8/5/2011 Reds at Cubbies Matinee

[cumberlandreds]

The lineups per Fay. I can't believe it! Frazier and Alonso in the lineup together. Someone besides Dusty must have made out the lineup card.
Game is at 2:20 this afternoon from Wrigleyville.

Drew Stubbs 8
Paul Janish 6
Joey Votto 3
Brandon Phillips 4
Jay Bruce 9
Ramon Hernandez 2
Yonder Alonso 7
Todd Frazier 5
Mike Leake RHP

[CySeymour]

The lineups per Fay. I can't believe it! Frazier and Alonso in the lineup together. Someone besides Dusty must have made out the lineup card.

No, it was Dusty. You can tell because the ss is hitting 2nd, even though said shortstop has no business hitting that high in the lineup.

[cumberlandreds]

No, it was Dusty. You can tell because the ss is hitting 2nd, even though said shortstop has no business hitting that high in the lineup.

That's a league wide rules isn't it? SS hit 2nd. :)

[Edskin]

No, it was Dusty. You can tell because the ss is hitting 2nd, even though said shortstop has no business hitting that high in the lineup.

You obviously don't know much about baseball. The fastest guy on the team should always bat leadoff and the no-hit/good glove SS should always bat second. It's pretty obvious..

[CTA513]

maybe we'll be lucky and get a chance to see Janish hit 4th this season?

[Edskin]

If I could have a convo with Dusty this is how I think it would go:

Me: Why is Jansih hitting second?

Dusty: He handles the bat well and is a good guy to have after Stubbs.

Me: But Stubbs doesn't get on base.

Dusty: Have you seen him run? The guy has the best wheels in the game.

Me: Yes, I know. But he doesn't get on base.

Dusty: I am not sure how that is relevant.

Me: You do realize you have a guy leading off who has some power but doesn't get on base followed by the worst hitter in MLB?

Dusty: But Stubbs is fast and Janish handles the bat well.

Me: Yes, we've established that. But do you not see the fallacy in doing that considering the other factors you seem to ignore?

Dusty: Stubbs is fast and Janish handles the bat well.

[Kc61]

Very funny.

If you guys have been watching - and I wouldn't criticize anyone for tuning out this ridiculous season - you've probably noticed that Janish has hit pretty well since he came up from AAA. So I have no problem hitting him second.

Frankly, I was disappointed that Edgar played the last game against the young Astros pitcher. Against a righty. Edgar should play against lefties. Period. He hits them well.

Against righties, Janish is the hotter hitter and a much better defender.

So I'm ok with Janish today, I'm ok hitting him second today.

On the other hand, I would not hit Hernandez sixth today. Hernandez has been cold. He doesn't look like the same player as from earlier this season. I would hit him eighth and hit Frazier sixth.

[klw]

On the other hand, I would not hit Hernandez sixth today. Hernandez has been cold. He doesn't look like the same player as from earlier this season. I would hit him eighth and hit Frazier sixth.

I would let Bruce Bochy bat Hernandez wherever he wants in the lineup.

[CySeymour]

I would let Bruce Bochy bat Hernandez wherever he wants in the lineup.

Yep...let Bochy at it!



In fact, could Walt include Dusty in that deal?

[Kc61]

I would let Bruce Bochy bat Hernandez wherever he wants in the lineup.

I agree.

Reds may have missed the boat on Ramon. He doesn't look that great to me right now. I don't know if he's tired, or just bored with this horrible situation, but he seems out of sync.

They should have traded him a few weeks ago.

Now, I doubt they get much for him, but they should just make the best deal they can and get it over with already.

P.S. The Reds may just be keeping Ramon because they want Mes to get as much AAA time in as possible. They may affirmatively want to KEEP him in AAA to get more practice before coming up to the majors. He is quite young.

FWIW, I'm concerned that the Reds may not promote Mes next spring. They may not trust him to handle their precious pitching staff until he is older.

[CySeymour]

Kc you may be right. But the danger in all of that, is that Ramon walks after the season and the team gets nothing in return. Yes, they could offer him arbitration, but that is a bad scenerio for the team because he could accept the arb, and that isn't what they need to happen.

[LincolnparkRed]

I won't defend the batting second but he put up this line at Wrigley

.375 .459 .563 1.022

and no that is not a misprint. It is in 32 at bats though.

[cumberlandreds]

Heisey tweaked his left oblique Wednesday during batting practice. He's probably not available today.Good chance he goes on the DL. Fay speculating that Francisco or Hermida will get the call. Also they are talking surgery for Cozart's elbow. He's going to try to play through it and see how it works out. And so it goes.........


http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/08/05/heisey-hurting-cozart-update/

[PuffyPig]

Stubbs is an above average lead off hitter.

