Loading ...
Time for a recap of tonight’s titanic struggle….
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.
*This Offense Stinks.
Chad, its to late for me to rant here, but the crowds lack of applause and admiration for Joey in his first game home was pathetic-embarassing-awful, etc. Again, I could rail on this topic for awhile, but I shant. He came to box in 1st and got standard weekday applause.
I think Arroyo needs to get that surgery on his wrist and get healthy for next year. We can bring up Maloney to pitch or even Lehr (he’s pitched well lately, why not?). That will give volquez some time to work his way back (my guess is he will get less than 10 starts the rest of this year at the big league level)
I don’t think Dusty is insane…I just think he is stupid.
Jason I said the same on the game post, but I totally agree with you. The crowd reaction was stunning. Even my wife said, “is that it”
Jason & AR – I’m in absolute agreement. With virtually any other club, the applause would have been thunderous.
As for Dusty, he is stubborn and arrogant.
at least the bullpen pitched well (again)
Just curious: How is Mr. Marty talking about Bronson? My radio (i.e. lawn mowing) nights seem to match up exactly with Owings’ starts, so I’m well-versed with Marty’s 3rd-inning rants about Owings – usually impliedly retracted by the 6th, when Owings records another QS.
He gets upset that our #5 starter has a 4.80 ERA (or whatever). How does he handle the fact that the ostensible #3 man is near 6.00?
Marty usually complains about his (Owings) walks and it has been valid (except the last two games). He rips Bronson too. I think Bronson needs to go on the DL
Taveras obp = .281
Dickerson obp = .380
hmmmmmmmmmmmm
Well, they did cut 2 runners down at the plate. That’s kind of a positive. I can’t believe people still run on Bruce.
And its nice to have a catcher who can catch a ball. I remember every time there was a close play with Ross behind the dish, he couldn’t catch and tag.
Seems like it was a bad nite at GABP. I thought for sure that Joey V. would get a big ovation for his first AB. But maybe he didn’t even want a big commotion.
I saw my first game at the new Yankee Stadium tonite. It’s a beautiful stadium but the experience overall was more like going to a fancy restaurant than going to a ball game.
To my surprise, Junior was playing LF. He had a quiet nite out there, with all those Yankee LH bats. ARod homered to left, Jr. didn’t take a single step or even watch it.
He was quiet at the plate too (hitless) though he did get good wood a couple of times.
In the 9th inning, off Rivera, he hit one that landed two rows in from the RF foul pole. It landed right in front of me, but 3 rows away.
Franklin Gutierrez covers serious ground in CF. To get speed and defense in CF, we should have gone after him in the offseason.
PS The Yankee OF and Derek Jeter let several high popups fall in for hits. Don’t know why.
Looks like Hal McCoy was disgusted at the lack of applause for JV as well:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/cincinnatireds/entries/2009/06/30/bronson_arroyo_the_man_who.html
Really have to wonder how long Bronson can stay in the rotation at this rate. But the same factors that kept/keep Gonzo, Taveras and Hernandez in are going to keep Bronson out there as well. just have to hope he can get it back together and that Bailey can step up and claim a spot. It should be his time.
Completely agree GRF.
Yep. Thom’s complement of the tatoo was clearly backhanded.
Speaking of Owings, does anyone think he might benefit by speeding up his routine? He takes so long between pitches I wonder if it gets him out of sync. Know that is hard to change, and it probably gets the hitter out of rhythm as well, but it seems like it would make it hard for him to get into a groove.
I usually work until 8-ish, but I made sure to get all my ducks in a row so I could be at the game before the first pitch expressly to join the standing ovation for Votto. I thought it might get a little dusty at the ballpark, but it was entirely underwhelming.
Also, I’m not sure how cool it was for the ballpark folks to play Aerosmith’s “Back In The Saddle Again” prior that at-bat.
A few more observations:
1. How terrible is Arizona’s third-base coach? He gave away at least two outs last night. Neither play at the plate was even close.
2. Phillips drives me crazy with his hot dog antics. He should have never thrown that ball he stopped in the third inning. Keeping it out of the outfield was good enough, and the error was costly.
