6/11 Gamethread Vs. Cubbies (Late is better than never)

[Tornon]

No game thread yet so I'm starting one up.. no score after 3 innings.

CUBS
Pierre, CF
Walker, 2B
Barrett, C
Nevin, 1B
Murton, LF
Jones, RF
Cedeno, SS
Perez, 3B
Marmol, P

REDS
Freel, 3B
Lopez, SS
Griffey, CF
Dunn, LF
Kearns, RF
Hatteberg, 1B
Phillips, 2B
Ross, C
Milton, P

[captainmorgan07]

this place is dead around here today

[Tornon]

Pierre Ks swinging to lead off the 4th, 1 out

[Tornon]

Walker flies to Kearns, 2 out

[Tornon]

Barrett lines one to Lopez, Milton perfect through 4. No score middle of 4

[ryanparkersongs]

I fear that this is shaping up to be another quality pitching performance wasted due to lack of offensive production. We have got to get to this AA starter in the next couple of innings of else we could head into the later innings depending on the bullpen to win it.

[Tornon]

Griffey Ks swinging, 1 out

[Tornon]

Dunn takes a walk

[Tornon]

Kearns Ks swinging, Marmol looks good out there. 2 out

[Tornon]

Hatteberg grounds to second, no score after 4

[Tornon]

Nevin grounds to Lopez, 1 out

[Tornon]

Murton lines a single to left

[Tornon]

Jones grounds a single into right

[Tornon]

Cedeno singles into left, Murton scores and the runners move up on a bad throw by Dunn. 1-0 Cubs

[Tornon]

Perez flies to Kearns but Jones beats Kearns' throw to the plate. 2-0 Cubs

[Tornon]

Marmol flies to Griffey, 2-0 Cubs middle of 5

[saboforthird]

Reds' defense, meet Earth.

By the way, I thought Cy Young died years and years ago? What's with the Reds' fascination with opposing rookie pitchers?

[Tornon]

Phillips flies to center, 1 out

[Tornon]

Ross.. Yard. 2-1 Cubs

[Tornon]

Milton Ks swinging, 2 out

[snowstorm]

Finally. Someone does something.

[saboforthird]

Ross homers to cut deficit to 2-1 Cubbies.

[Tornon]

Freel Ks looking, 2-1 Cubs after 5

[kevinc12345]

Marmol has thrown 77 pitches after 5... Hopefully the Reds can jump on him next inning with the meat of the order coming up!

[Tornon]

Pierre lines a 3-2 pitch up the middle for a single

[Tornon]

Walker bloops the first pitch to Phillips, 1 out

[saboforthird]

Is Michael Barret kin to Marty Barrett?

[Tornon]

With Pierre running, Barrett grounds one up the middle that Phillips fields because he was going to cover the bag and Phillips gets the out at first, great play. 2 out

[saboforthird]

Phillips makes a spectacular play by going into SS territory to field a grounder on the bounce and throwing it to first for an easy out, but I question why Phillips wasn't at least around second base waiting for a throw from Lopez. Not really complaining, though, just wondering. :)

[Tornon]

Nevin Ks swinging, 2-1 Cubs middle of 6

[saboforthird]

Great job by Milton to hold the score right where it is.

[Tornon]

Lopez draws a leadoff walk

[Tornon]

Griffey flies to left, 1 out

[saboforthird]

Junior flies out in foul territory in left.

[Tornon]

Dunn Ks swinging while Lopez steals 2nd, 2 out

[saboforthird]

Dunn does as Dunn always does. Takes two strikes and strikes out on a ball nearly in the dirt.

Lopez steals second.

[Tornon]

Kearns flies to right, 2-1 Cubs after 6

[kevinc12345]

99 pitches and cruising :(

[Tornon]

Murton lines to Lopez, 1 out

[Tornon]

Jones grounds to Lopez, 2 out

[flynn78]

We are so ineffective with the bats on some days. The good teams find a way to get the bat on the ball. We have not learned how to do that. Hopefully it comes with time, but I'm starting to wonder.

[Tornon]

Cedeno takes a walk

[Tornon]

Perez goes yard on the first pitch, 4-1 Cubs

[saboforthird]

Dunn is almost EXACTLY on pace to meet his average number of strikeouts over the past two seasons:

(2004) 543 At-Bats, 168 Strikeouts
(2005) 568 At-Bats, 195 Strikeouts

Average: 556 At-Bats, 182 Strikeouts

(2006) 210 At-Bats, 69 Strikeouts

Pace: 556 At-Bats, 183 Strikeouts

[flynn78]

The Cubs OWN us. 4-1 on a HR by a guy hitting in the 100's.

[Tornon]

Bynum pinch hitting for Marmol

[Tornon]

Bynum singles to right

[saboforthird]

Will Narron be back next year? Or, Piniella (I hope so)?

Milton is performing to AL standards. Or slightly below, in a good way.

I just can't figure out why the Cubs have the Reds' number like they do. Or, why the Reds continue to stink it up at home. Why expect fans to show up at the ballpark, when you don't win much there?

