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September 9, 2010

Reds 2, Rockies 9: Losing 4 in a Row

By
Zeldink
Posted at 6:56 am

Team123456789RHE
Reds (79-60)1000001002101
Rockies (75-64)02304000-9140
W: Cook (6-8) L: Arroyo (14-10)

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds lost their fourth game in a row last night, and their third straight to the Colorado Rockies. The good news is that the St. Louis Cardinals also lost, keeping the Reds 6-game lead intact, and moving their magic number down to 19, the lowest in the National League.

The primary reason for the loss was Bronson Arroyo. Yes, Bad-rroyo showed up last night, and he allowed 7 runs in 4 1/3 innings. He also allowed 3 home runs. The Reds pitching staff has had a very difficult time containing the Rockies offense. Of course, most teams have. Colorado has one of the best home records in all of baseball. They are a team made for their stadium, but away from it, they’re only 29-42.

Still, it would have been nice to at least tie the series. Now, the Reds will have to go for the not-swept today.

The Reds 2 runs came from an RBI off the bat of Joey Votto, who was 3-3 with a walk, and Paul Janish. The offense has been quiet in Colorado, probably due in no small part to the team having only 3 outfielders. These guys need a day off, and Walt Jocketty has failed to bring up someone to help cover Jay Bruce during his injury. It’s quite shameful.

The Reds have one more game in Colorado before heading home to begin a 7-game homestand against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona Diamondbacks. I have a feeling that will be the cure for all this losing.

Posted in Cincinnati Reds, Game Wrap, NL Central.
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September 8, 2010

The Return of George Grande

By
Zeldink
Posted at 3:39 pm

The affable, always cheery, “smilin’ side of the scoreboard” Cincinnati Reds broadcaster George Grande announced his retirement last year. And I’ve missed him a lot this year, particularly every game that Paul Keels has broadcast. The only way to make the loss bearable has been with the Georginator 6000 XL.

Good news everyone! Fox Sports Ohio just announced that Grande will be back starting this Saturday the 11th. The only sad thing is that he’ll miss getting to see Jim Edmonds play for the Reds.

CINCINNATI, OHIO – While the Cincinnati Reds recognize the 25th anniversary of Pete Rose’s 4,192nd career hit this weekend, FOX Sports Ohio will also celebrate this milestone. Following the Reds vs. Pirates game on Sunday, September 12, FOX Sports Ohio will air the September 11, 1985 game when Rose singled to left-center field off San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show at Riverfront Stadium to pass Hall-of-Famer Ty Cobb and become MLB’s all-time hits leader.

Beginning Saturday, September 11, George Grande will return to the FOX Sports Ohio Reds broadcast booth. Grande was the television play-by-play voice of the Cincinnati Reds for 17 years. He will call the Reds vs. Pirates game this Saturday as well as the following games this month:

  • Friday, September 17: Reds vs. Astros 8pm
  • Saturday, September 18: Reds vs. Astros 7pm
  • Sunday, September 19: Reds vs. Astros 2pm
  • Friday, September 24: Reds vs. Padres 10pm
  • Saturday, September 25: Reds vs. Padres 8:30pm
  • Sunday, September 26: Reds vs. Padres 4pm
Posted in Cincinnati Reds, NL Central, Random Ramblings.
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September 8, 2010

The Daily Brief: Struggling in Colorado

By
Amanda
Posted at 9:34 am

Last Game
The Reds lost the second game of the Colorado Rockies series, 4-3. Johnny Cueto started and was shaky early, allowing 3 runs in the 1st, which was almost all the Rockies needed. The loss is the third in a row for the Reds, but they maintained their 6 game lead over the Cardinals because the Cardinals lost, too.

Next Game
Bronson Arroyo will hope to stop the losing and give the Reds a chance to tie the 4-game series against Colorado when he takes to the mound today against Aaron Cook at 8:40pm EDT.

Volquez Back with the Team
Edinson Volquez has been called back up to the majors after working on some mechanical issues down in AA Dayton.

He last pitched on Monday, which means he’ll be ready to go again on Saturday, Aaron Harang’s next scheduled start. Harang’s last start was when he blew the 4-run lead against the Rockies and couldn’t get out of the 3rd. So will Volquez take Harang’s place in the rotation? John Fay asked Dusty Baker.

“He could, yeah,” Dusty Baker said.

That means something. Saturday is Aaron Harang’s next scheduled start.

Baker has various ways of answering hypothetical questions:

  • “We’ll see” is a favorite.
  • “We’re going to talk about it” is popular.

