Monthly Archives: March 2013

March 4, 2013

The Brief: preparing for the All-Star Game

Bailey tore it up on Sunday

Homer Bailey is looking good so far. Not no-hitter good, but you want to save those for the regular season anyway.

Last Game
Homer Bailey took his turn on the mound yesterday against Kansas City and put in 2 scoreless innings. He struck out 5 and allowed only 1 hit. Unfortunately for him, the Royals are on a tirade this spring and went to town on Tony Cingrani (1 ER), Logan Ondrusek (1 ER), Jose Arredondo (1 ER), Pedro Villarreal (1 ER), and especially Kyle Lotzkar (4 ER).

The Reds’ 8-1 loss to the Royals is par for the course this spring, as the Royals have yet to lose a spring training game. Kansas City fans should definitely get their hopes up because this is the year.

The Reds’ 1 run came in the eighth inning. Kristopher Negron doubled to lead off the inning and, two outs later, Ryan LaMarre doubled him in. Alas, that was all there way of the rally.

Next Game
Today the Reds head to beautiful Salt River Fields in Scottsdale to take on the Diamondbacks. Johnny Cueto will start for the Reds against Brandon McCarthy for Arizona. First pitch at 3:10 p.m. and you can hear it on MLB.com if you’re willing to pay for it.

ASG coming to Cincy and maybe people will be able to get to it
The All-Star Game is coming to Cincinnati in 2015, and Hamilton county is trying to get passenger rail service in place in time for the game. According to this story on KYPost.com, the Transportation Improvement District has approved the resolution.

I, myself, live in an area that is debating more public transit, so I know how contentious it can be (though the arguments do tend toward dummies saying that government shouldn’t start subsidizing certain forms of transportation, without apparently realizing that governments already build roads). But I also regularly visit Cincinnati, so I also know how difficult it is to get around if you’re not driving. It would be great if the All-Star Game was the impetus to make the city that much of a better of a place.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
“I bought my copy of The Slyde Press 2013 Redleg Annual today!”

For just $4, you can finally satisfy that baseball longing that’s been building up all off-season and be the most knowledgeable person talking Reds at the water cooler.

March 3, 2013

Bruce “pranks” MLB Fan Cave finalists

Jay Bruce “pranked” the finalists for the MLB Fan Cave by setting up a faulty table to hold his “Silver Slugger Award.” Then, when the finalists were “in a hurry” to ask him rapid-fire questions, one guy “knocked it over.” Awkward!

Truly, it is “hilarious.”

March 1, 2013

Hensley has strong competition for a bullpen spot

And when it's twelve o'clock, we climb the stairs. We never knock 'cause nobody's there. Just me and my shadow. All alone and feeling blue.

Clay Hensley shows off his soft-cloth tossing lefty skills.

March 1, 2013

Chapman perfect in first start; Leake average

The debut of ChapmanThe Cincinnati Reds played two games yesterday, allowing both Aroldis Chapman and Mike Leake to start on the same day.

The comparisons between the two will be constant throughout the Spring, as both are vying for the 5th starter’s slot. With Leake, we have a good idea what he brings to the table: a solid, average starter with the potential for a little more. With Chapman, we know how he did as a lights-out closer last year, but no one knows how the conversion to a starter will affect him.

If yesterday’s results are any indication, it could go very well. Chapman pitched two perfect innings. That’s no runs, hits, and no walks. He struck out one.

As is common in the beginning of Spring Training, Chapman threw mostly off-speed pitches.

“I feel I could locate the pitches where I want,” he said. “The results, you saw what happened. The results were good. I was really happy.”

I think everyone is, except maybe manager Dusty Baker, who’s likely to lose his favorite closer.

As for Leake, he was, well, average. In two innings, he allowed one run. But in a somewhat uncharacteristic fashion, he struck out three.

I’m rooting for Chapman to succeed as a starter. But having Leake as insurance is a very nice policy.