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Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Milwaukee 8
Cincinnati 1
W: S. Marcum (6-4)
L: B. Arroyo (12-9)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Joey Votto reached base four times: a single, a double, two walks. Votto also drove in Cincinnati’s only run.
–Zack Cozart was 2-3 with a walk and a run scored.
–Logan Ondrusek gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in one inning of work. Why is this a positive? Because it’s a data point for the proposition that Ondrusek shouldn’t be on the playoff roster. Ondrusek seems like a fabulous guy, but I don’t think there’s much argument that the playoff bullpen will be stronger if he doesn’t make the team.
NEGATIVES
–None.
–Okay, Bronson Arroyo wasn’t good, and Ondrusek was terrible. Sam LeCure and Alfredo Simon weren’t much better. But the game was almost meaningless. Not much to be negative about at this point in the season.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–I can’t help but think that, if this game had been played two weeks ago, a lot of people would be panicking. It’s nice to have the division wrapped up, isn’t it?
–Afternoon game tomorrow. It’s the final home game of the 2012 regular season.
I agree about Ondrusek and calling it a positive. Simon didn’t help his case either.
Astros shut out Cardinals, mostly thanks to Bud Norris.
I didn’t see the game. I heard some of the 3rd inning Brewers rally on mlbnetwork radio’s live look-in coverage. One of them, I think Mitch Williams (a loud mouthed former pitcher, so that’s my guess) was going crazy about Braun’s double falling in. He didn’t even know who Heisey is. Who’s that in CF, he says, he took a terrible route to the ball, for Stubbs that’s a can of corn. Someone else suggested Heisey lost the ball in the lights. Then they said Bronson was giving Heisey a look.
I’m not picking on Heisey and I know he made an excellent diving catch later. But I’m curious about whether the ball was as catchable as they claim, mainly to get a better idea of how Bronson’s bad inning went.
I hope next yr the attendece for weekday games picks up a little, these crowds are befitting of a last place team not a first place team.
Attendance for MON-THU games has averaged 22,895 this year, up 929 (4.2%) over 2011.
Overall attendance (MON-SUN) is 29,048 this year, up 1,639 (6.0%) over 2011.
At least it’s all moving in the right direction.
It’s a little disheartening to come on here and read the bloggers brushing aside losses like it’s no big deal. While panicking isn’t necessary, worry is. The Reds aren’t playing great baseball recently. Just OK baseball. It’s beneficial for teams to be on a hot streak going into the playoffs, just ask last years champs, or even the Rockies a few years ago (even though they lost the WS).
While “getting on a hot streak” is obviously hard to do, we still shouldn’t be so flippant about losses. Homefield advantage is up for grabs, and general dignity. I would rather not see them limp into the playoffs.
Don’t get me wrong, i’m absolutely thrilled with the way this season has transpired and am pumped about the playoffs, but there are cracks in the armor and they seem to be showing more these past few weeks.
Who cares about baseball. They killed Opie.
I agree, but I’m glad you didn’t post this before I watched the show on DVR last night, I’d have been PISSED. That being said, there’s not going to be one character I like by the time this season is over…and Kurt Sutter is a sick, sick man.
I didn’t get a chance to watch it until after the game last night. I posted that 10 minutes after the show ended. I don’t recall ever being affected by a death of a character on a stupid television show like this before. Yeah though, Kurt sucks for either killing off or turning the good guys bad.
@pinson343: I was watching on TV and was surprised he didn’t make an effort on that one. For a guy who seems to make a lot of unnecessary dives, both on balls that are way out of reach and ones close enough to catch on two feet, he just watched it fall in. I can’t confirm or deny anything about his route, but off the bat my gut felt like it would be caught 9 out of 10 times.
@dc937: Thanks, dc937 ! Now I will make a comment about Heisey. It’s odd that he’s so determined to catch some fly balls but gives up (or just loses ?) some catchable ones. I haven’t seen it often, but a few times this season. Overall a pretty good defensive OFer though.
Truly, I was a bit dismayed at Heisey tonight. I’m starting to understand why Stubbs is a better choice in CF. What was with that dive, btw? It looked great, but it really seemed unnecessary. Check the highlights if you don’t believe me. It was a long way to run, but I think Stubbs would have been waiting on that ball it hung up so long.
Also, the flyball to deep center late in the game, Heisey broke late, then looked over the wrong shoulder, then let it drop 5 feet from the wall. That irritated me.
I still like Heisey, but his D was very shaky tonight.
@zwilson83: A big crack in the armor is that without Ludwick, there’s no legit cleanup hitter. He was supposedly removed from a game due as a precautionary measure due to stiffness in the gr, now it’s a week later and he’s not even close to coming back, according to what Speier told Fay today.
“Beginning to do weight bearing exercises …” Good grief, he might miss the rest of the regular season.
How did his “stiffness” get worse from a week of rest.
@pinson343: Coupled with the Brewers and Dodger victories, the Cards loss keep the last WC race alive for at least another day or too.
Big win for the Nats tonight. Given their remaining opposition, the Bravos could well run the table if the incentive remains to make the effort; while it is not unrealistic that the Nats could finish out at 3-4. With the win tonight, even should the Bravos sweep out, 3-4 would be good enough to get the Nats a 1 game play off for the division title (with the loser going to the WC). And anything less than perfection for the Bravos would mean 3-4 wins the East for the Nats.
The first thing I thought about the Braun double when it fell in was that Heisey thought about diving for it but remembered everyone getting mad at him for diving and decided to play it safe…however, he dove later in the game game so I guess not. I still feel he would catch that 19/20 times, and if he bats 6th or 7th would ‘currently’ be a better choice in CF.
BTW, Scott Rolen’s barehanded grab and seed to hit the outstretched mit of Votto… bang-bang… ummm, wow.
