Some encouraging things and some...well...

[WVRedsFan]

Tonight's game was simply frustrating for the most part. First, the bad. There was that really, really stupid baserunning error in the Reds' half of the first. I thought you learned in little league to hold your ground during a rundown. Then there was that throw from Adam Dunn that just went sideways. Oh well.

Then there was Johnny Cueto. It was obvious he didn't have much tonight and the more he pitched the madder he got. He started overthrowing the ball and got hit a lot. That's two times out of three starts he got hit hard early on. Chalk it up to youth, but also one pitch really frustrated Cueto. A pitch that Bako should have blocked but went under his glove to the backstop. Cueto seemed to bristle and from then on he was toast. He'll learn, but I hope this isn't a characteristic we'll often see. It wasn't pretty.

Then there was the offense. Facing a pitcher who had pitched 17 innings before tonight and had given up 22 hits, the Reds got a hit in the first and two in the ninth. Shameful.

Bill Bray's anticipated debut appeared to be the ghost of Todd Coffey. He gave up 3 hits and 2 walks in 1.2 innings, but no runs. He threw 47 pitches in that short stint. We'll call it nerves and hope he gets better later on.

The good. Josh Fogg pitched well ad proves he may be an asset in the bullpen. Adam Dunn broke out of his mini slump and took Reyes yard which was impressive.

The bullpen pitched over 6 innings of scoreless ball. That has to be encouraging. We lost, but there were some positives. Seriously.

[RedlegJake]

I was also impressed with Fogg. He just may have a valuable role to play after all.

Bray makes me wonder if he isn't a AAAA pretender but one appearance really isn't fair. I have to smack myself for thinking such things.

Cueto is struggling - he seems to be getting a bit worse each outing. Francisco and Edinson need to calm him down a bit. The signs of temper he displayed last night didn't bother me a bit, though - I like to see some fire. Maturity will teach him how to use that fire properly instead of letting it burn him. Maybe a phone call from Papa Soto?
And, at he risk of being crucified here, the time may come when a step backwards may be necessary. How he handles struggling - his confidence, his ability to regroup, his ability to put this behind him and forget it, those things will show in his next couple starts whether he should stay up or not, imo. There is young and struggling correctly, still learning, still adjusting and refining; and there is young and struggling badly, not learning and trying to force things, and losing confidence. It's very important the Reds correctly interpret which is Johnny Cueto. The first can keep learning in the big leagues. The second will need to go to AAA for awhile.

The offense is so inconsistent. Whenever I hear that word I think low OBP first, low OBP second.

3 out of 4. Win tonight and the Reds take a series against a division rival on the road and are 4 of 5.

[Tommyjohn25]

Also, regarding the offense. The entire team seemed to have at least on at bat when they absolutely smoked the ball right at someone. One of those nights....oh well, chalk it up.

[oneupper]

Adam Dunn broke out of his mini slump and took Reyes yard which was impressive.

I like Dunn as much as many here, but hitting a HR in a mop-up situation (down 7 in the ninth TWO outs), means very little. Yes, it's nice to break up the shut out and yes it's better than a K. But the pitcher in that situation is just trying to throw strikes and knows he has a big cushion.

Same goes for Phillips' 2 HRs on Sunday up 8-1 and 9-1 late...nice..but...

[pahster]

I like Dunn as much as many here, but hitting a HR in a mop-up situation (down 7 in the ninth TWO outs), means very little. Yes, it's nice to break up the shut out and yes it's better than a K. But the pitcher in that situation is just trying to throw strikes and knows he has a big cushion.

Same goes for Phillips' 2 HRs on Sunday up 8-1 and 9-1 late...nice..but...

They all count just the same.

[TeamBoone]

I like Dunn as much as many here, but hitting a HR in a mop-up situation (down 7 in the ninth TWO outs), means very little. Yes, it's nice to break up the shut out and yes it's better than a K. But the pitcher in that situation is just trying to throw strikes and knows he has a big cushion.

One of last night's announcers mentioned that it wasn't important in this game but that it's important to Adam Dunn going into the next game.

[REDREAD]

I echo a lot of your thoughts WVRedFan.

It was nice to see Fogg have a nice outing. I wonder if at some point he'll be back in the rotation if Belisle continues to struggle.

Bray continues to be an enigma. I hope the Reds did not rush him back too fast from his injury. According to Marty, part of the reason he was sent to AAA was because he could not pitch back-to-back nights. Apparently he was finally able to do it, and then was called up immediately. I am not criticizing the move, but I hope he's all the way healthy.

I was surprised and disappointed that Pinero was able to shut down the offense. That first inning base running blooper was really frustrating and set the tone for the game. Pinero seemed to settle down after that. Oh well, hopefully we can win tonight.

[Falls City Beer]

Cueto is struggling - he seems to be getting a bit worse each outing.

The lone voice in the wilderness.

[KronoRed]

One of last night's announcers mentioned that it wasn't important in this game but that it's important to Adam Dunn going into the next game.

Agreed, all HR's/rbi's count, if we're going to only count things in "close" games then a lot of "great" players are going to look worse