May 11, 2006
I Guess They Really Did Miss His Bat
By
Amanda
Posted at 10:47 pm
Ken Griffey, Jr., in his first game back after almost a month on the disabled list, just hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th to salvage a game that the Reds had apparently prepared to forfeit as evidenced by letting Rick White pitch.
Griffey whacked the ball, then swaggered his way half-way to first before jogging the rest of the way. I thought he was just being cocky, but then I realized that he was probably saving his legs. That's either a fly out or a home run; no need to strain the titanium.
In St. Louis, the fans demand a curtain call after every home run. The Cincinnati fans are more selective than that, which made Jr.'s tip of the cap all the more meaningful.
Go Reds!
People who should be fired: David Ross, Rick White, Jerry Narron
Junior should’ve never had that opportunity, but it was one hell of an awesome ending.
I agree about Rick White… David Ross has helped more than hurt, especially as Arroyo’s personal catcher. Hey, if it makes Bronson more comfortable, I’m all for it. As for Narron, well, he makes some odd decisions, but he has an amazing tendency to make the right decisions, (bringing Rick White in excluded) it seems.
As for the game tonight, I was there. It was amazing.
Welcome back, Junior.
The Reds didn’t deserve this one. Narron and Freel in particular draw my ire. Why not stay with Arroyo or go with your best in the 9th? Coffey pitched as much as Weathers did on Wednesday. Why pull Dunn with such a slim lead? Why not squeeze with Freel? Freel can’t drive the ball, so he is the most RBI-challenged player on the team. White? Freel’s amazingly stupid decision in the 11th? Freel might have even had 2nd base on fielder’s indifference if he would have stayed at first and been willing to wait a pitch or two.
Arroyo wasn’t going back out for the 9th, even if the 8th hadn’t been a tad rough… he was around 115 pitches. As for Weathers instead of Coffey, I agree. Hopefully this is the end of the Weathers-dominated “Closer by Committee” crap we’ve been seeing.
Narron wasn’t looking to pull Dunn, it was more of a double switch, and he just happened to be the last out. Not that it makes it ok – I think he just assumed Weathers would close it out, or that, at the worst, the Reds would win it in the bottom of the 9th.
As far as the Reds not deserving to win this one, I’ll take a win any day, no matter how ugly. If anyone deserved the win, it was Arroyo, and since he couldn’t get the decision because of the blown save, at least his team now has a 1 game lead in the division, as opposed to a tie with the Cardinals.
I attended this one with my kid and we stuck it out hoping for a miracle. What a finish! Most of the fans had left (and it only started with like 13,000 at best) so we moved down near the 3B dugout for the bottom of the 11th… a bunch of foul balls were hit our way but I was too upset to make an effort… but a guy caught one right in front of us and handed it to my son which drew him praise from everyone nearby (myself included)… then Felipe singled, Edwin walked and BAM! Griffey delivers! Fireworks, and high fives all around! What a ball game!
The most upsetting thing was when Freel got nailed trying to stretch his hit to a double… if he just stays at 1B we bring the tying run to the plate with no outs. We still pulled it off, but what is Freel thinking? He definitely needs some bench time to get his head back on straight…
Welcome back, Junior!
Geki – They shouldn’t fire Ross; they should trade him. A halfway decent catcher is too valuable to just cut loose.
Perhaps they could trade him to Bronson Arroyo, who would probably try to use him as a personal valet or dedicated hair stylist or something.
kmanq – Welcome! Always nice to have a new commenter. You’re right of course: the didn’t deserve the win. But they’ve gotten losses they didn’t deserve either, so it probably evens out.
Skeeter – As I’m sure you recall, Narron specifically mentioned Weathers’ lack of blown saves at Baseball 101. So maybe you’re right: now that Weathers has notched a few BS’s, maybe we won’t be seeing him so much.
smartelf – Welcome to the midwest! Are you here for good?
I was here last summer as well… its just a summer vacation… but yea, I really love this town.