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Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Pittsburgh 3
Cincinnati 5
W: M. Leake (8-9)
L: K. Correia (10-9)
S: J. Broxton (1)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–The “Woooo” cry returned to the ballyard tonight, and the Reds put yet another nail in Pittsburgh’s coffin. This Woo phenomenon is the greatest thing to happen to baseball since Jackie Robinson.
–Brandon Phillips was the offensive star tonight, going 2-4 with his 17th homer, his 30th double, two runs scored, and two RBI.
–Mike Leake was 2-2 and scored a run. He also pitched seven innings and gave up three runs on nine hits.
–Ryan Ludwick had a couple of hits. Scott Rolen hit a homer. And get this: Wilson Valdez was 2-3 with a walk.
–Sean Marshall came in and shut the door in a tight spot in the eighth inning. Jonathan Broxton closed out the game for his first save as a Redleg.
NEGATIVES
–None.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Another fun game (with the Woo making it even more fun). Cincinnati now leads St. Louis by ten games, and Pittsburgh by 13. Woo.
–By reaching base three times, Valdez improved his yearly stats to .200/.228/.219.
–Wooooooo!
–Okay, Ginger Kenny Powers was back at the Reds game, and he was wearing the exact same shirt as last night. I really want to know who this guy is, because he just became the poster boy for the 2012 Cincinnati Reds (Thanks, rpa):
Woooo!
Fear The Woooo.
— Redleg Nation (@redlegnation) September 12, 2012
–Magic Number:
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Wooooo thing is fun but it looks like it’s actually from Pittsburgh:
http://deadspin.com/5940688/pnc-park-rings-with-ric-flair-wooos-as-pirates-fans-liven-up-game-with-impromptu-nature-boy-calls
Their fans probably started it last night.
Well, the offense is getting a bit better, but I still wouldn’t quite call the slump over. Couple of kind of flukey runs today.
I kind of hope the slump goes on for another week, and then they come out of it and are going strong by the first NLDS game. On this topic, I think the Votto return is well timed. He’s clearly not quite himself (to me, anyways). Hopefully he gets back into the swing of things (more doubles power) in a week or two. Even if he’s just like the pre-injury Votto without the power, I’ll gladly take the .480 OBP. I do wonder as someone else said if the knee is affecting his power a bit. We’ll see.
Marty is back to ripping Bruce, saber types, and Leake? There’s a shock.
I’m paying more attention to American League Baseball now… who wants to see the A’s and the O’s win their divisions?
Oh right, the Reds! Brandon Phillips is a living legend and he can play in Cincinnati Red and White for the forseeable future. No one gets to complain.
@RichmondRed: I would love to see that. The O’s were the only team to give me a really good look and were the closest team to signing me. I have a soft spot for them. The A’s are just a good story this year. I mean, I really thought they’d be awful.
WWWWHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This bullpen is the most important part of this team and the reason why they will get to the WS. The last two nights don’t lie.
@Abel: History is written by winners
@Prime: Excellent reply.
Anyone else think it a little far-fetched to equate Jackie Robinson, a great ball player who was instrumental in breaking down racial barriers at a time when it was extremely difficult to do so, to “wooooo”? Just sayin’
@joelie1274: I think Mr. Dotson was just being sarcastic IMO. That’s all.
Yes. Sarcasm. I thought that would be obvious.
I suppose I should have known better…
@joelie1274:
Wow…
So does Votto get tomorrow off?
Padres just put up a 5 spot against that jerk Wainwright.
I’ve never had a problem with Wainwright. Strike one, he plays for St Louis. Strike two, he’s good. No strike three, still okay by my book.
The only thing I didn’t like/appreciate about Wainwright (aside from the whole being-a-Cardinal thing, that is), early in the year, I recall Jaime Garcia hitting a triple against the Reds, and as Garcia made it around the bases, Wainwright was giving the Reds’ dugout the only slightly veiled “flipping the bird” maneuver. … Now, I don’t know if anything preceded his gesture; maybe the dugouts were going back and forth with some trash-talking. But you don’t need to be doing that where fans can see that. (He was up on the dugout rail as he was doing it.) I was calling him Adam “Up Yours” Wainwright for a while after that.
Being a Cincy fan in St. Louis, I hate the guy because of how arrogant he is. Both him and Chris Carpenter are about the most arrogant rubes I’ve ever seen or heard. It’s quite funny to see him struggle simply because of that. Honestly if it weren’t for those 2 and Molina I probably wouldn’t hate the Cardinals as much as I do.
