June 20, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 4:50 pm
I’ve heard that many people get very depressed around Christmas time, especially if they’ve lost loved-ones, because the holiday puts them in a mind of great family things they used to do in their idealized memories of youth.
Speaking for myself, my family has never been what you’d call “traditional” so the Christmas holiday is never a problem for me. We were actually more likely to celebrate the solstice, but it was never really consistent from year to year either.
Even today–Father’s Day–isn’t the time I feel the loss of my father. That happens much more when my car breaks down, something in the house needs repair, or I find myself in urgent need of an impromptu professional-grade piece of art or a wacky online theory about dietary supplements. Or when I need someone to remind me of the solstice.
Especially as I sit here watching the Reds struggle against the Mariners, I fail to be reminded of my Pop. However, the Crack Technical Staff is in attendance, and since he’s still actively engaged in the day-to-day activities of being a daddy to a kid, this holiday is really more about him anyway.
But regardless of whether you’re a dad, daddy, Pops, or just the guy who gets the call when the carburetor goes out, have a happy day, and GO REDS!
June 18, 2010
By
Zeldink
Posted at 11:14 pm
The Cincinnati Reds began their annual west coast trip tonight against the Seattle Mariners. The teams are in the 8th as I right this, with the Mariners leading 1-0. Hopefully, the Reds can start the road trip off with a win.
So many times the Reds have collapsed on the west coast. They’re actually 13-32 on the west coast over the last 4 years. But according to Scott Rolen, that’s not different from the good teams he’s played on.
“I think it’s more a matter of you play some pretty good teams out there,” Rolen said. “The Dodgers, the Giants. Oakland is usually pretty tough at home.”
Rolen should know, considering he’s played for Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Toronto.
Even if the team does lose more than it wins, the real test will be when they return. They’ve shown unprecedented resilience so far this year. This test might be the biggest one yet.
June 17, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 10:36 pm
Tonight I take a break from encouraging you to Vote Votto and allow the Cincinnati Reds to do it for me:
The Reds need your votes!
June 15, 2010 – Major League Baseball has announced the next update of the leading vote getters in balloting for the 2010 All-Star Game. Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Orlando Cabrera and Scott Rolen are among the Top 5 at their respective positions! The voting is heating up and the Reds need your help. You can vote up to 25 times per e-mail address to help your Reds get to the Midsummer Classic in July.
You can’t vote at the ballpark anymore – so vote online at reds.com – voting ends for good at 11:59 PM ET on Thursday, July 1, 2010! Keep voting on reds.com!
Remember, you get 25 votes per email address. Yahoo!, Hotmail, and Gmail are your partners in making your voice heard.
Voting by proxy is a legitimate procedure in Parliment proceedings and homeowners’ association annual meetings, and you don’t have to give away any personal information to do it. Send me a message from your email address to give me permission to vote on your behalf, and I’ll vote by proxy for your email address.
I promise not to send you any unsolicited email–I can’t promise MLB won’t though.
June 16, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 9:57 pm
Full props to Scott Rolen for demonstrating some fire tonight and Dusty Baker for not letting him go down alone, but it wasn’t enough.
Tomorrow, I want to see the benches cleared. Of course, for that to happen, the Dodgers will actually have to wrong them rather than the umps.
June 16, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 1:35 pm
Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-0. There was more than 2 hours of rain delay, but the Reds were looking lost well before the tarp rolled onto the field.
Remember when in years past the Reds were doing surprisingly well until they took a trip to the west coast where their season was ended? Last night, the game felt like the west coast came to Cincy and brought that season-ending flair early.
Next Game
Of course, one key difference between the 2010 Reds and those of years past is the starting pitching. It’s difficult to have too long of a losing streak with the great arms Cincinnati sends out on a nightly basis. Tonight, Mike Leake looks to rebound from his worst, and only bad, start of the year. The Dodgers will send out Clayton Kershaw. The Reds try to stay in first place, starting tonight at 7:10pm EDT.
Minor Bullpen Change Harbinger of More?
Before the game yesterday, the Reds called up Jordan Smith and sent down Enerio Del Rosario. Smith was the only pitcher to not allow any runs yesterday, but the bullpen still isn’t fixed.
John Fay wrote about Dusty Baker hinting at more changes without providing any specifics.
“Some of it depends on how Smith fits in. Most of the starting pitchers are going six or six and a fraction. That seventh inning is very, very important. We’re looking for someone to close that gap.”
…
“We’re still in the fact-finding mode,” Baker said. “You wish you have everything perfectly in order but it’s not.”
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
King Arthur Rhodes has a 26 inning scoreless streak, which is the longest of any Major League reliever this year. The streak is also the longest for a Reds reliever since John Franco threw 27 1/3 scoreless innings in 1988.
