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Game two of the post-Votto era will take place tonight, and hopefully we’ll have Johnny Cueto on the mound. Cueto, you remember, was scratched from his scheduled start two days ago because of a blister.
The Reds will need him today, and they’ll need him to throw a good game. Without Joey Votto in the lineup, the Reds are never going to score a run again!!!!!!!!*
Discuss the game here. Go Redlegs.
*Hyperbole alert.
At least for the next few weeks we can stop bemoaning the fact that nobody is getting on base ahead of Votto. Having nobody on base for BP and Ludwick doesn’t seem nearly as atrocious.
You are a glass-half-full kinda guy.
The Reds should look for Brian Lahair of the Cubs he would be a good addition while JV is out.
You’re joking, right. Since May 9 he has a .224/.289/.362 line. He’s not even an RBI guy- 17 of his 31 RBIs are off of 9 solo and 4 2-run HRs.
What if we could trade Bill Bray for him?
I’d rather sign Derrek Lee than trade for Lahair.
Bold prediction: Reds average more runs with Votto out than they have averaged with him
Maybe the Reds should trade Votto for pitching.
Are you just saying that to be contrarian? Or are you just hoping to be the one who guesses it first incase the highly unlikely happens? Or do you actually think this is a better lineup with him out?
I don’t get it.
@Racine Red: Is your name Richard? I would still feel a lot better if Phillips was leading off with Super Todd hitting third, but I never played with Hank Aaron.
I’ll change my name to Springboro Red.
Prediction: Bruce goes on one of his hot streaks and carries the Reds offense until Votto gets back.
@RedsAk19: Hope you are right but my money is on Drew Stubbs. Be nice if both guys get red-hot.
BP is the best fielding 2B I have ever seen. Only guy that reminds me of him is Ozzie Smith. In my book, Smith and Brooks Robinson are the best fielding infielder in my lifetime.
@RedsAk19: Nice but first Jay has to be in the lineup.
Hot at the game. Nearly 100 degrees. Shaping up to be a small crowd. Cueto is warming up.
My lineup tonight would be
Heisey
Phillips
Bruce
Frazier
Ludwick
Rolen
Cozart
Cueto
Hannigan
Why would a team not MRI someone after pretty much anything? What’s the downside here?
That is a good question.
Chris Welsh wearing the outfit that sold a million books on free government money. Hope it it’s good luck cause the Reds sure need some.
Dusty said they were working on something to bring a hitter in. Could there be a trade on the horizon?
I like the Reds tonight. It should have setteled in that Votto won’t be around for a few weeks. I like the Run production at the bottom of the lineup tonight. Big game from Heisey and Sir Frazier lot.
In games with Votto the Reds have averaged 4.17 runs/game. I think Rolen will be able to pick it up somewhat (that’s not saying much) as well as Stubbs either producing or seeing less playing time. The big thing that I’m hoping for is a lineup shuffle. Don’t forget the schedule is much more friendly between now and Aug 19th.
@RedForever: Browsing through the daily trade talk, the Orioles are apparently very interested in Juan Pierre (thank God) and the Reds have been in pursuit of Denard Span who is on contract for 2 more seasons after this year. The WLB’s are interested in Bartolo Colon
Span would be the guy to get. Smallish contract, young and left handed with speed.
I agree, you get a lot of potential help and don’t break the bank.
@RedForever:
I’ll second that emotion.
Baauer has walked 8 in 13 innings. It will be important that the Reds be patient at the plate.
Like I was saying…
that was a timely error
A gift…now cash it in.
BP grounds into a triple play…
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th highest avgs. in the lineup tonight are batting 7th, 6th, and 8th respectively.
Ugh
alright Ludwick, take a free pass and load em up for Super Todd
oh Rolen is next, bad assumption
Stubbs almost got hit in the face with that throw
Like seeing the Reds finally trying something new.
Why is Bruce not playing tonight…
Rest.
@rfay00:
The only logical explanation is that there is something wrong physically with Bruce.
No, he is just getting the night off. Not everything is a conspiracy.
Trade?
Reds haven’t hit a ball out of the infield.
Is Bray pitching for the D-backs?
I have seen every bizarre play possible over the last two nights. Wow.
