Game Thread 5-20-06 Reds vs Tigers:

[VR]

Just got home and caught the 15 minute version of the game...thanks dvr.

I can live with the 9th inning dinger....but that 10th inning fiasco by Phillips and then Lopez is just harsh. Trying not to lose? I watched that Meat grounder to 2nd about 9 times, and for the life of me can't understand why he doved forward? instead of backhanding. Even so he had about 5 seconds to recover and start the dp, he unfortunately took 6.

That bloop episodes in the 3rd(?) were like my slow pitch softball league.

Griffey, left. Dunn, first. Lopez, second. Phillips, short. Freel/Deno, center. Coffey, closer. Can anyone give an argument of why those shouldn't happen?
While your at it, trade LaRue as well. His value will never be higher....I'd rather have Sardines in there if it meant getting any pitching help.

I think Harang is on tomorrow, still a good series win.

[MWM]

Went to the game tonight with a Tigers fan. I was really surprised at how many Reds fans were there. They were all over the place. I had some Reds gear on and was pretty mercilessly harassed out in the concourse and in the bathroom.

It's a good thing we used Coffey last night to protect that lead. Just dumb!

I know it's been said in this thread several times already, but they have got to get Griffey out of CF yesterday. He cost the Reds dearly tonight. I don't think there's many outfileders in the game that wouldn't have been sitting under a couple of the bloop hits that dropped tonight. What's frustrating about it is that it's not necessary. They have alternatives. And while I buy the "tradeoffs" argument to some degree, I don't think it applies in the case of Junior in CF. It's not a tradeoff the Reds have to make.

His GS was an incredible moment. This guy Sumaya (or whatever his name is) struts in from the bullpen with a lot of flash and show. The crowd loves the guy. The guy sitting a couple of seats over from me said to be prepared to see triple digits. I said to him that the Reds tend to hit flame throwers fairly well. It was the soft tossing lefties they struggled with. He laughed at me.

Jim Leyland is going to cost the Tigers more games than he'll win for them this year. Milton is getting hit hard, it's the 5th inning in the first outing after a DL stint. He's a bad pitcher to begin with. The leadoff guy gets on and Leyland sees fit to try to either steal a base or hit and run with a 4 run lead and a chance to put the game out of reach. Brilliant. I told the guy if the Reds come back to win, you can point to that inning as a lost opportunity. I was almost right.

Ultimately defense cost the Reds the game tonight (I know, FCB, Milton didn't help, but the game was won after Milton was out of the game and then blown byt the defense). I was sitting in left field, so I didn't have the best angle, but it looked like Dmitri's ball hit ti Phillips was a good DP ball that BP bobbled. It could have got them out of the inning. Everyone here was saying it was a nice play, so maybe it wasn'ta DP ball. And from where I was sitting, Guillen would have been EASILY out on the stolen base had FeLo not dropped the ball. WHAT WAS LEYLAND THINKING THERE!!!!!!!!

It was funny watching Hammond pitch. The hitters just can't wait for the ball to get there. When I first tried to play softball after playing baseball my whole life, I had the hardest time waiting for the ball to get to the plate. That's what it's like against Hammond.

Tigers fans are an odd bunch or I was in a weird section (cheap seats). I wondered if some of them had ever been to a baseball game before. But the place was packed. There were few empty seats.

Comercia park is such a great stadium. I've been to a lot of the newer ones, and this is is the best of all of them, IMO. But the food there is the worst I've ever had at a ballpark.

[OnBaseMachine]

Tigers fans are an odd bunch or I was in a weird section (cheap seats). I wondered if some of them had ever been to a baseball game before. But the place was packed. There were few empty seats.

George Grande mentioned that it was the fourth largest crowd ever at Comerica Park. I was kind of shocked to hear that.

Thanks for the report!

[Redhook]

If we lose this game, narron lost it last night by pitching Coffey with a 5 run lead.

I completely agree with you. What in the world was Coffey pitching in the eighth inning last night for?

