A: Many fans believe the Reds have been in some kind of rebuild since 1990. The 2025 team was blessed with a lot of young talent and a complete overhaul of any kind of rebuild is not necessary. It will be up to Nick Krall & Crew to make some minor adjustments and tweaks, emphasizing a search for a bat that can consistently lose some baseballs over those easily reached outfield seats.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: Based on the history of missed balls and strikes by umpires, who will benefit more from ABS, pitchers or batters? — GREG, Beavercreek.
A: That is based on which side of the call you are on. If it goes your way, it benefits you. If it goes against you, it benefits the other team. And it seems to go both ways. A ball called a strike benefits the pitcher and a strike called a ball benefits the hitter. I’d say it is about 50/50 and that’s my call and ABS can’t change it.
Q: Should the Reds get rid of Graham Ashcraft, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Gavin Lux, guys they don’t need? — ED, Kettering.
A: That’s a bit harsh and decisions I’ll leave for the Reds’ front office. Lux is a free agent and probably will be left to make his own way elsewhere. Ashcraft, indeed, was frustrating at times, but also effective out of the bullpen. If they can find better, fine, but I have no problem with him. The Reds have said CES will compete next year for a job at first base or third base. But it will be difficult for him to supplant Ke’Bryan Hayes at third base and Spencer Steer at first base. Both carry gloves of gold, though wanting in the batter’s box.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: It’s stunning that most MLB players can’t bunt, so does bunting get lost in spring training and are batting instructors clueless? — JIM, Kettering.
A: I shake my head often when I see bunts popped up or fouled off, then I think how difficult it has to be to bunt a 101 mph fastball or those dipsy-do cutters and splitters. It can’t be as easy as one might think. And all teams work on bunting during spring training, but probably not enough. Batting instructors are there to teach hitting. Most teams have a special instructor for bunting.
Q: I watched The Big Red Machine with my father and got to know all the players and I don’t understand why Dave Concepcion is not in the Hall of Fame, do you? — CHRISTINE, Detroit.
A: That makes at least two of us and I know for sure thousands more. I believe Concepcion’s talent and contributions were buried because he played with Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez. To me he was just as good or better than Hall of Fame shortstops Phil Rizzuto, Pee Wee Reese, Luis Aparicio, Alan Trammell and Ozzie Smith. I have often told Concepcion, who played at the same time as Ozzie Smith, “You should have learned to do the back flip better than Smith did it.”
Q: With batting averages so low, doesn’t it make sense to raise the strike zone because nobody but Vlad Guerrero can hit a strike at the bottom of the knees? — MIKE, Indianapolis.
A: Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber and Cal Raleigh might argue that point after golfing low pitches out of ball parks coast-to-coast. Most hitters have more trouble with high fastballs, especially with so many arriving at home plate at 100 miles an hour or higher these days. Raising the strike zone, I fear, would just increase strikeouts and not raise already low batting averages.
Q: Wouldn’t you prefer Elly De La Cruz in right field with his cannon arm? —STOCC, Miamisburg.
A: You mean that cannon arm that scattered fans behind first base as part of his MLB-leading 26 errors at shortstop, an improvement from his 29 in 2024. That’s the second straight season he led MLB in errors. I keep saying and writing that he should be moved to center field because of his range. He could cover center, right-center and left-center. But, yes, I’d agree he would be functional in right, too, if he can harness the direction of his throws.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: Why do fans boo when a pitcher throws over to first base on a pickoff attempt? — PENNIE, Springfield.
A: They only do it half the time. They only boo when the opposing pitcher does it. Apparently, it is OK for the home pitcher to do it because they don’t boo. Why do they do it to opposing pitchers? I’ve asked a few fans and they say they think he is trying to disrupt the batter, that it slows the game down (but it’s OK for the home guy) or they think the pitcher is being a chicken, afraid to pitch to their guy. I think it is just ‘tradition,’ something that has always been done and not even the fans who do it know why.
Q: Who will win the World Series and how often do your predictions come true? — ALAN, Sugarcreek Twp.
A: You’re asking a guy who predicted Cincinnati and Cleveland would win their first-round playoff series. That should give you a clue. I once saw a quarterback at the University of Wyoming slinging the ball all over the place. I predicted he would become an NFL star. His name is Josh Allen, star quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. That prediction was nine years ago and I believe my last correct prognosis. I’m picking Milwaukee to beat Toronto in the World Series and for that I apologize to the good folks in Milwaukee.
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