Author Archives: Redsneck Joe

Cueto picks up a win!

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Johnny Cueto threw a successful game last night as the Reds pulled off the win 4-3 in New York.  Cueto looked like he hadn’t started a game in a month…  Which is fair because he hadn’t.  Given that circumstance, he was effective.  5 innings, and was really only hurt by that one pitch that Byrd put into the seats to tie the game at 3.

The scoring started early for the Reds.  But not so often.  In the first, the Reds saw a 2 run single by Phillips and an RBI double by Bruce.  Then with the game tied in the 6th, Bruce hit a rocket into the seats in RF.  The only ball that I’ve seen hit harder this season was the HR by Donald Lutz off the foul pole at GABP.

Reds fans have a love hate relationship with…..just about everyone.  Except Dusty.  They always hate Dusty.  I’ve always said, love him or hate him, he wins games.  But there is no doubt that he makes some odd decisions.  With runners on first and second, no outs, he elected to let Izturis swing away…which resulted in a lazy pop out.  Personally (and I think the rest of the city) would prefer to see Votto hitting with 2 men in scoring position there with 1 out.  Caesar is a great bunter.  Let him bunt.  If they walk Votto, that’s Phillips with bases loaded 1 out.  Still good.  BUNT DUSTY!

Bruce almighty did strike out with the sacks jacked last night.  I know that he had 2 big hits in the game, but I would have liked to see him put that ball into play.  His strikeouts continue to mount.

This division is beginning to look tougher than the AL East.  Of course those jerks still use the DH.  So I refuse to call them “tough.” Speaking of the stupid DH rule, the Reds pitching staff might be the best hitters of that position.  Mike Leake leads them all.  Homer knows how to swing a stick and dumps singles into RF on occasion.  Mat Latos is just a big dude that swings hard and connects sometimes.  Bronson Arroyo has always been athletic enough to contribute.  Even Johnny Cueto notched a single last night.

The Cardinals keep winning.  So do the Pirates. It would be easy to look at the standings as the Reds keep winning and be frustrated because they are not gaining much ground or creating distance.  But I assure you that the other two teams have that same frustration.  It is clear that these three teams are going to be contenders.  The Pirates just don’t seem to have the experience that the Reds and Cardinals do.  I don’t expect them to hang around all season. But I could be wrong.  We could see both wildcard teams in October from the Central!  However, it is still May.  And still too early to look at standings.  So for now, just get healthy and start hitting.  The wins will come.

Hangover Monday: Philly Pick Pockets

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The Reds had a 3 game set in Philly that had more ups and downs than your stock portfolio….  Oh, sorry, more than the amount of your chickens if your a redneck. The series ended Sunday when the Phillies flat out stole one from the Reds.  Those are the losses that hurt.  I STILL remember Marshall surrendering a late 3 run HR to the Giants in a game that the Reds had locked up in the 9th last season.  It was May, but it still hurt.

The weekend had a feel to it that the Reds were the more dominant team by far.  Overall, it felt like the Reds went in there to play 27 innings and got the better of the Phillies for 25 of them.  And that may be true. But those 2 innings were enough for the Phillies to walk away with 2 wins.  The Reds continue to perform poorly in that stadium and this time they walk away with a lot more doubt about that back end of the bullpen.

Of note from the weekend:

The bullpen struggled.  Marshall and Broxton gave up the game Friday without having a ball leave the infield.  That’s tough baseball right there. But those things happen.  The Phillies scrapped it out to push across a run or two late in the game.  I still believe that Ryan Hanigan blocked the plate and made the tag on a diving Ryan Howard, but that was run #5 and didn’t matter anyway.  Still, I hate seeing a call on a play at the plate go wrong.

Saturday.  That’s the Reds team when all goes well.  Bronson Arroyo was outstanding.  Joey Votto was THE Joey Votto.  The offense got contributions from people like Ryan Hanigan whom you don’t expect to contribute much.  That is what they need to see in October.

