CLOSER FRANCISCO CORDERO HAS REDS' FANS GRIPPING THEIR PILLOWS TIGHT
9.13.10 BY:MEH SLEEP WITH ONE EYE OPEN
CLOSER FRANCISCO CORDERO HAS REDS FANS GRIPPING THEIR PILLOWS TIGHT
Although the Cincinnati Reds
won two of three games against the Pittsburgh Pirates (48-94) this weekend,
there are many concerns surrounding the ball club pending their latest
series. Against the worst team in major league baseball, especially when on
the road (15-55), the Reds needed extra innings to defeat Pittsburgh during
the first two games and lost the third game after owning a lead up until the
ninth. The Reds currently have the National League's best offense (703R,
160HR, .272BA), but failed to execute against the Bucs all weekend.
Cincinnati's scored a total of only ten runs throughout the series and faced
three starting pitchers (Paul Maholm, Charlie Morton, and Brian Burres) who
have a combined record of 11-28. Pittsburgh on the other hand, the second
worst hitting team in the majors, matched the Reds' ten run total after
beating Cincinnati 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Perhaps the saddest tale of the Reds' three game series against the Pirates
was that of three young starting pitchers. Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez,
and Johnny Cueto each composed a stellar outing against the Pirates. Hurling
seven innings a piece, Bailey, Volquez, and Cueto combined for just one
earned run on nine hits while striking out 26 batters. Unfortunately, all
three starters received no-decisions despite their team leading the Pirates
at the time of their departure.
During the bullpen's nine innings of work over the weekend, nine earned runs
were allowed on thirteen hits as three saves were blown. Francisco Cordero
notched his
seventh and eighth blown save of the 2010 season on Friday and Sunday
while Aroldis Chapman received the first of his career on Saturday. The Reds
managed to comeback and defeat the Pirates on
Friday 4-3, and on
Saturday 5-4, but ran out of fuel on Sunday as they
lost 1-3.
"I know people are hollering for this person or that person … (Cordero's)
our closer,” Dusty Baker said. "I feel terrible for Coco because he’s
a great teammate and we need him."
As Reds fans have done all year long, it's time to put this series in the
past and prepare for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The weekend series against
the Pirates was not pretty, but the Reds walked away with another series
win. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Braves on Sunday, but lost their
first two attempts against Atlanta and remain six games behind the Reds in
the NL Central. The Reds magic number is currently fifteen with just
nineteen games left to play during the regular season.
The Reds will play four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks (57-86)
beginning Monday. The only time the two teams met this season (August 17-19
in Arizona), Cincinnati swept the Snakes as they moved three games ahead of
the Cardinals. Arizona owns last place in the NL West and has already been
eliminated from the post season.
MONDAY: Bronson Arroyo (14-10, 4.09) vs. Barry Enright (6-3, 2.95) at
7:10pm
Bronson Arroyo will be making his 30th start of the 2010 season while Barry
Enright will be making his 14th. In seven career starts against the Snakes
during his career, Arroyo is 2-3 with a 4.83 ERA. During Arroyo's last start
against the Diamondbacks on August 17, he went 7.1 innings and allowed two
runs on six hits while receiving the victory. Enright will be making his
first career start against the Reds. Aside from the rookie allowing six runs
against the Giants during his last start on September 7, Enright has not
allowed more than three runs in any of his past ten starts.
TUESDAY: Travis Wood (5-2, 3.33) vs. Daniel Hudson (6-2, 2.86) at
7:10pm
Travis Wood and Daniel Hudson will both be making their fourteenth start of
the 2010 season on Tuesday and both pitchers have faced their opponent only
once during their career. During Wood's only career start against the
Diamondbacks on August 19, the left-hander received the win as he hurled 6.1
innings of one-run four-hit baseball. On August 17, Daniel Hudson received
the loss against the Reds as he went seven innings and allowed three earned
runs on nine hits.
WEDNESDAY: Homer Bailey (3-3, 4.70) vs. Joe Saunders (8-15, 4.70) at
7:10pm
Homer Bailey has faced the Snakes just once during his career and has yet to
start against them this season. Joe Saunders has faced the Reds once during
his career and it occurred on August 19, 2010. As the Reds defeated the
Arizona 9-5, Saunders hurled six innings and allowed four earned runs on
eight hits while receiving the loss.
