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Game Thread: Reds at Philadelphia (2012.08.22)Vance Worley (6-8, 4.11 ERA) faces Bronson Arroyo (9-7, 3.96 ERA) in a matchup of right-handers tonight. As I mentioned yesterday, a win in this game would be very nice indeed. With Johnny Cueto starting tomorrow, the Reds would have a chance to win three of four. Gotta win tonight first. Discuss the game here. Go Redlegs. 252 comments to Game Thread: Reds at Philadelphia (2012.08.22)Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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Cozart SS
Stubbs CF
Phillips 2B
Ludwick LF
Bruce RF
Rolen 3B
Frazier 1B
Hanigan C
Arroyo P
Heisey is hitting .500/.500/1.250 (2-4 w/ HR) against Worley so let’s sit him down.
The game last night felt like a shedding of past burdens against the Phillies and a new start, nose to nose. This could be a knoch down, bang up game tonight.
I hope BP is a little more focused tonight. He had some good AB’s yesterday but also what appeared to be some lapses.
@Mwv: BP really needs a break. I think he’s also hurting at least a bit. Cairo has hit Hamels pretty good so hopefully BP can get a much needed day off tomorrow.
The Reds and Phillies will be wearing throwback jerseeys from 1991, that makes this game worth watching.
1991 is “throwback”? Lets do real throwback, lets bring out the 40′s or 50′s…who wants to see what they wore 20 years ago?
@BloodyHo: I was going to say the same thing about BP. Including today, he will have played in 10 games in 9 days. I know he is important w/o Votto, but it seems obvious he needs a break. However, I’m sure he is pleading Dusty to let him play…
@LoyalFan: The good news for the Reds though is that the Bucos pitching staff is simply gassed. The Pads could sweep them in their series. If the Reds take the last two in the Phillies series and stomp the Birds this weekend, everyone else will be playing for 2nd place.
Can someone help me out here on the whole playoff format.
Lets say the 3 division winners are the Nats, Reds and Giants and the WC is the Braves and Cards.
If the Braves beat the Cards, even though the Nats could have the best overall record, wouldn’t they play US and the Nats and Giants face off?
Pretty simple – #1 seed gets the winner of the wildcard playoff winner, 2 and 3 seeds meet.
What REALLY upsets me is the home field rules they’re using for the divisional series this year. Because of scheduling, the first 2 games of the DS will be played at the LOWER SEED’S field and then the final 3 would be in the top seed. So if we are the #2 seed and we draw the wildcard winner – say it’s the Giants – then we have to go play the first 2 games in San Francisco before playing a game at home. Makes NO sense at all. They say it’s to cut down on a potential travel day before a game 5, but that’s all because of television scheduling. But it makes a HUGE difference in terms of advantage.
I thought I read where a division winner and WC team can’t meet until the NLCS if they are from the same division?
First I’ve heard of that. Sounds like the kind of stupid thing MLB would throw in to complicate things and screw with simple seeding.
Is the game not on Fox Sports Ohio tonight? Is it on television at all?
90′s THROWBACKS? Way to make me feel old.
Funny how Bruce goes from Red hot to Ice cold in the blink of an eye.
Bronson career 1-7 against the Phils.
@Catalytic: Yes, but it’s on alt FSO.
Izzit just me. Did someone tell Marty to lay off Jay Bruce?
I like it!
It’s also nice to know that Jimmy Rollins reads RLN. In the Gold Glove discussion today I was saying he’s probably Cozart’s biggest competition so it would be nice if he could cough up a few more errors. He promptly obliged.
The only reason that wasn’t a HR is because he just clipped his own back foot. Frazier is incredible.
Article in the Enquirer today where Dusty basically confirmed that Frazier will ride the pine once Votto comes back. Not that this is a surprise, but man … If I’m Todd Frazier, I’m wondering what I have to do to be considered more than an injury fill-in. Bat .300? Almost there. Clutch home runs? Handled. Strong defense at three different positions? Roger that, too.
It’s a tough decision. I wouldn’t want to have to make it but since I’m a fan.. gimmie Frazier most of the time with plenty of Rolen on the side. That said I can completely understand anyone who views it the other way around, Rolen has been great for a long time.