Homer Baily did the job.  Was he dominant?  No chance.  But the end result was that he went 7 innings and shut the offense down to zero runs.  There were hits, and there were several VERY hard hit outs.  But the end result was what he wanted.

This back end of the bullpen scares me right now.  Between Broxton, Marshall, and Chapman, normally you would expect a lead to be safe.  But that is not the case lately.  In 2012 The Reds had a back end that would shut down any game.  A 1 run lead in the 7th was a sure thing.  I don’t have the stats, but I wouldn’t doubt if they won 85% of the games after leading in the 7th.  After this weekend, even a lead in the 7th scares me.  Broxton seems shakey.  He doesn’t have the control that he used to have.  Marshall is the best of the 3 right now, but he has been touched for some softly hit seeing eye or bloop hits.  Chapman is the scariest.  He doesn’t have any control right now.  He is either walking people or piping fastballs.  The second one is a direct result of the first.  The guy is a dominant pitcher and I think he can still be that.  But until he gets his control back, he’s a pitching machine.  I don’t care how fast it is.  If you tell a major leaguer that you’re about to throw a fastball down the middle, he’s going to hit it out.  That’s what we saw yesterday.  Twice.

But doom and gloom aside, this Reds ball club still has a chance to separate themselves from the pack.  They head to New York and take on the Mets who have had a similar situation of good pitching and lackluster offense.  Johnny Cueto makes his return tonight!  Tony Cingrani has been optioned to AAA to continue to work on some basics.  The kid has undeniable talent.  But it will help to have him tune his skills with Corky some more.  If Cueto can come back and be Cueto, this Reds team just got a big boost.  Jay Bruce is hitting.  Todd Frazier just started hitting yesterday.  Joey Votto flat killed the ball this weekend.  This offense might be waking up and it’s about time!

Friday Video! Wearing out the brooms

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The Reds completed the 3 game sweep of a poor Marlins team last night to move their streak to 6 games.  Mat Latos threw an excellent game but fell victim to a 9th inning rally by the Marlins.  After allowing a run through 8 1/3, a triple forced him from the game.  Baker brought on Chapman for the save, but with a runner on 3rd and 1 out, all it would take would be a sac fly to tie the game.  Chapman struck out the first batter, but allowed a triple to tie the game.  Fortunately he gathered himself to strand the winning run at 3rd.  In the 10th, the Reds opened up the game with a Lutz leadoff single, a walk to Choo, sac by Cozart, walk to Votto, sac fly to Phillips, 2 run double by Bruce.  They would need the insurance.  Backup closer JJ Hoover came on to collect the save, but allowed a run in the process.

The Reds move on over to Philly for 3 games starting tonight when they put Cingrani on the mound to face off against Cliff Lee.  The Reds faced Lee earlier this season and he went 7IP allowing 2 runs in a no decision.

If you’re looking for some baseball tips, take it from a professional:

Or here’s a lesson that a lot of people have learned the hard way…fortunately mine was never on TV:

People will criticize Baker’s decision making about pulling Latos too late or otherwise.  But on rare occasions, I find myself arguing in favor of Dusty.  I would have done the same thing.  Latos had thrown less than 90 pitches last night.  It was his game to lose.  Let him finish it up.  At the first sign of trouble, I would have my closer ready.  That’s what happened.  The only issue there is that Chapman allowed the run scoring triple with 2 outs.  That is probably the most unfair blown save that I’ve seen in a while, but the stat remains true.  At least he got the win.

There is a lot of talk about “what happens when this win streak hits 10.”  We’re at 6.  I don’t know why that is a discussion yet.  When you’re talking streaks, they get very difficult at this point.  To continue having good starts by your pitching and hitters scoring runs day in day out is tough to expect.  I think that they CAN do it, but let’s just hold off on the 10 in a row talk until Monday morning.