THURSDAY: Edinson Volquez (3-2, 5.14) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (5-14, 5.13)
at 12:35pm
Edinson Volquez has faced the Diamondbacks twice during his career (0-0,
5.91) and once this season. On August 18, Volquez allowed five earned runs
on six hits in just 4.2 innings pitched against Arizona, but walked away
with a win as the Reds won 11-7. Lopez received the loss during that game as
he allowed three earned runs on eight hits during his five innings of work.
During his career, Lopez has started against the Reds five times and is 1-0
with a 6.10 ERA. Lopez has gone 0-6 during his last ten starts and has not
won a game since July 8 against the Florida Marlins.
According to Ty Cobb’s baseball-reference.com page, he only had 4,189
hits. Evidently in 1910 Cobb was erroneously credited twice for a 2-for-4
performance. So, if we are to believebaseball-reference.com(which
I am inclined to do), Roseactuallypassed
Cobb’s total on September 8, 1985, in Chicago…not September 11, 1985, in
Cincinnati against the Padres.
The record was broken in the first inning when Rose hit a single, his
4,190th career hit, off Cubs pitcher Reggie Patterson. Hit #4,191
(originally believed to be the Ty-tying hit) came in the top of the 5th,
again a single off Reggie Patterson.
REDS LOOK TO IMPROVE THEIR 8-5 RECORD AGAINST THE PIRATES
9.10.10 BY:MEH SINK THE BUCS
REDS LOOK TO IMPROVE THEIR 8-5 RECORD AGAINST THE PIRATES
After taking a 5-0 lead
after two innings on Thursday, the struggling Reds managed to
lose 6-5 to the Rockies and concluded their seven-game road trip with a
1-6 record. The Reds lost their fifth straight game and tied their longest
losing streak of the season (April 14-18). Travis Wood pitched well (5IP,
5H, 3ER, 6K), but the Reds' bullpen disintegrated after Wood exited with a
5-3 lead. Ondrusek and Chapman combined for two innings of one-run one-hit
ball, but Nick Masset allowed two runs (one earned) in the bottom of the
eighth inning as pinch-runner Chris Nelson
stole home for the go-ahead run and completed a four-game sweep of the
Reds. Nelson's steal of home was the first against the Reds since Eric Owens
did it in 1999.
"I’ve never lost a game like that," Dusty Baker said. "When you’re
not going good everything seems to go against you. That’s a tough way to
lose."
The Reds will begin a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates
at Great American Ballpark on Friday. The Pirates have the worst record in
the major leagues (47-92) and have already been eliminated from any
post-season action.Pittsburgh's 14-53 record on the road is also the
worst in the big leagues and they will be facing a Cincinnati team that is
41-27at home. After an 11-4 St. Louis victory over Atlanta
coinciding with the Reds' loss, Cincinnati's lead over the Cardinals in the
NL Central has lowered to five games.
FRIDAY: Homer Bailey (3-3, 5.00) vs. Paul Maholm (7-14, 5.43) at 7:10pm
Homer Bailey has started five games during his career against the Pirates
and owns an unblemished 5-0 record while posting a 1.57 ERA. During his last
start against Pittsburgh on May 12, Bailey pitched his first major league
complete game as he held the Pirates to only four hits and no runs. In both
of Bailey's last two starts, he allowed four runs during each six inning
affair.
Paul Maholm has not won a game for the Pirates since he defeated the Reds on
August 3 in Cincinnati. In fact, Maholm has posted a 2-7 record in his last
ten starts. During 18 career starts against the Reds, Maholm is 6-4 with a
3.81 ERA. This season, the left-hander is 2-0 with a 2.75 ERA against the
Reds in three attempts.
SATURDAY: Edinson Volquez (3-2, 6.17) vs. Charlie Morton (1-11, 9.66)
at 7:10pm
After striking out 19 batters during 13 innings of work while only allowing
two earned runs in two games with the Dayton Dragons, Edinson Volquez seems
ready to return to the Reds. A start against the Pirates would be fitting
for Volquez as he would basically be facing another minor league
organization. Aaron Harang, the Reds' scheduled starter, will likely be set
aside after allowing seven runs during just 6.1 innings of work in his last
two starts since coming off the disabled list. Volquez has yet to face the
Pirates this season. In four attempts during his career, Volquez has a 1-0
record against Pittsburgh with a 3.00 ERA. It would be his ninth start of
the 2010 season and would match his start total from 2009. Volquez started
32 games (17-6, 3.21) for the Reds during his 2008 All-Star campaign.
