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Pete Rose on Reds: 'How do you expect to win?' without Castellanos, Winker, Suarez

Dave Clark
Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati Reds president Bob Castellini and 2016 Reds Hall of Fame inductee Pete Rose share a laugh during pregame ceremonies before the MLB game between the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds, Saturday, June 25, 2016, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Hit King and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Pete Rose made it known during interviews this week with USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale and OutKick 360's Paul Kuharsky that he's disappointed with the situation in which ownership has left this year's team.

The former Big Red Machine great also said — per Nightengale — that Reds first baseman Joey Votto is "thinking too much about being in the batter’s box" when he's changing his stance as much as he has:

"How do you expect to win when you get rid of [Nick] Castellanos, you get rid of [Jesse] Winker, and you get rid of [Eugenio] Suarez?" Rose said of their moves during the winter. "Those are their 3-4-5 hitters in the lineup, they’re gone, and they have no one to replace them. 

"I mean, the Reds can’t score. They’ve got four guys in that lineup hitting under .150. How the [expletive] you going to win? Poor [manager David] Bell sits there and doesn’t know what to do because he’s got to play for one or two runs every night. And he’s got two rookies in the rotation." 

"Joey Votto is a great hitter, but I watched him the other night, and he had four at-bats and four different stances,’’ Rose said. “When you’re up there to bat, and you start changing your stance from the first time up to the third time up to the fourth time up, you’re [bleeped]. ... They said he took many pitches with guys in scoring position, so this year he decided he wanted to change his stance to hit more home runs. Well, he’s not hitting more home runs and he’s hitting under .150."

Former Cincinnati Red Pete Rose smiles as he places the inaugural bet on a hand of black jack during the grand opening of the newly rebranded Hard Rock Casino in downtown Cincinnati on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021.

And from Rose's interview with Kuharsky:

"You’re not going to fire up the fans of Cincinnati and you’re certainly not going to fire them up getting off to a 2-12 start. That’s one of the cities where you want to win early to get the interest of the fans. ... If you don’t win, I don't blame people if they don't come out. For the Reds to get rid of [Jesse] Winker; to get rid of [Nick] Castellanos; to get rid of [Eugenio] Suarez ... how in the hell do you think you’re going to score runs? ... You can’t lose the bulk of your offense and expect to win ... it’s not rocket science out here."

Earlier this month, Rose's long-time teammate, Johnny Bench, told "The Dan Patrick Show" that "it's a shame" some have been so critical of Reds CEO Bob Castellini "because his passion is second to none for that town and for that ballclub."

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