Loading ...Chad is journeying to the land of Oz tonight, so bear with me as I take a stab at my first Titanic Recap…
Final
Philadelphia 3
Cincinnati 2
WP: Madson (3-4)
LP: W******* (1-2)
Edited: Chris W. and Chris G. both posted recaps at the same time. I’ve combined the two, for more “TOS” goodness. Chris G.
POSITIVES
Chris W’s
-Joey Votto had a base hit to extend his hitting streak to a modest eleven games.
-Homer Bailey pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits. Bailey did not walk a batter and struck out a career high 6 batters. I was surprised to hear this during the telecast. I would have thought for sure that Bailey had struck out more than that on an occasion. he deserved at least a shot at the win but made the one bad pitch to Werth that tied the game.
Chris G’s
- Another strong start by David Bailey. 6 IP, 7H, 6 K, 0 BB, 2 ER. Looks like he may finally have figured it out.
- Ramon Hernandez had a few good ABs.
NEGATIVES
Chris W’s
-TOS*
-After scoring 2 runs on 3 hits in the 4th inning, the Reds managed just 1 more hit the rest of the game.
-The Phillies stole 4 bases off of Ramon Hernandez. Obviously, some of these were off of the pitcher’s slow delivery, but these stats go against the catcher, so chalk up 4 more stolen bases against Hernandez.
-Laynce Nix had two base running mistakes in the 4th inning. On the sac fly by Hernandez, Nix failed to tag up and advance to 2nd on the throw. The move likely cost the Reds a run since Bruce grounded into a double play during the next at-bat. That run proved huge. Nix could have also slowed up on the ground ball by Bruce to attempt to stay out of the DP, or at least cancel the force out which could have allowed the run to score from third.
Chris G’s
- TOS. Jay Bruce, in particular, really needs to get it in gear.
- W******* blows another Bailey win. He’s been effective, if not exactly impressive this year. But Chad’s Favorite Player has hit a very rough patch lately. And for some reason, his struggles are more aggrivating than almost anyone else.
- As much as we keep bellyaching about Chris Dickerson deserving to start in CF, he’s not doing a whole heck of a lot to justify it, at least in the batter’s box. A leadoff man who gets 4 ABs needs to see more than 10 pitches. TOS.
- TOS. It bears repeating.
ETC.
-The Reds drop back to 1 game below .500 at 41-42 on the season.
-We can still manage a split in the series with a win tomorrow. The Reds will send the slugging RHP, Micah Owings to the mound to face the ageless Jamie Moyer.
*This Offense Stinks
- This game doesn’t deserve the Jonny pic. Instead, this:
I like David Weathers. He has been very good this year. However, you just had the feeling that that walk to Rollins was going to kill us.
I think Weathers is an above average reliever, but not too far above average. hehe Overall, he’s a benefit to the Reds I believe, but I understand some of the fans’ frustrations. He seems to lose games or blow leads at the worst times. But he’s also come in and shut down teams quite a bit. Had a few rough games of late. It seems like the Phillies and Cardinals may hit him fairly well off the top of my head, but I’m not sure.
Wow, Homer Bailey pitching well against 2 tough opponents in a row? Crazy! Unfortunately, I kind of think Volquez may be done for the year. It would be fun to see Volquez, Bailey, and Cueto pitch in the rotation at the same time. Although that would require a trade of either Harang or Arroyo too. Nice to have some depth in the pitching department.
In the end…this team will just keep treading water unless they really want to challenge for the division with a trade. It’s not gonna happen with this current roster of players.
Unfortunately, I think there are too many holes to fill through trades. You could argue that they could use upgrades at 4 positions…LF, CF, SS, 3B…although Left Field I think is alright with Gomes, Nix, and Dickerson.
Dickerson and Taveras have hit a little better lately, but are too consistent. Hairston Jr. isn’t an everyday player, and I won’t even get into EE tonight.
But anyway! Maybe they will strike magic in a bottle…not likely, but maybe.
too inconsistent I meant to say on dickerson and taveras
tough game to loose. Welch called it early on the Nix screw up.
