Are Baker and Jacoby still in charge of hitting...if so Bruce won't touch 35

I92
Me and you are on the same wavelength my friend. I love the tourney and I love Buckeyes basketball, but I'm ready for baseball to get rolling. Although the tourney does a nice job keeping me and my "wagering" vice in tact until Opening Day.

But I'm in the "Bruce Breaks-out Camp", even though he wont reach his full potential until both Baker and Brook are gone. I predicted a year of struggles with flashes of brilliance from Jay last season because I though he had a few things to figure out. He was absolutely TURRIBLE early on but I started to see some adjustments with his patience before the injury and I think the time off allowed him to relax a bit.

As for the Reds I'm predicting 84 wins and 4 games out of the WC
Cueto and Homer both start to show why they were so highly thought of... esp. Homer, whom I believe is 2 years from being a legit ace.
I think Votto increases his power but his AVG suffers and he strikes out more, causing Marty to hate the Canuck.
Rolen plays 130 games and is solid but not spectacular
Stubbs becomes the best defensive CF in the league, walks and Ks a ton, steals 30 bases, hits 14 HRs, and Marty picks him apart too
Frazier makes his debut in July, and never goes back
Baker has a winning season wants to be paid, Bob shells out big money (again) and WLW switch-boards overload with calls of protest while I weep.

crab42 wrote: I92
Me and you are on the same wavelength my friend. I love the tourney and I love Buckeyes basketball, but I'm ready for baseball to get rolling. Although the tourney does a nice job keeping me and my "wagering" vice in tact until Opening Day.

But I'm in the "Bruce Breaks-out Camp", even though he wont reach his full potential until both Baker and Brook are gone. I predicted a year of struggles with flashes of brilliance from Jay last season because I though he had a few things to figure out. He was absolutely TURRIBLE early on but I started to see some adjustments with his patience before the injury and I think the time off allowed him to relax a bit.

As for the Reds I'm predicting 84 wins and 4 games out of the WC
Cueto and Homer both start to show why they were so highly thought of... esp. Homer, whom I believe is 2 years from being a legit ace.
I think Votto increases his power but his AVG suffers and he strikes out more, causing Marty to hate the Canuck.
Rolen plays 130 games and is solid but not spectacular
Stubbs becomes the best defensive CF in the league, walks and Ks a ton, steals 30 bases, hits 14 HRs, and Marty picks him apart too
Frazier makes his debut in July, and never goes back
Baker has a winning season wants to be paid, Bob shells out big money (again) and WLW switch-boards overload with calls of protest while I weep.

You are spelling out exactly what I fear will happen regarding Bruce, Baker and Jacoby. I am actually hoping for a very rough start to the season, so that Bob gets pissed and fires Baker before the end of May. Then we'll watch as Billy Hatcher takes over and leads the team back to respectability. A pipe dream, yes, but it's about the only thing to hope for with Baker still around.

Here are my deeper thought on why Bruce won't hit 35 HR

1st of all I completely believe he very well could...but here's why I don't think it will happen.

Votto will bat 3rd.....Phillips will bat 4th and I believe Baker will go agaisnt his lefty-righty-lefty thing and bat Rolen 5th (mainly becasue he is old and experieced)....that leaves Bruce batting 6th.....pitchers won't give him the pitches necessary for 35 HR...if he bats 6th he'll struggle again to hit .250 with 25 HR and 55 RBI.......IF he bats 5th all year and Rolen is 6th...he may get to 35 HR.

If Bruce has another rough year....he'll turn directly into Austin Kearns....but there is still time.

Bruce batting 6th may very well turn him into Kearns. That damn R-L-R-L obsession in the top half of the order that Baker has is just plain stupid. Beyond the fact that you are planning for a one or two inning hypothetical, it is insane to obsess about it with players that will probably never be pulled at the end of the game anyway. Ugh, that idiot needs to go.

george carlin football / baseball