The holiday weekend begins with a transaction. Danny Richar has been placed on the 15-day DL, and Edwin Encarnacion has been reinstated to the active roster. Welcome back, Edwin!
Well, we can’t welcome EE back to the lineup, because Jerry Hairston is starting at third. Of course. Full lineup below the fold. It is bizarre, as usual. Willy Taveras is actually not leading off, with the Cardinals throwing a right-hander tonight. Don’t get too excited. Taveras is batting second (!), rather than playing lefty-hitting Laynce Nix tonight. Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser.
It’s a sellout crowd at Great American Ballpark. Let’s hope they’re loud and that they get to go home happy. Discuss the game here.
Redleg Nation is happy to announce that Spotlight Player Matt Klinker has been promoted to the Class AA Carolina Mudcats and will be starting for them on Monday evening at home against the Tennessee Smokies.
Dusty Baker continuing to lead off Willy Taveras and building the lineups he does — is that the single worst thing any recent Reds manager has done to hurt the team’s chances of winning?
Usually lineup construction doesn’t have a big impact, but the Reds are close to being a good team, their offense is terrible, and they lose a lot of close games because they can’t score. In other words, having players ahead of Votto and Phillips could have a bigger impact on the Reds winning or losing than it might for, say, a really bad team like Washington.
It could be that small thing that pushes the team over the hump.
For example, I posted the numbers in last night’s game thread that Taveras had led off 16 games where he has failed to get on base even a single time.
The Reds are not only 3-13 in those games, but 5 of those 13 losses are by 2 runs or less. Sure, 3 of those 13 losses were blowouts, so it probably doesn’t matter if we had Bonds leading off, but the Reds could VERY reasonably be in 5-10 more games this year with one SIMPLE SIMPLE change. That’s a potentially HUGE impact.
Think about it, it’s a pretty crazy stat. All you need is 2-3 more runs over those games, which should be SUPER easy because we are talking about replacing 0 (or even NEGATIVE) production.
The Reds have been among the worst teams in baseball for a handful of years now. But a lot of the time, it has been because of a bad GM signing bad players — in particular pitchers — and the Reds manager not having much choice. In this case, Dusty has options…the fault falls squarely on him (not on Willy).
Is this the single worst thing a recent manager has done to hurt the Reds chances of winning?
Edwin Encarnacion went 2 for 3. Adam Rosales went 2 for 3 with a 2B. Chris Valaika went 1 for 1 with a 2B and a BB. Darnell McDonald tripled. Chris Heisey doubled.
Adam Pettyjohn gets no decision going 4 IP allowing 2 R on 4 H and 1 BB with 3 Ks. Jeff Kennard gets the win with 2 IP of scoreless relief. Robert Manuel gets his 7th save with 1 IP of scoreless relief.
Redleg Nation Spotlight Player Logan Parker went 2 for 3 with 2 2B and a BB. Jose Castro went 2 for 5. Todd Frazier and Zack Cozart each homered. Sean Henry tripled.
Jordan Smith gets the win going 5 IP allowing 3 R on 5 H and 2 BB with 3 Ks. Phil Valiquette (2 IP), Sean Watson (1 IP), and Logan Ondrusek (1 IP) each add scoreless relief outings. Ondrusek picks up his 3rd save.
Luis Montano gets the loss going 4.2 IP giving up 5 R, 1 ER, on 6 H and 2 BB with 3 K. Justin Freeman (1.1 IP) and Enerio Del Rosario (1 IP) each add scoreless relief outings.
Kevin Coddington went 2 for 4. Andrew Means and Cody Puckett each went 1 for 3 with a BB. Kyle Day doubled.
Lance Janke takes the loss going 5.2 IP giving up 3 R on 6 H and 3 BB with 3 K. Steven Otterness (3 IP) and Mark James (0.1 IP) each add scoreless relief outings.
Humberto Sosa went 2 for 4 with a 3B and a 2B. Yen Kuo went 3 for 4. Redleg Nation Spotlight Player Tyler Stovall went 1 for 3 with a BB. Frank Pfister doubled.
Justin Walker gets no decision going 5 IP giving up 2 R, 1 ER, on 3 H and 0 BB with 6 K. Daniel Corcino records 5 K in two scoreless innings of relief.
POSITIVES
–Thom Brennaman: “Doesn’t it seem that it’s always up to Joey Votto?” Yes, it does.
–Fortunately, Votto continues to come through for this club. Today, he had four hits, including the game-winner in the bottom of the tenth. This guy is just beyond words.