Glad to see Homer pitch well again. Homer, Edinson, and Cueto may form a very good trio for years to come. I’m looking forward to seeing it. I think if the Reds can finish .500 this year and get some PT for some guys like Stubbs and give Maloney an extended look this year in place of Bronson, next season could be a very good year. I just don’t want Jocketty to trade any of these young guys away for an aging bat this year.
not counting tonight’s game Votto’s OPS during his 10 game hitting streak is .993
an amazing .422 OBP during that time
I was surprised to see this. Can you guess which Red has the longest streak of games getting on base this season?
Jay Bruce. From 4/17-5/10 he got on base in 20 straight games. He had 9 HR and a 1.047 OPS
Why don’t I remember this hot streak from him?
and we know our streakiest hitter is Phillips. He’s had two really good streaks this year. A 15 game and a 14 game streak of getting on base.
of course on the dark side of things. Taveras’s 8 game streak of not getting on base where he went 0 for 32 is one of the worst stretches of hitting i’ve ever seen. I don’t even remember how he got on base the one time that doesn’t count, fielders choice or error or something but during his 0 for 32 he also got caught stealing once.
oh and hitting streaks getting lots of attention always bugs me.
There have been hitters with hitting streak who have NOT produced even league average during their streak. In other words not all streak are created equal
here are all the Reds streaks of getting on base of 10 or more this season in order of OPS during the streak
OPS Games
1.085 11 Chris Dickerson
1.057 10 Joey Votto
1.047 20 Jay Bruce
1.044 13 Brandon Phillips
0.993 10 Joey Votto
0.933 15 Willy Taveras
0.921 10 Ramon Hernandez
0.862 10 Ramon Hernandez
0.850 15 Jerry Hairston
0.791 14 Brandon Phillips
I’ll also add that Dickerson’s streak was extra challenging in that a handful of the games during his streak he did not start but got a PH opportunity and came through to continue his streak
The longest streak of this type in baseball this season were by Ichiro and Zimmerman…both had streaks of getting on base in 43 straight games
the most insane streak is by, guess who, Pujols. He might have ONLY gotten on base in 18 straight games but during that time he slugged .914!!!!!! and had an OPS of 1.447
and in one of the weakest streaks I have ever seen. Furcal got on base in 23 straight games. His OPS was .657 during that stretch and his OBP only .330
and in the, I didn’t know you had it in you (I think he’s going to be a GREAT player one day but he’s been inconsistent so far). Tulowitski had a 16 game streak of getting on base where he slugged .922 and had an OPS of 1.445 Those are Ruth/Bonds numbers for a SS
as you might expect, since 1954 the longest streak of games getting on base by a Red is held by Pete Rose. 1978 he got on base 48 straight games. He did it ALL with singles. He only walked 14 times, had 1 HR and had 15 doubles in those 48 games but his OBP was still .419 and he collected an amazing 75 hits
Duke Snyder had the longest NL streak at 58 games (wow)
and as many of you might remember in the most amazing streak of offense in the history of baseball, during Bonds’s 56 games streak he hit .415/.616/1.050
yes he got on base 60+% of the time over 56 games and hit 30 HR
sorry to post so much about the streaks but one more thing
OPS does not tell the whole story for 1 of the streaks. During Taveras’s 15 games of getting on base he stole 6 bases, more than double any of the other players during their streak.
also it goes back to you can’t steal if you don’t get on base
he stole 6 in a 15 game span
in the other 55 games he stolen 10
and I was surprised to see Gomes and Hanigan not on the streak list and then I remembered they don’t play.
Gomes and Hanigan combined have 259 plate appearances
Taveras has 297 and Hairston 282 and Gonzo 198 and Hernandez 295
Like REDS1, I saw the writing on the wall after the walk to Rollins. Weathers saw it too, as you can see from the photo of him on the Reds mlb.com web site. Ball 4 was borderline and apparently a pitch that had been called a strike all nite. Weathers needs the cooperation of the home plate umpire to be successful.
More to the point, you can’t beat the Phillies with 6 singles of offense and baserunning blunders that limit you to 2 runs.
Bruce’s struggles are getting out of hand. The guy clearly can hit big league pitching, but he needs some help getting out of this slump and the Reds hitting coaches don’t seem to be having any luck.
Nix has plummeted back to earth as well.
Chris mentioned last night that the Phils have interest in Harang.
I’m thrilled with what we’re seeing from Homer, I find it very exciting.
As for Stubbs, I’m beginning to wonder if the Reds haven’t moved Heisey in front of Stubbs on the CF depth chart…Heisey’s playing CF and Stubbs LF in Louisville.
