There were a few changes in Rosterland over the weekend. Rather than go over it all for you again, I'll just link you to a bunch of stuff from Marc.
This post brought to you by the letter "R" for "rain delay." Now that my sister is officially married, she no longer owns my soul and I can return to blogging action. The rain delay in Chicago is at least convenient for catching up on the long weekend. I hope y'all didn't melt while I was away.
The series with the Diamondbacks was very similar to the last series. Two pretty frustrating losses followed by what I'm sure was an exhilarating win. Cincy lost 3-0 on Friday and 7-0 Saturday, and then won 5-4 on Sunday.
Eric Milton had a great game on Friday, giving up 3 hits and one run while striking out 9 over 8 innings. Unfortunately, the offense gave him 0 runs to back it up. Todd C0ffey allowed 2 runs in the 9th, bringing his ERA all the way up to 1.26. The infuriating Brandon Webb held the Reds to just 7 hits over the entire game. I don't remember if I had a Least Favorite Diamondback before this weekend. If I did, it should have been Webb, because he irritated me last time, too. If not, it's Webb now.
It looks like Saturday was just an ugly day. The Reds added two more errors (one for Dunn and one for LaRue) to their already sky-high total. The Snakes scored 4 runs on Aaron Harang, only 2 of which were earned, and 3 on Kent Mercker, all of which were earned. Matt Belisle allowed no hits and no runs in his 1 inning. Once again the offense failed to produce, getting just 5 hits.
Sunday was much better. Javier Valentin saved the day with a walk-off home run after the Reds had been down 4-3. Bronson Arroyo started for Cincinnati, the win went to David Weathers, and Chris Hammond pitched in between. All 4 of Arizona's runs were credited to Arroyo. Ryan Freel, Scott Hatteberg and Valentin all had home runs. Yay for a win!
Monday the Reds went to Chicago, where they were slapped around a bit in a 7-3 loss to the Cubs. I'm blaming it mostly on Mercker, but I'm not sure it's entirely his fault. After all, Elizardo Ramirez and Rick White gave up runs, too. It's just that the tiny bit of the game I managed to catch involved Mercker giving up a 2-run homer. Dunn hit his 17th home run of the season, which I heard was also his 17th career home run at Wrigley. I don't want to take the effort to verify that, though, so I'm just going to assume whoever told me that knew what they were talking about. Alas, the home run was not enough, as the Cubs took out their We Suck Frustration on the Reds.
Now the two teams are in the midst of rain delay during game 2 of the series. The Reds are up 1-0 in the middle of the 4th after Edwin Encarnacion singled in Dunn. Brandon Claussen is going against Greg Maddux. Maybe the game will resume here in a bit, but the storm's a big'un according to the Color Weather Radar channel.
In a strange turn of events, the Brewers beat the Reds 6-2 last night while Adam Dunn and Felipe Lopez warmed the bench (on Felipe Lopez Bobblehead Night, no less). Also strange, Prince Fielder, Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks took little to no part in the beating. Much of the loss can probably be attributed to Brandon Claussen's infamous troubles with Milwaukee, but all the same, one would hope the Reds could have put up more than 2 runs.
With Lopez having the night off, even though the next day was an off day anyway, and Ryan Freel out of the lineup, Brandon Phillips led off. Though he seems to hit well against the Brewers in general, he was just 1 for 3 last night. The Reds 2 runs were from Griffey's RBI grounder in the 3rd and Austin Kearns solo homer in the 6th. Austin was also charged with a throwing error, though I'm still not convinced it shouldn't have been Jason LaRue. Lopez did come in for the last 2 innings, but it was hardly noticed.
Claussen went 6 innings, walked 2 and gave up 5 earned runs on 7 hits. Matt Belisle was charged with the other run. Brian Shackelford, Rick White and David Weathers combined for 2 2/3 innings of 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 run baseball.
Tomorrow the Diamondbacks are in town, assuming these storms leave a town for them to visit. Eric Milton will go against Brandon Webb. Hopefully Milton doesn't look so rusty this time.
Oh! Also, the Mets now have Williams and the Dragons get some guy named Robert Manuel. I guess I'm glad Williams didn't have to hang out there in limbo all that long. Also, the Cubs got T-Wo. HA!
And while we're throwing links around, check this out. Buy a car! For me! Bronson wants you to.
The Brewers took a beating from the Reds again yesterday. Though they were behind 3-1 in the 5th, the Reds (Ken Griffey Jr. in particular) fought back and won. All 3 of the Brewers' runs were scored on Prince Fielder's bases-loaded double in the 3rd. For once the defense didn't rack up error after error behind Elizardo Ramirez and he got the win. Chris Hammond pitched 2 innings, giving up 2 hits and no runs. Todd Coffey also pitched 2 innings, giving up 1 hit and no runs. It's nice to see a 4 run lead last.
The Reds got on the board in the 1st again, when Griffey came home on Rich Aurilia's single. The Princes put up their 3 runs in the 3rd. Irritated by being behind the Princes, Griffey hit another 3-run homer in the 5th, after which the rest of the team decided to play, too. The remaining 3 runs were scored on a series of sacrifice flies from Griffey, Aurilia and Jason LaRue. Felipe Lopez, Brandon Phillips, and Austin Kearns scored the runs. Tada! Reds win 7-3.