 

Leake does the job and will continue to do the job

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Mike Leake threw a very effective quality start last night as the Reds won with their C team in place.  Baker cleared the bench of everyone except of course D Robinson…because he must have been saving him to pinch run in the 9th if needed…

Leake threw 6 2/3 innings and didn’t allow a run.  The game had a boring feel to it overall.  But that’s a good thing!  When the Reds play a team like the Marlins, you WANT it to be a boring game.  That means that the Reds are taking care of business as expected.  The Marlins are rolling over as expected.  They really are a terrible team.  And I stand by my statement that the new stadium in Miami was the single biggest waste of money that I’ve ever seen in baseball.  They were packing the previous stadium with about 5K people every night.  Why did they expect to get 30K + in this stadium?  I am not certain, but I think that there were equal amounts of Reds fans in the park as Marlin’s fans. Still that being said, the park itself seems like an interesting place.  If you might recall, a close personal friend of the blog visited the park last year to witness a game and a MONSTER Giancarlo Stanton HR.  Check out his review of the park.

Game 3 tonight.  The weather for this series has been fantastic.  The roof has been open more times in 2013 than it was for all of 2012.  Mat Latos goes for the Reds and in his young career, he has never beat the Marlins franchise.  Seems like a good time for that first win.

Cueto’s rehab went well Tuesday.  He will be back next week and has been announced as the starter Monday night in New York.  That would be Mike Leake’s next scheduled start.  That only fuels the debate of “who leaves when Cueto is back?”  The two obvious options here are Mike Leake (the starter who has struggled the most) and Tony Cingrani (the starter who came  up when Cueto left).

First off, Dusty said after the game last night that Mike Leake is his 5th starter.  No questions.  Implying that Leake will keep his spot.  Of course that’s easier to say fresh off 6 2/3 of scoreless baseball.  It makes me wonder if Dusty was waiting to see the start last night to determine what to do.  So it appears that it will be Cingrani.

Leake    3-2   3.72 ERA

Cingrani   2-0  2.89 ERA

But there’s more than just the numbers.  Leake is 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA in May.  He appears to have settled down.  And his 3.72 ERA really isn’t bad!  Remember that he is a 5th starter.  He has done the job of a 5th starter and more.  He has been effective.  He’s eating innings averaging about 6 per start.  Plus, the kid can swing a stick!  I think Cingrani is ready.  He is throwing very well.  At times you can still see that he has room to mature into an every 5th day starter, but he has the talent.  So does Tony go down? Or will Tony hit the bullpen.  He can still contribute to this team.

To me, I want Tony Cingrani and Mike Leake starting every 5th day.  Be that in Cincinnati or in Louisville.  Both have options.  So although each could help out this bullpen, I would prefer that whoever it is will be sent to AAA.  No hard feelings and they are back at first injury or in September.

Heisey is coming back soon.  So there’s another decision to be made.  Donald Lutz or Derrick Robinson.  You know my pick.  I’ve been a huge Robinson fan and have made no mistake about it.  But that being said, I would almost prefer that he is sent back to Louisville.  Why?  Because he’ll play every day there.  Dusty seems to have an issue with giving this kid a fair chance in Cincinnati and he’s instantly fell in love with Lutz.  So let Robinson head back and get some valuable PT.  Not reflecting poorly on Lutz.  The guy has performed well.  He can swing a stick with power.  He’s had a few good base hits.  So either way, the Reds have a man in that position that can help off the bench.

Latos should dominate tonight.  I hope to see him collect his 5th win of the season.  The Reds now have the second best record in the NL behind St Louis.  Don’t overlook that.  This is a team who has yet to hit their stride and they are in good position to take a strong lead in the race to distance themselves from the pack.

 

Hangover Monday: Pink Balls

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It’s always easier to endure a Hangover Monday when the Reds are coming off of a 3 game sweep of a divisional opponent.  Oh, and it wasn’t the Asstros!  The pitching was good, and the hitting was better.

Of note from the weekend:

Aoki for the Brewers had a solid weekend.  So did Segura.  But the Reds were able to scatter their hits enough not to have them hurt too badly.

Choo and Votto were combined 0-5 Friday but still reached base with 5 walks.

