Loading ...How good has Bronson Arroyo been? Well, he was special in Monday night’s big win over the Cardinals, who now trail the Reds by a game in the NL Central standings. I particularly enjoyed this quote:
Like with Boston against New York in the AL East, Arroyo will draw a sizeable amount of assignments to face the NL Central-rival Cardinals this season and beyond.
“This is the one team I want to make sure I can feel comfortable [against] and feel like I can beat them,” he said.
Between Arroyo and Harang, I’m very comfortable with the front end of this rotation, which is something I haven’t been able to say in years. With the offense scoring runs all over the place, well, I’m starting to believe in this team.
After what we’ve been through as Reds fans over the last decade, I want to believe.
When’s the last time you felt this comfortable with a Reds’ starter? I’d say it has to be Jose Rijo. And for having two guys you could pretty much count on – what, Jackson and Browning in ‘88? (With a young Rijo dominating as a swingman – though Browning was basically league average.) Or maybe 1990, when 4.5/5 of the rotation was above average (Mahler made 16 so-so starts)?
By the way, Chris Hammond has a World Series ring from 1990. How about that?
Hammond was the teammate of Ken Griffey, Sr. on that club, as well as two guys who’ve died (Mahler and Tim Layana).
Here’s your Six Degrees of Baseball: Edwin Encarnacion (or pick any young Red) is teammates with Chris Hammond.
Hammond broke in with Senior Griffey in 1990.
Griffey’s teammate on the ‘73 Reds was Denis Menke, who broke in with the (Milwaukee) Braves in ‘62.
Menke’s teammate then was a 41-year-old Warren Spahn, who broke in with the (Boston) braves in ‘42.
On that team was HOFer Paul Waner, who was a rookie on the 1926 Pirates, whose entire outfield (Waner, Kiki Cuyler, and Max Carey) made the Hall of Fame, as did 3b Pie Traynor.
Carey played parts of 8 seasons behind Honus Wagner, starting in 1910.
With Wagner, you go all the way back to the 1897 Louisville Colonels, which was a (truly awful) National League team. His fellow rookie was Rube Waddell, also a HOFer.
But if you want to take this thing all the way back, you go to Wagner’s 1897 teammate Perry “Moose” Werden, who first played in the major league in 1884 (with the St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association).
The other way to do it is:
Hammond to Griffey to Rose to Nuxhall to Bucky Walters, who broke in with the lousy 1934 Phillies. He played with a backup OF named Harvey “Gink” Hendrick, who broke in with the ‘23 Yankees (Ruth, Meusel, Pipp, and a 23-year-old Waite Hoyt). Hoyt broke in for the 1918 Giants, managed by John McGraw. McGraw pretty much takes you back to the birth of organized baseball (1891 Baltimore of the American Association).
It’s really fun to go down that 1990 roster and see how much of a team effort that win really was. In this day and age with an emphasis on numbers, that team should have been in last place. Herm Winningham? Rolando Roomes? Luis Quinones?
The Nasty Boys were the key to that year. If we can’t come up with at least one guy of that caliber in the pen, we’re going to be sorely disappointed when they start playing more to their numbers.
Bronson Arroyo has been lights out! The Pena for Arroyo trade might turn into another Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas deal. Only this time…IN REVERSE!
I don’t know about last place. Every pitcher on the staff had an ERA better than the league average. And every offensive regular by season’s end (except Hatcher and Oliver) had an OPS above average. They were legitimate – the raw numbers just look weak in this era.
I get the feeling that Arroyo and Harang are challenging each other. Maybe not directly, but they each seem trying to better themselves and better each other with each outing. Certainly having a positive affect if true.
Now if that could just rub off on the rest of the rotation.
Greg D,
I think you’re right. Let’s see if those two can motivate the rest of the staff. Pitching hasn’t been too shabby in the last week or so.