Reds Still in 1st Place
Back in first place, well tied for first, but it’s nice to hear. The Reds have not looked all that great, in my opinion, in the last week, but they still went 3-3 on their road trip. Not too bad, they did only beat the St. Louis Cardinals one time, but were able to muster out two wins against an improving, but not yet great team, in the Washington Nationals. It’s hard to believe, but the Reds have been all alone in first, tied for first or no more than two game out of first since May 11. They have been at the top of the NL Central Standings for almost a month, hard to believe.
Since May 11th the Reds are 15-9 and have climbed to the top in almost every offensive category, which is shocking seeing how they have no $20 million slugger in their lineup. According to ESPN, the Reds team payroll is $68,200,542, while the New York Yankees, for example, have a payroll of $206,738,398. Their infield of Teixeira, A-Rod, Cano and Jeter makes over $88 million, which more than the Reds whole team. But it just goes to show you that you do not need to have the highest paid team to be successful. Several veterans have stepped up to lead the Reds into first place and so have some of the younger players.
Scott Rolen has been great hitting .288 with 14 HR, tied for the NL lead, and 40 RBI’s. Jonny Gomes has surprised everyone hitting .304 with 7 HR and 36 RBI’s. Joey Votto continues to show why he is one of the best first baseman in the game hitting .318, second in the NL, with 11 HR and 36 RBI’s. As a team the Reds are first in the NL in team batting average (.291), homers (45), slugging percentage (.487) and runs (166). Rolen, Gomes and Votto all deserve to be in the All-Star in Anaheim, but I would be surprised if all three made it. Cincinnati just does not have the market to compete with the votes from fans in Philadelphia, Chicago and New York and it’s a shame. These guys have been the heart and soul of this team and are one of the main reasons they are tied for 1st place. But wait, don’t forget the pitching.
Since the series in Pittsburgh where Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey threw back-to-back complete game shutouts the Reds pitching has been good at times, but also horrible at times. Cueto, Bronson Arroyo and rookie sensation Mike Leake, are tied for the team lead in wins with 5. Leake leads the club in ERA at 2.22, tied for 6th in the NL, and has been outstanding. So far, Mike Leake has been one of, if not the best rookie pitch in baseball, but Stephen Strasburg makes his much anticipated debut tomorrow. Strasburg should get the win against the Pirates (see first sentence of paragraph). If Cueto and Bailey did that, Strasburg should have no problem, watch him throw a no-hitter. Leake has a chance to make the All-Star team and rightfully so, he has been a nice surprise going 5-0.
Beside Leake, the rest of the pitching has been hot and cold. Cueto and Arroyo have looked good at times, but Cueto got shelled against the Cardinals and so did Arroyo. Bronson did pitch well in yesterday's ball game, however. Still Cueto is 5-1 with an ERA of 4.09, which is not bad. Arroyo is 5-3 with an ERA of 4.65. Both of these guys ERA’s are skewed a bit by bad performances earlier in the year. Aaron Harang continues to drive everyone crazy. Sometimes he likes he should win the Cy Young and other times he looks like he should not even be pitching in the big leagues. He is 4-5 with a huge ERA of 5.43, and has given up 87 hits in only 69 2/3 innings pitched. Harang pitched awful Friday night in D.C. only going 4 innings and throwing 98 pitches in the process. How he didn’t manage to give up more runs is beyond me. Then there is the weakest part of the team, the bullpen.
Francisco Cordero is second in all of baseball with 16 saves, but just blew another one yesterday and the bullpen has not looked good the past few weeks. Nick Masset continues to struggle, but did pick up a save yesterday, but made it interesting. I would drop dead if the Reds had a closer who got three straight outs in the ninth and avoided all the drama. Arthur Rhodes has been the only bright spot, by having a team high 13 holds and a remarkable ERA of 0.38. He has only allowed one run in 24 innings this season. Outstanding, another candidate to make the All-Star team, but probably won’t. Other guys in the bullpen like Daniel Ray Herrera, Mike Lincoln, and Carlos Fisher have all struggled. Herrera’s ERA is only 2.93, but he has given up 21 hits in 15 1/3 innings. He is used as a lefty specialist and lefties are hitting the crap out of the ball against him, so what’s the point of keeping him. Lincoln is on the DL now, thank God, an ERA of 7.32 speaks for itself. Fisher’s ERA, 9.82 and Logan Ondrusek, who replaced Lincoln, has an ERA of 11.88, they will not be making the All-Star any time soon. A team ERA of 4.46 will just not cut it down the stretch especially if the offense goes cold, God forbid.