Saying Volquez could start is pretty close to put his name on the lineup card.

I can’t fault this decision. As much as I would like for Harang to return to his dominant form from a few years ago, if only for the remainder of the season, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. In Volquez’ last start, he feels confident he corrected his arm angle on his change-up. He pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 10 strikeouts. At this point, he seems the better bet at providing a quality start.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
On September 1, the Reds were in first place with a 7 game lead. In the 16 seasons since the leagues were divided into 3 divisions each, the team in first place on September 1 has won the division 13 times.

Posted in Cincinnati Reds, Daily Briefs, NL Central.
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September 4, 2010

Bats 16, Indians 6: Rooting the Bats to the Playoffs

By
Zeldink
Posted at 9:07 am

Team123456789RHE
Bats (78-62)60042030116180
Indians (69-72)3000030006120
W: Valiquette (2-1) L: Crotta (5-10)

Boxscore

The Louisville Bats, the AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, are still in the hunt for a playoff spot in the International League. Last night, we caught their game against the Indianapolis Indians, the AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, to see how they would fare now that the Reds have called up so many of their best players. The answer was: very well.

The offense charged out of the gate, scoring six times in the top of the first. But Bats starter Tom Cochran allowed the Indians to halve the lead in the bottom of the first. Cochran lasted just four innings, thanks to a pitch count of 95.

The bullpen wasn’t perfect, allowing 3 more runs, but the Bats were up to the task and scored 10 more runs over the rest of the game.

The Bats doing their pregame stretching
The Bats warming up before the game.

Cozart stretching before the game
Shortstop prospect Zach Cozart stretching during pregame.

Cochran in the windup
Tom Cochran pitching to the Indians. Despite the offensive outburst, he didn’t get the win. He was removed after 4 innings, having allowed 3 runs.

Frazier batting
Todd Frazier batting and on his way to a 3-hit, 4-RBI night.

The win puts the Bats 1/2 game out of first place and 1 game ahead in the wild card standings.

I was wearing my Joey Votto jersey at the game, and I saw not one, not two, but three (Ah! Ah! Ah) other Votto jerseys. He’d definitely getting some fans all the way in Indianapolis.

Posted in Cincinnati Reds, Game Wrap, Pittsburgh Pirates.
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September 3, 2010

The Daily Brief: Trying to Turn it to 11

By
Amanda
Posted at 7:30 am

Last Game
The Reds completed their sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers a couple days ago, thanks to some clutch hitting from Ryan Hanigan. It was a come-from-behind victory that gave Aroldis Chapman his first Major League win. And with the Cardinals losing earlier that same day, the win gave the Reds an 8-game lead.

Next Game
Looking to actually win a game for the first time in a week and to reduce that 8-game lead are the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds travel to St. Louis to start the final meeting of the two teams of the season. Everybody remembers the comments, the brawl, and the Cardinals series sweep that happened the last time these teams met. The Reds have gone 14-4 since then, while the Cardinals have fallen apart and played horrible baseball, going 5-13. Obviously, they’ll be hoping the Reds can provide some life-support to the season. The Reds will be hoping to sweep to take the lead all the way up to 11, which is one more than 10.

Bronson Arroyo will take on Jaime Garcia. The fireworks begin at 8:15pm EDT.

Expanded Roster Call-ups
For the first time I can really remember, the Reds haven’t skimped on calling up players when the rosters expanded. That could be because this is the first time the team hasn’t sucked ass since I’ve been following them, but it could also be because Bobo the Owner isn’t nearly as tight-fisted as Carl Lindner was.

Yonder Alonso, Carlos Fisher, and Corky Miller joined the Reds for the first game of September. Both Fisher and Miller had been with the team previously this year. Fisher had done well and should give manager Dusty Baker a pretty stocked bullpen. Miller was the catcher when both Hanigan and Hernandez were down earlier in the year. He had been moved off the 40-man roster, though, and Russ Springer was placed on the 60-day disabled list to get him back on it. Prized young prospect–and likely trade-bait since he plays Joey Votto’s position–Alonso made his Major League debut with a pinch-hit appearance against the Brewers.

More call-ups are expected today. With the expanded rosters, it will make it easy to re-activate Orlando Cabrera from the disabled list without having to send anyone down. Not to mention that I expect Edinson Volquez will be back up once he’s finished working on his mechanics in AA.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
With the Atlanta Braves losing yesterday, the Reds now have the best record in the National League at 78-55. This would give them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Posted in Cincinnati Reds, Daily Briefs, Game Wrap, NL Central, St. Louis Cardinals, Wheeling and Dealing.
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