Wednesday, February 23, 2011

2011 Reds same as 2010 Reds...only better...

The new 2011 version of the Reds are the same as the old 2010 Reds. Well…not exactly, but at least on paper, it looks that way. However, when you take a step back and consider some of the intangibles, you begin to see that this club should be better than last year, even if most of the names remain the same.

Last year, going into spring training, the biggest needs for the Reds were:
o A leadoff hitter
o A shortstop who could bat higher than his weight
o An extra outfielder who can be relied on to fill-in and platoon without worrying about too much drop-off in offensive production

This year, going into spring training, the biggest needs for the Reds are:
o A leadoff hitter
o A shortstop who can bat higher than his weight
o An extra outfielder who can be relied on to fill-in and platoon without worrying about too much drop-off in offensive production

Here’s a quick rundown of what you really need to know about the offseason transactions that took place:

OUT: Aaron Harang, Laynce Nix, Orlando Cabrera, Arthur Rhodes
IN: Dontrelle Willis, Edgar Renteria, Fred Lewis, Jeremy Hermida

There were a few other things, but really, those were the major moves. And really, I think it may have been just enough to put the Reds in the postseason again. More importantly than who left and who came in, (with the exception of Harang, who has been on the decline for a few years anyway), is the maturity and improvement of the core group of young players on the team. Paul Janish showed enough improvement to take over at shortstop full-time. Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, and of course, NL MVP Joey Votto all showed improvement as well. So by doing nothing more than letting these guys play and get more experience, the Reds have improved…assuming that improvement continues or at least doesn’t drop off. The pitching also seems to be better for the same reasons, only not so much for improvements in performance so much as simply the production and early maturity of so many talented rookies. Mike Leake, Travis Wood, Aroldis Chapman, Logan Ondrusek, and Jordan Smith; all rookies, and all pitched well enough to claim a stake into at least being allowed to fight for a roster spot again this year.

Overall, this year’s team is the same as last year’s team…but then again, it’s not…and I think that’s a good thing. I’ll save my actual predictions until the end of spring training after I’ve been able to evaluate the teams a little more, but as I said before, I think the Reds can make into the postseason again.