–The good Aaron Harang showed up today, but the Reds gave him the same run support as usual, i.e., no offense. Harang pitched 7 good innings, giving up four hits and two runs. He struck out 8 and walked 3. I’ll take that out of Harang every day of the week.
–Ryan Hanigan really isn’t this good. But he is playing like a star catcher in 2009. Today, Hanigan batted four times. He reached base four times. Three hits and a walk. Hanigan just keeps doing everything that’s asked of him, even if Dusty Baker doesn’t let him get off the bench very often.
–Of course, let’s not forget Ramon Hernandez, who came off the bench to reach base twice in two ABs.
–Drew Sutton made his major league debut in the bottom of the ninth, in a very tense situation. He delivered, getting the RBI to tie the game. Welcome to Cincinnati, Drew!
–Jay Bruce gunned down the would-be go-ahead run in the top of the tenth inning, after Francisco Cordero walked the bases loaded with one out. Then, in the top of the inning, Bruce laid down a good bunt when asked. Nice to see him contributing in other ways.
–For some reason, Chris Dickerson is not permitted to lead off. Dusty doesn’t think he is as good as Corey Patterson-Lite. So he had to bat seventh today. Of course, he had two hits and a walk, plus an important RBI. I’m not a huge Dickerson fan, by any means, but this is getting ridiculous. He keeps playing very well.
–Paul Janish and Brandon Phillips looked pretty good defensively — again — up the middle, according to Marty and Thom.
–Good work by Nick Masset and Daniel Ray Herrera out of the bullpen. What an amazing job the bullpen has done this year.
NEGATIVES
–TOS*
–Marty Brennaman: “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a team that is as offensively-challenged as this team.” Indeed.
–The Reds left 16 runners on base. It’s just astounding to contemplate how bad that is.
–Terrible outing by Francisco Cordero. Of course, he got the win. Need any more proof of why “wins” is a terrible statistic with which to rate pitchers?
–Willy Taveras is a worse leadoff hitter than Corey Patterson. It’s a joke. Why isn’t he batting eighth?
ETC.
–Great comeback win by Cincinnati. Down by one going into the bottom of the ninth, they somehow figured out how to win this one. Good win.
–Hanigan is now batting .336, and his OBP is .423. His OPS is 826. Wow.
–When are people going to realize that you absolutely cannot run on Jay Bruce’s left arm?
–Another question: when is Dusty going to realize that Jerry Hairston, Jr., is not good?
–Don’t look now, but Brandon Phillips is really struggling lately. His OPS is under 800 for the first time in a while.
–The Reds just aren’t much better than Arizona. I know a lot of us don’t want to believe that, but it’s true.
–But who cares today? Reds win! And Joey wants to celebrate:
Arizona starting pitcher Doug Davis is going to look like Cy Young today, I’m afraid.
Not only has the Reds’ offense been struggling mightily, but Aaron Harang is pitching for the Reds. The offense never scores for Harang, whether he’s pitching well or pitching poorly.
It’s an afternoon game, though, and those are always fun. Ignore your work and discuss the game here….
(The lineup, with Willy Taveras leading off again, is below the fold.)
I realize that Adam Dunn is no longer on the Reds, but Rob Neyer’s ESPN blog today directs readers to another blog that discusses the value of Adam Dunn versus the newly acquired National, Nyjer Morgan.
I wish defensive statistics could be truly valued at this point. When I watch the sports highlights, I always prefer the defensive moments, and when I was a child I dreamed of making a great defensive play to end the game rather than hitting the game winning home run.
So, personally speaking, I do find it odd for myself to constantly argue in favor of the offensive player and offensive stats, but those figures are much easier to quantify and justify rather than the statistical and observational value of defense.
There’s too much variation of interpretation of defensive statistics, and I mean analysis derived from the same information, for me to take the info seriously. The analysis of the same player using the same derivative information can vary wildly, and I still have to wonder about the impact of BABIP….because it sure seems to me that a screaming line drive would be much harder to reach than a can of corn flyball…but, they seem to be valued the same. (I still remember Marty Brennaman on the radio warning the listeners about his fear for the infielders and their families as Tom Browning was nearing the end of his career and line drives were screaming off the bats from opposing hitters…)
Anyway, here’s a link to the article comparing Dunn to Morgan:
And, here’s a link to an article that questions the validity of UZR as a defensive metric, despite it being possibly the most accepted defensive analytical tool currently used:
Miguel Rojas went 3 for 5 with a 2B. Kevin Coddington went 2 for 5. Cody Puckett went 1 for 3 with 2 BB and a HR. Andrew Means, Carlos Mendez, and Kyle Day each went 1 for 3 with 2 BB.
