I've read some posts on forums where people have trouble with Legion's Loyalty mission, "A House Divided" for Mass Effect 2 on the Insanity difficulty setting. How about some tips for the hardest parts of this mission? If you want to read a complete walkthrough check this one out from Mass Effect Wiki. And remember to check out my general tips for playing Mass Effect 2 on Insanity.
To get this mission, you have to activate Legion. In a short period, he will tell Yeoman Chambers that he wants to talk to you. Now remember after you get Legion, there are two missions left before the crew gets kidnapped and you must go through the Omega 4 Relay. Assuming you want to save them. You do, don't you? :-) I make this mission one of the last two.
1. The Squad. I bring Tali. That's because the enemy are Geth. Tali has the two talents that Legion has which are Combat Drones and AI hacking. On the normal difficulty setting this squad makes the mission a snap. On Insanity, all the Geth have shields. In fact, Mass Effect Wiki suggests Miranda. I completed this mission on Insanity with Tali and Legion without too much difficulty. That's because once you take down the shields of a Geth, he can be hacked. And remember that combat drones work on shielded Geth. One thing about Miranda is that I use her Slam power as my bonus power.
If you evolve AI hacking to the highest level, choose Improved AI Hacking. It allows the hack to last longer. I have found evolving Area AI Hacking to be lacking. Sorry for that. Really Area AI Hacking doesn't work that good. Plus if you bring Tali, you can hack multiple targets with her power.
There are two really difficult parts to this mission. So let's get to them, shall we?
2. The Room With the Ramps. As you move through the Heretic station, you enter a room from the top on a ramp. Data streams lead down. And try as you might, you cannot avoid stepping on them. Because one of your squad, does the honors. Doh! Now you wait for the onslaught but the Geth don't come. You have to go to either the alcove to your right or left to get them to engage. And each alcove has a Hunter with two troopers! And there's no cover.
Well, you gotta die sometime. First, station your squad at the top of the ramp. Then engage the Geth on either side and get a few shots in before they overwhelm you. Run up the ramps. Use your squad's tech powers to hold them off. Use Slam on unshielded Geth that get too close. And of course, give them a generous heaping of lead. Yeah, you will probably die a couple of times. But it's not impossible. You just have to keep using all the powers available which are weapons, AI Hacking, Combat Drones and Slam.
3. Defend the Core. On Normal, with Tali and Legion this last part is a snap. On Insanity, it's a little harder. When you first enter the room, look around. There's a C shaped low wall at the back of the room. This is excellent for cover when the Geth breach your position. There are two rocket turrets on this floor also. Go to the railing. Down below is a maze of computers and there are more rocket turrets.
The rocket turrets. Preserve them. Activate one for each wave of Geth that will attack you. And when the Geth breach the top floor activate the rocket turret on this floor.
Okay, time to start. Activate the terminal. Here they come from the bottom floor. Activate a rocket turret. You can use combat drones on shielded Geth. I like ripping down a Geth's shield and hacking them. There are three waves with each wave getting harder. There will be rocket troopers, in the second and third waves. Take them down first. The third wave features Geth Hunters. Now the mixture of AI hacking, combat drones, weapons, and your Slam power should make the first two waves manageable. The Geth will only get to the top of the ramps to your floor.
It's the third wave, where the Geth Hunters will likely breach your position. Relax. Run to the C wall in the back. Take cover. Activate a rocket turret. With all this fire the Geth Hunter doesn' move a whole lot. Unleash your assault rifle on him. You eventually overcome this last wave. Now go back to the terminal where you make your final decision to reprogram the Geth or destroy the station. Once you decide, you've got three minutes to leave. Collect ammo clips if you need them.
Marines, we are leaving. This is important as you escape. DO NOT PANIC. There's plenty of time to escape. Continue to stay in cover as you move down the hallway and kill Geth. Eventually, you will face a Geth Prime. There is cover in a low wall. Use it. You see, I almost blew it by not staying in cover. Unleash any heavy weapon the Prime. Again, you've got plenty of time to wipe out the Geth including the Prime. Finish off the Geth and get off the base. Congratulations, you've got the loyalty of your trophy, Legion. Um, that's an inside joke. You see if you take Legion to confront the Council, the Salarian calls Legion, your trophy. Okay, you have to be there.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Mass Effect 2: Dossier: Tali Tips for Insanity Difficulty
Here are some tips for completing Mass Effect 2: Dossier Tali recruitment mission while playing on the Insanity difficulty level. Again check my general tips and remember this is just for the hardest parts of the mission. If you want a walkthrough, check this one out from Mass Effect wikipedia.
