No love for the relievers, you ask? Well, we know that closers attract a lot of attention. We’ll see if we can sneak a reliever’s performance in as well.

July 25, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Stubbs hits a two-RBI double against the Houston Astros during the ninth inning at Minute Maid Park. The Reds won 5-3. (Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports)

Position Player: Drew Stubbs, 7/25 @ Houston

This game started out quietly. After seven innings, the Good Guys held a slim 1-0 lead. The only run plated up to that point came in the top of the third when the man of the game, Drew Stubbs, hit a double off Astros starter Bud Norris to score Devin Mesoraco.

The Reds would follow with a run in the top of the eighth off Fernando Rodriguez. Scott Rolen would go the opposite way to score Stubbs and provide the Reds with a 2-0 lead. It wouldn’t be enough. When the Astros cam to the plate in the bottom of the inning, they were greeted by Logan Ondrusek…and the shenanigans would commence.

Ondrusek was rudely welcomed into the game by Jose Altuve who started the Astros inning with a double. After a Jason Maxwell flyout (with Altuve advancing to third), Ondrusek got Chris Johnson to lineout to Rolen. Runner on third and two outs. No problem, right? Hardly.

Scott Moore took a 1-1 Ondrusek offering and doubled to score Altuve. Still a 2-1 lead. There were two outs, so no biggie.

Not so fast. J.D. Martinez, who was a bit of a thorn in the side for the Reds in 2012 (11-for-33 with 5 RBI), sent an Ondrusek pitch into the left field corner. Moore would score, but the throw to second base was off and as Martinez was advancing to third, another errant throw would allow Martinez to score as well. Astros 3, Reds 2 after 8 innings.

But fear not, Reds fans. The Astros sent former Red Francisco Cordero to the mound to close out the game.

Pinch-hitter Xavier Paul would start the winning rally as he would double. Another pinch-hitter, Chris Heisey, would strike out. Brandon Phillips would coax a walk from Cordero (have we Reds fans seen that before?), but Coco would bounce back to retire Zack Cozart by way of a whiff.

That would bring Stubbs to the plate. Two on, two outs, top of the ninth against his former teammate…

Jay Bruce would follow with a single to score Stubby and the Reds would take the lead for good in securing a 5-3 win in Houston.

Stubbs would finish this game with a pair of doubles, scored two runs and drove in three of the five the Redlegs plated. Oh, and I know some of you are wondering…he only struck out once.

Starting Pitcher: Homer Bailey, 9/1 @ Houston

It’s not the game you think…

The game we just covered, Bailey started that one in Houston and he appears as the 5th best starting performance of 2012…in Houston.

And Homer would start the game in a groove. Over the first three innings, all Homer allowed was a single to Fernando Martinez in the second. The fourth inning would be the only inning where Bailey allowed a run…on a Jason Maxwell homer. That would tie the game at 1-1. He wouldn’t face more than three batters in any inning after until the eighth when the Astros threatened.

Scott Moore let off the Houston 8th with a single. After a Jose Altuve flyout, Bailey walked Jason Castro giving the Astros with runners on 1st and 2nd with only one out. In the past, we may have seen Bailey cave under this type of situation. This was not one of those as Homer would then strikeout Jimmy Paredes and coax a flyout from Tyler Greene.

The down side was that the Reds would lose this game, 2-1. In the top of the 8th, Brandon Phillips was ejected for arguing a strike call. He was replaced by Wilson Valdez. The rest, well, you know…

I know, hard to fathom a great pitching performance would come in a loss, but Bailey may have been gearing up for what was to unfold later in September. For the game, Bailey hurled eight strong innings allowing only the one run and surrendering only three hits.

Another note about this game is that is one of the minute hiccups Sean Marshall would have during the last two months of the season…and it wasn’t completely on him either.

Relief outing: J.J. Hoover, 9/10 v. Pittsburgh

It was a 14 inning affair, the longest game of the 2012 season as far as innings in a game. There were a couple of nice relief performances from this game. We’ll visit one later.

Hoover entered the game in the top of the 12th. He was scheduled to face Andrew McCutchen, Chase d’Arnaud and Pedro Alvarez. Cutch put a charge into a Hoover offering, but Jay Bruce managed to haul it into his glove. d’Arnaud would get under a Hoover offering, but once, again, an out. Alvarez was the victim of a strikeout.

