Boxscore

And by Cubs, I mean my son’s third-grade little league team.

There have been very few bright spots to the Reds season thus far. Today’s game didn’t provide any. Shoddy, unfocused play was the theme for the day. Starting pitcher Johnny Cueto assumed the third out of an inning and jogged into the tag when Drew Stubbs hustled down the line to beat the throw. And then 2 other times, the Reds’ last out of the inning was from a runner getting caught in a rundown. Not to mention the embarrassing scene when Stubbs caught a fly ball to center and threw it into the stands, thinking it was the third out. It was the second.

The Reds never scored, being shutout for the first time of the year. They managed only 4 hits off the San Diego Padres, but their lack of strike-zone judgment got them 7 strikeouts to just 2 walks. Dusty Baker has even called out the team for striking out too much, although his solution seems to be to swing more. “You have no chance if you don’t swing,” he said, upset by a called third strike on Chris Dickerson to end Friday’s game.

Baker’s teams always seem to have problems with strikeouts. I blame his “be aggressive” philosophy that Cubs fans grew to loathe. With the team’s dismal 7-11 start–and given the heroics required for that record, we could very easily be looking at a 4-14 or 2-16 start–broadcasters and reporters seem to be getting more critical of Baker and the team’s approach. We’ll see if that concern ever reaches those that matter and could greatly improve this team by firing Baker.

Until then, we’ll have to suffer through terrible line-ups, tons of strikeouts, and lots of losses. With it being so early, 2010 is starting to look like a very long year.

Here are a few short videos of Aroldis Chapman dominating the Indianapolis Indians despite his lack of experience on Thursday at Victory Field.

In the first inning, Chapman picked off a runner who’d strayed too far off first base.

Chapman pitched, too, with his fastball always in the upper 90s. His talent is raw, but very impressive.

And finally, what everyone is interested in seeing: Chapman batting. As in most things, he needs practice, but he did manage a hit in the game.

Boxscore

Aroldis Chapman and the Louisville Bats came to Indianapolis tonight to face the Indians. There were definitely more Cincinnati Reds fans in attendance than when I last visited on Monday.

Chapman was effectively wild. His raw talent was amazing, routinely hitting the high 90s on the scoreboard pitch speed. His change-up was in the low 80s. That’s a nice speed differential. However, he allowed 3 hits and walked 5 over 5 1/3 innings. That only amounted to 1 run, and the win, thanks to a strong Louisville Bats offense, but I hope he has the time to improve in the minors. I’d hate for him to be called up early and destroyed by the maelstrom that is the Reds.

Wilkin Castillo and Juan Francisco led the Bats offensive charge, both clubbing home runs and driving in 2. Thanks to the Bats’ bullpen, that lead held up, and Chapman received his first professional win.

Aroldis Chapman was the primary reason we made the trip. Below are a few pictures of him in action.