The Reds have secured a series win at last. The final game's tonight. Brandon Claussen pitching. It seems like he just started three days ago.
You all will be happy to know that Tiny Casey has at last been saved by one DevilsAdvocate. So congrats on collecting your fantastic prize and thanks for rescuing my man! For those who are interested, Blade "Boys Don't Play With Dolls" Stevens kidnapped him. Reading a book my arse. That book hasn't even been released yet.
Welcome home Tiny Casey!
According to the Reds pregame show, Adam Dunn walked on a 3-2 count during the first last night. There was no 4th ball. I'm not going to complain, because I like having 15 runs and it's not like having that one run back would have done the Brewers any good, but how does one let that happen?
15 to 5 was the final score in Cincinnati last night. The Reds seemed to be quite happy to be home again. Bronson Arroyo started, going 7 innings and giving up all of 6 hits and 1 earned run, while the offense backed him up with 15 runs of their own. I was apparently exhausted yesterday evening, as I passed out almost as soon as I turned on the TV. The cheering for Ken Griffey Jr.'s 3-run homer in the 1st woke me up. That was quickly followed by Austin Kearns's 2-run homer. 5 runs before a single out was recorded.
The Reds struck again in the 3rd. Dave Ross doubled with the bases loaded to bring in 2 more runs. Due to the Brewers run in the 2nd, the score was 7-1.
The 6th brought 6 more runs for the good guys. Arroyo scored on a Brandon Phillips single, Adam Dunn followed shortly thereafter with a 3-run homer, and another 2 RBI double from Ross brought the score to 13-1.
Quinton McCracken singled in Felipe Lopez for the 14th run and Phillips scored the 15th on Scott Hatteberg's sac fly. And thus the Reds went into the 8th with a 14-run lead. Sounds like a good time to get our not-so-frequently used bullpen some playtime. As usual, this produced some runs for the bad guys, but a 14-run lead is hard to screw up. Mike Burns, who was not long for the big club, gave up 3 earned runs in the 8th and Brian Shackelford gave up another 1 earned run in the 9th, creating the final score, 15-5.
Tonight Elizardo Ramirez will go against Dana Eveland.
I don't follow the Tigers enough to know if everyone calls them the Bengals all the time, but I'm going to assume that it was just FSN trying to be funny, and quite frankly, it irritates the crap out of me. The Bengals play football. They are not from Detroit.
Anyway, the game on Friday was muchos fun to watch. The Reds won 9 to 4. En route to the victory Brandon Phillips smacked a ball to the back wall for what would officially be scored as 3 RBI and an error, but I'm calling it an inside-the-park grand slam because that's more fun. Brandon Claussen was pitching. I'm sure the vast dimensions of the park probably helped him a little, but it was a good day for him, too.
Saturday could have been fun to watch, too, but I was living it up at Dave and Buster's for my sister's bachelorette party in Columbus. If you take "living it up" to mean drinking virgin strawberry daiquiris, kicking everyone's ass at basketball and asking strangers to do weird things on the bachelorette scavenger hunt card. Milton got off to a less than uplifting start, but he's been out for a bit. Griffey made it all better with a real grand slam later, which put Cincinnati up by one. Then we come to yet another blown save. Thanks again, Weathers! The Reds lost 7-6.
At least Friday's game meant we couldn't be swept, because Sunday was another one of those games where it would have been nice to have some offense. Granted, there were hits, there were people on base, there just weren't people making it home. The same can be said for Detroit. Their only run (the only run of the game) came as a result of a throwing error on Aaron Harang. Reds lose again, 1-0.
Luckily the Brewers would come to town on Monday.
Also, Tiny Casey still needs saving, folks. Come on! There's free stuff involved! How can you not want free stuff?! 
Lots of people coming back from the DL means lots of people being moved elsewhere. I guess "lots" is really "two." Ray Olmedo was sent back down to Louisville upon Aurilia's return from the DL on Friday. Also, Dave Williams was DFA'd when Milton was activated on Saturday. A little shocking, it seems. Most people expected Ramirez to be sent down (including me), but Lizard Man has been doing well. I'm glad he gets to stay. Things about unused options could be said here, but as I have a very minimal understanding of exactly what that means, I'll just leave it at that.
The Reds also picked up Joe Mays after he was released from the Royals. I know three things about him: he's a pitcher, he and Krivsky were in Minnesota together and the Royals don't want him anymore. He was signed to a minor league contract, so I guess we'll see what happens.
I don't remember specifically what show I was watching, but one of the baseball shows on ESPN last night said people in Detroit are looking forward to this weekend's series as a World Series preview. I don't know that I'd be bold enough to say that, but wow. At least Detroit thinks we're for real.
It's our last chance to save Tiny Casey!
THis is tHe last letter I sHall be sending to yoU. If yoU can’t find Tiny Casey after tHis, yoU will never see Him again. As yoU can see from tHis latest pHoto, yoUr friend is in qUite tHe precarioUs sitUation. Better HUrry.It's difficUlt to tell, bUt tHat is water below
Him.
So, in case you missed anything, other information is here, here and here. Red Hot Mama, JD, Blade, Shawn and Scott all deny any involvement. Someone's a liar. Help save Tiny Casey! Get a handsome reward!