Oscar Castro gets no decision going 3 IP giving up 4 R on 4 H and 4 BB with 1 K. Jordan Hotchkiss gives up 1 R over 4 IP of relief.
We close out the month of June, and Bill heads to Sarasota to talk with Joe Ayrault, manager of the Reds High-A minor league affiliate there in Florida. Plus, an update from one of our spotlight players, Reds’ minor league pitcher Matt Klinker. It’s episode 30 of the Redleg Nation Radio podcast!
You can listen with the player at the bottom of this post or right-click here to download the mp3 file to listen at your leisure. For links to all previous episodes of Redleg Nation Radio, check out the podcast’s home page.
–How about Johnny Cueto? Give him a big lead, like the Reds did each of his last two starts, and he’ll cough it up. Give him Harangesque run support, and he pitches a gem. Cueto walked four of the first eight batters of the game, but then began dominating a terrible Arizona lineup, as he should. He gave up just one hit over six innings, striking out 8.
–The bullpen was dominating once again, giving up just one hit (by Arthur Rhodes). Francisco Cordero and some other guy pitched scoreless, hitless innings. Good stuff.
–CoCo has been simply outstanding this season. I still wonder whether the Reds should have devoted so much of their limited budget to a closer, but I really, really like Cordero. He now has 19 saves, with a 1.91 ERA. I have to believe that he and Cueto are the Reds two most likely All-Star picks.
–Submitted without comment: Chris Dickerson had two hits from the leadoff spot, including a double, and scored the Reds only run.
–Joey Votto and Ramon Hernandez also had two hits. Votto had the lone RBI, and Hernandez also gunned down a runner at second. Very nice.
NEGATIVES
–TOS* The Reds continue making bad pitchers look like Cy Young.
–Jay Bruce had what appeared to be a pretty boneheaded baserunning move late in the game. Looks like he could have scored a second run for the good guys, but he hesitated on a ball hit to the outfield that really had no chance of being caught by the D’backs.
ETC.
–Boy, Arizona is just awful. It’s what made last night’s disgraceful performance more frustrating.
–I love the Cueto we saw tonight. Too bad it took that performance to win because the pathetic ofense.
–Of course, he had us a bit worried in the second inning, when he grabbed his lower back and Dusty Baker brought the trainer out to check on him. Cueto stayed in the game, though, and was even better after that. Let’s hope this is the last we hear of back problems for Cueto.
–It’s been mentioned in several comments, but I hadn’t actually put it in a post yet: Drew Sutton has been recalled from AAA, and Jared Burton has been sent to Louisville. I like Burton, he’s one of my favorite Reds, but I’m really glad to see the Reds cut bait on the ridiculous 13-pitcher roster construction.
–How about Joey tonight? (Send me photoshops of other Reds in a sombrero, and I’ll use them!)
July begins with renewed optimism and a matchup between Johnny Cueto and Jon Garland. Conventional wisdom would say the Reds should be favored in this matchup but then, conventional wisdom wouldn’t put Willy Taveras at the top of the order, either. Or maybe it would. What do I know?
Joey Votto played his first home game since returning from the DL and revealing his personal issues. What was the reception like for Votto when he batted in the bottom of the first? — a polite applause just like it was any other at-bat.
I really thought there would be more than that — especially with all of the interest about the reasons behind his absence during the 22 games he was away. Were people more interested in the intrigue, false rumors and inneuendo (sic) than the actual truth about why Votto was out? The truth, I thought, was pretty compelling and it was courageous for Votto to share.
Guess most fans just weren’t that impressed. Too bad.
Things were looking great for the Bats. Up 7-1 going to the 8th, Louisville was ready to cruise to a comfortable victory. However, a 7 run 8th inning by Gwinnett turned the win into a loss. Pedro Viola allowed 4 runs on 3 hits in .1 inning of work in that 8th inning. Frederico Baez allowed 2 more runs in just .1 inning pitched to record the loss.
Chris Heisey went 3-4 with 2 doubles and a homerun. The homerun was Heisey’s 1st in Louisville. He also drove in 2 runs and scored 2 more. Chris Valaika added a homerun in the game as well, his 4th of the season.
Michael Griffin and Eric Eymann each went 1-4 with a double on a night in which the Mudcats offense mustered only 5 hits. Zach Cozart went 1-2 with an rbi and a run scored.
Tom Cochran, when not singing “Life is a Highway”, pitches for the Mudcats. Tom allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and a walk in 5.1 innings of work to fall to 1-1 on the season.
