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OnBaseMachine
03-30-2009, 11:41 AM
Taveras CF
Dickerson LF
Votto 1B
Phillips 2B
Bruce RF
Keppinger 3B
Janish SS
Hanigan C
Cueto P

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:09 PM
thanks for opening the game thread, mods.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:14 PM
Three outs sandwiched around a Votto walk to start the game.

Cueto gets one out on one pitch to start the Pirates part of the first on a ground ball.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:17 PM
One out walk puts runner on first.

More interestingly, Mercker's voice sounds just fine in the booth, and he is making some very interesting points on Cueto, talking about how it will the sky will be the limit as he masters his emotions and grows into his stuff.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:18 PM
Fly ball for second out.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:19 PM
Gotta say, initial impressions of Merck are very favorable. Good radio voice, already quick to share observations from his playing days. Very nice.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:19 PM
Pop up ends the inning.

0-0 after 1.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:24 PM
Bruce Ks to start the next inning.

Kepp grounds out to SS. Stop me if you have heard that before this spring.

Two outs.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:25 PM
Alex G apparently playing five innings at SS at the minor league complex today. Per the pre-game show, Dusty apparently noted that Hairston is still very weak from the flu.

Mercker likes Janish as a clubhouse guy and teammate.

Janish just ripped a ball out of the park but just foul.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:26 PM
They are talking about how Janish has showed much more pop this spring, something that Dusty has also talked about.

Janish then rips a single to CF.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:26 PM
They are also talking now about how Janish is without a doubt the better glove between he and Kepp.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:28 PM
Pitch out and Janish is dead from here to there trying to steal 2nd.

That has happened a LOT to the Reds this spring.

0-0 middle of 2.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:29 PM
Matt700wlw, I see you lurking. Tell the powers that be that Mercker sounds great and is bringing a lot to the broadcast already.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:35 PM
LaRoche finally retired after a long foul ball battle on a fly ball to RF.

Mercker still delightedly talking about the art of pitching. This is a great broadcast to listen to today, with Thom B asking good questions to get Mercker talking.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:36 PM
Fly ball to RF for the second out.

Matt700wlw
03-30-2009, 01:37 PM
I'm liking Merck too

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:38 PM
Fly ball to CF ends the Pirate 2nd.

0-0 after two.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:42 PM
Hanigan flies to short RF. Cueto grounds out.

Two down. Back to the top of the line-up.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:43 PM
Mercker marveling at how long the spring must be this year for the players, given its added week and extra games.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:43 PM
That would be Russ Ohlendorf pumping strikes and being the latest to quiet the Reds' bats this spring.

lollipopcurve
03-30-2009, 01:44 PM
Mercker likes Janish as a clubhouse guy and teammate.

Not that intangibles are the be-all and end-all, but I am struck by how often you hear this about Janish.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:46 PM
It does come up a lot. I am far more interested in how hard he has been hitting the ball this spring, but that he is a good teammate is not a bad thing either, along with that glove.

Taveras flies out.

0-0 mid 3.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:49 PM
Dribbler infield ball stays fair, Ohlendorf on first.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:50 PM
Cueto nails McLouth in the ribs with the next pitch. Crowd gasps in horror. As a McLouth fantasy owner, me too.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:51 PM
Kepp makes diving stop on Sanchez screaming ground ball up the line, steps on third for force.

One out, runners on first and second.

LoganBuck
03-30-2009, 01:51 PM
I really like what I have heard from Mercker. Good voice, so far good content.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:51 PM
Merck noting that part of Cueto's growth is figuring out how to work through these mid-game situations, noting that he would be cruising along at times last year, and then get in jams and it would get away from him.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:52 PM
Full agreement, Logan.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:52 PM
Cueto dispenses of Doumit in three pitches for a K to end the inning. I missed an out somewhere, sorry.

0-0 after 3.

membengal
03-30-2009, 01:56 PM
Dickerson flies out for out number one in the fourth.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:00 PM
Missed what happened to Votto, Phillips is up.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:01 PM
Votto apparently made an out.

Two baserunners for the Reds in the game is all at this point.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:03 PM
Phillips on with an IF hit. jack wilson almost got him on a great play.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:06 PM
Bruce Ks again.

Mid of 4, 0-0.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:11 PM
leadoff double for Pirates, runner moves over to third, and scores on a sac fly.

