9 would be divine!! Reds vs Cubs - 6-9

[CTA513]

Which would have made for an interesting bottom of the 9th - because that is probably what Dusty was thinking too. And Jr is a pretty capable at laying done a bunt.

There's alot of things, after the fact, that we could have/should have done. No need to second guess now.

But we should have never been in this position to begin with.... poor defense and terrible decision making (mainly by Lopez) simply cost us this game.

And as it was mentioned earlier - Maddox's pitch count in the 4th inning was 40+ pitches. Maddox is obviously a HOF pitcher; but he struggled bad in May (over 7 ERA) with the only win being against us.

They got some breaks in this game, and we didn't.

C'mon, we're in the thick of this thing.... put this loss behind ya and ENJOY!

Funny thing? We've beaten Zambrano both times he has faced us this year.

Reds had bases loaded with no outs and down 6-5.
Dusty played his infield back and was willing to give up the tying run to get a double play, but the Reds never even attempted to bunt. I know the Reds are going to lose games, but you should atleast be able to tie a game with bases loaded and no outs. After Dempster walks 3 guys you have 3 Reds players up at the plate hacking at the 1st or 2nd pitch.

Oh well, lets hope Zambrano shows up in a Reds uniform and Claussen is in a Cubs uniform tonight.

[Caveat Emperor]

I'm having a hard time believing what I'm reading here.

It's not the worst loss of the season and it's not the "we're finished -- season over" type of loss.

Rather, it's yet another setback in front of a giant home crowd for a team that has struggled for the better part of a decade and a fanbase that has grown, for the most part apathetic.

When you sell your place out, you gotta win. Gotta send the kids home happy and make everyone eager to come out again, as opposed to lukewarm about spending their money the next time.

That's my bottom line.

[BCubb2003]

The only player I can think of who ever singlehandedly lost a game was Scott Williamson.

It's amazing how disgusted we get while assuming we should have beat Greg Maddux. i actually think this might be good for the Reds as a reminder that they have to continue to execute. That confidence and "we knew we were going to win" isn't enough.

It's only the worst game since the last worst game, which came right before the winning streak.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Reds had bases loaded with no outs and down 6-5.
Dusty played his infield back and was willing to give up the tying run to get a double play, but the Reds never even attempted to bunt.

If a team bunts with the bases loaded, then that goes against all conventional wisdom. There is a force at home. You do not do it... period. You take your "chances" with a sac. fly, a grounder, a hit or anything but a bunt.

Tough game. Terrible defense. Terrible strike 3 call on Lopez in the 9th IMO... but still too close to take (also IMO).

Get 'em tonight!

[CTA513]

If a team bunts with the bases loaded, then that goes against all conventional wisdom. There is a force at home. You do not do it... period. You take your "chances" with a sac. fly, a grounder, a hit or anything but a bunt.

Tough game. Terrible defense. Terrible strike 3 call on Lopez in the 9th IMO... but still too close to take (also IMO).

Get 'em tonight!

I would have rather seen them try to bunt then hack at the first couple of pitches against a guy that was having trouble throwing strikes. It also doesnt help that some of the pitches they swung at were balls. But it doesnt matter now, the Reds did what they did and lost. Now lets hope Zambrano doesnt throw a no hitter against the Reds tonight.

[RedFanAlways1966]

In hindsight a bunt would have been better, CTA, I agree. But at the time not too many managers will call that play b/c of the force at home and usually a bunt will be fielded near the plate... making home the quickest place to go. The REDS also had David Ross on third and he is not a burner. I am still a bit uptight about the strike 3 call on Felipe. High and outside a tad IMO! But as many a coach told me when I was younger, "You must protect the plate with 2 strikes." I am still madder at the ump than Felipe though.

I hope Carlos Z. gets a serious attitude problem tonight... b/c we know what that means!

[Matt700wlw]

Call me Debbie Downer or whatever, but I view this loss as the worst this of this season, and one of the worst Reds losses I've seen. The Reds simply gave this game away. It was a chance to stay a half game up on the Cards and put some more distance between the teams vying for the wildcard spot. They failed to do that.

I love Felipe Lopez as a player, he's one of my favorites on the team - and I think he is one of the top hitting shortstops in baseball - however, last night was probably the first time I've ever seen a player almost single-handedly lose a game for his team. Between the boneheaded caught stealing, the failure to turn an inning ending doubleplay that eventually led to three more runs scoring, and the horrible atbat in the 9th with the bases loaded, you could make a strong case that he lost this one by himself. There is plenty of blame to go around, but a lot of it goes to Felipe on this night. He's still a very good player and will bounce back and hopefully learn from his mistakes. Last night simply wasn't his night.

The worst loss in recent years came against the Mets in the one game playoff of 1999.

THAT game meant everything.

Honestly, the way the Reds played they didn't derseve to win this game, yet they almost did. It just goes to show you that in the big leagues, you can't give the other team extra chances.

[KronoRed]

I blame Dunn's 19th homer.

Yeah really that was a total rally killer and what the heck was that walk in the 9th??? a ground out would have been a lot better since it was contact.

[BCubb2003]

That ninth inning had enough ammunition for all the arguments on both sides of the great schism.

[OnBaseMachine]

It's not the worst loss of the season and it's not the "we're finished -- season over" type of loss.

Rather, it's yet another setback in front of a giant home crowd for a team that has struggled for the better part of a decade and a fanbase that has grown, for the most part apathetic.

When you sell your place out, you gotta win. Gotta send the kids home happy and make everyone eager to come out again, as opposed to lukewarm about spending their money the next time.

That's my bottom line.

Great post.

The worst loss of the year was a bit of a overreation, however, I still feel that it was a pretty bad loss. Good teams win those games. I'll feel much better if thew Reds can pull out a win tonight, but I wouldn't count on it with Claussen pitching vs Zambrano.

[RedFanAlways1966]

I'll feel much better if thew Reds can pull out a win tonight, but I wouldn't count on it with Claussen pitching vs Zambrano.

Eric Milton is THE Zambrano killer!

Too bad the REDS cannot move him up a day...

[TeamBoone]

I'll feel much better if thew Reds can pull out a win tonight, but I wouldn't count on it with Claussen pitching vs Zambrano.

Haven't they already beaten Zambrano twice this year?

[reds44]

Haven't they already beaten Zambrano twice this year?

Yes we are 2-0 against him in 3 or 4 starts.