[Tornon]

Pierre grounds to Lopez who tries to get the out at second, but is too late.

[saboforthird]

Pierre grounds to Lopez who tries to get the out at second, but is too late.

He wasn't late due to excess in the effort department, to be sure. I still think BP and Lopez need to swap. A lot of these mental errors would go away for Lopez, and you'd have BP's athleticism over there.

[Tornon]

Walker grounds to Hatteberg, 4-1 Cubs middle of 7

[Tornon]

David Aardsma in to pitch

[Tornon]

Hatteberg works the count and lines out to right, 1 out

[saboforthird]

Hatteberg lines out to RF Pierre, 1 out.

[Tornon]

Phillips goes yard straightaway center field, 4-2 Cubs

[saboforthird]

BP homers to center. 4-2 Cubs, but the Reds need runners.

[Tornon]

Ross takes a walk as Aardsma barely misses with a 3-2 pitch
McCracken pinch hitting

[kevinc12345]

Phillips bringing out the big stick!

[kevinc12345]

Rally time, come on Reds!

[Tornon]

McCracken bloops one to second, 2 out

[saboforthird]

Q hammers one deep up in the air to second base. [/sarcasm]

[Tornon]

Freel gets nailed and heads to first

[flynn78]

Freel takes one for the team. Aardsma out.

[Tornon]

Cubs going to the bullpen
Will Ohman in to pitch

[cincy09]

Sad that Q Mac. is the best option coming off the bench :confused:

[flynn78]

Q hammers one deep up in the air to second base. [/sarcasm]
Sarcasm noted and agreed with.:)

[kevinc12345]

Come on Felipe :pray:

[flynn78]

Sad that Q Mac. is the best option coming off the bench :confused:
What about Rey Rey?

[kevinc12345]

Sad that Q Mac. is the best option coming off the bench :confused:
Agreed. The staff has way too much confidence in him... Why not bring out Valentin?

[saboforthird]

I feel like Felipe does better with runners with the runners where they are, not moved up into scoring position. The kid loves hitting under pressure.

EDIT: Note to self, gut feelings are not encouraged at RZ. Stats only, please. ;)

[Tornon]

Lopez flies to left, 4-2 Cubs after 7

[Tornon]

Weathers in to pitch

[flynn78]

We cannot be successful stranding runners all the time. We deserve more than a lazy swing at a 3-1 pitch from Lopez. We had their backs against the wall that inning and let them off, again. With the lack of hustle on the play earlier and lazy at bats Lopez is on my list.

[Tornon]

Barrett lines a single to left

[Tornon]

Nevin goes yard, 6-2 cubs

[cincy09]

Stormy Weathers is awesome

[cincy09]

Why cant we beat the cubs?

[dougdirt]

I hate the Cubs and their "fans"

[Tornon]

Murton singles up the middle

[Tornon]

Weathers is hurt & leaving

[flynn78]

Ballgame, drive safely.

[flynn78]

Weathers is hurt & leaving
So am I.:angry:

[cincy09]

Weathers is hurt & leaving

Wonder who gets called up now?

[Tornon]

Hammond coming in

[scuba17]

I know they have ben packing it in to GABP this weekend, but 50% must be Cubs fans. Especially today it seems like. Just listen to the crowd.

[flynn78]

Hope we can get healthy against the Brew Crew.

[snowstorm]

We cannot be successful stranding runners all the time. We deserve more than a lazy swing at a 3-1 pitch from Lopez. We had their backs against the wall that inning and let them off, again. With the lack of hustle on the play earlier and lazy at bats Lopez is on my list.

I'm convinced that this team has an uncontrollable urge to swing the bat, no matter what the count is. That has happened way too many times in this series. And more often than not, they have let the Cubs get out of trouble. Doesn't make any sense.

[Tornon]

Jones lines to Kearns, 1 out

[saboforthird]

Perhaps the Reds are shopping Quentin McCracken.

Salesman: "Hello, we hear you are looking for a human-looking batting machine, infield model only. We can provide that.

Customer: "What is the range in which this machine can launch the ball towards fielders?"

Salesman: "From 0 to 90 feet, consistently".

Customer: "We'll take it!"

[Tornon]

Cedeno goes yard, 8-2 Cubs

[Jr's Boy]

This is getting ugly.No bullpen,no chance at contending.

[Tornon]

Perez doubles into the LF corner

[saboforthird]

Teams that don't beat the teams they should beat, aren't contenders. 8-2 Cubs now on a 2-run shot off Hammonds. Have a good afternoon, all.

[Tornon]

John Mabry pinch hitting

[Jr's Boy]

Pretty sad seeing Cubs fans sitting behind home plate.

[Tornon]

Teams that don't beat the teams they should beat, aren't contenders. 8-2 Cubs now on a 2-run shot off Hammonds. Have a good afternoon, all.