1-0 Pirates. Two outs, none on.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:12 PM
For any UK fans, the word down here in Memphis, and I have it on real solid authoiity, is that UK is about to hire John Calipari.

Great hire. We'll miss him terribly. He delivered on every promise he made down here and gave the city a run that far exceeded any reasonable expectation.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:13 PM
Calipari meeting with big money Memphis boosters in a couple of hours to tell them officially.

The word on the street is that UK is ponying up 6 years and $40 million. Oof.

Cal comes, I think, with perhaps two top 10 recruits in tow for next year.

JaxRed
03-30-2009, 02:17 PM
I've loved the UK ever since they gave us the Beatles

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:18 PM
Cueto still struggling to end the fourth. Has lost last two hitters to bring up pitcher.

Merck got good point here, innings like this elevate Cueto's pitch count unnecessarily. It is one of the places where he has learning and growth to go through.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:18 PM
I've loved the UK ever since they gave us the Beatles


Quality. Kentucky. Not Britain.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:20 PM
Loses pitcher to a BB.

Then a line drive out to end the inning.

JaxRed
03-30-2009, 02:21 PM
Quality. Kentucky. Not Britain.

Really? :D

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:29 PM
Work intervening, two outs, not sure if someone is on base or not.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:30 PM
There was one on, but third out just occurred, so inning over.

1-0, Pirates, middle of 5.

WMR
03-30-2009, 02:30 PM
Calipari meeting with big money Memphis boosters in a couple of hours to tell them officially.

The word on the street is that UK is ponying up 6 years and $40 million. Oof.

Cal comes, I think, with perhaps two top 10 recruits in tow for next year.

:D

Yup, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:32 PM
that would be them.

Calipari in Lexington will be a ton of fun. Bonus for Wildcat fans, Pitino is going to hate this.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:33 PM
Fly ball out to start the fifth for the Pirates.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:34 PM
Doumit slaps the ball to LF, crushing the heavy shift to RF, and waddles into 2b.

JaxRed
03-30-2009, 02:35 PM
Still Cueto?

WMR
03-30-2009, 02:36 PM
that would be them.

Calipari in Lexington will be a ton of fun. Bonus for Wildcat fans, Pitino is going to hate this.

:beerme::D:D:D:D:D:D:D

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:38 PM
jax, I think so, keep getting phone calls at work, so I am missing some of the details.

Pop out for out number two, Doumit still at 2nd.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:38 PM
wilymo, I cannot underscore enough how great it was to watch Cal work and coach for the last nine years in Memphis. He will truly be missed.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:39 PM
Dickerson apparently just made a fantastic catch running flat into the wall to snag a deep drive and end the inning. It got an "oh wow" from Mercker. Thom B points out that Reds pitchers will enjoy watching certain balls that were not caught in the past get caught this year.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:39 PM
Stil 1-0 Pirates after five.

WMR
03-30-2009, 02:40 PM
wilymo, I cannot underscore enough how great it was to watch Cal work and coach for the last nine years in Memphis. He will truly be missed.

Thanks for the insight, man. I certainly hope so. There's no other coaching candidate I'd prefer over Cal.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:44 PM
Fly ball out for first out in 6th. Russ Ohlendorf owns the Reds. His spring ERA coming into the game was apparently 0.50 . May need to look into him for back of the fantasy bench purposes. At one time, he was a somewhat touted Yankees prospect. Came over in the Nady deal, I think.

Chip R
03-30-2009, 02:44 PM
Take the UK talk to the UK thread or else this thread will be closed.

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:45 PM
Is that a joke?

membengal
03-30-2009, 02:48 PM
If it is not a joke, I am done trying to keep this thread up for the day. I thought misc chatter was fine during these threads. I have about had it with the mod'ing of late. I am not going to frantically flip between threads to try and put something interesting I heard living here in Memphis in some other mythical part of the board.

You all have a good one.

OnBaseMachine
03-30-2009, 03:06 PM
Laynce Nix pinch hit and doubled and Adam Rosales doubled him in. 1-1 in the 6th inning. Chris Heisey just PH and walked.

penantboundreds
03-30-2009, 03:12 PM
Thanks for the updates bengal...understand why you left not trying to be sarcastic, I followed the game through them, so thank you.

OnBaseMachine
03-30-2009, 03:20 PM
Lots of changes for the Reds.

