Sunshine Pumping: The Positive View of the Loss Today

[Brisco]

Ok... the Reds lost today... and there is a good chance we will lose 2 in a row facing Jimenez tomorrow in COL.

Losing sucks, but there are some good things to notice:

1. Homer was one pitch away from a very good outing... and that pitch was based on a decision, not on performance. If this can be the straw that breaks that ego's back, then this loss is more than worth it.

2. OCab is playing great. He made several great plays in the field and his bat is as hot as it was pre injury.

3. BPhil did not let the crowd get to him after the first game and appears to be nearing perfect health. He was not stellar, but if he had done the exact same things in a series where he was not the center of attention, it would have gone without comment.

4. We had at least five hits taken from us today by excellent Cards defense. Sometimes that happens. The good news is that it means that we CAN hit Carpenter hard.

5. Logan gave up two hits, but neither were mistakes. He recovered and made a solid play o the bunt. Even with the look at third he made it around to first in plenty of time. It has to be harder for a 6-7 galoot to get down and cover bunts but he did it well.

6. Bill Bray did his Loogy job well, and Jordan Smith shut down the only 2 batters he faced.

7. We actually outscored the Cardinals in the series 10-8. We did NOT alter our rotation to have them face our best pitchers, we were without our hottest hitter going into the series in Bruce, and we had zero back up outfielders.


Sure we had problems... Gomes is really pressing and HiC and Stubbs have regressed at the plate, our team-wide bunting problems continue... and ultimately we lost a game to our rival... but after thinking thru it all, we had a pretty good series. Noone can expect to go into a team's house where they have a much better record, face three SP that are all consensus top 10 starting pitchers in the league and EXPECT to win two games. We won one handily and were competitive in the other two. We are an amazing 11-4 in series since the all star break. I can live with that.

[GIDP]

Phillips went 2 for 13 I think didnt he?

[Brisco]

Phillips went 2 for 13 I think didnt he?

Yes.. and? I stated that in a normal series this would go without comment.

Just like Joey going 2-12 for the same series does not deserve comment.

[TheBigLebowski]

Yes.. and? I stated that in a normal series this would go without comment.

Just like Joey going 2-12 for the same series does not deserve comment.

Gotta admit....the "normal series" comment has me a bit confused. Especially when one takes into account the context of BP and the Cards.

But I will pump a little sunshine into the discussion as well....today's loss bit, especially because we had a 2-0 lead and what appeared to be a hot Homer, but these things happen. Further, there is no doubt whatsoever that the Cards have had the better of things from a head-to-head perspective. However, we're 7 games up with - what - 28 games to play? Wouldn't trade places with them.

And I still loathe Carpenter. That probably won't change.

[BAKER12]

Cards needed to sweep to have any chance of catching Reds. Making up one game in three days is not getting the job done.

[Brisco]

Gotta admit....the "normal series" comment has me a bit confused. Especially when one takes into account the context of BP and the Cards.

But I will pump a little sunshine into the discussion as well....today's loss bit, especially because we had a 2-0 lead and what appeared to be a hot Homer, but these things happen. Further, there is no doubt whatsoever that the Cards have had the better of things from a head-to-head perspective. However, we're 7 games up with - what - 28 games to play? Wouldn't trade places with them.

And I still loathe Carpenter. That probably won't change.

Sorry for the confusion... I was pointing out that, but for the microscope caused by the last Cards series and BP's comments, his 2-13 would have gone without much comment. BP is a streaky hitter and I would bet has gone 2-13 a few times this year. My point is that, contrary to poular belief after game 1, BP was not off his game because it was the Cards. BP is streaky... sometimes that helps us, sometimes it does not.

[GIDP]

the Phillips we saw was the same over aggressive swing hard phillips we see when he has runners on base, and when he was batting 4th.

[New York Red]

Bottom line: STL was playing for their lives this series and had to have a sweep, and we only needed to win one. We attained our goal and they didn't achieve theirs.

Also, the Braves and Phillies lost today, so that's another positive.

[757690]

the Phillips we saw was the same over aggressive swing hard phillips we see when he has runners on base, and when he was batting 4th.

In the first game, yes. But in the next two, he settled down, which is why he was hitting the ball so well. He only had two hits, but had solid AB's nearly every time up in the last two games.

[757690]

I think what this showed is that the fear that the Reds pitchers can't match up against other team's #1 and #2 starters is unfounded.

They faced probably the best 1,2,3 starters of any team in the league, and played and pitched well enough to sweep them.

[berryluther]

I told myself Friday all I wanted was one win and we got that. We are up 7 games and it would take a monumental collapse for the Reds to loose the division. October here we come.

Now I need to root for the Rays so I can see the Reds in the World Series.

[foxfire123]

Same here. All I wanted was not to get swept and nobody to get hurt. Achieved both, so overall I'm happy. I hate losing to the Cardinals at all, but these weren't "bad" losses in that nobody did anything really stupid, no dumb errors, and they stayed in all the games.

[Vottomatic]

It really comes down to matchups. It appears that the Reds are set to matchup with alot of the teams that give the Cardinals fits (Cubs, Astros, Brewers, Nationals, etc.)........which the Reds dominate. Reds struggle against the Cards and Giants. Cards did pretty well against the Giants.

It's just a matter of matchups, and we match up better against most opponents, and they just so happen to match up well against us and just a few other teams. And when you consider that TLR is always changing his starting rotation to his best 3 pitchers to go against us, that factors into our record against them, and it helps the team that plays the Cardinals next, as they get Suppan, Lohse, or Westbrook.

We took 1 of 3 from the Cards, and now they send out their #4 and #5 starters, with a good chance of losing, and going 2 for 5 with their 5 man starting rotation.

I'll take that.

We're done with the Cards, if they don't make the postseason.

Good riddance and good night.

[Kingspoint]

Bottom line: STL was playing for their lives this series and had to have a sweep, and we only needed to win one. We attained our goal and they didn't achieve theirs.

Also, the Braves and Phillies lost today, so that's another positive.

Yep.

[GIDP]

Carp, Waino, and Garcia started 12 of the 18 games against the Reds.