Lately, I wait till after I recruit Legion before I attempt this mission. The reason is twofold. First, the enemies are Geth. Legion can hack them or you can use the combat drone on them. Now on Insanity, it's harder since all the Geth have shields but you can still use the combat drone on them. And once you take down the shields of a Geth, you can hack them. Second, the Colossus at the end of the mission is really difficult on Normal. On Insanity it's insane. And remember once you recruit Legion, you've got two missions before the Normandy gets attacked and the crew is kidnapped. That means you've got to go through the Omega 4 relay right after that event if you want to save the crew.
The Squad- Again, I choose Miranda. She can overload shields and warp any armor. Legion is number two. He can use combat drones on shielded Geth and can hack unshielded ones. If you maxed out his AI hacking, choose the option to extend the length of the hack, i.e. improved AI hacking.
As stated above, we're just going to go over the toughest parts of the mission. For heavy weapons, I use the rocket launcher. Though the Mass Effect Wiki suggests the M-920 Cain. It's powerful but slow and uses a ton of ammo. Anyway, there are basically two tough spots. They are when you go to get the charges and when you face the Colossus.
1. Get the charges. When you approach the garage, you will get jumped by Geth. Take cover and eliminate them. Remember to take out the Geth Hunters who are cloaked and Geth Destroyers first. The Destroyer has a flamethrower who wreck your day. Both charge your position. Once you get into the garage, you will see the charge. Before you take it, salvage supplies in the room. Then set your squad into defensive position behind cover. Once you get the charge, get ready for some bad guys.
Okay, you get attacked by the Geth Prime. He has shields and armor. He will advance on your position. Use your squadmates powers and use your assault rifle to unleash hell on him. After you get past the Prime and his buddies, make your way out of the garage. Yeah, there will be Geth streaming across the field. So take cover and keep the pressure on them. Eventually they stop and you can move towards the next buidling where the second charge is. As you move forward, do not back track since this causes the program to spawn more Geth. Once you get to the room with the last charge, get the power cells. Before you get the last charge, look out the door. There's a building to your left with an open door. That's our destination after you get the charge.
Get the charge. You get jumped by Geth attacking you from where you came. Run to the left and enter the building. Go upstairs. Open the shutters on the second floor to allow you to shoot out the windows. First guys you should kill are the rocket launchers on the bridge. Then nail the guys on the ground in front of the building. You may have to go to the first floor and get them to move but keep to the second floor. Why? The Geth don't chase you to the second floor. Eventually you wipe them out. Go ahead and plant the charges.
Now let's skip ahead to the hardest part of the mission. Get ready for ...
2. Colossus. You know the drill. You get to the room with the shutters right before you face the Colossus. Save your game. Open the shutter, start this last part of combat. When you talk to Kai' Reegar, I usually tell him to stand down. Yeah, I'm a good guy.
a. Save your squad. Okay, you're under fire from the left, center and right. Yikes. So take your squad back to the shutter room and station them there. Yeah, they can't shoot but get this, you can still use their powers. Get back to the platform with Reegar, take cover and start picking off the Geth. Use your squad's powers to help you. Of course it doesn't help when the Colossus fires that homing rocket at you while getting fired upon by the Geth.
Okay, you've taken out the bad guys to the left, center and right. Move down and take cover behind some crates. Get ready for three Geth to come from the center. First, command your squad to follow you. Now, one of the Geth is a Destroyer. Take him down first. Then take down the other two. Now get ready to move.
b. Become a leftist. You've got three choices to get at the Colossus. They are the left, center and the right. First, I never go up the center. Too much open ground. If I play on the normal difficulty, I like going to the right even though I will get confronted by a Destroyer. It's elevated and you eventually get to a ledge overlooking the Colossus. One big problem when you get there. On Insanity, the Geth are shielded and harder to kill. They will overwhelm you. They do this by moving on your position because there's a ramp that leads right to you. But going to your left, the Geth will not flank you from behind. So the killing zone is in front of you when you face the Colossus.
So go left, young man. Okay, you've just killed the Destroyer and his two escorts who came from the center. Move up the ramp to your left. Take cover behind some machinery before you cross the bridge. Another Destroyer and two escorts attack you. Again, focus on the Destroyer since he has that flamethrower that will mess up your day. Once you've taken down his shield, and if you have Slam, you can use that power against him. Once these guys are dead, run across the bridge and get to the crate across from the Colossus. Take cover behind the crate. Remember you can pause the action when you access the squad's power wheel. Check out who's on the battlefield.