Friday was BP’s game.  After an RBI single early, he stole the show late with the play of the year in the field and a solo HR to give the Reds the insurance run that was the winning run.

Jay Bruce seemed to find himself this weekend again.  He had one hit Friday, 3 more Saturday and another Sunday.  But it wasn’t just the hits.  Or the HR’s.  He simply looked comfortable and hit the ball the other way.

Cingrani wasn’t great Friday night, but he wasn’t terrible.  He left early but gave way to Alfredo Simon who performed well for the win.  Latos threw 6IP Saturday but allowed 7R (6ER).  Not a good start, but he still collected the win with a big effort from the offense who knocked around Burgos for 12 runs in 3 innings.  Latos got a couple of those runs back when he hit a pair of run scoring singles.

The Bullpen’s line from the series:  10.1IP 7h 2R 1ER 13k 5BB

Donald Lutz knocked his first career jack Sunday which seemed to seal the game.  It was a 3 run job off the foul pole.  He hit the ball so hard that my casual swear in amazement was mistaken for disappointment.  My wife assumed that it was the “bad guys” that hit the HR.  He’s a big boy and could have a good future.  I just am a little skeptical still knowing how badly he struggled in Louisville so far this season.

Sunday was Mother’s Day…duh.  That’s why we all rushed out to find the hanging basket that says, “Thanks for years of sacrifice and killing yourself just to keep me alive even though I never really showed much appreciation for it…but here’s this hanging basket anyway.”  Most of the players used pink bats which worked well for Votto last year.  But this year they also used a ball with pink laces.  Although the cowboy seemed to think that it made no difference, I thought that screwing with the ball was a bad idea.  Oh well….level playing field I guess.

The Reds head out for a 9 day 9 game tour of the NL East starting with 3 in Miami tomorrow night.  Peeking at the standings, the Cardinals hold a 2 game lead on our Redlegs.  It’s early and while it doesn’t really mean anything to be in first or second, it pays to stay close to the competition.  The Cardinals are on an unbelievable run right now.  They are 9-2 now in their last 11 games.  When the division rival goes on a tear, if you can maintain and keep close with them through it, then you have it made.  The Reds have been maintaining so far this season.  We haven’t really seen them catch fire.  We’re progressing through this season little by little.  The Reds will get their ace back in another week.  They will get Chris Heisey back shortly after that.  Ryan Ludwick is about a month and a half away.

The road trip presents opportunity for the Reds.  They have not played well on the road this season.  All 3 teams have losing records this season.  The Marlins are already 10.5 games out of first which is impressive.  Even the Cubs are within 8.5 and the Cards are winning big time.  The Mets are 6 games below .500 and the Phillies appear to be feeling their age.  6-3 is a must on this road trip.  Homer starts it tomorrow night.

 

A rough ending and knee jerk reactions

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The Reds lost the closing game with the Braves and therefore their first home series of the year.  It was a tight game through until the 8th inning when it all blew up.  Mike Leake had gone 7 strong allowing 2 runs on 2 solo shots by Dan Uggla.  (He has tiny arms)  The decision was made to let Leake continue.  After allowing a couple hits, Baker pulled him in favor of Sean Marshall.  Marshall faced one batter and allowed a hit.  Then it was Hoover’s turn.  Although only 2 of those 5 runs went against his ERA, he allowed the big blow:  a grand slam to Juan Francisco.  Twitter was blowing up.

Side note:  I saw someone tweet the fact that Hoover was traded for Francisco straight up.  I saw this point and thought, “oh yeah, I almost forgot.”  The angry folks on twitter saw that and thought, “OH YEAH! That bum!  I can’t believe that we traded a guy who could hit a home run once in a while for a pitcher like Hoover!”

