To their credit, the Brewers are in first place in the NL Central. But their Achilles heel of starting pitching was on full, crippling display tonight. Junior Guerra, fronting a glitzy 3.11 ERA was also toting an ugly 6.04 FIP and 5.82 xFIP. We know which of those numbers to believe. The Reds hitters battered …
A two-part narrative is developing around the Reds bullpen. It’s a simple story with a scary ending. First part: The bullpen has been bad lately and getting worse. Second: That’s because the relievers are getting tired from being used too much. The villain in this story is a shady cabal known as the Starting Rotation. …
After Homer Bailey’s start on Saturday, Jim Day asked Bryan Price if Homer made it through the game healthy. It was asked in a positive, silver-lining sort of way. Seemed like a reasonable question/comment to me. Price blasted Day — Jim Day — for asking. Of course Homer was healthy! Don’t you know they don’t …
[This post was submitted by loyal Nation member Matt Habel. If you remember, Matt wrote that checked in on the bullpen revolution recently. Thanks, again Matt.] Close your eyes. Clear your head. Forget about the last two-plus weeks of baseball. Take a journey back to the days of a declining playoff team, clinging to the shell …
Initially, I’d planned to write an entire post being contrarian about the whole Free Lorenzen thing. The premise being that, successful or not, the Reds still have a ton of starting pitching prospects AND Lorenzen is already a good reliever AND we should assume the Reds know at least a few things we don’t AND …
Homer Bailey threw 31 pitches the 1st inning and 30 pitches in the 2nd inning before he was lifted. The 31-year-old Bailey pitched about the way you’d expect a guy coming off the DL and surgery, his first game of major league action against a group of guys playing in their 74th game of the …
Homer Bailey returns to the mound for the Reds today, making his first start since last August. Here’s a timeline for the right-handed Texan while with the Reds organization, including a few posts about him at Redleg Nation: 2004 (age 18): Drafted in Round 1, Overall 7 in the amateur draft out of LaGrange High …
Jason Linden joins me again for another scintillating episode of Redleg Nation Radio. We keep trying to be optimistic, but the Reds continue to beat us down. After losing 12 of 13, we talk about the dumpster fire that is the Reds starting rotation, and analyze whether there is any hope for a turnaround in …
The Luis Castillo Era started in an unexpected way, with the pitcher grounding out to the shortstop. Once on the mound, Luis Castillo struck out the first batter he faced, throwing fastballs of 98, 99 and 100 mph before using his slider to get a swinging strike. Cincinnati Reds 5 • Washington Nationals 6 || Box || PlayLog || Statcast Five innings, …
The radar guns banged 97. The Reds radar gun and the Dodgers radar gun, time and again. The minor league players who were spectators at this spring training game had gathered to watch the new guy, Luis Castillo. It didn’t take long for them to trade knowing grins and giggles. No walks, many strikeouts. Weak …
If you haven’t heard, the Reds are rebuilding and have acquired and drafted an impressive group of young, talented players. That’s important because teams that rebuild typically have insufficient talent throughout the system, which is why they were bad in the first place. The Reds mostly likely hit rock bottom in 2015 and have begun …
It’s a busy week for the Reds down on the farm. There are lots of player promotions to cover. Let’s start with the players recently promoted from the farm up to the Reds. OF Jesse Winker, .317/.399/.411/.810 at AAA, got the call up to the Reds to provide an extra bat for the bench and …
Before today’s game, the Reds will celebrate the unveiling of Pete Rose’s bronze statue at Crosley Terrace at Great American Ball Park. Even though Rose remains banned from MLB for betting on games, the league has given the Reds permission to recognize the on-field accomplishments of the Cincinnati native and star. Rose was inducted into …
I’ll begin with a confession: I probably watch fewer baseball games than anyone reading this. Don’t get me wrong – during my three decades of fandom, despite never living within four hours of Cincinnati, I’ve attended dozens of Reds games across five different states, plus the District of Columbia. In addition, I’ve visited spring training …
As I touched on a little this morning in my Three Up, Three Down column, the Reds are now solidly in last place in the NL Central. None of us would have been surprised about this fact entering the season. I’d be willing to bet a few of us would be surprised, however, if someone told … Continue reading
Like the entirety of the Reds 2017 season, this past week has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. We finally saw Homer Bailey pitch on a major league mound for the first time in what seems like forever – only to see him chased from the game in the second inning. We saw Brandon … Continue reading
The Cincinnati Reds (31-43) finish their seven game road trip with one game in St. Louis (34-40) as a make-up game from April 26th. The Reds were living high two weeks ago with a four game series sweep over the Redbirds, which put them within one game of the .500 mark. Unfortunately, the Reds have … Continue reading
It was such a normal summer day, one with sunshine and birds and baseball. There was no indication when we got up on the morning of Saturday, June 24, 2017, that we would go to bed that night a changed populace. Bad things should not happen at Ron’s Roost in Bridgetown: This is a land … Continue reading
If the Reds could win, like 6-4 today, it would be great. I don't need a blowout. Just a standard win. — Jason Linden (@JasonLinden) June 25, 2017 When you lose 13 of your last 14, expectations are low. When Michael Taylor, a toothpick of a centerfielder, takes you yard twice in an 18-3 blowout … Continue reading
Welcome to the midsummer 2017 edition of April and May 2016. You’ll remember that after the Reds started 2016 with a 5-1 record, they proceeded to lose 34 of the next 46 games. Since June 8, 2017, Cincinnati has lost 13 of 14, and the upcoming schedule is foreboding. The next 23 games are against … Continue reading
Welcome back, Homer! The would-be veteran “ace” of the Reds starting pitching corps makes his 2017 big league debut this afternoon in what Reds fans hope will be the start of Bailey successfully fulfilling his multi-year deal. Prior to the 2014 season, Bailey signed a six-year, $105-million contract. He was on his way to one … Continue reading