Now Geth troops come and attack you while the Colossus will also fire on you. Stay under cover and don't panic. If you see any Destroyers, focus on them. This may sound cruel but let your squad run around to take the focus away from you. The Colossus has a repair protocol which allows it to regenerate its shields but not its armor. Once the Colossus shields' are down, unleash your heavy weapons on it. Use your squad's powers on both Destroyers and the Colossus. Now if the Geth are about to overwhelm your position, retreat across the bridge. Heal any dead squad members and bring them with you. Okay, go back when you're refreshed and continue to chip away at the Colossus. Just remember to be careful. If you die, you'll have to go over that long cutscene again. So when your health is down to dangerous levels, hunker down and wait for it to regenerate or use Medi-gel. You did save all the Medi-gel for this battle, didn't you. :-)
Okay, eventually you destroy the Colossus. Kill any stragglers and do it carefully, i.e. stay under cover to do so. Now get the iridium which is all over the battlefield. Open the door to the room where Tali is.
3. Don't forget. Once you enter Tali's room, scan the ground. Yeah, there's a reward for beating this mission on Insanity. It's the Geth pulse rifle. It's better than the other assault rifles but not as good as the Revenant machine gun. And once you get aboard the Normandy, talk to Tali in engineering. You pick up the Cyclone Shield Tech, which will be needed when you enter the Omega 4 Relay. The shield tech will save a member of your squad.
Lately, I wait till after I recruit Legion before I attempt this mission. The reason is twofold. First, the enemies are Geth. Legion can hack them or you can use the combat drone on them. Now on Insanity, it's harder since all the Geth have shields but you can still use the combat drone on them. And once you take down the shields of a Geth, you can hack them. Second, the Colossus at the end of the mission is really difficult on Normal. On Insanity it's insane. And remember once you recruit Legion, you've got two missions before the Normandy gets attacked and the crew is kidnapped. That means you've got to go through the Omega 4 relay right after that event if you want to save the crew.
The Squad- Again, I choose Miranda. She can overload shields and warp any armor. Legion is number two. He can use combat drones on shielded Geth and can hack unshielded ones. If you maxed out his AI hacking, choose the option to extend the length of the hack, i.e. improved AI hacking.
As stated above, we're just going to go over the toughest parts of the mission. For heavy weapons, I use the rocket launcher. Though the Mass Effect Wiki suggests the M-920 Cain. It's powerful but slow and uses a ton of ammo. Anyway, there are basically two tough spots. They are when you go to get the charges and when you face the Colossus.
1. Get the charges. When you approach the garage, you will get jumped by Geth. Take cover and eliminate them. Remember to take out the Geth Hunters who are cloaked and Geth Destroyers first. The Destroyer has a flamethrower who wreck your day. Both charge your position. Once you get into the garage, you will see the charge. Before you take it, salvage supplies in the room. Then set your squad into defensive position behind cover. Once you get the charge, get ready for some bad guys.
Okay, you get attacked by the Geth Prime. He has shields and armor. He will advance on your position. Use your squadmates powers and use your assault rifle to unleash hell on him. After you get past the Prime and his buddies, make your way out of the garage. Yeah, there will be Geth streaming across the field. So take cover and keep the pressure on them. Eventually they stop and you can move towards the next buidling where the second charge is. As you move forward, do not back track since this causes the program to spawn more Geth. Once you get to the room with the last charge, get the power cells. Before you get the last charge, look out the door. There's a building to your left with an open door. That's our destination after you get the charge.
Get the charge. You get jumped by Geth attacking you from where you came. Run to the left and enter the building. Go upstairs. Open the shutters on the second floor to allow you to shoot out the windows. First guys you should kill are the rocket launchers on the bridge. Then nail the guys on the ground in front of the building. You may have to go to the first floor and get them to move but keep to the second floor. Why? The Geth don't chase you to the second floor. Eventually you wipe them out. Go ahead and plant the charges.
Now let's skip ahead to the hardest part of the mission. Get ready for ...
2. Colossus. You know the drill. You get to the room with the shutters right before you face the Colossus. Save your game. Open the shutter, start this last part of combat. When you talk to Kai' Reegar, I usually tell him to stand down. Yeah, I'm a good guy.
a. Save your squad. Okay, you're under fire from the left, center and right. Yikes. So take your squad back to the shutter room and station them there. Yeah, they can't shoot but get this, you can still use their powers. Get back to the platform with Reegar, take cover and start picking off the Geth. Use your squad's powers to help you. Of course it doesn't help when the Colossus fires that homing rocket at you while getting fired upon by the Geth.