Let’s start with the facts.  Dusty certainly could have handled the bullpen better than he did.  To me, when I have a back end that I would put up against any team in the league, I am going to use them.  Broxton.  Chapman.  Marshall.  LeCure threw 2 innings (I believe) the night before.  So he’s out.  But with 2 innings to go and a team who has had some late inning heroics the first two games of this series, I am going to use my best guys and shut them down at 2 runs.  Pat Leake on the back for a job well done.  Bring on the big guys.  Broxton threw on Tuesday, but he was good for an inning.  Chapman had not thrown since Sunday.  Marshall was good to go.  Shut this thing down now.  If we go extra’s, Simon would be good for 4 innings.  Give your team that chance to win the game in the last two innings.  Hoover is going to be sent down soon.  Dusty made the mistake of overusing him in the first month of the season.  I like Hoover and think that he will be a great piece to this bullpen.  But right now, the kid seems overworked and he’s showing signs of losing it.  Send him down, let him settle into his groove again.

I certainly have my differences of opinion with Dusty.  We could bring up the Cozart debate again.  Of course the day that I posted negative talk about Cozart, he has a great game.  I have never agreed with Dusty’s management of the bullpen.  When to pull the starters.  Too soon.  Too late.  Who to bring in from the pen.  HOWEVER, I find no benefit in spouting off about how they should fire Dusty right this very minute.  That just isn’t going to happen and all that would do is make me look foolish and ignorant.  If I were writing the checks, Dusty would be out and I would find a suitable replacement.  But then again, I would not have brought Dusty back after his last contract expired.  The guy wins games.  No doubt about that: 1600.  But he just doesn’t seem to be putting the talent of this team together in the most effective way.  But all that doesn’t mean that I should fly off the hook when the Reds blow a lead or lose the game late.  I am not singling anyone out, and I certainly get the frustration.  But Dusty isn’t throwing those pitches.  Dusty isn’t striking out.  He’s putting players in the situations and hoping that they perform.  No doubt that he could be doing a better job of that, but in the end it’s up to the players.

So for the sake of your blood pressure, why not approach failure of the team in a different attitude?  Freedom of speech will let you say what you want when you want.  Lord knows that I am not interested in taking away any rights!  Consider the fact that sometimes when your team fails, it’s because the other team did something well.  Don’t be so quick to spout off knee jerk reactions.  Wait a day.  Yesterday moments after the grand slam landed, I saw numerous “fire Dusty” posts.  I know that those were written with so much emotion that it is difficult to take it seriously.  Today, I am interested in hearing what Reds fans have to say on Twitter.  They might still have that opinion.  But at least now the feelings have cooled off and we can hear what people really have to say.  Don’t tell me that Dusty sucks.  Tell me WHY Dusty sucks.

DAY OFF TODAY!  For the Reds that is.  The Good Guys take the field weather permitting tonight.  I will not guarantee a win, but I think that we might score more than 3 runs.

Now SOUTH Koreans are launching missiles

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The Reds flat out stole that win last night from the Braves.  In case you haven’t felt the excitement aftershocks radiating through the city, the Reds were behind the entire game and were able to pull out the win with back to back HRs in the bottom of the 9th. The win marked Dusty’s 1600th career victory.

Homer led off the game looking a little wild.  With the help of a very well placed hit to lead off the game, (I still think that Xavier Paul should have been calling off Cozart) the Braves came around to score 3 runs.  It was deflating to see Homer battle and get it to bases loaded 2 outs with no runs scored only to allow a pair of 2 out hits to plate the 3 runs.  But to Homer’s credit, he settled in.  His line of 5IP and 4ER wasn’t spectacular, but like Bronson’s outing the night before, his team was in the game.

The offense was slow.  But they were adding runs.  I can only think of one real opportunity that this offense had to score last night but didn’t.  Choo hit a dinger in the 3rd to get on the board.  Sure there was a big inning or two that could have been bigger, but they at least plated a run here and there.  Jay Bruce struck out with Votto standing at 3rd with 1 out.  That one hurt.  The run would have brought the lead to 1 run and given the team a better feeling heading into the late innings.

