Game Thread: Edinson Volquez, Again
Reds and Astros tonight, in Houston. I almost hesitate to mention the fact that Edinson Volquez is searching for his 17th win, since he’s been stuck on 16 for several starts now. Let’s hope he can get it tonight, then get #18 on Sunday vs. Kyle Lohse in the last game of the season.
Discuss tonight’s game here.
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Here are some great #s in honor of Volquez’s great season.
These are the lowest ERA+ from Reds starters with at least 25 starts in a season since the BRM
**ERA+** W L GS Player Year
163 14 9 36 Jose Rijo 1993
153 15 6 30 Jose Rijo 1991
148 14 8 29 Jose Rijo 1990
142 7 8 30 Elmer Dessens 2002
142 14 11 35 Bronson Arroyo 2006
141 15 10 33 Jose Rijo 1992
140 17 13 34 Mario Soto 1983
137 14 7 32 Pete Harnisch 1998
137 16 6 31 Edinson Volquez 2008
136 9 6 26 Jose Rijo 1994
in each of these cases the starter had GREAT season and in almost every case the team was awful. Check the W-L totals on each one of these!
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Here are some great #s in honor of Volquez’s great season.
These are the lowest ERA+ from Reds starters with at least 25 starts in a season since the BRM
ERA+ W L GS Player (Year)
163 14 9 36 Jose Rijo (1993)
153 15 6 30 Jose Rijo (1991)
148 14 8 29 Jose Rijo (1990)
142 7 8 30 Elmer Dessens (2002)
142 14 11 35 Bronson Arroyo (2006)
141 15 10 33 Jose Rijo (1992)
140 17 13 34 Mario Soto (1983)
137 14 7 32 Pete Harnisch (1998)
137 16 6 31 Edinson Volquez (2008)
136 9 6 26 Jose Rijo (1994)
in each of these cases the starter had GREAT season and in almost every case the team was awful. Check the W-L totals on each one of these!
one name I was surprised not to see in the top 10. Harang.
He had ERA+ of 124 and 125 in 2006 and 2007.
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Rejoice!!! No Bako or Patterson!!!
Jerry Hairston cf
Jeff Keppinger 2b
Joey Votto 1b
Edwin Encarnacion 3b
Jay Bruce rf
Jolbert Cabrera lf
Ryan Hanigan c
Paul Janish ss
Edinson Volquez p
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Oh my gosh. this is so awesome. I’m tempted to pay the 3 dollars for a day pass and watch this…
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Joey!
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Votto triples in a run. Tonight, I’m officially declaring him my favorite baseball player. I hope he’s with us for a long time.
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Joey is the best. He’s a different type of person. Quiet, focused, kick ass.
Big Bob should import a few more of those.
We need less of …………..well, fill in the blanks.
WORLD POSTSCRIPT: How do you think my Phillies will do in the postseason?
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
That blank can be correctly filled by sooo many different things. It’s like madlibs. At least we have Joey. What a great attitude and demeanor that kid has.
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:55 pm
why can’t the Reds play fundamental baseball? DP by EE…a SB would have been a lot better with the Lefty Bruce coming up and then Cabrera that had an earlier RBI
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Mark Sheldon talking with Marty about Jeff Keppinger during the 2nd inning. Their feeling is that Keppinger’s hitting suffered from the knee issue because the inactivity made his legs weak. Maybe that is a valid argument but the guy is still not good enough defensively to play anywhere on a regular basis.
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I don’t know…is he really that bad at 2nd base or 3rd base? I know he’s not cut out as a short-stop where they like to play him. I think they may be right about his hitting. I always knew he’d come back down to earth, but I didn’t expect him to be around the .270 mark. He strikes me as somebody who knows how to hit, knows where to put the ball and aim for holes.
Like I’ve said in other threads, we aren’t going to fill ALL our holes with really good starters from the FA market or trades, and I think if any of our bench players might be reasonable breaking camp as a starter, it should be Keppinger, either playing at 1B or 3B with EdE or Votto filling one of our 2 holes in the outfield, or playing at 2B with BP at SS. I’ve always liked Keppinger and would like to see what he could do with a full season.
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:38 pm
I’d rather see Keppinger in LF than Encarnacion.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Kepp had a .411 BA with runners in scoring and 2 out prior to his injury. If his knee is still not right then it can affect his weight shifting when hitting. I was surprised he came back as quick as he did given the patella attaches to the large quadriceps and is pulled on any time the knees are bent.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Let’s hope we get good Coco tonite.
On another note, Junior finally hit no. 610. A “meaningless” 9th inning homer, but perhaps meaningful in terms of keeping him in the lineup for the next 2 big games vs. the Twins. This weeend, it looked like he’d lost his CF job to Dewayne Wise !
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Wow 74 wins this year!
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Yes !!! Volquez finally wins no. 17 on the same nite Junior finally hits no. 17. I love beating Houston, and this loss hurts them in a big way.
And I love Junior’s passing Sosa, even if it took too long.
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
…and Jr. did it without the corked bat and steroids!!
September 24th, 2008 at 12:31 am
Congrats to both Volquez and Junior. I don’t know which was better, having the Reds pound the proverbial nail in the Astros playoff chances coffin or having Junior pass Sammy Steriod AND Cork Cheater Sosa.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:43 am
Mike, Back to your early post, it’s very interesting. But of course it’s only about ERA. Harang is not a real low ERA guy. Mario Soto from 1981 thru
most of 1985 was awesome. If you look at things like K/IP, H/IP, complete games, you see how great he was. His best season I think was 1982, when he was 14-13 for a Reds team that lost 102 games. That was vey tough, he pitched 9+ innings of shutout ball in some games and walked away with a no-decision. And after the bullpen blew several of his leads, he insisted on pitching complete games when ahead.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Man I miss Jose Rijo, probably my favorite Red of all time.
September 24th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Mario Soto was flat out filthy in that period Pinson mentions. I seem to recall an extra-inning shutout game he tossed, and lost, and blew a gasket because it certainly wasn’t the first time lousy defense or lousy offense cost him a game that year.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:16 am
From the mlb.com article:
“His pitch count was very good for the amount of innings he went today,” Baker said. “That wasn’t a problem today. He threw the ball great. We just thought that was enough for him, especially this late in the season.”
Thank you, Dusty! (Although a little late to start saying it with one start to go, hahaha)
First Reds pitcher to get more than 16 wins in 13 years!! What a great game.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Mr. Redlegs, There was a game where Soto pitched something like 12 shutout innings, left with the score 0-0, and the Reds lost as soon as he left the game. There were multiple games where he pitched 9 shutout innings and that happened.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:53 am
PS The games above that I recollect were all in 1982.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:54 am
As of right now Edinson is only what, 18 innings over last years numbers? Wouldn’t that mean that with the standard thought of 10% increase he’s just now hit it with only 1 start left?