Cincinnati Reds looking to different strategy to revitalise offence – MLB News
As the Cincinnati Reds' offence struggles to find footing, the team manager Dusty Baker on Friday, July 6, attempted to present a critically realistic analysis of this issue. His focus was the second baseman Brandon Phillips.
"He's trying to get a mega jump in a situation where that's not your job," Baker said. "In that situation of a 3-2 count, you're more interested in staying out of the double play than you are for a stolen base.”
There are a lot of things that leave the team in a seemingly difficult position. Take for instance the supposedly good record that the team has somehow held. It is currently 11th in the National League with a .238 average.
However, in achieving that, the most important role has been that of both Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto. The two has simultaneously maintained an average of .294 and .364 in the situations referred to earlier.
The Reds, nonetheless, have to look for other hitters that can perform at the time they are expected to. They cannot solely rely on two who are vulnerable to injuries and other problems at the same time.
How do the team want to deal with this situation? Dusty Baker has an option available to him. It is for the likes of Ryan Ludwick to come forth and rise to the situation because the team does not want Phillips to be burdened from excessive pressure.
"I might put [Ryan] Ludwick in that situation, maybe," Baker said. "Brandon has been our second most productive hitter with runners in scoring position. You've have to replace that too. Behind Joey [Votto], he is picking the runners up better than anybody else we have."
That is the right strategy for the team at this juncture. When the defence is showing some good performance, it is about time the offence did so as well to keep the dominance of Reds intact in the Division.
Whether the strategy works out or not is a matter of speculation. The team, nonetheless, has gone for a seemingly result-oriented strategy to put things in right order. It will be interesting to see if this new strategy can make an impact for the struggling Reds' offence.
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