Charlie Morton has received the decision in every start he has made this
season. During his two failed attempts against Cincinnati this year, Morton
allowed eight earned runs on fifteen hits in eight innings of work. In his
last three starts, Morton hurled a total of nine innings and allowed 21 runs
(14 earned) on 25 hits.
SUNDAY: Johnny Cueto (12-5, 3.45) vs. Brian Burres (3-3, 5.75) at
1:10pm
This season, Johnny Cueto is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA during four attempts
against Pittsburgh. Cueto lost more games in August (2) than in any other
month this season and is already 0-1 for the month of September in two
starts. In 12 career starts against the Pirates, Cueto is 9-2 with a 2.88
ERA.
Brian Burres has faced the Reds just once during his career and it occurred
this season on May 24 in Cincinnati. Burres received the loss as he hurled
just 3.2 innings and allowed five runs on five hits while walking four.
Burres' second win of the 2010 season was notched on May 6 with his third
coming four months later, during his last start on September 6 against the
Braves (6IP, 5H, 1ER).
"We've been in this position before," said Joey Votto. "We're
going to go through bad stretches during the season and this is one of them.
We just have to dig down a little deeper and look for tomorrow, be
optimistic and plan on winning. We've done that several times this year."
9.9.10 BY:MEH
"WE'VE GOT TO WIN."
REDS LOOK TO ROOKIE WOOD
TO STOP LOSING STREAK
On Wednesday, Bronson Arroyo
was handed his third straight loss and the Reds received their fourth
straight loss during a
9-2 defeat
in Colorado. Luckily for Cincinnati, the St. Louis Cardinals have lost their
last two games against the Brewers after beating the Reds two-out-of-three
games over the weekend. The Reds owned an eight game lead over the Cards
going into the Labor Day weekend series with the Cards. Despite losing that
series, and losing their first three games against the Rockies, there are still six games separating the first and
second place in the NL Central. The Reds magic number is now nineteen with
23 games left in the regular season.
"You’ve
got to look at on the bright side,"
Dusty Baker said.
"We didn’t lose any ground with one less game on the schedule. That’s not
going to continue. We’ve got to win.” On
Labor Day, Aaron Harang
possibly made
his
final start
as a Cincinnati Red. After the Reds gave him a 4-0 lead against Rockies
starter Ubaldo Jimenez, Harang gave up four runs in the third inning as he
walked three batters before being pulled. Since returning from the disabled
list Harang has allowed seven runs on twelve hits in 6.1 innings during two
starts. The Reds
lost 10-5.
After pitching well during his rehab start in Dayton, Edinson Volquez
could return to the Reds Saturday
against the Pirates in place of Harang.
“They hit so well,”
Joey Votto said.
“They even got a bunch of hits off (Aroldis) Chapman. They kept pounding on
us. I suppose there were opportunities. I think there’s a feeling when
you’re out there dominating a team. And today we felt we were going back and
forth, then they had that big inning and stretched the lead. They kept
scoring on us. I felt it was difficult to come back from that. Not that we
didn't try.”
Aside from allowing three runs
against the Rockies after only throwing eight pitches on Tuesday, Johnny
Cueto pitched well. Returning to the Reds after attending his uncle's
funeral in the Dominican Republic, Cueto ended his day strong hurling six
innings while allowing three earned runs on seven hits. The Reds lost a very
winnable game
by a score of 4-3.
“He threw the ball great,”
Dusty Baker said.
“I hate for him to lose and us to lose it. . . We lost the game, but my
bullpen needed the rest. It could have been disastrous had he early exit
like last night. He saved my bullpen. During this stretch of 20 in a row,
you can’t have too many short outings.”
Bronson Arroyo hurled his worst game since May 31 on Wednesday. The Reds
needed a stopper, but instead got a 4.1 inning outing from veteran Arroyo in
which he allowed seven runs on eight hits while giving up a season-high
three home runs. The Reds were
defeated 9-2
by the Rockies.
“This is first year since I’ve been in this uniform that we’ve got something
to play for,”
Arroyo said.
“What happens out there on field personally, you’ve got to push those
emotions aside for the betterment of the team. We’re still in a good place.
That’s all you can ask for.”
The Reds will send Travis Wood (5-2, 3.19) to the mound
against
Jason Hammel (10-7, 4.25) and the Rockies Thursday afternoon at 3:10pm.