Scott Rolen has out-played Frazier since the All Star break, plain and simple. He will also need plenty of days off, as will Votto (and Ludwick). They can’t all play every day. Frazier will see plenty of playing time and be the first PH to the plate in big spots.
Not so much lately. Last 10 games, Frazier is killing the ball. Out of he Rile and Ludwick, Frazier needs to play every day. He is a special player.
Well Todd Frazier simply is not going to play instead of a healthy Scott Rolen on a Dusty Baker team so let’s not even waste the bandwidth discussing it.
Yes Sir! You are 100% correct. Just making conversation.
I will try to toe the line a little better and not waste the bandwidth.
Thank you for complying.
Sincerely,
The Internet
My bet is he will get into at least 3-4 games per week. He will spell Votto some as Votto won’t be able to go 100% for a while, give Rolen days off and play some OF.
Whatever you would lose defensively benching Stubbs in CF and moving Bruce to CF and Frazier/Ludwick in corner OF spots has to more than account for such a huuuuge offensive upgrade. That outfield combination would make for a very solid lineup of:
Cozart SS
BP 2nd
JMVP-1B
Lud-LF/RF
Bruce-CF
Frazier-Lf/Rf
Rolen-3rd
Hanigan-C (Hitting 8th actually makes sense w this lineup)
if Cozart keeps hitting the way he has the past few weeks that lineup really has no weakness. Stubbs speed/defense would be nice for a late inning replacement, it makes so much sense you know it would never happen. Alas…
Padres up 3-0 early…
Bronson had a nice first…
@indianajoe: He’s going to find time for Frazier. I’m not worried about that. You do remember that Scott Rolen is our 3B, right?
Arroyo’s dealing tonight.
I love my Dusty but if you look at tonight’s line-up the #1 hitter is batting .251, #2 – .229 and the #7 – .296, #8 – .287. At this point, you just have to laugh because some how this stuff is working. Amazing and I don’t recall ever seeing anything quite like it as late as August.
I want to see throwback jerseys from the mid 60′s, sleeveless, pinstriped and the players name under the number on the back. Delightfully weird. the uniform that was prevalent when Pete Rose broke in.
Call them what you want, but I love seeing these Big Red Machine era uniforms.
I can’t tell if Cozart is just streaking lately or if he’s finally figuring some stuff out. Either way he’s been great.
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: It is not often a team leads their division by 7 plus in mid August with the 1-2 combination the Reds have.
Frazier is doing something that does not happen often at all, a rookie playing multiple positions, batting this well without a full time position.
I see your point, yet have to call you on the record we have……
No. My point is that the Reds are doing so well. Wasn’t complaining really it just is odd but heck it’s working.
Wow, two innings down, and just 19 pitches for Bronson…at this rate he might give us a nice 7….
@Mwv: 9-game hitting streak for him.
Rolen & Ludwick, that is.
…..looked safe…..
Replay ?
Well this inning de-railed quickly.
I’m as much of a Drew Stubbs fan as anyone, but at this point, having him bat second instead of Todd Frazier, is completely insane.
Having him in the lineup over Frazier when Votto returns is insane.
Frazier’s not going to be playing CF.
Yes, but could Bruce?
Bruce has has a hard enough time playing RF this year so I think putting him in center would be bad idea.
And Stubbs just took strike four.
As the season wears on I am finding it easier to forgive so much fo what Dusty does, but sticking with Drew Stubbs at the top of the order just gets more maddening every day.
The 1991 uniform is from the Billy Hatcher era. Ready to go back out there.
@RedLegHerrm: Yup, that’s what I’m thinking. At his healthiest right now, Rolen’s good for a couple off days a week. But I’d rather see Frazier out there any day right now. Rolen’s been strong since the break, and I respect his veteraniness, but right now, Frazier’s one of our best and most reliable position players. You need those guys in your lineup.
Pirates score one..down 3-1..Lohse goes tonight for Cards which means we will miss him this weekend…
@dn4192: Lynn, Garcia, Wainwright set to toe the mound for the Birds.
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: Its this whole touchy, feely West Coast Dusty thing…karma, stars and all that.
Drives me crazy yet at the end of the day it works for us.
The real question is this – would this team be where it is with a Pinella type ?
You are right. We have to look at the whole package and that package is up 7 games in 1st place. Old saying, “hard to argue with success”.
