Sunday Night Blow-Up on National TV

[MikeS21]

OK. I know that every team has games like last night. You just shrug your shoulders and come back again the next game. Any other night, and it would be, "Let's just go get 'em next time, boys."

But last night's loss against the Tigers was extra painful for no other reason than it was on national TV in front of a nation-wide audience. And the great irony is that the strengths of this team are what let it down. For the first 3-4 innings, the announcers were very complimentary of the Reds and spoke glowingly of all the positives of the team, including: Brandon Phillip's defense, Joey Votto's bat, the rock solid bullpen, and the untouchable Aroldis Chapman

Homer Bailey pitched better than his final line said. Other than the home run, which arguably was a GABP special, and the double, most the other hits were bloopers.

Despite the scoring decision on the ground ball to BP, when he scooped for the ball, I watched it over and over, and the fact is, that BP made the play more difficult that it should have been. He should have been charged with the error. I kept hearing the announcers say he did the right thing, but regardless, Homer should have been sitting in the dugout without giving up a run. However, nine times out of ten, Phillips makes that play - just not on national TV.

Of all nights for Joey Votto to forget how to hit. Let's face it. Votto probably had four of his worst AB's all season in that game. The one guy in Cincinnati who has created a buzz around baseball with his bat. Perhaps the single most feared hitter in the National League, had what will probably be his worst game all year - on national TV.

Dusty was aggressive in his tag team bullpen game last night. And why not? The bullpen had been outstanding this year. The announcers are buzzing about the great bullpen. Arredondo comes in and he's been terrific - just not on national TV. Marshall comes in to face Fielder. Of course, on national TV, bad Marshall shows up, and Bailey get tagged with another run he should not have been saddled with . Ondrusek comes in and somehow manages to get a K to end the inning. But on national TV, he puts two guys on and no outs in the next inning.

Enter Chapman, who probably has gotten the biggest build-up by the announcers of all. They're going on about how unhittable he is. And Chapman is unhittable - just not on national TV.

Ironically, about the only negative thing the announcers said all night about the Reds was that GABP gave up too many HR's. Of course, on national TV, Cozart and Frazier just HAD to hit GABP cheapie HR's.

All things considered, it was just one loss. But dag-nabbit, that one was embarrassing!

[Blitz Dorsey]

Usually I get over losses pretty quickly. There's 162 games and one game doesn't mean much in the grand scheme. But for some reason, this one is sticking with me even the next day. It burns. What a tough loss. Hopefully this team shows resiliency and wins the upcoming series against a good Indians club. I sure as hell hope we don't look back on last night as the negative turning point of the season.

Dusty was in complete panic mode. I like Dusty for the most part (usually only his lineup construction is what bothers me about him, but overall I like him) but he definitely panicked last night. What do they say about players taking on the personalities of their coaches/managers? The Reds had no reason to panic up 3 runs (as many as four at one point, but when it got to 3 is when they started to panic).

[Tony Cloninger]

I hope you are right about the 1 game thing.......and usually that is what you chalk it up to. However...last year this team seemed to go into a shell when things did not fall their way...or start falling their way last year.
They started feeling sorry for themselves...it seemed...while Dusty kept telling us and we kept telling ourselves that they were going to bust out.

You have so many close games and you keep using the same 4 pitchers to do all your relief work...they are eventually going to implode.

[dfs]

You know....it WAS a tough loss, but I take heart from the tigers series.

I think perhaps it reveals to Walt and Bob how much further they can go to improve the team.

I think several of the hitters gave quality at bats in a way that we have not seen out of this club all season long....Frazier opened some eyes....the reds starting pitching can go toe to toe with anybody....as good as your bullpen might be, no lead is ever safe in that ballbark....

If you think the reds are a 95 win team, I understand how you can be discouraged, but if you think they are an 85 win team that might get better, then I think that was an encouraging series.

[Tony Cloninger]

You know....it WAS a tough loss, but I take heart from the tigers series.

I think perhaps it reveals to Walt and Bob how much further they can go to improve the team.

I think several of the hitters gave quality at bats in a way that we have not seen out of this club all season long....Frazier opened some eyes....the reds starting pitching can go toe to toe with anybody....as good as your bullpen might be, no lead is ever safe in that ballbark....

If you think the reds are a 95 win team, I understand how you can be discouraged, but if you think they are an 85 win team that might get better, then I think that was an encouraging series.

I think most of my gloom comes from the fact that I saw how 2011 looked....and this team still has remnants in their makeup of that team.
They are better.....but the good pitching has been substituted with the bad hitting...on most nights.

I also do not like Dusty's use of the bullpen when he starts moving pitchers in and out like that. These guys are not 1/3, 2/3 inning specialists.

[Johnny Footstool]

I doubt the players were any more excited for this game than any other game. I certainly hope they weren't.

This was not a significant loss for anyone other than the fans. We were excited to see the Reds on Sunday Night Baseball. Other than that, this was just another interleague game.

[Kc61]

This game was meaningless. It was a complete fluke. My only issues are that Marshall didn't get Fielder, two days in a row, and Mesoraco didn't tag the guy on the Bruce throw and didn't handle the Aroldis "wild pitch."

The hit by pitch in the 8th was dubious. The "double" down the line was a very close call, easily could have been foul. The bloop in the 8th was just bad luck.

It was a national TV game, so fans are angry about it, but I thought it was a bad luck loss.

Reds are in decent shape, they need another OBP guy or two and they need to use the whole bullpen more to rest some of the late inning guys more.

Forget last night's game, they will take it out on Cleveland Tuesday.

[westofyou]

I doubt the players were any more excited for this game than any other game. I certainly hope they weren't.

This was not a significant loss for anyone other than the fans. We were excited to see the Reds on Sunday Night Baseball. Other than that, this was just another interleague game.

