4/6/2013 - Saturday - Reds vs Nats

[remdog]

Choo looks like he's getting used to the wall out there...much better than the first game.

Much better than Stubbs who never did play aggresively when near the wall.

Rem

[1940757690]

Chapman was pinch-hit for with a runner on second and 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th. I would not have been ok with Chapman hitting in that situation.

I'd have been okay with winning the game and that would have been much more likely with another inning pitched. Also, your post made me curious about Chapman and hitting. He hasn't had an AB since being called up but, in 2010 AAA, knocked out 4 hits from 10 AB; one a double. My sense is he can swing a bat more comfortably than, say, Detwiler for the Nats. FWIW.

[texasdave]

Dusty almost had to go for the win in the 10th. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. All he had left was Hoover, who had pitched in 3 of the first 4 games. As well as pitching an inning the day before. And Parra, who had pitched two innings the day before. Luckily this game didn't go 14 or 15 or 16 innings. Who was Dusty going to put out there if Marshall was unavailable? His pitching options were thin at that point.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Holy over-reactions Batman!

It's Hoovers fault, it's Dusty's fault, Bruce needs to be moved, Heisey needs to be moved, Frazier is out best contact hitter, we should've won the game, etc, etc, etc.

Come on people. We lost this game for 2 reasons and 2 reasons only. The Nationals are good, and Mike Leake had a poor game for him.

The offense did a fantastic job of hanging in there and fighting tooth and nail. Hoover did what he could but in any other situation, he would've had the day off. Dusty could've managed the pen better, but he was put in a tough spot due to the overuse recently and being shorthanded. Bruce is not in a groove yet, but he's hardly a problem. 2 hits yesterday, 2 doubles the day before. He'll be fine. Frazier's in the zone right now, moving him in the order might be the exact thing that will move him OUT of the zone. Leave him alone! Heisey is doing a fine job filling in. Yes, he's strikeout prone. But he's a solid defender and he's had hits in 3 of the last 4 games including a 2 run bomb.

Simply put, people need to take a deep breath and relax. It's not a sprint, it's a MARATHON.

[jojo]

Holy over-reactions Batman!

It's Hoovers fault, it's Dusty's fault, Bruce needs to be moved, Heisey needs to be moved, Frazier is out best contact hitter, we should've won the game, etc, etc, etc.

Come on people. We lost this game for 2 reasons and 2 reasons only. The Nationals are good, and Mike Leake had a poor game for him.

Mike Leake pitched like Mike Leake.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Mike Leake pitched like Mike Leake.

I know what you're saying, but I think you're missing my point.

He's normally more of a ground ball pitcher and he usually has better control and throws a higher percentage of strikes. This game he was missing his spots regularly and was having a difficult time throwing strikes. So when he was forced to throw one, it was down the middle and they either hit it hard or were able to hit it in the air. I'm not saying Leake's great or anything, but that was not the "norm" from Mike. The end results may have been Leake-like, but how they were achieved were not. He got very lucky in this game to not have a MUCH worse line.