Okay, you've taken out the bad guys to the left, center and right. Move down and take cover behind some crates. Get ready for three Geth to come from the center. First, command your squad to follow you. Now, one of the Geth is a Destroyer. Take him down first. Then take down the other two. Now get ready to move.
b. Become a leftist. You've got three choices to get at the Colossus. They are the left, center and the right. First, I never go up the center. Too much open ground. If I play on the normal difficulty, I like going to the right even though I will get confronted by a Destroyer. It's elevated and you eventually get to a ledge overlooking the Colossus. One big problem when you get there. On Insanity, the Geth are shielded and harder to kill. They will overwhelm you. They do this by moving on your position because there's a ramp that leads right to you. But going to your left, the Geth will not flank you from behind. So the killing zone is in front of you when you face the Colossus.
So go left, young man. Okay, you've just killed the Destroyer and his two escorts who came from the center. Move up the ramp to your left. Take cover behind some machinery before you cross the bridge. Another Destroyer and two escorts attack you. Again, focus on the Destroyer since he has that flamethrower that will mess up your day. Once you've taken down his shield, and if you have Slam, you can use that power against him. Once these guys are dead, run across the bridge and get to the crate across from the Colossus. Take cover behind the crate. Remember you can pause the action when you access the squad's power wheel. Check out who's on the battlefield.
Now Geth troops come and attack you while the Colossus will also fire on you. Stay under cover and don't panic. If you see any Destroyers, focus on them. This may sound cruel but let your squad run around to take the focus away from you. The Colossus has a repair protocol which allows it to regenerate its shields but not its armor. Once the Colossus shields' are down, unleash your heavy weapons on it. Use your squad's powers on both Destroyers and the Colossus. Now if the Geth are about to overwhelm your position, retreat across the bridge. Heal any dead squad members and bring them with you. Okay, go back when you're refreshed and continue to chip away at the Colossus. Just remember to be careful. If you die, you'll have to go over that long cutscene again. So when your health is down to dangerous levels, hunker down and wait for it to regenerate or use Medi-gel. You did save all the Medi-gel for this battle, didn't you. :-)
Okay, eventually you destroy the Colossus. Kill any stragglers and do it carefully, i.e. stay under cover to do so. Now get the iridium which is all over the battlefield. Open the door to the room where Tali is.
3. Don't forget. Once you enter Tali's room, scan the ground. Yeah, there's a reward for beating this mission on Insanity. It's the Geth pulse rifle. It's better than the other assault rifles but not as good as the Revenant machine gun. And once you get aboard the Normandy, talk to Tali in engineering. You pick up the Cyclone Shield Tech, which will be needed when you enter the Omega 4 Relay. The shield tech will save a member of your squad.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Trading Joey Vottto This Year Would Be A Mistake
Lance McAlister of 1530 Homer and Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer (8-7-2011, col. 5, pg. c-9) have suggested that the Cincinnati Reds trade their first baseman, Joey Votto. (Pictured.) This all stems from a report by Reds beat reporter John Fay that the Reds and the Toronto Blue Jays were exploring the possibility of trading Joey Votto and a good pitching prospect for the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista. Yesterday Lance posted an USA Today report about Toronto making their team one that would represent the nation and compete big time with Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Let's take a look at this proposed trade from a Reds fan viewpoint.
1. The Pros. This requires some assumptions. Joey Votto is signed through 2013. He's owed seventeen million for the last year of his contract. Assumptions require that Votto will not resign after year three. Another is that the Reds can't afford Votto when he's owed seventeen million. So the pro would be the money savings and you get something since Votto will leave in 2013.
The next assumptions requires that Jose Bautista will continue to blast home runs like Barry Bonds and that Votto's replacement, likely Yonder Alonso, would hit like Votto.
Now Jose Bautista is contracted through 2015. His salary is approximately 14 million per year. However in baseball terms, Votto's salary of 17 million is only slightly higher than Bautistan's 14 million. On the other hand, you would have Baustista for two more years.
2. The Cons. If the Reds trade Joey Votto, they would trade one of the premier players in baseball. He hits for power, average and with runners in scoring position. Joey Votto's career average is .316. Last year he blasted 37 homers. His career average with runners in scoring position is a fantastic .355.
