Monthly Archives: April 2013

April 10, 2013

In brief: 100 things Reds fans should know and do before they die

Last game
Despite the offenseive show that the Reds have been putting on so far this season, last night’s game was a pitcher’s duel that the Cardinals won, 1-5. Bronson Arroyo had a perfect game going into the sixth, but suddenly he hit the wall and gave up 4 runs. Pinch hitter Matt Adams topped that scoring off with a home run. In the game wrap on Reds.com, Adams had this to say about Arroyo:

“He was throwing the majority of offspeed all game,” Adams said. “With the tying run at third base, I had a pretty good idea that I was going to get an offspeed pitch sometime during that at-bat.”

Am I to understand that the world now knows to expect off-speed stuff from Bronson Arroyo? With that secret out, we’ll never survive!

Next game
The rubber game happens this afternoon at 1:45 p.m. Homer Bailey (RHP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA) takes on Jake Westbrook (RHP, 0-1, 0.00 ERA).

Cover of 100 Things Reds Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die
Get me an autograph while you’re there, would ya?
Tonight at 7 p.m. Joel Luckhaupt, author of 100 Things Reds Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, will be appearing at the Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati (Rookwood Pavilion, 2692 Madison Rd, Cincinnati, OH).

Here’s the book description according to Amazon.com (paragraph breaks added for readability):

In this ultimate resource guide for true fans of baseball’s first professional team, author Joel Luckhaupt has collected every essential piece of Cincinnati Reds trivia, as well as must-do activities, and ranked them from one to 100, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist for fans to complete in their lifetime.

Most Reds fans have taken in a game or two at the Great American Ball Park, have seen highlights of the Big Red Machine, and remember the team’s surprising triumph in the 1990 World Series. But only real fans know which 15-year-old took the mound for the Reds in 1944, can name the pitcher who gave up Pete Rose’s 4,192nd hit, or remember how many dogs owner Marge Schott owned.

100 Things Reds Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is the perfect book for any fan of Reds baseball, whether a die-hard booster from the days of Ted Kluszewski or a new supporter of Joey Votto, Johnny Cueto, and Aroldis Chapman.

Luckhaupt is amassing quite a portfolio of Reds’ related literature. Make sure to pick up the whole set and get them signed now, before he goes the way of Pete Rose and it costs you 50 bucks for his John Hancock.

What to say to sound smart at the water cooler
The Reds haven’t won a series in St. Louis since September 2011. In fact, they’ve won only 3 series in St. Louis in the last 10 years.

April 9, 2013

In brief: Reds drop 9-run inning on Cardinals

Joey Votto throws from his back to make the final out in a game against the Cardinals

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto throws St. Louis Cardinals’ Daniel Descalso out at first for the final out of a baseball game Monday, April 8, 2013, in St. Louis. The Reds won 13-4. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Last game
To look at a final score of 13-4, you wouldn’t think that the Reds trailed almost the entire game. The Cardinals took a 0-2 lead at their very first opportunity, and the Reds didn’t manage to tie it up at 4s until the 8th. And then, lo, the 9-inning 9th. That was really something to see.

Shin-Soo Choo was the big story, having committed both of the team’s 2 errors that allowed 3 runs. But then he also led the team in RBI this game with 3, so it was a wash. Jay Bruce went 4-for-5 with a walk, an RBI, and 2 runs scored. Brandon Phillips got booed a lot and also hit a home run. Joey Votto went 1-for-4 with 2 walks, an RBI, and 2 runs scored. He’s certainly not looking like his old self, but I bet it messes with your pitch-o-vision to see so many balls go by.

This game was too massive to be properly covered in brief, so I recommend you go check out the game wrap.

Next game
You mean we get to do this again??

Bronson Arroyo (RHP, 1-0, 4.50 ERA) will take his turn for the Reds against Lance Lynn (RHP, 0-0, 9.00 ERA). Lynn lost a bunch of weight over the off-season and is adjusting to his new slenderness. Arroyo, on the other hand, has always had the body of a 15-year old boy. First pitch at 8:15 p.m.

Tribute For Heroes campaign
I got a rather dense press release in my inbox the other day:

Major League Baseball and PEOPLE magazine today announced the “Tribute for Heroes” campaign, a national initiative that recognizes veterans and military service members and builds upon both organizations’ commitment to honoring our country’s heroes. Beginning today and running through May 17th, fans are encouraged to visit TributeforHeroes.com to nominate an active or former member of the Armed Forces of the United States or Canada for the chance to represent their favorite MLB team at the 2013 All-Star Game.

Once all the nominations are reviewed, three veterans/military service members per Club (90 finalists) will be selected by MLB, PEOPLE, and a celebrity panel of judges, who will be announced at a later date. Fans will then be encouraged to vote online from June 9th through June 30th for their Club favorite. All 30 winners, one representing each MLB Club, will be announced on July 10th. They will be included in All-Star Week festivities and recognized during the All-Star pre-game ceremony leading up to the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field on July 16th on FOX. A “Tribute for Heroes” winner will be featured in PEOPLE magazine the week of the MLB All-Star Game.

The “Tribute For Heroes” campaign will support Welcome Back Veterans (welcomebackveterans.org, powered by MLB.com), an initiative of Major League Baseball and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, which addresses the needs of veterans after they return from service.

Nominate your hero at TributeforHeroes.com

What to say to sound smart at the water cooler
Shin-Soo Choo committed only 2 errors in all of last year when he was playing right field.

April 9, 2013

Game 7: Reds 13, Cardinals 4

Team123456789RHE
Reds (5-2)00010111913142
Cardinals (3-4)200101000441
W: LeCure (1-0) L: Boggs (0-1)

Boxscore

Shin-Soo Choo drops a fly ball in center field against the Cardinals.