During Wood's only career start against Colorado on July 28, he struck out
six batters in six innings of work and allowed just one earned run on three
hits while receiving his first major league loss. In two career starts
against the Reds, Hammel is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. He has won his last two
starts and is 7-1 with a 3.43 this season while starting at home.
9.6.10 BY:MEH WORDS. THE RELENTLESS
CINCINNATI REDS The new Reds play defense
and ignore the couches. They bounce around the clubhouse, mingling with each
other and ducking the schoolboy shenanigans of Leake, a scruffy sort who
looks like he made it to the ballpark after playing hooky in high school,
probably by riding his skateboard out of there. I watched Leake in the Reds'
clubhouse for 20 seconds before the game Wednesday, and in those 20 seconds
he slapped the naked ass of Reds executive and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan and
playfully goosed a (dressed) teammate with a bat handle.
As the youthful Cincinnati
Reds surprisingly roll to what would be their first National League Central
Division title in 15 years, general manager Walt Jocketty admits, "I guess
maybe we're a little ahead of schedule. But it's hard to tell when you've
got a younger club."
This is to say that with youth, sometimes timetables are immaterial.
"We felt we had a good club that would be competitive," said Jocketty. "But
it's come together fast."
While the Reds have the best hitting team in the National League, their
fielding is the best in all of baseball. As a team, they have the fewest
errors and the best fielding percentage in the majors. No starter has more
than ten errors (Orlando Cabrera, the team's shortstop, has ten exactly) or
a fielding percentage lower than .977.
No rookie is immune from the pink backpack, not even the one with the $30
million contract and the shiny Lamborghini and the biggest fastball anyone
can remember seeing. Aroldis Chapman is the greatest thing since … well,
since Stephen Strasburg, which doesn’t constitute a whole lot of time, but
whatever. Greatness can’t spare Chapman from carrying a bag covered in
pastels and princesses.
It is also filled with sunflower seeds and gum and drinks and candy, and
because he is a rookie and the youngest player among Cincinnati Reds
relievers, it is Chapman’s duty to haul the sack to the bullpen before every
game no matter how silly it looks. And it looks downright ridiculous, the
long, lithe Chapman with a knapsack meant for a teenage girl strapped across
his back.
REDS LOOK TO EXPAND EIGHT
GAME LEAD OVER CARDINALS
9.3.10 BY:MEH MOMENTUM REDS LOOK TO
EXPAND LEAD OVER CARDS
Since the St. Louis Cardinals
swept the Cincinnati Reds during a three-game series August 9-11, both teams
have gone their separate ways. One for good, and one for ill. The Cardinals
turned a two-game deficit into a one-game lead ahead of the Reds in the NL
Central after the sweep. Since then, they have done nothing short of
disintegrate. The crumbling Cardinals have posted a record of 5-12 since the
series while facing the Cubs, Brewers, Giants, Pirates, Nationals, and
Astros. The Cardinals won two-of-three against San Francisco (the only team
listed with a winning record), but failed to win any other series as they
were swept by the Brewers (2 games) and Astros (3 games) along the way.
“When (the Cardinals) were here, they outplayed us in every
aspect of the game,"
said Scott Rolen.
"Everyone kind of felt it was going to go the other way because of the
momentum. I’m not a believer in momentum in baseball.”
The Reds on the other hand, found buoyancy. After suffering a sweep during
what some deemed as the biggest series of the year, Cincinnati began to
control their own fate. Posting a 14-4 record since they last faced the
Cardinals, the Reds reclaimed first place in the NL Central and have placed
eight games between them and the second place Cards. Heading into August's
Cardinals series the Reds' magic number was fifty. The Reds currently have a
magic number of twenty three with just twenty nine games left to go in the
regular season. On his
blog, John
Fay noted that if the Reds go 15-14 during the rest of the season, the
Cardinals would have to go 24-7 just to tie.
On Friday, the Reds and Cardinals will begin their final series of the 2010
regular season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. With an eight game lead, the
series seems stale for the Reds but they could potentially close the door on
the Cardinals with a series win. With a 10-5 record against the Reds this
season, the Cardinals will be desperately searching for a sweep. A series
win for the Reds would widen their already comfortable lead and reinforce
their confidence immensely.
FRIDAY: Bronson Arroyo (14-8, 3.82) vs. Jaime Garcia (12-6, 2.33) at
8:15pm
In four starts against St. Louis this season, Bronson Arroyo has posted a
1-2 record. In twenty six innings pitched, Arroyo allowed fourteen earned
runs on twenty seven hits while striking out thirteen. Arroyo's only win
against the Cardinals was on April 8 when he hurled a complete game and
allowed just one earned run on four hits. Arroyo is 7-10 with a 4.58 ERA
during his 24 career starts against the Cardinals.