It’s still early. Volquez has issued 5 walks in 4.1 innings. I have no faith in his ability to hold a lead.
The Cardinales season is on the line tonight thru Sunday. After tomorrow night’s game they have to trek up the 5 to play 4 versus the Dodgerooties. The way the race is shaping up those 4 in LA are basically double value games just like when first place plays second place
Gosh Chad, comparing Jackie Robinson to wooooo. How some people function in everyday life amazes me.
Also the Bruce->Votto->Phillips flip double up was SportCenter’s number one play as of midnight!
Keeping an eye on the SD-StL game, and boy oh boy do I not miss all those Volquez walks. 6 BB through 5-1/3 IP.
I’m very pleased with Reds west whooping that behind right now. I hope they use Boxberger soon.
Volquez is amazing. He must be the most irritating pitcher to watch ever.
Get the “Woooo! Guy” a bobblehead. Now.
I may sound like a heretic but Go Cardnials!!!!!!!!!!!! The Phillies would be 4 out after tonight, they get in the Reds have to lose to aviod that top seed.
Blasphemy.
I want to see a five way 2nd wild card tie between the Phillies, Brewers, Cardinals, Pirates, and Dodgers. That would be pretty legendary.
About a week ago, I flat-out said the Phillies (and by extension, the Brewers and even the Diamondbacks) were stick-a-fork-in-’em done. They would have to climb over too many teams to get that second wild card. … Shows what I know. I still don’t think any of those three could complete the comeback, but wow, are they making a run!
@Omri: I wouldn’t want to be a MLB scheduler for that situation. That would be a nightmare.
@Omri Do u wqant the Phillies in the playoffs?
@Chad Dotson: People who can’t pick up on sarcasm/satire should be forced to read The Onion until they understand or their heads blow up real good.
@John:
So let me get this straight, you think people that don’t get sarcasm should have violence imposed upon them?
Oh, I certainly don’t want to face them. I just think the logistical nightmare of deciding which of the five teams would get the 2nd wild card would be hilarious.
If I understood Marty on the broadcast today, he and Brantley were discussing the wildcard situation and Marty said the “Braves and Cards are tied for the WC”. They agreed the Phils have a good shot because, as Brantley said, they have 3 games left with the Braves.
Only problem is that the Braves are 9.5 games ahead of the Phils (and 5.5 ahead of the Cards). The Phils might get a WC, but they aren’t going to surpass the Braves. The Braves and Cards aren’t tied…
Yeah, that was stupid. I’m wondering if they were looking at something that lists “Wild Card Games Behind” – either on ESPN or MLB or wherever, which would have both the Braves and the Cardinals’ WCGB at “-”. Marty may have seen that and misinterpreted it as saying they’re tied.
It’s going to be truly heart breaking for Pirates fans if/when their team not only misses out on the playoffs altogether, but they don’t even finish with a winning record.
I remember back in the summer how almost everyone was talking like it was a foregone conclusion that this was the year Pittsburgh finally posts a winning record. Well, they are only 3 games over .500, on a 5 game losing streak, and looking listless on the field.
The only thing in their favor is their next 14 game are against teams without winning records (although they do have to face a hot Milwaukee team in that stretch…)
How the mighty have fallen.
I seem to remember you writing that the Pirates were going to finish ahead of the Cards. And that the Reds were going to finish with a top 5 NL offense.
Not to pick on you any more than others (or myself), but the point is that people throw around lots of predictions around here, and then it’s as if they never existed when they go wrong—but when one works out, people sure point that out. Some said Ludwick should be released, some said Arroyo should be released, etc. Many around here said the Pirates were a legitimately good team despite the fact that they have a bad run differential, and it was because they bunted, moved runners over, etc.
Point: it’s pretty hard to be a general manager. You don’t get to make a move and then when it doesn’t work out, no one knows about it because it just vanishes into the Internet ether.
BTW Magic Number is now 10
@CI3J: The Pirates have not been mighty this season, but yes I’d like to see them finish over .500.
@Omri: With the two wild card teams, I’ve noticed confusion, even in terms of posted standings, such as mlb.com one night listed the standings for the AL as if only one wild card team gets in.
Sometimes the confusion is due to listing the two leading WC teams as if they have the same record when they don’t. mlbnetwork does it properly, listing the top wild card teams as + the number of games they are ahead of the second place wild card team. (Mathematically, – would make more sense, as they’re negative games behind, but no need to get into that.)
