6/14/06 - Reds vs. Brewers Game Thread Reds win in a walk off 3-0!!!!

[MWM]

I'm getting kind of loopy at the idea that Atlanta's string of division championships may, in fact, break this year.

When they started their run I was a newlywed, in my second year of grad school.

You mean 1995, right? Because they didn't win the division in 1994, Montreal did.

[Falls City Beer]

You mean 1995, right? Because they didn't win the division in 1994, Montreal did.

I don't count 94.

[vaticanplum]

I was 37 and I thought Eric was dreamy

I was 12 and I certainly thought he was dreamy. It's a little-known fact that I was the one who caused that home run in the World Series to happen. Eric Davis doesn't even know it, but it's true.

Once you instigate a World Series home run at age 12, it's all kind of downhill from there...

[vaticanplum]

Oh and Buckeye...Mario Soto?

Great story though.

[Puffy]

I was 77 and I thought Eric was dreamy

You're old.

[Blimpie]

Marty gave a tremendous call on the HR. As usual. Marty has a disgusted sound to his voice at Adam when he swung and missed at a couple, but nothing but sheer joy when he called the HR. In fact, he never said was a HR, but you knew it was by the sound of his voice. That's good sports broadcasting.

Marty's a fan at heart.

Yeah, the HR call was nice...but did you hear Marty's comments earlier in the game when Hatteberg was intentionally walked so that the Brewers could face Dunn? Dunn ended up flying out and Marty's venting was painful even by HIS standards.

I thought he was going to suffocate on his own bile.

[M2]

I'm getting kind of loopy at the idea that Atlanta's string of division championships may, in fact, break this year.

When they started their run I was a newlywed, in my second year of grad school.

I was a newlywed in my first year of grad school at that time. Mind you, that marriage went downhill faster than Steve Avery.

[registerthis]

I was a newlywed in my first year of grad school at that time. Mind you, that marriage went downhill faster than Steve Avery.

Let me guess: she was too hung up on using batting average as a metric for discussing the productivity of hitters?

[Caveat Emperor]

I've always lived on the east coast and I was in shock when I first heard Davis wasn't popular with the locals. Made no sense to me. He was the most exciting player in baseball in the late '80s. Everyone I knew wished they had Davis playing for their favorite teams.

I moved to Cincinnati from Tampa in the early-summer of 1987. Everyone I knew in the neighborhood jumped on the Eric Davis bandwagon, so for some odd reason I decided to be different and became a huge Kal Daniels fan.

I like to think my talent evaluation skills have improved somewhat since age 5.

[cumberlandreds]

Yeah, the HR call was nice...but did you hear Marty's comments earlier in the game when Hatteberg was intentionally walked so that the Brewers could face Dunn? Dunn ended up flying out and Marty's venting was painful even by HIS standards.

I thought he was going to suffocate on his own bile.

I heard it while driving home from work. He was killing Dunn. He said he thought that said a lot about Dunn's reputation for driving in runs and did say that Dunn was hitting .148 with RISP.

[redsmetz]

I moved to Cincinnati from Tampa in the early-summer of 1987. Everyone I knew in the neighborhood jumped on the Eric Davis bandwagon, so for some odd reason I decided to be different and became a huge Kal Daniels fan.

I like to think my talent evaluation skills have improved somewhat since age 5.

I doubt this will mean anything to you, but when I was younger, and not for long, mind you, I actually thought The Dave Clark Five were better than The Beatles!

[WVRedsFan]

I doubt this will mean anything to you, but when I was younger, and not for long, mind you, I actually thought The Dave Clark Five were better than The Beatles!

That's just sick, redsmetz. Everyone knew the Four Seasons were better than both .

[Big Klu]

People hated him? He was very popular in my house. I know he took a lot of grief from the press, but was there a lot of negative popular opinion as well? Baffling.

