Nice wins over the last two games. Good pitching, clutch hitting, good times all around.
Arroyo helped his trade value with that stellar outing today. Granted, the Nationals are really bad, but a big league team is a big league team and last year the Nats destroyed Bronson in his two starts against them.
Griffey managed to sneak one out to right to put the Reds up 2-0. There are no style points on your dingers when you're struggling like Junior is. I was looking at his numbers during last night's game and realized that if he doesn't go on a tear for the rest of the year he's looking at a full season with about 18 or 19 homers. That's just embarassing.
Predictibly, the trade rumors swirling around before the game turned out to be bunk, at least so far. Something could still happen but for as many reports saying it was nearly done, there was another report calling the rumor a bunch of crap. Bunches of crap smell very familiar to Reds fans. Huzzah.
Disappointing Fourth crowd today but admittedly there was a rain delay and it looked downright gloomy. The Nasti always depends heavily on walkups and they likely didn't get any today.
Taco Filling is a beautiful singer. Let's get three of four tomorrow. Fogg Fever. Catch it.
Friday, July 4, 2008
A Loss, A Win, Some Moves and Some News
Lots going on in Reds country today...
- After being bombed by the Pirates Wednesday Daryl Thompson is headed back to Louisville. I expected him to get another start but he obviously wasn't ready; the two starts he did get through without significant damage were both tightrope jobs where disaster lurked around every corner. A.Phil 2.0, fresh off a brief stint in the Mets organization, is back in the bigs with the Reds.
- Norris Hopper is headed to season-ending Tommy John surgery; he apparently can't swing a bat without blinding pain. He really only got hits by bunting anyway, so what's the problem? Just kidding. You're still the only big leaguer I've drank with and I'll always be rooting for you. Former Alley Cats have to stick together.
- Hopper's DLing will lead to Josh Fogg's promotion. I know, I know, last time it got Foggy in here it was bad. But he's pitched like eight shutout innings in each of his three rehab starts; maybe he can get a few decent starts in and be trade bait. With a one-year deal if he can be even league average the Reds may be able to get something useful for him. He'll be starting tomorrow, as Aaron Harang's turn will be skipped due to tightness in his forearm.
- Most importantly, Taco Filling may be (emphasis on "may be") headed to Philadelphia, possibly along with Hairston or CP23 (PLEASE GOD LET IT BE PATTERSON) for Shane Victorino and possibly a prospect. Posters on Redszone are talking as if this is nearly a done deal, and Taco's start may be abbreviated today as a result. Will be very interesting. Every year it seems we get to a point where a "deal is imminent" but nothing ever happens, but apparently few deals that get as far as this one is end up falling through.
My first reaction to Victorino is, thank God. The center field problem would be solved immediately. His OPS numbers are nothing great but he's good defensively and has played every day for a contender. Arroyo has been up and down all season, is unreliable and too expensive for too many years. If they can rid themselves of Patterson in the transaction and get another prospect as well, it's gravy.
We will see if it actually happens, but so far, sounds good. Some people say there's nothing to it, some people say it's done. Welcome to July in baseball. Go Reds. Taco Filling against Jason Bergmann in about half an hour. Let's do this. I'm calling it: Reds will be .500 at the break. Yes, that involves winning eight of the next nine games. I'm not crazy.
- After being bombed by the Pirates Wednesday Daryl Thompson is headed back to Louisville. I expected him to get another start but he obviously wasn't ready; the two starts he did get through without significant damage were both tightrope jobs where disaster lurked around every corner. A.Phil 2.0, fresh off a brief stint in the Mets organization, is back in the bigs with the Reds.
- Norris Hopper is headed to season-ending Tommy John surgery; he apparently can't swing a bat without blinding pain. He really only got hits by bunting anyway, so what's the problem? Just kidding. You're still the only big leaguer I've drank with and I'll always be rooting for you. Former Alley Cats have to stick together.
- Hopper's DLing will lead to Josh Fogg's promotion. I know, I know, last time it got Foggy in here it was bad. But he's pitched like eight shutout innings in each of his three rehab starts; maybe he can get a few decent starts in and be trade bait. With a one-year deal if he can be even league average the Reds may be able to get something useful for him. He'll be starting tomorrow, as Aaron Harang's turn will be skipped due to tightness in his forearm.
- Most importantly, Taco Filling may be (emphasis on "may be") headed to Philadelphia, possibly along with Hairston or CP23 (PLEASE GOD LET IT BE PATTERSON) for Shane Victorino and possibly a prospect. Posters on Redszone are talking as if this is nearly a done deal, and Taco's start may be abbreviated today as a result. Will be very interesting. Every year it seems we get to a point where a "deal is imminent" but nothing ever happens, but apparently few deals that get as far as this one is end up falling through.
My first reaction to Victorino is, thank God. The center field problem would be solved immediately. His OPS numbers are nothing great but he's good defensively and has played every day for a contender. Arroyo has been up and down all season, is unreliable and too expensive for too many years. If they can rid themselves of Patterson in the transaction and get another prospect as well, it's gravy.
We will see if it actually happens, but so far, sounds good. Some people say there's nothing to it, some people say it's done. Welcome to July in baseball. Go Reds. Taco Filling against Jason Bergmann in about half an hour. Let's do this. I'm calling it: Reds will be .500 at the break. Yes, that involves winning eight of the next nine games. I'm not crazy.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Sometimes This Team Makes Me Want To Strangle Someone
... no one in particular, just someone to get the frustrations out.
I fully expected the Reds to lose two of three to Pittsburgh. The Pirates just seem to be the perfect team to give the Reds trouble; they aren't that good but they have solid lefthanded pitching, and the Reds seem to just let down against them. The Reds are 27-24 against teams with records over .500. If they could just take care of things against bad clubs they'd be in the race.
But they haven't, and they aren't, and the second half is going to have games where you think the Reds aren't that far off, and games where you just want to tear your hair out. Sometimes both emotions, joy and elation, are present in the same game, like the first two of this series. Monday the Reds went to the plate against Paul Maholm like they had a plane to catch. Through five innings he'd thrown just fifty-three pitches, I believe the telecast said. They just don't work the count at all. Aggressiveness isn't a terrible thing if you're swinging at quality strikes and squaring up on the ball, but there's just no excuse to hit a sky-high popup on the infield on the first pitch you see (I'm looking at you, Brandon Phillips, and you, Edwin Encarnacion, both of whom do so as if there were a contract incentive that can vest by popping up).
So with the offense hitting like it was September 30 instead of June 30, the burden of winning the game fell upon Aaron Harang, who aside from an Adam LaRoche two-run dinger pitched very well over seven innings. Hopefully he's getting back on track after a rough stretch.
But late in the game... oh, Dusty. Dusty, Dusty, Dusty. Dunn walked in the eighth, and Baker pinch-ran Corey Patterson for Dunn. Donkey represented the tying run, so this *may* have been a defensible move at the time; however, I cringe whenever one of the Reds' few plus bats is removed for a decided minus bat. Brandon Phillips had an infield single, putting men on first and second (the speedy Patterson on second, remember) with none out. Patterson can score on nearly any hit, unless it's an infield single or an iffy trap situation in the outfield and has has to hold up halfway. Still, though, Dusty asks Joey Votto, not exactly an experienced bunter, to bunt off the tough Bucs lefty Damaso Marte. Naturally, he can't get it down, gets behind 0-2 and strikes out. Edwin also struck out. So, rather than let the rookie lefty Jay Bruce try his luck with Marte, Dusty pinch-hits Javier Valentin in his spot. I know Valentin's only use to this team generally at the moment is as a pinch-hitter. I know Valentin is a switch-hitter. But he's so awful from the right side, he really isn't a switch-hitter at all. Did Dusty know this? Who knows? Whether Dusty knew it or not, Valentin grounded out. Because he's terrible against lefties. Just an awful, awful move, and way too many strategic errors in a row to even begin to defend on Baker's part.
The Votto bunt decision was just inexcusable. It's like Dusty's playing it "by the book" all the time, but he's reading from a book that wasn't written with common sense in mind. Let's ask a rookie who's not experienced at bunting to get down a bunt in a situation where it's not even really warranted? Was he playing from the "play for a win at home" perspective? If he's playing it by the book, it isn't a book I've ever read. You'd think after the Arizona game where Edwin hit a game-winner after getting down two strikes, and the Atlanta game where Dunn homered after not being able to bunt, that he'd give up on the bunting the power bats. And why did he remove Dunn for Patterson if he was going to bunt anyway?
Anyone hiring Dusty to manage their team, though, really was asking for stuff like this, and that's why I can't really feel sorry for the Reds on this one. They had to know what they were getting coming in. Signing Corey Patterson to a Dusty-managed team is like giving a bottle of whiskey to an alcoholic. That dude may be the only person who can see how destructive his habit is, but he's sure as hell going to down that bottle as soon as he gets thirsty. Dusty's going to find ways to get playing time for Patterson. He did it again last night, when he again pinch-ran Patterson for Dunn, and this time it may have cost the Reds the game. You just can't put that bat into the lineup and expect it not to hurt you, and sure enough, Patterson was at the plate with the game on the line in the eleventh, and didn't come through. I don't blame Patterson; I'm sure he's as frustrated as anyone about his sub-.200 average. Jocketty, though, owes it to Reds fans to get him off the team.
Back to Monday, though, Griffey managed to save the day with a ninth-inning walkoff dinger, and it was pretty exciting. Tuesday was also a close, exciting game that saw the Reds blow a tie game in the ninth, send it to extras, get down two in extras, then nearly rally to tie again before the rally fell short. Overall the Reds had enough chances to win that the loss can't be entirely blamed on any one person, Dusty and Patterson included, but all the chances made it even more frustrating to watch. Hopefully they can get the series finale tonight and go into the Washington series over the holiday weekend looking good and feeling good. Daryl Thompson gets the ball tonight against John Van Benchoten for Las Piratas. JVB has been just awful in the bigs his entire career, so naturally he'll look like an ace tonight. I think I'll go kill myself.
I fully expected the Reds to lose two of three to Pittsburgh. The Pirates just seem to be the perfect team to give the Reds trouble; they aren't that good but they have solid lefthanded pitching, and the Reds seem to just let down against them. The Reds are 27-24 against teams with records over .500. If they could just take care of things against bad clubs they'd be in the race.
But they haven't, and they aren't, and the second half is going to have games where you think the Reds aren't that far off, and games where you just want to tear your hair out. Sometimes both emotions, joy and elation, are present in the same game, like the first two of this series. Monday the Reds went to the plate against Paul Maholm like they had a plane to catch. Through five innings he'd thrown just fifty-three pitches, I believe the telecast said. They just don't work the count at all. Aggressiveness isn't a terrible thing if you're swinging at quality strikes and squaring up on the ball, but there's just no excuse to hit a sky-high popup on the infield on the first pitch you see (I'm looking at you, Brandon Phillips, and you, Edwin Encarnacion, both of whom do so as if there were a contract incentive that can vest by popping up).
So with the offense hitting like it was September 30 instead of June 30, the burden of winning the game fell upon Aaron Harang, who aside from an Adam LaRoche two-run dinger pitched very well over seven innings. Hopefully he's getting back on track after a rough stretch.
But late in the game... oh, Dusty. Dusty, Dusty, Dusty. Dunn walked in the eighth, and Baker pinch-ran Corey Patterson for Dunn. Donkey represented the tying run, so this *may* have been a defensible move at the time; however, I cringe whenever one of the Reds' few plus bats is removed for a decided minus bat. Brandon Phillips had an infield single, putting men on first and second (the speedy Patterson on second, remember) with none out. Patterson can score on nearly any hit, unless it's an infield single or an iffy trap situation in the outfield and has has to hold up halfway. Still, though, Dusty asks Joey Votto, not exactly an experienced bunter, to bunt off the tough Bucs lefty Damaso Marte. Naturally, he can't get it down, gets behind 0-2 and strikes out. Edwin also struck out. So, rather than let the rookie lefty Jay Bruce try his luck with Marte, Dusty pinch-hits Javier Valentin in his spot. I know Valentin's only use to this team generally at the moment is as a pinch-hitter. I know Valentin is a switch-hitter. But he's so awful from the right side, he really isn't a switch-hitter at all. Did Dusty know this? Who knows? Whether Dusty knew it or not, Valentin grounded out. Because he's terrible against lefties. Just an awful, awful move, and way too many strategic errors in a row to even begin to defend on Baker's part.
The Votto bunt decision was just inexcusable. It's like Dusty's playing it "by the book" all the time, but he's reading from a book that wasn't written with common sense in mind. Let's ask a rookie who's not experienced at bunting to get down a bunt in a situation where it's not even really warranted? Was he playing from the "play for a win at home" perspective? If he's playing it by the book, it isn't a book I've ever read. You'd think after the Arizona game where Edwin hit a game-winner after getting down two strikes, and the Atlanta game where Dunn homered after not being able to bunt, that he'd give up on the bunting the power bats. And why did he remove Dunn for Patterson if he was going to bunt anyway?
Anyone hiring Dusty to manage their team, though, really was asking for stuff like this, and that's why I can't really feel sorry for the Reds on this one. They had to know what they were getting coming in. Signing Corey Patterson to a Dusty-managed team is like giving a bottle of whiskey to an alcoholic. That dude may be the only person who can see how destructive his habit is, but he's sure as hell going to down that bottle as soon as he gets thirsty. Dusty's going to find ways to get playing time for Patterson. He did it again last night, when he again pinch-ran Patterson for Dunn, and this time it may have cost the Reds the game. You just can't put that bat into the lineup and expect it not to hurt you, and sure enough, Patterson was at the plate with the game on the line in the eleventh, and didn't come through. I don't blame Patterson; I'm sure he's as frustrated as anyone about his sub-.200 average. Jocketty, though, owes it to Reds fans to get him off the team.
Back to Monday, though, Griffey managed to save the day with a ninth-inning walkoff dinger, and it was pretty exciting. Tuesday was also a close, exciting game that saw the Reds blow a tie game in the ninth, send it to extras, get down two in extras, then nearly rally to tie again before the rally fell short. Overall the Reds had enough chances to win that the loss can't be entirely blamed on any one person, Dusty and Patterson included, but all the chances made it even more frustrating to watch. Hopefully they can get the series finale tonight and go into the Washington series over the holiday weekend looking good and feeling good. Daryl Thompson gets the ball tonight against John Van Benchoten for Las Piratas. JVB has been just awful in the bigs his entire career, so naturally he'll look like an ace tonight. I think I'll go kill myself.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I Just Can't Figure This Team Out
I guess at this point the key heading into 2009 is to decide how to get the good version of the Reds to show up more often than the bad one. Saturday and Sunday's wins over the Indians were picture-perfect textbook victories for the most part, and coming off these good performances I'm fully expecting them to come home and get swept by the Pirates.
Cueto and Arroyo both turned in very good pitching performances. Cueto danced in and out of trouble all night, but allowed no Tribesmen to score. Arroyo looked like Good Bronson, and in a day game, no less. Saturday Paul Bako had a big hit, and Dunnerstag had Jim Jacksons in both games, including a three-run blast today to break it open. The Championship of Ohio belongs to the Reds! The Clippers, Captains, Scrappers and Mud Hens might have something to say about that, though. It's a good thing they aren't all in the running for the Ohio Cup, because the Reds would have to play well in like five straight series, and that's impossible.
In other news, it was Slider's birthday Sunday! Gapper and Slider seem to be good friends. I think the Mariner Moose was also there, and the Rays mascot, and maybe the Oriole. It was awesome! Gapper gave Slider a painting and they hugged! Aww. Do you think the Indians will mail me a Slider hat if I send a letter asking for one? I don't know either.
Reds and Bucs for tres juegos coming up Monday through Wednesday. It's going to be getting kinda hectic at the GABP. Harang against Maholm tomorrow. Let's try to get out of last.
Cueto and Arroyo both turned in very good pitching performances. Cueto danced in and out of trouble all night, but allowed no Tribesmen to score. Arroyo looked like Good Bronson, and in a day game, no less. Saturday Paul Bako had a big hit, and Dunnerstag had Jim Jacksons in both games, including a three-run blast today to break it open. The Championship of Ohio belongs to the Reds! The Clippers, Captains, Scrappers and Mud Hens might have something to say about that, though. It's a good thing they aren't all in the running for the Ohio Cup, because the Reds would have to play well in like five straight series, and that's impossible.
In other news, it was Slider's birthday Sunday! Gapper and Slider seem to be good friends. I think the Mariner Moose was also there, and the Rays mascot, and maybe the Oriole. It was awesome! Gapper gave Slider a painting and they hugged! Aww. Do you think the Indians will mail me a Slider hat if I send a letter asking for one? I don't know either.
Reds and Bucs for tres juegos coming up Monday through Wednesday. It's going to be getting kinda hectic at the GABP. Harang against Maholm tomorrow. Let's try to get out of last.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
For Sale: One Used Matress, Free for Anyone Who Will Haul It Away, also I have a HP Pentium Computer, $200 or Best Offer (Also Reds Lose 3 of 4)
So as expected, after playing well against the Yankees, the Reds looked like crap in losing two of three at Toronto, and the swoon continued with a dismal loss to the Indians last night.
This team just doesn't have enough solid pieces to go anywhere. Bob Castellini needs to realize this team is just not close to contending at all, and whoever convinced him it was before the season (Krivsky? Mrs. Castellini? JoJo the Circus Clown?) needed to have their head examined. Without Harang (who continues to look terrible) the rotation is one ace and four question marks, and the one ace is young and is still going to have his ups and downs (just look at the Toronto start, Volquez has had a great year but he's young). The assumption coming into this year was that Bronson had an unlucky 2007 and would revert to 2006 form, but that hasn't happened, and after his start Tuesday his trade value has to be nil, or close to it. Cueto is up-and-down as expected, and Thompson looks to only have a fastball (a good fastball, but this is the majors, you're eventually going to get tagged if you don't throw something else).
The bullpen has a few reliable parts. Bray, Burton and Cordero have all been good-to-excellent this year. Affeldt has had his moments. It's hard to adequately describe the awfulness that is Gary Majewski, though. His stirrups are truly a classic look, but he's just been horrible. His BAA is .375 right now, opponents are just killing him. It's excruciating every time he enters the game. Lincoln Logs has been okayish at times, terrible at others. Weathers' numbers actually are okay, but it's hard to feel secure when he's tossing his slop to the plate. You have to give it up for him, though, because Reds fans have been saying that for about four years now, and he keeps getting guys out.
John Fay was on the broadcast last Saturday and said the guys he thinks will see the most interest on the trading block are the relivers. We heard that last year, too, and the only guy that ended up moving was Jeff Conine, and that was after the deadline. Griffey is finished, Dunn has had trade rumors seemingly since he was called up in 2001 and nothing has ever happened, and all the other pieces are either untouchable or unwanted. This team is staying like it is, for better and for worse.