I didn’t know Billy Hamilton was a switch hitter. Sheesh. I thought I couldn’t get more excited about this guy.
I guess I am just not as into Hamilton yet as others. He can’t play SS so he is going to have to learn another position which isn’t easy and I never get excited by any prospect till they perform on the major league level…aka Todd Frazier
Wouldn’t his speed be much more efficient tracking down flyballs in the infield? Plus isn’t the infield basically set for the next 5 years? I wouldn’t mind seeing him take CF over from Drew K. Stubbs as soon as next summer
@eric nyc: Good point. Not on a Dusty team. And no argument that Ludwick and Votto need to be in there; right now, Ludwick and Frazier are the soul of this team. They may not be the best players, but they’re where the swagger comes from; they’re Daugherty’s “It Factor.” I want them both on the field as often as possible.
Well this is a boring game so far…
How about that? Wow.
Dominic Brown, my hero
Hahahahahaha…They heard me typing.
Great hustle by Bruce running hard all the way which enabled him to get to third.
With how early he had his hands out asking where the ball was, I wonder if Bruce saw it and turned on the jets.
Jay did well to run out that fly ball.
Nice effort and heads up running.
Credit Bruce for the hustle.
Phillies catcher is starting to get chippy with the home plate ump about the strike zone.
CSN feed looked like the tag was on bag not on Cozart. Paul and Heisey both have hit Worley – very tiny sample of course.
He hit Rolen! Bring in Chapman to hit Utley!
That HBP might put Rolen on the DL. Oh wait, this team doesn’t believe in the DL
Wow. That was a great throw.
Whoops, nice throw
Brown giveth
Brown taketh
Stupid! Brown demonstrated his arm two nights ago. C’mon man.
Wow…awful baserunning. What is Mark Berry doing sending Bruce on that ball? Brown was 20 feet behind 1st base. He had the screwup the other night and then that.
Well, that sucked.
Honestly, the best suggestion on Frazier that I’ve seen came from John Fay, so I want to give him a little credit.
The suggestion was to move Bruce to CF, play Luds in RF, and play Frazier in LF. Now, I know Dusty doesn’t won’t do that, but I think it’s a good suggestion. The stepdown in defense will probably cost us a few runs, but look at the offensive numbers in the second half (OPS):
Ludwick: 1.110
Rolen: 1.005
Frazier: .930
Bruce: .901
Stubbs: .727
We know that Votto, Cozart, and Phillips are all locks to play. If you slide Bruce to CF, we’d have 5 guys (including Votto) who are putting up OPSs over .900. That’s scary.
I would go:
Phillips
Frazier
Votto
Ludwick
Bruce
Rolen
Hannigan
Cozart
Just a great throw. A bullet. Not much you can do about that.
Frazier is shocking me at the plate. Never viewed him as a 290 MLB hitter.
@eric nyc: More like 90 feetbehind first base
@wildwestLV: It was a great throw, but Mark Berry has the scouting report on Brown, he sees that he’s coming in on the flyball which means he’ll have a running start, and it wasn’t that deep to begin with. Plus Bruce isn’t exactly a speedster. Never should have sent him.
I’m upset we didn’t score a run there, but I can’t be upset at anybody for the decisions they made. Would have taken a perfect throw to get him and it was. I don’t mind green lighting Frazier on 3-0 when we need a ball into the outfield. Just bad luck there.
@eric nyc: I’m fine with sending him. With 2 outs, they wouldn’t give Hanigan much to hit and you’re left with Bronson to deliver.
Pads up 4-1.
Looks like we got GoodRoyo tonight.
@BearcatNation: I disagree, I don’t think you can say it would take a perfect throw to get him, since a perfect throw got him by a good 5 feet. It really wasn’t a close play.
I’m always down to put the defense in the position where they have to make a perfect play. But really, they just needed to make a routine play there. An average arm still gets Bruce there, so it was a bad decision to send him.
This might be the best game Bronson has pitched all year, so far.
Benching Frazier would be managerial malpractice. I have to believe that he’ll get near regular playing time as he shuffles between LF, RF, 3B, and 1B. But then in the playoffs, I’m sure he’ll sit.
@Steve Mancuso: you’re forgetting about the -1 hit game
Worley looks like such a huge tool. And it feels like he hasn’t thrown a strike in a week.