3. Fans left in droves after the bottom of the eighth. I was sitting in front of some college guys who were touring ballparks, and they were guffawing as people flooded the aisles. They couldn’t believe that last night’s game was a typical crowd. (It was actually pretty decent for a cloudy Tuesday night.)
4. I’ll give Phillips credit for his at-bat in the eighth. I called his shot as a grounder to short on the second pitch, but he stayed in there and saw some pitches before hitting the sac fly.
5. Dan Haren’s pretty good.
Was Votto given any louder-than-normal applause during the lineup announcements or when they run out to their position at the top of the inning?
No Chad, you no longer need the asterisk.
I kinda like the asterisk. We start the recap with TOS and end it with TOS. It’s like the bun on a deli sandwich, with nothing but wholesome goodness packed in between.
Was Votto given any louder-than-normal applause during the lineup announcements or when they run out to their position at the top of the inning?
Louder than, say, Jerry Hairston Jr., but not much louder than they cheered for Jay Bruce.
It was really baffling to me. The Reds even sent out a press release Monday asking fans to come out and cheer extra loud for Votto. Although, as a member of the media, I personally did not promote the request. Didn’t think I needed to, actually.
I tuned in and was surprised at the lack of ovation for Joey Votto. I don’t think the average Cincinnati fan would intend to snub him. I think it was a combination of him having already been back on the road trip diminishing the novelty of it, Cincinnati fans being jaded and unexcited about baseball in general after almost 20 years of futility, and general cluelessness amongst the crowd. If the stadium announcers had made a big deal of his first at bat, maybe the crowd would have gotten the hint.
Everybody must have been still in shock that Taveras was leading off.
My first reaction is the asterisk is no longer necessary.
I see it like the Hawaiin “aloha.” If memory serves, aloha means both hello and good-bye, depending on the context. I see Reds fans simply greeting one another “TOS,” with a little wave, perhaps a shoulder shrug. The respondent, of course, nodding in agreement, “TOS,” with furrowed eyebrows adding the unspoken “I hear you, brother, I share your pain.”
Of course, after announcement of the lineup on any given day, the scenario would vary slightly; the exchange beginning with a wide-eyed “WTF!” The respondent, slowly shaking their bowed head side-to-side, says “TOS.” And the acknowledging “TOS” in return.
On the other hand, I like the bun on the sandwich analogy … keep the asterisk.
My question is how in the world are we still in this race? Wow. We can still make the post season. Unless something changes dramatically it’s going to come down to a team going on about a 8 game hot streak.
1. Low rent on the Votto, welcome home ovation.
2. Arroyo at least needs to miss a start and call that wrist down.
3. Dusty’s not insane, just stubborn and grumpy.
4. Rauch had to be drunk the night he got that tatto.
Jon Rauch has a lot of tattoos. Here’s a sports illustrated story about them (the neck tattoo is the first roman numeral of a long string that goes down his entire spine – it’s his wedding date):
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/scorecard/04/11/tattoos0416/
If the stadium announcers had made a big deal of his first at bat, maybe the crowd would have gotten the hint.
And here’s my biggest problem with American sports fans in 2009. Everyone has to wait for the scoreboard to tell them to cheer before they’ll make any noise.
I get so sick of everyone in the stadium sitting there until the Jumbotron tells them to clap. Does everyone really need to be ordered to cheer for Votto, or to get excited at a big moment in the game?
American sports fans are so lame these days.
I agree with McCoy, but doesn’t the Dayton Daily News have a copy editor ?
Travis-Usually the players pick the songs that are played when they come up to bat.
I realize they do, Annapolis, but I somehow doubt that Votto picked that one. Given where he’d been and what he went through, combined with his demeanor when talking about it, I just really don’t think he’d ask for that to be played.
That said, isn’t it time Laynce Nix picked a song for his at-bats? They played the default music that recently called up guys get, which sounds sort of like “The Imperial March” with a hip-hop beat.
“None” is a choice for hitters for their music. I don’t know if that was the decision made by Nix, but it’s possible.
If so, Nix didn’t get nothing.
I’ve got no problem with Back in the Saddle Again. It’s a good song and I’m sure Joey is glad to be back in the proverbial saddle once again.
I am offended. I was at the game last night. The people in my section were standing up and cheering for Joey Votto every time he came to bat. I am not sure where you were sitting, but, we were cheering our buts off in the upper deck!