The bullpen has to be fixed if the Reds are going to make a run at the playoffs and here is my solution. When Homer Bailey comes back from the DL, you put him back in the rotation until Chapman, whose is in the minors, or Volquez, on DL after Tommy John surgery, are ready to join the team. If Bailey struggles he goes to the pen and/or if Harang continues to pitch poorly I would put him in the pen as well. That leaves one or two spots in the rotation for Chapman, Volquez or another guy in the minors, like Travis Wood. Maybe even put Volquez in the bullpen, so he does not pitch as many innings after coming off surgery. Putting Homer, Harang or Volquez in the bullpen gives Dusty another guy to go to beside Rhodes and Cordero. The Reds should send Fisher, Ondrusek and Herrera back down to the minors where they belong and tell Lincoln thanks for everything and show him to the door. Maybe even go out and trade for a middle relief guy, but I hope it turns out better than it has in the past.
Remember back a few years ago when Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez were traded to the Nationals for Bill Bray, who is in the minors and Gary Majewski, one of the worst pitchers I have ever seen in my entire life. As soon as you saw Majewski coming out of the bullpen, everyone turned off the TV or the radio because it over. The Reds have had some pretty bad relief pitchers the past few years like, Majewski, David Weathers (Stormy Dave, as I use to call him) and Todd Coffey, the guy who sprinted out of the bullpen all the way to the mound. Not the thinnest guy in the world and he probably wore himself out running, which resulted in him usually blowing it.
Bottom-line something has to be done to fix the Reds bullpen, but other than that they are in pretty good shape. Been awhile since only one part of the team needed fixing. Can’t wait to spend most of my summer in front of the TV watching the Reds or down at the ballpark.
P.S. I got to give Jim Joyce, the umpire who blew the perfect game that everyone is still talking about, a lot of credit. That was one of the worst calls I have ever seen and proves that their needs to be more instant replay in baseball. Joyce admitted that he screwed up and apologized to Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga. It takes a lot of guts to admit that you screwed up and not many people in today’s world would have done what he did. I think that everyone can forgive the poor guy now because he handled the situation with ultimate class.
Also, RIP John Wooden, the greatest basketball coach ever. He won 10 National Championships in 12 years at UCLA, which will never be matched in any sport. He was a not only a great coach, but a great person. He will be missed.
Since May 11th the Reds are 15-9 and have climbed to the top in almost every offensive category, which is shocking seeing how they have no $20 million slugger in their lineup. According to ESPN, the Reds team payroll is $68,200,542, while the New York Yankees, for example, have a payroll of $206,738,398. Their infield of Teixeira, A-Rod, Cano and Jeter makes over $88 million, which more than the Reds whole team. But it just goes to show you that you do not need to have the highest paid team to be successful. Several veterans have stepped up to lead the Reds into first place and so have some of the younger players.
Scott Rolen has been great hitting .288 with 14 HR, tied for the NL lead, and 40 RBI’s. Jonny Gomes has surprised everyone hitting .304 with 7 HR and 36 RBI’s. Joey Votto continues to show why he is one of the best first baseman in the game hitting .318, second in the NL, with 11 HR and 36 RBI’s. As a team the Reds are first in the NL in team batting average (.291), homers (45), slugging percentage (.487) and runs (166). Rolen, Gomes and Votto all deserve to be in the All-Star in Anaheim, but I would be surprised if all three made it. Cincinnati just does not have the market to compete with the votes from fans in Philadelphia, Chicago and New York and it’s a shame. These guys have been the heart and soul of this team and are one of the main reasons they are tied for 1st place. But wait, don’t forget the pitching.
Since the series in Pittsburgh where Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey threw back-to-back complete game shutouts the Reds pitching has been good at times, but also horrible at times. Cueto, Bronson Arroyo and rookie sensation Mike Leake, are tied for the team lead in wins with 5. Leake leads the club in ERA at 2.22, tied for 6th in the NL, and has been outstanding. So far, Mike Leake has been one of, if not the best rookie pitch in baseball, but Stephen Strasburg makes his much anticipated debut tomorrow. Strasburg should get the win against the Pirates (see first sentence of paragraph). If Cueto and Bailey did that, Strasburg should have no problem, watch him throw a no-hitter. Leake has a chance to make the All-Star team and rightfully so, he has been a nice surprise going 5-0.
