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 Couldn't you just stare at this all day? (9-02-10) –This has been the best couple of weeks to be a Reds fan in at least 15 years, maybe 20. I’m having a blast.
– If you’re like me, your hair is going prematurely gray. Also, you love Calvin & Hobbes. I present: The Calvin & Hobbes Search Engine.
– It’s a couple of days old, but FanGraphs treatment of the Legend of Aroldis Chapman is worth a read: Myth and Legend, Meet Cincinnati.
– This has been floating around for a while, but I liked it: The 30 worst baseball cards of all time. There are a ton I remember that are worse (Mike LaCoss, 1984 Topps), but these are good. I’m glad they included Oscar Gamble.
That brings up a memory. When I was in law school, one of the guys I lived with brought from home a big box of baseball cards. They were all late-70s, early 80s cards, and there were plenty of gems in there, including the aforementioned Gamble. We took that box and pasted them to one entire wall of our apartment; it was our Baseball Card Wall, and it was a great conversation piece.
And now you have heard the one somewhat-happy memory I have from law school.
– There has been a Bigfoot sighting, and this one seems legit. Govern yourselves accordingly.
– I’m not a huge fan of Danny McBride, an actor who has been in a couple of movies I like (Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express). Since I didn’t really care for him, I never took the time to watch Eastbound & Down, his HBO series.
That was a mistake. Eastbound & Down is belly-laugh hilarious. McBride plays Kenny Powers, a washed-up former MLB pitcher (in the mold of John Rocker) who thinks he is still a superstar. It’s very funny, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming start of season two.
On a related note, I found out something funny yesterday. A friend of mine has a younger brother who has pitched in the big leagues for the last few years. He’s a big guy, throws hard, but he was unable to catch on with another team this year. Yesterday, I discovered that they now call him Kenny Powers. That cracks me up. (I won’t tell you who the guy is, unless someone guesses correctly.)
– ESPN’s Page 2 had some National League logo revisions. Some are pretty cool. Some are exceptionally lame.
– I’m halfway through season two of Arrested Development. Good grief, that show was funny. Why didn’t I watch it when it was actually on television? Why didn’t anyone else watch it?
– I remain disappointed that the Reds couldn’t even draw 20,000 bodies for any of the three games of the Milwaukee series sweep. As I mentioned before, this has been the best couple of weeks to be a Reds fan in at at least fifteen years. I’ve heard all the excuses, and many of them are completely reasonable, but is it possible that Cincinnati isn’t as good a “baseball town” as advertised?
by Tom Diesman on September 2nd, 2010 in Down on the Farm, Minors Games Played on 09/01/10
Minor League Player of the Day: Dayton P Edinson Volquez: He got no decision as he went 7 IP and gave up 1 R, 0 ER, on 5 H and 1 BB with 9 K.
AAA
Louisville 8 – Toledo 3
Devin Mesoraco went 2 for 5 with 2 2B. David Sappelt went 2 for 3 with 2 BB. Michael Griffin went 2 for 2 with a HR and a 2B. Mike Costanzo went 1 for 2 with a 2B and 2 BB. Zack Cozart hit his 17th homer. Wladimir Balentein doubled and walked.
Ben Jukich got the win as he went 7 IP and allowed 0 R on 3 H and 1 BB with 7 K. Jared Burton added 1 IP of scoreless relief.
AA
Birmingham 5 – Carolina 0
Continue reading Down On The Farm
September 2…the baseball gods have been busy in Cincinnati…
September 2, 1870: The Cincinnati Red Stockings exacted some revenge on the Brooklyn Atlantics by defeating them, 14-3, in Cincinnati. The Atlantics had broken the Red Stockings 81 game winning streak back on June 14, 1870, in 11 innings. The loss led to cracks in the Red Stocking support system that ultimately led to the end of the professional franchise at the end of the 1870 season.
