May 2006
Two down, four to go…
A 3-2 victory in the final game of May brings to close a rather mediocre month for a Reds team that had an outstanding April.
Two months are gone, and this is what I know so far:
- The starting pitching is light years better than anyone thought it would be. The addition of Bronson Arroyo has been amazing for this club, like him or not (Red Hot Mama), and I’m glad of his presence. Aaron Harang is fantastic, and I’d take three more of him to round out the rotation if I could. Eric Milton, take away an awful 2005-esque start against the Marlins before he went on the DL, and a so-so start when he perhaps returned just a bit too soon in Detroit, and he’s 3-1 with an ERA around 3. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again now, I think he is going to help this team win some games. The Lizard has pitched pretty well, with little run support, and Claussen has his days.
- The starting rotation could without a doubt be improved, but I’m willing to hold out just a little longer with Elizardo and Claussen… Dave Williams, best of luck so long as you aren’t pitching against the Reds.
- The bullpen has been very hot and cold. Todd Coffey, as he showed again tonight, should be the closer. He came in and got Michael Barrett with two on in the bottom of the 8th, and then pitched a quick 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th. That is precisely what a closer needs to do – I don’t like the cardiac arrest-inducing saves I used to see from Danny Graves, and that I’ve seen this season from David Weathers. NOBODY DOES. As for everyone else, I’m seeing several ERAs over 4 & 5… that’s horrific. Here’s to hoping that Krivsky has his eye on some relief pitching…
- The offense? I’ve been to three games this season where the Reds scored 10+ runs. I’ve also been to a game in which they were shut out. It’s amazing how streaky these bats have been! LaRue is hitting under .200, Dunn is right around .235, Kearns has seen his average drop .050 over the last few weeks… Hopefully everything is going to even out because the pitchers can throw "quality starts" all they want, but if the offense scores 0 runs, the ‘pen has a good chance of giving it away.
- The Reds lead the league in pinch hits, and pinch hit avg., and are right up there in stolen bases, so Yay! for the "small-ball" stuff.
- Ken Griffey, Jr. continues to work his magic, and after hitting another homer and batting in two today, makes it easy for me to point out that he does so much to help legitimize this team.
The Reds were predicted to finish dead last in the National League Central by at least one major sports publication (which will remain nameless, although you all probably know which one I am talking about). Two months into the season, we’re not getting stepped all over, and certainly not within our own division – we’re 18-12 against NL Central teams. I’ve read over and over again about how the Reds would be looking up from the cellar by mid-June. ::smiles:: I make no guarantees about how the season is going to end, but I sincerely doubt that it will involve looking up from sixth place.
29-24? I’ll take it. But now I want more.
I want first place back.
And now, I leave you all with one last question, the most important thing to ponder from today…
Was Roger Clemens really wearing a purple tie at his press conference?
Ready for Thursday!
I saw this coming a mile away.
Maddux vs. Claussen?
Heck, it wasn’t even all that bad until after the rain delay. The Reds even scored first. Did that matter in the end? Nope. The Reds incredible ********* of late danced its way into the spotlight in the form of shoddy defense and horrible relief pitching, and there went another game down the drain.
Jesus.
HOW MANY TIMES AM I GOING TO HAVE TO LAMENT THE FACT THAT THIS TEAM CAN’T PLAY DEFENSE? HOW MANY TIMES AM I GOING TO HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS OR THAT RELIEF PITCHER’S AWFUL PERFORMANCE?
Where is the offense? Where is the life? – this team dies if they get down by a couple of runs. And when they do score some runs to come back, the ‘pen gives them RIGHT BACK.
What happened to the team I saw in April? It’s like that team has been kidnapped by aliens and replaced by robots that can’t field or pitch the ball. And for whatever reason, the robot version of Eric Milton is the one that pitches well, but that’s for another day. (Tomorrow.)
Yeah, so, am I making horrible pronouncements about the season being over? Absolutely not. Do I see this string of incredibly horrid play continuing? God, I ******* hope not. But something needs to happen, and soon.
I still believe, but I’m not sure if the players do anymore.
“What, me worry?”