What a play.
Rolen hadn’t hit a ball that hard in a month. Nice lick, terrible luck.
WOW! sorry for us…But that was awesome!
Rolen smoked that thing. He is starting to look like a major league hitter again. Just a crazy deflection from a nice inning.
What kind of twilight zone ricochet rabbit double play was that.
Walk, error, double-steal, wild pitch. Who says the Reds can’t manufacture runs?
Cueto looking very sharp right now. Very nice to see.
Chris Welsh makes a good point. If the Reds can manage to play .500 baseball without Votto they will be there at the end.
@earmbrister: it has already been discussed at leangth in the votto thread. check john fay’s blog for the explanation. dusty said yesterday that he was giving bruce today off because of playing in the all-star game. he said he had been scuffling and was physically and mentally tired.
@wally mo:
My bad.
Bauer seems to have next to no control over his fastball, but has a nasty looking changeup.
Re bottom of first: Havoc ! And then some bad luck.
Isn’t tonight’s game Jay Bruce Bobblehead game or is that tomorrow nights game?
Double no-hitter.
Dusty’s going to try to put the Reds in havoc-y mode. That will be a good thing sometimes, not so much other times.
@dn4192: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/schedule/promotions.jsp?c_id=cin
Oooo, what if that call at 1st were to save the no hitter for Cueto?
Stubbs did steal that base like he was falling out of bed. He’s been on base so little this season, and running so rarely when he is, it’s easy to forget that he can just do that.
This kid is all over the place.
Pin Point Bauer ain’t.
I am having all kinds of Volquez flashbacks
Luds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big Fly Ludwick diggin the clean up hole
Cluthwick!
I was about to comment how silly Ludwick looked on that knockdown.. but never mind.
Who are these Reds? Taking walks and playing for the 3 run HR?
That was a bomb
Hey guys, is there any room left for me on the Ryan Ludwick bandwagon?
Room right by me!
@Josh M: You can have the seat between me and Pinson.
I have to admit, I will take a ticket, also.
4 runs on 1 hit.
@wally mo: Really. They look more like the Yanks.
@wally mo: Against this kid, it’s hard to not get a walk.
Remember these are the Cincinnati Reds.
This pitcher might be wild but its good to see all Reds up their battling each pitch.
Bauer might not get to bat.
PAGING MR. BAKER … PAGING MR. BAKER … PAGING MR. BAKER …
That’s what Ludwick or Frazier will do hitting cleanup.
PAGING MR. BAKER … PAGING MR. BAKER … PAGING MR. BAKER …
I hope they take Bauer out before he plunks somebody by accident.
Reverse of yesterday.. we’re going to get to see a lot of relief from the other side this time. Anyone think they’ll shut us out like we did to them?
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: True. Cozart almost swung at a pitch that bounced up there.
Frazier is having a rough time against this wild man.
4 runs after 3 innings. I’ll take that ever night. Joey who?
Bauer is going to be a nice pitcher. He has a lot of pitches but his control needs a lot of work. He isn’t ready for the big show, yet.
there goes the no no
Is Johnny falling off to the left of the mound more than normal?
@RedForever: Bauer reminds me of Homer his first few times to the mound except Bauer has much more of a max effort delivery.
A gift caught stealing from the DBacks. Gibson can be too aggressive – they lead the NL in caught stealing.
Ludwick’s OPS by month:
April: .663
May: .709
June: .908
July: .960
C’mon Scotty!
Is there any scenario in which Cueto wins the NL Cy Young?
Dempster gets traded to the AL, Strasburg’s innings limit kicks in earlier than later, Cain starts struggling and Dickey’s bullpen screws him a few times
That last pitch just untied Stubb’s shoes
And called a strike.
Hate to get into anyone’s head but that 2nd strike seemed to get to him. It was a horrible call but he has to let it go.
Anybody else ready to see Stubbs in a new uniform?
Strike #2 to Stubbs was low he got hosed, but when your slumping nobody’s gonna help u but you and especially not the UMP!
That is the definition of a hanging slider
Parra has a pretty good swing for a .222 hitter.
Cueto losing some of the mojo?
The Royals plan to recall Will Smith to make a start this weekend.