It wasn't pretty, but they did it. After these last couple of weeks no one would have believed the Reds could come back from a 1st inning 6-run deficit, but they did. By the 7th inning they were tied at 7. By the end, they were ahead 9-8. And so, the losing streak ends, and it looks like the offensive slump might be coming to an end, too. Now, I say that after only one finally decent game from the offense, so don't put too much stock in it. The bats were finally there to bail them out, though. The pitching, however, was the reason they needed bailing out.
The teams went through a combined 11 pitchers during the game. Dave Williams only made it through 3 innings. To be fair, he was doing marginally better in the 2nd and 3rd. He only walked one and allowed no runs, but he also struck out zero batters. Obviously not riding the high of his season-best last outing, Williams gave up 6 earned runs in the 1st inning. 4 were thanks to a Jason Bay grand slam (which, combined with the fact that I think of Overbay every time I hear his name, has helped Mr. Bay usurp Chris Duffy's place as my Least Favorite Pirate, though I was about to bestow the honor on the whole team), while the other two were the result of an error by Jason LaRue and a single from Jose Castillo. Elizardo Ramirez pitched in place of Williams in the 4th and allowed 1 hit, which happened to be a solo homer off Jeromy Burnitz. Belisle came in for the 5th and 6th, allowed 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, and struck out 0. That's a lot of zeros, but they're mostly of the good variety. Weathers got 2 innings of work as well. He, however, allowed 2 hits and 1 run. Todd Coffey closed the game without shenanigans, and that should total 8 runs for the Pirates and 1 save for Coffey.
The Reds offense finally looks to be waking up. All of the starters, save Williams, had at least one hit. Ryan Freel went 3 for 5 and LaRue went 4 for 5. Lopez, Griffey, Kearns, Encarnacion, LaRue and Freel all contributed RBI. Half of them had 2 each. LaRue and Kearns each had a home run (though Marty had me fooled into thinking Kearns had two). They still left a lot of runners on base (12), but they got more than 2 or 3 home this time, too, so I'll take it. Final score was 9-8.
Hopefully this was a harbinger of a return to good ball playing. It will be very useful against the Tigers this weekend. Brandon Claussen pitches in Detroit tomorrow. Rumor has it that Rich Aurilia could be reactivated tomorrow and Eric Milton is supposed to start Saturday. Go Reds!!
I miss being able to count on our offense to do something. I'm sure one of these days we'll get back to that. I really hope "one of these days" translates to "tomorrow." I'm not throwing this season away. It's still much too early for that. But I am getting more and more concerned. You can only say "They can't slump like this forever" so many times before you begin to wonder if they actually can. Losing 5 in a row, and two of those to the Pirates, is no fun. I think I might seriously have forgotten what last season felt like.
On the bright side, According to one of the guys on FSN Ohio, Cincinnati's record (23-17) is still better than it was at this point in their last two winning seasons. And it's still above .500. They also pointed out yesterday that the Reds play much better when the temperature is above 70. I'm going to take that to mean that this summer will be awesome. We just have to get through this fake October first.
Yesterday, instead of using their fury over having been swept by the Phillies over the weekend, our guys seemed to have continued their offensive naptime. I'm hoping that offensive juice and cookies time is about here, which ought to lead into offensive play time, where the Reds kick everyone's boo-tays and we all celebrate again.
Anyway, Harang had a pretty subpar outing. Among other things, he walked 3 in a row. But, at the same time, he struck out 8, which is good. But then the walks are bad. His 7 runs weren't very good either. Sure, only 3 of them were earned, but the other 4 were a result of his own error, so they might as well all have gone on as earned runs. I'm going to assume the not-so-great showing was a result of role reversal, in that the bottom of the rotation had such a great weekend that the top had to compensate. Arroyo did a good job of reinforcing that theory tonight. Matt Belisle and recently recalled (and slightly less recently sent down) Mike Burns allowed no runs on a few hits. Brian Shackelford gave the Pirates their final 2 runs, bringing the total to 9. The Reds put up a grand total of 3 runs, thanks to pinch hitting Dave Ross's two-run homer and Felipe Lopez's solo shot. Loss number 4.
Tonight was really much of the same. Arroyo, furthering my role reversal theory, made it through just 6 innings (9 hits and 4 runs). Not exactly terrible, but not up to his usual standards. He had a brain meltdown in the 2nd and completely missed the damn pitcher stealing 2nd. I don't know if he forgot he was there or what. I wouldn't have been surprised to see Ross slap him in the face when he went out to talk to him, though. His control wasn't all that great, either. Todd Coffey came in for the 7th, gave up 1 hit, walked one and struck out 3. Rick White managed to screw things up again, effectively putting the game out of reach in the 8th by giving up 3 more runs.
The Pirates only managed 7 runs on this occasion. Always accomodating, the Reds knocked some off the top of their previous day's total as well and only scored 2 runs. Kearns sacrificed in Freel in the 1st. Later, in the 5th, Griffey singled, which brought in (surprise!) Freel.
I don't really have much to say about that. The Reds have lost 5 in a row. It's gotta stop. Williams is pitching tomorrow. I don't know if I should be hopeful or terrified. It's all so confusing!