The Cubs beat the Reds today, 7-3. (I almost typed 4 because Freelie homered in the 9th, but the umpires didn’t agree with me…)
Am I surprised? Not really. Scroll down and look at the comments I made about the upcoming series against the Cubs. Or stay right here, and I’ll rehash: This really could go either way – the Reds are throwing the "bottom" of the rotation out there, while we face Wood, Maddux, and Zambrano. Both teams are prone to errors and "extra outs." The Cubs, not playing so well, the Reds, under .500 in May. Both teams have questionable, streaky bullpens. I expressed some fears that this could be the series that "springboards the Cubs out of HeII." Sitting here right now I realize that even if the Cubs take one or both of the remaining games, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will ignite the Cubs to some sort of winning record, and neither does it follow that the Reds would all of a sudden collapse due to a couple of losses to the Cubs. I still want to win, though. Don’t get that wrong.
The bottom line is that what will cause this team to collapse is a combination of continued bipolar pitching performances – great starts, terrible relief, and vice versa – and this depressing lack of offense.
The Reds, despite a lukewarm May, are still over .500, and they are still very much a threat to contend in this division.
We need a good start from Claussen tomorrow. I know he has one in him somewhere, and tomorrow would be the perfect time to pull one out. Honestly, I’m not worried about Eric Milton – I think he’s turned the proverbial corner, and his first great stretch as a Red is here. Do I think he’s going to do nothing but pitch like he did this past Friday – 8IP, 1ER, 9K, 0BB, 0HR? No, I’m not insane. But he’s not going to run out there and be a punching bag start after start like he was last season. If the Reds have anything going for them in terms of pitching, a potential resurgence of Eric Milton is it – no one expects it, and if he can do what I think he can, the Reds have a solid 1-2-3 punch, and a decent 4 starter in Ramirez. If Claussen could pull himself together and have some decent starts… this might not be the sad rotation that everyone seems to envision when they think of the Cincinnati Reds.
Somehow this went from me doing a recap of today’s game to me spelling out why I think this team still has a shot to surprise everyone before the season is out. ::shrug:: I needed to do that, I think. It was cathartic. You all might think I’m absolutely crazy, but I’m just trying to be optimistic.
Now, how about scoring some runs tomorrow?
As ever, go Reds.
715*
For some reason, I half expected Barry Bonds not to hit his Ruth-passing homer until next Tuesday.
6/6/06
Bwahahaha.
Ehh, all kidding aside, I’m more excited by Javy’s walk-off homer. That shot won a game – the Giants lost.
Hitting, yes! Pitching, kinda.
You all lucked out. I worked out one helluva negative, nasty rant-like post in my brain as I was preparing to watch the Reds lose their fourth consecutive game.
And then Javier Valentin hit a walk-off home run.
Now, waves of euphoria are rolling around in my head, and it is currently impossible to recall 99% of what I was mad about as late as the top of the 9th inning of this glorious game.
Are the offensive troubles over? Probably not. But this’ll help. All day long, the Reds had to fight an absolutely ginormous strike zone and some speedy, well-placed pitches, but somehow they scored five runs.
More later…
Go Redlegs!
Pitching, yes. Hitting, no.
Apathetic.
After two games of brilliant starting pitching – 8IP, 1 ER, 9K, 0BB from Milton last night, 7 IP, 2 ER, 8K, 1BB from Harang tonight – and sad, sorry (lack of) offense – I refuse to post any stats in this category – I am feeling… nothing. I got home from work tonight and caught the last two innings of the game, and wasn’t doing my normal talk-to-the-tv thing ("Come on, guys" / "Score some runs" / "Strike him out" etc.), instead I quitely sat there and sort-of chuckled when the Reds refused to do anything offensively, and posted their second straight 0 run performance. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving up on the season or anything, I’m just sick and tired of the anemic offense. 21 innings without scoring a run –> Wow.
15 runs… 7 runs… 0 runs… 2 runs… 0 runs… 0 runs = WHAT THE ****? Did we face Roy Oswalt, Cy Young, and Nolan Ryan in those three shutouts? I’ll give you Brandon Webb, but the others, come on!
Lost in these last two losses, as I previously mentioned, are some great starts. The New Eric Milton took the mound last night and could easily gotten out of trouble in the second, but – you guessed it – the shoddy defense struck again. ****, he wasn’t really in trouble… at all. All night. 9 Ks! 0 walks! If he keeps pitching like that, and Arroyo and Harang keep doing what they’ve been doing, we’ve got a great top of the rotation here, people. And hey, every third Claussen start should be something to look forward to. 
It’s amazing that both Milton and Harang were the losing pitchers in these games. What happened to the 6+ runs of support Aaron usually gets?
I say Freel leads off and Hatteberg/Encarnacion/Aurilia/Kearns each get a day off on consecutive days to get Ryan in there for a few games. As soon as I post about Kearns having a monster run at the plate, he goes on a skid where his BA drops .040+ points.