Horace Grant thinks his eyewear choice is outdated. Worley looks like a right handed Wandy Rodriguez to me
Way to go Mr. Stubbs!
Steal on first pitch
Finally. Stubbs.
They’re talking about his high strikeouts-looking stat like it’s a good thing, but the way I see it, is because 1. Guys don’t miss and 2. They’re liking becausee nibbles at the strike zone and misses so much.
Two nights in a row Drew’s come up with a 2-out ribby.
Typical Stubbs, frustrating K’s the first 2 times up and then an RBI dunker. No rhyme or reason.
Time for a Ludwhack.
Steve in game one you were keeping us updated on how Bruce was doing with RISP but the last two games you haven’t mentioned it??
(kidding)
Big AB for Luddy
Swype making me look dumber than I am
Stubbs is a wee bit faster than Bruce.
Dinkers are carrying the day.
Brown is not getting Stubbs…bad thinking.
Stubbs should get the RBI on that. It was all speed on that run.
Stubbs looked surprised that Brown was attempting to throw to the plate and had to turn on the jets
Wasted at-bat by Bruce.
Why was BP still on second when Brown showed early he was gunning home ?
Somebody throw out the “Stubbs Scores/Reds Win” stat for me again. Please.
46-5 i think.
Disastros up 1-0 in the 1st.
Our infield defense can see what’s going on. Cozart and Phillips are making these plays as tightly as they can.
Does anyone think Frazier is a better third baseman than Rolen? Anyone?
We talking the combined packaged? Defense (not close there)? Offense? Speed?
@RedForever: Thanks. Anytime the FSO guys start praising a Reds player’s performance it = instant mush. Although, Bronson isn’t phased at all by a HR.
Of course, the second I start thinking about a perfect game, BAM! Home run.
@Mwv: Third base. Whose better? Rolen or Frazier? Anyone take Frazier over Rolen? Anyone?
Sorry, was laughing at that attempted double play. I’ll play that game if you want though. If I could only have one on the team right now I’d take Frazier and not even hesitate.
I make two.
Hahhahahhahahahhahhaha.
How was that not the infield fly rule?
There’s NO way Dusty will start a rookie @ 3rd, over a veteran, in the playoffs.
2nd time this year I thought infield fly was missed on similar plays. Must not understand the rule.
Billy Hamilton: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/8/22/3259564/billy-hamilton-breaks-stolen-base-record
Bronson is just coasting, wow.
bronson looks as sharp as I’ve seen him all year today.
Even the home run pitch was great. High and inside. I can’t believe it didn’t break Brown’s bat.
Yeah, that really wasn’t a bad pitch. Brown just guessed right and turned on it big time. It was easily 4+ inches off the inside of the plate.
Stubbs just don’t bunt
Scotty could always “take one for the team” and rediscover his back spasms, going into the playoffs, though. I’d still love his bat off the bench. That’s going to be Frazier’s best option, going forward.
@Mwv:
Who is better? Rolen. Total package includes defense and experience. Rolen is way ahead there. I’ll give you Frazier ahead of Rolen on offense, but not by a great margin.
I’ll take Rolen as my everyday third baseman for the rest of this year. Because he will do more for the team.
If I can only have one, I take Frazier. The reason for that is very simple in my mind. I trust Frazier to stay healthy and consistent. He’s proven that his lows aren’t too low and his highs are pretty high and that he holds up well through the punishment of a major league season to date. Rolen plays better defense. Rolen has more experience. I don’t trust him to stay playing at his current level though and remain healthy. I want it to happen and if it does I’ll be delighted but the history of the season thus far doesn’t warrant that optimism. So if I can only have one it’s Todd.
Frazier
Welsh says no infield fly rule on as bunt. Who knew?
Bronson only 59 pitches. How long do you go with him?
Big inning for Bronson right here with the heart of the order.
@George Culver: exactly, still deceptive…
Could reduced PT for Frazier possibly cost him a shot at RoY?
It feels like we’re winning this game by a lot, but the scoreboard says we’re only up 1.
Definitely feel the same, hopefully Reds put together some insurance
Brantley: That breaking ball fell out of the Liberty Bell.