The Fresh Prince is coming to KC.
Cueto falling off to the left badly now. Younger Cueto did that often and could not control pitches . Cueto of last 2 years had that fixed. Great outing on a hot night.
What has gotten into Johnny Cueto?
@RedLegHerrm: i’m not ready to give up on Stubbs, but I think a change of scenery might do him some good. If the Reds could get a valuable piece for him I wouldn’t be opposed to moving him.
He just can’t hit RH pitching basically at all at this point.
Johnny is a battler.
Thank you Willie Bloomquist.
@newtonrm: He looks super gassed. Being so hot tonight, I don’t think this should be a long night for him. They just called up the guy we traded for, let him get a few innings of work in.
@wally mo: That’s the thing about it: when Cueto is off he still is very good. Mark of an ace if you ask me. Unless he implodes, I see him going no less than 7 tonight. Bullpen pitched 6 innings last night and that will also play into it.
Suds 1, Birds 0 Top 3
@newtonrm: Brantley is saying that, from the stretch, Cueto is falling off badly to first base and can’t locate his breaking pitches.
@wally mo: I’d like to see him get a chance in the 7 or 8 hole for a while and see what he does
@pinson343: Wind-up too in my eyes. Isn’t that why they went to the whole Toant-type wind-up originally.
Matt Holliday left Tuesday’s game after being hit on the left knee by a pitch.
Holliday immediately fell to the ground and appeared to be in a lot of pain. He initially stayed in the game, but the Cards decided to take him out an inning later.
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: I meant Tiant obviously.
Someone yanked off Superman’s cape.
C’mon Cueto…one more out and let the bullpen take care of ya
He is reaching back for a little extra right now.
Cueto not getting any help from the ump.
He is trying to be too cautious, throw some gas and get back to the dugout
Newtonrm: You called that one.
@pinson343: I’ll second that!
One more out baby!
Pffew
Man am I glad Cueto is on our side. That should do it for the night.
Cueto’s bad start:
6 IP, 0 ER…I don’t care about WHIP, Hits, Walks, or Balks…the only number that matters is RUNS.
I’ll take it with the bullpen the Reds put out there.
Cueto is a five letter word for clutch
Thank god he was trying to hit in the river and tie it instead of either trying to put it in play or get a run in. Looked like a sawed off Jay Bruce.
Now let’s make it a laugher.
Lucky there that Parra swung at two balls, including ball 4. I’ll take it. Baker has to pinch hit for Cueto here.
Bucs haven’t scored and the Cards are down…could we possibly gain a game without Votto or Bruce????????????????????????????
Holy crap Mike Leake is PH…
Alright, respect for Leake’s stick
Mike Leake pinch-hitting!
How did we forget Leake? Let’s just bat him 3rd.
That shows the depth of the Reds bench at the moment – saving Bruce in case you really need him and basically label Wilson Valdez as worthless since his face is probably on a milk carton by now since he has been missing for some time
That was a good call by Baker there. I want to say “finally”.
Bray in the 8th if we’re still up 4 runs? Need some excitement in this game!
The Dback hitters are chasing like crazy. Have chased on a number of ball 4s.
Hot damn. Rolen is GG!
@Mwv: I don’t trust this game, I’m excited enough. No Bray please.
Very nice AB by Drew. Steal 2B now.
Nice Stubbs get a hit any way you can.
I don’t get bunting Cozart there. I can see bunting him from 2nd to 3rd in this situation, but Stubbs’ speed isn’t utilized very much when you bunt him from 1st to 2nd.
Exactly. He is 18 for 20 in SBs. Come on Dusty, live a little.
As soon as Dusty makes a good decision, hitting Leake as a pinch hitter, he does something stupid again, bunting Stubbs over. The only things I can see, with as young as this club is, is Dusty doesn’t have this team work much on baserunning, stealing, as well as things like bunting. I rarely see Stubbs steal against left handers. While harder to steal against left handers, it isn’t impossible. It takes practice.
They say that this Trevor Bauer guy throws 19 different pitches. He might want to develop a 20th pitch, one that he can throw over the plate.
I am hoping for another run or two to see the new guy. Anyone else figure he was only brought up for insurance on Cueto tonight?