There was some additional drama to the game, having to do with player behavior. Red Stockings second baseman Charlie Sweasy had gotten into some trouble on August 29 and had been expelled from the Red Stockings baseball club due to “disgraceful” conduct on a steamboat. Sweasy was the Red Stockings’ best home run hitter in 1870, totaling 18, including a grand slam home run to win a game against Portsmouth in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game, 29-27. Sweasy’s expulsion come as a result of some actions on a steamboat called the “Fleetwood” on the way home from Portsmouth following a game on August 26. From “Redleg Journal” by Greg Rhodes and John Snyder:
“According to the captain of the boat, two or three members of the team, including Sweasy, were drunk and began fighting at the breakfast table. Calling his behavior “disgraceful,” the club expelled the second baseman on August 29, but took no action against the other players. The club hinted at more suspensions, however, saying it intended to “purge the nine of all intemperate, insubordinate, and disorderly members.” Despite the firm stance, the club reinstated a sorrowful and repentant Sweasy the next day, on the eve of a match against the visiting Atlantics.”
No doubt, the nature of the opponent and Sweasy’s ability had something to do with the forgiveness. The fans apparently gave Sweasy polite applause as he took his place on the field and he “repeatedly touched his cap in grateful acknowledgment.” He proceeded to hit a home run and score three runs in the game.
Continue reading This Day in Reds History: Disgrace, 1-Hitters, a First Pitch Homer, Voodoo, and a Dismayed City Council
by Chad Dotson on September 2nd, 2010 in 2010 Reds, Dusty Watch According to Joe Posnanski, our old friend (great podcast with Joe here), Dusty Baker is the third-best manager in the major leagues. That’s right.
Wait…what? Oh, I guess Poz was ranking the playing talents of the current managers (plus a couple of recently-fired ones). Dusty comes out pretty well in that ranking, as he should. He had a fine playing career.
 Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Milwaukee 1
Cincinnati 6
WP: Chapman (1-0)
LP: Coffey (2-3)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Aroldis Chapman did it again. A scoreless inning, 1-2-3, two strikeouts, picking up his first major league win. More impressively, Chapman hit 104 on the radar gun. Twice. Read that again…twice.
Simply amazing.
–Scott Rolen continues to rebound from a short slump; he had two hits, including another double, and a couple of RBI. Miguel Cairo also continued to get clutch hits, going 2-3 with a double that scored pinch-runner Brandon Phillips with the go-ahead run.
–Ryan Hanigan hit a huge three-run, pinch-hit homer into the upper deck, giving the Reds a 4-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. He hammered it.
–Nice start by Johnny Cueto. He was effectively wild at times, but he finished with a six-inning outing, giving up just one run on five hits.
–Once again, great work by Nick Masset and Francisco Cordero. Love to see the back of the bullpen rounding into shape.
NEGATIVES
–None.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Cincinnati is now 23 games over .500, at 78-55. The Cardinals lost again (their fifth straight loss to teams under .500), so the Reds now hold an eight-game lead in the National League Central. Unbelievable.
–The Reds have now equaled their win total from last year. Today is September 1. Are you kidding me?
–As Reds fans, however, we have to be embarrassed at the fact that only 16,412 people showed up to watch tonight’s game. That’s just sad.
–Aroldis Chapman has the most ridiculous slider I’ve ever seen in my life. Filthy.
–How good has Miguel Cairo been this year? I’ll ask the same question about Ryan Hanigan, too.
–I just cannot believe what we’ve seen from Chapman. Further, I can’t believe what we are witnessing with this entire team. It’s just crazy, and I’m loving every second of it.
–The WLBs are eight games behind Cincinnati, and eight games ahead of third place. I love it.
by Chad Dotson on September 1st, 2010 in 2010 Reds, Game Thread Let’s start September! I’m not happy to see August end, as it was a friendly month to our Cincinnati Reds, but let’s hope September has more in store.
Johnny Cueto pitches tonight, but we’re throwing up a game thread early at renbutler’s suggestion so we can all root against the WLBs.
Here’s your game preview. Go Redlegs.
by Chad Dotson on September 1st, 2010 in 2010 Reds I can’t believe I just typed that headline up there, but it’s true. Go here to register for the opportunity to purchase Reds 2010 post-season tickets.
The entire press release from the Reds is below the fold.