The Reds added a run in the 8th but it could have been a bigger inning.  The Braves pen was able to fend off the rally and hold the damage to 1.  In the 9th, the Reds faced Craig Kimbrell down 1.  After two quick outs (Baker let Corky hit…more on this) to start the 9th, Devin Mesoraco pinch hit for the pitcher.  With a full count and 2 outs, he hit a line drive into the seats below the smoke stacks.  The crowd who had been on their feet in one of those “I’m supporting the team, yet, stretching to leave” stances was rocking.  Choo then stepped up and ended the game with a homer into the Reds’ bullpen.

Of note:

The first hit of the game was in no mans land.  Cozart gave it a try and Paul couldn’t quite get there.  STILL, I will take a sliding outfielder over a “Willie Mays” IF any day.  Paul should  have called him off.

Votto went from looking foolish and overmatched to looking comfortable and ready to hit as the night progressed.  He still was guessing pitches wrong, but by the end of the night was putting up quality swings.

Corky hit a laser off the fence in left field.  But overall he has struggled.  I was very confused as to why Dusty was letting him hit with 2 down in the 9th.  Derrick Robinson was available.  With his speed and the quality AB’s that we’ve seen out of him lately, why not let him hit for Corky?  Shoot, I would have let Mike Leake bat for Corky.  It all worked out, but it’s just another “What is Dusty thinking” moment.

Mesoraco was absolutely clutch.  BUT remember that it was a full count, 2 outs in the 9th.  I would have probably piped a fastball to him also in that situation.  Not taking ANYTHING away from the guy, but hold off on these calls of “put Mesoraco in the 2 hole.”

Shin Soo Choo was phenomenal.  In the field he made a couple good grabs and at the plate he hit 2 dingers.  He continues to be the most consistent spark on this team.  What’s not to love there?

So Dusty left Derrick Robinson on the bench last night.  Perhaps he was expecting the LONG game in extras where you need that last bench guy.  That’s ridiculous, but maybe that is what he was thinking.  I was listening to Marc Amazon last night on the long drive home (since I don’t live in the big city).  A called (who sounded a little drunk) mentioned Mesoraco in the 2 hole.  Which was stupid.  But then he mentioned letting Robinson play more.  Amazon dismissed the idea like it was not worth considering. Hold on a second Marc.  I believe a paraphrase was something to the effect of, “well he isn’t a proven player at all and you just don’t know what you’ll get from him.”  So….  With injuries running rampant in our outfield and Xavier Paul being mediocre, you don’t think that now is a good time to find out what this kid can do?  Set aside for just a second that I apparently have a serious man crush on Derrick Robinson.  He’s hitting .286 in limited action.  But he’s a switch hitter.  He has wheels.  He has a chance to be a legitimate big league outfielder.  If I am Dusty Baker, I am sliding this guy in the lineup half the time right now to see what he’s made of.  Maybe not in the 2 hole, but get him some more AB’s!  Actually, MAYBE in the 2 hole.  Why not?  Cozart has been there most of the season and he’s basically a slower Drew Subbs with not as much pop.  Of course he doesn’t strike out as much…  Anyway, the point is with a struggling offense, why not give a guy some AB’s.  Who knows?  He could be a hidden talent that could really help this team.

 

 

 

Bats wake up a little too late

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The Reds dropped the opening game of the home stand last night to the Braves.  There was a lot to get mad at.  I think that my wife has finally realized that every question that I yell is rhetorical.  “Why are you watching a fastball down the pipe with a full count!!”  “Why is Logan Ondrusek pitching in a game that still means something!”

Bronson was rough.  But Bronson wasn’t terrible.  It was 5IP 4R rough.  Not a quality start.  Someone joked at me this morning saying that THEIR favorite pitching stat is wins.  I disagree!  Wins don’t tell the story.  QS’ do.  A QS gives your team the chance to win.  Sometimes they don’t.  But that shouldn’t fall on the pitcher.  Bronson kept his team within 2 runs when he left last night.  There were 4 more innings to bat.  Sure the Braves have the best bullpen in the NL right now.  But the Reds did it.  They scored 2 more runs.  Logan Ondrusek got roughed up in the 8th.  At that point it was a 2 run game.  Understanding that the back end of this bullpen has been busy, I hate to see someone like Ondrusek on the hill when he’s struggled all season.

