Lil Red Machine

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/04/signs_point_to_cavaliers_coach.html

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer, more hardworking guy.  He deserves this honor.  Is Mike Brown one of the elite coaches in the NBA?  Probably not.  He’s not in the same category as guys such as Gregg Popovic, Phil Jackson, and Jerry Sloan.  Did Mike Brown suddently develop skills and strategies for coaching that he didn’t have before?  Nope.
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It’s truly the greatest feeling in the world. There’s something about spring time that offers a promise of hope, and as of this time, every team (expect the Pirates–they are already 8 games back) have something to look forward to. The “experts” have spoken, the predictions have been made, but games aren’t won and lost according to prognostications. Opening day is about opportunity. That’s the message they sell. Some may not buy into it, but I eat it all up.
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The NL central, as a whole, is one of the weakest division in baseball.  You have the Cubs, you have a few teams that might push .500, and then you have dreck such as the Pirates.  I would be shocked if the wildcard were to come from this divsion.  Without further ado, here are my thought and predictions for the NL central *drumroll please*

1.  Cubs–They are the team to beat.  Everyone knows it, and I’m not going to try to pick someone else and be “trendy.”  They have a quality lineup with good veterans, they got another bat in the form of Milton Bradley, and their pitching staff is lead by a true horse in Carlos Zambrano, and they have the arms behind him that can handle the rigors of a 162 game season.  I remember a few years ago when they went out in free agency and spent a lot of money.  People thought that they were crazy, but that spending, plus the overall talent of the team, has kept them right in the thick of things.  They made good investments.  I guess my only concerns are that the lineup has some age issues (Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano) and they have an unproven closer in Carlos Marmol.  Also, there is talk of Zambrano showing some chinks in the armor.  In this division, though, those blemishes will be easy to overcome.  As for October, though………..

2.  Cardinals–I can never go against a team led by Tony LaRussa, and features the greatest player in the game by a country mile in the form of Albert Pujols.  With that said, this team could go either way.  Their older vets may have another run left in them, or they could age rapidly.  I’m not liking the middle of the infield pairing of Adam Kennedy and Khalil Greene.  The rotation is also very questionable.  Will Chris Carpenter be able to recover from recent injuries?  Kyle Lohse and Branden Looper are good enough to be major league starters, but I’m thinking that the Cardinals will be asking too much out of these guys.  I list all these concerns, but I pick them so high because they are always one swing away from winning a ballgame with the mighty bat of Pujols

3.  Reds–My team got younger, cheaper, and faster.  All the talk in spring training is that the group is showing an energy that prior Reds teams haven’t shown.  They need another power bat, and the organization needs to start emphasizing OBP more.  A lot of free swingers on here.  You guys already know my thought about them (read my Reds preview).  I just think that they are a year away, once some of those young guys mature and get better.

4.  Brewers–Losing C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets is a killer, but it’s hard to say that they will be THIS bad.  When the Twins lost Johan Santana, everyone expected doom and gloom, but the organizational depth that those guys have kept them relevant.  Maybe the same is true for the Brewers, but I think that losing quality arms like that will really hurt them.  They have some legit stars in Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, but guys like Ricke Weeks, and Bill Hall are question marks.  Getting Trevor Hoffman is a temporary bandaid, even though he’s not what he used to be.  This team is hard to pinpoint.  Will be be the NL version of the Twins, or completely disband like the Marlins?

5.  Astros–These guys got extremely lucky last year.  They pulled a rare trick in having a winning record, but getting outscored by the opposition.  This team just isn’t very good, and not only that, but the lineup is old, and outside of Roy Oswalt, the rotation is in shambles.  They need to rebuild in the worst way, but owner Drayton McClane keeps putting that off.  Arguably noone in the starting lineup is still in their prime, perhaps Lance Berkman being the exception.  Either that, or there are guys who just aren’t that good to begin with.  It’s gonna be a long year for Houston-and yes, you DO have a problem

5.  Pirates–Awful, awful team.  Their best players in the starting lineup (Nate McClouth and Ryan Doumit) would be complimentary players on just about any other team.  That’s not a knock on them.  They are fine players, but if they are your feature guys, you are in trouble.  Outside of Adam LaRoche, the entire starting infield is awful (and even LaRoche isn’t that great).  Same with the other outfielders that flank McClouth.  Reinforcements for the lineup are down in the minors and on their way, but they won’t take care of the present problem.  The pitching staff, outside of Paul Maholm, is terrible, and the bullpen is passable, but doesnt’ scare anyone.  This is probably the worst team in major league baseball.

I have had the personal pleasure of seeing the Reds play in several different stadiums across the country.  Wherever I go, I see the same thing.  Usually, names such as FOSTER, BENCH, MORGAN, and pretty much anyone you can think of off those great big red machine teams are what you are seeing on the jerseys that the fans are wearing.  That’s all well and good, as the Reds have had a great history, but since their last world series appearance, the Reds haven’t done much, and haven’t given fans many reasons to wear the jerseys of the current players.  There are kids in junior high school now that were born the last time the Reds tasted the postseason in 1995 (if you don’t count the one game playoff against the Mets in 1999.  No winning seasons since 2000.  Your truly, who is 27 years old, was fresh out of high school when that event occured.