@pinson343: On Heisey… Maybe defensively he just suffers from the inevitable close comparisons to Stubbs and Bruce. He isn’t as quick as either of the other two nor as fast as Stubbs. His routes tend to be not as good either and he is also not as good at finishing plays on balls he is close to as the other two are (despite their notable foibles from time to time).
Some times I wonder how much of the apparent support for Heisey is really for him and how much of it is because he seems to be a passable overall alternative to Stubbs.
I agree, Heisey’s defense is what stood out to me. After his dive I was left thinking that Stubbs would be standing still before the ball got there – at best it looked like unnecessary showmanship. One of the homeruns to center was, in my opinion, catchable. I didn’t see the ball Heisey apparently misjudged. Heisey hits better than Stubbs but I don’t think he out-hits the hits and runs that he costs the pitchers.
The Reds win with pitching, speed, and defense and can’t afford to charge the pitchers with any extra runs.
I think most support for Heisey just comes from people comparing his batting average to Stubbs’ and who assumes that everything else the two players offer is identical. People usually overlooked Adam Dunn’s defense in favor of his hitting, and refused to consider his walks and OBP while focusing on his strikeouts and batting average. Different players are treated different ways, and I think many fans want Heisey to succeed and Stubbs to fail.
That was a great play by Rolen.
@TC: The thing that impressed me the most about the Rolen barehanded pick and throw was that he did not seem to adjust his grip at all as he brought the ball up to throwing positon. As you said just bang/ bang
The Reds have only scored 70 runs this month, this offense has got to pick it up.
@TC: Both at bat and in the field, Heisey has games where he’s tuned in and games where he’s not quite there.
I’ve stayed away from Stubbs-Heisey debates, but I like Stubbs’ defense enough that I’m OK with him in the lineup, ideally batting 8th. He could be the Cesar Geronimo of this team.
@OhioJim: Is it my imagination or is Rolen’s defense this season better than in previous seasons with the Reds ?
But he is NOT a cleanup hitter right now. The Reds are better off offensively when Frazer is in the lineup, and they need Ludwick back.
@pinson343: Lots of typos, let me try one of those sentences again: Ludwick was supposedly removed from a game as a precautionary measure due to stiffness in the groin, now it’s a week later and he’s not even close to coming back, according to what Speier told Fay today.
@OhioJim: I agree that was a big win for the Nats. In the 8th inning it looked like they were on the verge of blowing it.
Wow, never mind the criticisms of Heisey, have people seen Josh Hamilton’s defense in CF last nite ? Looks like his vision is still bothering him.
@OhioJim: The good news for the Brewers and Dodgers is that the Nats still have a magic number of 4 and so will play their regulars against the Cards in that upcoming series.
When is the last time consistently scoring a comfortable number of runs wasn’t a struggle? I don’t see that changing against any of the potential staffs they’ll see in the 1st round of the playoffs, and then I look at the occasional duds the Reds’ rotation is throwing out there like tonight, and I worry.
It’s probably been a while, the Reds tend to win in close games rather than by blowouts. The Reds haven’t been big on blowouts this season and I doubt that will change in the playoffs. It doesn’t concern me, I think they’ll get as far into the playoffs as the pitching and defense will carry them. I doubt the Reds, Nationals, Giants, or Braves are betting on any high scoring postseason games.
The main concerns right now is the Reds are getting no production from CF, LF and 3B. Obviously, Ludwick being out has a lot to do with the LF issue but the other 2 are a bigger concern.
Niether Rolen nor Frazier are at all and the drop-off in CF really bad. Stubbs couldn’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag and Heisey isn’t much better.
Phillips 0-5 with 2 Ks and his average has dropped to .283.
The main guys need to start picking it up or the post-season could be a short one.
I just wanted to add to your positives about Votto. His double off the wall last night showed he is getting that opposite field power back. The old Joey Votto is back. He’s back. Except for running the bases. That is a big positive having his swing back to near 100%. That back leg is important to his swing.
@renbutler: It is, but the weekday attendence has been depressing, I understand April,May and September, but the summer month weekday attendence wasnt great. If the Reds have some sustained success the attendence will go up, just look at Philedelphia, Texas,and San Francisco, those team didnt have great attendence, but they started winning and they sell out most of the games. The Giants attendce surge also had to with getting out of Candlestick.
The Heisey play was a non-factor in the outcome. There’s one ball like this every 4 games maybe, and that’s reason enough to yank a better hitter out of the lineup? Not for me. I don’t wanna rehash the Stubbs/Heisey thing because they’re both 4th outfielders, but you need the better bat in the lineup unless it’s late and you’re protecting a lead.
I’m still a big buyer on Cozart. For a rookie playing a premium position, he’s had a great year. The only flaw in his game is the walk rate (31 in 537ABs), and if he can just bring that up to league average, he’d easily be 5th to 8th in the bigs at SS in OPS. Factor in the plus defense, and there you go.
Heisey’s mediocre defense contributed to putting the game out of reach. Heisey has a .321 OBP and I think it needs to be much better than that before the Reds should consider sacrificing defense to get him in the lineup. Josh Hamilton and his .359 OBP and 43 homeruns getting time in CF, that’s another story.
You say they need Heisey in the lineup if they want to get a lead, I say Heisey is an insignificant improvement at 1 of 9 spots in the starting lineup who hurts the pitchers defensively more than he helps them offensively. If your priority is winning with pitching and defense you need the better defensive player.
I’m a big fan of Cozart because he is great defensively, and that’s what matters to this team. On the other hand he’s just as bad at reaching base as Drew Stubbs. I’m not sure why you like one and not the other.
@Larry1980: All three of those markets you mentioned dwarf Cincinnati. But I agree that putting a winning product on the field regularly is the best way to improve attendance.