Thanks Houston

[edabbs44]

Up 1-0 in the 7th, 2 on and 2 out. Albert up. Take a wild guess what happens.

3-1 St Louis...this one hurts b/c it seems like no one knows NOT TO PITCH TO PUJOLS.

[Joseph]

I think unless 1B was the open base you have to pitch to him, you can't put the go ahead runner in scoring position. But it would have to be an unintentional intentional walk deal, trying to make him get himself out.

[edabbs44]

Originally Posted by Joseph

I think unless 1B was the open base you have to pitch to him, you can't put the go ahead runner in scoring position. But it would have to be an unintentional intentional walk deal, trying to make him get himself out.

You are correct, but the count was 2-0 as well. I guess that was relevant to my thought process. At that point the pitch should have been nowhere near the plate. Just my opinion.

[TeamBoone]

St Louis took it... 3-1.

[Crosley68]

I might walk him 12 times in our series.....I might lose all 3 but Albert would not beat me by himself.

Actually, I am thanking Houston and St. Louis for settling this, right here and right now. As a Reds fan this "pretending" (I'm as guilty as the rest of the lot) that we're going to contend for anything this year, has got to stop. That's what is happening. Already the Reds are a game out of the wild card race, but a small losing streak could easily put them out 3-5 games. After what I saw today, there's not much that can convince me the Reds can do enough right to make something out of this season. If I were Krivsky/future manager (don't think it will be Narron) I'd try to build a lineup of:

1 - Lopez (2B)
2 - Phillips (SS)
3 - Votto (1B)
4 - Kearns (RF)
5 - Dunn (LF)
6 - Encarnacion (3B)
7 - Valentin (C)
8 - Denorfia (CF)

Bench:

Larue (C)
Hatteberg (1B)
Freel (OF/IF)
Griffey (OF/1B)

I know it sounds crazy to have Griffey on the bench, but he's another injury waiting to happen and he's a heck of a 2-strike hitter (great for pinch-hitting). Also, I don't know much about Denorfia and Votto, but I believe Deno to be a guy that can get on base, and that Votto is a power hitter. What do you all think?

[edabbs44]

Originally Posted by saboforthird

Actually, I am thanking Houston and St. Louis for settling this, right here and right now. As a Reds fan this "pretending" (I'm as guilty as the rest of the lot) that we're going to contend for anything this year, has got to stop. That's what is happening. Already the Reds are a game out of the wild card race, but a small losing streak could easily put them out 3-5 games. After what I saw today, there's not much that can convince me the Reds can do enough right to make something out of this season. If I were Krivsky/future manager (don't think it will be Narron) I'd try to build a lineup of:

1 - Lopez (2B)
2 - Phillips (SS)
3 - Votto (1B)
4 - Kearns (RF)
5 - Dunn (LF)
6 - Encarnacion (3B)
7 - Valentin (C)
8 - Denorfia (CF)

Bench:

Larue (C)
Hatteberg (1B)
Freel (OF/IF)
Griffey (OF/1B)

I know it sounds crazy to have Griffey on the bench, but he's another injury waiting to happen and he's a heck of a 2-strike hitter (great for pinch-hitting). Also, I don't know much about Denorfia and Votto, but I believe Deno to be a guy that can get on base, and that Votto is a power hitter. What do you all think?

I think you should lay off the sauce this early in the week.

[Unassisted]

Originally Posted by edabbs44

this one hurts b/c it seems like no one knows NOT TO PITCH TO PUJOLS.

I wonder if Barry Bonds thinks there is a conspiracy afoot, since Pujols is getting more good pitches than he is. I wouldn't mind if there really was such a conspiracy.

[Reds1]

Originally Posted by saboforthird

Actually, I am thanking Houston and St. Louis for settling this, right here and right now. As a Reds fan this "pretending" (I'm as guilty as the rest of the lot) that we're going to contend for anything this year, has got to stop. That's what is happening. Already the Reds are a game out of the wild card race, but a small losing streak could easily put them out 3-5 games. After what I saw today, there's not much that can convince me the Reds can do enough right to make something out of this season. If I were Krivsky/future manager (don't think it will be Narron) I'd try to build a lineup of:

1 - Lopez (2B)
2 - Phillips (SS)
3 - Votto (1B)
4 - Kearns (RF)
5 - Dunn (LF)
6 - Encarnacion (3B)
7 - Valentin (C)
8 - Denorfia (CF)

Bench:

Larue (C)
Hatteberg (1B)
Freel (OF/IF)
Griffey (OF/1B)

I know it sounds crazy to have Griffey on the bench, but he's another injury waiting to happen and he's a heck of a 2-strike hitter (great for pinch-hitting). Also, I don't know much about Denorfia and Votto, but I believe Deno to be a guy that can get on base, and that Votto is a power hitter. What do you all think?