Good game by the Reds tonite. Nice to see the HR by Rolen. Slick play by Votto-BP there. (If Jeter made the same play as Votto, it would be a season hilite.)
Love the way Mike Leake helps his own cause with his bat. He can even bunt !
I didn’t comment on the Chapman thread, think he’s going to be OK.
The bullpen is a whole lot better than OK.
I’d also enjoy seeing a tiebreaker game (or two) needed to decide the final wild card spot. … Both for the sheer joy of seeing Bud squirm at the lack of extra days built in to handle the second wild card, and for making the eventual winner of the chase have to keep playing stressful, elimination-type games right up to the end and have no time to set up a pitching rotation.
Do think the Reds will give Ginger Kenny Powers his own parking spot on Joe Nuxhall Way? I’d hate to see his Trans Am get dented in a parking garage.
PS….I love that guy
The Reds magic number is 10 and its going down by 2 every game. Yeah Buddy. The Reds West are simply spanking the Birds. Poor little Birds.
The Brew Crew & Phillies are only 4 games out of the wildcard playin game with the Dodgers 1 game out and the Bucos still 2.5 games out. The NL wildcard playing is becoming quite contested and congested. You think the Birds are looking over their shoulder? Poor little Birds.
The Yanky Doodle Danddies are tied with the O’s, again (c’mon Baltimore & put a winning streak together). The AL playing game is getting even more contested and congested than the NL.
This is a fun baseball season and the best is yet to come.
Go Reds!
BTW, did anyone notice that Mr. Baker’s CF went 0-4 last night? That’s 3-22 with 7 SO & 3 BB for September (.136/.240/.136) and 20-108 with 42 SO & 7 BB for August (.185/.241/.241).
There happens to be another CF on the 25 man roster who I believe is willing to play if given the chance. He seems to be highly motivated and pretty capable, but that’s just my opinion and I might be wrong or missing something. He is hitting 7-21 with 6 SO & 1 BB for September (.333/.364/.619) and 14-41 with 8 SO & 0 BB for August (.341/.357/.610).
Just Saying…
So the B team will be rolled out against AJ Burnett….have to think that Dusty wants to give them a chance to catch the Cardinals so we can spank them in the playoffs.
@CSharpAJ: I can’t stand those three…makes me want to punch a baby every time I see them.
This is why I don’t like the guy. I know he’s trying to be a leader and make the guys feel better, but he literally says the same exact thing every single time he’s pitching and they end up losing. Oh, the best team on paper, they’re dangerous in the playoffs… If it weren’t for the second wild-card and the Dodgers playing just as poorly as the Cards, the Cards wouldn’t even be sniffing the playoffs and yet some of their fans have the nerve of calling the Reds lucky. The whole fanbase is arrogant and a bunch of whiners at the same time. I like them all as people, but not when they are talking baseball.
There is nothing in his statement that bothers me. In fact I agree with every statement he made. The only exception to the best team on paper would be the Nationals. But other than that, I completely agree on paper they are better than the Reds. The game’s just played on grass, not paper is all.
When the “When will the Reds clinch the NL Central?” poll was first posted, I voted for Sept 18-20.
Which series did you vote for and would you change your vote now?
I vote Sat. Sept 22 as I will be at that game….
@dn4192: It would be cool if you could be there.
@Greg Dafler: Sep 25th-27th… Thinking I would still vote for that one. Athough the 18th-20th (next week) sure is looking like a strong possibility.
So a series win secured should we give the rookies some playing time tonight and give frazier, Votto, Phillips and Bruce a night off?
@dn4192:
Frazier, yes. Phillips, yes. Votto, yes. Ludwick, yes. Bruce, no.
Let Rolen play 3B assuming he is OK and I mean really OK. Put Didi at SS & Valdez at 2B. Put XP in LF with Heisey in CF. I don’t want to handcuff the lineup with Valdez and Cairo starting in the same game. How about something creative like Hanigan at 1B? He hasn’t played 1B since his time in the minor leagues, but having another option, besides Cairo, at 1B might be a good tact with both Rolen & Votto having health issues right now.
That would be a pretty good idea, but I believe that would be too creative to actually happen unfortunately. I really don’t have a beef with Dusty of any sort and I’m not a Dusty praiser either, but I just don’t see it happening.
A “give away” lineup that I would actually be somewhat comfortable with…
CF Heisey
3B Rolen
RF Bruce
LF Paul
1B Hanigan
C Navarro
2B Valdez
SS Gregorious
P Bailey
Of course I that’s not an ideal lineup against a teams best pitcher, but I still think it’s better than most of the “give away” lineups we have.