His OBA of .331 is slightly above average but I'd prefer it to be at least .350.

Still, he had unwordly speed and base running ability, and is our best candidate for batting leadoff.

Plus, he works the pitchers in terms of pitch count, and his K's are largely rendered meaningless leading off.

FWIW, he ranks 2nd in the NL in runs scored this year.

[cumberlandreds]

Cubs lineup. Man what has happened to Colvin. I saw he was batting a crisp .124 this season.

Chi Cubs
S. Castro ss
T. Campana cf
A. Ramirez 3b
C. Pena 1b
B. DeWitt 2b
A. Soriano lf
T. Colvin rf
K. Hill c
R. Dempster p

[LincolnparkRed]

Cubs lineup. Man what has happened to Colvin. I saw he was batting a crisp .124 this season.

Chi Cubs
S. Castro ss
T. Campana cf
A. Ramirez 3b
C. Pena 1b
B. DeWitt 2b
A. Soriano lf
T. Colvin rf
K. Hill c
R. Dempster p

Put one into the river in Pittsburgh (bounced once outside the stadium) the other night

[redsmetz]

My younger daughter works at a restaurant in Wrigleyville and I just texted her to ask if she was working today and if there were Reds fans there. She said she starts at 2, but she's going to seat all the Reds fans in the front part of the restaurant. :laugh:

[Edd Roush]

Stubbs strikes out to lead off the game.

[HotCorner]

Memo to Leake: DO NOT THROW PENA A FASTBALL!

Thanks! :D

[Edd Roush]

Janish battling Dempster. He has already seen 8 pitches.

[Edd Roush]

Janish works an 11-pitch walk.

[Edd Roush]

Votto Ks swinging on a pitch thigh high on the outside corner.

[Edd Roush]

Phillips with a single to right, Janish move to third.

Time for Jay Bruce to go on another late-season tear.

[Edd Roush]

Bruce "works" a four pitch walk. None of those pitches were close. Dempster wanted nothing to do with Bruce.

[Kc61]

told ya Razor shouldn't hit sixth.

[Edd Roush]

Ramon Ks swinging to leave the bases juiced. Definitely an interesting way to strike out the side for Dempster.

[Edd Roush]

Castro with a lead-off single up the middle.

[CTA513]

:laugh:

[OesterPoster]

FAIL

I'm not even amused any longer.

[cumberlandreds]

Apparently Alonso misplayed a ball for an inside the park HR. I have a feeling the Cubs are going to sweep this series.

[Edd Roush]

Campana with an inside the park home run.

[dougdirt]

Apparently Alonso misplayed a ball for an inside the park HR. I have a feeling the Cubs are going to sweep this series.

Hard liner that bounced down the line, hit the wall in foul territory and then took off past Alonso out to the track.

[Edd Roush]

I am going to Chicago this weekend and I can't even convince my friends to pay $50 for a ticket. This team is struggling right now. Anyone have any suggestions of the best place to take in a game in Wrigleyville?

[Edd Roush]

Ramirez doubles. 2-0 Cubs, none out with a runner on second.

[757690]

I don't think I had seen a player misplay a ball that badly since I saw The Bad News Bears.

If I wasn't a Reds fans, I would be laughing my head off.

[Edd Roush]

Leake paints the inside corner to get Pena looking. Still a runner on second, now one out.

[klw]

The video of the "Home Run" is up on game day.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_08_05_cinmlb_chnmlb_1&mode=gameday&c_id=cin
Ooh live look in in progress.

[dougdirt]

I don't think I had seen a player misplay a ball that badly since I saw The Bad News Bears.

If I wasn't a Reds fans, I would be laughing my head off.

I won't go that far. The "misplay" wasn't all that bad. The fact that he stumbled after hitting the wall (and the ball was past him then) is what made you look bad, but it didn't change the play at all. I also am with the tv crew.... he isn't the only left fielder in baseball who plays that into a HR. Just a weird ricochet on that one because of the entire lack of foul ground there.

[klw]

Poor kid his first time in Wrigley and he is just learning the position. While the first reaction is to be upset, it is a shame as he is a novice out there and looks kind of nervous.

[LincolnparkRed]

I won't go that far. The "misplay" wasn't all that bad. The fact that he stumbled after hitting the wall (and the ball was past him then) is what made you look bad, but it didn't change the play at all. I also am with the tv crew.... he isn't the only left fielder in baseball who plays that into a HR. Just a weird ricochet on that one because of the entire lack of foul ground there.