In the 13th, Hoover would retire Jose Tabata and Gaby Sanchez before walking Michael McKenry. That left Starling Marte as the potential Pirate hero. Sure it would. All Hoover did was strike our the budding Bucs star on three straight pitches…on pitches of 92.1, 91.7 and 92.3 MPH.

Hoover would toss two full innings in this affair allowing only that walk to McKenry to go along with two strikeouts.

As far as the outcome of this game? I will reveal that in a couple of days as we will return this nail-biter.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that a couple days later, Hoover would record his first MLB save against these same Pirates.

//

The past couple of weeks have been hectic. I’ve been dealing with my second-to-last set of final exams in my college career, and therefore haven’t been able to comment much on these groundbreaking deals and trades, but my twitter followers know that I’m very excited about the Reds’ latest transactions.

There have been some huge deals this offseason. Huge as they may be, I find two of them to be nearly game changing. The first, and the topic of this article, was the deal we’ve all been talking about for the past couple of days: the three way trade between the Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks, and our beloved Cincinnati Reds. The second, and the fruits of which we’ll be seeing on opening day, is the acquisition of Josh Hamilton by the Los Angeles Angels.

Sep 27, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Hamilton prior to his at bat in the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Rangers Ballpark. (Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

The Angels are now seemingly slump-proof. Albert Pujols saw his fair share of the slump bug during his initial transition into the AL next year. And we all know about the dramatic day and night performances that were Josh Hamilton’s first and second halves of the 2012 season. People have been calling Pujols the best player in baseball for years now. When he struggled early last year, we were all in awe of Josh Hamilton and his MLB version of beast mode. And then at the end, everyone was clamoring to crown Mike Trout as the best. Now all three of them are in the same lineup.

If you were around for the Yankees teams of the late 90s and early 2000s, you’re used to seeing teams with this amount of talent in one lineup. You also know that those teams didn’t always necessarily pan out. A lineup of Trout/Pujols/Hamilton/Mark Trumbo is out-of-this-world good, I believe there’s a better potential every day lineup in the majors.

That’s right. The Cincinnati Reds have the best lineup in baseball. I said it. Argue amongst yourselves in the comments, but during the last couple of days Walt Jocketty has been on the warpath, and if all goes well this offseason, we’ll be going into opening day against the 2013 version of murderer’s row with an upper hand.

Joey Votto is the best pure hitter in the National League, and maybe in all of baseball. We were able to say that even last year pre-knee injury, despite him rarely having anyone on base in front of him. Imagining what the best hitter in baseball can do with two runners on base, something that will happen a LOT more than it did last year.

Aug 15, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Choo hits a three run home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the eighth inning at the Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The Los Angeles Angels defeated the Cleveland Indians 8-4. Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports)

This is all thanks to Shin-Soo Choo. The casual fan will see this trade a bit differently than those who read these articles on a daily basis. What the casual fan will see is a nice hitter at the top of the lineup. Cool. Always fun to see the first batter in the game get on base.

But Choo provides so, so much more than that. This is the “it” factor I’ve been writing about and looking for during this offseason. Here are just a handful of reasons why Choo converts this lineup from really, really good to the best in baseball:

1) He gets on base

This is the most obvious positive factor Choo brings to the table. By now even the casual Reds fan who might take in a game every week or so knows that the Cincinnati leadoff hitters had by far the worst OBP in the league last year. Choo brings in a lifetime .289 average and a .381 OBP. This will more than likely increase in 2013 due to the advantages to hitters that Great American Ballpark provides. Last year Choo had the 10^th best OBP in the entire American League, which is absolutely better than anything Stubbs or Cozart could have even dreamed of. Choo also brings some pop in his bat, which again, will be multiplied when he’s playing in GABP. Look forward to at least a couple lead-off bombs from Choo’s bat.

Getting on base also has some not-so-obvious benefits. I’ll be very surprised if Choo isn’t near the top in the majors in Runs Scored in 2013, provided the core of the lineup stays healthy. As the old expression goes, “Get ‘em on, get ‘em over, get ‘em in”. If Choo can get on, he has one of  the best “get ‘em over” guys in the game in Brandon Phillips behind him, and can rely on Joey Votto’s god-like hitting skills to “get ‘em in”. When you think about this situation playing out even 25% of the time in the first inning, you’ve got yourself at least a one run advantage going into the bottom of the first. Needless to say, that didn’t happen a whole lot last year.

