Yearly Archives: 2012

October 4, 2012

The looming end-of-the-line for Drew Stubbs

By
Zeldink
Posted at 11:17 am

Almost lost in a notebook item written by reds.com reporter Mark Sheldon yesterday was this little bit of news about the fastest man in baseball and top Reds’ prospect, Billy Hamilton.

Billy Hamilton is switching positions, going from shortstop to center field.

“There are a lot of reasons,” Bill Bavasi, the Reds’ vice president of scouting and player development, told MLB.com. “We have [Zack] Cozart. We have Didi [Gregorius]. If you watch Hamilton’s style of play, it’s a pounding style of play. It would be an easier position for his body to take along with the base stealing. Everything seems to work better.”

Notice who wasn’t mentioned? Current center fielder Drew Stubbs. The Reds have maintained that Hamilton isn’t ready for the majors, and he is likely another year away. But it’s very easy to envision him being a September call-up in 2013.

Drew Stubbs has been terrible year this year, which is the worst of his career. He showed such promise after his first full year in 2010, but he’s been disappointing in the 2 seasons since. He’s shaping up to be another Corey Patterson, and I’m glad to see the Reds making a move to shore up that position for the future.

Posted in Cincinnati Reds, NL Central, Wheeling and Dealing.
8 Comments
October 4, 2012

Game 162: Reds 0, Cardinals 1

By
Zeldink
Posted at 8:02 am

Team123456789RHE
Reds (97-65)000000000030
Cardinals (88-74)00000001-191
W: Marte (3-2) L: Broxton (4-5) S: Motte (42)

Boxscore

Homer Bailey failed in his attempt for back-to-back no-hitters.

It took until the final game of the year for the Cincinnati Reds to play a meaningless game in the 2012 season. Thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers losing and giving the St. Louis Cardinals the second wild card and the Washington Nationals winning and clinching the best record in the National League, the outcome of last night’s game had no meaning whatsoever.

And it felt like almost every Spring Training game I’ve ever attended. It was so much like Spring Training, that I expected the game to be called off early should the game finish in a tie.

There was the starter, Homer Bailey, pitching for only 4 innings. He did well, allowing no runs on 4 hits while striking out 6. But he left early to give the bullpen some work. Then there were all the later inning substitutions, providing a parade of minor league prospects onto the field. Tony Cingrani and Henry Rodriguez were chief among them. But the game was managed loosely, in a manner completely unlike the post-season will be managed.

There were no offensive heroes since the Reds were shut out. Bailey and the bullpen were very effective, with only the Jonathan Broxton being charged with a run.

The Reds will travel to San Francisco to rest up and get adjusted to the time zone change in advance of the first round of the National League Championship series on Saturday. Johnny Cueto will be the starter for the Reds with the first pitch scheduled for 9:37pm.

Posted in Cincinnati Reds, Game Wrap, NL Central, St. Louis Cardinals.
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October 4, 2012

Reds head to San Fran for 1st round

By
Amanda
Posted at 6:07 am

The Reds high five each other after a win. Last Game
It was like spring training baseball all over again last night. Not only was the game just as meaningless as pre-season contests, but also the Reds started off with their varsity players on the field and then pulled them one by one in favor of the JV.

Homer Bailey started for the Reds, but gave up a hit right away, so there was no need to hold out for a possible back-to-back no-hitter. Instead, he was pulled before he even qualified for the win so that some relievers could get some work in.

After seven and a half innings of scoreless baseball, Dusty Baker put in Tony Cingrani. At the time, I wondered whether he was doing it specifically to give up a run and prevent extras. I can’t say for sure if that was the case, but it is what happened. The Reds lost to the Cardinals 0-1. Oh no.

Next Game
I can’t believe we’re already entirely out of regular season games. Weren’t we just complaining about Cueto being snubbed for the All Star Game yesterday? Didn’t Chapman just do his forward roll? Wasn’t Latos’s rough start to the season just last week?

For a change, the end of the regular season doesn’t mean the end of baseball games for the Reds. They’re taking today, tomorrow, and most of Saturday off before taking the field in San Francisco at 9:30 p.m. Johnny Cueto (RHP, 0-0, — ERA) will toe the rubber for the Reds against TBA (probably Matt Cain) for the Giants.