Does anyone else think that this upcoming series with the Cubs is going to be big? I don’t want to be the Cubs’ springboard out of ****, but I just have this absolutely sickening feeling that it might happen. Or we might sweep them. I’m hoping for the latter.
I have no idea who the guy is pitching for the Diamondbacks tomorrow, but I sure hope we can beat the **** out of his shiny, new 0.00 ERA. Watch the Reds score 8 runs in the first inning… Isn’t that just how these things go? All or nothing around here lately.
Oh, look. The Cardinals won again. And "World Killer" Pujols was 0 for 4, which means they’re winning without his bat. In related news, the Reds remain in second place in the division because no other teams in the NL Central seem to be winning either.
Is May over yet?
Go Go Arroyo tomorrow. I need a winner, please.
Revenge?
I do presume that the lineup tonight will be fully loaded…?
Eric Milton, whose first start off of the DL was forgettable and suggested that he needed a rehab start or two, will hopefully pitch some decent ball tonight so that I don’t have to come back here and post a question, for the second time, as to why he didn’t spend some time in Louisville.
Brandon Webb, he of the 7-0 record and sub-2.5 ERA, is pitching for the D-backs. I am almost certain, but too lazy to check, that one of those seven wins came against the Reds when we were in Arizona during the first week of this month. Ok, 7-1 sounds good to me after tonight. ::shrug:: …just a thought.
I really have no idea how this game is going to play out. I keep wavering between extreme optimism (when I think about Milton’s first two starts of the season, and the sheer offensive force that is the Cincinnati Reds) and slight pessimism (when I take into consideration the fact that Webb has pitched outstandingly so far this season, and how streaky the offense seems to be from one night to the next). Either way, I’m set to see what will hopefully be a good game.
Here’s to improving my own attendance record to 9-4! (Because 8-5 is ugly. And $10 parking is a lot easier to swallow when I see a win.)
As ever, Go Redlegs!
Last night’s fiasco, er, game…
Here is what last night felt like to me:
Jerry Narron is driving the victory bus with the Reds on board after two wins against the Brewers, and all of a sudden pulls over and turns around to face the team.
"Guys, go ahead and get off the bus," he drawls, as the players look around, confused. "I’ve made some changes in tonight’s lineup."
Narron exits the vehicle, sees Brewers manager Ned Yost, and hands him the keys. "Yeah," Narron says, "I’m going to sit Felipe and Dunner tonight, and I’m not going to put Freel in there either."
Yost, confused, elated (?), decides not to remind Jerry that it’s Claussen going for the Reds tonight, and that they just might need all of the run production they can get. He takes the keys and directs his 25 guys to hop on board.
Narron proceeds to turn to Quinton McCracken and say "Q, I need to to be ready late in the game, because I’m going to double switch you in so that you can strike out in the 9th on three pitches."
"Ok, boss."
"Hey, Jerry?" pipes up Lopez. "Um, I was just wondering if you were aware that there are going to be paying fans in the stands tonight…?"
Narron answers, "I know, Lopie, but I promised some of you some rest, especially with tomorrow’s off day."
"…who are here to see me play," Lopez finishes, "since it’s my bobblehead night and all."
"Good point. I’ll get you in there after most of the hope for a win is gone. How does that sound?"
_____________________
Late through no fault of my own, I was finally able to sit down in my seat in the middle of the third inning. By then, the Reds were down three runs, and although the Reds were about to score, it wouldn’t be enough.
It’s like Narron had no intention of winning this game from the minute he woke up this morning.
I understand that Dunn is (was? He had a five-game hit streak snapped recently) in a slump, I understand that guys need a day off here and there… I understand that it is important to have the best team available to you when you are on the verge of playing a tough stretch of games. I don’t understand weakening your offense to the point of surrender!
Yes, Cody Ross has a batting average over .400, but how many plate appearances are figured into that? Yes, he was doing well in Louisville, but AAA hitting doesn’t automatically transfer to Major League hitting, especially against a guy who usually has the Reds’ number. I like Brandon Phillips hitting high in the order, but I don’t want him up there hitting leadoff with Ross in the two hole.
The double switch of Quinton into the game in the 8th inning is what killed me. How many guys on the bench aren’t hitting right at the Mendoza Line? How many guys on the bench could have had a more productive at bat than a strikeout on three pitches? Pathetic.