But if we keep winning games, there is no reason we cannot contend

Mabry flies to Kearns, 2 out

[Tornon]

Pierre singles in front of a diving Dunn, 9-2 Cubs

[Tornon]

Walker grounds to Lopez who goes to the bag, 9-2 Cubs middle of 8

[Tornon]

Scott Eyre in to pitch

[Tornon]

Griffey flies to left, 1 out

[Jr's Boy]

Mine as well bus the Brewers fans in.Plenty of good seats.

[Tornon]

Dunn.. Yard. 9-3 Cubs

[Tornon]

Kearns dribbles one in front of the plate, Eyre makes the play. 2 out

[Tornon]

Hatteberg grounds one up the middle that Walker almost makes a play on but cannot, single.

[captainmorgan07]

weathers prolly injured his elbow throwing so many batting practice fastballs last inning

[Tornon]

Phillips flies to left, 9-3 Cubs after 8

[Tornon]

White in to pitch

[Tornon]

Barrett grounds to Freel, 1 out

[Tornon]

Nevin Ks looking, 2 out

[Tornon]

Murton grounds to Lopez, 9-3 Cubs middle of 9

[Tornon]

Roberto Novoa in to pitch for Chicago

[Tornon]

Ross grounds to short, 1 out

[Tornon]

Olmedo pinch hitting

[Tornon]

Olmedo flies to left, 2 out

[Tornon]

Freel Ks swinging, Cubs win 9-3

WP Carlos Marmol
LP Eric Milton

Let's go get em tomorrow, we still lead the wild card.

[GOREDSGO32]

Pathetic. Beat Houston and St Louis on the road, can't beat the Scrubs at home. What a joke. Send Milton out, drop the cash .. send out Griffey (we have a better record without Griff than with) and build a core team from the bottom up. I'm sick of this.

[reds44]

Pathetic. Beat Houston and St Louis on the road, can't beat the Scrubs at home. What a joke. Send Milton out, drop the cash .. send out Griffey (we have a better record without Griff than with) and build a core team from the bottom up. I'm sick of this.
Overreact much?

[KronoRed]

It's the loss of Womack

[GOREDSGO32]

It's not overreacting. If you can't beat the Cubs at home .. how are you going to make the playoffs?

[reds44]

It's not overreacting. If you can't beat the Cubs at home .. how are you going to make the playoffs?
We are 1.5 out of first, and the leader in the wild card. We have won 8 of 11 and I will take losing 3 of 4 to the Cubs and taking 6 of 6 from the Astros any day of the week.

The Cubs have our number this year, it happens. Oh well. Go Beat the Brew Crew Monday.

[GOREDSGO32]

We were up in the division .. this seesaw crap won't work all year, the Cardinals are going to take the division. They have much more staying power than us. This LOB problem, along with a terrible defense, and terrible bullpen has to be fixed.

[reds44]

We were up in the division .. this seesaw crap won't work all year, the Cardinals are going to take the division. They have much more staying power than us. This LOB problem, along with a terrible defense, and terrible bullpen has to be fixed.
We have a bad bullpen? No kidding. Give Wayne 3-4 weeks and he will get some actual relief pitchers here. We just got to hang around until then.

We have twice the lineup the Cardinals do, and better starting pitching. Saying they have much more staying power then us is a farse.

[griffeyfreak4]

It's not overreacting. If you can't beat the Cubs at home .. how are you going to make the playoffs?
Umm......You said the Cards will make the playoffs and they get owned by the Cubs. That's called contradicting yourself.

[saboforthird]

We have a bad bullpen? No kidding. Give Wayne 3-4 weeks and he will get some actual relief pitchers here. We just got to hang around until then.

We have twice the lineup the Cardinals do, and better starting pitching. Saying they have much more staying power then us is a farse.

Wishful thinking. The Cardinals, with Pujols in there finds a way to win the close games far more often than the Reds do. Without Pujols, I'll agree with you. Other than Arroyo and Harang, this rotation itself is about to implode. The bullpen is already in shambles.

I did some simple calculations of margin of victory/loss for the Cards and Reds since the season began. I interpreted "close" games as ~2 runs and "blowouts" ~5 runs:



CLOSE GAMES (~2 RUNS)
REDS CARDINALS
APR 9-3 7-3

MAY 6-5 8-4

JUN 3-2 2-3

TOTAL 18-10 17-10

BLOWOUTS (~5 RUNS)
REDS CARDINALS
APR 5-4 6-2

MAY 4-6 5-4

JUN 3-1 0-1

TOTAL 12-11 11-7


Personally, I consider contenders to be those teams that can win the close games. Both the Reds and Cardinals have proven they do that. What worries me, though, is that the Reds have been pretty lucky in the injuries department, and the Cardinals have not, yet the Reds just barely kept ahead of the Cardinals.

On the flip side of the coin, you need an offense to win games when your pitching isn't stellar. The Reds don't have that. They do hit a lot of homeruns, don't get me wrong. It's moving runners up they have a problem with. If it weren't for the recent winning streak for the Reds, the Cardinals would have a decided advantage in terms of being able to score in bunches. I do not think the Reds have what it takes to hang with the Cardinals.