Although the left-hander's posted a 4.87 ERA during his three starts against
the Reds this year, Jaime Garcia owns a semi-dominating record of 3-0
against Cincinnati. In seventeen innings, the Reds scored nine runs, but
struck out fourteen times while batting just .215 and going deep only once.
Despite his team's recent distress, Garcia has received the win during his
last two starts and has only lost twice during his last ten (5-2).
SATURDAY: Travis Wood (4-2, 3.53) vs. Adam Wainwright (17-9, 2.30) at
4:10pm on FOX
Making his twelfth big league start, Travis Wood will be facing the
Cardinals for the first time of his career on Saturday. After winning four
straight games (July 28 - August 19), Wood received the loss (4IP, 7ER)
during a 16-5 Giants victory on August 24 and allowed three earned runs on
ten hits in just five innings of work against the Cubs on August 29.
During his seven career starts against Cincinnati, Adam Wainwright is 3-3
with a 4.01 ERA. This season, Wainwright is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA against the
Reds during three starts. After beginning August with a 3-0 record,
Wainwright has received the loss during his last three starts while facing
the Brewers (7IP, 3ER), Pirates (7IP, 4ER), and Nationals (5IP, 4ER).
SUNDAY: Homer Bailey (3-2, 4.92) vs. Chris Carpenter (14-5, 2.92) at
2:15pm
In six career starts against St. Louis during his four major league seasons,
Homer Bailey is 1-3 with a 6.04 ERA. During his only start against the
Cardinals this season on May 1, Bailey pitched 6.2 innings and allowed two
earned runs on seven hits. Bailey received a no-decision as the Reds lost
the game 6-3. Bailey is 2-0 with a 3.70 ERA in four starts since returning
from the disabled list. With fifty major league starts under his belt,
Bailey is an even 15-15 with a 5.30 ERA.
The whiny Chris Carpenter has owned the Reds (11-3 with a 2.00 ERA in
seventeen starts) during his thirteen-season major league career. In fact,
since moving to the National League in 2003, Carpenter has been flat out
nasty (82-29, 2.91) after posting only mild numbers during his six year
stint in Toronto (49-50, 4.83). The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner has
defeated the Reds four times in as many attempts during the 2010 season and
has held them to a .163 batting average while posting a 1.61 ERA. Ouch.
9.1.10 BY:MEH SORRY.
APOLOGIES TO BASEBALL
(Photo: Brian Baker/CNATI.com)
We would like to
apologize in advance to anyone who has to face Aroldis Chapman during the
remainder of the 2010 season. Clocked at 103 mph, Chapman made his major
league debut on Tuesday night
throwing only eight pitches as he retired the Milwaukee Brewers in order
during the eighth inning of the Reds'
8-4 victory. Cincinnati's win, coupled with a 3-0 St. Louis loss to the
Astros, placed them a season-high seven games ahead of the Cardinals in the
NL Central standings.
"To
pitch in the playoffs for the Reds would be great for me,"
Chapman said.
Aroldis Chapman's first major league pitch was a 98 mph called strike to
Brewer's catcher Jonathan Lucroy. In front of just 19,219 fans at Great
American Ballpark, Chapman was just heating up. Seven of Chapman's eight
pitches were strikes as he hit 100-103 mph with his fastball, 86 mph with
his cutter, and 87 mph with his slider. Chapman's slider, not his fastball,
was the pitch that caught Reds' catcher Ryan Hanigan's attention.
"That thing … that pitch … that’s a whole different ballgame,"
Hanigan said. "His breaking ball is what people should be talking about.
His slider is absolutely ridiculous. He’s got to be able to throw it for a
strike and he’s got to get into counts where we can call it, so getting
ahead is big, but if he can throw that breaking ball for a strike… good
luck. It’s a hammer. I saw it in Triple-A, it’s 88-to-93, it’s moving about
a foot and a half. That’s not something that anyone wants to hit, I don’t
care how good you are."
Already performing in high gear, the Cincinnati Reds will flourish with the
arrival of Aroldis Chapman. The Reds' secret weapon has been unleashed.
Francisco Cordero had never seen 102 mph on the scoreboard before.
"I've never seen anything like it. I've got that," Cordero said,
"in my Ferrari."