This strongly resembles the final game of the series against the Cardinals earlier this month. Tony LaRussa left Jim "Reds Killer" Edmonds out of the lineup, as well as someone by the name of Albert "World Killer" Pujols. Somehow, with Dave Williams starting and getting hit pretty hard, pretty early, the Reds pulled that one out for a win. Cardinals fans everywhere sent up a chorus of "well, they needed a day off, and we needed to be ready for the series against the Astros, because those are more important games." If I remember correctly, that backfired – I think the Cards lost two of three to the ‘stros in that series.
At the time, I was amazed that fans would take the view that you can sacrifice one game to benefit you for the next few. Today, I feel EXACTLY THE SAME WAY! We need to take this season one game at a time and not commit a virtual forfeit by throwing the "B-squad" out there after we’ve won the first two. You might get away with that when Aaron Harang is on the mound, but you don’t do that with Mr. Inconsistency, Brandon Claussen.
Looks like Narron rolled the dice and lost on this one.
Something New…
It occurred to me that I rarely write about anything but situations directly affecting the Reds, or whatever team they happen to be playing that series. In an effort to broaden my horizons and to possibly appeal to a wider base of readers, I offer you… *drum-roll* Reds-less News.
Have you ever been so distracted by something that when you finally remember where you are and what your were doing before the distraction you feel like time moved on without you?
I just experienced that sensation. I was sitting here, at my computer, watching the final outs of the Braves/Padres, and then I turned my attention to a few websites that I usually visit, and then, apparently, half an hour later, I kinda turn around because I hear this music behind me, and I’m thinking what the ****? Why is the theme from "Shaft" playing during a baseball game? Oh, wait… baseball is long over, and the next program has started.
If you’re reading this and thinking "Where the heck is she going with this?" …hang in there, I have a point. Trust me.
Now I have to own up to what was distracting me to the point where I lost track of time.
Yes, ladies and gents, I have been faithfully reading and enjoying a Chicago Cubs blog.
No, I’m by no means ashamed, I’m merely surprised at myself. I am not such a big fan of the Cubbies (to put it delicately), but when I happened upon the site by chance I became absolutely hooked. I can almost guarantee, however, that if the Cubs were doing well I would not be able to stand the self-righteous drivel I am certain that would spew forth. (From the commenters, not the main bloggers.) As it stands, I am thoroughly enjoying the read. (And for the record, there are still some commenters in the Cubs Blog Army that rank the Reds with the Marlins and Pirates. I beg to differ, but we can wait to discuss that on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. …to look at it a different way, as the Cubs were just swept by the Marlins, I wouldn’t mind having that in common with the Fish.)
The bottom line is this: I do not feel sorry for the fans – I doubt they give a rat’s *** what I think. I do understand their frustrations and where they are coming from. The current situation with their ballclub – rich, uncaring ownership, hated management, under-performance by richly-contracted players… injuries… I have lived the same thing. The difference? The Cubs have a $90+ mil payroll. And they’re 10 games under .500 – Fifth in the division. Yeah, I can’t tell you what a $90 million payroll feels like, but I know if I had one and was 12.5 games out of first place… It’s ugly. …Something has to happen soon. Someone, from the hitting coach, Gene Clines, to Dusty Baker himself, is going to get the boot. I know there are thousands upon thousands waiting with baited breath…
Even I’m curious to see what happens. No doubt whatever occurs, I will have some great articles to read, courtesy of Death, Pestilence, War, Famine, Chaos, and Despair. The latter being the stage of grief Cubs fans are experiencing at this point.
Why don’t I have a Junior bobblehead?
I’d like to thank the Reds for turning my day completely around yesterday. I was having a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day" thanks to work related issues and drama, and I actually came home and considered going straight to bed.
Well, thank you Ken Griffey, Junior!
Another running web gem, another 3-run go-ahead shot into the Moon Deck. I’m getting really used to saying these things, and I sincerely hope that I can continue to say them as the season progresses.
The ‘pen had a great showing last night after The Lizard was lifted after the 5th in favor of a pinch hitter, so his final line was 5IP, 3ER. I’ll take that from the fifth starter… Heck, I’ll take that from Milton and Claussen at this point. Hammond and Java were each responsible for two innings of scoreless relief. (17 pitches for Coffey – probably available tonight if needed!)
’twas a good game, guys. Keep it up!
Tonight is Felipe Lopez bobblehead night. I’m expecting a big crowd at GABP because, well, people usually turn out in droves for bobblehead nights. I’ll be one of the masses clamoring for their own little Felipe-with-his-head-on-a-spring doll.
No more "the glove will be what bobbles, not the head" jokes.
As ever, Go Redlegs!
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