I love Brantley. Not much of a play-by-play guy but has some great lines.
Arroyo not throwing hard enough to break a pane of glass but the movement has been fantastic.
Padres up 4-2 bot 8. Disastros up 2-1 bot 3.
78 mph side-arm changeup just shocked ryan howard.
Bronson keeps this up and Dotson is going to rename this “Arroyo Nation”.
tremendous pitch selection
Get 1 more out of Bronson then bring on Chapman?
Definitely now
Well this Arroyo has just been unreal tonight. Made Howard look stupid there.
I think the magic number for mathematical elimination for Houston is 5.
Whoa, blastoff
Goodbye baseball. There’s the hit he almost had on that silly pop triple.
Titanic blast!
I just had a feeling about Bruce and this reliever.
Second deck homer. #26. That Jay Bruce never gets clutch hits.
Dang – that was impressive!
That ball just landed in Camden. What a shot.
That soared like an Edwin Encarnacion throw…
I might think about letting Bronson finish this game now.
They go to the 9th in SD. 4-2 Padres.
Bruce has pretty much carried the team since August 12th. Pretty darn impressive.
Everyone is hitting popups tonight, sheesh. Both teams.
Irates lose.
I don’t think we’ll be watching Pirates scores much longer
Arroyo is only at 72 pitches right now.
We’ve also outhit the Phillies 10 to 1 tonight, but we’ve left 13 on base so far.
Was that back to back pull hits by Hanigan? Don’t see that very often.
Hanigan just keeps getting it done.
@Mwv:
You don’t have just one. Who would you say should be the starting third baseman for the Reds the rest of 2012? Of course if one of them is not ‘healthy’ you don’t play him. Remember,I am not asking you to DFA the other guy, just tell me whom you start at third for the rest of the season.
To complete the night Arroyo should have gone deep. Hit it hard just too low.
SD 4, Pitt 2 Final.
pirates now 8 out. Mercy!
Arroyo’s funny, every time he gets tagged he goes for the cup check.
Not really a fair question which is why I wasn’t answering it directly; you’re asking a loaded question to get the response you want. I’m answering the more relevant question of “who is more useful to the team now and in the future.” I think without Frazier we aren’t nearly the team we are without Rolen. As for where you start Frazier to get him at bats the rest of the year? That’s going to depend on things like how healthy the other players are. If the only option is third (which is the scenario you’re wanting to paint) then I split it 50/50 between the two.
A bit of trouble…
The guy in the JTM commercial sounds like so much like Sonny Bono I expect Cher to start singing.
Wow,I can hardly believe i just heard there’s somebody up in the pen. Doesn’t Dusty know it’s not already too late?
Short leash for Bronson here. Even with the low pitch count, Need to get out of this inning
Need an out here.
Wow. Just wow. I love this team.
WOW.ZERS.
OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
lack of speed kills too…what a break
Bravo, Bronson!
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet as pie.
Unreal. I’m amazed every time I see those guys do that. And they do it a lot.
Hell of a play by both Cozart and Phillips.
Anyone worried about BPs focus on defense right now?
Even Frazier had kind of a short hop to deal with. But I just can’t believe BP’s throw.
Nice pick at first by Frazier too. He’s been a better defensive 1B than Votto to be honest.
@eric nyc: Are you being facetious or ridiculous?
Is BP teaching Cozart all those flips and other plays he uses? Hahaha, wow.
@Mwv: i am presenting you with the same situation facing Dusty for the rest of the 2012 season. It is a practical question, not a tricky question. So far the only person who has given a straight answer is @AnnapolisHoosier: , and he picked one person. No fudging. I disagree, but it is not an unreasonable position.
THought I was clear.
Frazier 100% without question. Really nothing to do with Scott but, IMO, Frazier is a special player. Outside of Votto, if I had to pick one guy to get the big hit? It’s Frazier until he proves otherwise. Rolen is doing great and I am trilled but on my team Fraz just has to play.
@AnnapolisHoosier:
I don’t think he’s been better (than Rolen either), but he’s been pretty close and not nearly the dropoff that I expected. Just a player. Unconventional, whatever. Numbers don’t lie.
@seat101: How is splitting time not a straight answer?