Bill @12, maybe the reds are showcasing Heisey for scouts/trade. Plus they might be wanting Stubbs some time in LF if he is called up. Unless WT is hurt, Stubbs wont get any CF time given what happened to Dickerson last year in his call-up.
Can anyone remember a game when both teams took such an issue with the home plate umpire? When both teams are complaining about the strike zone, maybe the ump should consider that he’s wrong instead of instigating arguments with batters.
as others have mentioned, rather not see the reds make a move for a “rent-a-player” if its going to cost a young player but it is temping to want the Reds make a move, seeing how the division seems winnable. And reds play of late is making it hard on management to decide on being a buyer for a hitter or be a seller of the veteran players(Gomes, Nix, Weathers, Rhodes ect)
Good grief, that’s a great sombrero picture.
Ruh-roh, the Cardinals have “real interest” in Roy Halladay, and are apparently willing to open up the farm system for him.
Bailey looked great last night; another outing like that and I’ll be ready to believe. But, man oh man, they’ve got to do something about this offense. I’m afraid Edwin’s wrist injury is going to wash out this season for him completely, and that LF platoon is beginning to fall back to earth. Gomes should be playing more while he’s hot, but I doubt it will last much longer than Nix stayed hot.
What is going on with Jay Bruce?
.258/.338/.530 in April
.212/.276/.486 in May
.187/.292/.385 in June
.148/.148/.259 in July
That is a bad trend. How long can the Reds afford to bat Bruce everyday? You kind of have to, but when Hairston is hitting consistently better than Bruce there is a REAL problem.
Travis – I don’t think the Cards have the chips or the salary flexibility to add Halladay. I think that the Cards are only in it to up the price on either the Phillies or Brewers. The only way the Brewers get Halladay is if they let go of Escobar whom Melvin classified as untouchable.
Doktor – It’s a funny thing… This team is showing it is a .500 club and yet the Reds STILL are only 3.5 games out. The NL Central is just awful. I think that the schedule heading into the All Star break favors Cincy. The Cubs and Cards go head to head. The Brewers host the Dodgers. I can see the Reds taking 3/4 and the Cards and Brewers losing 3/4. What a division race it could be if that happens!
The Reds have to make a move though… Marco Scutaro please! With Bruce and Nix playing awful don’t you have to look at outfield help too?
Ditto on the Bailey comments. Great to see some solid MLB outings from him… and some control. I’m really starting to think that this Reds team will have a different look by the end of the month.
Bailey needs to be with the big club. Even after Volquez makes it back, Dusty needs to find a place on this roster for Homer. He’s starting to get his sealegs under him and a demotion could put that back to square one.
I think Bruce needs to go to Louisville for awhile…
I don’t think Heisey is ahead of Stubbs on CF depth chart. I don’t know that Stubbs is a major league starting material, but he’s at least 4th outfielder material, and probably better than Taveras (esp including defense).
I think they’re wanting to see what Heisey can do.
Bailey is pitching great.
Phillies do want a starter…apparently interested in Halladay, too. I’d hate to see Harang to, but I don’t feel we’ll get much for Arroyo at this point…My son says the Phillies have minor league depth to trade (he got the news from ESPN). They do have a good field, no-hit shortstop in Jason Donald. BUT, Donald is already 25 and only hitting .230 in AAA. I don’t know if he’s really better than Janish.
I don’t see us trading for a third baseman. We have lots of third base candidates in the minors. However, the more I think about it, outside of Frazier, the others could be used to sweeten a deal (kind of like Rangers did with us with Encarnacion a few years ago). Trading a Francisco or Soto may help a little bit.
The Bats basically rotate four CFs; Stubbs, Heisey, Hopper and McDonald. Sweet is just getting each of them time at all OF positions. I don’t think it means anything as far as organiztional depth chart. Although, Heisey has continued his hot hitting even in AAA.
I agree with David (#18), if we made a deal with Toronto, I would rather have Scutaro.
I looked earlier this season, and at first glance, I wasn’t impressed with any of the Phillies “top prospects”
That’s the problem sometimes when teams want to deal. The top three prospects of Team A could be a whole lot different than the top three prospects of Team B. So, when a trade is analyzed, and they media says it was great because they got 3 of the top 5 prospects…it doesn’t mean a lot of the top 5 would be 10-15 in other organizations.