Before 2010, Jose Bautista was a journeyman player. His big year was last year when he launched 54 home runs, had 124 RBI but batted only .260. Yeah, he's having another good year this year. But his career batting average is .253. Worst, is that his career average with runners in scoring position is a paltry .226.
Votto is 27. Bautista is 31. Joey Votto was a MVP. Looking at just numbers, it's a no brainer. Joey Votto is a great player. Jose Bautista reminds me of 1996's Brady Anderson who out of nowhere hit fifty home runs for the Baltimore Orioles. He never approached that number again. There's nothing to indicate that Bautista would be consistent with power or average. And frankly Bautista does not hit with runners in scoring position. Simply put, Joey Votto is the better player. And that's by a longshot.
Why this trade is as bad as the Josh Hamilton for Edinson Volquez trade. Trading Votto in 2011, sends the white flag up for 2012. If the goal every year is to win the World Series, you have a better chance with Joey Votto and Yonder Alonso than Jose Bautista and Yonder Alonso.
On the money front, we don't' know what the Reds budget will be in 2013. Nobody knows how much the Reds can spend. We don't know if Joey Votto won't resign with the Reds. We know what we get in Joey Votto. If Bautista tanks, the Reds are stuck with his contract for an extra 28 million dollars. It's that fact, that makes me doubt the wisdom of the Enquirer's John Fay. And trust me, I've read Fay for years and there are times he makes goofy comments.
What you get with Joey Votto is a guy who hits in the clutch. And if you know the problems with this team, the 2011 Reds don't hit in the clutch, i.e. hitting with runners in scoring position. Hitting in the clutch leads to victories. We don't know if Yonder Alonso can hit like Joey Votto. The tandem of Bautista and Alonso would not hit in the clutch like the tandem of Votto and Alonso. And Bautista has red flags of not hitting in the clutch and no long term of evidence that he will produce home runs at the 2010 level. Even if he could, he's more like former Reds outfielder Adam Dunn who could hit home runs but was bad hitting with runners in scoring position. It would be a terrible trade.
So why raise the white flag on the 2012 season now? The goal is to win world championships, isn't it?
Monday, August 8, 2011
Bill Maher Calls On Liberals To Form Their Own Crazy Tea Party
Friday was Bill Maher's last Real Time (HBO) for the season. And his last New Rule was the best of the season. He called on liberals to form their own Tea Party as crazy as the right wing yahoos in the Republican Party. Hilarious. Thanks to Mediaite. Check it out.
Contributors To Colbert Super PAC Use Gag Names
Some of the contributors to Stephen Colbert's Super PAC have used gag names. In the video piece below, Colbert joined in the fun and has trouble finishing his commentary because he can't stop laughing. Check it out.
Republicans Are To Blame For S & P Downgrade
Wow, the Republicans have the gall to blame President Obama for the S & P downgrade after a last minute deal to raise the debt ceiling. First, why are we listening to the guys who gave mortgage backed securities the highest ratings right before the 2008 economic meltdown?
But I digress. Republican House Speaker John Boehner crowed he got ninety eight percent of everything he wanted from the debt ceiling deal. And the Republicans are considered the winners in the deal. Obama wanted to raise taxes on the rich and that didn't happen. So raising the debt ceiling on August 2, was basically a Republican plan. And guess what? The stock market went into a nose dive immediately. Yeah, some of that is over concerns about Spain and Italy's debt. But if cutting spending is supposed to create jobs, Mr. Boehner, where are the jobs? Okay, it doesn't happen that fast but should the markets react so negative when government is cutting spending? And I ask Republicans, if government cuts spending and consumers cut spending then who is putting money into the economy?
But I digress. Republican House Speaker John Boehner crowed he got ninety eight percent of everything he wanted from the debt ceiling deal. And the Republicans are considered the winners in the deal. Obama wanted to raise taxes on the rich and that didn't happen. So raising the debt ceiling on August 2, was basically a Republican plan. And guess what? The stock market went into a nose dive immediately. Yeah, some of that is over concerns about Spain and Italy's debt. But if cutting spending is supposed to create jobs, Mr. Boehner, where are the jobs? Okay, it doesn't happen that fast but should the markets react so negative when government is cutting spending? And I ask Republicans, if government cuts spending and consumers cut spending then who is putting money into the economy?
What The Cincinnati Reds Must Do For 2012
With a little less than two months left, the season is over for the Cincinnati Reds. They're nine and one half games out. Unless there's a baseball miracle left for this year, it's time to look to next year.
