8/23 Reds vs Stros Freel out, Ross in

[membengal]

That was me, musing on a lefty heavy line-up. Yeah, Garner has mothballed a couple of his bats, so the effect is minmized, but that's still not a great hitting line-up, and it makes Berkman bat right-handed, which is his weaker side in terms of power.

Not a great pitching match-up, obviously, just have to cross fingers and hope. I do know that, whatever else happens, Michalek's effort on that Saturday against the Phillies when the bullpen was so wasted from the 14-inning loss, was one of the very important relief jobs this club has received in a long, long time. So he has my gratitude for that, at the least...

[Doc. Scott]

Ensberg has an OPS of 1.026 against LHP this year. Lane's is .911.

Ah. Forget I said anything then.

[Puffy]

This lineup sucks - how can you have Michalek, batting.667, batting 9th??

[cumberlandreds]

That was me, musing on a lefty heavy line-up. Yeah, Garner has mothballed a couple of his bats, so the effect is minmized, but that's still not a great hitting line-up, and it makes Berkman bat right-handed, which is his weaker side in terms of power.

Not a great pitching match-up, obviously, just have to cross fingers and hope. I do know that, whatever else happens, Michalek's effort on that Saturday against the Phillies when the bullpen was so wasted from the 14-inning loss, was one of the very important relief jobs this club has received in a long, long time. So he has my gratitude for that, at the least...

I totally agree with you about Mihalek. If he does nothing else this year that one performance was huge for the Reds.

[Doc. Scott]

I totally agree with you about Mihalek. If he does nothing else this year that one performance was huge for the Reds.

Did getting hammered by the Pirates even it out, though? I'm not sure if it did or not.

[dsmith421]

One huge thing about this game today is that a Reds win would pretty conclusively shut the door on Houston. That kind of psychological boost could help carry the club into San Francisco on a high.

[Matt700wlw]

Did getting hammered by the Pirates even it out, though? I'm not sure if it did or not.

Looking back....considering how the series turned out, his relief outing was bigger than his horrible start.

We'll see what happens today

[membengal]

Re: Michalek, nope, whatever else happens for me, that doesn't even it out. The Reds pen was completely gassed, and they were desperate for something, anything, and Michalek's performance there was huge. Saved the pen so that they could win the following day, at the least. A gigantic win too, as close as the Phillies are wanting to make this.

His performance that day gets him a pretty huge pass from me...

[Doc. Scott]

Looking back....considering how the series turned out, his relief outing was bigger than his horrible start.

We'll see what happens today

Intangibles, yeah- to pick the Reds up after the depressing 14-inning loss and implosion of Ramirez.

But he's 1-1 as far as pitching well, just like his record. Getting pounded by the worst team in the National League... hmmm.

Still not sure.

[PuffyPig]

Did getting hammered by the Pirates even it out, though? I'm not sure if it did or not.

If you told me before he pitched that he would go 1-1 in his first 2 games, I would be estatic. That win in Phillie where he saved the bullpen and won the game was huge.

[Kc61]

Reds needed to keep Valentin on the bench because Hollandsworth is playing. Probably decided that had to keep one left bat on the bench.

[Matt700wlw]

Still not sure.

I'm not either....and my leash for him is short.

He gets rocked today, I'd be inclined to try somebody else on Monday.

[LincolnparkRed]

Nice to see Griffeys average creeping back towards his career numbers. I know that it is not the measure of a great hitter but having someone hitting .235 in the 3rd spot and not named Dunn does not make feel good.

[redsmetz]

When he goes long today, all will be well and good

Ya got to believe!

[cumberlandreds]

You can hear the game on WWW.athensi.com. Click on the WATH link when you get there.