http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...as/extra_bases/

Hansen's back up, this time to replace Moss. Good move. We need the extra arm going into the Detroit series with Oki and Paps both being stretched out today.

I think he'll be given a chance to claim the 3 spot on the BP depth chart. We have a glaring hole there right now, with MDC pitching with his head up his butt.

The unfortunate thing about MDC and his current unreliability is I believe he's out of options. He certainly has not demonstrated he is capable of being the 7th inning guy, hopefully Hansen might be able to fulfill that role. But if MDC continues to suck, I wonder what our options are. The only thing I guess we can hope for is that in some low leverage innings he finds himself again, regains confidence. He's got the tools and the makeup, he's just not getting it done this year, at least so far.

Check out SOSH. There's a discussion going on there about whether he is in fact out of options. I thought he was but the SOSH guys seem unsure.

Soxprospects lists 0 options remaining for MDC. Options used in 2005 2006, and 2007.

Split this, felt this topic warranted a thread of its own, rather than being lumped in megathread.

I haven't seen MDC pitch much this year as I haven't seen that many games. What is he struggling with? Is it his control? Is he leaving the ball out over the plate? Any armchair analysis of what seems to be his issue would be welcomed. I really thought he had shedded the control issues he had when he first came up a few years ago. Last year he was on point and dominant with his fastball and that nasty curve.

IMHO, its a control in the strikezone kind of thing. He's not wild, per se... but he goes to throw a strike out side a lot and it ends up middle in(See: Thomas, Frank). I think its part mental. It would also help if he could throw something else for a strike besides his fastball... he ends up falling behind in the count every time...

I'm not defending him b/c he hasn't been pitching well. With that said I do think he's been getting the hook early & the majority of his runners have been allowed to score. I have no idea where I could go to look that up, but I get that feeling while watching games. I think he could be pitching better than his stats indicate.

just goes to show... throwing mid-90's isn't enough.
his command's not great and I haven't seen a consistent 2nd pitch.

The problem is the curveball. He hasn't been able to throw it consistently enough to make hitters stop sitting on his fastball. It may just be a matter of him not having a feel for it on any given day, or maybe he is getting pulled before he has a chance to throw a few. I suspect this will work itself out over the course of the season.

Right... I see this as a bad stretch where he lost his duece. He cant throw anything other than the fastball for strikes, so people sit on it... now, he's doubting himself and is losing faith in his stuff... so he ends up trying to overthrow his fastball and it ends up in bad spots. He'll straighten out at some point. Im not worried. Just keep him out of important situations until then.

I kinda had a feeling this would be the case, even though I hadn't seen him. Last year the hitters weren't used to him, but now everyone has had a look at this stuff and has scouted it, so they can sit on his fastball. That is a common occurrence for sure. Here's to hoping that he'll make the proper adjustments going forward.