What's Wrong With The Reds?

With Friday night's loss to the Brewers, the Cincinnati Reds fell to 7-10 on the season. Bronson Arroyo got shelled again, and the Reds looked anemic at the plate until the ninth inning when they finally managed to plate 2 runs.

So, what is the problem? Well, it beats the hell out of me. I think it is too early to start placing the blame on Dusty Baker, but some of his lineup moves have been puzzling to say the least.

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There are obviously some players on the Reds that are struggling at the plate right now. Adam Dunn, Edwin Encarnacion, Scott Hatteberg, and now even Corey Patterson are all struggling to put the ball into play.

Bronson Arroyo, Todd Coffey, and Josh Fogg are all having rough starts on the mound this spring. I'm hoping that Arroyo and Fogg will be able to show some improvement when David Ross returns to the team, hopefully sometime next week. Ross is Arroyo's favorite catcher and I believe that Ross will do a better job handling the pitching staff than Valentin or Bako have been doing. Ross, however, has been struggling at the plate so far this season down in Louisville during his rehab. So, Ross might help the team's pitching, but there is also a chance that his hitting might cause the Reds more problems on offense. Valentin hasn't exactly been lighting it up at the plate (.238), but Bako is currently leading the Reds with a .351 batting average.

I am not a fan of Todd Coffey. I lost all confidence in the guy last year and he has done nothing this year to change my opinion of him. Todd has lost his "Mojo" as far as I am concerned. If I was Dusty Baker, Coffey would never step foot on the mound for the Cincinnati Reds again.

In addition to the probable return of Ross behind the plate, the Reds may also see the return of Matt Belisle. Matt has been looking fantastic down at Louisville and will probably return to the Bigs next week. Belisle is currently 3-0 at Louisville with a 1.09 ERA and is coming off an impressive 6 inning start this last Tuesday. I think there is a chance we might see Belisle take Josh Fogg's place in the rotation next week. Fogg's next scheduled start is Monday against the Dodgers.
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So, what would I do if I was Dusty Baker? I think it is time to start tinkering with the batting order.

I don't think it would be wise to alter the lead-off position any. The only real option that Dusty has at the top of the batting order is whomever is starting in center field. The choices would obviously be Patterson, Hopper, or Freel.

Adam Dunn is currently only hitting .182, but he is leading the Reds "regulars" in On Base Percentage (.413) because he has already drawn 18 walks. I would strongly consider moving Dunn up to the #2 spot in the batting order. He will see a lot more pitches in the #2 slot and his high OBP should give the always reliable Griffey and Phillips more opportunities to hit with runners on base.

If I moved Dunn up to the #2 slot I think I would probably move Phillips up to #3 and Griffey down to #4. Then, I would slide the hot hitting Keppinger down into the #5 slot.

Edwin Encarnacion is also struggling at the plate. I'm not sure what I would do with Edwin. But, I think I would give Freel a few more starts at 3rd base to see if he could maybe ignite the offense a little bit with his hustle and enthusiasm. Whichever guy starts at third base, I think I would move them to the #7 spot in the batting order.

Moving the 3rd baseman to the #7 slot would allow me to put the hot hitting Joey Votto (.351) in the #6 position behind Keppinger. If I decided to start Hatteberg at 1st base instead of Votto, I would still leave Hatteberg in the #7 slot.

So, the #8 slot in the batting order would be for the catcher. I think Ross is going to get a lot of at bats when he returns simply because he handles the pitching staff so well.