Lil Red Machine

Is this a real rivalry? Not really. From first hand experience, having attended this matchup at both parks at various times over the years, it’s nothing more than a geographic rivalry. I think most fans consider the other team to be their favorite in the other league. I know I do. The Indians are an easy team to root for. Read more »

For years, it has been a 2-man show in Cincinnati.  Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr, for better or for worse, not only led the team, but ran that clubhouse.  They were the clear cut superstars, the guys with the reputations and the box office attraction.  However, years of losing has led to the massive overhaul that began last July.  The Reds have gotten younger, cheaper, and better defensively.  Adam Dunn, for all he brought in terms of on-base percentage and home run power, was terrible at executing the fundamentals crucial to winning on a daily basis.  As for Griffey, he just got old in a hurry, and was only hitting meatballs down the middle of the plate.  He sold jerseys, but overall, it was a frustrating era for him and for Reds fans.

As the 2009 season approaches, the question that deserves to be posed is, who will be the leader?  They have some great young talent, but those guys are still too young at this point to really be leaders.  Other players are simply veteran fringe players, and are just stopgaps until the reinforcement from the minor leagues arrives.  And then you have Brandon Phillips.  He’s 27 years old, in his prime, and has the track record and personality to lead.

Depending on who you ask, though, Brandon Phillips is either a warm, engaging ballplayer with a friendly, bright smile and a penchant to hit the long ball, or a hardheaded, stuck-in-his ways low on-base percentage strike out machine that was dealt to Cincinnati in the first place by the Cleveland Indians because of a poor attitude.   His recent comments to the  Cincinnati Enquirer are rather worrisome.  Apparently, he thinks that OBP is an overrated stat. “I don’t believe that on-base percentage stuff. That’s overrated to me. If you get hits, you’ll be on base. That’s what it’s about.”

Quick, name the last team that has ever won anything when their best players couldn’t find alternative ways to reach base besides getting base hits?   Even in 2007, his best season, Phillips still only had an OBP of .331.  Last season, his production dropped off, and he also missed the last month of the season due to a finger injury.  He had an embarrasingly low OBP of .312.  Up and down the lineup, the Reds have a team full of high strikeout/low on base percentage guys.  They will follow his example, and these recent comments are an alarming sign that he still doesn’t get it.