Last Games
Yesterday was a split-squad affair for the Reds. It also featured two starts by the final two guys in the running for the 5th starter spot, Mike Leake and Travis Wood. Leake pitched first against the A’s and picked up the win, despite his lineup of backups behind him.
Wood traveled with most of the A-listers to Las Vegas for the evening game against the Dodgers. The offense seemed to respond to the trip, scoring 9 runs in the first 2 innings. There will no doubt be plenty of jokes about not wanting what happened in Vegas to stay in Vegas. Try not to get too irritated. As for Wood, he didn’t fare so well with the large lead. He started great, but struggled with his control in the 3rd and 4th innings. He received the win, but his final line was 4 innings, 3 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He’s not giving Baker an easy decision between him and Leake.
Next Game
The Reds host the Texas Rangers in Goodyear at 4:05pm EDT. Johnny Cueto will start, and be followed by Carlos Fisher, Nick Masset, and Francisco Cordero.
This Cut is the Deepest
Neither Mike Leake nor Travis Wood may make the Opening Day roster, according to John Fay. The Reds will not need a 5th starter until April 11, and John Fay quotes Dusty Baker as saying, “(We might) carry another position player until then.”
Of course, this may just be Baker discovering another way to torture his players. He seems like such a nice guy. Who knew he was such a sadistic bastard? It’s either that or he’s incapable of making hard decisions. Clearly, he has no script for which players to keep like he does when he makes his lineups.
But today has been declared as the day when a huge chunk of the 36 players left in major league camp, so Baker will have to give up his childish games.
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Aaron Harang’s last two starts haven’t been good. He ended the spring with a 9.88 ERA, but isn’t concerned. C. Trent Rosecrans talked to him about his performance.
I feel great, it’s the best I’ve felt in spring training, the outcome isn’t want you want, what you expect. It doesn’t count. It’s about getting ready for the long haul of the season. Overall I feel very comfortable with all the new stuff and mechanics. I feel like the ball is coming out really well. It’s a matter of taking it out and stretching it over the course of a game.
Au contraire, he certainly has a script for his lineups….. “Batting first, CF, batting second, SS, batting third, 1B, batting fourth, 2B, batting 5th, 3B, batting sixth, RF, batting seventh, LF, batting eighth, C, and batting ninth, P.”
Sorry for the misleaing sentence: it was trying to say what you just did.
“Unlike the extremely rigid and overt script that rules the line-up, he must not have a script for whom to cut. If he did have such a script, the performance of the players wouldn’t matter and the cuts would’ve been done in February.”
Good thing for us that the roster decisions aren’t entirely up to him.
And for the record, that was a really good line.
In other news, Corey Patterson continues on his path to oblivion after refusing assignment to the minors by the Seattle Mariners.
Script-busting lineup:
1.)Dickerson/Stubbs – Depending on who is starting in LF.
2.)Phillips – Tired of watching him swing out of his shoes batting fourth.
3.)Votto – At least he has this one right.
4.)Gomes/Rolen – See #1.
5.)Bruce – Gives him some protection.
6.)Rolen/Stubbs – See #1.
7.)Hernandez/Hanigan – Whichever one is catching that game.
8.)Cabrera – He’s not a #2 hitter anymore.
9.)Pitcher
Unless Pitcher=Owings. Then things could get very script-busting indeed.
Either way, I’d give your line-up a try.
Arroyo isn’t a bad hitter either. And having Owings as the long reliever opens up all kinds of options with that.