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Three Thoughts on Cincinnati Reds Following Series Win Over Washington Nationals
Three things stood out for the Reds in the Opening Weekend
The Cincinnati Reds won their first series of the season on Sunday against the Washington Nationals. The weekend was full of ups and downs, but here are the three things stood out above the rest:
David Bell Has to Trust His Bullpen
There is no scenario this season where the Reds need to force the issue with a relief pitcher and live, or die, with that guy having to get three outs. Buck Farmer was a perfect example on Sunday of a guy that just didn’t have it. He allowed a solo homer and followed that up by loading the bases. He got that fly ball he needed to get out of the inning, but that could have easily derailed the game.
Saturday’s game saw Alexis Diaz blow a save while Brent Suter was warm in the bullpen with a lefty in the batter’s box. Bell only pulled him when everything collapsed. He should be more proactive in these cases since the bullpen is full of talented arms.
To Bell’s credit, he did this with Tejay Antone. As awesome a story as it is that he is on this roster right now, he looked lost on the mound on Sunday. After loading the bases before recording and out, Bell brought in Fernando Cruz who spun that majestic splitter plate-ward and limited the damage to one run.
This is a new thing for Bell to have a plethora of pitchers to use out in the pen, but he should recognize this and be ready to make the call when they need it.
Hunter Greene Needs to Trust His Third Pitch
The majority of offerings from Greene on Saturday were his usual duo of pitches: 4-seam fastball and slider. According to Baseball Savant, he threw six splitters. That number needs to increase as the season goes along. He needs that pitch that breaks a third way to make his main two pitches that much more deadly.
As of right now, the scouting report on Greene is to wait on the fastball. If he drops the slider in for a strike, so be it—he's inconsistent with that pitch. In a perfect world, he would tunnel his slider and fastball. What that means is he would throw his fastball at a location, and then throw his slider where, when it leaves his hand, it looks like a pitch that is headed for a similar spot to the fastball he just threw. Then it breaks away from that spot where the hitter believes he needs to swing. This comes with consistent fastball location, though which is something that alludes Greene in more starts than not.
Until he is able to pinpoint the location of his fastball, he really needs a third pitch that hitters must respect. They will sit on the fastball until Greene shows he fully trusts the splitter.
Don't Load Lineup With Right-Handed Hitters
The Reds lineup they rolled out on Thursday and Sunday was the best lineup they can make, in all situations. Stuart Fairchild is not a player I want to see on a regular basis. Santiago Espinal should be looked at as a guy that can give Jonathan India or Elly De La Cruz or Jeimer Candelario a day off, but only in that situation. Because of injuries and a suspension, the Reds do not have a situation where the talent is equal, no matter the lineup you make.
It’s also not all about the lineup. Defensively, the Reds are worse with their lineup against left-handed pitchers. While this is not the age of every lineups remaining static, the Reds really need to consider it until they get back to full strength.
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