And lately it's definitely been for worse, because this team is in another funk. No hitting, poor pitching, the works. One win in Cleveland will clinch the Ohio Cup for the Reds (yay), and I'm not sure if they can get it. Cueto goes tonight against Paul Byrd, and Bronson goes against some guy tomorrow. Bronson's numbers are Miltonesque after the Toronto debacle (I almost wanted them to leave him in longer just to see how bad that would get) and it's a day game, so if the win doesn't come tonight, the Reds are in trouble. They've been in trouble since 2001, though, so it's nothing new. Living on the edge, right?
This team just doesn't have enough solid pieces to go anywhere. Bob Castellini needs to realize this team is just not close to contending at all, and whoever convinced him it was before the season (Krivsky? Mrs. Castellini? JoJo the Circus Clown?) needed to have their head examined. Without Harang (who continues to look terrible) the rotation is one ace and four question marks, and the one ace is young and is still going to have his ups and downs (just look at the Toronto start, Volquez has had a great year but he's young). The assumption coming into this year was that Bronson had an unlucky 2007 and would revert to 2006 form, but that hasn't happened, and after his start Tuesday his trade value has to be nil, or close to it. Cueto is up-and-down as expected, and Thompson looks to only have a fastball (a good fastball, but this is the majors, you're eventually going to get tagged if you don't throw something else).
The bullpen has a few reliable parts. Bray, Burton and Cordero have all been good-to-excellent this year. Affeldt has had his moments. It's hard to adequately describe the awfulness that is Gary Majewski, though. His stirrups are truly a classic look, but he's just been horrible. His BAA is .375 right now, opponents are just killing him. It's excruciating every time he enters the game. Lincoln Logs has been okayish at times, terrible at others. Weathers' numbers actually are okay, but it's hard to feel secure when he's tossing his slop to the plate. You have to give it up for him, though, because Reds fans have been saying that for about four years now, and he keeps getting guys out.
John Fay was on the broadcast last Saturday and said the guys he thinks will see the most interest on the trading block are the relivers. We heard that last year, too, and the only guy that ended up moving was Jeff Conine, and that was after the deadline. Griffey is finished, Dunn has had trade rumors seemingly since he was called up in 2001 and nothing has ever happened, and all the other pieces are either untouchable or unwanted. This team is staying like it is, for better and for worse.
And lately it's definitely been for worse, because this team is in another funk. No hitting, poor pitching, the works. One win in Cleveland will clinch the Ohio Cup for the Reds (yay), and I'm not sure if they can get it. Cueto goes tonight against Paul Byrd, and Bronson goes against some guy tomorrow. Bronson's numbers are Miltonesque after the Toronto debacle (I almost wanted them to leave him in longer just to see how bad that would get) and it's a day game, so if the win doesn't come tonight, the Reds are in trouble. They've been in trouble since 2001, though, so it's nothing new. Living on the edge, right?
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The Rain Drowns Your Hopes; Reds Lose
The Reds lost a rain-delayed decision Sunday as the Yankees salvaged game three of the set, beating the Nasti 4-1.
Johnny Greato was superb, only allowing one run on four hits in five innings of work, but was removed down 1-0 after a rain stoppage in the middle of the sixth. Leave it to Majewski and Affeldt to completely mess that up. Canadian Intensity and Jay Hoops both struck out with the bases loaded in the fourth in the Reds biggest sustained rally of the afternoon, and alas, they came up empty. Griffey's 601st homer of his career in the eighth provided the Reds lone run.
So it was disappointing to see the Reds drop the last game, but beggars can't be choosers and there's nothing wrong with taking two of three. It might be interesting to note that Canadian Intensity had another at-bat in the sixth, this time with two on, and struck out in a pouring rainstorm. Of course, they pulled tarp right after that. Had the rain not come, Greato likely wasn't going to be removed after seventy-five pitches and who knows what happens.
In better news, Jeff Keppinger is back, as mentioned earlier, and has a beard now. Reminded me of my senior year of college, when I started an English class with a Mr. Clean-like instructor, promptly ditched it for quite a while, so long that when I returned he suddenly had hair and a bald spot and everyone I sat around had thought I'd dropped the class entirely. Anyway, per Hal or somebody he was trying to get rid of it but why mess with something so awesome? This game has enough cool goatees and linebeards. Time for someone who looks like a real man.
Per the trainers he's fully recovered. APhil 2.0 was DFA'd as a result, and if he clears waivers will go to Louisville. 2.0 was out of options so he couldn't be outrighted without clearing waivers, hence the DFA.
So now it's another interesting test for the Reds. After giving the Yankees all they can handle, they go to Toronto starting Tuesday night to play Cito Gaston's Blue Jays. Former Jays manager John Gibbons was just fired last week and things haven't been going all that well since the firing. The Cincinnastians seem to perenially be a team that can play well against good teams but lets down horribly against bad ones. Let's hope they come out of this series with confidence and a strong feeling and do their best to win some at Skydome.
PEACE
Johnny Greato was superb, only allowing one run on four hits in five innings of work, but was removed down 1-0 after a rain stoppage in the middle of the sixth. Leave it to Majewski and Affeldt to completely mess that up. Canadian Intensity and Jay Hoops both struck out with the bases loaded in the fourth in the Reds biggest sustained rally of the afternoon, and alas, they came up empty. Griffey's 601st homer of his career in the eighth provided the Reds lone run.
So it was disappointing to see the Reds drop the last game, but beggars can't be choosers and there's nothing wrong with taking two of three. It might be interesting to note that Canadian Intensity had another at-bat in the sixth, this time with two on, and struck out in a pouring rainstorm. Of course, they pulled tarp right after that. Had the rain not come, Greato likely wasn't going to be removed after seventy-five pitches and who knows what happens.
In better news, Jeff Keppinger is back, as mentioned earlier, and has a beard now. Reminded me of my senior year of college, when I started an English class with a Mr. Clean-like instructor, promptly ditched it for quite a while, so long that when I returned he suddenly had hair and a bald spot and everyone I sat around had thought I'd dropped the class entirely. Anyway, per Hal or somebody he was trying to get rid of it but why mess with something so awesome? This game has enough cool goatees and linebeards. Time for someone who looks like a real man.
Per the trainers he's fully recovered. APhil 2.0 was DFA'd as a result, and if he clears waivers will go to Louisville. 2.0 was out of options so he couldn't be outrighted without clearing waivers, hence the DFA.
So now it's another interesting test for the Reds. After giving the Yankees all they can handle, they go to Toronto starting Tuesday night to play Cito Gaston's Blue Jays. Former Jays manager John Gibbons was just fired last week and things haven't been going all that well since the firing. The Cincinnastians seem to perenially be a team that can play well against good teams but lets down horribly against bad ones. Let's hope they come out of this series with confidence and a strong feeling and do their best to win some at Skydome.
PEACE
Obviously, if Jesus doesn't love the Reds, he at least is looking out for them a little bit, at least today...
Additionally, thanks to the YES broadcast, Votto now has a codename: CANADIAN INTENSITY. I love it!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
My Friends, We Have Seen the Dark Night, and Clawed Out of the Abyss For Now
I played baseball from age six to age twelve. It was a terrifying experience. I wasn't good. I rarely had a plate appearance where my primary emotion wasn't abject terror. It wasn't a fear of getting hit by a pitch; that happened a few times, sometimes it hurt worse than others, but never more than a bruise. Maybe it was fear of failure, but more than anything it was a fear of the spotlight, of everyone looking at me. I just hated the feeling of being the focal point. My batting average in five years was probably somewhere around .100. I did have a decent OBP because I went to the plate looking for a walk, and often got it in Little League.
There were a couple of times, though, when the opposing pitcher wasn't three years older than me, or didn't throw hard, or maybe I was just seeing the ball better, when I would swing hard and really get ahold of it, send a gapper to right-center, feel like I'd really done something, even though the feeling going to the plate was just as terrified. Wow, I'd think, I really did something good.
The Cincinnastians came into the Bronx losers of five straight, running into a Yankees team that had been doing nothing but win, and have taken the first two of the series. Suddenly this team is capable of clutch hitting. The starting pitching and bullpen have been lights-out. The Reds pursue a sweep tomorrow afternoon.
As a longtime Yankee hater I don't want to admit it, but there is definitely something special about watching the Reds play at Yankee Stadium. Seeing them win there last night on the back of an Edinson Volquez gem (seriously, there is no justice if he doesn't start the All-Star Game) brought back memories of seeing the Ohio basketball team win at North Carolina my sophomore year. Obviously the feeling wasn't as strong, just because I'm not going to see Paul Janish at the grocery store tomorrow afternoon and be able to honk at him and hold up the student newspaper or anything. But it's a similar feeling. The Reds hadn't played at Yankee Stadium since the 1976 World Series, and to see this group go there and win the first two brings out a definite feeling of pride, of accomplishment, like they finally got a couple of wins this year that will feel significant for a long time, even if they really aren't that meaningful in the big picture.
Volquez was just transcendent again, just pitched a fantastic seven innings last night. Votto's homer was monstrous and Jolbert Cabrera broke the tie with a big double. Unfortunately the Reds' shortstop woes continued as he dislocated a finger sliding into second late in the contest. All the talk after the game, though, was Volquez, who had the Yankees' veteran lineup spellbound. Of course, now the national media likely will treat it as if he's a new discovery or something, even though he's pitched this well all year.
Really, though, as good as Volquez has been, I predicted Friday would at least be a close game, even if the Reds didn't win. Today I didn't really have such a good feeling about, but the Legs blew open a scoreless game with a four-run seventh and downed the Highlanders, 6-0.
I only had radio for this one but it seemed that Darryl Thompson acquainted himself well, dancing out of trouble for most of his first five big-league innings. Per Brantley he showed nice poise and good velocity. Edwin came through with a two-run single to put the Reds on the board (again Edwin with the clutch hitting, he hasn't been setting the world on fire the last couple of weeks but there's no one at the plate in a big situation I'd rather have up there) and -- get this --Corey Patterson hit a two-run upper deck shot.
When stuff like that's happening, you know things are going well.
Tomorrow it's Johnny Greato (does he seem to start every other Sunday afternoon game or what?) against Andy Pettite. Greato's actually settled down a bit as far as start quality as of late; he's lasted at least five in his last seven starts and hasn't been awful in any of them, save his first inning against the Cardinals at home. He hasn't looked unhittable like at first, but he hasn't looked lost either, and that's the really encouraging thing. Pettite is Pettite; veteran lefty who knows how to get guys out. Let's get three straight, eh? Game time is 1:05 Eastern, 10:05 here in Burritoville.
There were a couple of times, though, when the opposing pitcher wasn't three years older than me, or didn't throw hard, or maybe I was just seeing the ball better, when I would swing hard and really get ahold of it, send a gapper to right-center, feel like I'd really done something, even though the feeling going to the plate was just as terrified. Wow, I'd think, I really did something good.
The Cincinnastians came into the Bronx losers of five straight, running into a Yankees team that had been doing nothing but win, and have taken the first two of the series. Suddenly this team is capable of clutch hitting. The starting pitching and bullpen have been lights-out. The Reds pursue a sweep tomorrow afternoon.
As a longtime Yankee hater I don't want to admit it, but there is definitely something special about watching the Reds play at Yankee Stadium. Seeing them win there last night on the back of an Edinson Volquez gem (seriously, there is no justice if he doesn't start the All-Star Game) brought back memories of seeing the Ohio basketball team win at North Carolina my sophomore year. Obviously the feeling wasn't as strong, just because I'm not going to see Paul Janish at the grocery store tomorrow afternoon and be able to honk at him and hold up the student newspaper or anything. But it's a similar feeling. The Reds hadn't played at Yankee Stadium since the 1976 World Series, and to see this group go there and win the first two brings out a definite feeling of pride, of accomplishment, like they finally got a couple of wins this year that will feel significant for a long time, even if they really aren't that meaningful in the big picture.
Volquez was just transcendent again, just pitched a fantastic seven innings last night. Votto's homer was monstrous and Jolbert Cabrera broke the tie with a big double. Unfortunately the Reds' shortstop woes continued as he dislocated a finger sliding into second late in the contest. All the talk after the game, though, was Volquez, who had the Yankees' veteran lineup spellbound. Of course, now the national media likely will treat it as if he's a new discovery or something, even though he's pitched this well all year.
Really, though, as good as Volquez has been, I predicted Friday would at least be a close game, even if the Reds didn't win. Today I didn't really have such a good feeling about, but the Legs blew open a scoreless game with a four-run seventh and downed the Highlanders, 6-0.
I only had radio for this one but it seemed that Darryl Thompson acquainted himself well, dancing out of trouble for most of his first five big-league innings. Per Brantley he showed nice poise and good velocity. Edwin came through with a two-run single to put the Reds on the board (again Edwin with the clutch hitting, he hasn't been setting the world on fire the last couple of weeks but there's no one at the plate in a big situation I'd rather have up there) and -- get this --Corey Patterson hit a two-run upper deck shot.
When stuff like that's happening, you know things are going well.
Tomorrow it's Johnny Greato (does he seem to start every other Sunday afternoon game or what?) against Andy Pettite. Greato's actually settled down a bit as far as start quality as of late; he's lasted at least five in his last seven starts and hasn't been awful in any of them, save his first inning against the Cardinals at home. He hasn't looked unhittable like at first, but he hasn't looked lost either, and that's the really encouraging thing. Pettite is Pettite; veteran lefty who knows how to get guys out. Let's get three straight, eh? Game time is 1:05 Eastern, 10:05 here in Burritoville.
Friday, June 20, 2008
The Season is Slow and Painful, and My Friend, the Deck is Stacked
So coming off the completion of the season series with Los Angeles (for the record, seven of LA's thirty-four wins this year have come against the Reds), a 7-4 loss where the Reds fought like hungry trout after an early deficit but came up short, the Cincinnastians roll into Yankee Stadium to face the hot-as-balls New York nine. What do we know about the Red Rovers as they come over to the eassyde?
- Jay Hoops isn't completely the Balls... yet. He's been slumping after his initial angelic play (see boss MS Paint work in previous entries for evidence) and the ninth inning timeout incident seemed like as good a welcome to the seedy underbelly of The Show as he's likely to receive. Big Dust should have gotten himself run as well for that one, it was ridiculous. Apparently, young man, you only get time if blue grants time, so sit y'ass down, son. Hoops' average is down to like .320 or something (that's SABRmetric talk, we crunch the numbers like no other) and people aren't throwing it in the wheelhouse anymore. He'll adjust, but it'd be nice if Dust didn't already have him cemented into the top three spots in the order. How many times can you bang on that talking point before it gets boring, though? At this point Dusty's lineups sucking should just be an assumed truth, like the laws of gravity or the poor economy or something.
- This is an offensively poor club overall. That's just a fact. You can't explain poor hitting away by saying the other pitcher was on his game every single day. Once a week, you can use the "other pitcher was on his game" excuse. Beyond that, if you aren't scoring at least a couple on a consistent basis, you're just a bad offense. The Dodgers came into this series with some scary numbers from their pitching staff, and other than a brief flareup late yesterday the Reds still couldn't do anything. They're just bad. Shortstop is an offensive zero, as is catcher. Edwin has been struggling. Brandon is feast or famine. The outfield spot that isn't Dunn or Bruce has been a disaster all year. It seems management's main concern coming into the offseason this year was the pitching, but as "meh" as the pitching has been, it's been the inability to hit "meh" opposing pitchers that's doomed the Reds to a 33-41 record.
With the way the Yankees have been playing lately, this is going to be a tough series this weekend no matter what. Beyond that, three-game series at Toronto and the underachieving Indians shouldn't be a reason to squirm particularly vigorously. But wait, this is a team full of free-swingers (Dunn and Bruce excluded) and any unfamiliar arm looks like Cy Young against the Reds. On top of that issue, they have to use a DH in an American League park, and that's probably going to put Corey Patterson in the lineup at least three or four of these games (and knowing Dusty, only three or four games is a best-case scenario).
- More interesting things will happen behind closed doors in the next month than anything that happens on the field. Pretty much every year since 2001 (with the exception of 2002 and 2006) the Reds have been out of the race at this point in the year, and 2008 is no exception. They've gone from just a couple below .500 to being 12.5 out of first in the last week and a half, no surprise from looking at the June schedule. Milwaukee has distanced themselves from the pack and it's going to be the Reds, Houston and the Buccos in a three-way dance for fourth down the stretch. Every year except the two mentioned above, the Reds have been mentioned as major sellers in the trade market. 2003's fire sale obviously hasn't produced a winner, Harang nonwithstanding. Other years the deadline came and went without anything earthshaking happening.
Will this year be different? Walt Jocketty may be jonesing to do something to put his mark on the team. He's already come out and said the only untouchables are Greato, Volquez, Votto, Hoops and Edwin. The names left contain some crumbs (who's going to trade for Bako?) and some possibly-movable pieces (Affeldt could probably help someone in a middle relief role). Or will something happen to impact the team beyond 2008? Will someone take Cordero's three years left on his deal and give the Legs some tasty morsels? Can the Reds get something for Dunn that's better than the draft picks? Is Dunn even part of their long-term plan? Is there a long-term plan?
Every Reds-related report in the national media has them as major sellers, but they have a "win-now" mini-Steinbrenner owner. Will he let Jocketty shape the team as he sees fit? Then you have to consider that Jocketty has never really had to do a fire sale. Does this organization have the eye for talent they'll need to get a return on their investment?
T'will be verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry interesting, homie. Now that's worth talking about.
The three-game set with the Highlanders opens tonight at 7:05, 4:05 here in the Land of In-N-Out. Edinson Volquez gets the ball against Mike Mussina. Volquez should be fired up to pitch in Yankee Stadium and make his mark on the world. Mussina is a veteran the Reds haven't seen that much who knows how to pitch, so I'm predicting a 3-1 Yankee win, with Volquez leaving tied and the bullpen getting the loss. But what do I know? I don't even like baseball.
Peace!!!
- Jay Hoops isn't completely the Balls... yet. He's been slumping after his initial angelic play (see boss MS Paint work in previous entries for evidence) and the ninth inning timeout incident seemed like as good a welcome to the seedy underbelly of The Show as he's likely to receive. Big Dust should have gotten himself run as well for that one, it was ridiculous. Apparently, young man, you only get time if blue grants time, so sit y'ass down, son. Hoops' average is down to like .320 or something (that's SABRmetric talk, we crunch the numbers like no other) and people aren't throwing it in the wheelhouse anymore. He'll adjust, but it'd be nice if Dust didn't already have him cemented into the top three spots in the order. How many times can you bang on that talking point before it gets boring, though? At this point Dusty's lineups sucking should just be an assumed truth, like the laws of gravity or the poor economy or something.
- This is an offensively poor club overall. That's just a fact. You can't explain poor hitting away by saying the other pitcher was on his game every single day. Once a week, you can use the "other pitcher was on his game" excuse. Beyond that, if you aren't scoring at least a couple on a consistent basis, you're just a bad offense. The Dodgers came into this series with some scary numbers from their pitching staff, and other than a brief flareup late yesterday the Reds still couldn't do anything. They're just bad. Shortstop is an offensive zero, as is catcher. Edwin has been struggling. Brandon is feast or famine. The outfield spot that isn't Dunn or Bruce has been a disaster all year. It seems management's main concern coming into the offseason this year was the pitching, but as "meh" as the pitching has been, it's been the inability to hit "meh" opposing pitchers that's doomed the Reds to a 33-41 record.