As I said, I’d platoon them. Frazier has more than earned the time. The thing is, Frazier won’t just play at third. He’s going to cover for Votto and other folks too so Rolen ends up with the “starting” third base job and Frazier gets less at bats because he’s more flexible. Unless Scott gets hurt and then it’s back to where we are now except less Cairo.
Best part of the DP was the Phillies color guy going psssssshhhhhh and Schneider shaking his head
@Jared:
He resonded, but did not answer the question. A distinction with a difference. Whom do you think should be the starting third baseman for the rest of the 2012 season?
@CharlotteNCRedsFan:
I’d rather have the best player at third. How do quantify ‘special’?
Frazier.is.a.better.player.3rd base.pitcher.catcher.DH.whatever.
Big night Bronson. Deserves the help to preserve the victory
I don’t think Rolen has proven he can hit pitchers with actual plus fastballs. Dusty has actually used him well in making sure he isn’t overmatched. It probably isn’t a big problem with anyone but SF or Washington b/c NL pitching just isn’t that good, but you just hope Dusty doesn’t fall into the playoffs=time for veterans trap.
I’d hate to see Rolen inserted against Gio, Strasburg, Zimmerman for example. He’ll be blown away.
@seat101: Here is another to get you going:
Mike Trout is the best player in MLB. Not in the future but today – right now. And you know what? it’s not even close.
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: Better than wilson Valdez?
On a side note did anyone notice Bartolo Colon got caught for PEDS? Will his PR team build a fake Dominos website Melky Cabrera style saying he unknowingly had unknown toppings?
@Wolfenstein:
Or the Bobby Bonds “My boyfriend rubbed it on my legs while I was in my milk bath and I just thought it was lotion” excuse might work.
Or I was taking medicine to get my wife pregnant a la Edinson Volquez
@CharlotteNCRedsFan:
Right. Okay. Otherwise, hoow are things? We missed you over the weekend. I went Friday, Saturday night,and Sunday to GABP
Utley hoping for another phantom HBP.
Of all the head scratching things that Dusty Baker does on a nearly daily basis, messing with the formula of bringing in the Cuban Missile at the start of the 9th inning is got take the cake for the season.
Absolutely no excuse for this.
I’m so ticked that I can’t even get my grammar right!
One more out to go. Come on Chapman!
pitch Howard away away away Aroldis
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: I’m tempted to agree, but I would say it’s plenty close. Plus, it’s easy to get carried away with numbers before the end of the season. He’s still got plenty of time to come back down from the stratosphere.
Until he does, I’m sticking with my opinion. Catch his games any time I can and the guy is just unreal good. But do respect your opinion.
Doing fine and hope you are. I admire your devotion to Mr. Rolen and it is not misplaced. Just think TF is just one of those guys.
I’m going to the LA Dodgers series on the 21st of September with my nephew. Really excited. Figure that the Dodgers will be a nice test right before the postseason. You caught some pretty decent games, lucky dog!
I think it would be very creative for Dusty to try Jay in CF so the Reds could put their best 8 on the diamond. Maddon did the same thing with Zobrist in TB and I don’t think the lost a game since. I hate to reduce playing time for Rolen, Frazier or Ludwick.
Totally agree. If you view it as playing Rolen v. Frazier v. Ludwick v. Stubbs you need to think outside the box and play your best players. I don’t think it would be a huge defensive downgrade, but would be a gigantic lineup upgrade. Plus with Dusty playing his Sunday special lineups so frequently all those 4 should get fairly regular PT. I just hope Cairo and Valdez don’t see another AB all year
Thank you Mo Vaughn
pffew!
Big win.
Reds win!!! Two game winning streak in Philly. Guaranteed at least a series split going into Cueto tomorrow.
Jay Bruce’s homer was the game-winner.
Yep. Tomorrow let’s get that 3rd win!
Go Reds.
Great game. Even though not against one of their main pitchers, still good to be beating a playoff caliber team.
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: I got tix for the Sept 22 game.
@George Culver: Good deal. Since I’m flying in, we will take in all three. Counting the days just like a kid a Christmas!
Two great starting pitching performances in a row. You have to admit, after watching Leake on Monday night, it looked like Philly was going to blast us out of their park.
I was never worried…
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: hey man, you’ll get no argument from me, he’s a phenomenon, and i do think he’s the best player in baseball right now. mccutchen and votto i think are in the same realm, but with his stolen bases he takes it.
