The Hardball Times is today celebrating the 10 year anniversary of one particular inning of infamy for Jason LaRue. This was before the days when “Jason LaRue” was synonymous with “career ended by Johnny Cueto’s boot to the head.” (Though, frankly, his career was already over, and I suspect all that hype was a machination of Tony LaRussa.)

But that’s neither here nor there. No, this post is about LaRussa committing the heinous act of three passed balls in a single inning when catching knuckleballer Jared Fernandez:

Two pitches after the walk, a knuckler got away from LaRue for a passed ball. Williams went to second. On the very next pitch, it happened again. Williams scooted to third and LaRue now had three passed balls on the day – and it was still just the first inning.

Two pitches later the ball made it to the backstop again, allowing Williams to score. At least this time it wasn’t a passed ball. This time it was a wild pitch, so LaRue was still at three passed balls on the inning. But in a single five-pitch plate appearance, three balls went to the backstop allowing a runner on first to score. Yeesh.

You’ll want to read the whole post on The Hardball Times. It’s a nice narrative. Plus it contains lots of other Reds-related anniversaries and day-versaries to satisfy your inner history geek.

Twitter trolls (I like to think of them as “twolls” for that Elmer Fudd ring) can be a serious annoyance. You’re going along, trying to contribute in a positive way to the Twitter-verse, and up pops some jackass who gets his jollies by poking you in the eye and seeing if you cry.

In light of recent events, the crack staff here at RHM thought it would be a good public service to offer some techniques for dealing with twolls.

For the sake of purely hypothetical argument, let’s say a twoll were to attack you with a tweet such as:

Now, you might reasonably want to beat the hell out of this guy, but telling him so just plays into the twoll’s desperate emotional need for validation. Ignoring the twoll is better, but it misses an opportunity to undercut the aggressiveness and establish yourself as dominant.

The best twitterers balance sarcasm (to show they have the wit to take you down) and self-deprecation (to show you’re not even important enough to use their wit on), but there are many techniques available. Here are a few for you to try:

The “I know you are, but what am I?” technique

The “it’s almost as bad as you said, but not quite” technique

The “yo’ mamma” technique

The “don’t talk to me about life” technique

The “redirection” technique

The “ironically focusing on the wrong clause” technique

OR

OR

The “misinterpreting a word” technique

The “damn straight” technique

Twolls are pathetic creatures, more worthy of pity than scorn. But just like grubs in your lawn or the Chicago Cubs, they still have to be dealt with. Go get ’em, tweeps!

The Reds just left for a roadtrip starting with tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, but there are a couple deals in place for when they get back.

Lower-Level Field Box Discount August 14-16


Reds.com says:

The Reds won five of seven games on the homestand vs. the Padres and Pirates and now you can save $20. That means Lower-Level Field Box tickets (regularly $34) for the upcoming Mets series (August 14-16) are just $14!

so I guess that means they took $4 off the price for each win? Seems like an unusual number, but maybe it was in honor of Brandon Phillips’ jersey number, since he’s featured prominently on the page where you buy the tickets. Whatever the reasoning, it’s a nice deal. Go here to buy tickets.

Jay Bruce Tweet-Up August 16
But the discounted tix aren’t your only option for August 16. That same night there will also be a “JAY BRUUUUUUUCE tweetup”

What makes it a “JAY BRUUUUUUUCE tweetup” as opposed to just a “REGUUUUUUULAR tweetup”, you ask? Why, Bruce’s Twitter handle is on shirt you get with your admissions, of course.

For only $25, the special #RedsTweetUp package includes:
* One Sun/Moon Deck ticket (reg $25)
* An exclusive, limited-edition Reds BRUUUUUUCE TweetUp t-shirt

Just make sure to keep an eyes on the field from time to time. It would be just too ironic for Bruce to hit a tweet-up attendee with a home run ball because they were too busy tweeting to see it coming. Go here to buy tickets.

As you no-doubt noticed from the ads that are in regular rotation here and at other baseball sites, State Farm is again offering an opportunity for you to win World Series tickets by playing the Go to Bat game.

The game itself is a home-run hitting contest. The higher your score, the better your chance to win the World Series tickets. You could dedicate your Angry Birds time to this game instead and add “chance to go to the big game” to the long list of benefits you already get from playing.

Here’s Ohio-native and Reds fan John Legend talking about this program. I’m not really sure how the list of presidents ties in to the rest of the stuff, but everyone likes to watch a video, right?

Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman’s hair is no more.

A few weeks ago, Brennaman and bench coach Chris Speier were talking about the Reds ability to win 10 in a row. Brennaman disagreed and off-handedly said he’d shave his head if the team did it. When the team accomplished that feat last week, Brennaman said he’d go through with it. After last night’s game, a barber shop chair was set up on home plate, and Marty’s own personal barber shaved off the poofy white locks.

More than $50,000 was raised for the Reds Community Fund as part of the event last night.

“I’m thrilled that they raised the kind of money they did in four days,” Brennaman said after his historic haircut. “I have no complaints. It’s going to be interesting now to see how quickly my hair grows back, but I’m not going to worry about it.”

Very few left the stadium to witness the haircut after the game. And I’m sure the players enjoyed it, as well. Bronson Arroyo certainly did.

“The guys were pumped because we knew he just said that off-handedly on the bus,” said Reds pitcher Arroyo. “It was kind of a joke at the time, and then it started to get a little more serious. You never get to achieve some of those goals when people throw out those outlandish things. This one’s coming true, so it’s cool.”

Brennaman apparently intends to have it grow back. What I wonder is if he’ll have it shaved the stubble down again should the Reds win 10 more.