Yearly Archives: 2012

July 17, 2012

Pitcher Redmond to take Votto’s roster spot

Of all the people you might have thought would take Joey Votto’s roster spot while he’s on the DL with that arthroscopic knee surgery, I bet you didn’t consider a right-handed pitcher.

But John Fay says that Todd Redmond (the guy the Reds just traded Paul Janish for) is coming up today to give the Reds some flexibility if Johnny Cueto’s start tonight doesn’t go very long. Cueto, as you may recall, was pushed back because of a blister he developed before his first post-All-Star-break appearance.

Bronson Arroyo was less than stellar last night, necessitating that the bullpen take over for 6 innings, so adding a little pitching depth maybe isn’t a bad idea. Cueto is still slated to start, so the streak of having only the same 5 guys start every game will continue.

July 17, 2012

Game 89: Diamondbacks 5, Reds 3

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W: Miley (10-5) L: Arroyo (4-6) S: Putz (17)

Boxscore

The Reds dropped the series opener to the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, 5-3.

Bronson Arroyo was Badroyo last night. He pitched only 3.0 innings, but allowed all 5 of the Diamondbacks’ runs in that amount of time, all earned, on 8 hits and a walk. It was a sad trombone kind of night for the Reds’ righty.

The bullpen was good, though. Alfredo Simon put in as much time as Arroyo but allowed 0 runs on 3 hits. Bill Bray put in a scoreless inning, as did Jose Arredondo and Logan Ondrusek.

Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t string quite enough together to overcome the early-inning deficit. Incredibly, Drew Stubbs was the big producer, going 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBI. Let that sink in for a moment.

Chris Heisey and Brandon Phillips also had 2-hit nights, and Phillips supplied the other RBI. But they’re going to have to do better than that with Joey Votto out for the next month after arthroscopic surgery to be done on his knee today.

The loss brings the Reds record to 50-39. Fortunately for the Reds, the Pirates lost too, meaning the Reds keep their 1-game lead in the NLC. Tonight they try again against the Diamondbacks as the series continues in Cincinnati. Johnny Cueto (10-5, 2.39 ERA) will hopefully be back from his blister problem enough to defend against Trevor Bauer (1-1, 5.40 ERA). First pitch at 7:10 p.m.

July 17, 2012

Daily Brief: Votto out 3-4 weeks

Last Game
The Diamondbacks weren’t really bad enough to be swept by the Cubs last weekend, so maybe it’s no surprise that they busted out against the Reds last night. They touched Bronson Arroyo for 4 runs in the first inning, and that’s all they needed.

With the Diamondbacks’ All-Star Wade Miley on the mound, the Reds’ All-Star Joey Votto out of the line-up, and an ejection-happy Dan Bellino behind the plate, missing foul calls and taking it out on Miguel Cairo, it just wasn’t the Reds’ night. Final score: Diamondbacks 5, Reds 3.

Next Game
The Reds host the Diamondbacks again tonight. Johnny Cueto (RHP 10-5, 2.39 ERA) faces off against Trevor Bauer (1-1, 5.40 ERA). It looks like a pretty favorable match-up with our “ace” against their “guy making his fourth appearance,” but don’t get too cocky. Cueto’s still recovering from that blister problem.

Woe is me! Votto’s knee!
Joey Votto will undergo arthroscopic surgery today on his knee and will be out of the line-up for 3-4 weeks. The roster move to “replace” him will be announced later today. Heaven help the front office if they call up Willie Harris.

The good news is that you couldn’t ask for much more minor surgery than knee arthroscopy, unless you’re removing skin tags or something. The bad news is that the offense is shaky even WITH Votto. He’s not the hero every day, but would the other guys have the chance to be the hero if not for his consistent production? There’s going to be a lot of stepping up to do over the next month.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
This season the Reds’ have lost three as many games as they win when someone other than Joey Votto starts at first base. Maybe that’s not too meaningful when the actual record is 1-3, but there’s a good reason that sample size is so small.

July 16, 2012

Joey Votto on the disabled list! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!

Joey Votto throws a grounder to second before the first night game of the season.

Twitter was a powder-keg as tonight’s game started with the rumor that Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was going to have knee surgery and miss a couple weeks. It took a while, but the Reds did confirm that rumor, only it’s a little worse. He’s going to miss 3-4 weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery tomorrow to repair torn meniscus in his left knee.

John Fay reports:

From general manager Walt Jocketty: “Joey Votto met with the medical staff this evening and has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee. He is going to have arthroscopic surgery tomorrow and should miss 3-4 weeks. Joey is very comfortable with the decision and is eager to return to the lineup.”

From Votto: “It is in my best interest and in the best interest of the team to do it now so that I can be healthy during the last two months of the pennant race.”

Votto injured the knee during a rough slide into third base in San Francisco on June 29 and missed a few games. Since his return, he’s struggled since then, going 8-31 (.258).

The timing on this feels strange to me. Why, if his knee bothered him that much, did he go to the All Star game? Those 4 days would’ve made him that much closer to recovering from the surgery. It’s kind of mystifying right now and doesn’t make the Reds’ medical staff look competent.

As for the team, they’ll finally find out how to score without Votto, assuming they want to continue winning. It’s going to be astruggle to keep that first place lead over the next month, but it will open room for Todd Frazier to play on a more regular basis. And for Scott Rolen to show he does have something left in the tank. Oh, and for general manager Walt Jocketty to make a trade or two.

July 16, 2012

Hamilton’s inside-the-park homer


According to @JinAZReds, who just knows about this stuff, the fastest inside-the-park home run in Major League history took 14.02 seconds. Looks like Billy Hamilton, who isn’t quite Major League yet, just did one in 13.7. If he can get on base, this guy’s going to be pretty fun to watch with the Reds.