Here's the updated lineup:

Darnell McDonald, CF
Laynce Nix, LF
Jonny Gomes, 1B
Adam Rosales, 2B
Chris Heisey, RF
Neftali Soto, 3B
Zach Cozart, SS
Wilkin Castillo, C

David Weathers threw a 1-2-3 6th inning.

Cueto: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2 K ... he pitched good except for the fourth inning when he walked three straight batters with two outs.

OnBaseMachine
03-30-2009, 03:29 PM
Danny Dorn pinch hit for Weathers and singled.

Mike Lincoln threw a 1-2-3 7th inning.

The Reds have taken a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning after Nix singled and scored on another double by Rosales. Keppinger went 0-for-2 today while Rosales is 2-for-2 with two doubles and two RBI. Nix is also 2-for-2 with a double.

OnBaseMachine
03-30-2009, 03:35 PM
Cordero threw a scoreless eighth inning. 2-1 Reds after eight innings.

Hoosier Red
03-30-2009, 03:37 PM
Danny Dorn pinch hit for Weathers and singled.

Mike Lincoln threw a 1-2-3 7th inning.

The Reds have taken a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning after Nix singled and scored on another double by Rosales. Keppinger went 0-for-2 today while Rosales is 2-for-2 with two doubles and two RBI. Nix is also 2-for-2 with a double.

Thanks for the updates. I don't think Rosales is Keppinger's competition, I'm gonna guess Janish is the true competition.

reds44
03-30-2009, 03:50 PM
I would seriously consider keeping Rosales and Janish and getting rid of Keppinger.

_Sir_Charles_
03-30-2009, 04:04 PM
Roenicke surrendered a run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and then walks another batter. In comes Herrera. First batter...bloop single to score the winning run. Only the second hit Danny's allowed all spring. Bad timing for it though. Reds lose 3-2

durl
03-30-2009, 04:07 PM
Cordero threw a scoreless eighth inning. 2-1 Reds after eight innings.

I have to admit that the first sentence shocked me. :eek:

Sure, it's one inning but hopefully it means he's about to find his groove.

HeatherC1212
03-30-2009, 04:11 PM
I know it's just spring training and all but I'm so not a fan of these late inning losses, LOL :laugh:

membengal
03-30-2009, 04:27 PM
Thanks for the updates bengal...understand why you left not trying to be sarcastic, I followed the game through them, so thank you.


No prob. I do it when I can because it is fun and I think some, like you, are able to follow along that way. The second it stops being fun, I won't make the effort. And Chip made sure it stopped being fun today. Which seems to be the default setting of late for the site.

hippie07
03-30-2009, 04:28 PM
Membengal
thanks for the game updates and the UK updates.

Chip R
03-30-2009, 04:32 PM
No prob. I do it when I can because it is fun and I think some, like you, are able to follow along that way. The second it stops being fun, I won't make the effort. And Chip made sure it stopped being fun today. Which seems to be the default setting of late for the site.


Well, excuse me for keeping the game thread topic on topic. Not everyone cares about the drama in Lexington.

reds44
03-30-2009, 04:36 PM
Considering the fact it's been a rare occasion to have a game thread as of late, I didn't mind the UK talk. Game threads go off track all the time.

Chip R
03-30-2009, 04:38 PM
Game threads go off track all the time.


They do but there's usually not another thread concerning those topics. I doubt the UK people would appreciate Reds games updates in their thread.

membengal
03-30-2009, 04:55 PM
Chip:

No problem. I will simply stop trying to perform the service. It is/was a labor of love for me to try and help folks who can't hear it out, on the rare occasions I can do that while from work. But I am not a stenographer, I am not paid by the site, and it has to be amusing on some level for me to do it. And dryly repeating PBP is not enough. And that was a topical thing that I literally got a call on from a booster friend in Memphis while doing the thread, and given the UK fans around, I thought they might want to know. Yesterday, during the game, Marty and Jeff talked about BBQ for two innings between pitches. I thought something similar was okay in-between action for this thread. If not, that's fine. I appreciate the clarification. But this is yet another instance of you guys needlessly stamping out enjoyment, at least for me. The upshot is, I won't do this again, as I don't want to feel so constrained. Simple recitation PBP is boring to me, to read and to type, if that's what you and Boss et al want for the game thread, I am out of this forum. No biggie, I am sure there are plenty who will be glad to simply be stenographers.