Shin-Soo Choo drops a fly ball in center field against the Cardinals.

It took a while for them to go, but when the 9th inning came yesterday in a tie game, my, how the Cincinnati Reds went.

Through the majority of the game, it wasn’t looking like it was the Reds’ day. Starter Mat Latos pitched well in his second start, continuing to make progress in erasing his history of poor Aprils, but Cincinnati was lacking on defense and offense. In particular, new center fielder Shin-Soo Choo had problems with the sun, dropping two balls and allowing 3 unearned Cardinals runs to score.

With the way Jaime Garcia was striking out Reds batters, it seemed like that would be enough. But the Reds kept staying close. Then in the 8th inning, pinch-hitter Xavier Paul singled into right field to score Jay Bruce and tie the game at 4.

The game felt like it was starting to turn to favor the Reds. And then the 9th inning happened. It started with a walk to Shin-Soo Choo. After getting Chris Heisey to pop out, everything fell apart for the Cardinals and their closer Mitchell Boggs. Joey Votto was intentionally walked, allowing Brandon Phillips to come to the plate and double in the go-ahead run.

A lead was all I was hoping for. What came next was a comedy of errors and ineptitude rarely displayed by a St. Louis ball club. 12 more batters went to the plate, and the Reds scored a total of 9 runs in the inning. Choo started everything with a walk, and in his second at-bat of the inning, he erased those 3 unearned runs he’d allowed by crushing a double that cleared the loaded bases.

All in all, it was a fun game. The Reds have faced nothing but good, playoff-contending teams to start the season, yet they sit atop the standings in first place with a 2 game lead on the Cardinals.

April 8, 2013

Rose debuted 50 years ago and today he’s hawking furniture

Pete Rose showing off his excellent taste in head-gear.

Pete Rose showing off his excellent taste in head-gear.

Aside: At first I wrote that headline as “hocking” furniture, since I’ve really only heard, and not read, the phrase. After a little internet research I realized that, in that sentence, “hocking” would mean “pawning.”

Thought I think Rose probably makes enough money writing things on baseballs that he doesn’t need to hock the end tables, I still think it might be a Freudian slip. After all, pawn shops do kind of bring to mind the same ambiance as I imagine being around Rose basically all of the time.

The Hardball Times is marking today as the 50th anniversary of Pete Rose’s major league debut. Chris Jaffe says:

Rose has been such a big name for such a long time that it’s easy to assume he’s always been part of the baseball landscape, but of course that wasn’t the case. Fifty years ago today he was just a cocky young middle infielder who was certain he belonged in the major leagues.

In his first trip to the big league plate on April 8, 1963, Rose got on base, though without getting a hit. Pirates pitcher Earl Francis walked him. Though Rose typically looked for a hit, he wasn’t excessively aggressive. He walked in about one-tenth of his big league trips, ending his career with 1,566 walks, 14th most all time.

Chris provides a lot more details, and also enumerates a load of other events that make today special in history. Read the whole story over at The Hardball Times.

I’ve been on vacation for over a week, so last night was the first regular-season Reds game I’ve gotten to watch on TV. And so while we’re on the topic of Rose anyway, I wanted to draw attention to this Muenchens Furniture commercial featuring him and his fiancee (or did they get married already? Hits and Mrs was taken off the air before I got completely steeped in minutia of Rose’s personal life):

“Wow! We’ll take it all!”…it’s just so poignant.

April 8, 2013

In brief: 27 of Reds’ 38 runs all from 6 guys

This is an old picture from 2009, but Cueto was probably wearing about the same shirt yesterday.

This is an old picture from 2009, but he was probably wearing about the same shirt yesterday.

Last game
The Reds won their second tough series in a row to start the season last night. Johnny Cueto put his 6 innings of 3-run ball again Steve Strasburg’s 5.1 innings of 6-run pitching to win the rubber game against the Nationals. The offense just barely got him the win, breaking a 3-3 tie in the inning when Cueto came out of the game.

Sean Marshall finally got to make an appearance, having been unavailable before due to shoulder fatigue. Jonathon Broxton and Aroldis Chapman also put in an inning. All three of the relief innings were pointless. As in, no points were scored.

Derrick Robinson, the young guy brought up when Ryan Ludwick got hurt, got his first major league hit and got to score a run when pinch hitting for Cueto in the sixth. He got a standing ovation for that. Jay Bruce was the most productive contributor, going 2-for-5 with 3 RBI.

Next game
The Reds go to visit the Cardinals tonight. Mat Latos (RHP, 0-0, 4.05 ERA) will face off against Jaime Garcia (LHP, 1-0, 1.59 ERA). It’s one of those weird early-spring start times: first pitch at 4:15 p.m.

Above average
We’re only 6 games in to the season, but so far the Reds’ offense has been highly present. It’s a nice change of pace from last season. Here are some tidbits that jump out at me as I look at the stats:

  • Todd Frazier has 9 RBI. That’s almost 30% of the teams’ total 38 runs so far. He’s also hitting .480 in 25 ABs.
  • Of the 6 guys who have played in all 6 games, 3 are hitting over .300. NOT among them: Joey Votto. He’s hitting only .238. He has, however, taken 8 walks already. Even that only gets him the third highest OBP of those 6 guys.
  • The one with the highest OBP is Frazier, of course. Second is Shin-Soo Choo. He’s 9-for-24 so far with 3 walks. He’s getting on base at a .516 clip. This guy has been a real boon so far.

This is awesome! And I’m sure it’s going to last.

What to say to sound smart at the water cooler
The Reds were only 3-3 after their first 2 series last year against the Marlins (2-1) and the Cardinals (1-2).