I think that the schedule heading into the All Star break favors Cincy. The Cubs and Cards go head to head. The Brewers host the Dodgers. I can see the Reds taking 3/4 and the Cards and Brewers losing 3/4.
The Reds just need to score runs and win and not worry about scoreboard watching. The Cards have been playing the Brewers the first half of this week. Can never gain on both during that series, but could lose games to one of the teams.
Same with the Cubs/Cards. Cards lose three, and the Cubs are right up there.
Reds had 3 with the Cardinals (1-2) and have 4 with the Brewers after the break. Those are the games you have to win.
3-7 in 10 games May29-Jun 7 is still the defining series of this season, IMO.
vs. Milwaukee (swept in 3)
vs. StLouis (split 4)
and Chicago (lose 2 of 3)
Overall they are 11-13 against these 3 teams
The other pain points are 0-6 vs. San Diego and Kansas City.
They are 10-5 vs. Houston and Pittsburgh
If no one runs away with the division, or the Reds keep up with whoever does make a run at the division, they play 9 of their last 12 against Houston and Pittsburgh.
The other three games? St Louis.
–Homer called the pitch to Werth his only mistake. He said he wanted it inside. Problem was, he threw it right to Hernandez’s mitt, which was right over the heart of the plate. He’s a lazy catcher in a lot of respects.
–It’s been a long time since I was that frustrated w/ the umping. They were 80% why we lost.
–This is the perfect week to send Bruce down. Get him some low pressure ABs at AAA, give him 3 days off, bring him back fresh. Kid’s peeing down his leg every time up lately.
–Even if we concede the division to the Cards, the wild card is there for the taking, and yes, it matters. I’m sick of waiting for next year, I’d rather have meaningful baseball every September than a lightning in a bottle chance of a world championship. That said, we gotta make a trade. NOW.
I can’t see how going back down to Louisville would help Bruce. He needs sound hitting instruction that can be applied to this level. While a new hitting instructor will not solving the Reds overall offensive woes, the Reds have to seriously address the hitting instruction issue. Jacoby’s hiring was made on the idiotic rationale that he had been successful with Dunn at the MiLB level. That said I don’t think it should be done at this point and time because Baker would be the one making the decision and his future after this season has to be up-in-the-air.
I think a Bruce demotion would be less about fixing Bruce, and more about keeping Bruce from killing the ballclub. He’s going to hit. He just needs time to work it out. And there’s much less harm done by working it out at L’Ville, rather than serving as yet another hole in the Reds lineup.
As for the umps, I watched that inning 3 times, specifically trying to see a borderline call that went against W*******. I never saw one.
Ok, you send Bruce down…who do you call up and do you think they’ll be better?
I play Bruce 3 of the next 4 days, sitting him only against Santana. Mon & Tues are offdays, Wed is practice.
I was griping more about the calls on the basepaths and against the Reds hitters. I agree, Weathers did it to himself.
As for Bruce, the bar is set pretty low for a fill-in to do better. For my money, I’d call up Frazier for a cup o’ joe. Anyone at this point would be an improvement. But ultimately, if you had another bat in the lineup, Bruce’s foibles would be less glaring.
W’d it kill Dusty to get Hanigan some more ABs?
Let’s get Sutton a start or two. (Is he a passable shortstop??)
I’d really like to see what we have in him, and calling him up just to get a pinch hit AB now and then really isn’t a fair way to judge.
RiverCity, Hopper’s over with the Twins now. Are they still using a four man rotation in the OF?
Sultan – The wildcard will be harder to come by than the division. San Francisco will be the favorite if they get another bat.
Oh… just saw that Sutton is, in fact, starting… back at Louisville. Oops! My bad. (Just got back from a week’s vacation!)
It appears the answer today is to rest Bruce for Dickerson against the “tough lefty” :p Moyer.
Will Dickerson be asked to bunt if Taveras gets on as much as Taveras did batting 2nd?
It’s hard to score a lot of runs when you are giving up outs on the bunt all the time.
I even saw Taveras bunt w/Dickerson on 1st and 2 out.
It’s not always easy to tell, but usually when Taveras bunts he’s trying to bunt for a hit.
Taveras needs to learn how to drag bunt. When he tries to bunt for a hit, it seems as though he squares up as if he is sac bunting.