Class A Advanced
The game between Sarasota and Tampa was postponed. They will play a double-header on Wednesday.
Byron Wiley went 2-4 with a triple, 2 rbis, and a run scored to help lift the Dragons to the win. Kevin Coddington raised his average to .304 on the season thanks to a 2-4 night. Cody Puckett scored twice and drove in a run after a 1-2 night with a double.
J.C. Sulbaran allowed 3 unearned runs and did not factor into the decision. Sulbaran allowed 2 hits and walked 3 while striking out 6 in 4 innings of work. Sulbaran is 2-1 with a 4.21 ERA in 47 innings pitched. He has struck out 55 in that span.
Theodis Bowe and Donald Lutz each went 2-4 with Bowe scoring a run for the Reds and Lutz driving in a run. Bowe also stole 3 bases while Lutz swiped 1. Billy Hamilton was held hitless for only the 2nd time this season but did steal his 7th base.
Tyler Cline picked up his first win of the season after pitching 5 scoreless innings. Cline allowed just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 3 over 5 innings of work.
Humberto Sosa went 2-4 with a homerun, double, rbi, and 2 runs scored. Alexis Oliveras went 2-4 with a double, run scored, and 2 walks. Chris Richburg went 2-3 with a double and an rbi. Sean Conner went 2-5 with a double and a run scored. Finally, Maurecio Pimentel went 1-4 and scored twice and drove in 2 rbis.
Ezequiel Infante picked up his first win of the year by pitching 2 scoreless innings in relief. Infante allowed 2 hits and struck out 1.
Mark Sheldon called out Dusty Baker a bit this morning, under the headline, “Hot hitters squeezed out of Reds’ order“. Yeah, it was mild, but good to see nonetheless:
Some of the hottest bats the Reds have right now never left the dugout during Tuesday’s game vs. the D-backs.
Outfielders Jonny Gomes and Chris Dickerson weren’t in the starting lineup, nor was backup catcher Ryan Hanigan.
Gomes, who was the Reds’ designated hitter in all nine Interleague games, is batting .360 (18-for-50) with four home runs and 11 RBIs over his past 18 games. He was responsible for three of Cincinnati’s past six homers.
Dickerson, who is batting .277 overall, is hitting .452 (14-for-31) over his past 12 games and has hits in 10 of them. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning on Tuesday.
Hanigan is batting .321 for the season.
“You can’t play everybody,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “I have a plan on how to keep them sharp and productive for themselves and us at the same time. We knew that could potentially happen when we started. You don’t have a good team unless you have too many good bodies.”
I think Dusty Baker is good at many parts of his job. Unfortunately, I’ve lost all faith in him to put the best players on the field every day. I have no confidence in Dusty at all.
Enjoy this final nugget from the dusty one, regarding his refusal to put Ryan Hanigan in the game:
“Ramon has been one of our best, clutch RBI guys,” Baker said.
FINAL
Arizona 6
Cincinnati 2
WP: Haren (7-5)
LP: Arroyo (8-7) BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–None. Terrible way to begin the homestand.
NEGATIVES
–TOS* (do we need the asterisk any longer?). This is getting really old.
–Bronson Arroyo is just killing me. Another terrible start for him tonight, giving up ten hits and five earned runs in just over five innings pitched. He struck out just two while walking four. A miserable performance, frankly, from someone the Reds are really depending on.
–UPDATE: This is a negative, as well. Reds fans who were at the game tonight should be ashamed of themselves.
ETC.
–Arroyo’s ERA for June: 6.51.
–Someone explain to me, please, why in the name of all that is good and pure is Willy Taveras starting — and leading off! — against a righthander? Not only that, we’re talking about one of the toughest right-handers in the league. The only explanation is that Dusty Baker is completely insane. That’s the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with.
–The Diamondbacks had lost five in a row before tonight, but they got healthy in a hurry against our Redlegs. A good marketing slogan: “Cincinnati: Good For What Ails Ya’!”
–Chris Dickerson had one pinch-hit AB and Paul Janish actually got to play five whole innings tonight. I think Dusty’s just working the young guys into the mix slowly. Very, very slowly. A glacial pace.
–If Arroyo’s struggles are due to the carpal tunnel, get him on the DL. I know how painful it can be, and I can’t imagine pitching with CTS.
–Thom Brennaman doesn’t like it when a player gets a tattoo on his neck.
–Johnny Cueto tomorrow night. Let’s hope for a more enjoyable evening.
Time for a recap of today’s titanic struggle….
Recent Comments