There was no letter today. Just a picture. It speaks for itself. A turtle beating Casey with his very own bat. Alas! He must be saved soon! JD says he cannot have kidnapped Tiny Casey because he was watching the Sopranos that night. Red Hot Mama has offered a handsome reward for the safe return of my little man. The others have yet to respond. How sinister. No one's off the hook yet, though. Not until Casey is returned and the kidnapper is identified.
Previous clues here and here.
It's a little late, but here's some fun from Saturday's game with the Phillies. You can't hold the lateness against me. I can't operate well with Tiny Casey being MIA (and don't miss the clues here if you haven't seen them already). Anyway, onward. It rained pretty much all day up until the time the game started. That was quite lucky, as we were pretty sure that once we got there we'd be turning right around and going home.
There were stacks of Adam Dunn figurines right inside the gates. 40,000 Tiny Dunns is quite a sight to behold. I hear that Griffey said they were an excellent likeness to Austin Kearns. Apparently
some people didn't care much for their Tiny Dunns, as there were headless and armless Adams everywhere. Poor Tiny Dunns.
The game began with not one, but three ceremonial first pitches. One by a guy that survived a stroke (I have a feeling I was supposed to know who he was, but I didn't recognize his name), another by a racecar driver I'd never heard of, and I can't remember who threw the third, but whoever it was threw it far above Mr. Red's reach.
The only thing I can really say about the actual game is that it was over way too fast. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it was getting colder very fast by the end. However, innings three through seven are pretty much a blur of various outs. By the sixth or seventh inning we decided one solitary hit would be just as good as a win. Quinton McCracken had a pretty bad time of it after dropping what should have been an easy flyball out. The worst part of it was that he had it. It was in his glove, and then it was on the ground. Yes, he should have caught it, but the booing during his next at-bat was just awful. It's a pretty common thing in Cincinnati, but I really hate it. I think Christina and I were the only ones not booing.
Anyway, after that debacle, Ryan Howard (Least Favorite Philly) was on second instead of out and the inning continued instead of ended. David Bell doubled shortly thereafter and put the Phillies up 1-0. Now, if that were the end score, people could blame McCracken all they wanted, but it wasn't. The Phillies scored again, and the Reds lost by 2, so, all said, McCracken's error doesn't really matter. Unless you want to say that the run pushed all the momentum to the Philly side, which I won't deny.
Dunn, on Tiny Dunn day, with Tiny Dunns being waved at him from every direction, had an opportunity to end the game in the same dramatic fashion Griffey had employed earlier in the week. Instead of a two-out three-run walk-off homer (or even a base hit for that matter), Dunn struck out, and thus ended the game. The Phillies won 2-0. Then, without fanfare, we left Cincinnati, had waffles at Waffle House, and went home. Very surprisingly, there were no drunk kids in the Waffle House. There was no one at all. Just another strange event in the week of weirdness.
I got another letter from the kidnapper today.
HI There,I also got another photo. He's going to be fried! I was going to throw in some joke about Kentucky Fried Casey, but the situation is just too dire for lame jokes.
Have you fIgured ouT whaT I've done wiTh TIny Casey yeT? ObvIously you haven'T, so here's some more InformaTIon. You wIll fInd The lITTle guy aT www.-------.com/casey. To fIll In The blanks, keep lookIng for The clues.
It is a sad, dark day here at We Heart the Reds. I returned home from my parents' house yesterday to discover that Tiny Casey was missing. In his place I found this letter:
We HeaRt the Reds types,
I have kidnapped Tiny Casey. To pRove you aRe woRthy of him, look foR the clues in this and lateR letteRs. They will diRect you to the secRet site wheRe I have concealed youR fRiend. If you fail to discoveR this location, ceRtain peRil awaits the miniatuRe man.
Regards,
Casey's KidnappeR
I know the kidnapper has to be either Red Hot Mama, Shawn, Blade, Scott or JD. They've all been very jealous of my relationship with Tiny Casey. I never thought it would come to this, though. There's a reward for the first person to find Tiny Casey and correctly identify his kidnapper.
Please help me find him. I cannot imagine life without my tiny pal. Tinier Dunn is hanging around to keep me company and take care of Rex, but it's just not the same.
According to my family, my being at the game on Saturday is the sole reason the Reds were swept this weekend, so I apologize. I tried to explain to them that Saturday was the first time they lost a game I had attended. Granted, they lost the first game of the double-header last summer, but since they won the next one (the one we paid for), I've decided it doesn't count.
All three games featured surprisingly decent pitching from three men in whom I have little to no confidence. The Lizard King pitched 6 innings with 7 hits and 3 runs, only two of which were earned. Williams had his best outing by far, going 8 and a third with just 5 hits and 2 runs, only one of which was earned. Claussen also looked much better than his last game. 8 innings, 4 hits and 1 run. His run was entirely earned. The bullpen blew it over and over again. Pretty soon it's going to get to the point that I can't hear Weathers' name without assuming the game is lost. I'm also about done with Rick White. But, the starters looked pretty darn good.
Unfortunately, so did the Phillies' starters. And their bullpen didn't blow it. Their pitching staff held the Reds to 5 runs on 16 hits over the three games. Cole Hamels looked especially good, giving up 1 hit over 5 innings in his major league debut. He was kind enough to walk 5 in the process, though.