With the way the Yankees have been playing lately, this is going to be a tough series this weekend no matter what. Beyond that, three-game series at Toronto and the underachieving Indians shouldn't be a reason to squirm particularly vigorously. But wait, this is a team full of free-swingers (Dunn and Bruce excluded) and any unfamiliar arm looks like Cy Young against the Reds. On top of that issue, they have to use a DH in an American League park, and that's probably going to put Corey Patterson in the lineup at least three or four of these games (and knowing Dusty, only three or four games is a best-case scenario).
- More interesting things will happen behind closed doors in the next month than anything that happens on the field. Pretty much every year since 2001 (with the exception of 2002 and 2006) the Reds have been out of the race at this point in the year, and 2008 is no exception. They've gone from just a couple below .500 to being 12.5 out of first in the last week and a half, no surprise from looking at the June schedule. Milwaukee has distanced themselves from the pack and it's going to be the Reds, Houston and the Buccos in a three-way dance for fourth down the stretch. Every year except the two mentioned above, the Reds have been mentioned as major sellers in the trade market. 2003's fire sale obviously hasn't produced a winner, Harang nonwithstanding. Other years the deadline came and went without anything earthshaking happening.
Will this year be different? Walt Jocketty may be jonesing to do something to put his mark on the team. He's already come out and said the only untouchables are Greato, Volquez, Votto, Hoops and Edwin. The names left contain some crumbs (who's going to trade for Bako?) and some possibly-movable pieces (Affeldt could probably help someone in a middle relief role). Or will something happen to impact the team beyond 2008? Will someone take Cordero's three years left on his deal and give the Legs some tasty morsels? Can the Reds get something for Dunn that's better than the draft picks? Is Dunn even part of their long-term plan? Is there a long-term plan?
Every Reds-related report in the national media has them as major sellers, but they have a "win-now" mini-Steinbrenner owner. Will he let Jocketty shape the team as he sees fit? Then you have to consider that Jocketty has never really had to do a fire sale. Does this organization have the eye for talent they'll need to get a return on their investment?
T'will be verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry interesting, homie. Now that's worth talking about.
The three-game set with the Highlanders opens tonight at 7:05, 4:05 here in the Land of In-N-Out. Edinson Volquez gets the ball against Mike Mussina. Volquez should be fired up to pitch in Yankee Stadium and make his mark on the world. Mussina is a veteran the Reds haven't seen that much who knows how to pitch, so I'm predicting a 3-1 Yankee win, with Volquez leaving tied and the bullpen getting the loss. But what do I know? I don't even like baseball.
Peace!!!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Reds rolling... down the tubes
As predicted the Boston series has been difficult. Yesterday's loss was tough. Lincoln Logs was shelled last time he went two innings, so why would they leave him in for the tenth? Just bullpen mismanagement. The shot at two of three evaporated with yesterday's loss as Josh Beckett has a 3-0 lead and this game is as good as done. Maybe I'm wrong... but I doubt it.
Good to see Paul Janish finally out of the lineup. He's obviously overmatched but of course, Jolbert Cabrera, today's shortstop, is still in the two slot. Yesterday C. Trent Rosecrans was on the radio in the top of the 2nd, saying Dusty's rationale behind Janish in the two slot is this: with Bruce at leadoff the two hitter will have bunt and hit-and-run opportunities, and will have protection from Griffey in the three hole as well. First off, you don't want someone who can't make contact trying to bunt and hit-and-run on a regular basis. Second, if Griffey is hitting third (ostensibly a run producer) you shouldn't need to bunt and hit-and-run to produce runs. Third, Griffey offers no protection anymore because if he doesn't get a fastball right where he's guessing it'll be he can't get around anymore. But you know what? Good job, Dusty. Let's go ahead and pretend Griffey still hits like it's 1998. It's working out so well so far. An ESPN article said he's been struggling because of the pressure in the chase for 600 homers. I've seen just about every Griffey at-bat this season and I don't see a guy who's pressing, I see a guy who's finished.
Speaking of overmatched, Homer Bailey is one out into the third and has allowed five runs. Boston is a fantastic offensive team but this is ridiculous. All the talk about this team having tons of starting pitching depth has sure turned out to be bunk, hasn't it? They're going to rue their selling Tom Shearn to Taiwan or whatever they did before this year is over.
Bailey was just removed. God.
It gets harder and harder to write about this team on a daily basis, seeing as how for like eight years in a row, it's been the same old story. Bad team after bad team. I know the Reds have rarely been the worst team in the National League since 2001, but for my money this decade has been just as excruciating as the Bengals' 1990s run.
So now do you even give Bailey another start on the big league stage? His next start would be the Saturday game at Yankee Stadium if they keep a five-man rotation going. He wasn't pitching particularly well at Louisville before his callup, and in the big leagues he's had three starts, one okayish, two awful. Might be Daryl Thompson time; his numbers looked sensational in Chattanooga and pretty good with the Bats.
So this is the final game of the 20-straight-games stretch. Assuming today is a loss (fairly safe assumption from the looks of things) they'll end up 10-10. That actually... isn't that bad. Maybe everything written above is premature. Part of what's maddening about this team is many of their wins feel miraculous (lead the league in walkoffs) and when they look bad, they usually look really terrible. They can't hit good pitching to save their lives, any pitcher who they've never seen before looks like Cy Young, and they can't get any consistency with their starting pitching (Harang, Cueto and Arroyo have all been either great or terrible in most of their starts; no consistency). Offensively they're either awesome or don't score any, with nothing in between. Griffey in the three spot has been killing them. They've gotten nothing offensively from their catchers and the lineup needs Keppinger's consistency in the worst way. He's rehabbing, so hopefully he'll be back soon.
Maybe a comeback is coming! We shall see! Laterz!
Good to see Paul Janish finally out of the lineup. He's obviously overmatched but of course, Jolbert Cabrera, today's shortstop, is still in the two slot. Yesterday C. Trent Rosecrans was on the radio in the top of the 2nd, saying Dusty's rationale behind Janish in the two slot is this: with Bruce at leadoff the two hitter will have bunt and hit-and-run opportunities, and will have protection from Griffey in the three hole as well. First off, you don't want someone who can't make contact trying to bunt and hit-and-run on a regular basis. Second, if Griffey is hitting third (ostensibly a run producer) you shouldn't need to bunt and hit-and-run to produce runs. Third, Griffey offers no protection anymore because if he doesn't get a fastball right where he's guessing it'll be he can't get around anymore. But you know what? Good job, Dusty. Let's go ahead and pretend Griffey still hits like it's 1998. It's working out so well so far. An ESPN article said he's been struggling because of the pressure in the chase for 600 homers. I've seen just about every Griffey at-bat this season and I don't see a guy who's pressing, I see a guy who's finished.
Speaking of overmatched, Homer Bailey is one out into the third and has allowed five runs. Boston is a fantastic offensive team but this is ridiculous. All the talk about this team having tons of starting pitching depth has sure turned out to be bunk, hasn't it? They're going to rue their selling Tom Shearn to Taiwan or whatever they did before this year is over.
Bailey was just removed. God.
It gets harder and harder to write about this team on a daily basis, seeing as how for like eight years in a row, it's been the same old story. Bad team after bad team. I know the Reds have rarely been the worst team in the National League since 2001, but for my money this decade has been just as excruciating as the Bengals' 1990s run.
So now do you even give Bailey another start on the big league stage? His next start would be the Saturday game at Yankee Stadium if they keep a five-man rotation going. He wasn't pitching particularly well at Louisville before his callup, and in the big leagues he's had three starts, one okayish, two awful. Might be Daryl Thompson time; his numbers looked sensational in Chattanooga and pretty good with the Bats.
So this is the final game of the 20-straight-games stretch. Assuming today is a loss (fairly safe assumption from the looks of things) they'll end up 10-10. That actually... isn't that bad. Maybe everything written above is premature. Part of what's maddening about this team is many of their wins feel miraculous (lead the league in walkoffs) and when they look bad, they usually look really terrible. They can't hit good pitching to save their lives, any pitcher who they've never seen before looks like Cy Young, and they can't get any consistency with their starting pitching (Harang, Cueto and Arroyo have all been either great or terrible in most of their starts; no consistency). Offensively they're either awesome or don't score any, with nothing in between. Griffey in the three spot has been killing them. They've gotten nothing offensively from their catchers and the lineup needs Keppinger's consistency in the worst way. He's rehabbing, so hopefully he'll be back soon.
Maybe a comeback is coming! We shall see! Laterz!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Woe is us...
Since the offseason we've looked at the schedule and fretted about it. Game after game, good team after good team, many on the road... how would the Reds ever get out of June with a decent record?
Folks, it looks like this Reds season is flying off the tracks. Johnny Cueto is down 5-0 on my DVR. So be it if this post looks really dumb if the Reds come back, but it doesn't get any easier from here, and this bullpen may be spent after this series, with no day off til Monday. The rallies aren't coming and four of the five rotation slots are question marks right now. This isn't good. This isn't good at all.
Folks, it looks like this Reds season is flying off the tracks. Johnny Cueto is down 5-0 on my DVR. So be it if this post looks really dumb if the Reds come back, but it doesn't get any easier from here, and this bullpen may be spent after this series, with no day off til Monday. The rallies aren't coming and four of the five rotation slots are question marks right now. This isn't good. This isn't good at all.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Game 66: Bailey's Honeymoon Over, Reds Lose
Reds pitcher Homer Bailey's 2008 renaissance lasted all of one game as he was battered and bruised Tuesday in a dismal 7-2 loss to the Cardinals.
Once again Cincinnati saw an opposing starter for the first time, and once again he looked terrific, as the Cardinals' Mitchell Boggs allowed two runs and four hits in five innings of work. Bailey, on the other hand, didn't make it through the fourth, allowing eight hits and five runs. The performance echoed Bailey's start against the Cards last year, another three and two-thirds job, although he allowed seven in that start. The location just wasn't there for Homer this time, and he allowed bombs to Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel in St. Louis' four-run third. All four runs came with two out; it was that kind of night for the Reds.
Joey Votto proivded the Reds' two tallies with a bomb in the fourth that plated Adam Dunn. Really the only other positive was a solid two innings from Lincoln Logs in relief of Bailey; other than that the Reds were bad and boring this evening.
Pujols is day-to-day after straining his calf out of the batter's box in the seventh. Maybe he'll be out for the series and won't be able to terrorize the Reds.
Really not much to say about this one. Reds sort-of threatened a couple of times but couldn't do anything. Just another day, another loss, and Bailey's obviously going to have to be much better then he was tonight to stick in the rotation. The Nasti is now 31-35 on the year and faces the Cards tomorrow night as well. Johnny Greato takes on Braden Looper, game time 7:10, 4:10 here in agaveland. Peace out.
Once again Cincinnati saw an opposing starter for the first time, and once again he looked terrific, as the Cardinals' Mitchell Boggs allowed two runs and four hits in five innings of work. Bailey, on the other hand, didn't make it through the fourth, allowing eight hits and five runs. The performance echoed Bailey's start against the Cards last year, another three and two-thirds job, although he allowed seven in that start. The location just wasn't there for Homer this time, and he allowed bombs to Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel in St. Louis' four-run third. All four runs came with two out; it was that kind of night for the Reds.
Joey Votto proivded the Reds' two tallies with a bomb in the fourth that plated Adam Dunn. Really the only other positive was a solid two innings from Lincoln Logs in relief of Bailey; other than that the Reds were bad and boring this evening.
Pujols is day-to-day after straining his calf out of the batter's box in the seventh. Maybe he'll be out for the series and won't be able to terrorize the Reds.
Really not much to say about this one. Reds sort-of threatened a couple of times but couldn't do anything. Just another day, another loss, and Bailey's obviously going to have to be much better then he was tonight to stick in the rotation. The Nasti is now 31-35 on the year and faces the Cards tomorrow night as well. Johnny Greato takes on Braden Looper, game time 7:10, 4:10 here in agaveland. Peace out.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Griffey Belts No. 600, Reds Belt Marlins 9-4
The Reds salvaged a split and a 3-5 road trip with a 9-4 win over the Marlins Monday night.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th career homer highlighted the Reds' 31st win of 2008, and Paul Bako provided two dingers to power the Reds offense.
Junior getting to 600 is something that just makes me feel old. I was seven when he broke in with Seattle, had a Griffey poster in my room as a kid and as a senior in high school couldn't sleep that unforgettable night the Reds traded for him. It just didn't seem real, and like so many things that seem too good to be true, Griffey's stint in Cincinnati hasn't worked out the way it was supposed to work out. Still, lots of guys with his continued injury problems would have hung it up a long time ago, particularly after 2004, when he finally had his power stroke and again lost half the year to injury. He never really seemed happy until later in his time with the Reds, when he seemed to get comfortable in his old-man role, adjusted to not being able to run anymore, and just did the best he could and wasn't so hard on himself. I remember seeing him late in 2000 or possibly sometime in 2001 and telling someone, "he looks happy today," and thinking, wait, this is a baseball player, we aren't supposed to psychoanalyze him. He just looked so miserable in his early times in Cincinnati, with the pressure, the death threats, the booing, the Phil Nevin trade rumours.
But he's adjusted, and now he is what he is, a constant reminder for some of the promising future that never was, but I've come to just appreciate him for what he is, a legend in his time, the former best player in the game, one of the only untainted surefire Hall of Famers of his era and one of the only dominant players from my childhood and teenage years left in baseball (he's one of the only ones still playing, along with Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux and Frank Thomas, and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting). Despite it all, and despite all the years of frustration, I'm glad he's been a Red. 2005 through 2007 have been such bittersweet redemption for all the frustration from 2001 to 2004, and it's hard not to think that if he'd just been healthy and played 140 games those years with normal regression, he would have been the first to pass Aaron, and do it the right way. But what happened happened, and it's silly to wonder what might have been.
More than anything, I think about where I was in 2000 and that huge contract was signed, and where I am now compared to then. It's hard to believe that this is the last year of that deal if the Reds don't pick up the option (and they most certainly won't). It seemed so long at that time it was almost incomprehensible. I've seen players from my childhood baseball cards show up on coaching staffs all around the league but The Kid hitting his 600th homer may take the cake for baseball showing you how quickly life moves. He's not a kid anymore, and neither am I. But for both of us, it's been a great ride.
Edinson Volquez held the Floridians hitless through four before running into trouble, allowing three in the fifth before ending his night with a scoreless sixth. He was good-but-not-great and picked up another win.
As far as the Philly series and the rest of the Florida series go, it was a mixed bag. I said going in that I wouldn't be too crestfallen with a 3-5 trip. That isn't a ringing endorsement of the Reds, but such is the state of their play on the road. A 1-7 or 2-6 trip wouldn't have shocked me in the least. I'm really glad the Reds are done with the Phillies for the year. That lineup continues to be scary, and if I never see Chase Utley terrorize Reds pitching again I won't be crying. Volquez was their only salvation at Philly, although they did keep two of the other games close. Of course they couldn't salvage the split against Cole Hamels, a really good lefty.
As for the rest of the Marlins series, really the Reds should have won three of four but the Cordero blown save in the second game was epic. Really, it happens, and what can you do about it? Nothing. Chalk it up and move on, and I'm glad they got the split.
Big homestand coming up. The Reds have won thirteen of fifteen at home and need these games coming up. Three vs. second-place St. Louis, three vs. defending World Champion Boston, then the Dodgers. Some dude named Mitchell Boggs goes for Luigi against Homer Bailey for the Reds, who was very good against the Phils in his first start despite losing. He was clearly a victim of poor defense, and deserved better. Let's see how he does his second time out. Certainly he looked like more of a pitcher than he did last year, just trying to toss rising fastballs past everyone. Seems to have filled out a bit as well, although that may be my imagination. Game time is 7:10 for the Reds and Cards tomorrow, 4:10 here in California. Peace.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th career homer highlighted the Reds' 31st win of 2008, and Paul Bako provided two dingers to power the Reds offense.
Junior getting to 600 is something that just makes me feel old. I was seven when he broke in with Seattle, had a Griffey poster in my room as a kid and as a senior in high school couldn't sleep that unforgettable night the Reds traded for him. It just didn't seem real, and like so many things that seem too good to be true, Griffey's stint in Cincinnati hasn't worked out the way it was supposed to work out. Still, lots of guys with his continued injury problems would have hung it up a long time ago, particularly after 2004, when he finally had his power stroke and again lost half the year to injury. He never really seemed happy until later in his time with the Reds, when he seemed to get comfortable in his old-man role, adjusted to not being able to run anymore, and just did the best he could and wasn't so hard on himself. I remember seeing him late in 2000 or possibly sometime in 2001 and telling someone, "he looks happy today," and thinking, wait, this is a baseball player, we aren't supposed to psychoanalyze him. He just looked so miserable in his early times in Cincinnati, with the pressure, the death threats, the booing, the Phil Nevin trade rumours.
But he's adjusted, and now he is what he is, a constant reminder for some of the promising future that never was, but I've come to just appreciate him for what he is, a legend in his time, the former best player in the game, one of the only untainted surefire Hall of Famers of his era and one of the only dominant players from my childhood and teenage years left in baseball (he's one of the only ones still playing, along with Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux and Frank Thomas, and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting). Despite it all, and despite all the years of frustration, I'm glad he's been a Red. 2005 through 2007 have been such bittersweet redemption for all the frustration from 2001 to 2004, and it's hard not to think that if he'd just been healthy and played 140 games those years with normal regression, he would have been the first to pass Aaron, and do it the right way. But what happened happened, and it's silly to wonder what might have been.
More than anything, I think about where I was in 2000 and that huge contract was signed, and where I am now compared to then. It's hard to believe that this is the last year of that deal if the Reds don't pick up the option (and they most certainly won't). It seemed so long at that time it was almost incomprehensible. I've seen players from my childhood baseball cards show up on coaching staffs all around the league but The Kid hitting his 600th homer may take the cake for baseball showing you how quickly life moves. He's not a kid anymore, and neither am I. But for both of us, it's been a great ride.
Edinson Volquez held the Floridians hitless through four before running into trouble, allowing three in the fifth before ending his night with a scoreless sixth. He was good-but-not-great and picked up another win.
As far as the Philly series and the rest of the Florida series go, it was a mixed bag. I said going in that I wouldn't be too crestfallen with a 3-5 trip. That isn't a ringing endorsement of the Reds, but such is the state of their play on the road. A 1-7 or 2-6 trip wouldn't have shocked me in the least. I'm really glad the Reds are done with the Phillies for the year. That lineup continues to be scary, and if I never see Chase Utley terrorize Reds pitching again I won't be crying. Volquez was their only salvation at Philly, although they did keep two of the other games close. Of course they couldn't salvage the split against Cole Hamels, a really good lefty.
