On my soapbox.......

If you ever get the chance, visit the Louisville Slugger museum. It is a lot of fun, and you get to take batting practice for only a buck, using major league caliber lumber. I'm swinging the C271, Ken Griffey's model. I'm still a line drive hitter.

What do these numbers tell you about a pitcher?

W-L 16-21

Era5.00

IP331.1

Avg.301

These are the career numbers of tonight's pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Matt Belisle. The fact that he is starting tonight, heck, that he's even in the majors is a mystery to me. I saw the game that he pitched either last year or the year before, his complete game shutout. I've also seen what he is consistent at doing. A .301 average?? If a pitcher gives up one hit an inning (about average), then that would equal a .250 batting average against. His ERA this year, as of the moment I am writing this, is 7.45. Al he has is a decent fastball. He can't throw anything else consistently for strikes. He could throw 105 and with nothing else, he'd get rocked. He will likely get a few more starts, but I believe he'll NEVER be an acceptable starter in the major leagues. He'll never be consistent enough.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Bruce is still in AAA, even though he's the hottest hitter in the entire organization. Apparently, if the Reds wait till July, then he gets another year of arbitration. That means we can pay him less for one more year. Making decisions based on factors like that show a lack of baseball knowledge. It shows a team that isn't really as concerned with winning as they profess to be.

A fan can watch the Reds and notice what they are missing and why we don't win. We have some good pieces but we haven't had a good TEAM in a while.

#1- This team lacks a leader. Anybody remember 1999? That year, the Reds made one of the best FA signings in their history, Greg Vaughn. With a one year contract, and at the age of 33, Vaughn hit .245, 45 homers, and 118 RBIs. That year, the reds won 95 games and lost a one game playoff to go to the playoffs. You could compare stats and defensive talent to our current left fielder, Adam Dunn. Their stats are almost identical, but Dunn just goes out and plays, while Vaughn held the team accountable and willed them to several wins.

#2- Defense, defense, defense. Chris Speier was apparently brought in by Dusty straighten out our defense, Encarnacion in particular. While Edwin has looked better, I still don't trust him. And you would think Speier possesses the talent to teach Votto how to play 1st base. Votto has talent and he gives 100%, but he looks on some plays like he doesn't know the fundamentals to play there. And anybody who has read me before ( all 3 of you), knows that I am not a big fan of Patterson. He shows no knowledge of fundamentals. The team needs to get better.

#3-Waste of roster space. Is there any reason why the Reds have 3 catchers (one who doesn't catch), a backup 1st baseman who doesn't play (Hatteberg), and Patterson, Freel, and Hairston all doing the same job? Patterson cannot even do what most high school baseball players are able to do, bunt. The bunt he did last night was an embarrassment. I was an average high school baseball player, and I know I could get a bunt down on a fast ball and not hit it 30 feet in the air. He can't bunt, can't hit .250, and can't play defense. Why is he still on the team? What does he have on Dusty?

#4 base running skill??? How many times has a Red been picked off? How many times do players overrun bases? How many times have two Reds ended up on the same base at the same time? How hard is this stuff to learn?

And

#5 We can't consistently hit. We should be able to score runs without hitting a home run.

The loss of Keppinger hurts mostly because he was one of the very few contact hitters that works a count and hits with RISP. Votto is good, he actually chokes up with two strikes, what a novel idea. EE, Dunn, Patterson, Griffey, and even Phillips all swing for the fences, no matter the count. Whatever happened to just trying to knock a guy in with a single?

I can't wait to get to Cincy on the 31st.

Maltzy