I was in high school and college during the Eric Davis years (I graduated from H.S. in 1988, and from OU in 1992), and Davis was always my favorite player. But I remember that he got a lot of flak for "being injured all the time". I hated to see him get traded after the 1991 season, but I thought that he needed a change of scenery, and I was pleased that the Reds got a quality starter in the deal in Tim Belcher. I also remember that when he returned to the Reds in 1996, he was universally welcomed as a conquering hero. I don't think I've ever seen a player be more popular with the fans than Eric Davis was in 1996, and the Reds never should have let him go the second time. Ever since then, Davis has (and probably always will be) one of the most beloved players in club history.

The other day, after Davis was quoted as saying that Ken Griffey Jr. might be better served to move to a less physically demanding defensive position, someone commented that Davis played 56 games in LF during the 1990 World Championship season, and asked if he had complained or made the move grudgingly. If I recall correctly, I can never remember Davis making any kind of complaint when put into LF (or RF, though he rarely played there due to the presence of Paul O'Neill and Glenn Braggs). He seemed to understand that LF was less strenuous, which would possibly prevent some nagging injuries. Of course, CF was still capably patrolled in those games by Billy Hatcher (with whom Davis had traded positions) or the defensive specialist Herm Winningham.

Now to Wednesday's game. I was there, and here are some of my observations:

(1) Some people think that low-scoring games are boring. I disagree, and this game is a prime example. You got the feeling that the game would hinge on a single play, and it was exciting watching the pitchers work their way out of difficulty with no runs being scored.

(2) Elizardo Ramirez was dominating. He may not have overpowering stuff, but he can muscle up to 91-92 MPH when he has to, he has excellent control, and his changeup and breaking ball were very good today. Hopefully he can continue to develop into a solid #3 starter.

(3) I liked that Todd Coffey worked two innings. He was used more like how he was used earlier in the season. I agree with many others that the Reds (and other baseball teams in general) should rethink the antiquated "closer" mentality. Coffey is our relief ace, and should be used whenever the game is on the line--be it 7th, 8th, or 9th inning, or extra innings. Also, he should be available for more than one inning if the situation requires. (I understand that he can't be used for multiple innings in every appearance, though.) There is no reason why he couldn't pitch two innings to get a save, if the Reds lead in the 8th inning.

(4) Chris Hammond is a joy to watch when he is on top of his game. He made the meat of the Brewers' order (particularly Carlos Lee and Prince Fielder) look silly. He basically corkscrewed them into the ground with his 65 MPH changeup, and when they started looking for that pitch, he would blow his 81 MPH fastball right by them. They were so far behind Hammond's fastball that they wouldn't have caught up to it in a million years!

(5) Rich Aurilia is one of my favorite players on the team this year, but I disagree with him hitting in the 4th spot in the lineup. I think that he should be in the 6th or 7th spot on most days. (I might have gone with him in the 5th spot yesterday--between Dunn and Hatteberg.)

(6) Adam Dunn can hit the ball a long, long way.


Updated Reds HR list (players in italics are active):

Reds All-Time Home Run Leaders
1. Johnny Bench - 389
2. Frank Robinson - 324
3. Tony Perez - 287
4. Ted Kluszewski - 251
5. George Foster - 244
6. Eric Davis - 203
7. Barry Larkin - 198
8. Vada Pinson - 186
9. Adam Dunn - 181
10. Wally Post - 172
11. Gus Bell - 160
12. Joe Morgan - 152
12. Pete Rose - 152
14. Ken Griffey, Jr. - 149
15. Lee May - 147
16. Dan Driessen - 133
17. Reggie Sanders - 125
18. Ernie Lombardi - 120
19. Sean Casey - 118
20. Frank McCormick - 110
21. Dave Parker - 107
22. Chris Sabo - 104
23. Dave Concepcion - 101
24. Gordy Coleman - 98
25. Paul O'Neill - 96

[KronoRed]

Yeah, the HR call was nice...but did you hear Marty's comments earlier in the game when Hatteberg was intentionally walked so that the Brewers could face Dunn? Dunn ended up flying out and Marty's venting was painful even by HIS standards.

I thought he was going to suffocate on his own bile.

Dunn never does good..he only gets lucky