Friday was a pretty close game until the 9th when Shackleford gave up four earned runs to put the Phillies up 8 to 2. A minor rally in the bottom of the inning got the Reds up to 4, but they were stopped short and lost 8 to 4.
Saturday wasn't actually all that horrendous. Williams' pitching vastly exceeded my expectations, and he even made it into the 9th. The game lasted all of 2 hours and about 15 minutes and ended with the Phillies ahead again, this time 2 to 0. More on that game to come when I get it all sorted out in my head. It wasn't as cold as last time, though that might just be because I was better prepared.
Sunday brought the Reds' last hope for a win against the Phillies. The game started out about as actionless as the previous day. Actionless, that is, until LaRue swung his bat in all its pink glory to smack the ball out of the park and put the Reds on the board first. The Phillies tied it up in the 8th with a home run from Ryan Howard (who later earned the distinction of becoming my Least Favorite Philly). For the second time this week and this season, the Reds got to see some extra innings, only this time Fate did not smile upon Griffey. Instead it was Ryan Howard's turn, who hit his second homer of the game, and took up his position on my Least Favorites list. Final score: 2-1.
The Reds were swept and it's kind of sad. But, the Phillies are on a mega hot streak and the Reds' offense has been a little chilly of late. Later on, we'll get 'em.
Up next, a nice little pick-me-up with the Pirates. First in Cooperstown on Monday for the Hall of Fame exhibition game, and then in Pittsburgh on Tuesday for a three-game series that goes on the record. Harang's pitching on Tuesday. Monday just might feature someone I've never heard of, but it appears we'll have to wait a bit to find out.
Precognitive credit for Griffey's walk-off homer goes to me and friend Jon. Jon called it right on the nose. I said it was gonna be in the 9th, but since the game didn't end there I'm taking credit for it anyway. I enjoy his "I'm too freaking awesome for you" post-home run strut. Walk-off three-run home run in the 11th. That's fantastic. I don't care who hits it. It was rather appropriate that it was Griffey, though.
Encarnacion singled in Lopez in the 5th and by the 9th I thought the Reds were going to have another 1-0 win until Weathers had to go and blow it again and the Nationals tied it up at 1's. Before that, however, Phillips made another spectacular defensive play, pretty much throwing Zimmerman out at first while lying on his back in the outfield. I called for a walk-off homer from Griffey in the bottom of the 9th, but he wasn't even up to bat. Not much action in the 10th. I had all but given up hope by the middle of the 11th after Washington put up 3 runs, but that was not to be the end. Olmedo singled and moved to third on Freel's single. Freel was thrown out trying to stretch that single into a double. Lopez singled to score Olmedo. Then, for reasons unknown to me, they walked Encarnacion (intentionally I believe) to bring up Griffey, who saved the day with the three-run homer. I fully anticipate seeing it on ESPN many times. Reds win 5-4. Whoo!
The Reds host the Phillies this weekend. What a thoughtless name. At least the Reds had to think a bit farther past the name of their city.
Griffey's back? He's playing tonight, too. That's sooner than I thought it would happen, but no matter. Here's hoping his return spells doom for the Nats.
The Reds went through their entire line-up in the first inning against the Nationals yesterday. This I find incredibly amusing. After a few more trips to the plate for everybody the Reds came away with a nice little win. I can't say the pitching was all that great, but it sufficed. Harang left the game in the 7th with a one run lead. Unfortunately the bullpen stole his 6th win. The offense essentially gave it to Weathers, who looked to be trying to exchange it for a loss, but the Nats would have none of that. Thanks mostly to offense, the final score was 9 to 6 for the Reds.
Dunn hit his 13th homerun of the season in the 1st. Kearnsy was fantastic, going 4 for 4. Lopez stole four bases. Freel broke his o-20 non-hitting streak and stole a base. Hatteberg was quite useful a couple of times (a few RBI and a great diving bunt catch to nearly rival LaRue's a little while back). Phillips also had a few good defensive plays, especially catching Jose Guillen's line drive to end the game and save Weathers' ass. I like Weathers. I just wish he wouldn't always make the last inning or two so scary. And while we're talking about him, Weathers had his first at bat since October of 2004. He did very little with it, but he was there.
Tonight, game 3. Arroyo vs. Creepy. 7:10 on FSN. Creepy is Zach Day, by the way.
Oooh I'm excited. Mr. Heart Attack himself, David Weathers coming in for Mercker who came in for Coffey when I'm quite convinced he shouldn't have. Not that I have much say in that nor does my understanding of the game rival Narron's in any way that would allow me to say my opinion is better, but still. I don't think Coffey would have allowed those two runs.
Kearnsy's working on saving the day, though.
The Reds' offense failed to show up on time for yet another series. They compiled a grand total of 3 hits and one run in the first game of the series with the Nationals. The Nats, on the other hand, took full advantage of Brandon Claussen's not-so-hot pitching (as well as some similar antics from the bullpen) to put up 7 runs. The Reds have had a lot of 7-1 games lately.
The three hits belonged to Felipe Lopez, Edwin Encarnacion, and Brandon Phillips. Lopez scored the only run on Scott Hatteberg's sac fly. Dunn drew a walk and Jason LaRue and Encarnacion were both hit by pitches, bringing the total number of Reds baserunners to 6, with 4 of them contained in the 7th.