I’m curious why Marshall isn’t in in this situation. I wonder if with a 3 run lead he would be in. I just am not comfortable with a 4 run lead, for some reason. This is a strange game.
Sam just threw that with neither foot on the ground. Impressive.
What a bizarre AB by Goldschmidt. Either he’s looking breaking ball on every pitch, thinking about the girl in the 3rd row, or….?
19,142 on hand for tonight’s titanic struggle, 19,142.
Maybe he decided 3 hours is too long to be in the 8th inning of a 4 run ballgame and wants some UDF
Solid inning there Sam
If you look up the word “solid” in a dictionary, there is Sweet Sam’s mug. He defines the word. Not flashy, not overly impressive, just………solid.
That was maybe the best inning of Lecure’s life? Weak comebacker, almost a Web Gem, and then the last two hitters didn’t take the bat off their shoulders.
Bullpen doing work yet again.
So do we see Marshal in the 9th then? The pace of this game feels so slow compared to last night.
Six called strike fastballs to Goldschmidt and Young. After all those DBack swings at ball 4. They seem confused. Anyway, nice job by LeCure.
Wow what a stat on Cueto a 2.53 ERA gap at GABP vs. every other pitcher this year at our park. He gets the job done even at homer friendly park. ACEEEEE!
Frazier should have stayed in bed today.
Man, Todd with a Golden Sombrero tonight.
@newtonrm: My question is: why did he “want” to do it. We do not understand or always appreciate his my mysterious ways. It would be a good question to ask him after the game but you would probably get some Zen-like answer that only RC would understand.
Bat me 6th will you? Well I’ll show you!
@newtonrm: Or could it be out of respect for Rolen?
Maybe Frazier needs the Mexican hat dance as his walk up song after tonight’s golden sombrero..Ouch
Thom trying to critique the Reds’ walk-up music and how he has never heard anything but Sinatra. Also claims Marty and BP listen to the same music. They are running out of things to talk about tonight.
That stat on Cueto is just unreal. Imagine if he was a Padre.
Scott Rolen attemps stolen bases but Drew Stubbs has to be sac bunted to 2nd base. Absolutely nuts
@Mwv: Yeah his ERA would be .5
A game like this sure could use Marty’s presence, his absence is really magnified in a slow moving game like this. I’ll be glad when he returns Friday.
Did I also hear somewhere that our bullpen has the best K rate in the league?
I think I heard that too. It’s not any surprise given that every single bullpen pitcher strikes out at least 1 per inning except Bray and Ondrusek, and then you add in Chapman.
As much as I complain about the Reds’ plate discipline, this performance by the DBacks today is at least as bad as any Reds game I’ve seen this year.
Racine: I agree. This team reminds me of the offense they had in 2010. I think they broke the ML record for Ks that year.
@Mwv: Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.
I know Chapman is on pace to shatter the K/9 ratio mark but I’ve never stopped to really think about how well the other guys are punching people out until I heard that.
Man, Marshall SCARES me…he should NEVER enter the game with a runner in scoring position if that run either ties or puts the other team ahead because he always gives up a hit before he closes out the inning.
Oh Chapman is up in the bullpen. Why?
Man, those Pesky Pirates just won’t go away. 5-3 over Colorado
Bullpen has been money.
@newtonrm: Because Marshall may blow this game.
He is not serious is he?
Wow, Chapman in just because suddenly it’s a save chance? Feels like an odd choice to me. It’s not like they were crushing Marshal.
Crap, Marshall. Chapman should have been able to take the nite off.
Yes, it’s time for some more Marshall bashing. They just absolutely crushed Marshall tonight. Release the hounds.
Really?
Geezzz…Like I said Marshall is scary…on a real Championship team Marshall should be just a middle reliever or 8th inning setup man…I don’t have any confidence that he can shut a team down when you really need it.
Do you watch the team play? Perhaps you aren’t aware that Marshall IS an 8th inning set up man.
100% agree with this move. Wins are going to be a little harder to come by for the next month or so. I like Dusty’s sense of urgency here.