Soriano would have played that to be a triple to start by just meeting the ball in the corner. Alonso wanted to limit it to two. Just caught a bad break on the bounce and came into the wall a little strong.

[signalhome]

I won't go that far. The "misplay" wasn't all that bad. The fact that he stumbled after hitting the wall (and the ball was past him then) is what made you look bad, but it didn't change the play at all. I also am with the tv crew.... he isn't the only left fielder in baseball who plays that into a HR. Just a weird ricochet on that one because of the entire lack of foul ground there.

The problem isn't with how he plays it off the wall, as that could happen to anyone. The problem is the horrible initial route he took to get to the ball. If he hadn't initially taken a path completely perpendicular to the ball's trajectory, there's a good chance he's able to get to the ball before it hits the wall. That's just something that will come with more experience in LF, though.

[dougdirt]

Poor kid his first time in Wrigley and he is just learning the position. While the first reaction is to be upset, it is a shame as he is a novice out there and looks kind of nervous.

I think the novice part is the important part there. He played the angle of the hit well and he actually got to the point of fielding it in a quick manner. He just ran out of grass/dirt by about two feet.

[Edd Roush]

Looks like Leake avoided any more trouble in the first.

Yonder leads off the second with a GO 4-3 and then Frazier pops up to short.

[Edd Roush]

The Reds go 1-2-3 in the second as Leake grounds out 5-3.

[Guacarock]

The other salient point to bear in mind: Even if Alonso had cut off the ball before it hit the wall, we'd still be down 2-0 after Ramirez's double. So while this play wasn't that pretty, it didn't change one iota of the game.

[edabbs44]

I didn't see the ITP HR, but reading the POVs has been interesting.

[dougdirt]

I didn't see the ITP HR, but reading the POVs has been interesting.

There is a link on page 3 to the video. Go watch it.

[CTA513]

Colvin didn't want to waste the energy needed for an inside the park homer and decided to just hit over the wall instead.

[757690]

The worst part was Alonso's reaction after he hit the wall, trying to chase the ball down. He showed how incredibly unathletic he is. He looked like a drunken clown.

[dougdirt]

The worst part was Alonso's reaction after he hit the wall, trying to chase the ball down. He showed how incredibly unathletic he is. He looked like a drunken clown.

His "reaction" was him bouncing off of the wall. Go back and watch the play. He is a big guy and he was moving pretty quickly. Bounced off the wall pretty good.

[edabbs44]

There is a link on page 3 to the video. Go watch it.

Should have been 2nd and 3rd.

[757690]

His "reaction" was him bouncing off of the wall. Go back and watch the play. He is a big guy and he was moving pretty quickly. Bounced off the wall pretty good.

I've seen it five times. I stand by drunken clown comment.

[Always Red]

I've seen it five times. I stand by drunken clown comment.

Wow, I just watched it too; it was at least awkward and non-graceful. ;)

[LincolnparkRed]

Should have been 2nd and 3rd.

Castro still scores in my mind. Wouldn't matter because Ramirez's double would bring both in.

[klw]

The worst part was Alonso's reaction after he hit the wall, trying to chase the ball down. He showed how incredibly unathletic he is. He looked like a drunken clown.

He ran into a brickwall at nearly full speed while looking down and trying to pick up a moving ball and then turned and chased the ball. Doing that is going to make many people look a "drunken clown."

[The Voice of IH]

Great pitch by leake on Ball four though, he almost made him swing!

[klw]

In other news, Leake "helps his own cause" by singling in Alonso. Frazier scores on a WP and after 4 full the Reds are within one at 3-2.

[klw]

Game is still being played. It just went to the 7th. Still 3-2 cubs. Leake escaped the 6th after there were runners on 2,3 with no outs. He is at 108 pitches so if he goes out for the 7th, Baker should be fired on the spot.

[Tom Servo]

I hate Campana. Hate him.

[Edskin]

Jay Bruce really isn't very good. By far the most depressing revelation for me this year.

[Tom Servo]

I hate Campana. Hate him.
My hatred for him just continues to grow.

[oneupper]

The other salient point to bear in mind: Even if Alonso had cut off the ball before it hit the wall, we'd still be down 2-0 after Ramirez's double. So while this play wasn't that pretty, it didn't change one iota of the game.

Don't agree. When you change history , you mess with the time-space continuum thingy. We don't know what would have happened later. Leake would have pitched differently most likely.

[redsfaninbsg]

I don't claim to be a baseball genius but some of this stuff is just so predictable. Major changes are needed on this club, major.

[Chip R]

Arredondo loads the bases with no outs. Bray in to pitch.

[Kc61]

Starting pitching is the only part that is working. Starters were the problem. Now the only successful area of the team.