To make up for Cincinnati's essentially absent offense, the Nationals played monster longball, with Alfonso Soriano smashing the 4th longest home run ever at Great American. His was the last of five on the evening. Four came off of Claussen and one off Shackleford.
All together, a pretty disappointing game, but we'll brush it off and pay them back tonight.
Checking out the world of Reds blogging:
Arizona has not been kind to the Reds. Currently, though, someone had the sense to go tell David Weathers to walk the potential homerun machine this time. Granted, that loads the bases with one out and I'm a little concerned about what's going to happen now. But what little I've seen of this game has been worlds better than the little I saw of the other two games in the series. I'm going to leave the commentary on this game for after it's over, though. It's getting scary.
Friday's game was over in the 2nd inning. The bottom of that inning was so abysmal that Gameday won't even load the info for it. I know that in that one inning there were two walks, a balk, three errors and 7 runs scored. I also know that 6 of those runs were unearned. Who did what (aside from the balk and walks), however, is lost in the vast sea of internets.
No it isn't! This story saved the day! Now that I linked the story it seems silly to go through what happened myself. Having not actually seen it, I'd just be recapping the recap. So, save me from committing the heinous crime of plagiary and just read that one. After the Reds put up one run in the 5th (Olmedo singled so Kearns could score), the game came to what I can only assume was a grinding halt and the score remained 7-1 for the rest of forever.
Saturday I figured before the game started that it wouldn't be a good day. My horse in the Kentucky Derby, that should have done well, finished 12th. And, since I like to equate everything, I decided that meant that the Reds, who should do well with Bronson Arroyo pitching, probably would not. I don't know if losing 3 to 1 is the equivalent of finishing 12th in the Kentucky Derby, but, for my sake, let's assume it is. The Reds were held to just 4 hits and 1 run to the Diamondbacks' 12 hits and 3 runs. Incidentally, both teams had the same ratio of runs per hit. I think that's pretty neat. Bronson got his first loss of the season, proving that he is, in fact, human. The only run of the game for Cincinnati was on Lopez's in-the-park home run. I really didn't think that could happen without errors, but apparently it can. 3-1 isn't really an embarrassing loss (unless you want to point out the the Reds aren't often held to just one run), so I'll just chalk that one up to requisite bad day.
And now we'll go back to today's game. For the second series in a row, the offense failed to show up on time, but at least they showed up. After the teams took two innings to warm up, the Reds put up four runs in the 3rd thanks to a Felipe Lopez RBI double, a home run from Dunn (with a runner on, I might add), and a solo homer from Hatteberg. The Diamondbacks were not pleased about this rediscovered offensive power from Cincinnati and quickly responded with 5 runs in their half and won the 3rd inning scoring fight.
Both teams took a break for the next two innings. In the 6th, the Reds offered another four run challenge to the Snakes in the form of a lead-off home run from Kearns and a Dunn double that plated three. Arizona was not able to recreate the response of the 3rd inning and only returned two runs. Cincinnati wins inning 6.
The teams again took a two inning break and returned to the battle in the 9th. Encarnacion's solo homer was the only run scored for the Reds. Luckily, the Diamondbacks also only managed one run, leaving the 9th inning battle a tie, but the war was won by Cincinnati with a final score of 9 to 8. Hooray for not getting swept!
The Reds take the day off tomorrow and start a three game series at home against the Nationals on Tuesday. The Phillies come to town on Friday for another three game series. Saturday is Tiny Adam Dunn Day. We'll be there to get one. You should go, too!
The Reds offense finally made it to Colorado last night. LaRue and Dunn both had home runs and there were lots of baserunners in the 8th. Cincinnati paid Colorado back big time for the shutout of the previous night, winning 7-1. Harang had yet another great game. He almost made it through another complete game, but was replaced by Rick White one out into the 9th. Harang had a career high 12 strike-outs last night. I wanted to relate that to baking pies, but I can't figure out how. Imagine that I did.
The Reds got on the board first in the 2nd inning when Encarnacion scored on a Kearns single. LaRue then homered with Hatteberg and Kearns on, putting the Reds up 4-0. The Rockies responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the 2nd, making it a 4-1 game. The Reds offense went 1-2-3 for the next three innings, and Colorado did much of the same (though they did throw in at least one hit). Dunn brought his home run total for the season to 11 in the 6th inning. The score is now 5-1. Hatteberg and Denorfia doubled and Kearns singled in the 8th, resulting in two more runs scored, the last of the game. The end result was a 7-1 win for the good guys.
In rather unfortunate news, Aurilia landed on the 15-day DL as a result of his strained groin from the other night. Ray Olmedo comes up in his place. Also of note, Cody Ross was put on the DL a little while ago with a bruised pinky finger. Denorfia was brought up to play with the big boys as a result. I love that man's socks. Continuing on the injury front, Griffey had an MRI to investigate exactly what is up with his knee. The only news reported on that is that his knee apparently isn't getting any worse or any better and that he won't be back with the team in Arizona. Surprise!