Continue reading Post-season tickets set to go on sale
by Chad Dotson on September 1st, 2010 in 2010 Reds, The Phenom The Enquirer has some video of Aroldis Chapman’s post-game press conference after last night’s titanic struggle. They also have some video of Dusty Baker’s comments. It’s worth a few minutes of your time.
by Steve Price on September 1st, 2010 in Reds - General, Reds History, Reds Trivia September 1: the day that rosters expand in baseball and a day of Reds pitching feats (not feets):
September 1, 1924: Reds pitchers Carl Mays and Rube Benton both pitch complete game shutouts as the Reds sweep a Labor Day doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals in Cincinnati.
The Reds 1924 season had started in an awful way. Manager Pat Moran, who had guided the Reds to a 425-329 record and the 1919 World Series victory in five seasons, died in spring training from Bright’s disease. According to “Redleg Journal” (by Greg Rhodes and John Snyder), Moran fell ill on a train on March 1 during spring training, was admitted to a hospital on March 4, and died on March 7. In the recent book “Evaluating Baseball’s Managers” (by Chris Jaffe), Moran is listed as possibly the most underrated manager in baseball history.
Moran was replaced by Jack Hendricks who went on to manage six years for the Reds and has the third most wins of any Reds manager (469-450). Hendricks inherited a team built on pitching and defense in a big ballpark where the new home run balls often fell into outfielder’s gloves for outs.
The Reds overcome their spring training adversity to finish fourth for the season (83-70), ten games behind the pennant winning New York Giants. The Reds led the league with a 3.12 ERA, while finishing next to last in runs scored per game (4.24) despite the hitting of Hall of Fame centerfielder Edd Roush (.348, led the league with 21 triples). The Reds primarily used a four man rotation of Hall of Famer Eppa Rixey (15-14, 2.76 ERA), Mays (20-9, 3.15), Pete Donohue (16-9, 3.60), and Dolf Luque (10-15, 3.16). Their fifth starter was Rube Benton (7-9, 2.77).
Continue reading This Day in Reds History: Pitching Mastery
by Chad Dotson on September 1st, 2010 in 2010 Reds The Reds will be calling up three players from Louisville before tonight’s game: Yonder Alonso, Carlos Fisher, and Corky Miller. Also, Matt Maloney let slip on Twitter that he’d be in St. Louis on Friday, so he will likely be recalled soon. It remains to be seen who else, if anyone, will be joining the team (Wladimir Balentien, anyone?).
To make room for Corky’s mustache, the Reds placed Russ Springer on the 60-day disabled list.
Believe.
by Chad Dotson on September 1st, 2010 in 2010 Reds, The Phenom Have you recovered from the excitement of Aroldis Chapman’s debut last night? Wasn’t that the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen? Combined with two great defensive plays in the ninth, and the St. Louis loss, those last couple of innings have put the Nation into a permanent frenzy, it seems. Fun, fun, fun.
Our intrepid manager summed up what we all were feeling:
“A lot of times, you hear hype and you’re disappointed,” Dusty Baker said. “We weren’t disappointed.
No, we weren’t disappointed. I loved this quote from Ryan Hanigan (via C. Trent’s story):
“That thing … that pitch … that’s a whole different ballgame,” Hanigan said. “His breaking ball is what people should be talking about. His slider is absolutely ridiculous. He’s got to be able to throw it for a strike and he’s got to get into counts where we can call it. So getting ahead is big, but if he can throw that breaking ball for a strike … good luck. It’s a hammer. I saw it in Triple-A. It’s 88-to-93. It’s moving about a foot and a half. That’s not something that anyone wants to hit. I don’t care how good you are.”
Francisco Cordero didn’t think it was any big deal. In fact, CoCo said he’d gotten up to 102 before…in his Ferrari.
Best take on Chapman, however, came from Big League Stew:
His stuff is real … and it’s spectacular.
Indeed. The Phenom has arrived.
by Chris Wilson on September 1st, 2010 in Down on the Farm, Minors Minor League Player of the Day: Henry Rodriguez (Dayton) 3-4, 1 double, 2 runs scored, 4RBI and Mark Fleury (Dayton) 4-5, 2 doubles, 1 run scored, 3 RBI.