Agreed, after the big hit by Luds the Reds didn’t score again. Pitching has and will continue to carry this team now more than ever. Use wisely
@George Culver: That is such a weird sentence when discussing a Reds team. But applicable.
Charlotte: The last time the Reds were carried to a NL pennant by their pitching was the 1939-40 teams.
Marshall is becoming more and more like the 2012 version of CoCo Cordero.
That is the most ridiculous statement I’ve seen on this site this year.
Chapman is bringing it.
This bullpen is scary good.
Congrats Reds!
Well that was quick and easy …
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: You damn right. Win now forget tomorrow.
Worked out fine but I’m totally against that move.
Marshall was not pitching badly and most likely would have been OK. But he lost 2 hitters with an 0-2 oount, the tying run was on deck, why take a chance ?
Chapman throwing nice and easy, pitching for the 4th time in 5 days. He seems to have learned how to be a relief guy. Hopefully it’s just for the rest of the 2012.
Good win for the Reds tonight. And how bout Cueto, all you can say is “when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Cueto is one tough hombre.
Frazier knew that if he hit a ball tonight, it would have been hit so hard that a black hole would have been created, sucking all of Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky into its inky gravitational vortex.
By tomorrow’s game, he will have done the calculations necessary to determine how to lose only Northern Kentucky.
@RC: I knew that you knew the answer. Thanks for your interpretation!
@Racine Red: Ummm…that’s after he blew his 1st Job as the reds closer…and I was making the point that even with a 4 run lead he offers no guarantee’s. He is like i said SCARY!
Chris Welsh looks like he is going the CMA’s tonight.
I sure do miss the days when this blog was full of coherent, rational comment. Now it feels more like discussion amongst the mouthbreathers that call in to lance mccallisters show… Really, comparing Marshall to CoCo in a negative way during a 4-0 win in which the opposition was never in earshot of winning? Supporting the decision to use Chapman in a game that they could win which Janish could have closed out… I don’t post often but read the blog almost daily and I’m sure glad for the guys who have stuck around and the guys who write the editorials. The comments are starting to resemble ESPN.com and that is not a good thing…
The comparison to Marshall to Coco was unfair. Some of the bloggers are getting spoiled by the great bullpen and expecting perfection.
With all due respect, your Janish comment could be construed as incoherent and irrational to a less discriminating audience. Glad to see you post and hope you will again. It is one thing to complain, it is another to improve a situation where you find fault in others.
That’s nothing. Chill out. You may like Fay’s blog better.
@bird2431: All of one person made the Chapman to CoCo comparison.
And tying run on deck is within earshot. Do you wait to make a move until the tying run is on ? Sure there’s an argument for leaving Marshall in but it’s not the obvious move.
@bird2431: And thanks for reading !
@pinson343: Above I meant “until the tying run at the plate,” not “until the tying run is on”.
I thought Aroldis Chapman took over as the closer because he was pretty dominant for the first few months of the season, striking out guys with 100mph+ fastballs… not because Marshall was incapable or undeserving. Unfortunately it looks like some fans are quickly turning on Marshall and his whole career despite another successful season. I agree that fans who are complaining about the season of Sean Marshall have quickly become spoiled by a great bullpen and expectations of perfection.
It seems like win or lose somebody is going after the Reds are their manager, it’s just a matter of who… and for what. Dusty can’t do anything, good or bad, without being questioned or criticized. I thought Tuesday’s game was an impressive win… but it seems like few people agreed.
@pinson343:
You’re right, it was just one person. That was really more of a tipping point than my whole problem. It just seems like the majority of the comments used to be rational and provided good insight. Lately, I feel like the comments have been overrun by the ESPN/700 wlw crowd. I guess it’s just a matter of popularity because most of the same people from before post, there are just more people posting. I have no problem with dissenting viewpoints, I am just amazed at some of the thought process behind some of them I’ve seen lately.
@CharlotteNCRedsFan:
It was obvious hyperbole, but you’re right as well. I usually don’t post because I rarely have anything to improve the conversation. The editorials usually cover it pretty well and I use the comments to learn even more. Just seems that more and more a select few bring down the level of discussion to incoherent banter and, just as I would, more time is spent responding to those claims.
However, I really do enjoy this site, by far the best place for reds news and updates.