One of the features on tonight's Real Reds answered everyone's most burning question about the players: "Have you ever had a real job?" Some of the answers were actually kind of interesting. Weathers was, among many other things, a grave digger. Harang made deli trays and apple and pumpkin pies (I think I'd laugh if I saw that man baking pies). Griffey handed out beer tokens at a Speedway for a week before his mom made him quit, saying he needed to focus on baseball. He almost sounded upset about it, too. They didn't ask Dunn. For some reason I want to know if he had a job. I suppose I just assume that if he did he'd have some funny stories about it or it would be something really odd. Though I don't know how you can get more odd than grave digging.
Get your mouse clicking finger some excercise and vote for some All-Stars (preferably from the Reds)! Vote 25 times! It's easy! And while you're at it, support Daedalus' campaign! Write in Brandon Phillips for 2nd base! Write him in 25 times! It's only slightly more difficult than clicking the circles for everyone else! And it gives some of your other fingers a work out, too! You don't even have to write his name 25 times! The form is saved when you vote!
VOTE!! It's your civic duty!
Perhaps it is not wise to say the pitcher is a 12-year-old boy when it looks quite possible that he's going to put your team to shame. Losing to the Rockies isn't so bad. After all, they're in first place, too. However, not just losing to a 12-year-old, but being shut out by a 12-year-old? That's just plain sad. But I can't take it back now. It's there forever. Alas.
Brandon Claussen and Jeff Francis both looked ready to shut out their opposition last night until the 5th inning when Claussen decided he'd like to see some numbers on the board. Unfortunately, he gave the numbers to the wrong people. Choo Freeman (seriously? Choo?) stole second and moved to third when Rich Aurilia forgot where second base was. Danny Ardoin promptly singled him in. A bit later, with Francis and Jamey Carroll on 2nd and 3rd, Matt Holliday (Least Favorite Rocky) doubled to bring the Rockies up to 3 runs. The game then returned to the regularly scheduled Ground Out Gala. Ryan Freel had the only highlight reel worthy moment, running like a madman and making a spectacular diving/sliding flyball catch. Claussen had a pretty decent game. No home runs (I know, shocking). He still gets the loss, though. Matt Belisle and Chris Hammond combined for 1 1/3 innings of one hit, no run baseball. Sadly, Rich Aurilia left the game in the 6th after half limping to 1st with what was later determined to be a strained groin (ouch!). Last I heard he was listed as day-to-day. The game ended with the Rockies up by a score of 3-0.
Like last year, I'm blaming the surprisingly dull showing on the toll cross-country traveling must take on a person. Tonight, after having had a day to get reaquainted with the new time zone and the fresh but thin mountain air, the Reds shall PUMMEL the Rockies.
Matt Holliday has quickly earned himself the position as my Least Favorite Rocky. He narrowly beat out Dinger the Dastardly Dino or whatever he is. What the hell does a dinosaur have to do with the Rockies or baseball? About as much as the Gapper I guess.
Currently the score is 3-0 in favor of those stupid mountain dwellers and Jeff Francis is a 12-year-old boy.
Two first place battles in a row, two times the Reds come out on top. Take that ESPN-type media! Why were you so quick to pick up on the Bengals' success this past season but you still fail to recognize the Reds (I'd like to point out that I automatically started typing "suck" after "Bengals")? Interviewing the National League Player of the Week on one show does not count.
Anyway, the Reds have now put the Cardinals two games behind in second place, leaving them the sole possessors of first place (yay!) in all of baseball (yay!). Dave Williams had what I suppose one could call a good outing. His numbers weren't spectacular, but comparatively, it was great. Though, in the first inning it looked like it was going to be same old, same old. The Cardinals scored first on a series of three singles in the 1st. Oh, before I go into this it is important to note that the real Cardinals apparently didn't feel like playing yesterday. Pujols, Edmonds and Rolen were all absent from the line-up. Poor Baby Poo-Holes apparently had a sore back. Really not sure why Edmonds didn't play, and Rolen was never going to be a part of this series anyway. But all the same, apparently St. Louis thought we'd roll over for them or something.
Back to the game. Cardinals scored one in the 1st. Shortly thereafter (aka the 3rd inning) Juan Encarnacion (the Bad Encarnacion) smacked one out of the park to bring the score to 2-0 for the Cards. Then a fat lot of nothing happened until the 6th, when Adam Dunn and Edwin Encarnacion (the Good Encarnacion) hit back-to-back homers to tie the score at 2. This would be where the whole first time two guys named Encarnacion both batted clean-up and both hit home runs thing happened. St. Louis refused to do anything about that, and so, in the 9th, pinch-hitting Javier Valentin sent Kearnsy home with an RBI single, walk-off style, to win the game, prompting horrible puns about Valentin's day on the official site.
And so, with a decent hold on first place for the moment, the Reds head off to Colorado to get some fresh moutain air while they start another series with another first place team. Excitement abounds!
Marty says that today marks the first time in major league baseball that two guys named Encarnacion have each batted clean-up in the same game. It is also the first time that two guys named Encarnacion have each hit a home run in the same game. I just wanted to share that. I'm a giant dork for useless information.