As for the rest of the Marlins series, really the Reds should have won three of four but the Cordero blown save in the second game was epic. Really, it happens, and what can you do about it? Nothing. Chalk it up and move on, and I'm glad they got the split.
Big homestand coming up. The Reds have won thirteen of fifteen at home and need these games coming up. Three vs. second-place St. Louis, three vs. defending World Champion Boston, then the Dodgers. Some dude named Mitchell Boggs goes for Luigi against Homer Bailey for the Reds, who was very good against the Phils in his first start despite losing. He was clearly a victim of poor defense, and deserved better. Let's see how he does his second time out. Certainly he looked like more of a pitcher than he did last year, just trying to toss rising fastballs past everyone. Seems to have filled out a bit as well, although that may be my imagination. Game time is 7:10 for the Reds and Cards tomorrow, 4:10 here in California. Peace.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Reds rolling...
Cueto pitching well, the Olympia beer is cold, Jay Bruce hit another dinger... we're halfway through the Sunday game and it's good times in SoCal.
What a homestand this has been. Bruce's first taste of the majors has continued to be too good to be true. The game-winner was a blast, a true no-doubter, and masked the frustration of another awful appearance from Josh Fogg. The Reds kept battling and the win was great despite the 'pen having to pitch six innings. One thing that concerns me is the Reds just keep winning these walkoffs (their seven walkoffs leads the majors), and that type of thing just isn't likely to sustain itself over an entire season. Bruce's performance isn't going to sustain itself either, of course, but this year is shaping into something really fun. Easy to say that when you've won four of five.
Bruce is at the plate right now, and Tim Hudson, one of the better starters in the NL, is scared to throw him a strike. Seriously, is this for real?
Anyway, back to Saturday. I didn't even start watching the game until close to nine PM eastern because the MLB.tv feed wasn't available til about half an hour after the end of the game. So I kind of knew when the game was going to end, the only question was, would the game-winner come from Bruce, or on Griffey's 600th HR? It came from Bruce and it was sweet. Now the Reds are going for the sweep.
CREDIT FOR DUSTY
Dusty takes a lot of abuse for moves he makes, particularly moves like the one he made in the ninth yesterday, pinch-running Freel for Adam Dunn. Normally I hate removing the big bats from the game, but there is no way Adam Dunn scores the tying run the way Freel did, waiting til the instant Soriano released the ball to first to run home, then barely beating the throw.
PLAYER MOVE!!!
Josh Fogg to the DL with back spasms or something, Gary Majewski to the big club for a little bit of bullpen help. He's been awful in every stint with the Reds since the big trade, but has been good in AAA (of course, he always has been good in AAA). Much like Norris Hopper's "sore elbow" lingering for two months, this move reeks of a phantom injury to avoid having to send someone to Louisville, but really, whatever. If by some miracle the Rockies are still interested in Fogg I would deal him for a bag of baseballs at this point.
JERRY HAIRSTON JR.
He's just hitting and hitting right now. Coming into this year the talk was that Hairston was fully healthy for the first time in a few years, and he's really raking right now. He's been just what this team needed so far, and thankfully now that Corey Patterson is gone, replaced by Bruce, there isn't an open outfield spot for Dusty to use on him, and as everyone knows if Patterson was in the lineup he just had to hit leadoff. These recent player moves almost seem to have "Dusty-proofed" this team, which could only be considered a good thing.
TODAY
It's the sixth right now, Reds up 3-0. May be back for more later.
What a homestand this has been. Bruce's first taste of the majors has continued to be too good to be true. The game-winner was a blast, a true no-doubter, and masked the frustration of another awful appearance from Josh Fogg. The Reds kept battling and the win was great despite the 'pen having to pitch six innings. One thing that concerns me is the Reds just keep winning these walkoffs (their seven walkoffs leads the majors), and that type of thing just isn't likely to sustain itself over an entire season. Bruce's performance isn't going to sustain itself either, of course, but this year is shaping into something really fun. Easy to say that when you've won four of five.
Bruce is at the plate right now, and Tim Hudson, one of the better starters in the NL, is scared to throw him a strike. Seriously, is this for real?
Anyway, back to Saturday. I didn't even start watching the game until close to nine PM eastern because the MLB.tv feed wasn't available til about half an hour after the end of the game. So I kind of knew when the game was going to end, the only question was, would the game-winner come from Bruce, or on Griffey's 600th HR? It came from Bruce and it was sweet. Now the Reds are going for the sweep.
CREDIT FOR DUSTY
Dusty takes a lot of abuse for moves he makes, particularly moves like the one he made in the ninth yesterday, pinch-running Freel for Adam Dunn. Normally I hate removing the big bats from the game, but there is no way Adam Dunn scores the tying run the way Freel did, waiting til the instant Soriano released the ball to first to run home, then barely beating the throw.
PLAYER MOVE!!!
Josh Fogg to the DL with back spasms or something, Gary Majewski to the big club for a little bit of bullpen help. He's been awful in every stint with the Reds since the big trade, but has been good in AAA (of course, he always has been good in AAA). Much like Norris Hopper's "sore elbow" lingering for two months, this move reeks of a phantom injury to avoid having to send someone to Louisville, but really, whatever. If by some miracle the Rockies are still interested in Fogg I would deal him for a bag of baseballs at this point.
JERRY HAIRSTON JR.
He's just hitting and hitting right now. Coming into this year the talk was that Hairston was fully healthy for the first time in a few years, and he's really raking right now. He's been just what this team needed so far, and thankfully now that Corey Patterson is gone, replaced by Bruce, there isn't an open outfield spot for Dusty to use on him, and as everyone knows if Patterson was in the lineup he just had to hit leadoff. These recent player moves almost seem to have "Dusty-proofed" this team, which could only be considered a good thing.
TODAY
It's the sixth right now, Reds up 3-0. May be back for more later.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Reds 8, Braves 7
Full update possibly before gametime tomorrow, perhaps not. In the meantime the pic says it all...
Friday, May 30, 2008
Brandonie, Bruce Buck Braves 3-2 in Eleven
Brandon Phillips provided two of the Reds’ three runs batted in, including the game-winning single in the eleventh to drive Cincinnati to a 3-2 win over Atlanta Friday night.
The extra-innings heroics obscured another fantastic start from Edinson Volquez, who appears to have shaken off the disastrous relief outing in the San Diego Marathon and was again superb.
The one RBI that didn’t belong to Phillips came from the sensation, the one everyone was waiting for, Jay Bruce, who had four hits in another fantastic performance. He even provided a few laughs getting all turned around on the sac fly that led to Atlanta’s first run (it was so deep the runner would have tagged and scored no matter what). The other day they had video on the telecast of Dunn and Griffey tricking him into running onto the field by himself to start the game, and on top of that he was recipient of one of the best pies to the face I’ve ever seen. This team really does feel energized by the youth, and they’re playing with a spark they really didn’t show on the west coast trip. Bruce has truly shown he belongs so far, and has made the Reds look dumb for not going with him in center from the start. If he’s really this good, how many wins has it cost the Reds already putting the clowns they were sending out to center out there instead of Bruce?
Isn’t it interesting that despite being hot as fire, Joey Votto is permanently stuck in the seven hole, but Jay Bruce, a guy who’s getting his first big-league at-bats, has hit either second or third in each of his starts, including his first major league game? Dusty continues to slot hitters based on position in the field rather than what actual players are playing those positions on a given night. Bruce has performed well, but there’s not much room for a slump at such important spots in the order, and a rookie is eventually going to slump. Still no thought, it seems, has been made to moving Adam Dunn up to second or third in the order. Griffey is still cemented to number three, and Phillips to cleanup. It seems Dusty doesn’t read the Enquirer, which has had several excellent Sunday pieces on what hitter fits each spot best based on actual numbers, rather than gut feeling.
“Well, let me tell you something baby, the only thing I use a newspaper for is to whip a doggie, and ain’t nothing I use to whip a doggie that’s gonna whip my behind, jack!”
The extra-innings heroics obscured another fantastic start from Edinson Volquez, who appears to have shaken off the disastrous relief outing in the San Diego Marathon and was again superb.
The one RBI that didn’t belong to Phillips came from the sensation, the one everyone was waiting for, Jay Bruce, who had four hits in another fantastic performance. He even provided a few laughs getting all turned around on the sac fly that led to Atlanta’s first run (it was so deep the runner would have tagged and scored no matter what). The other day they had video on the telecast of Dunn and Griffey tricking him into running onto the field by himself to start the game, and on top of that he was recipient of one of the best pies to the face I’ve ever seen. This team really does feel energized by the youth, and they’re playing with a spark they really didn’t show on the west coast trip. Bruce has truly shown he belongs so far, and has made the Reds look dumb for not going with him in center from the start. If he’s really this good, how many wins has it cost the Reds already putting the clowns they were sending out to center out there instead of Bruce?
Isn’t it interesting that despite being hot as fire, Joey Votto is permanently stuck in the seven hole, but Jay Bruce, a guy who’s getting his first big-league at-bats, has hit either second or third in each of his starts, including his first major league game? Dusty continues to slot hitters based on position in the field rather than what actual players are playing those positions on a given night. Bruce has performed well, but there’s not much room for a slump at such important spots in the order, and a rookie is eventually going to slump. Still no thought, it seems, has been made to moving Adam Dunn up to second or third in the order. Griffey is still cemented to number three, and Phillips to cleanup. It seems Dusty doesn’t read the Enquirer, which has had several excellent Sunday pieces on what hitter fits each spot best based on actual numbers, rather than gut feeling.
“Well, let me tell you something baby, the only thing I use a newspaper for is to whip a doggie, and ain’t nothing I use to whip a doggie that’s gonna whip my behind, jack!”
I’m not saying Bruce shouldn’t be starting, mind you, lest anyone say “People pick on Dusty for not playing youngsters, and now he is playing one and you’re complaining about it!” On the contrary, a blind man could tell you even he can see Bruce gives the Reds the best chance to win in center. Plugging him into the top of the order so soon is just a lot of pressure for a kid who’s already had a lot of expectations put on him. That is all.
With Griffey struggling, can’t he at least consider trying to go the other way every now and then? I can’t count the number of possible ground-ball singles hit straight into the shift this season (today, it was his AB in the bottom of the sixth). He doesn’t even seem to consider going with the pitch and driving it into left anymore. He does waste a strike every at-bat lamely showing bunt, but it doesn’t seem to be deterring the shift at all. I hate to suggest a Hall of Famer needs coaching in his approach at the plate, but if the power bat isn’t there trying to pull the ball all the time, doesn’t he need to be trying to get hits any way he can?
(NOTE: This is why I don’t do live blog entries on the fly; later in the game he did go the other way, twice. He lined out to short once and got the second hit continuing the rally in the eleventh. Kudos to Junior, and I’m an idiot.)
Not to go all Uni Watch on you, but I have to say one thing about Atlanta’s uniforms. I don’t know if the Braves have been doing this all the time, but the all-blue caps with the normal grey road uniforms looks like crap. First off, their traditional roads are absolutely a modern classic, and a great reminder of the TBS era, which I hated at the time but of which I now have this strange nostalgic fondness. Secondly, on those uniforms red is the dominant color, with blue as a trim color, and the solid blue caps look like they’re slapped on the top of a uniform designed to showcase red as well as blue (which, now that I think about it, is exactly the case). Third, the all-blue caps seem to be a different shade of blue than the blue on the rest of the uniform, almost a black, while the blue-and-red caps seem to be a slightly lighter blue. I’m no Pantone expert, but it looked really strange and out of place. I like the all-blue caps, although I’m no fan of Atlanta’s cluttering up of their uniform set with two alts. For the longest time they were one of the only teams to have no alternate look whatsoever, and it was really great how conservative they were. Not anymore, and much like the Braves being absent from TBS, that’s sad.
So tomorrow the weather calls for some Foggy conditions. Really Foggy. Josh Foggy. Foggybear takes on the Braves on Fox at 3:55 Eastern, 12:55 in Chargerland. Josh Fogg takes on star rookie Jair Jurrjens for the Braves. The Reds are 26-29 and back out of last by a half-game. The record is pretty amazing considering how terrible they’ve looked at times this year. May is almost gone and the Reds are ensured a winning month; with only one game left they’re 14-12. June looks to be a beastly month, with series upcoming at Florida and at Philadelphia, vs. Boston and the Dodgers, and at the Yankees, at Toronto and at Cleveland. Yikes. Good time to be peaking. Let’s get hot for more than a week and make this interesting.
With Griffey struggling, can’t he at least consider trying to go the other way every now and then? I can’t count the number of possible ground-ball singles hit straight into the shift this season (today, it was his AB in the bottom of the sixth). He doesn’t even seem to consider going with the pitch and driving it into left anymore. He does waste a strike every at-bat lamely showing bunt, but it doesn’t seem to be deterring the shift at all. I hate to suggest a Hall of Famer needs coaching in his approach at the plate, but if the power bat isn’t there trying to pull the ball all the time, doesn’t he need to be trying to get hits any way he can?
(NOTE: This is why I don’t do live blog entries on the fly; later in the game he did go the other way, twice. He lined out to short once and got the second hit continuing the rally in the eleventh. Kudos to Junior, and I’m an idiot.)
Not to go all Uni Watch on you, but I have to say one thing about Atlanta’s uniforms. I don’t know if the Braves have been doing this all the time, but the all-blue caps with the normal grey road uniforms looks like crap. First off, their traditional roads are absolutely a modern classic, and a great reminder of the TBS era, which I hated at the time but of which I now have this strange nostalgic fondness. Secondly, on those uniforms red is the dominant color, with blue as a trim color, and the solid blue caps look like they’re slapped on the top of a uniform designed to showcase red as well as blue (which, now that I think about it, is exactly the case). Third, the all-blue caps seem to be a different shade of blue than the blue on the rest of the uniform, almost a black, while the blue-and-red caps seem to be a slightly lighter blue. I’m no Pantone expert, but it looked really strange and out of place. I like the all-blue caps, although I’m no fan of Atlanta’s cluttering up of their uniform set with two alts. For the longest time they were one of the only teams to have no alternate look whatsoever, and it was really great how conservative they were. Not anymore, and much like the Braves being absent from TBS, that’s sad.
So tomorrow the weather calls for some Foggy conditions. Really Foggy. Josh Foggy. Foggybear takes on the Braves on Fox at 3:55 Eastern, 12:55 in Chargerland. Josh Fogg takes on star rookie Jair Jurrjens for the Braves. The Reds are 26-29 and back out of last by a half-game. The record is pretty amazing considering how terrible they’ve looked at times this year. May is almost gone and the Reds are ensured a winning month; with only one game left they’re 14-12. June looks to be a beastly month, with series upcoming at Florida and at Philadelphia, vs. Boston and the Dodgers, and at the Yankees, at Toronto and at Cleveland. Yikes. Good time to be peaking. Let’s get hot for more than a week and make this interesting.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Reds Bombed By Bucs, Harang Sucks and It's Getting Foggy In Here
Reds lost tonight to the Buccaneers, 7-2. The home winning streak is over, and I'm concerned about Aaron Harang. After pitching poorly in his start Thursday at San Diego, the Cincinnasti Dream Dusty Baker had him throw sixty-three pitches in the marathon Sunday, then brought him back on three days' rest to start tonight. He just didn't have his breaking ball, plain and simple, and didn't have great location on his fastball. Now the Reds are three games into a stretch of twenty straight games without an off-day with a tired stopper. That's freaking faaaaan-tastic.
Additionally, Adam Dunn left the game early apparently due to his little child having a massive seizure, although he's apparently okay right now I'm hoping for the best, as is everyone.
LHwaP and ex-Red Phil Dumatrait made the Reds look like the kiddie corps offensively, and it was super embarassing for all.
And on top of all that, to make us even more emo, another PLAYER MOVE!!!! Kent Mercker is back from his questionable DL stint, Matt Belisle is in AAA and the Reds have decided to put their best foot forward in front of the nation and start Josh Fogg on Fox Saturday Baseball against the Fiesta Bravos.
Positives tonight? No one bombed the stadium. I assume no hick was like "watch this" and fell to their death walking down the escalator rail. It was tied at the start of the game and also after one inning. The Great Brandonie hit a dinger. A.Phil 2.0 got to start a game, which was probably exciting for his parents and friends. Why is Edwin getting so many days off? It's like Dusty is blaming Edwin for his ejection in San Diego. Hard times, indeed.
Tomorrow it's the Reds (25-29) and Braves (29-25) at home for the first of three. The Reds try to pick up the pieces of their shattered home win streak and start another one. Edinson Volquez tries to shake off the game-winning dinger from the SD Marathon against Tom Glavine. Yes, a game against another lefthander, making this I think 19 out of the last 20 someone has thrown a LHwaP. And on top of that, it's the greatest Reds killer of them all. The Reds knocked him around pretty good in that start earlier this year at the ATL, though, so who knows? Maybe something will happen and someone will win the game. You can only get analysis like this here, folks.
Additionally, Adam Dunn left the game early apparently due to his little child having a massive seizure, although he's apparently okay right now I'm hoping for the best, as is everyone.
LHwaP and ex-Red Phil Dumatrait made the Reds look like the kiddie corps offensively, and it was super embarassing for all.
And on top of all that, to make us even more emo, another PLAYER MOVE!!!! Kent Mercker is back from his questionable DL stint, Matt Belisle is in AAA and the Reds have decided to put their best foot forward in front of the nation and start Josh Fogg on Fox Saturday Baseball against the Fiesta Bravos.
Positives tonight? No one bombed the stadium. I assume no hick was like "watch this" and fell to their death walking down the escalator rail. It was tied at the start of the game and also after one inning. The Great Brandonie hit a dinger. A.Phil 2.0 got to start a game, which was probably exciting for his parents and friends. Why is Edwin getting so many days off? It's like Dusty is blaming Edwin for his ejection in San Diego. Hard times, indeed.
Tomorrow it's the Reds (25-29) and Braves (29-25) at home for the first of three. The Reds try to pick up the pieces of their shattered home win streak and start another one. Edinson Volquez tries to shake off the game-winning dinger from the SD Marathon against Tom Glavine. Yes, a game against another lefthander, making this I think 19 out of the last 20 someone has thrown a LHwaP. And on top of that, it's the greatest Reds killer of them all. The Reds knocked him around pretty good in that start earlier this year at the ATL, though, so who knows? Maybe something will happen and someone will win the game. You can only get analysis like this here, folks.
You think you're our ace, Harang?
I bet you think you're pretty good, don't you, daddy? You been going out there, pitching good for like three years, wearing your designer suits, flashing 'round that jezebel Baby Doll like she ain't something off a street corner? Well let me tell you somethin', jack... if you think good times are comin' round the bend for you, baby, you gotta contend with somethin' else coming outta my sleeve, baby!
But before I can pontificate and elaborate on what I'm trying to do to you I gotta slow it down a bit, if you will... and in the words of the Gamesmaster, sit a spell by the learning tree. Ask Mark Prior how he pitched after I was done with him! That's right! Ask Kerry Wood, closing for two months in Chitown before he shuts it down for good! I came close to putting him out of the game... if you will. You walk around here talkin about how you think I'm not so bad? I may not have a million dollar body jack, but I am bad and all these people know it!