Jay Bruce keeps striking out and he doesn’t seem like he’s getting much better.  Joey Votto STILL doesn’t look comfortable, but his .300+ average has me baffled.  Even falling all over himself on breaking balls and being behind fastballs, he’s still getting hits to drop in.  Zack Cozart is NOT a #2 hitter, but who is?  BP has cooled off a bit.  This offense is still playing very flat.

One bright spot that some might not see is Derrick Robinson.  I’ve mentioned this kid a few times already.  I REALLY like the looks of this guy.  In my mind, it is MUCH more likely that Robinson will be the 2014 opening day starting center fielder.  And that’s not a bad thing.  The kid can hit for average and he has speed.  When he learns how to play against major league talent, he could be an all star some day.  He was on base twice against a tough lefty that not many people touched.  One was a base hit the opposite way and the other was a very tough AB that he worked a walk out of.  Watch out for him!  He will be an important person off the bench this season and next year I think he could start.

One more depressing observation:  Last season, the pitching carried this team to the division crown.  The offense contributed here and there, but it was the pitching that won it.  Now the pitching is struggling to match up to their 2012 form and the offense is struggling to match up to the Asstros’ 2012 form.  Unless we see a turnaround from this team’s offensive woes soon, they will continue to drift further from first place.

BUT!  We’re not giving up yet.  Save the panic.  It’s May.  It’s never good to struggle, but there’s plenty of time.  This team needs to get healthy and then strong.  Over the course of the season, with this much time left, that can happen.

I will be attending the game tonight.  First one since opening day.  I like to think that it will be something to break the curse of the offense.  How about some bold predictions?

Homer Bailey throws a QS.  And he gets a hit at the plate.

Todd Frazier will hit a dinger.

Reds win 4-2

 

Hangover Monday: Mint Juleps?

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Welcome back to another Hangover Monday.  Our Reds redeemed themselves at the hand of a terrible Cubs team.  They ended up their 10 game road trip at 5-5 which is depressing, yet, not as bad as it could have been the way that it started.  The Reds find themselves 2.5 games out of first place in a division that is starting to separate.

Of note from the weekend:

Chapman was overly wild Friday.  He walked 2 and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits.  Hoover came in for the save.  Hoover saved the game again on Sunday.  Chapman was able to rebound on Saturday for the save.

Starting pitching did well, but didn’t dominate.  Leake threw much better than normal but started to fall apart quick.  Cingrani allowed 4 runs through 6 and was slated for the loss until the Reds offense put up 4 in the 8th.  The bullpen threw 3 innings of no hit baseball for the win.  Latos lost his quality start streak as well as a scoreless inning streak that he had going.  Still, he got the win.

Votto is coming on strong.  Hitting .322 now.  Still a little shy on the power numbers, but anytime a guy hits .322, he is not struggling.

Choo and Phillips collided in an ugly play yesterday.  Phillips left the game but Choo stayed in.  The injury appears to be minor and Phillips says that he’ll be back in.

They took care of business in Chicago, but were roughed up overall on the trip.  Still they were 5-5 when they came home.  You prefer that they win a little more, especially against the right teams (Cardinals specifically).  BUT they always say that if you win at home and break even on the road then you’ll be fine.

The Braves are in town tonight.  They are NOT classified as one of those “below average” teams.  They are, in fact, the team to beat in the National League after a month into the season.  So it will be interesting to see this team perform at home against a tough opponent.

The derby is over.  Some horse won.  I had a ticket in my hand that a friend had for me and it wasn’t the same horse that won so I guess I didn’t win anything.  What I DO know is that mint juleps are alright.  Apparently all that meant was putting some mint stuff in my bourbon.  I tried to do as the romans were doing considering I was actually at a “derby party.”  We had a good time.  I drank bourbon while my children tore up the place and embarrassed my wife.

