nowhere to play. They were surplus assets. And, Walt did what he should have done with surplus assets, trade them for something of use to the organization. <br /><br />I'm pretty surprised by your pessimism about the offense. It's not going to take much for the offense to be the best in the league next year. A solid debut season by Mesoraco, a step forward by Bruce, or a bounce back by Stubbs and this offense is truly formidable. <br /><br />If I were you, I wouldn't wave the white flag before spring training even starts. The Reds are much better positioned to compete this year than last year. And, Walt isn't done yet. <br /><br />Thanks for the comment.<br /><br />Best,<br />LarkLark11https://www.blogger.com/profile/06571198327064220683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post-1692131363391988302011-12-25T11:36:34.154-08:002011-12-25T11:36:34.154-08:00Stock,
Yeah, I was never on board with the idea o...Stock,<br /><br />Yeah, I was never on board with the idea of playing Yonder out of position or platooning Yasmani and Mesoraco. For me, these were always either/or decisions. I think you could have made a decent argument on both sides of the Yonder/Votto and Mesoraco/Yasmani debates, but I never saw a decent argument for keeping them both. <br /><br />If we overlook the fact that Walt arrived late to the party and celebrate the fact that he showed up at all, then Walt deserves a lot of credit. He did last arguably the best available option. <br /><br />Admittedly, I think you are higher on Latos than I am. I like him, but don't love him. At this point, I wouldn't consider him to be an established #1 starter. And, if you set aside service time considerations and salary, focusing instead on pure pitching ability, then there are a number of pitchers I would rate ahead of Latos. <br /><br />Latos is young and has time to continue to develop, but as it stands I would rate him as good, not great. He has the ceiling of a #1 starter, but has some work to do to reach it. <br /><br />Still, it was the right acquisition for the Reds on a lot of levels. And, one that was long overdue. <br /><br />Thanks for the comment!<br /><br />Best,<br />LarkLark11https://www.blogger.com/profile/06571198327064220683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post-31808193918655326152011-12-24T09:57:03.272-08:002011-12-24T09:57:03.272-08:00Dylan,
Lolz...Yonder was the only chance for succ...Dylan,<br /><br />Lolz...Yonder was the only chance for success. A guy with <200 career at-bats was our beacon of hope for 2012. Right...<br /><br />The Brewers system was weak even before the Greinke trade. The Reds, however, have some depth in the farm. They traded surplus to address a glaring weakness...at a cost-controlled value, no less! It's not rocket science. Really, it isn't.Petenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post-41879095138715662882011-12-24T09:35:43.946-08:002011-12-24T09:35:43.946-08:00Again. Long overdue? To get Marcum? Greinke? Do yo...Again. Long overdue? To get Marcum? Greinke? Do you still think that is a good idea? Now the Brewers have no propspects, probably no Fielder, no Braun and two pitchers who are vastly over rated. I do not think they should have made a move last year because how much would Greinke have helped? Not only is he average, the team is not very good. And this trade makes them worse. People like Heisey and he is alright but he actually struck out more times per at bat then Stubbs (if that's even possible). Yonder was the clean up guy and a stud. And with no Sappelt it's Heisey, Stubbs and Bruce in the outfield. Let's face it, Bruce is weak (.240 or under four of the six months of the year) and his shoulder will always fly open, he's Jeff Francoeur Jr. This offense is absolutely pathetic and Yonder hitting behind Votto was the only hope. They will set a record for games with more strikeouts then hits. And now with no Yonder, the Reds have "Brewered" themselves. No prospects and no offense and soon no Votto. So Latos has to be beyond great to make the Reds matter. But hey Walt is in talks with CODY ROSS!!!! Problems solved. My expectations have never been lower. They even gave away Ronald Torreyes. Seriously, lend your genius mind to how awful this offense will be. Now that's an article.Dylanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024643490426922584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347536209014288641.post-796169054628842122011-12-22T21:49:43.884-08:002011-12-22T21:49:43.884-08:00First I agree that this deal had to happen and was...First I agree that this deal had to happen and was long overdue. I was shocked nothing happened last winter. Upton available but nothing, Greinke available but nothing. This year was more of the same or so I thought. I was extremely frustrated and disappointed. They wasted a year but better late than never.<br /><br />I agree that Latos is easily the best pitcher available this year. In fact all things considered he may be the second best pitcher in Baseball. Latos for $400K > Lee for $25M. Kershaw is the best value of course.<br /><br />I agree Alonso and Grandal had to go. In fact by including them both in the same trade you get a much better pitcher.<br /><br />After seeing what the Nationals gave up to get a far inferior pitcher I am not to sure that SD didn't insist Volquez be included in the trade. I feel Peacock, Cole, Norris and Milone are a better group of prospects than Alonze, Grandal and Boxberger. Latos is without a doubt better than Gonzalez and That excludes the cost control advantage Latos has over Gonzalez.<br /><br />In short, great trade. I gave Walt a lot of heat the last 12 months. He deserves a lot of credit here.Stocknoreply@blogger.com