For somebody who everybody wants to crown Cy Young, I don't see no gold on your shelves, baby. No gold like division titles... NL titles... Hit Behind Hank Aaron For Like A Year Titles... these are the things kings are made of! And all put on a poor hard-working man like the Cincinnati Dream Dusty Baker. You thought you were tired after the Beach Blast 18 in San Diego... in the Dream's day Mike Marshall pitched sixty pitches every day for an entire season. You thought it was a fluke when you got knocked around by the Bucs... let me tell you something, baby... you ain't seen nothin' yet, JACK.
Give it up for the Cincinnati Dream ladies and gentlemen! Now let's go to the ring!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Reds say Hello to Bruce, Adieu to Patterson, Adios to Bucs... Twice
Lots of news on the Reds front over the last two days.
First, the phenom Jay Bruce was called up from Louisville, taking the place of the designated-for-assignment Scott Hatteberg. Bruce proceeded to go three-for-three in Tuesday's win over the Pirates, walking twice, and one-for-three in Wednesday's game, picking up another RBI and walking two more times. (Joe from Florence Yall says, "Looks like we got another Dunn to me! Gotta swing the bat to make things happen!" Listening in his office at GABP, Dusty Baker nods sagely.)
Anyway, Bruce has been just sensational so far. He made some awkward swings on one of his outs tonight but overall has been fantastic. He's shown plate discipline with the walks but the ability to lash out at good pitches to hit as well, and this is when he's coming up for his first plate appearances in the bigs. Got to be hard to keep it together and be patient in that situation. Bringing up Bruce was the only move to make and it really shows that Walt Jocketty is finally trying to do something to shake things up. Obviously he was just waiting to be done with the west coast trip to make the moves.
I'm sorry to see Hatteberg go. He's been far more useful than I ever thought he would be over the last couple of years, but really didn't have a place on this current team, being an older, no-power lefthanded first baseman. He really didn't take to the pinch-hitting role at all and really didn't seem happy. The handwriting was really on the wall when Javier Valentin was getting to play on Votto's days off; if Hatteberg wasn't going to get at-bats then, he was never going to play. Votto-Hatteberg was just a platoon that never made much sense. Hopefully he can latch up with someone else and play the rest of the year.
Initially the DFA of Hatteberg didn't seem to be a complimentary move to the Bruce callup; it left the Reds with one less infielder and one outfielder too many. The Corey Patterson demotion seemed like the more natural move (I've already written enough about how awful Patterson has been; just see the post below entitled "Corey Patterson" and you'll pretty much see the extent of my thoughts on him). It only took a day for Patterson to go, with infielder Andy Phillips coming up from Louisville to take his place. Phillips has played for the Yankees on and off, was hitting well in Louisville and has played at first, second and third in his career. Looks like Freel is mostly going to be an outfielder with this callup, and between Hairston, Freel and A.Phil 2.0 (there wasn't a 1.0, but he seems better with 2.0 on the end) the Reds have lots of versatility off the bench. Hopefully he can hit a little, too.
Last night the Reds jumped out to a big lead and held on to beat the Pirates 9-6 (Adam Dunn had the big blow, pushing the Reds ahead in what was a close game with a three-run dinger), while tonight they jumped ahead 6-0 after one, knocking LHwaP Tom Gorzelanny out of the box after two-thirds of an inning. The team really does seem energized by the recent moves and just feels much... fresher, overall, maybe? Turning a minus in the lineup into a plus at center, combined with Dunn killing the ball really makes this offense tick. Fan freaking tastic!
Another factor in this turnaround over the last two: starting pitching, dummy! Why didn't you think of that? Taco Filling pitched for the second time in four games and was admirable. The way he pitched wasn't admirable; he was admirable in general. Six innings, three hits, six whiffs. I love it. Tuesday night, Johnny Greato was okayish; it wasn't a disaster, anyway. He again only went five innings, which is frustrating. He just can't get deep into games and just leaves too many pitches in the hitting zone, not to a Belisle extent but still he needs some work. And you know he will work, and work hard. Every fifth day.
So anyway, it's been a good couple of days in Reds Land. They're even getting withing spitting distance of .500, at 25-28, and have moved ahead of the Bucs and out of last. They're just a game back of the Crew of Brew at this point, and from there it's a rocket to the moon. Tomorrow they go for the sweep as Aaron "Son of Beast" Harang takes on the Thin White Duke for the Tri-Rivers Buccaneers. I have to admit I was worried about this series after the Bucs took the last two of the Cubs series last weekend in dramatic fashion but they've rolled over and died so far. Why would tomorrow be any different? Famous last words, I know... but the Reds have the power on their side...
First, the phenom Jay Bruce was called up from Louisville, taking the place of the designated-for-assignment Scott Hatteberg. Bruce proceeded to go three-for-three in Tuesday's win over the Pirates, walking twice, and one-for-three in Wednesday's game, picking up another RBI and walking two more times. (Joe from Florence Yall says, "Looks like we got another Dunn to me! Gotta swing the bat to make things happen!" Listening in his office at GABP, Dusty Baker nods sagely.)
Anyway, Bruce has been just sensational so far. He made some awkward swings on one of his outs tonight but overall has been fantastic. He's shown plate discipline with the walks but the ability to lash out at good pitches to hit as well, and this is when he's coming up for his first plate appearances in the bigs. Got to be hard to keep it together and be patient in that situation. Bringing up Bruce was the only move to make and it really shows that Walt Jocketty is finally trying to do something to shake things up. Obviously he was just waiting to be done with the west coast trip to make the moves.
I'm sorry to see Hatteberg go. He's been far more useful than I ever thought he would be over the last couple of years, but really didn't have a place on this current team, being an older, no-power lefthanded first baseman. He really didn't take to the pinch-hitting role at all and really didn't seem happy. The handwriting was really on the wall when Javier Valentin was getting to play on Votto's days off; if Hatteberg wasn't going to get at-bats then, he was never going to play. Votto-Hatteberg was just a platoon that never made much sense. Hopefully he can latch up with someone else and play the rest of the year.
Initially the DFA of Hatteberg didn't seem to be a complimentary move to the Bruce callup; it left the Reds with one less infielder and one outfielder too many. The Corey Patterson demotion seemed like the more natural move (I've already written enough about how awful Patterson has been; just see the post below entitled "Corey Patterson" and you'll pretty much see the extent of my thoughts on him). It only took a day for Patterson to go, with infielder Andy Phillips coming up from Louisville to take his place. Phillips has played for the Yankees on and off, was hitting well in Louisville and has played at first, second and third in his career. Looks like Freel is mostly going to be an outfielder with this callup, and between Hairston, Freel and A.Phil 2.0 (there wasn't a 1.0, but he seems better with 2.0 on the end) the Reds have lots of versatility off the bench. Hopefully he can hit a little, too.
Last night the Reds jumped out to a big lead and held on to beat the Pirates 9-6 (Adam Dunn had the big blow, pushing the Reds ahead in what was a close game with a three-run dinger), while tonight they jumped ahead 6-0 after one, knocking LHwaP Tom Gorzelanny out of the box after two-thirds of an inning. The team really does seem energized by the recent moves and just feels much... fresher, overall, maybe? Turning a minus in the lineup into a plus at center, combined with Dunn killing the ball really makes this offense tick. Fan freaking tastic!
Another factor in this turnaround over the last two: starting pitching, dummy! Why didn't you think of that? Taco Filling pitched for the second time in four games and was admirable. The way he pitched wasn't admirable; he was admirable in general. Six innings, three hits, six whiffs. I love it. Tuesday night, Johnny Greato was okayish; it wasn't a disaster, anyway. He again only went five innings, which is frustrating. He just can't get deep into games and just leaves too many pitches in the hitting zone, not to a Belisle extent but still he needs some work. And you know he will work, and work hard. Every fifth day.
So anyway, it's been a good couple of days in Reds Land. They're even getting withing spitting distance of .500, at 25-28, and have moved ahead of the Bucs and out of last. They're just a game back of the Crew of Brew at this point, and from there it's a rocket to the moon. Tomorrow they go for the sweep as Aaron "Son of Beast" Harang takes on the Thin White Duke for the Tri-Rivers Buccaneers. I have to admit I was worried about this series after the Bucs took the last two of the Cubs series last weekend in dramatic fashion but they've rolled over and died so far. Why would tomorrow be any different? Famous last words, I know... but the Reds have the power on their side...
Monday, May 26, 2008
Rotation Change
After yesterday's debacle the rotation for the upcoming homestand has changed.
Johnny Cueto still starts Tuesday against the Pirates; rather than Harang and Volquez following him, though, the Reds will start Arroyo on three days' rest again, followed by Harang in the series finale Thursday. Friday Volquez will start the opener against the Braves, followed by Belisle and Cueto in the series finale. I'm not sure why they can't just bring up Homer Bailey or another Louisville starter to go Wednesday; I know Arroyo pitched pretty well last time he threw with three days' rest but I wouldn't make it a habit.
Johnny Cueto still starts Tuesday against the Pirates; rather than Harang and Volquez following him, though, the Reds will start Arroyo on three days' rest again, followed by Harang in the series finale Thursday. Friday Volquez will start the opener against the Braves, followed by Belisle and Cueto in the series finale. I'm not sure why they can't just bring up Homer Bailey or another Louisville starter to go Wednesday; I know Arroyo pitched pretty well last time he threw with three days' rest but I wouldn't make it a habit.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Corey Patterson
While I'm thinking about this junk from this loss today, let me say something about CP23...
He was 0-8 today. Zero for eight. One sacrifice. Hell, that's an out, too. He might be the worst contact hitter I've ever seen. I watch a lot of baseball. A LOT. When I'm watching the Reds I generally have one game on picture-in-picture and anohter on MLB.tv, sometimes two on there. I'm generally watching at least two games at once, sometimes as many as four. No one I have seen currently playing regularly in the bigs is as awful as Corey Patterson. He's a bad bunter. He tries to bunt for a hit like he's Norris Hopper, and never makes contact. When he swings he's the king of infield popups. When he does make contact he barely even gets a piece of it. I can't remember the last time I saw him have a solid base hit, like hitting it square. I seem to recall a double recently but even that was sliced down the line. He swings like he has the timing down, but he closes his eyes and swings based on the sound the ball makes rather than the location where he sees it pitched. I almost wonder if he needs Lasik or has vision problems. If his continued playing time is Dusty's doing, Dusty needs to have his head examined. Ridiculous.
Just had to vent. More about today's debacle below.
He was 0-8 today. Zero for eight. One sacrifice. Hell, that's an out, too. He might be the worst contact hitter I've ever seen. I watch a lot of baseball. A LOT. When I'm watching the Reds I generally have one game on picture-in-picture and anohter on MLB.tv, sometimes two on there. I'm generally watching at least two games at once, sometimes as many as four. No one I have seen currently playing regularly in the bigs is as awful as Corey Patterson. He's a bad bunter. He tries to bunt for a hit like he's Norris Hopper, and never makes contact. When he swings he's the king of infield popups. When he does make contact he barely even gets a piece of it. I can't remember the last time I saw him have a solid base hit, like hitting it square. I seem to recall a double recently but even that was sliced down the line. He swings like he has the timing down, but he closes his eyes and swings based on the sound the ball makes rather than the location where he sees it pitched. I almost wonder if he needs Lasik or has vision problems. If his continued playing time is Dusty's doing, Dusty needs to have his head examined. Ridiculous.
Just had to vent. More about today's debacle below.
Game 51: Reds Squander Chance for Series Win, Fall in 18
The Reds blew late leads of 6-5, 7-6 and 9-7 (the latter in extra innings) and fell to the Padres, 12-9 in eighteen frames Sunday afternoon and evening.
http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=280525125
The box and further details are above, but needless to say the game started with frustration (another poor start from the increasingly-overmatched Matt Belisle), continued into elation with multiple comebacks and solid hitting (two-run homer from Adam Dunn, tiebreaking homer from Brandon Phillips that should have ended it). Now all that's left is disappointment and worry, because Aaron Harang pitched four relief innings on two days' rest and Edinson Volquez took the loss pitching an inning and two-thirds on just a day's rest.
Really, once Bill Bray was used and the bullpen was empty, Harang and Volquez were the logical next options, short of pitching Cueto as the long-term reliever for today and calling up someone from Louisville to start Tuesday. A manager quickly runs out of options when the starter only goes four and a third and the game ends up going eighteen. Seeing Harang throw sixty-three pitches three days after throwing 103 is distressing as hell, though, and Volquez threw thirty-nine just two days after throwing ninety-one can't be good for a young arm.
Double-switching Adam Dunn out of the game in the ninth obviously turned out to be a dumb move, because he's been hot and it removed one of the only currently hot bats from the lineup. If Dusty thought Francisco Cordero was going to have no issues closing it out, he shouldn't have double-switched him into the game in the first place, because if he had closed the door in the ninth it would have been a moot point. It was hard not to smell trouble for Cordero as soon as he entered the game; he warmed up for about an hour before getting into a non-save opportunity last night, and had also pitched Friday. He gave up the tying run in the ninth, but pitched a scoreless tenth.
Then came the eleventh, when the Reds got two across to make it 9-7. Ballgame over, right? Well, no; the last arms in the bullpen were Josh Fogg and Bill Bray. Dusty went with Fogg and away went the lead, with Bray having to come in to clean up the mess. As horrible as Fogg has been, why not go with Bray to begin with? Hindsight is 20/20, but that's a no-brainer. At the time I had thought Bray pitched Friday, giving him three straight days with appearances, but now that I look at his game log he pitched Thursday and Saturday, but not Friday. I know Bray has been a roller-coaster ride, either great or awful, but with Fogg you have no doubt what you're getting: awful.
Once the Padres scored two to send it to the twelfth, things settled down. The Reds threatened in the seventeenth, but Paul Bako was the only bat left and of course he took two perfect strikes before whiffing. The Padres were pitching their AAA bullpen and the Reds couldn't scatch one across for seven innings. Of course, when the only threats in the lineup at the time were Griffey, Phillips and Votto, it gets pretty easy to pitch around them to get to the easier outs.
I'll stop now because it's hard not to be venomous when your team just lost in 18 innings. The Reds had a shot to get three of four in San Diego and come away with a 3-4 road trip, a miracle after the disastrous LA series (that's a yearly tradition unlike any other), but instead end up 2-5. They're now 23-28 on the season. Thank God there's a day off tomorrow, because the entire bullpen and 40% of the rotation pitched today. Johnny Cueto is slated to get the ball Tuesday against the Pittsburghers. Ian Snell goes for the Bucs. Game time 7:10 Eastern, 4:10 here in Carnitas Burrito Land. I've been watching baseball for nine hours. I'm going to go play some Wii or something. Peace!
http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=280525125
The box and further details are above, but needless to say the game started with frustration (another poor start from the increasingly-overmatched Matt Belisle), continued into elation with multiple comebacks and solid hitting (two-run homer from Adam Dunn, tiebreaking homer from Brandon Phillips that should have ended it). Now all that's left is disappointment and worry, because Aaron Harang pitched four relief innings on two days' rest and Edinson Volquez took the loss pitching an inning and two-thirds on just a day's rest.
Really, once Bill Bray was used and the bullpen was empty, Harang and Volquez were the logical next options, short of pitching Cueto as the long-term reliever for today and calling up someone from Louisville to start Tuesday. A manager quickly runs out of options when the starter only goes four and a third and the game ends up going eighteen. Seeing Harang throw sixty-three pitches three days after throwing 103 is distressing as hell, though, and Volquez threw thirty-nine just two days after throwing ninety-one can't be good for a young arm.
Double-switching Adam Dunn out of the game in the ninth obviously turned out to be a dumb move, because he's been hot and it removed one of the only currently hot bats from the lineup. If Dusty thought Francisco Cordero was going to have no issues closing it out, he shouldn't have double-switched him into the game in the first place, because if he had closed the door in the ninth it would have been a moot point. It was hard not to smell trouble for Cordero as soon as he entered the game; he warmed up for about an hour before getting into a non-save opportunity last night, and had also pitched Friday. He gave up the tying run in the ninth, but pitched a scoreless tenth.
Then came the eleventh, when the Reds got two across to make it 9-7. Ballgame over, right? Well, no; the last arms in the bullpen were Josh Fogg and Bill Bray. Dusty went with Fogg and away went the lead, with Bray having to come in to clean up the mess. As horrible as Fogg has been, why not go with Bray to begin with? Hindsight is 20/20, but that's a no-brainer. At the time I had thought Bray pitched Friday, giving him three straight days with appearances, but now that I look at his game log he pitched Thursday and Saturday, but not Friday. I know Bray has been a roller-coaster ride, either great or awful, but with Fogg you have no doubt what you're getting: awful.
Once the Padres scored two to send it to the twelfth, things settled down. The Reds threatened in the seventeenth, but Paul Bako was the only bat left and of course he took two perfect strikes before whiffing. The Padres were pitching their AAA bullpen and the Reds couldn't scatch one across for seven innings. Of course, when the only threats in the lineup at the time were Griffey, Phillips and Votto, it gets pretty easy to pitch around them to get to the easier outs.
I'll stop now because it's hard not to be venomous when your team just lost in 18 innings. The Reds had a shot to get three of four in San Diego and come away with a 3-4 road trip, a miracle after the disastrous LA series (that's a yearly tradition unlike any other), but instead end up 2-5. They're now 23-28 on the season. Thank God there's a day off tomorrow, because the entire bullpen and 40% of the rotation pitched today. Johnny Cueto is slated to get the ball Tuesday against the Pittsburghers. Ian Snell goes for the Bucs. Game time 7:10 Eastern, 4:10 here in Carnitas Burrito Land. I've been watching baseball for nine hours. I'm going to go play some Wii or something. Peace!
Game 50: Reds 7, Padres 2
The Reds have a shot at a 3-4 road trip after a 7-2 victory over the Padres Saturday night. Taco Filling was excellent, going seven innings, as the Reds built an early lead and never looked back. Joey Votto's three-run homer was enough to provide the winning margin. They go for three of four over the Friars today as Greg Maddux takes on Matthew Belisle. Game time is 1:05 in Chargerland, 4:05 in the Nasti.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Finally... Reds 3, Padres 2
For the first time since 2005 I actually witnessed a Reds win in person as they defeated the Padres, 3-2 last night in San Diego.
The journey was long and treacherous, but an Adam Dunn homer leading off the ninth provided the winning margin. The dinger was an absolute no-doubter, and a fellow Reds fan standing near me called it before it happened. Sad as it is to say, there is no way Trevor Hoffman is a better pitcher than Heath Bell right now, and the Padres are rolling the dice and doing themselves a disservice every time they send Hoffman out in the ninth. When he went 3-1 on Dunn I knew he would have to come in the zone with something and there it was, Dunn crushing it to left, just a beautiful sight.