Screw Run, it's Bron's house. Bronson Arroyo, that is. We got a great game from Bronson backed up by a great day from the offense. To everyone this weekend that told me the Reds wouldn't make it long in first place I say, SCREW YOU! I'm not going to get all high and mighty about this just yet. After all, we have to make it through David Williams's performance tomorrow, and frankly, the man makes me nervous every time he has a ball in hand. But all you naysayers beware.
My fear of Albert Poo-Holes was all for naught, as he was kept silent all day, going 0-3 with a meaningless walk. And, George's constant drooling over the man aside, he really didn't butt into my enjoyment of the game very much.
The Reds came out swinging today. Rich Aurilia put the Reds up 1 to 0 in the 1st with a solo home run. Juan Encarnacion answered with his own solo shot in the 2nd, which became the only run the stupid birds would put on the board. Three innings later the good guys struck again. Ryan Freel scored on Felipe Lopez's single, which made the score 2-1, Reds.
The sixth inning was pure magic. Arroyo gave up a single to John Rodriguez and walked Pujols (look! I used his real name!), but nothing came of it for the stupid birds. As for the Reds, Dunn doubled, Kearns then singled him in, Encarnacion added a single, as did Phillips (his brought Kearns home). All of this before a single out had been recorded. Stupid bird Mulder was replaced by stupid bird and former Red Josh Hancock. Hector Luna also came in to replace Scott Spiezio (who thinks his chin ornament gives him more team spirit or something). Hancock got a few of our guys out, but not without letting a few more on base, too. Felipe Lopez singled again to bring in two more runs. Rich Aurilia then grounded out to end the magic. The Reds are up 6 to 1, and that's how it stayed for the rest of the game.
Bronson Arroyo put up a fantastic complete game. I can't recall seeing a single complete game last season. We've already got two this season. In an interview after the game Arroyo said that tonight's game was the easiest he's had all year. Really like the hear that after a complete game. Though, if it were a tough game I guess you wouldn't expect to see a pitcher make it through the whole thing. Mr. Arroyo now sports a 5-0 record for the season.
Now, with much trepidation, we look forward to tomorrow's game that pits Dave Williams against the portly Sidney Ponson. Ponson pretty much owned Williams last time (though I'm not so sure it wasn't Williams owning himself that time), so here's hoping the win against the Nationals has instilled some confidence in our guy.
Time to give the Cardinals a good, solid kick to their hindquarters. I move that Arroyo hits Poo-Holes in the face and take him out of the game early. It's such a shame that guy plays for St. Louis.
Mr. Molina looks like he's getting pretty tired of chasing wild pitches.
GO REDS!!!
I don't really support hitting people in the face. I'm just scared of Albert.
I was in the land of dial-up for the weekend again, so here's the whole weekend at once again. The series started out great. Cincinnati stuck it to Roy "Kiss My Grits" Oswalt and handed him his first ever loss to the Reds in 19 career games. Gameday doesn't like the bottom of the 2nd, so I can't tell you how, but the Reds scored their first run during that time. Brandon Phillips scored the second run in the 4th after singling, stealing 2nd, moving to third on Jason LaRue's single, and scoring on Brandon Claussen's groundout. Austin Kearns sacrificed in Aurilia in the 5th. Adam Dunn and Aurilia came home on Phillips single in the 7th, which is where all the Reds scoring ended. Total = 5.
Brandon Claussen pitched 5 innings and then some with 6 hits, 2 runs, and 5 freaking walks. He gave up a run in the 4th on a Chris Burke single and then a home run to Preston Wilson in the 6th. Chris Burke then singled, Brandon Phillips failed to catch Rich Aurilia's throw from third as he took a personal moment at 2nd, and then Rick White replaced Claussen. White ended the inning without further ado. Coffey came in for the next two innings allowing just one hit and no runs. David Weathers tried his best to make it another non-decision for Oswalt in the 9th by giving up a 2-run homer to Lance Berkman to bring the Astros to within 1, but managed to quell the rally there (I forgot to mention that complaints about that home run can be directed to whichever FSN announcer it was that preceded Weathers's pitch with "He's probably thinking he can give up a home run right here and still have a 1 run lead"). Astros total = 4. Final score = Reds 5, Astros 4.
Saturday was another win for Harang and the Reds. This game and Sunday's game are going to have to be quick jobs because it turns out I'm about to be running late for class. Saturday's score was 6-3 in favor of the Reds. There were still no home runs for the good guys. Small ball gets the job done, though. LaRue's diving, bunt catching double-play was quite awesome. Hopefully that link will work for you. If not, there's a link to it under the headline here.
Sunday was an unfortunate loss. I didn't see one bit of it thanks to bridal showers and birthday parties. I hear the Lizard pitched well even though it was a loss. The only scoring done on Sunday was by the long ball. 2 home runs for the Astros and one for the Reds (from Dunn, who can hopefully get back to being a slugging machine now). The final score was 3 to 2 Astros. Still took the series with them, though. Pretty soon somebody's going to have to realize that the Reds are not playing like a basement team.
The Reds and the stupid birds are now tied for first in the NLC. Arroyo and stupid bird Mulder pitching tonight. Another fight for first place. GO REDS!
While you wait anxiously for the battle to begin, here's a fun little time waster for you. Let it be known that I cannot pitch. I can't even e-pitch. I e-hit a guy and then e-gave up a homerun. I don't think even e-Dan-O would have e-hired me.