He is one of those guys you watch and just go – oh sh!t. I agree with your other two and would add Miguel Cabrera.
Love getting Chapman a little adversity to deal with. It ain’t goin to be all 1-2-3 in October. Great win. Team win.
@George Culver: I’ll be at the game on the 22nd, too.
Well, I had really started to soften on Dusty in the last month. But, between his comments on Frazier today and the complete bungling of the ninth inning tonight, I’m right back hoping that we see someone else managing this team next year.
I’m sure I’ll want to walk that back in the morning, but it’s how I feel right now.
I missed something; what did he say?
In short, Baker said he was going to bench Frazier. The only good thing, we will have another pop off the bench. But, sorry, that is a pop that needs to be playing everyday. That is nothing but stupid. So many different ways Baker could do it. Keeping it simple:
- Bench Stubbs. He is back on his regular downward swing, isn’t even getting 300 OBP. Make him a defensive replacement. Bruce to center, Frazier in right. Only question: is Frazier’s offense over Stubbs better than Bruce’s defense in CF? I would take it.
- Bench Bruce. So what he is an All-Star. First, that each season was only based on one month of solid offense. The rest of the time hasn’t been All-Star caliber. Todd’s averages are better than Bruce’s right now. And, Bruce’s defense hasn’t been up to par this year. LaHair with the Cubs was an All-Star this year, also. Now, he’s a sub. Only question: do you bench a player who’s been an All-Star but isn’t performing right now for a player who’s been performing better.
I couldn’t justify benching Ludwick.
We are either looking at something like this, or Baker is moving Frazier around all over the place just to get his bat in. But, just like I’m a Heisey fan but you don’t take a bat like Ludwick has going out of the lineup, you don’t take a bat like Frazier has going out of the lineup.
@CharlotteNCRedsFan: i hope we can hook up at the game maybe. Dusty rarely misses an oppurtunity to miss an oppurtunity. He’ll manage to peeve us both, I am sure.
@newtonrm: i’d forgotten that one. Is he a daddy, yet?
@seat101: I’d like that and would be honored to meet any of the fellows from the Nation. Best baseball fans on the planet. And know there stuff too.
Will be getting my tickets for all three games by Saturday on StubHub. Normally like to be close to the Reds’ dugout. Outfield side. I let you know and let’s get together and have a cold one!
Chapman pitched 5 of past 6 days, you probably rest at least one day so he is somewhat fresh for the Cards.
So who closes tomorrow, if needed?
Willie Harris hit two HRs for the Bats here in Indy tonight.
@vicferrari:
Plan B(roxton)
Cards will not die. I guess we will just have to keep winning.
Nicely done. Guaranteed split in Philly with a possible BIG 3-1 heading home to take on the Dirt Birds.
If 96 wins are now the NL Central target (my best guess), our Reds have to play .541 ball to get there (20 of 37).
The Birds have to pull off .750 and the Pie-Rats .763 in order to match that.
Not ready to celebrate just yet, but it’s sure looking good in the Queen City.
@reagansdaddy: How did he bungle the 9th inning? He’s been overworking Chapman all year. Arroyo was sitting on something like 80 pitches and a 2-hitter. I’m 100% positive Bronson told Dusty he was good for the 9th and Dusty told Arroyo that if any base runner got on he was bringing in Chapman. Bronson got a grounder that should have been an out, it wasn’t, Chapman slammed the door. Where was the mistake? Roles makes that our and Arroyo likely gets the CG, preserves Chapman, and we’re all cheering Dusty. I’m as harsh of a Dusty critic as you’re going to find and I think he handled the 9th perfectly.
Agree 100%. Nail that door shut.
@eric nyc: I agree 100%. I thought the 9th was handled perfectly. With Arroyo’s low pitch count, you want to give him a chance to get a CG and give Chapman some rest, but you don’t let him do his patented Arroyo blow-up. I was singing Dusty’s praises for once due to his handling of the inning.
When did ‘raking’ become the hot word and when did it die?
I think Rich Aurellia originally brought it into vogue in Cincinnati in
@seat101: I’ll be at Saturday’s game, if anyone wants to say hello.
@Chad Dotson: Great! I’ll buy you a beer.