As far as Edinson Volquez's start goes, wow, wow, wow, all I can say is wow. He is just nasty, plain and simple. When you have Jake Peavy saying you're nasty, you know you're tough. He was locating every pitch last night, the fastball, curve, slider and change, all at different speeds. Granted, the Padres are a terrible hitting team, but twelve strikeouts in six innings is damned impressive any way you shake it. Volquez is the Reds' MVP, current ace and possible savior and there is no one in either league pitching better than he is right now.
It's too bad, though, that thanks to anohter anemic offensive night Volquez was stuck with a no-decision. Lefthander with a Pulse (Shawn Estes version) shut them down good, and had a no-hitter going through four. His arm is held together with duct tape and he hasn't pitched in the bigs since one game in 2006, but he's lefthanded and still breathing, so the Reds were powerless against him.
It didn't help matters that due to a series of baserunning problems and questionable strategic decisions the Reds had ten different players reach base in the fifth, sixth and seventh and came away with just two runs. In the fifth, Dunn walked and Hairston had a single to lead off the inning in a scoreless game. Joey Votto tried twice to bunt unsuccessfully in the rain (first time in four years it's rained when I've been there) then struck out. Not only were the conditions not great to bunt, it was still fairly early in the game, Votto is a guy you want to produce runs and likely isn't a great bunter, not to mention a much worse hitter (Paul Bako) and the pitcher were hitting behind him. A single dents the scoreboard, doesn't give up an out and virtually guarantees a run, rather than putting men on second and third with the horribly-slumping bad-hitting Bako and the pitcher due up. The rain delay hit after Votto's whiff, when the game resumed Bako struck out and Volquez grounded out to end the threat.
After the Padres got a run in the fifth Ryan Freel doubled to lead off the sixth. This time they had Corey Patterson try to bunt him to third. Problem #1 with this is that Freel is guaranteed to score on nearly any single, and can go to third on a groundout to the right side or a flyball to right or center. Problem #2 is that Corey Patterson either tries to bunt or threatens to try to bunt about four times per start and is never able to get it down, so obviously bunting isn't his strong suit. Of course, he is unsuccessful in his first two bunt attempts, being one of the poorest bat handlers on the club. So since he can't get the bunt down, either Freel was instructed to go on contact, or he went on his own, but he got thrown out at second on a tapper to the pitcher. One out, one one. After a Griffey strikeout Phillips walked, putting men on first and second for Dunn. Dunn shows bunt with two outs, both runners go in motion and Patterson is thrown out at third to end the inning. The Reds simply gave away two outs when they were down 1-0 in idiotic fashion. Did Chris Speier forget there were two outs? Did they really think Dunn was going to bunt for a hit? Why, when you're down one with a speedy runner at second, on a night when baserunners are at a premium, would you have Dunn try to put a bunt down rather than try to get the single to tie the game? Why have the last out of the inning be caught stealing at third? It just made no sense in the world to me. This team has run itself out of innings all year and it just has to stop.
However, the Reds got two in the seventh off Estes and some reliever named Corey (the Padres are already in the "call up anyone and everyone because we've given up on 2008" phase of the year, so I didn't recognize about a quarter of their roster) as Javier Valentin had a big clutch hit. They gave the run right back thanks to Jared Burton but Jeremy Affeldt was excellent in relief. David Weathers wound up getting the final out of the eighth and got the win after Dunn's homer. Cordero got the save, pitching a scoreless ninth.
Tonight is game three of the series. Taco Filling goes for the Reds against Lefthander with a Pulse (Wil Ledezma version) for the Friars. I'm fully expecting another low-scoring affair, but shouldn't have to worry about rain. I won't be going tonight or Sunday so it's Channel 4SD for me. Yay!
The journey was long and treacherous, but an Adam Dunn homer leading off the ninth provided the winning margin. The dinger was an absolute no-doubter, and a fellow Reds fan standing near me called it before it happened. Sad as it is to say, there is no way Trevor Hoffman is a better pitcher than Heath Bell right now, and the Padres are rolling the dice and doing themselves a disservice every time they send Hoffman out in the ninth. When he went 3-1 on Dunn I knew he would have to come in the zone with something and there it was, Dunn crushing it to left, just a beautiful sight.
As far as Edinson Volquez's start goes, wow, wow, wow, all I can say is wow. He is just nasty, plain and simple. When you have Jake Peavy saying you're nasty, you know you're tough. He was locating every pitch last night, the fastball, curve, slider and change, all at different speeds. Granted, the Padres are a terrible hitting team, but twelve strikeouts in six innings is damned impressive any way you shake it. Volquez is the Reds' MVP, current ace and possible savior and there is no one in either league pitching better than he is right now.
It's too bad, though, that thanks to anohter anemic offensive night Volquez was stuck with a no-decision. Lefthander with a Pulse (Shawn Estes version) shut them down good, and had a no-hitter going through four. His arm is held together with duct tape and he hasn't pitched in the bigs since one game in 2006, but he's lefthanded and still breathing, so the Reds were powerless against him.
It didn't help matters that due to a series of baserunning problems and questionable strategic decisions the Reds had ten different players reach base in the fifth, sixth and seventh and came away with just two runs. In the fifth, Dunn walked and Hairston had a single to lead off the inning in a scoreless game. Joey Votto tried twice to bunt unsuccessfully in the rain (first time in four years it's rained when I've been there) then struck out. Not only were the conditions not great to bunt, it was still fairly early in the game, Votto is a guy you want to produce runs and likely isn't a great bunter, not to mention a much worse hitter (Paul Bako) and the pitcher were hitting behind him. A single dents the scoreboard, doesn't give up an out and virtually guarantees a run, rather than putting men on second and third with the horribly-slumping bad-hitting Bako and the pitcher due up. The rain delay hit after Votto's whiff, when the game resumed Bako struck out and Volquez grounded out to end the threat.
After the Padres got a run in the fifth Ryan Freel doubled to lead off the sixth. This time they had Corey Patterson try to bunt him to third. Problem #1 with this is that Freel is guaranteed to score on nearly any single, and can go to third on a groundout to the right side or a flyball to right or center. Problem #2 is that Corey Patterson either tries to bunt or threatens to try to bunt about four times per start and is never able to get it down, so obviously bunting isn't his strong suit. Of course, he is unsuccessful in his first two bunt attempts, being one of the poorest bat handlers on the club. So since he can't get the bunt down, either Freel was instructed to go on contact, or he went on his own, but he got thrown out at second on a tapper to the pitcher. One out, one one. After a Griffey strikeout Phillips walked, putting men on first and second for Dunn. Dunn shows bunt with two outs, both runners go in motion and Patterson is thrown out at third to end the inning. The Reds simply gave away two outs when they were down 1-0 in idiotic fashion. Did Chris Speier forget there were two outs? Did they really think Dunn was going to bunt for a hit? Why, when you're down one with a speedy runner at second, on a night when baserunners are at a premium, would you have Dunn try to put a bunt down rather than try to get the single to tie the game? Why have the last out of the inning be caught stealing at third? It just made no sense in the world to me. This team has run itself out of innings all year and it just has to stop.
However, the Reds got two in the seventh off Estes and some reliever named Corey (the Padres are already in the "call up anyone and everyone because we've given up on 2008" phase of the year, so I didn't recognize about a quarter of their roster) as Javier Valentin had a big clutch hit. They gave the run right back thanks to Jared Burton but Jeremy Affeldt was excellent in relief. David Weathers wound up getting the final out of the eighth and got the win after Dunn's homer. Cordero got the save, pitching a scoreless ninth.
Tonight is game three of the series. Taco Filling goes for the Reds against Lefthander with a Pulse (Wil Ledezma version) for the Friars. I'm fully expecting another low-scoring affair, but shouldn't have to worry about rain. I won't be going tonight or Sunday so it's Channel 4SD for me. Yay!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Well, that sucked
I go away for a few days and the Reds go in the garbage... seriously. Sunday's win over the Indians giving the Reds a sweep of the homestand means very little after four straight losses out west, the first three to LA and last night's 8-2 loss to the Padres.
This team is so undisciplined and impatient at the plate it's ridiculous. After a good start last night with Griffey's homer they managed just one hit from the second through the sixth, and it was a Dunn broken-bat single. Brandon Phillips took like four straight breaking balls from Randy Wolf over two straight at-bats for called strikes, then complained to the umpire about it. Edwin Encarnacion struck out looking twice on the same pitch and managed to get himself run. It doesn't matter if a hitter agrees with a call or not, if it's a strike once it's going to be a strike again, so you'd better swing.
While Phillips and Encarnacion had issues with home plate umpire Mike Cooper's strike zone, others just weren't working the count. Randy Wolf didn't get to 100 pitches in seven innings despite striking out nine, which is ridiculous.
RANDY WOLF'S INNING-BY-INNING PITCH COUNT
1st - 19
2nd - 9
3rd - 9
4th - 18
5th - 14
6th - 11
7th - 13
Wolf had been awful this year but he's lefthanded and this team is just awful on the west coast in recent years (no wins in LA since 2005, now 2-5 at Petco over the last three years). They're just so easy to pitch to.
Freel - One of the few hitters who can be pesky in this lineup, but not really a threat to hurt you offensively. Save your good pickoff move if he gets on, because he gets crazy on the basepaths and falls for anything.
Janish - Looks overmatched so far at the plate. Can't catch up to gas. 2008 is the only year he's even sort-of hit in the minors and that was for an average in the .270 range. Dusty hitting him second is a joke. You can't just install Keppinger's replacement in Keppinger's spot in the lineup and expect similar production as if Keppinger was magically hitting because he was second in the batting order.
Griffey - Just go away, away, away and you're good. He'll only look for something he can pull. If you don't make a mistake on the inner half it's fine.
Phillips - Don't throw anything in the strike zone. Loves to chase breaking balls in the dirt. Very undisciplined and not in a good Vlad Guerrero way.
Dunn - See Griffey. Nibble, and he'll take anything that isn't obviously a strike. Umpires are very generous with the strike zone, don't have to be too fine, just don't make a mistake in.
Encarnacion - One of the more well-rounded hitters on the team and fairly disciplined, but tends to take close pitches in the zone, so be very fine.
Votto - Go away so he can't muscle it to a gap. Tough out. Hasn't shown much patience at the big league level, unfortunately.
Bako - Seems to be a pure guess hitter because he inexplicably takes fastballs right down broadway for strikes nearly every at-bat.
Watching this team every day just as a fan, I almost feel I could call the pitches for the opposition, so I shudder to think what a real scout would have to say about this team. Now that the bullpen is awful like expected, it's just a mess. Harang didn't pitch well here for the first time since, well, ever. The Padres have been a joke offensively and they made the Reds look like batting practice pitchers. I was at this game and normally it wouldn't have been fun, however, onto the positives...
GOOD SEATS FROM A GOOD DUDE
I was standing behind the plate in the standing room section in the lower level, like I had planned, wearing a Reds cap and keeping a scorecard, like I always do. A guy in a Giants cap and jersey was standing there and he comes over to me. "Hey man," he says, "are you standing here by yourself keeping that card?" I said, "yeah." He goes, "I'm going to eat this ticket anyway, so come with me, these are awesome seats." I think, "yeah right," then look down and they're eighth row, behind the plate. Pinch me, I'm dreaming. So we walk down, down, down and we're in the first row behind the $200 seats where people drink wine the whole game, maybe thirty feet from home plate. Just unreal. Whoever that guy was is like the best dude ever, because I've never had seats anywhere near that good for a big league game. It was really surreal, like did that really happen? Just too bad the Reds couldn't hang onto the early lead, but still it was amazing and I couldn't thank him enough.
The good seats gave me a really good vantage point for a bunch of Padre homers, but at least Dusty had a great meltdown when he was ejected, throwing his hat down then kicking it into the air. It was epic. Anyone who hasn't sat that close at a major league game before, do it at least once, just so you can see how tough even the "routine" plays look, how fast the ball gets to the plate, just how big league baseball looks up close. I wouldn't want to pay that kind of money every night, at least not til I'm more secure financially, but for one day it was great, especially for five bucks (which is how much I paid for my standing room ticket). Tonight I'll be standing again and let's hope my personal Reds jinx is lifted. They've now lost five straight with me in attendance. Game time is 7:05 here in Chargerland, 10:05 back in the Nasti. Edinson Volquez goes for the Reds against Shawn Estes for the Friars. Wish me luck.
This team is so undisciplined and impatient at the plate it's ridiculous. After a good start last night with Griffey's homer they managed just one hit from the second through the sixth, and it was a Dunn broken-bat single. Brandon Phillips took like four straight breaking balls from Randy Wolf over two straight at-bats for called strikes, then complained to the umpire about it. Edwin Encarnacion struck out looking twice on the same pitch and managed to get himself run. It doesn't matter if a hitter agrees with a call or not, if it's a strike once it's going to be a strike again, so you'd better swing.
While Phillips and Encarnacion had issues with home plate umpire Mike Cooper's strike zone, others just weren't working the count. Randy Wolf didn't get to 100 pitches in seven innings despite striking out nine, which is ridiculous.
RANDY WOLF'S INNING-BY-INNING PITCH COUNT
1st - 19
2nd - 9
3rd - 9
4th - 18
5th - 14
6th - 11
7th - 13
Wolf had been awful this year but he's lefthanded and this team is just awful on the west coast in recent years (no wins in LA since 2005, now 2-5 at Petco over the last three years). They're just so easy to pitch to.
Freel - One of the few hitters who can be pesky in this lineup, but not really a threat to hurt you offensively. Save your good pickoff move if he gets on, because he gets crazy on the basepaths and falls for anything.
Janish - Looks overmatched so far at the plate. Can't catch up to gas. 2008 is the only year he's even sort-of hit in the minors and that was for an average in the .270 range. Dusty hitting him second is a joke. You can't just install Keppinger's replacement in Keppinger's spot in the lineup and expect similar production as if Keppinger was magically hitting because he was second in the batting order.
Griffey - Just go away, away, away and you're good. He'll only look for something he can pull. If you don't make a mistake on the inner half it's fine.
Phillips - Don't throw anything in the strike zone. Loves to chase breaking balls in the dirt. Very undisciplined and not in a good Vlad Guerrero way.
Dunn - See Griffey. Nibble, and he'll take anything that isn't obviously a strike. Umpires are very generous with the strike zone, don't have to be too fine, just don't make a mistake in.
Encarnacion - One of the more well-rounded hitters on the team and fairly disciplined, but tends to take close pitches in the zone, so be very fine.
Votto - Go away so he can't muscle it to a gap. Tough out. Hasn't shown much patience at the big league level, unfortunately.
Bako - Seems to be a pure guess hitter because he inexplicably takes fastballs right down broadway for strikes nearly every at-bat.
Watching this team every day just as a fan, I almost feel I could call the pitches for the opposition, so I shudder to think what a real scout would have to say about this team. Now that the bullpen is awful like expected, it's just a mess. Harang didn't pitch well here for the first time since, well, ever. The Padres have been a joke offensively and they made the Reds look like batting practice pitchers. I was at this game and normally it wouldn't have been fun, however, onto the positives...
GOOD SEATS FROM A GOOD DUDE
I was standing behind the plate in the standing room section in the lower level, like I had planned, wearing a Reds cap and keeping a scorecard, like I always do. A guy in a Giants cap and jersey was standing there and he comes over to me. "Hey man," he says, "are you standing here by yourself keeping that card?" I said, "yeah." He goes, "I'm going to eat this ticket anyway, so come with me, these are awesome seats." I think, "yeah right," then look down and they're eighth row, behind the plate. Pinch me, I'm dreaming. So we walk down, down, down and we're in the first row behind the $200 seats where people drink wine the whole game, maybe thirty feet from home plate. Just unreal. Whoever that guy was is like the best dude ever, because I've never had seats anywhere near that good for a big league game. It was really surreal, like did that really happen? Just too bad the Reds couldn't hang onto the early lead, but still it was amazing and I couldn't thank him enough.
The good seats gave me a really good vantage point for a bunch of Padre homers, but at least Dusty had a great meltdown when he was ejected, throwing his hat down then kicking it into the air. It was epic. Anyone who hasn't sat that close at a major league game before, do it at least once, just so you can see how tough even the "routine" plays look, how fast the ball gets to the plate, just how big league baseball looks up close. I wouldn't want to pay that kind of money every night, at least not til I'm more secure financially, but for one day it was great, especially for five bucks (which is how much I paid for my standing room ticket). Tonight I'll be standing again and let's hope my personal Reds jinx is lifted. They've now lost five straight with me in attendance. Game time is 7:05 here in Chargerland, 10:05 back in the Nasti. Edinson Volquez goes for the Reds against Shawn Estes for the Friars. Wish me luck.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Game 43: Reds 4, Indians 2
Adam Dunn crushed the game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth Saturday afternoon, giving the Reds a 4-2 win over Cleveland. The win, the Reds' fifth straight, ensures a second straight series victory for Cincinnati, who goes for the sweep today in a dazzling pitching matchup.
Masa Kobayashi took the loss for the Indians, failing to get an out in the ninth before allowing the game-winning homer. Joey Votto singled leading off the inning, and Kobayashi hit Edwin Encarnacion with a pitch to put two on before Dunn's homer.
Cincinnati's other RBI went to Brandon Phillips, who tied the game at one in the sixth with a two-out single. Phillips had two more hits Saturday to raise his average to .294, and is hitting .320 in May with a 950 OPS. In another good sign for the Reds offense, Dunn's blast gave him three straight games with homers, and it looks like he's coming out of his funk as well.
The dramatic win obscured another subperb outing from Aaron Harang (7IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 8 H, 5 K), whose hard luck continued with a no-decision. Today it's a battle between the NL and AL ERA leaders for just the third time in history, as the Reds' Edinson Volquez takes on Cleveland's Cliff Lee. I'm going away and will likely be back Thursday to catch up with four games in one day before the Reds come to San Diego. Game time today is 1:10 Eastern, 10:10 in Chargerland.
Masa Kobayashi took the loss for the Indians, failing to get an out in the ninth before allowing the game-winning homer. Joey Votto singled leading off the inning, and Kobayashi hit Edwin Encarnacion with a pitch to put two on before Dunn's homer.
Cincinnati's other RBI went to Brandon Phillips, who tied the game at one in the sixth with a two-out single. Phillips had two more hits Saturday to raise his average to .294, and is hitting .320 in May with a 950 OPS. In another good sign for the Reds offense, Dunn's blast gave him three straight games with homers, and it looks like he's coming out of his funk as well.
The dramatic win obscured another subperb outing from Aaron Harang (7IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 8 H, 5 K), whose hard luck continued with a no-decision. Today it's a battle between the NL and AL ERA leaders for just the third time in history, as the Reds' Edinson Volquez takes on Cleveland's Cliff Lee. I'm going away and will likely be back Thursday to catch up with four games in one day before the Reds come to San Diego. Game time today is 1:10 Eastern, 10:10 in Chargerland.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Maple Bats
So I'm watching the Reds-Indians game from earlier today on MLB.tv, it's the bottom of the fourth right now and Brandon Phillips just had his bat explode everywhere, nearly hitting Fausto Carmona. This exploding-bat trend is becoming an epidemic and it has to be stopped. The maple bats are allegedly harder, but players seem to be breaking more bats now than they ever have. It's three or four per game now, it seems, and something should really be done before someone gets hurt.