I thought that this was an interesting article.  One man’s opinion that the Reds would be legit suitors for Giancarlo Stanton.  When drunk Doug tells me that the Reds have a chance at Stanton, I ignore him.  There’s a lot more to it than what drunk Doug sees.  When a sportswriter says it, I listen with doubt.  Granted that everything in that article DOES make sense and lines up, he sorta glossed over a glaring fact.  The Reds would love to have that bat in the lineup.  But what do you do with the 14 million dollar man that is due back in July?  Ryan Ludwick would have to find a home.  The Reds would have to part with significant prospects that I don’t think that they have right now.  And Walt would have to be willing to take on more salary.  Those are 3 big reasons why not.  So don’t get too excited about the idea.  Would I love it?  YES.  Would adding Stanton make the Reds one of the top offensive teams in the league?  YES.  Do they have enough to see the Marlins pull the trigger?  Doubt it.  But hey, Walt has surprised us before.

 

 

Reoccuring theme in St Louis

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The Reds won game one of the 3 game set and then dropped the next 2.  At least they weren’t blown out this time in game 3!  Homer started good, but ran into trouble in the 6th.  The offense was unable to support his cause as they only pushed across 2 runs.  That brought the grand total on the series to 5 runs.

The offense is struggling.  The fans are getting frustrated.  Rightly so.  But as one thing leads to another, the fans this day and age are able to take out that frustration directly to the players via twitter.  Jay Bruce has been the target lately.  The man had a rough April.  1 Home run.  40 strikeouts.  Even Adam Dunn knocked 6 out of the park and struck out only 33 times.  He is also hitting .141 right now….

That was my 2nd Adam Dunn reference in as many days.  Sorry, but he is a good definition of a home run and strike out batter.

So the frustrated fans took to twitter.  Telling Jay Bruce that he is struggling right now in your own choice words might seem like a good idea, but what will that accomplish?  Even though the fans don’t understand it, these are real people with real feelings.  Which sounds like a total chick thing to say and I paused there for several seconds wanting to delete that line.  But it’s the only way to say it.  People love to hide behind the anonymity of them there internets.  If you walked up to Jay Bruce at Penn Station (since he IS a real person, I assume that he loves it as well) I doubt that you would say, “Jay you suck really bad right now.”  Yet when you’re jumping online wearing your sponge bob pajama pants and your fat camp ’99 T shirt you suddenly become a hard ass that can say anything to anyone.  I get it.  Look at me right now!  ha!  Freedom of speech is a great thing in this country and until the administration gets around to knocking out the entire bill of rights we still have the RIGHT to say what we want.  But just because you CAN say it, doesn’t mean that you should.  Don’t be a jerk.

REACTION from Jay Bruce was understandable.  He’s not a guy that’s in a batting slump in his Thursday night softball league (BTW, See you in Milford tonight!).  This is a guy who is struggling to perform at HIS CAREER.  Put it in perspective.  Let’s say that you were suddenly unable to mow a straight line and your boss was getting frustrated with you.  And you had people blasting you with texts/emails telling you that you suck at your job.  Is that helping you?  Didn’t you already know that you were struggling and wanting to correct it?  Jay wants to win.  So yell at the TV all that you want, but avoid twittering direct to Jay and don’t heckle him in his home ball park.  What Jay said in response might not have been the best idea either.  He is frustrated with the lack of support.  But there was a much better way to handle the situation.  No matter if you’re in the right or wrong, it’s the million dollar athlete that will get the ridicule in a battle of words.  So a simple, “I know that I’m struggling, but I would prefer to get the fans support in this time while I find my swing again” would have sufficed.  And Bruce WILL find that swing again.  He’ll be Red hot for about 2 weeks and hit like .450.  Anyone who is a Reds fan should know that…

Did Jay Bruce react appropriately?

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The Reds head off to Wrigley field for 3 games starting tomorrow night.  Mike Leake, Tony Cingrani and Mat Latos will sweep those Cubs!