Peace.

---Aaron

SirFelixCat
03-30-2009, 07:14 PM
First off, thanks membengal (and OBM) for the pbp. I really enjoy reading your write-ups man. I really do. Please don't stop!

Chip, I understand what you're saying, but I really think that common sense should over-rule strict following of 'the rules' when it's harmless like this. I think it's a little over-the-top.

I can't follow every game (well, at least during ST), and I thouroughly enjoy membengal's pbp and the fact that, when you guys actually get around to 'authorizing' a game thread, he's the main pbp guy we have around here nowadays.

Bottom line, and I think I can say that I don't want a strict stenograph of the game...if I did, I'd just read the box-score/pbp on mlb.com or espn. Callipari leaving Memphis is probably a big deal around the Cincy area, so that's a rare, big-news kinda thing. I don't think something like that detracts from the game thread, when it's a rare-big news kinda thing.

Again, a lot of us read the game threads for flavor and things you just don't get by just seeing a box score. Lighten up a little here guys, seriously. This is supposed to be for enjoyment of us all. And while I am not a fan of either Memphis or UK, I don't mind a little bit here and there, esp. when it's big news like this.

Chip R
03-30-2009, 07:35 PM
First off, thanks membengal (and OBM) for the pbp. I really enjoy reading your write-ups man. I really do. Please don't stop!

Chip, I understand what you're saying, but I really think that common sense should over-rule strict following of 'the rules' when it's harmless like this. I think it's a little over-the-top.

I can't follow every game (well, at least during ST), and I thouroughly enjoy membengal's pbp and the fact that, when you guys actually get around to 'authorizing' a game thread, he's the main pbp guy we have around here nowadays.

Bottom line, and I think I can say that I don't want a strict stenograph of the game...if I did, I'd just read the box-score/pbp on mlb.com or espn. Callipari leaving Memphis is probably a big deal around the Cincy area, so that's a rare, big-news kinda thing. I don't think something like that detracts from the game thread, when it's a rare-big news kinda thing.

Again, a lot of us read the game threads for flavor and things you just don't get by just seeing a box score. Lighten up a little here guys, seriously. This is supposed to be for enjoyment of us all. And while I am not a fan of either Memphis or UK, I don't mind a little bit here and there, esp. when it's big news like this.


I understand what you are trying to say. membengal does a great job with the play by plays. But there's a difference in going off topic and staying off topic as this thread was starting to go towards. As I said, I don't think the people in the UK thread would like it if someone started posting about movies, for example. There's a thread for that too. If it would have been something like, "Calapari to UK. Details in the UK thread," and that if that would have been the end of it that
would have been fine.

No one's saying you can't have fun here. No one's saying you have to have a strict play by play of the game either. You ask us to use a little common sense so I'm asking you guys to do the same. If you are going to talk about something other than the game and there is a thread about it, talk about it in the other thread.

membengal
03-30-2009, 09:43 PM
Chip, I really am done. What common sense? I don't/didn't have time, at work, to have multiple windows open and go searching to see if it was being talked about somewhere else on the site. That's just silly. So, my bad, for talking out loud to myself (which is all I was doing for a good chunk of this thread) until, happily, someone engaged. Heaven forbid.

Your line is fine. I will adhere to it. I will just stay away from trying to do what I was doing w/ game updates. Popping in every now and then will have to be fine. ...

Ron Madden
03-31-2009, 05:57 AM
Thanks for the pbp Membengal and OBM.

I think you guys do a fine job. :thumbup:

WMR
03-31-2009, 07:11 AM
Wow. I really hate to see this.

I think Chip is an AWESOME moderator.

He really does do a great job.

I also absolutely love Mem's PBP... (not to mention that he is one of RZ's finest posters...)

I just hate that this situation is coming to this sort of disagreement. :(

It really seems like in a pre-season thread that any sort of participation should be encouraged... Hell, my first game thread posts of the spring were yesterday...

edabbs44
03-31-2009, 08:04 AM
It really seems like in a pre-season thread that any sort of participation should be encouraged... Hell, my first game thread posts of the spring were yesterday...

I have to agree with WMR here...while I understand the rule, I don't think that the spirit of the rule was being violated here, especially in a pre-season game.