Beside Leake, the rest of the pitching has been hot and cold. Cueto and Arroyo have looked good at times, but Cueto got shelled against the Cardinals and so did Arroyo. Bronson did pitch well in yesterday's ball game, however. Still Cueto is 5-1 with an ERA of 4.09, which is not bad. Arroyo is 5-3 with an ERA of 4.65. Both of these guys ERA’s are skewed a bit by bad performances earlier in the year. Aaron Harang continues to drive everyone crazy. Sometimes he likes he should win the Cy Young and other times he looks like he should not even be pitching in the big leagues. He is 4-5 with a huge ERA of 5.43, and has given up 87 hits in only 69 2/3 innings pitched. Harang pitched awful Friday night in D.C. only going 4 innings and throwing 98 pitches in the process. How he didn’t manage to give up more runs is beyond me. Then there is the weakest part of the team, the bullpen.
Francisco Cordero is second in all of baseball with 16 saves, but just blew another one yesterday and the bullpen has not looked good the past few weeks. Nick Masset continues to struggle, but did pick up a save yesterday, but made it interesting. I would drop dead if the Reds had a closer who got three straight outs in the ninth and avoided all the drama. Arthur Rhodes has been the only bright spot, by having a team high 13 holds and a remarkable ERA of 0.38. He has only allowed one run in 24 innings this season. Outstanding, another candidate to make the All-Star team, but probably won’t. Other guys in the bullpen like Daniel Ray Herrera, Mike Lincoln, and Carlos Fisher have all struggled. Herrera’s ERA is only 2.93, but he has given up 21 hits in 15 1/3 innings. He is used as a lefty specialist and lefties are hitting the crap out of the ball against him, so what’s the point of keeping him. Lincoln is on the DL now, thank God, an ERA of 7.32 speaks for itself. Fisher’s ERA, 9.82 and Logan Ondrusek, who replaced Lincoln, has an ERA of 11.88, they will not be making the All-Star any time soon. A team ERA of 4.46 will just not cut it down the stretch especially if the offense goes cold, God forbid.
The bullpen has to be fixed if the Reds are going to make a run at the playoffs and here is my solution. When Homer Bailey comes back from the DL, you put him back in the rotation until Chapman, whose is in the minors, or Volquez, on DL after Tommy John surgery, are ready to join the team. If Bailey struggles he goes to the pen and/or if Harang continues to pitch poorly I would put him in the pen as well. That leaves one or two spots in the rotation for Chapman, Volquez or another guy in the minors, like Travis Wood. Maybe even put Volquez in the bullpen, so he does not pitch as many innings after coming off surgery. Putting Homer, Harang or Volquez in the bullpen gives Dusty another guy to go to beside Rhodes and Cordero. The Reds should send Fisher, Ondrusek and Herrera back down to the minors where they belong and tell Lincoln thanks for everything and show him to the door. Maybe even go out and trade for a middle relief guy, but I hope it turns out better than it has in the past.
Remember back a few years ago when Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez were traded to the Nationals for Bill Bray, who is in the minors and Gary Majewski, one of the worst pitchers I have ever seen in my entire life. As soon as you saw Majewski coming out of the bullpen, everyone turned off the TV or the radio because it over. The Reds have had some pretty bad relief pitchers the past few years like, Majewski, David Weathers (Stormy Dave, as I use to call him) and Todd Coffey, the guy who sprinted out of the bullpen all the way to the mound. Not the thinnest guy in the world and he probably wore himself out running, which resulted in him usually blowing it.
Bottom-line something has to be done to fix the Reds bullpen, but other than that they are in pretty good shape. Been awhile since only one part of the team needed fixing. Can’t wait to spend most of my summer in front of the TV watching the Reds or down at the ballpark.
P.S. I got to give Jim Joyce, the umpire who blew the perfect game that everyone is still talking about, a lot of credit. That was one of the worst calls I have ever seen and proves that their needs to be more instant replay in baseball. Joyce admitted that he screwed up and apologized to Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga. It takes a lot of guts to admit that you screwed up and not many people in today’s world would have done what he did. I think that everyone can forgive the poor guy now because he handled the situation with ultimate class.
Also, RIP John Wooden, the greatest basketball coach ever. He won 10 National Championships in 12 years at UCLA, which will never be matched in any sport. He was a not only a great coach, but a great person. He will be missed.
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