Post-Season Roster to be Announced Friday
The Reds aren’t keeping everyone in suspense, but they aren’t announcing the final pieces of the first round roster just yet, either. According to John Fay’s blog, they’ve sent home Todd Redmond and Pedro Villarreal and sent Denis Phipps, Henry Rodrigues, and Didi Gregroius to Goodyear to stay fresh and hope/not hope for an injury to a starter.

The remaining 28 guys will head out to San Fran. I don’t know if they know who’s in or who’s out, but we probably won’t know until after the workout on Friday. But we can guess: Mike Leake isn’t likely to make it, nor is Logan Ondrusek. Devin Mesoraco might be the other one to draw the short straw, but he might not, since without him the team would be down to 2 catchers. Alfredo Simon might be the odd man out instead.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds pitching staff logged 1,248 strike outs this season. That’s an average of 7.7 Ks per game. What is it they say about pitching and winning championships, again?

Posted in Daily Briefs.
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October 3, 2012

Game 161: Reds 3, Cardinals 1

By
Zeldink
Posted at 8:27 am

Team123456789RHE
Reds (97-64)000102000389
Cardinals (87-74)100000000160
W: Latos (14-4) L: Carpenter (0-2) S: Chapman (38)

Boxscore

Scott Rolen rounds third after his game-tying home run.

With the Washington Nationals winning, the Cincinnati Reds had to win to still have a chance at home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Things didn’t start well.

With the exception of a Joey Votto walk–naturally–the Reds went through the first inning weakly. Then Mat Latos took the mound and allowed a double to the first batter he faced, Jon Jay. An out later, Jay scored thanks to a sacrifice fly by Carlos Beltran. Just like that, the Reds were down 1-0.

But Latos settled down. And the offense woke up. A little.

Scott Rolen homered in the 4th inning to tie the game. Then in the 6th inning, Votto lead off with another walk. Ryan Ludwick doubled to center field. Then Jay Bruce drove in Votto with a single for the lead. An out later, Dioner Navarro hit another single to give the Reds an insurance run.

Latos was pulled after pitching 5 innings. He allowed 1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 4 in picking up his 14th win. The early exit was due to not wearing him out before the playoffs.

The bullpen was more than up to the task of keeping the Cardinals off the board. Sam LeCure fulfilled the long-relief role before handing it over to the Reds’ three closers. Sean Marshall, Jonathan Broxton, and Aroldis Chapman closed it out. That is one fine trio to have heading into the playoffs.

For home-field advantage, the Nationals have to lose today, and the Reds have to win. Homer Bailey will be hoping to do that when he starts the last game of the regular season at 8:15pm.

Posted in Cincinnati Reds, Game Wrap, NL Central, St. Louis Cardinals.
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October 3, 2012

Cueto could still pitch in #1 seed game

By
Amanda
Posted at 6:08 am

Latos winds up to deliver the first pitchLast Game
The Reds continue to have a chance at the top seed in the National League after beating the Cardinals last night, 3-1. If the Reds win today and the Nationals lose, the Reds can claim the top spot for their own.

Mat Latos started and allowed the Cardinals’ 1 run during his brief 5 innings of work. I imagine his outing was so short just because they didn’t want to wear him out; he wasn’t pitching badly.

The trio of closers–Sean Marshall, Jonathan Broxton, and Aroldis Chapman–finished it out without allowing a run. I love to see them honing that blade.

Next Game
Though the Reds no longer play the very first game of the baseball season, this year they’re playing in the very last. Today, Homer Bailey (RHP, 13-10, 3.75 ERA) and the Reds face off against the Cardinals to close out the season at 8:15 p.m., which is no less than 5 minutes later than any other game.

Bailey is just coming off his no-hitter against the Pirates, but he doesn’t need to be wasting that kind of performance on the Cardinals today. Save that for the postseason.

Surprise, Surprise: Cueto to Pitch Game 1
Apparently Chris Speier wasn’t willing to disclose the team’s planned pitching rotation for the post-season while Dusty Baker was still on the mend, but now that Baker’s back, we get to find out that it is, indeed, Johnny Cueto that’s getting the call for game 1.

After that, it will be Bronson Arroyo, followed by Mat Latos. Homer Bailey is unlikely to pitch in the best-of-5 first round, but he’ll be there should one of those other guys find themselves suddenly snake-bitten and in need of long replacement. No one seems to be discussing whether Mike Leake might make the postseason roster anymore.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Last night, the Reds won their 97th game. They haven’t won that many since 1976 when they swept the World Series. I wouldn’t mind seeing that re-run.

Posted in Daily Briefs.
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