Reds fans are snake bit, always waiting for the other shoe to fall, always worried that the usher will find out they snuck into those blue seats.

Three 1 run games in a row against a good team that just might be getting out of their season long slump

I worry more about blowouts, no shows, no hustle, no brains way more than what occurred this weekend, I certainly think that no one should place national tv on the list if reasons why one should worry more

[Reds Freak]

Joey Votto forgot how to hit? He scorched two balls last night, just happened to be right at people. Off the ledge...

[powersackers]

The rest of the nation is not our concern. Likely they have forgotten about last night. We should too. Tip your cap to Austin Jackson and move on. I wouldn't want to be Cleveland this week!

[RedsManRick]

I worry that an offense that can run the pitch counts up against arguably the best pitcher in baseball can't seem to generate offense against guys who throw 98 but have no idea where the ball is going.

I worry that only Votto consistently puts together good at bats.

I worry that Dusty honestly believes it's a good idea to keep Hanigan 8th while two guys with sub .300 OBPs set the table for Votto.

I worry that Brandon Phillips is increasingly relying on his ability to make spectacular plays at a time when his range is going to start declining. And I worry that the Reds honestly thought he turned a corner offensively and is the team's 2nd best cleanup option.

I worry that Dusty thinks Logan Ondrusek is a better pitcher than Sean Marshall.

I worry that Todd Frazier's throws from 3rd consistently test Votto's ability to scoop or make a swipe tag.

I worry that when Rolen gets back, Frazier's bat is going to be taken out of the lineup.

I worry that Reds starters don't miss enough bats and allow too many fly balls for guys pitching in a bandbox.

I worry that, despite his dominance before last week, Aroldis Chapman is regressing as a "pitcher" and won't have sufficient command of his secondary pitches to be an effective starter.

Ultimately, I'm very happy that we're in first place and that our primary competition is injury riddled. Despite all of the above, I think we have the inside track for the division title. And I do see some upside in some people's bad luck turning around (Ludwick's BABIP, Latos' HR/FB). But I worry that this team is going to hit its functional budget cap with an 86-88 win talent base and no obvious options for improvement and that this generation of Reds teams will never be a serious contender for a title.

[Vottomatic]

I worry that an offense that can run the pitch counts up against arguably the best pitcher in baseball can't seem to generate offense against guys who throw 98 but have no idea where the ball is going.

I worry that only Votto consistently puts together good at bats.

I worry that Dusty honestly believes it's a good idea to keep Hanigan 8th while two guys with sub .300 OBPs set the table for Votto.

I worry that Brandon Phillips is increasingly relying on his ability to make spectacular plays at a time when his range is going to start declining. And I worry that the Reds honestly thought he turned a corner offensively and is the team's 2nd best cleanup option.

I worry that Dusty thinks Logan Ondrusek is a better pitcher than Sean Marshall.

I worry that Todd Frazier's throws from 3rd consistently test Votto's ability to scoop or make a swipe tag.

I worry that when Rolen gets back, Frazier's bat is going to be taken out of the lineup.

I worry that Reds starters don't miss enough bats and allow too many fly balls for guys pitching in a bandbox.

I worry that, despite his dominance before last week, Aroldis Chapman is regressing as a "pitcher" and won't have sufficient command of his secondary pitches to be an effective starter.

Ultimately, I'm very happy that we're in first place and that our primary competition is injury riddled. Despite all of the above, I think we have the inside track for the division title. And I do see some upside in some people's bad luck turning around (Ludwick's BABIP, Latos' HR/FB). But I worry that this team is going to hit its functional budget cap with an 86-88 win talent base and no obvious options for improvement and that this generation of Reds teams will never be a serious contender for a title.

You sure worry alot.

Should we rename this thread "What I'm Worried About"?

As I've consistently said for several years now. Maybe this team is better than they're playing and maybe Dusty is holding them back with his ridiculous lineup constructions? Maybe an 88 to 90 win team could be a 92-96 win team with a better manager. It means they're good under Dusty, but maybe they should be better.

[PuffyPig]

Of all nights for Joey Votto to forget how to hit. Let's face it. Votto probably had four of his worst AB's all season in that game. The one guy in Cincinnati who has created a buzz around baseball with his bat. Perhaps the single most feared hitter in the National League, had what will probably be his worst game all year - on national TV.

(sigh)

[REDREAD]

Well, I admit.. this loss was hard to take. I was disappointed because I was all excited about taking 2 of 3 from the Tigers, only to see it slip away.

I did think that Dusty paniced a bit with Arrondo and Marshall.. BUT on the flip side, if all goes well, Cabera and Felder never come to bat again.. It was the most critical inning, so I don't blame Dusty for managing it like the 7th game of the World Series.

As the game was slipping away, I was glad that Dusty left Chapman in there to clean up his mess.. I was resigned to the loss before the Tigers took the lead.

Yea, in the grand scheme, this is only one loss. The Cards lost too so it's not that big of a deal.. But I agree, this one made me angry at the time.

[powersackers]

Well, I admit.. this loss was hard to take. I was disappointed because I was all excited about taking 2 of 3 from the Tigers, only to see it slip away.

I did think that Dusty paniced a bit with Arrondo and Marshall.. BUT on the flip side, if all goes well, Cabera and Felder never come to bat again.. It was the most critical inning, so I don't blame Dusty for managing it like the 7th game of the World Series.

As the game was slipping away, I was glad that Dusty left Chapman in there to clean up his mess.. I was resigned to the loss before the Tigers took the lead.

Yea, in the grand scheme, this is only one loss. The Cards lost too so it's not that big of a deal.. But I agree, this one made me angry at the time.

I slapped the couch a few times myself. Anger is OK. I'd be dissapointed if we weren't angry.