2) Brandon Phillips will be more comfortable

Brandon Phillips, in my opinion and in the opinion of those who get paid to have an opinion, is best suited in the two-hole. Sure, he can hit 1-9, but as I mentioned above, he’s got the skill set to “get ‘em over” at a great pace. It really seemed like BP was trying too hard at times last year when he was in the leadoff or cleanup spots. Now he’ll be comfortable knowing that, if Choo gets on base, all he’ll need to do is put the ball in play. How’s that for no pressure?

3) Balance

If critics aren’t quite ready to call the Reds lineup the best in baseball, they certainly have to consider them to be one of the most balanced. For a team who has been criticized for being way too right handed over the years, another left handed bat in the leadoff spot is perhaps what Dusty Baker is looking forward to the most. This causes the obvious bullpen problems later in the game for opposing managers. Where in years past a good left handed reliever could handle the entire back half of the Bruce-to-Votto span in the lineup, there will now need to be at least one changeup when Choo comes up to bat, should the opposing manager be one of those strict ‘I only pitch opposite handed pitchers’ managers. This is especially effective when you take into account the consequences across a series. As I’ve stated before, winning series is perhaps the most important factor in winning the pennant and creating momentum.

Add this to the fact that Dusty now has plenty of left-handed options coming off the bench, and this team is definitely a lot more balanced.

The biggest knock on Choo has to be his defense. Indeed, his defensive statistics aren’t anywhere close to what Drew Stubbs would have provided in center this year. We don’t even know where Choo will play when opening day rolls around. I’ve talked to a few Indian fan buddies of mine, and apparently Choo is almost unbearable to watch in the field. Perhaps the usual wishful thinking from the Reds fan masses may somehow magically increase his defensive skills. I wouldn’t hold your breath though. We all know how that went with Stubbs.

I’m assuming he didn’t catch this one…
Aug 27, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Choo leaps for a double by Oakland Athletics center fielder Yoenis Cespedes (not pictured) in the third inning at Progressive Field. (David Richard-USA TODAY Sports)

Defensive skill set aside, I think one thing is clear: if everything goes according to plan, this lineup will have “it” on a daily basis in 2013. And “it” means you’re in the running for a championship. It’s a bit early to be making guarantees of any kind, because we all saw what happened to Ryan Madson last season. But for the first time in a while, it’s hard to see a glaring hole in this Reds lineup.

For more Shin-Soo Choo analysis (including much more of those pesky statistics that I haven’t really learned to decipher yet), check out Steve’s great post.

As the article reached its conclusion Sheldon reminded readers of the variety of leadoff men Dusty employed, namely Zack Cozart, Brandon Phillips and Drew Stubbs.  Mark then shared this quote from the mouth of Dusty Baker:  ”We’re trying to get Stubbs into the maturity of a leadoff man because he’s a perfect leadoff man for the team if he could get it together.”  This simple statement of fact says more about the Reds organization than anything else I have read this year.  Let’s read between the lines at what Baker is saying:

Cincinnati Reds batter Drew Stubbs throws his bat as he reacts after being called out on strikes. Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Drew Stubbs is the perfect leadoff man if…

• He could hit?
• He could be patient at the plate?
• He could put the ball in play and allow his speed to take over?
• He could just avoid striking out more than he gets a hit?  (To answer the question I know you are thinking, in Drew Stubbs career he has 588 strikeouts and 431 hits.  He has never had a season where he had more hits than K’s and the last two seasons he has amassed 50 more strikeouts than hits both years.)

The problem with Stubbs is that by all accounts he is very bright.  My impression is that while quite intelligent he lacks the focus and self discipline to move to the instinctual level of a natural superstar.  Pete Rose was gifted with heart and an unquenchable desire to win.  If Drew Stubbs could ever tap into that this Cincinnati Reds team will win a World Series championship.

Can Drew come through?  If you have read previous posts that I have written you will find I feel in my heart it is time to move on and more is the pity.  A team with Stubbs and Billy Hamilton on the bases together would be a sight to behold and opposing pitchers would be in fear of their speed coupled with Joey Votto‘s uncanny ability to hit with runners in scoring position.

At this point Billy is the future and reading Dusty Baker’s own words, barring a trade he still holds hope that Drew Stubbs might step to the plate and assume his rightful role as the Reds leadoff hitter.  Hope is a good thing, even when it may not be the right thing.

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