tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23241716.post605992135165651332..comments2007-09-13T23:50:47.756-04:00Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07697776280178146413noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23241716.post-29850006223809115682007-09-13T23:50:00.000-04:002007-09-13T23:50:00.000-04:00Yeah, your comment echos a lot of what I wrote about August thus far. It wasn't all mirage -- as I said, even after adjusting for BABIP, many of the Reds still had "good" months (0.800+ OPS's).<BR/><BR/>But you're right that this is not a 6.0 r/g team. If Eddie keeps hitting, Griffey is able to keep hitting (his line drive rate did spike a bit in August, so his babip might not be out of line), and we can somehow squeek out plus offense from our shortstops, this can probably be a 5 r/g team next year. But it'd take some substantial improvements on pitching and (especially) defense to transform the Reds into a legitimate contender. -jJustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07697776280178146413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23241716.post-51473236671403932452007-09-13T20:39:00.000-04:002007-09-13T20:39:00.000-04:00Welcome back. <BR/><BR/>The month of August was fool's gold as far as the team offense was concerned. The team BABIP was around 15% higher in August than it was for 2007 overall. In other words, it was a fluke. The team also was lucky Pythagorean-wise. Adding these two factors together incorrectly can potentially spell disaster for the Reds' 2008 season. If management looks at the offense and the team record and reach the conclusion that this team can compete with a couple of minor pitching tweaks it is going to be a long 2008. And, of course, the buzz on the message boards crackles like lightning. Most of the folks are all twitterpated with the Reds' hitters and don't want to see any of them moved for pitching. You can't trade ________ (Dunn, Griffey, EE or fill-in-the-blanks) is omnipresent. I sincerely hope that Wayne Krivsky isn't being fooled. I hope he doesn't think he can trade spare parts such as Freel or Hatteberg and come up with the pitching that this franchise desperately needs. Granted, August was a fun month to be a fan of the Cincinnati Reds. But it was more mirage than oasis.<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/>Davetexasdavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215541522980498371noreply@blogger.com