I think Frazier needs a couple of days off. He looks like he is dragging an anvil behind him right now. Look what it did for Bruce last month to have a couple of days off. But Bruce is in an 0-9 slide at the moment. I sure hope that his good streak isn’t over and that he has started another one of “those” kind of streaks.
@WVRedlegs: If he starts one of the bad kind of streaks perhaps it can be over and done with by playoff time? As you know I love Jay Bruce but yes, when he goes into a funk, it can be brutal. I didn’t get to see his ABs last night so not sure if he’s pulling off the ball. That’s usually a good sign he’s in a funk and when he starts staying back, even when he doesn’t get a hit, it’s usually a sign he’s coming out of it… Of course that can probably be said for most hitters.
@vegastypo: Yup, he lost me when he flipped off the Reds early in the season. What with him being a Cardinal in the first place, it didn’t take much to break that camel’s back.
With a couple of hits, Valdez now batting .200! Drew Stubbs goes o for 4 is now batting .217. What’s the good news? He didn’t strike out. Baby steps. Celebrate small victories.
@sezwhom1: I will celebrate when we trade him for a pack of gum
The Pirates AJ Burnett is a RHer. So tonight, let’s have H-Rod at 2B, Gregorius at SS, X in LF, Bruce in RF, Navarro at C, and Votto at 1B. CF and 3B can go to Heisey and Cairo. Not sure how a batting order would go. Maybe:
1. H-Rod 2B
2. X-Paul LF
3. Votto 1B
4. Bruce RF
5. Heisey CF
6. Gregorius SS
7. Cairo 3B
8. Navarro C
9. Bailey P
I really want Bailey to get his 11th win tonight, but this might not be the lineup for that, though. Bailey had 4 tries to get his 10th win and now tonight will be his 6th try for win #11. He has been kind of snake bitten in the second half of the season. Sure hope he gets back on track tonight with win #11.
Until I see evidence to the contrary….
Ginger Kenny Powers = Steve Mancuso
How awesome would that be?!?
How about that he was at the game last night and I wasn’t?
I wonder if the conversation went like this…
Hughes: I’m sorry, Brandon. I said something I shouldn’t have, but I’m not a racist. Ask ‘Cutch.
Philips: Yeah, ‘Cutch told me that. Still, that wasn’t cool.
Hughes: You’re right. Tell you what, let my try to make it up to you. Correia’s first pitch tonight will be…
@WVRedlegs: I knew there was another IF available that I was missing, H-Rod. I revise my previous thought with H-Rod at 2B rather than Valdez. It is a decidedly stacked LH lineup (sans Votto) against their RHP. If Votto is really OK and the knee is not stressed at all, I’m OK with keeping Votto in the lineup for one more game before the scheduled off day.
XP LF
Heisey CF
Votto 1B
Rolen 3B
Bruce RF
H-Rod 2B
Navarro C
Gregorius SS
Bailey P
If Votto is feeling ANY discomfort in his knee…
XP LF
Heisey CF
Bruce RF
Rolen 3B
H-Rod 2B
Hanigan 1B
Navarro C
Gregorius SS
Bailey P
The more I see these kids names as possibilities in a ML lineup, the more I like some of the options available for next year. I am partial to home-grown talent.
Here is a nice article on MLB managing…
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18302#.UE81DiqMtfY.facebook
@Eric the Red: Eric, You were there too? I didn’t see you.
Sorry Bloody Ho, I think you mean a different EtR. That’s a name I started using years ago, but I’ve been lurking and not commenting so far this season. By the way, I like your thinking on the lineup. If ever there was a day for one of Dusty’s “Sunday Specials”, this is it. I’d really like to see Frazier in particular get the night off so he can have a nice 3 day break before the weekend.
@Eric the Red:
No, I meant I didn’t see you present at the conversation between Hughes & Phillips, because I was there and you recounted the conversation verbatim!
Reds Ban the Wooo.
After dozens of complaints about the Wooo, Reds officials are deploying additional security throughout the stadium. Anyone caught bellowing out a Wooo will be escorted out of the stadium and if they are season ticket holders, will have said season tickets revoked for rest of 2012 and for entire 2013 season. Said one Reds official, “These Woos are more irritating than those horns they had in World Cup soccer a couple years back. They will not be tolerated anymore.”
(This is sarcasm, for the sarcasm-challenged.)