To get back on the right path, here are what the Reds need to have happen to them this year.  I would like a championship parade again sometime in my life, preferably before the point in my life where I would have to worry about breaking a hip from jumping with joy.

Luck- Before anything else, this is the most important thing.  Small market teams, like the Reds, cannot afford to have injuries to key contributors.  We can’t go out and readily get reinforcements, and with the lack of depth, the dropoff from starter to reserve at most positions is pretty severe.

All around offensive improvement–Obviously, you can’t win if you can’t outscore the other team.  They were 23rd in the league in total runs last year.  Why weren’t they outscoring the other team on a consistent basis?  Well, for starters, they were next to last in MLB in hits and batting average, 25th in on-base percentage, and 23rd in RBI’s.  They were 7th in home runs, but paired with the other numbers, that can only mean one thing:  Lots of solo home runs.  The long ball may be an exciting thing to observe, but the damage is minimal when there aren’t any other ducks on the pond.  Also, against good pitching, you can’t rely on that slugging style to always come through.  Situational hitting is very key to winning baseball.  Get ‘em on, get ‘em over, and get ‘em in, as they say.  There was very little of that in Cincinnati

Bounce back years from key vets–With Ken Griffey Jr. proving that one truly can return home, and Adam Dunn taking his act to the nations capital, the Reds will look to Brandon Phillips for leadership.  A finger injury cut his difficult season short last year.  He will need to resemble the 30/30 guy from 2007.

From the pitching rubber, Aaron Harang had a difficult year last season.  Harang has been a workhorse for Cincinnati, consistently piling over 200 innings a year.  Perhaps the wear and tear from that was his downfall in 2008.  However, Harang is still only 30 years old, so it’s not outside the realm of possibilities that he can return to pre-2008 form, but for the Reds to have any chance of success, he needs to be that guy again.

There are other veterans as well who didn’t perform up to their capabilities.  Closer Francisco Cordero and Edwin Encarnacion had tough years, but clearly, the guys highlighted are needed to be leaders.

Continued improvement from youngsters–It can be argued that, despite the mess of a season that the Reds had last season, that they really learned a lot about the true foundation of their team.  In the first half of the season, Edinson Volquez looked not only like a possible rookie of the year candidate, but a potential Cy Young Candidate as well.  Johnny Cueto performed brilliantly at times, Jay Bruce started off incredibly strong, and Joey Votto gave them good production as well, and possibly the most consistent production of the rookies.  A sophomore slump is probably for some of these players, especially Volquez, who really tailed off at the end of last year.  However, if he can avoid that, and Harang bounces back (as already mentioned), that can be a 1-2 punch that few teams in the national league can match up again.

In conclusion, that’s obviously a lot of “If’s.”  As the saying goes “if ands and buts were candy and nuts…….”  Forget how the rest of that goes, but the point still stands.  More than likely, a few of those things won’t happen, and the Reds will once again be a struggling teams.  However, unlike years past, there is a real sense of hope for the future.  Not at any point in recent memory have the Reds had such a strong core of young players to build around, and they have a GM in Walt Jocketty with a proven track record of success.  Not to mention, outside of the Cubs, there is a lot of turmoil in the national league central.  Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. were superstars who had box office appeal, but didn’t bring any success.  “If you aren’t part of the solution you are part of the problem.”  Right?  Well, the Reds have moved on, and now have a faster and younger club, one that can take a small step forward in 2009 and even bigger ones in the future.

What a life.

One day, you are playing for one of the worst teams in the NBA in the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Perhaps thinking about golf tee times and vacation plans for the upcoming offseason, all while hopping from city to city with a hapless unit.  Next thing you know, you are dealt to a team that is 47-12.  If that doesn’t create a spring in your step, nothing else really will.

The Cavaliers agreed to a contract with Joe Smith Tuesday.  He will be making his second tour of duty with Cleveland, after coming over in the trade last season that landed them Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, and Delonte West.  The former number 1 pick from the 1995 draft never lived up to that billing, but has had a long career, filling various roles for the teams he has played for.  With Ben Wallace out, the Cavs needed another veteran big man.  He gives them someone who can consistently hit the 10-15 foot jumpshot for the screen and roll plays they like to run.

There was talk about them signing Drew Gooden over Smith, but the Cavs went with the more consistent performer.  With Drew, you never know what you are going to get.  He is capable of some big games, but also can make really terrible mistakes.  With Joe, you get the same guy on a nightly basis.  You never have to question his professionalism.

Good move, one that may have a huge payoff in the end.  The Cavs have been hurting for another big man outside of Zydrunas Ilgauskas who can score.  That void has now been filled.

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