[Tom Servo]

I don't know why Walt couldn't have at least gotten a good extra arm for the bullpen.

[Chip R]

Sac fly from Pena scores Castro. 4-2 Cubs.

[OldXOhio]

I don't claim to be a baseball genius but some of this stuff is just so predictable. Major changes are needed on this club, major.

Just you wait until the upcoming winter meetings fans. And if not then, look out for next year's trade deadline. We held onto all of our chips, Walt is sure to be a major player then. Of course, we may not be able to get a deal done to our liking, at which time I'd tell you to target the 2012 winter meetings....that'll be when teams are willing to trade because there are so many more in play than at the trade deadline. And if nothing happens, Walt can always fall back on the deadline on July 31, 2013 to help improve the team. Of course one of those things could be dealing Joey Votto if we're not in the race at that time. Which would then mean look out for the winter meetings in 2013, because Walt will be armed with lots of cash AND prospects, most of whom we're still holding onto.

Keep the faith, changes are a coming.

[redsfaninbsg]

I question just what in the hell is going on in the Reds farm system; none of these guys can bunt.

[Roy Tucker]

Don't agree. When you change history , you mess with the time-space continuum thingy. We don't know what would have happened later. Leake would have pitched differently most likely.

Maybe Alonso stepped on a butterfly.

[Tom Servo]

Maybe Alonso stepped on a butterfly.
He never should have stuck his hand in that toaster.

[OldXOhio]

I think this team actually tries to lose 1 run games.

[CySeymour]

I think my internet browser is broken. Everytime I refresh the screen to check the game, it always says "Stubbs struckout."

[Kc61]

I think my internet browser is broken. Everytime I refresh the screen to check the game, it always says "Stubbs struckout."

Lol.

Chapman in to have a good half inning which will be wasted.

[Tom Servo]

Why does it seem like Dusty always brings in Chapman too late?

[redsfaninbsg]

Why does it seem like Dusty always brings in Chapman too late?

Because he does.

[Kc61]

Why does it seem like Dusty always brings in Chapman too late?

Because he does.

[OldXOhio]

I think my internet browser is broken. Everytime I refresh the screen to check the game, it always says "Stubbs struckout."

Drew is making a case for immediate election into the NHL hall of fame.

[CySeymour]

Why does it seem like Dusty always brings in Chapman too late?

Because in addition to not knowing how to make out a lineup, Dusty has no idea how to handle a bullpen.

[redsfaninbsg]

NFL preseason starts next week and I can stop watching/caring about this dreadful team as much.

[OldXOhio]

Janish get PH for here? You just don't want your 2 hitter up in this type of situation.

[Tom Servo]

Good start.

[OldXOhio]

Talk about plunking the absolute wrong guy in all of baseball.

[redsfaninbsg]

So barring a double play the Reds get Votto/Phillips/Bruce to try to tie this thing.

[Tom Servo]

Votto K's.

[CySeymour]

Votto K's.

gotta admit I figured Joey was going to hit it hard somewhere

[edabbs44]

Why does it seem like Dusty always brings in Chapman too late?

Because if he waited, we'd be questioning why he always brings him in too late.

[OldXOhio]

You can't be playing the likes of Biggio, Bagwell, Ryno, Grace and the Hawk and expect to get out of those two cities with anything more than a split. Just ain't gonna happen.

[CySeymour]

You can't be playing the likes of Biggio, Bagwell, Ryno, Grace and the Hawk and expect to get out of those two cities with anything more than a split. Just ain't gonna happen.

But with Larkin and Rijo, we have a chance!

[redsfaninbsg]

How sad.

[signalhome]

Jay Bruce really isn't very good. By far the most depressing revelation for me this year.

False. On pace for a good year, just not a great one.

[OldXOhio]

How sad.

Not just sad any longer. More laughable.

[Tom Servo]

Ballgame. Wow.

[redsfaninbsg]

Reds strand the free world on base, yet again. And there goes the stupid song. Why do I love baseball?

[OldXOhio]

Still think it's just the pitching?

[1990REDS]

well 1-3 to start off the "easy" part of our schedule.

[OldXOhio]

well 1-3 to start off the "easy" part of our schedule.

Maybe the reason for our early 2nd half struggles wasn't the difficult schedule after all?

[757690]

The good news is that the Reds learned that Alonso should never play LF ever again ;)

[alloverjr]

The good news is that the Reds learned that Alonso should never play LF ever again ;)

That's good to hear. Wouldn't want a bat with a pulse, a .400 hitting pulse, anywhere near the starting lineup. If he doesn't play LF he doesn't play. Send him back to AAA. I want to see more Fred Lewis anyway.