[CrackerJack]

I completely agree with you. What in the world was Coffey pitching in the eighth inning last night for?

Close games require a veteran presence on the mound?

[scounts22]

Went to the game tonight with a Tigers fan. I was really surprised at how many Reds fans were there. They were all over the place. I had some Reds gear on and was pretty mercilessly harassed out in the concourse and in the bathroom.

It's a good thing we used Coffey last night to protect that lead. Just dumb!

I know it's been said in this thread several times already, but they have got to get Griffey out of CF yesterday. He cost the Reds dearly tonight. I don't think there's many outfileders in the game that wouldn't have been sitting under a couple of the bloop hits that dropped tonight. What's frustrating about it is that it's not necessary. They have alternatives. And while I buy the "tradeoffs" argument to some degree, I don't think it applies in the case of Junior in CF. It's not a tradeoff the Reds have to make.

His GS was an incredible moment. This guy Sumaya (or whatever his name is) struts in from the bullpen with a lot of flash and show. The crowd loves the guy. The guy sitting a couple of seats over from me said to be prepared to see triple digits. I said to him that the Reds tend to hit flame throwers fairly well. It was the soft tossing lefties they struggled with. He laughed at me.

Jim Leyland is going to cost the Tigers more games than he'll win for them this year. Milton is getting hit hard, it's the 5th inning in the first outing after a DL stint. He's a bad pitcher to begin with. The leadoff guy gets on and Leyland sees fit to try to either steal a base or hit and run with a 4 run lead and a chance to put the game out of reach. Brilliant. I told the guy if the Reds come back to win, you can point to that inning as a lost opportunity. I was almost right.

Ultimately defense cost the Reds the game tonight (I know, FCB, Milton didn't help, but the game was won after Milton was out of the game and then blown byt the defense). I was sitting in left field, so I didn't have the best angle, but it looked like Dmitri's ball hit ti Phillips was a good DP ball that BP bobbled. It could have got them out of the inning. Everyone here was saying it was a nice play, so maybe it wasn'ta DP ball. And from where I was sitting, Guillen would have been EASILY out on the stolen base had FeLo not dropped the ball. WHAT WAS LEYLAND THINKING THERE!!!!!!!!

It was funny watching Hammond pitch. The hitters just can't wait for the ball to get there. When I first tried to play softball after playing baseball my whole life, I had the hardest time waiting for the ball to get to the plate. That's what it's like against Hammond.

Tigers fans are an odd bunch or I was in a weird section (cheap seats). I wondered if some of them had ever been to a baseball game before. But the place was packed. There were few empty seats.

Comercia park is such a great stadium. I've been to a lot of the newer ones, and this is is the best of all of them, IMO. But the food there is the worst I've ever had at a ballpark.

I was at the game too, section 114 down the right field line. I couldn't believe how many Reds fans were there too. I proudly sported my Dunn jersey and heard a few "Reds/Dunn sucks!" comments. My friend (who is actually a fan of both teams) even teased me.

Tigers fans are not nice. Some bitter lady in front of me (who sported an I-Rod jersey) was waving to all Reds batters when they struck out, telling each and every one to "Have a seat" and "Don't forget to write." After about the 5th time I heard that, I wanted to punch her. There was about to be a girl fight! It was a little obnoxious.

I whole-heartedly agree with all of the statements you made about the game. Those bloopers in the 3rd inning were ridiculous and Jr definitely hurt the defense last night. The major disgust started for me when Narron brought in Rick White to pitch. I was utterly surprised when he got an out without giving up a run.

I am extremely upset to admit that I was waiting in line for food when Jr hit the granny. Comerica is a nice park, I really liked it overall, but I waited in line for 2 innings for food. It was horrible and I was . I did get to watch it on the TV screens while waiting in line for my $4.75 coney.

Overall I had a nice time at the game but the way the Reds lost made me want to crawl in a hole.

Oh, and the fireworks after the game were pretty sweet too!