Daily Archives: March 5, 2013

March 5, 2013

In Brief: Votto to play in WBC

By
Amanda
Posted at 9:18 am

Last Game
The Reds’ spring training record dropped to 2-10 yesterday with the 2-7 loss to the Diamondbacks. Johnny Cueto was solid in his start, but the offense is busy at the World Baseball Classic. 24 Reds took the field yesterday, and I could only match 9 of those names to faces.

Next Game
Today the Reds head to Tempe Diablo Stadium to take on the Angels at 3:05 p.m. It ought to be quite a show, what with Aroldis Chapman planned to appear and all those sluggers on the Angels’ roster.

Once on second, Joey Votto put on a knee brace.

Glad as I am to have the chance to admire Joey’s calves, we don’t need to be going back to the knee brace.

Votto to play in WBC, eh
Joey Votto has announced that he will play for the Canadian team in the World Baseball Classic this year. He waited until the very last minute to make the call to test out that surgically repaired knee, but apparently it’s back to Votto-matic-ness because he’s in.

Quote of Reds.com quoting Votto:

“I look forward to playing for the team,” Votto said. “I look forward to being a part of the tournament. I had a great time the last time. I’m very grateful I’m on the team. It’s not very often you get to represent your country in a big tournament like this. I never got to play in the Olympics, this is the next best thing.”

Sounds like the team brass was supportive of this decision, and they couldn’t have done anything about it if they weren’t, but if Votto gets injured, we may have no choice but to declare war on Canada.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Joey Votto is the only player on the Reds’ 40-man roster who was born in the year 1983.

Posted in Daily Briefs.
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March 5, 2013

Spring Training game 12: Reds 2, Diamondbacks 7

By
Zeldink
Posted at 6:53 am

Team123456789RHE
Reds (2-10)100000100263
Diamondbacks (5-5)10002040-790
W: Spruill (1-0) L: Parra (0-1)

Boxscore

Cozart's first-inning home run

Zack Cozart got the Reds a very short-lived lead in the first.

The Cincinnati Reds continued their losing ways yesterday, dropping their 10th Spring Training game to the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2.

Johnny Cueto started and pitched well. Over three innings, he allowed one run on one hit and struck out four.

Overall, the pitching wasn’t as bad as the 7-spot makes it look. The defense committed 3 errors, contributing to 4 unearned runs. Manny Parra and Clay Hensley took the brunt of that in their relief appearances, combining to give up 6 runs, only 2 of which were earned.

As for the scoring, the Reds took an early lead, thanks to a Zack Cozart solo home run in the first. The offense was largely silent until the seventh, when Henry Rodriguez knocked in a run.

The real excitement, though, came before the game began. Dusty Baker and Kirk Gibson, the Diamondbacks manager, had a disagreement about the usage of the designated hitter.

“He wanted his pitcher to hit and I wanted Choo to DH,” Baker said following a 7-2 Reds loss. “They sent over word that’s what they wanted to do. It would have been fine with me to do both. It’s up to the home team of what they want to do. Usually here we let teams DH early.”

Apparently, Gibson wasn’t having any of that. It was National League rules all the way.

At the exchange of lineup cards, there were some words between the two managers. Gibson offered to shake hands, but Baker refused.

“We didn’t have a very pleasant encounter at home plate,” Baker said. “That’s how it goes. It’s over.”

The result? Choo didn’t start and Cesar Izturis was moved to the leaf-off position. Cueto batted in the third inning, but struck out looking because he was forbidden to swing the bat.

Such drama for a Spring Training game.

Today, the Reds will play the Angels at 3:05pm EST.

Posted in Cincinnati Reds, Game Wrap, NL Central, Spring Training.
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