April 11, 2011
Bird’s Eye View of Brandon Phillips
By
Amanda
Posted at 10:02 pm
This must be how god sees Brandon Phillips get tagged out at the plate.
Blog Archives
This must be how god sees Brandon Phillips get tagged out at the plate.
April 10, 2011
In Case You Missed the Cardinals’ Recent Meltdown
By
Zeldink
Posted at 3:32 pm
I was initially hesitant to link to this because I didn’t want to reward MLB’s draconian and asinine policies on sharing and embedding videos, but really, it’s worth it. I mean, my principles aren’t really worth not viewing this epic failure last night by the St. Louis Cardinals.
First, I’ll set the stage. The Cardinals’ offense continues to be non-existent, but it had scratched together a 1-run lead. Closer–and former Cincinnati Red–Ryan Franklin was on in the 9th. He’d managed two outs, but had also allowed two runners to get on.
That’s when former Houston Astro Miguel Tejada came to the plate and delivered this walk-off hit.
What I really love is that the loss was a team effort. It wasn’t just Franklin. Center fielder Colby Rasmus failed to catch the ball, and both Rasmus and left fielder John Jay failed to communicate.
I fully expect the Cardinals to rebound and become competitive this season. But that’s not going to take away any of my enjoyment from them starting off so horribly in 2011. They’re 2-6 and 4 games behind the first-place Reds.
April 9, 2011
Game 7: Reds 2, Diamondbacks 13
By
Zeldink
Posted at 8:23 am
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reds (5-2) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Diamondbacks (3-3) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | - | 13 | 13 | 0 |
W: Kennedy (1-0)
In case you missed it last night–it was a later game than usual–the Cincinnati Reds did not fare well in their return to Arizona. They were crushed by the Diamondbacks, losing 13-2.
Travis Wood started, and it was evident from the very beginning that he didn’t have his best stuff. He allowed 2 runs in the first and another in the second. He settled down for a bit, pitching scoreless 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings, but lost in the 6th. After 4 batters and some more runs, he was pulled. His final line was 5 innings, 6 runs–all earned, 4 strikeouts, and 2 walks.
The bullpen wasn’t able to stop the bleeding and give the offense hope of making up the deficit, either. Matt Maloney had a night he’ll want to forget as he allowed 7 runs in just 1 2/3.
As for the offense, they were quiet, contributing just two runs. Brandon Phillips had a sacrifice fly in the 3rd, and Joey Votto had a solo shot in the 9th. That was it. They didn’t even leave a bunch of guys on base this time, just 6.
So the Reds now have their first losing streak of the season at 2. Clearly, it’s time to panic. With just a half game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates, it’s clear this season is in serious jeopardy.
Unless they win again today when Bronson Arroyo starts against Daniel Hudson. First pitch is 8:10pm EDT.
April 7, 2011
The Daily Brief: Think Casey’s Jealous?
By
Amanda
Posted at 6:56 am
Last Game
Edinson Volquez started for the second time this season and was still not very good, allowing 4 runs over 5 innings. However, all those runs were in the first, and he settled down enough after that to get the win. That was thanks to the offense, which piled on run after run en route to a 12-4 victory.
It’s been interesting hearing Sean Casey broadcast the last couple games. I get the feeling that he might be a little envious. This Reds team is a far cry from the teams he played for.
Next Game
Sam LeCure makes his first start of the season tomorrow, going for the sweep of the Houston Astros. The Astros will counter with Brett Myers. It’s an afternoon game, but it is televised. The first pitch is scheduled for 12:35pm EDT.
Attendance Up, Despite Tuesday
On Tuesday, the Reds drew just 11,821 fans to the ball park. After a great opening weekend that drew more than 100,000, that seems really low.
“(Tuesday) night was all about the weather,” said Phil Castellini, the club’s chief operating officer. “We expect better. We throw a lot of extra events on Opening Night. That’s how we’ve been able to build that up. Fireworks, a band, giveaways and all that stuff.
“It’s hard to do that every game. At some point, we’re relying on weather, opponent, team play. Unfortunately after a huge weekend and team that’s playing very hot, it’s still a challenge of Tuesday night in April when it 40 degrees or whatever.”
Forty degrees is cold for a baseball game. Attendance was up yesterday, with 17,719 showing up to see the Reds’ rout. Season ticket sales are up, and the team is projecting 2.4 million–an increase of 300,000–people to attend games this year. They’re clearly going to need better weather and better opponents. I have a feeling they’re going to continue winning.
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds’ impressive start to the 2011 season is drawing comparisons to some historic previous years. The last time the team started 5-0 was in 1990 when they won their first 9. The 43 total runs they’ve scored in the first five games is also the second most they’ve ever scored, second to the 1976 team.
April 5, 2011
Reds Payroll Up a Spot
By
Zeldink
Posted at 5:39 pm
The USA Today released the opening day payrolls for all major league baseball clubs today. The Cincinnati Reds’ payroll of $75,947,134 sits comfortably at 19th (out of 32), one spot up from 20th last year.
As John Fay notes, the Reds have set a club record this year.
The Reds’ overall payroll is $75.9 million, the most in club history. The previous high was $74.1 million in 2008.
The Reds place in their own division is also in the bottom half at 4th. The Chicago Cubs are first with $125,047,329, while the Pittsburgh Pirates are last with $45,047,000.
The NL Central table is below.
| # | Team | Payroll | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Cubs | $125,047,329 | $5,001,893 |
| 2 | St. Louis Cardinals | $105,433,572 | $3,904,947 |
| 3 | Milwaukee Brewers | $85,497,333 | $2,849,911 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Reds | $75,947,134 | $2,531,571 |
| 5 | Houston Astros | $70,694,000 | $2,437,724 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Pirates | $45,047,000 | $1,553,344 |