April 28, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 9:15 pm
Someone sent me a link last August to a site called LikeMe.net, who have recommendations on Cincinnati-area restaurants and attractions supposed to be personally recommended by Brandon Phillips.
You can check out his recommendations here:
http://www.likeme.net/users/BrandonPhillips/recommendations
No way for me to really tell whether these are Phillips’ actual haunts, other than to actually stake out the Super Bowl in Erlanger, KY, but I don’t have any reason *not* to believe it either. I mean, would you really be that surprised to find yourself sitting next to BP at the bar at BW3?
April 28, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 10:45 am
Last Game
Dusty Baker shocked everyone by changing up his lineup yesterday. The shortstop was moved to 6th, Brandon Phillips was moved to 2nd, and Scott Rolen was moved to the cleanup spot. And the universe did smile upon the better lineup, and the Reds did score 6 runs. Aaron Harang had his best start of the year, as well, pitching 6 innings of 2-run ball and getting the second win by a Reds starter this year. Sure, it was only the Houston Astros, who aren’t too far removed from a AAA team this year, but don’t forget that the Reds were swept by the Pirates already this year.
Next Game
The Reds attempt to continue their winning ways, and have their best starter to assist, when Mike Leake takes the mound at 8:05pm EDT versus Felipe Paulino.
Old Harang Back for One Night Engagement Only!
It felt like Aaron Harang was back to normal last night, like the ace he was for a couple years with the Reds. He was much more aggressive and got ahead of hitters with more regularity, which was something pitching coach Bryan Price encouraged him to do. Even Harang agreed about the change in his performance, “It kind of felt how it was a couple of years ago.”
For the Reds to even sniff a winning record, they need Harang to overcome his poor pitching from early this season. The big test will be his next start against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals lineup is far better than that of the Astros, but since he’ll be going up against Chris Carpenter again, it sure would be great to see another of their epic pitcher’s duels.
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Brandon Phillips is 4 home runs away from 100 for his career.
April 27, 2010
By
Zeldink
Posted at 2:46 pm
In the Tweet that shook the world, the Reds lineup for their opening game against the Astros was posted.
- Drew Stubbs 8
- Brandon Phillips 4
- Joey Votto 3
- Scott Rolen 5
- Jay Bruce 9
- Orlando Cabrera 6
- Jonny Gomes 7
- Ryan Hanigan 2
- Aaron Harang RHP
Your eyes do not deceive you. That is the second baseman batting second tonight. You can tell manager Dusty Baker is getting really desperate!
April 27, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 1:05 pm
Last Game
The Reds managed not to get swept by the Reds, although they continued to display poor fundamentals, ending innings early with poor running decisions twice. Manager Dusty Baker was OK with it, though, because they won 5-4.
Next Game
The Reds had an off day to prepare for the mighty Houston Astros. The Astros had a terrible start to the season, but have rebounded and are currently a half-game ahead of the Reds in the standings. Aaron Harang will try to reverse that against Bud Norris at 8:05pm EDT.
Reds Pitching, Like Fire, Bad
Entering the season, there was a lot of optimistic talk about the Reds and their pitching. The words “good” and “pitching” have not intersected much for the Reds since then.
Tom Groeschen of the Enquirer ran the numbers.
Cincinnati entered Monday’s off-day ranked 29th in the 30-team majors in earned run average (6.02) and starters’ earned run average (6.52). The Reds rank last in the majors in wins by starting pitchers, with one (by rookie Mike Leake).
The bullpen has been better, but not by much, ranking in at 24th in the majors. It’s a rather inauspicious beginning for new pitching coach Bryan Price. We’ll see if things improve against the Astros, a team not nearly as good as the Padres or Dodgers.
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds have now won 7 of their 8 games with runs they scored in their final at-bat.
April 25, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 10:02 pm
After the comedy of errors that the Reds subjected us to yesterday, Dusty Baker declined to talk to the media and instead held a closed-door meeting with the team. After said meeting, Brandon Phillips was heard to say, “we deserved what we got,” so we presume he gave them a piece of his mind. And possibly a piece of his toothpick if he wasn’t careful.
It’s traditional for organizations to respond to poor performance with a reprimand. On a second or third offense, someone may even lose their job. But these days smart companies know that what’s important is not making people pay for failing to meet expectations, but rather identifying the root cause of the problem and creating a plan to prevent it from happening again.
For example, calling the team into the board room so you can scream at them is the appropriate plan if the reason they’re sucking is because they’re going deaf and couldn’t hear your instructions before you raised your voice. Or, maybe if they are playing badly because they just didn’t understand how important it was to you that they do well.
But if the reason that the team can’t seem to remember how to run the bases is because they haven’t practiced running the bases for three weeks, maybe running a couple drills is in order. If the reason opposing pitchers last the whole game is because the team needs to appreciate patience, then maybe installing a zen garden is the way to go. If the reason the team is failing to perform to the level of their talent is lack of leadership, then ahem there probably isn’t much more you can do than blow your top and hope for the best.
