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Time for a recap of tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 5
St. Louis 3
WP: Lincoln (1-0)
LP: Wellemeyer (5-5)
S: Cordero (14)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Smilin’ side of the scoreboard! Is this the same team we saw in Milwaukee over the weekend.
–Two more hits for Ryan Hanigan. Rinse. Repeat. He did allow a passed ball tonight (the Reds were the only National League team that hadn’t allowed a passed ball until tonight), but I have not one single complaint about Ryan Hanigan’s performance in 2009.
–Mike Lincoln came in after Volquez was forced to leave the game, gave up only one run in three innings, and got his ERA under 9. I count that as a positive!
–Speaking of guys who pitched well out of the bullpen tonight, Arthur Rhodes continues to dazzle (0.50 ERA), Nick Masset keeps pitching extremely well (1.00 ERA), and Daniel Ray Herrera is still confusing hitters (1.74 ERA). Those three guys have been a big part of any success the Reds have had this year.
–Two hits for Laynce Nix, as well (and a nice catch in the 8th inning). One of the hits was a crucial double, and he drove in two runs.
–Ramon Hernandez saved two plays by stretching far for throws by Alex Gonzalez. Hernandez came in with a very poor reputation defensively (as a catcher), but he has been pretty good at 1B, surprisingly. Wish he weren’t having to play so much at first (get well soon, Joey Votto!), but he’s getting the job done.
–Francisco Cordero has converted all 14 of his save opportunities this year, and his ERA is 1.64. I know there are legitimate points to be made about whether he’s worth what they’re paying him, but I love having the big guy at the back of the bullpen.
NEGATIVES
–Really, the only negative was that Edinson Volquez was forced to leave the game after the first inning with, according to John Fay, numbness in his right pinkie and right finger. That’s not good at all.
ETC.
–I’m constantly amazed at how pathetic the Cardinals lineup is, besides Albert Pujols. Of course, Pujols is the greatest hitter on the planet, so he helps them.
–Bullpen, Bullpen, Bullpen!
–Milwaukee lost tonight, so the Reds made up a game on both the Brewers and the Cardinals. The good guys are now in third place, 2.5 games out of first. And ahead of the Cubs in the standings. So we have that going for us, which is nice.
–I needed a game like that. Didn’t you?
Nice win, lots of contributors and the bullpen was great. I was nervous about Weathers blowing it, and Dusty surprised me by not putting him in.
Hernandez can sure stretch !
They showed the 7th inning Gonzo to Hernandez play to get Pujols as an ESPN Sports Center hilite.
Pujols hurt something on his slide into second in the first inning, it looked terrible.
Jonny Gomes approves this Titanic Struggle Recap.
PS I don’t want to speculate about Edinson, I’ll just hope.
Glad to see that Carlos Fisher is still with us.
Burton to Lousiville is a good move, I think he’ll get his act together and come back strong. He insists that nothing is wrong with his arm.
I think Jay Bruce needs to be moved down in the order. I’m not bashing the dude. He is still very young, but opponents have him figured out for the time being.
Even with the absence of Votto, I don’t see the logic for batting Bruce in the cleanup spot. How can he provide protection for the hitters in front of him when everyone in the league knows how to get him out?
For now… moving Bruce down in the order would help the team and take the pressure off of him.
something I realized tonight
The Reds are above .500 without having Volquez most of the season. He’s either been out or not pitching well.
The Rangers are in 1st in their division by 4+ games and they haven’t really had Hamilton most of the season for the same reasons.
Hamilton, Volquez, and Votto get well and play well and these two teams are legit
Praying about Volquez.
What will it take for Dusty to not bat Hanigan 5th? He’s got a .420 OBP. Maybe he should bat second.
Maloney pitched yesterday, which means he will be ready to go when Volquez’s turn comes up.
Oops. I meant 8th, not 5th. (8 being above the 5 and all.)
Bruce’s player card on espn.com suggests that “Bruce has an extremely unlucky .221 batting average on balls in play”
It was brining Gomes up if only for that picture…
Any update on Volquez?
They said towards the end of the game last night that Volquez was to travel back to Cincinnati to meet with the doctors today, and they hoped to have a diagnosis and decision before gametime tonight.
I would’ve waited until the Reds left town to call their lineup pathetic, but let’s hope for the best. They do have some holes if Ankiel and Ludwick aren’t rocking out. I’m not sold on them at all.
The Pujols injury I wished for and didn’t see was Phillips going back into first on the pickoff feet first, spikes up. That jag Pujols needs to learn you can’t block a base with your leg and not have any consequences.
I’d kill for a “business man’s special” today. I’m in the mood for some afternoon ball. They should schedule double headers regularly, get the season over by mid-Sept and get the playoffs in before the snow.
The positives don’t mention that Gonzo made 2 outstanding plays, just that Hernandez had to stretch far for his throws.
Dusty has it in his head that Hannigan can’t hit. He’s a very stubborn man, and who knows how that got in his head in the first place.
Matt, The players’ union killed double headers long ago. I used to love watching baseball played all day Sunday, now that’s a thing of the past.
I hate to complain after a win but Brandon Phillips upsets me so much because he doesn’t benefit from all his physical ability. He tries to hit the ball to Lexington and continues to walk away from the plate with that foolish smile on his face as if it were funny that he once again looked like he was mistified by what just happened. Can’t someone on the REDS get through to this guy on how to be successful at the plate. He has been mashing the ball but he is capable of so much more, more in the clutch when we really need him. Our two catchers have shown more leadership than Brandon.
Huh, thanks Pinson. I didn’t know that. They need to reconsider. For me.
The unions killed DH? Never heard that before either. I assumed that owners killed them, it’s giving away a free game.
Hal McCoy said in his blog that the numbness and tingling was only on one pitch…he believe’s it’s much ado about nothing.
Brandon Phillips may be the team MVP right now or at least in the top three.
Yeah, BP has been huge lately.
I don’t have any factual knowledge about it, but I’m not sure why the unions would have vetoed it (I’m not saying they didn’t). If I were a player, I’d rather have the extra days off, methinks.
And I know what you are thinking: I don’t have any factual knowledge about anything…I know, I know.
IDK Chad, knowing that you don’t have any factual knowledge about anything, is, ironically, factual knowledge.
Okay, you just blew my mind with that one.
I confused myself on that one. I’m not sure if it turned out to be a compliment or a jab. :clown:
Annapolis I agree, Phillips has probably been the teams MVP so far this season. Votto has been out a lot and Phillips had a great May (1.074 OPS in may). 2B don’t hit like that and Phillips has played some great defense while crushing the ball. The only Red to hit better in May was Votto, who also played 6 fewer games than Phillips.
WAR season total (which includes defense)
1.7 Phillips
1.5 Votto
1.2 Hairston, Harang, Cueto
1.1 Bruce
.8 Cordero and Nix
wow RiverCity….beautiful
We are now accepting Hal McCoy as our doctor?