Also this one is a snoozer offensively for Cincinnati and it doesn't look good so far. Will probably have to eat dinner soon and will finish when I get home, or possibly tomorrow, whatever. Until next time, in the words of Dr. Steve Brule... "foryourhealth."
Also this one is a snoozer offensively for Cincinnati and it doesn't look good so far. Will probably have to eat dinner soon and will finish when I get home, or possibly tomorrow, whatever. Until next time, in the words of Dr. Steve Brule... "foryourhealth."
Friday, May 16, 2008
Game 42: Reds 4, Indians 3
The Reds won their fourth straight Friday night, edging Cleveland 4-3 in the series opener.
Cincinnati built a 3-0 lead off Indians starter Jeremy Sowers, getting a two-run dinger from The Great Brandonie in the first and a solo shot from Adam Dunn in the second. The Reds offense then went quiet, but the lead looked very safe through the first five, as Johnny Cueto held the Indians hitless. The sixth was a different story; solo shots from Casey Blake, Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta tied the game. Cueto wound up going six innings, striking out seven. The three homers were the only hits he allowed. One bad inning ruined an otherwise-pristine performance.
The lead lasted til the eighth, when the Reds loaded the bases on a walk, double and walk, all off Cleveland reliever Jensen Lewis. Adam Dunn worked the count full before getting the game-winning RBI on another walk. Francisco Cordero nailed it down to earn his eighth save, and David Weathers picked up the win by pitching a scoreless eighth.
A LITTLE WINNING STREAK!
Don't look now, but the Reds have won seven of ten! Their four-game winning streak is a season high, and it's nice to see them finally playing well. Perhaps Griffey's penny prank on Josh Fogg is really paying off... okay, that's bad. Really bad.
Anyway, the Reds are still a game behind Pittsburgh in fifth, have a record of 19-23 and are seven out of first. They're putting together a decent May, though; they've got a west coast swing which usually means death, but the Padres really aren't good and Los Angeles doesn't scare me right now, either. Nobody scares me. That's why I'm an outlaw hunting outlaws. A bounty hunter. A renegade.
ANYWAY...
The Cubs signed Jim Edmonds? Are you serious? Do they just want to have a jersey to put in the "athletes who briefly wore weird teams' jerseys at the end of their careers" list? I know the Padres always fly under the national radar, especially now that they're bad... but did the Cubs actually watch him play when he was here? He was beyond awful. He was like all the stories of Willie Mays with the Mets, times ten. Inexplicable. Completely inexplicable.
JARED BURTON
He just makes me nervous. He pitched an inning tonight and it was one of those days where the fastball was just sailing up, up, up in the zone and it seemed like Bako was really having trouble getting it under control. The way this bullpen is currently put together, unless the starter goes seven solid innings, either Burton or Lincoln Logs will have a high-leverage situation to pitch nearly every night. Both of these things make me nervous. Lincoln Logs looked great in the eighth on Wednesday then completely exploded worse than the eighteen wheeler in the Jack In The Box Sloppy Eating ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDJYvsg2DuY
I don't want to start doing this very often, because you never know who is reading a blog on the internet, but it is a Damn Shame we don't have those macaroni bites here. There is a Jack in the Crack on every corner and they don't have those? WTF?
ADAM DUNN
Two straight games with homers! I don't want to jinx it so that is all I have to say.
I'M JUST GONNA SAY IT...
Amy and Erin are getting better with age. There it is.
COMING UP
Saturday the Reds and Indians crank it up at 3:55 Eastern, 12:55 here in Chargerland. The game marks a rare Fox Saturday Baseball appearance for the Reds, although it's only slated to go to 7% of the country (basically Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia). However the other two regional games, Red Sox-Brewers and Yankees-Mets, had their series openers rained out Friday, so if the weather holds up maybe it'll get more exposure. It's a great pitching matchup that deserves more attention, as the Criminally Underappreciated Aaron Harang takes on Cleveland's Fausto Carmona. Due to some stuff going on here I think I won't have a chance to watch it til late Saturday or possibly early Sunday. qq.
EDIT: I'm an idiot, Yankees-Mets isn't the Fox game, Angels-Dodgers is the other Fox game. So much for the game slipping onto Fox 6 here. Oh well.
HERO OF THE DAY
HYDRAHERO: Johnny Cueto, Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips
Cueto showed why he's in the bigs to stay for now with his five hitless innings, then in the same game showed why he's a rookie in allowing three solo shots. Cleveland has struggled offensively but they still have offensive talent, and he pitched very well. Dunn and Phillips had all four of the Reds RBIs, so they get credit too.
Cincinnati built a 3-0 lead off Indians starter Jeremy Sowers, getting a two-run dinger from The Great Brandonie in the first and a solo shot from Adam Dunn in the second. The Reds offense then went quiet, but the lead looked very safe through the first five, as Johnny Cueto held the Indians hitless. The sixth was a different story; solo shots from Casey Blake, Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta tied the game. Cueto wound up going six innings, striking out seven. The three homers were the only hits he allowed. One bad inning ruined an otherwise-pristine performance.
The lead lasted til the eighth, when the Reds loaded the bases on a walk, double and walk, all off Cleveland reliever Jensen Lewis. Adam Dunn worked the count full before getting the game-winning RBI on another walk. Francisco Cordero nailed it down to earn his eighth save, and David Weathers picked up the win by pitching a scoreless eighth.
A LITTLE WINNING STREAK!
Don't look now, but the Reds have won seven of ten! Their four-game winning streak is a season high, and it's nice to see them finally playing well. Perhaps Griffey's penny prank on Josh Fogg is really paying off... okay, that's bad. Really bad.
Anyway, the Reds are still a game behind Pittsburgh in fifth, have a record of 19-23 and are seven out of first. They're putting together a decent May, though; they've got a west coast swing which usually means death, but the Padres really aren't good and Los Angeles doesn't scare me right now, either. Nobody scares me. That's why I'm an outlaw hunting outlaws. A bounty hunter. A renegade.
ANYWAY...
The Cubs signed Jim Edmonds? Are you serious? Do they just want to have a jersey to put in the "athletes who briefly wore weird teams' jerseys at the end of their careers" list? I know the Padres always fly under the national radar, especially now that they're bad... but did the Cubs actually watch him play when he was here? He was beyond awful. He was like all the stories of Willie Mays with the Mets, times ten. Inexplicable. Completely inexplicable.
JARED BURTON
He just makes me nervous. He pitched an inning tonight and it was one of those days where the fastball was just sailing up, up, up in the zone and it seemed like Bako was really having trouble getting it under control. The way this bullpen is currently put together, unless the starter goes seven solid innings, either Burton or Lincoln Logs will have a high-leverage situation to pitch nearly every night. Both of these things make me nervous. Lincoln Logs looked great in the eighth on Wednesday then completely exploded worse than the eighteen wheeler in the Jack In The Box Sloppy Eating ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDJYvsg2DuY
I don't want to start doing this very often, because you never know who is reading a blog on the internet, but it is a Damn Shame we don't have those macaroni bites here. There is a Jack in the Crack on every corner and they don't have those? WTF?
ADAM DUNN
Two straight games with homers! I don't want to jinx it so that is all I have to say.
I'M JUST GONNA SAY IT...
Amy and Erin are getting better with age. There it is.
COMING UP
Saturday the Reds and Indians crank it up at 3:55 Eastern, 12:55 here in Chargerland. The game marks a rare Fox Saturday Baseball appearance for the Reds, although it's only slated to go to 7% of the country (basically Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia). However the other two regional games, Red Sox-Brewers and Yankees-Mets, had their series openers rained out Friday, so if the weather holds up maybe it'll get more exposure. It's a great pitching matchup that deserves more attention, as the Criminally Underappreciated Aaron Harang takes on Cleveland's Fausto Carmona. Due to some stuff going on here I think I won't have a chance to watch it til late Saturday or possibly early Sunday. qq.
EDIT: I'm an idiot, Yankees-Mets isn't the Fox game, Angels-Dodgers is the other Fox game. So much for the game slipping onto Fox 6 here. Oh well.
HERO OF THE DAY
HYDRAHERO: Johnny Cueto, Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips
Cueto showed why he's in the bigs to stay for now with his five hitless innings, then in the same game showed why he's a rookie in allowing three solo shots. Cleveland has struggled offensively but they still have offensive talent, and he pitched very well. Dunn and Phillips had all four of the Reds RBIs, so they get credit too.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Reds Sweep Floridians!
Thanks to Mother Nature the Reds four-game series with Florida became a three-game set, as Thursday's series finale was rained out. For the first time in 2008, the Reds have swept a series. Scheduled starter Matt Belisle will have his turn skipped in the rotation, clearly the only choice that makes any sense. Johnny Cueto, Aaron Harang and Edinson Volquez will be starting in the Cleveland series, with Bronson Arroyo throwing the opener in Los Angeles and Belisle getting game two.
Cleaning Up Schottzie will be a bit sporadic in its updates over the next few days, as I've got a trip coming up. Friday I'll try to get an update after the game, but thanks to MLB's television deal with Fox I likely won't be watching Saturday's game til early Sunday morning. Sunday through Wednesday, I won't be watching til Thursday morning/afternoon, then Thursday and Friday night I'll be going to the games at Petco.
I first saw the Reds here in San Diego in 2005, when I saw them pound the Padres on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Eric Milton shockingly pitched great in the Sunday game, and Adam Dunn had a grand slam. 2006 was a different story; the Reds came in a contender and limped home winning one of three, the one I didn't attend. Saturday Jake Peavy threw a complete game and struck out approximately 57 batters, and Sunday David Wells shut down the Reds and they lost late. Eric Milton again pitched really well, though... to me he was a great signing! Last year, again, the Reds lost two out of three and I attended the two losses. Greg Maddux was just fantastic in the first one I attended, going the distance, and the second game was the infamous Bronson Arroyo 129-pitch outing that cooked his season.
My Reds-Padres history actually goes a long way back, as it's the matchup I've seen most often. My first matchup between the teams in person came August 1, 1993, as San Diego won. Tony Gwynn robbed Barry Larkin of a potential game-tying homer to end it. This was also one of just two times I sat in the yellow seats at Riverfront. I saw the teams play twice in 2001 at Riverfront, as San Diego pounded the Reds Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Sunday was a particularly ugly start by Osvaldo Fernandez. 2002 I saw the two teams tangle in the Sunday afternoon game. Danny Graves had a total meltdown, blowing a two-run lead in the ninth, then there was a lengthy rain delay, and the game went twelve before Aaron Boone won it with a dinger. 2004 was my last time at Great American, as I went with my future wife and Khalil Greene went four-for-six with two homers and four RBI. Paul Wilson lasted just an inning and a third, and the Reds lost, 14-5. Just so ugly.
I don't know if anyone else found that interesting, but I did. Next the Reds welcome the Indians to Great American for a three-game set. Game time for the first game is 7:10, 4:10 here in Chargerland. Peace!
Cleaning Up Schottzie will be a bit sporadic in its updates over the next few days, as I've got a trip coming up. Friday I'll try to get an update after the game, but thanks to MLB's television deal with Fox I likely won't be watching Saturday's game til early Sunday morning. Sunday through Wednesday, I won't be watching til Thursday morning/afternoon, then Thursday and Friday night I'll be going to the games at Petco.
I first saw the Reds here in San Diego in 2005, when I saw them pound the Padres on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Eric Milton shockingly pitched great in the Sunday game, and Adam Dunn had a grand slam. 2006 was a different story; the Reds came in a contender and limped home winning one of three, the one I didn't attend. Saturday Jake Peavy threw a complete game and struck out approximately 57 batters, and Sunday David Wells shut down the Reds and they lost late. Eric Milton again pitched really well, though... to me he was a great signing! Last year, again, the Reds lost two out of three and I attended the two losses. Greg Maddux was just fantastic in the first one I attended, going the distance, and the second game was the infamous Bronson Arroyo 129-pitch outing that cooked his season.
My Reds-Padres history actually goes a long way back, as it's the matchup I've seen most often. My first matchup between the teams in person came August 1, 1993, as San Diego won. Tony Gwynn robbed Barry Larkin of a potential game-tying homer to end it. This was also one of just two times I sat in the yellow seats at Riverfront. I saw the teams play twice in 2001 at Riverfront, as San Diego pounded the Reds Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Sunday was a particularly ugly start by Osvaldo Fernandez. 2002 I saw the two teams tangle in the Sunday afternoon game. Danny Graves had a total meltdown, blowing a two-run lead in the ninth, then there was a lengthy rain delay, and the game went twelve before Aaron Boone won it with a dinger. 2004 was my last time at Great American, as I went with my future wife and Khalil Greene went four-for-six with two homers and four RBI. Paul Wilson lasted just an inning and a third, and the Reds lost, 14-5. Just so ugly.
I don't know if anyone else found that interesting, but I did. Next the Reds welcome the Indians to Great American for a three-game set. Game time for the first game is 7:10, 4:10 here in Chargerland. Peace!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Game 41: Reds 7, Floridians 6
Cincinnati started the day with a callup, ruined it with a blown lead, and redeemed itself with one swing of the bat from the kid in his big-league debut.
Shortstop Paul Janish made his big-league debut one to remember, getting the game-winning hit in the tenth inning to lift the Reds to their third straight win over the Floridians, 7-6 Wednesday night.
After the Reds built a 6-0 lead protected wonderfully by Bronson Arroyo's seven-inning stint on short rest, it only took one inning for Mike Lincoln and Francisco Cordero to make the lead disappear. Cincinnati only had gotten one out when Florida's Cody Ross crushed a homer to left-center, knotting the score at six. Lincoln had pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning before failing to gain an out and loading the bases in the ninth. Lincoln was then lifted for Cordero, who pitched over an inning in Monday's win and gained a save in Tuesday's win as well. Perhaps he was tired or just didn't have it, but either way it led to his first blown save of the season.
However in the tenth the Reds made up for it. Pinch hitter Dave Ross and Paul Bako walked. Johnny Cueto pinch-ran for Ross at second, and Janish lined a base hit over first to end things. Great to see the kid get mobbed in his first big-league game. I kind of got a Joker Joe Randa vibe out of him with a little grin on his face the whole time, but maybe that was just the thrill of his major league debut.
DUSTY'S LUCKY...
... that the game didn't end up being a marathon, because other than Scott Hatteberg and Javier Valentin (backup catcher) he had no players left on his bench after Ross pinch-hit. Freel pinch-ran for Griffey in the ninth, Jerry Hairston moved to left erasing Dunn and getting Janish into the game, and Ross had the pinch-hitting appearance. Dusty wouldn't have wanted to use Valentin in case something happened to Bako at catcher, which only leaves Hatteberg on the bench. That's why Cueto wound up pinch-running in the tenth.
I also didn't particularly agree with his leaving Arroyo in the game into the seventh. He did look really good again tonight, and based on how the bullpen did when they were introduced into this game I can't blame Dusty entirely... but still. I hate when managers leave pitchers in an inning longer than they should, making a high pitch count a really inflated pitch count, just because the pitcher's spot in the order isn't coming up. That's why double switches exist. Arroyo has now thrown 226 pitches in the last five days, and there's no extra days off between now and his next scheduled start in the first game at Los Angeles this Monday.
SCOTT HAIRSTON
Had a really nice game at the plate, just a home run away from the cycle. He's played pretty well since his callup despite his playing time being a little sporadic. I've been surprised he hasn't gotten more of a chance since his callup but now would appear to be the time, with Keppinger out and the only other shortstop option on the team being a guy who's never really hit in the minors, his performance with the Bats this year being an obvious exception.
DUNN
Absolutely killed the ball on his homer. Just thought I would throw it in there. Griffey, on the other hand, continues to look done. We're a quarter through the season and it's like if he doesn't get his perfect pitch, he can't do anything with it. Teams just keep going away, away, away and he either can't reach it at all, watches it go by or can't get around on it. Reds fans thinking a trade is imminent are kidding themselves, because you'd have to be crazy to give anything for him right now.
WITH THE WIN...
The Reds have won three straight over the Floridians as their star has faded somewhat in the 'Nasti. The series finale is tomorrow at 7:10, 4:10 here in Chargerland. The Redlegs are going for the sweep and send Matt Belisle to the mound against former Tiger farmhand Andrew Miller. Per one Marlins blog (Fish Stripes, maybe? Who knows) he's pretty much had to just figure out which pitch he can actually get over every night, and just rely on that one pitch. Let's hope tomorrow that pitch is one the Reds can handle. Seeing most of Florida's rotation in this series all I can say is they must have been killing the ball to get a good record considering the numbers their starters carried into this series. Luckily the Reds have been able to keep them in the park on the strength of three really good starting performances. Go Go Belisle! Her life is in your hands, dude.
HERO OF THE GAME
It would be Non-Mirror Universe Bronson, for pitching seven sparkling innings (five hits, no runs) on short rest against a tough Florida lineup... but in honor of the kid, we'll give it to Paul Janish, who made his big-league debut as a defensive replacement and unexpectedly was thrust into a clutch situation. I'm concerned about his hitting in the big leagues long-term, but he made his first hit count and made it the game-winner. Paul Janish, This Bud's for you.
Shortstop Paul Janish made his big-league debut one to remember, getting the game-winning hit in the tenth inning to lift the Reds to their third straight win over the Floridians, 7-6 Wednesday night.
After the Reds built a 6-0 lead protected wonderfully by Bronson Arroyo's seven-inning stint on short rest, it only took one inning for Mike Lincoln and Francisco Cordero to make the lead disappear. Cincinnati only had gotten one out when Florida's Cody Ross crushed a homer to left-center, knotting the score at six. Lincoln had pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning before failing to gain an out and loading the bases in the ninth. Lincoln was then lifted for Cordero, who pitched over an inning in Monday's win and gained a save in Tuesday's win as well. Perhaps he was tired or just didn't have it, but either way it led to his first blown save of the season.
However in the tenth the Reds made up for it. Pinch hitter Dave Ross and Paul Bako walked. Johnny Cueto pinch-ran for Ross at second, and Janish lined a base hit over first to end things. Great to see the kid get mobbed in his first big-league game. I kind of got a Joker Joe Randa vibe out of him with a little grin on his face the whole time, but maybe that was just the thrill of his major league debut.
DUSTY'S LUCKY...
... that the game didn't end up being a marathon, because other than Scott Hatteberg and Javier Valentin (backup catcher) he had no players left on his bench after Ross pinch-hit. Freel pinch-ran for Griffey in the ninth, Jerry Hairston moved to left erasing Dunn and getting Janish into the game, and Ross had the pinch-hitting appearance. Dusty wouldn't have wanted to use Valentin in case something happened to Bako at catcher, which only leaves Hatteberg on the bench. That's why Cueto wound up pinch-running in the tenth.