I can say I wouldn't be going to anymore games with that line up. - No, not really but 1 game out of the WC at this point is much better then I expected and EZ did a good job pitching. For our 5th SP we are so much better there. Woods was just on. We can take the next two and then be right back on top in the WC. Dodgers aren't that great.

[TeamBoone]

Originally Posted by saboforthird

Actually, I am thanking Houston and St. Louis for settling this, right here and right now. As a Reds fan this "pretending" (I'm as guilty as the rest of the lot) that we're going to contend for anything this year, has got to stop.

Huh? I'm not stopping anything.

Houston and St. Louis are both struggling so far... Houston even more so than the Reds.

I'm not stopping and I'm not pretending. The Reds have just as good a chance as any team in this division... at least at this point.

Originally Posted by saboforthird

I know it sounds crazy to have Griffey on the bench, but he's another injury waiting to happen and he's a heck of a 2-strike hitter (great for pinch-hitting).

So you want to protect Jr. by leaving him riding the pine? I'd prefer he play until/if that injury happens.

And Jr. has NEVER been a good pinch-hitter.

Originally Posted by TeamBoone

Huh? I'm not stopping anything.

Houston and St. Louis are both struggling so far... Houston even more so than the Reds.

I'm not stopping and I'm not pretending. The Reds have just as good a chance as any team in this division... at least at this point.




So you want to protect Jr. by leaving him riding the pine? I'd prefer he play until/if that injury happens.

And Jr. has NEVER been a good pinch-hitter.

Okay, so in one vein you seem to not be willing to look at the future. The future says the Reds have NO CHANCE of making the playoffs in 2006. They're too one-dimensional. Eventually lack of talent, that combined with injuries, will do you in. Yet, in another vein you're saying that history says Junior has never been a good pinch-hitter? If memory serves me correct he had a pinch-hit HR not long ago.

[Krusty]

Why anyone pitches to Pujols with the game on the line is crazy. You take the same approach as teams have done with Bonds the past four seasons.

I would rather have Scott Rolen beat me than Albert Pujols.

[cincyinco]

Originally Posted by saboforthird

Okay, so in one vein you seem to not be willing to look at the future. The future says the Reds have NO CHANCE of making the playoffs in 2006. They're too one-dimensional. Eventually lack of talent, that combined with injuries, will do you in. Yet, in another vein you're saying that history says Junior has never been a good pinch-hitter? If memory serves me correct he had a pinch-hit HR not long ago.

The Reds have been a relatively healthy ball club so far this year, by baseball standards. That said, I think our lack of making the playoffs is more a lack of defense and bad pitching than it is a lack of talent combined with injuries.

[MattyHo4Life]

Originally Posted by TeamBoone

Houston and St. Louis are both struggling so far... Houston even more so than the Reds.

What do you mean? The Cardinals have the best record in the NL. How are they struggling? Houston has been struggling a lot since their fast start.

[remdog]

Originally Posted by saboforthird

Actually, I am thanking Houston and St. Louis for settling this, right here and right now. As a Reds fan this "pretending" (I'm as guilty as the rest of the lot) that we're going to contend for anything this year, has got to stop. That's what is happening. Already the Reds are a game out of the wild card race, but a small losing streak could easily put them out 3-5 games. After what I saw today, there's not much that can convince me the Reds can do enough right to make something out of this season. If I were Krivsky/future manager (don't think it will be Narron) I'd try to build a lineup of:

1 - Lopez (2B)
2 - Phillips (SS)
3 - Votto (1B)
4 - Kearns (RF)
5 - Dunn (LF)
6 - Encarnacion (3B)
7 - Valentin (C)
8 - Denorfia (CF)

Bench:

Larue (C)
Hatteberg (1B)
Freel (OF/IF)
Griffey (OF/1B)

I know it sounds crazy to have Griffey on the bench, but he's another injury waiting to happen and he's a heck of a 2-strike hitter (great for pinch-hitting). Also, I don't know much about Denorfia and Votto, but I believe Deno to be a guy that can get on base, and that Votto is a power hitter. What do you all think?

You didn't say when you would like to see that lineup in place----2006, 2007? If it's this year then there is little to no chance that Denorfia will replace Jr. sans injury. I also don't see Phillips and Lopez changing positions until next season. Votto is no where near ready and frankly, as poorly as LaRue has played this year, Valentin is still a slug compared to him.

If this is an '07 lineup I still don't expect to see Votto in it nor do I expect to see Hatteberg on the roster (at least at this point).

Just my viewpoint, of course.

Rem