I seriously hope the WOOOOO thing carries through the season and deep into the playoffs, and becomes a whole national “thing”. Things equally stupid have briefly captured the world’s imagination, so why ain’t it our turn? And I’m only 98% kidding when I suggest that it could be good for the team – our guys look a little tight at times, but wouldn’t you laugh and relax if you fans were WOOOOOing like idiots late in the game? I know I would.
We will reach critical mass on this as soon as a player on the field WOOOOOs back to the crowd. We will have achieved synergy. I suspect Frazier will be the guy to do it, though BP’s also a likely candidate.
Hahaha, I could totally see BP doing it.
@RC: Can you imagine Joey Votto doing a call and response with the crowd? {Puts his hand up to his ear… I can’t hear you people!} That would be the best ever. Wooooo = The new Beast Mode.
If the Reds were smart they would book in Mr. Ric Flair for a WOOOOO night at the ballpark…
Remember back when the Cards had a HUGE advantage to the Reds in the +Runs scored category…well as of today, that lead is +2 for the Cards over the Reds..
but my question is how can you be at -22 in that category and be leading your division?
And the so called best offense in the Majors is now behind the Brewers and Yankees in runs scored and only 1 run ahead of the Angels.
Oh, and we must savagely repress the idea that WOOOOO started with Pittsbugh fans. Since this first occurred here in Cincy on “Bark In The Park” night, the obvious story should be that the dogs started howling right before the Reds won the 14 inning game, and the crowd joined in, rallying the team to victory.
@Prime had it right way upthread – history *is* written by the victors. Of course, Pittsburgh fans might publicly dispute this story, but who believes anything Pittsburgh fans say? Am I right?
I posted this late in the game thread: we’ve had the Rally Monkey and Rally Squirrel, so I’m going with Rally Howl (TM) or Rally Woo (TM) until someone comes up with something better. I can just hear Thom now: THERE GOES THE RALLY HOWL!!! THIS PLACE IS ROCKIN’. On second thought….
The upcoming Reds vs Dodgers series should be interesting. In my opinion I’d be fine with seeing the Reds get swept because it makes it harder for the Cardinals to reach the postseason – I think the Dodgers, not the Pirates, are the Cardinals’ remaining wild card rival.
If the Reds win the series it’s not the end of the world either.
Speaking of the A’s, I hear John Kruk use one of our favorite expressions on ESPN this morning. When asked to explain the A’s success this season, he indicated that Billy Beane had finally gotten over his silly “Moneyball” thing, and gotten some “athletes” on the team, instead of “big slow guys who clog the bases”.
I wonder if Kruk considered himself an “athlete” during his playing days?
He’s actually (in)famous for this quote:
“I’m not an athlete. I’m a professional baseball player.”
@redsfanman: I don’t want to see the Reds lose against the Dodgers, but I would have been okay if the Reds dropped 2 or 3 against the Pirates. The current slump (and the team is still slumping IMO) is a welcome thing. Slumps always seem to precede crazy winning streaks. I’d love to see the Reds get hot just in time for the postseason.
Okay it’s time to stop fooling around, now that Interleague play will be a everyday thing, either we remove the DH totally or both leagues use it.
I agree.
Or maybe let the NL teams have a 26-man roster while the AL remains at 25. That might even it up a little bit.
The thing is, they would obviously pick the wrong one.
I want to avoid the DH as long as possible, even if the NL is at a disadvantage.
I have never understood how the DH is bad. It makes baseball more challenging and exciting, it reduces the risk of injuring your pitcher. What is the down side?
@dn4192: That article speaks the truth and not just because it’s what I’ve been saying all along and why I continue to defend Dusty Baker despite the moves he makes which drive me insane.
It’s two bad games…one against his personal Kryptonite Wandy Rodriguez. I’m not worried about Bruce.
I am not getting down on Bruce. It just seems when he wins an offensive award, that he quickly disappears for weeks at a time. I do not want that happening to him this year. In May 2011 he won NL Player of the Month and disappeared until mid-August and then it was too late. Played well for a week, won the weekly NL player of the week in mid-August 2011 and then promptly disappeared for remainder of the year. He won NL Player of the Week last week and now is on a 0-9 skid. Hopefully it is just a hiccup. I just hope he is not setting a trend here, and will disappear for the rest of the year. The Reds will need a productive Bruce to advance in the playoffs.
@RC: Sure Kruk. I’m sure the A’s having the 3rd best staff ERA in all of baseball has nothing to do with winning.
No “B” team today…Baker wants a sweep