I also didn't particularly agree with his leaving Arroyo in the game into the seventh. He did look really good again tonight, and based on how the bullpen did when they were introduced into this game I can't blame Dusty entirely... but still. I hate when managers leave pitchers in an inning longer than they should, making a high pitch count a really inflated pitch count, just because the pitcher's spot in the order isn't coming up. That's why double switches exist. Arroyo has now thrown 226 pitches in the last five days, and there's no extra days off between now and his next scheduled start in the first game at Los Angeles this Monday.
SCOTT HAIRSTON
Had a really nice game at the plate, just a home run away from the cycle. He's played pretty well since his callup despite his playing time being a little sporadic. I've been surprised he hasn't gotten more of a chance since his callup but now would appear to be the time, with Keppinger out and the only other shortstop option on the team being a guy who's never really hit in the minors, his performance with the Bats this year being an obvious exception.
DUNN
Absolutely killed the ball on his homer. Just thought I would throw it in there. Griffey, on the other hand, continues to look done. We're a quarter through the season and it's like if he doesn't get his perfect pitch, he can't do anything with it. Teams just keep going away, away, away and he either can't reach it at all, watches it go by or can't get around on it. Reds fans thinking a trade is imminent are kidding themselves, because you'd have to be crazy to give anything for him right now.
WITH THE WIN...
The Reds have won three straight over the Floridians as their star has faded somewhat in the 'Nasti. The series finale is tomorrow at 7:10, 4:10 here in Chargerland. The Redlegs are going for the sweep and send Matt Belisle to the mound against former Tiger farmhand Andrew Miller. Per one Marlins blog (Fish Stripes, maybe? Who knows) he's pretty much had to just figure out which pitch he can actually get over every night, and just rely on that one pitch. Let's hope tomorrow that pitch is one the Reds can handle. Seeing most of Florida's rotation in this series all I can say is they must have been killing the ball to get a good record considering the numbers their starters carried into this series. Luckily the Reds have been able to keep them in the park on the strength of three really good starting performances. Go Go Belisle! Her life is in your hands, dude.
HERO OF THE GAME
It would be Non-Mirror Universe Bronson, for pitching seven sparkling innings (five hits, no runs) on short rest against a tough Florida lineup... but in honor of the kid, we'll give it to Paul Janish, who made his big-league debut as a defensive replacement and unexpectedly was thrust into a clutch situation. I'm concerned about his hitting in the big leagues long-term, but he made his first hit count and made it the game-winner. Paul Janish, This Bud's for you.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Game 40: Reds 5, Floridians 3
The afterglow of the Reds 5-3 win over the Floridians Tuesday was dampened somewhat by what could be a devastating injury.
Per the Reds television broadcast Jeff Keppinger is out indefinitely after breaking his kneecap during a second inning at-bat.
With the injury the Reds lose more than their everyday shortstop; they also lose one of their only dependable hitters so far in 2008. With the rest of the lineup either struggling on and off (Brandon Phillips, Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr., Edwin Encarnacion) or doing nothing thus far (anyone playing center) Keppinger and Joey Votto had proven themselves the only go-to bats for what little offense this team has been able to generate.
Now the Reds have to decide what to do about the shortstop problem. Brandon Phillips could slide over, with Ryan Freel or Jerry Hairston Jr. taking second. Phillips, though, has only five games at short in his career. Second is Hairston's natural position. He's played just nine games career at short. Freel has never played short, but has 99 games at second.
The easiest thing would be for Alex Gonzalez to just get better and come back, but he has stress fractures in his knee and can't be rushed back. Louisville's everyday shortstop is Paul Janish, a twenty-five year old righty who's OPS'd .740 on his minor league career. He's having a pretty good year for him at Louisville but still nothing great.
If the solution is moving Phillips over and Freel/Hairston to second, an outfield spot would open. Seems like an awfully convenient time to bring up Jay Bruce, install him in center and see how the kid does. He's killing the ball in Louisville lately. One factor to consider is that if Bruce is brought up this early and sticks the rest of the year, after 2009 he'll achieve "Super 2" status and be eligible for arbitration already. But if this team is interested in winning at the major league level, the Bruce callup is clearly the right move.
The Keppinger injury aside, Tuesday was a nice win. Edinson Volquez allowed one run in six innings of work, and again was fantastic. His only bugaboo continues to be pitch efficiency; he threw 110 pitches in the six innings. Florida just couldn't hit the ball hard, despite having seven hits and baserunners in nearly every inning. Volquez is just nasty, plain and simple.
Offensively, Keppinger had an RBI walk in the AB when he was injured. Joey Votto had a solo homer, David Ross had a brilliantly-placed bunt single, Freel had an RBI infield single and Dunn drove in a run on a groundout.
Florida starter Mark Hendrickson is a strange dude to watch; he's six-nine, lefthanded and a soft tosser on the mound. His only plus pitch seemed to be a fastball that bores in on righthanders and saws them off. Other than that, I'm not sure how he's having such a good year thus far. His walks are around where they've always been, he's just not allowing as many hits. He's not striking out any more guys, but less fly balls are leaving the yard and he's allowing less line drives. Part of his performance may have come from the teams he's faced in his first eight starts: the Mets the second game, Pittsburgh twice, Atlanta when they were struggling offensively, Milwaukee twice who hasn't been scoring much, Washington and the light-hitting Padres.
Tomorrow, Florida throws righty Ricky Nolasco against short-rested Bronson Arroyo, who was excellent in the second game of the doubleheader against the Mets Saturday. Consistent with his rubber-armed reputation Arroyo has actually been good on short rest the three times he's done it before, with an ERA around three. Still, I'm concerned that against a hungry and talented Marlin lineup nothing but his best will be good enough. With a win the Reds can clinch a series victory; tonight's win guaranteed at least a split. Game time is again 7:10, 4:10 here on the wessyde.
HERO OF THE GAME
EDINSON VOLQUEZ
The Volquez-Hamilton deal so far might be the most even swap ever. I still can't believe the Rangers dealt Volquez when they've struggled for pitching since I was about ten (I'm twenty-six now). Viva Volquez!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Game 39: Reds 8, Floridians 7
The Reds overcame a deficit, built a lead and nearly blew it before holding on to beat the Florida Floridians 8-7 in the series opener Monday night.
Florida opened things by breaking through for three runs in the first four innings off a less-than-sharp Aaron Harang. Jeremy Hermida and Hanley Ramirez crushed no-doubters off the Reds' ace in the first. Dan Uggla added a solo shot in the fourth, some of the sting of which was removed by Uggla being the starting second baseman for my fantasy league team.
The score remained 3-0 until the Cincinnati fifth, when the Reds cut it to 3-2 on Corey Patterson's double and Jorge Cantu's throwing error on a Jeff Keppinger grounder that would have ended the inning. The Reds got two more in the sixth on Adam Dunn's sac fly and a Burke Badenhop wild pitch. Florida evened the score in the top of the seventh, then the Reds came back with a four-run seventh on a Jeff Keppinger tie-breaking two-run shot and an absolutely titanic tater from Brandon Phillips, both coming off Fish reliever Taylor Tankersley.
The Reds couldn't get comfortable with the lead, though, as the bullpen continued its struggles. David Weathers and Jeremy Affeldt allowed the Floridians to get a rally going, then Francisco Cordero was brought on in the eighth. Ken Griffey Jr. muffed an easy fly ball to make it 8-7, then nearly dropped a shot to right from Alfredo Amezaga but held on. Cordero pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save and the win for the Reds.
Overall it was quite the up-and-down night, one that was nearly as frustrating as it was exciting to watch, but it was good to see the Reds get some runs and hold off a team that's playing really well right now, particularly offensively. This should be a fun series.
MOVES?
I read somewhere (Yahoo?) that Dusty Baker told Hal McCoy that Jay Bruce was coming soon. It'll almost be shades of Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns' promotions way back when, with the big buzz preceding an outfield prospect. Kearns didn't really work out like he appeared he would on the first callup, but Dunn has for the most part come as advertised, although the hitting for average component has never really manifested itself the way some thought it would given the plate discipline he showed at such a young age. Again, it isn't official yet, but Dusty seems to think Bruce's callup is imminent.
CP23...
Which may leave Corey Patterson without a job. I mentioned early in the game tonight to my wife that Patterson seems to make less solid contact than any hitter I've ever watched on a consistent basis. And of course, he went out tonight and had four hits (although one was a bunt, two were the definition of bloops and only one, the double, was a solid hit, much like this win when you're struggling there are no style points). Nevertheless, I don't think anyone in this organization is kidding themselves; Patterson isn't the longterm answer.
PHILLIPS...
Brandonie continued his hot-hitting ways with a 2-for-4 night and that colossal dinger. If you didn't see the game, you owe it to yourself to check it out, because it was a true no-doubter.
TOMORROW
Florida Floridians at Cincinnati Reds, part II. NL ERA leader Edinson Volquez takes on Mark Hendrickson, the former Ray and Dodger scrub who has gotten off to an amazing start after his Lasik surgery in the offseason. Could be a pitcher's duel.. but it's hard to hold down any team in Great American. First pitch 7:10, 4:10 here in Chargerland.
HERO OF THE DAY
JEFF "NO PICTURE" KEPPINGER
Go-ahead dinger. That dude can just plain hit! 1-for-5 tonight but he made it count.
Florida opened things by breaking through for three runs in the first four innings off a less-than-sharp Aaron Harang. Jeremy Hermida and Hanley Ramirez crushed no-doubters off the Reds' ace in the first. Dan Uggla added a solo shot in the fourth, some of the sting of which was removed by Uggla being the starting second baseman for my fantasy league team.
The score remained 3-0 until the Cincinnati fifth, when the Reds cut it to 3-2 on Corey Patterson's double and Jorge Cantu's throwing error on a Jeff Keppinger grounder that would have ended the inning. The Reds got two more in the sixth on Adam Dunn's sac fly and a Burke Badenhop wild pitch. Florida evened the score in the top of the seventh, then the Reds came back with a four-run seventh on a Jeff Keppinger tie-breaking two-run shot and an absolutely titanic tater from Brandon Phillips, both coming off Fish reliever Taylor Tankersley.
The Reds couldn't get comfortable with the lead, though, as the bullpen continued its struggles. David Weathers and Jeremy Affeldt allowed the Floridians to get a rally going, then Francisco Cordero was brought on in the eighth. Ken Griffey Jr. muffed an easy fly ball to make it 8-7, then nearly dropped a shot to right from Alfredo Amezaga but held on. Cordero pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save and the win for the Reds.
Overall it was quite the up-and-down night, one that was nearly as frustrating as it was exciting to watch, but it was good to see the Reds get some runs and hold off a team that's playing really well right now, particularly offensively. This should be a fun series.
MOVES?
I read somewhere (Yahoo?) that Dusty Baker told Hal McCoy that Jay Bruce was coming soon. It'll almost be shades of Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns' promotions way back when, with the big buzz preceding an outfield prospect. Kearns didn't really work out like he appeared he would on the first callup, but Dunn has for the most part come as advertised, although the hitting for average component has never really manifested itself the way some thought it would given the plate discipline he showed at such a young age. Again, it isn't official yet, but Dusty seems to think Bruce's callup is imminent.
CP23...
Which may leave Corey Patterson without a job. I mentioned early in the game tonight to my wife that Patterson seems to make less solid contact than any hitter I've ever watched on a consistent basis. And of course, he went out tonight and had four hits (although one was a bunt, two were the definition of bloops and only one, the double, was a solid hit, much like this win when you're struggling there are no style points). Nevertheless, I don't think anyone in this organization is kidding themselves; Patterson isn't the longterm answer.
PHILLIPS...
Brandonie continued his hot-hitting ways with a 2-for-4 night and that colossal dinger. If you didn't see the game, you owe it to yourself to check it out, because it was a true no-doubter.
TOMORROW
Florida Floridians at Cincinnati Reds, part II. NL ERA leader Edinson Volquez takes on Mark Hendrickson, the former Ray and Dodger scrub who has gotten off to an amazing start after his Lasik surgery in the offseason. Could be a pitcher's duel.. but it's hard to hold down any team in Great American. First pitch 7:10, 4:10 here in Chargerland.
HERO OF THE DAY
JEFF "NO PICTURE" KEPPINGER
Go-ahead dinger. That dude can just plain hit! 1-for-5 tonight but he made it count.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Get 'Em Harang
BEAT THE
Game's at 7:10, 4:10 in Chargerland. It's now or never. Some brother's shooting dice, so I said, "Let's do this."
Game 38: Mets 8, Reds 3
The Reds dropped the third game of their final series at Shea Stadium Sunday, losing an 8-3 decision to the Mets.
Johnny Cueto just didn't have it today. It's weird because he really doesn't walk anybody, but when he doesn't have his command he tends to make mistakes up and over the plate. Young pitchers can be so frustrating because Cueto especially can look like a Cy Young candidate one day, then get pounded the next, and who knows how long it'll take him to really figure it out. It's taken the Angels something like four years now to see the good Ervin Santana on a consistent basis, and even he may not be there yet (he's had a good month, who knows if he can keep it going).
For Cueto, this season is going to be a constant effort to keep learning, keep getting better and keep it together when things go wrong. He was outwardly very angry with himself after the fifth inning mistakes to Beltran and Church. Some pitchers are like that, some aren't, so I won't pass judgment on that, but it was interesting seeing him be so emotional.
CENTER FIELD
I've been more leaning toward patience when it comes to Jay Bruce, but even with defensive issues he's got to be better than any of the center field options currently on the big club. Despite decent early returns (I'm talking first five games type of early here, not the full season thus far, and yes, I'm saying this because I said I liked him after like three games) Corey Patterson looks to be a total bust, and Ryan Freel's game has completely fallen apart compared to where it used to be. He can't cover the ground center field requires, and whatever benefit he brings at the plate is completely negated by his recklessness on the basepaths. He got picked off again in the seventh today, and down 8-3 there's just no reason to be messing around like that.
BULLPEN
Jared Burton again looked shaky, and judging by the situations he's been used, I don't think Dusty has any confidence in him right now, not that I blame him. Bill Bray was again shaky as well, allowing a run. Guys aren't getting destroyed for the most part, and with a three-run deficit already it wasn't the highest-leverage situation in the world, but a good start by the pen is turning into a rough May. Hopefully with Harang going tomorrow they can get a day off after the doubleheader and the start today with Cueto not lasting through the fifth. VOTTO Joey Votto looked lost against Oliver Perez. He had a fifth-inning AB representing the tying run where he has all tied up in knots.
Now talking about what the Reds should have done in the offseason is a moot point now, and hindsight is always 20/20, but I'm going to do it anyway.
The longer this season goes without a viable righthanded power option at first or in the outfield, the more I wish they'd brought Jorge Cantu back. I know the Reds were worried that he'd get some big $4 or $5 million payday in arbitration, but honestly, it would be worth it, because this team has a ton of trouble still with any lefthanded starter. Cantu's numbers have been pretty good this year for Florida as well, rubbing more salt into that wound.
SPEAKING OF FLORIDA...
The Floridians look mighty mighty tough so far this year. Luckily the Reds are going to face them the next four games and will miss their best starter, Scott Olson. In fact, with Harang and Volquez going the first two games, the Reds have a decent shot at a series win. Place your bets now, Florida will now sweep. But anyway, I'm very much looking forward to the series. Even last year I always liked looking in on Marlins games just to see all their young talent: Uggla, Hermida, Willingham, and especially Hanley Ramirez, who is just sickening. The Reds played a four-game set in Miami last year (at least I think it was four) and I think Ramirez had about fifteen hits in four days. He's on the verge of being locked up longterm if the reports are true, and it will truly be worth it for them if a deal is reached.
GOAT OF THE DAY
EVIL CUETO is apparently a redneck for some reason
Johnny Cueto just didn't have it today. It's weird because he really doesn't walk anybody, but when he doesn't have his command he tends to make mistakes up and over the plate. Young pitchers can be so frustrating because Cueto especially can look like a Cy Young candidate one day, then get pounded the next, and who knows how long it'll take him to really figure it out. It's taken the Angels something like four years now to see the good Ervin Santana on a consistent basis, and even he may not be there yet (he's had a good month, who knows if he can keep it going).
For Cueto, this season is going to be a constant effort to keep learning, keep getting better and keep it together when things go wrong. He was outwardly very angry with himself after the fifth inning mistakes to Beltran and Church. Some pitchers are like that, some aren't, so I won't pass judgment on that, but it was interesting seeing him be so emotional.
CENTER FIELD
I've been more leaning toward patience when it comes to Jay Bruce, but even with defensive issues he's got to be better than any of the center field options currently on the big club. Despite decent early returns (I'm talking first five games type of early here, not the full season thus far, and yes, I'm saying this because I said I liked him after like three games) Corey Patterson looks to be a total bust, and Ryan Freel's game has completely fallen apart compared to where it used to be. He can't cover the ground center field requires, and whatever benefit he brings at the plate is completely negated by his recklessness on the basepaths. He got picked off again in the seventh today, and down 8-3 there's just no reason to be messing around like that.
BULLPEN
Jared Burton again looked shaky, and judging by the situations he's been used, I don't think Dusty has any confidence in him right now, not that I blame him. Bill Bray was again shaky as well, allowing a run. Guys aren't getting destroyed for the most part, and with a three-run deficit already it wasn't the highest-leverage situation in the world, but a good start by the pen is turning into a rough May. Hopefully with Harang going tomorrow they can get a day off after the doubleheader and the start today with Cueto not lasting through the fifth. VOTTO Joey Votto looked lost against Oliver Perez. He had a fifth-inning AB representing the tying run where he has all tied up in knots.
Now talking about what the Reds should have done in the offseason is a moot point now, and hindsight is always 20/20, but I'm going to do it anyway.
The longer this season goes without a viable righthanded power option at first or in the outfield, the more I wish they'd brought Jorge Cantu back. I know the Reds were worried that he'd get some big $4 or $5 million payday in arbitration, but honestly, it would be worth it, because this team has a ton of trouble still with any lefthanded starter. Cantu's numbers have been pretty good this year for Florida as well, rubbing more salt into that wound.
SPEAKING OF FLORIDA...
The Floridians look mighty mighty tough so far this year. Luckily the Reds are going to face them the next four games and will miss their best starter, Scott Olson. In fact, with Harang and Volquez going the first two games, the Reds have a decent shot at a series win. Place your bets now, Florida will now sweep. But anyway, I'm very much looking forward to the series. Even last year I always liked looking in on Marlins games just to see all their young talent: Uggla, Hermida, Willingham, and especially Hanley Ramirez, who is just sickening. The Reds played a four-game set in Miami last year (at least I think it was four) and I think Ramirez had about fifteen hits in four days. He's on the verge of being locked up longterm if the reports are true, and it will truly be worth it for them if a deal is reached.
GOAT OF THE DAY
EVIL CUETO is apparently a redneck for some reason4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
He'll be okay in the long run, and this is just another step in the road for Cueto. We knew this year would be up-and-down and today was a down day. It happens. His next start will come Friday against Cleveland, so he'd best figure some things out quickly. But I still believe in him, oh yes, I do.
Next game tomorrow at 7:05 against the Florida Floridians. It's at 4:05 here in Chargerland. Eat some Skyline for me, will you?
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