1. What went wrong in 2011. In order to figure out what to do next year, we have to see what went wrong this year. Somethings can't be changed, others can. It's easy to see what was wrong this year. One, the team was terrible hitting with runners in scoring position. Two, starting pitiching was erratic until Johnny Cueto got back. Bronson Arroyo was simply dredful. Relief pitching was inconsistent. Lately, they've been choking in the clutch.
There were breakdowns where the Reds could least afford them. Left field was an offensive nightmare. Jonny Gomes went back to the back of his baseball card. So did shortstop Paul Janish. Both could not hit for average. Third baseman Scott Rolen was recently shut down and will have surgery to clean out his left shoulder. Centerfielder Drew Stubbs will lead the league with strikeouts. He's absolutely horrible batting in the clutch. That's four spots out of eight position players.
2. What the Reds Must Do For 2012.
a. Don't ignore trends. The Reds must not ignore trends. This occurred in 2010. Towards the end of the 2010 season, Scott Rolen began to show his age. Injuries began to slow him down. The Reds should have had somebody to share third base with him since it's clear he cannot play more than one hundred games. Jonny Gomes also began to show signs that his early part of 2010 was a career perfomance. The second half of the season wasn't all that good. Drew Stubbs played better in the second half but was never a contact hitter.
b. Bring up Devin Mesoraco and play him. When its time for the September call ups, the Reds should bring up big time catching prospect Devin Mesoraco and they should play him. The Reds should not resign Ramon Hernandez, so they can afford to sit him for a month. Let the kid learn the ropes. Mesoraco is the future catcher for the Reds.
c. Let the outfield derby begin. Left field and center field should be up for grabs. Yeah, I'm suggesting that Drew Stubbs have to earn his spot since he strikes out at an alarming pace. The challengers are Dave Sappelt (pictured) who can hit, Yonder Alonso who can also hit and Chris Heisey. My gut feeling is that next year, the outfielder should be Sappelt, Heisey and Jay Bruce.
d. End the Paul Janish at shotstop nonsense. Janish can field but can't hit. He's either a bench player or a guy you keep in the minors as a safety valve. That leaves Zack Cozart. He's hurt and by the way the Reds should send him to get surgery on his elbow now. The Reds are not going anywhere this year, so get the surgery over with. Anyway Cozart looks like he wants the job. Todd Frazier is also a possibility.
e. Scott Rolen cannot play more than 100 games. Look, Scott Rolen has been playing with a bum left shoulder. He can't play a whole lot. Plus at thirty seven next year, he's at the back end of his career. Time to groom his replacement. Todd Frazier is playing over there now. But you must find a spot for Yonder Alonso who can hit the daylights out of a baseball. Alonso played third in high school before the University of Miami moved him to first base. Come fall, Alonso should get some training to get back to third.
f. End the Joey Votto trade rumors. Joey Votto was MVP for 2010. He's signed through 2013. Votto is a premier player and is owed 17 million for 2013. If owner Bob Castellini can't afford a great player like Votto, then he should sell the team to somebody who can. Regardless, it's ludicrous to trade Votto now because you don't know what you're going to get from the kids. Yeah, I agree that Yonder Alonso could play there but could he hit like Votto? Too big a risk to lose Votto prematurely.
g. Sign a closer or make Aroldis Chapman your closer. The Reds probably are not going to shell out the money they are giving to current closer Francisco Cordero at fours years for 46 million. Cordero walks after this year. They could sign a cheaper closer. Promote the inconsistent Nick Masset. Or they could designate flamethrowing lefty Aroldis Chapman as Reds closer. Look Chapman throws over one hundred miles an hour. He's got a devastating slider. But he's basically a two pitch pitcher. You need three to be a starter. I've seen games where Chapman is unhittable. Somebody has to close games. Why not Chapman?
h. Let Edinson Volquez walk. What a terrible trade getting Edinson Volquez for Josh Hamilton was. Too late to cry over spilled milk. Anyway Volquez has not matured since he came over from Texas. No need to resign him for 2012. He's no longer worth the headaches. Besides, the Reds can roll out three quality starters in Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey and Mike Leake.
i. Convince Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips to become leaders of the team. When Scott Rolen can't play, there's no leadership on the team. The Reds two best players Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips have to step up and lead.
j. Conclusion. The Reds can't stand pat like last year when they assumed everything would work out. On the other hand, the Reds do have up and coming offensive talent. It requires the team to do something whether that means playing the prospects, trading, or free agent signings. I'm still optimistic for this team in 2012. There's enough talent for the Reds to win it all next year.
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