AAA
Toledo 4 – Louisville 1
Eric Eymann doubled, Dave Sappelt tripled, and Danny Dorn hit his 12th homerun of the season. Unfortunately for the Bats, that was 3 of the team’s 4 hits on the night.
Enerio Del Rosario allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk in 3.1 innings of relief to pick up the loss and drop to 4-1 on the season. Matt Maloney made the start and went 3 innings, allowing one run on 4 hits while striking out 3.
AA
Carolina 9 – Birmingham 4
Chris Denove and Mike Costanzo had multi-hit games. Denove went 3-5 with 3 singles, 2 RBI, and a run scored while Costanzo went 2-4 with a single, double, run scored, and 2 RBI. Jake Kahaulelio belted his 12th homerun of the season and had 3 RBI. Denis Phipps singled in 4 at-bats, but drove in 2 RBI and scored a run.
James Avery surrendered 10 hits and a walk in 5.1 innings pitched, allowing 4 runs while striking out 2. That was still good enough to pick up his 2nd win in Carolina compared to 3 losses. Joseph Krebs and Brad Boxberger combined to throw 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, allowing 4 hits while striking out 2.
High A
Winston-Salem 6 – Lynchburg 0
Ezequiel Infante and Doug Salinas combined to pitch 5 scoreless inning of relief, scattering 4 hits and striking out 1. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot more worth mentioning. The offense managed only 4 hits in the loss and Winston-Salem scored all 6 of their runs in the 2nd inning.
A
Dayton 12 – Lansing 0
Aside from Rodriguez and Fleury, who were my picks for co-players of the day, Kevyn Feiner also had a great day going 3-6 with an RBI and a run scored. These three guys, batting in the 2, 3 and 4 slots in the lineup, combined to go 10-15 with 3 doubles, 4 runs scored, and 8 RBI.
Ricky Bowen could have also qualified for the player of the day. Bowen pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. The win improved his record to 5-8 on the season.
Rookie
Billings 7 – Helena 5; game 1
Billy Hamilton went 2-5 with 2 runs scored, an RBI, and 3 stolen bases. The 3 stolen bases gives him 29 on the season. Devin Lohman had 2 doubles in 4 at-bats, scoring twice, and driving in an RBI.
Daniel Wolford picked up his 2nd win of the season in relief, despite allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 3.2 innings pitched. Pat Doyle allowed 2 runs in 2.1 innings pitched but still recorded his 3rd save.
Helena 3 – Billings 2; game 2
Yorman Rodriguez had 2 of the Mustangs 4 hits in a 2-4 night. One of the hits was a triple, as Rodriguez also scored a run and drove in a run.
Kevin Arico pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief, allowing only 1 hit while striking out 3.
AZL Brewers 10 – AZL Reds 8
This game was for the AZL Crown. The Reds had leads of 3-0 and 5-3, and then after falling behind 8-6, managed to tie it at 8-8 before Jose Marizan allowed 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th for the loss. Robert Maddox went 3-5 went 3-5 with a homerun, his 7th of the season. Kurtis Muller tripled, scored a run, and drove in a run in a 3-5 night. Ronald Torreyes, Drew Poulk, and Juan Silva each went 2-4 with a double and a run scored.
by Chad Dotson on August 31st, 2010 in 2010 Reds, The Phenom, Titanic Struggle Recap Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Milwaukee 4
Cincinnati 8
WP: LeCure (2-4)
LP: Gallardo (11-7)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Aroldis Chapman was electrifying in his major league debut, hitting 103, 102, and 100…but most impressively, demonstrating a wicked slider. Chapman served notice on the National League by delivering a 1-2-3 eighth inning. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.
–Joey Votto was 2-3 with two doubles and three RBI. MVP.
–Scott Rolen was 2-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Paul Janish was 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Jonny Gomes hit a two-run laser homerun to the opposite field.
–Sam LeCure was very good out of the pen again. So was Bill Bray.
NEGATIVES
–None (except for the Little League-esque error committed by Gomes. Brutal.).
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Cincinnati is now 22 games over .500, at 77-55. The Cardinals lost again, so the Reds now hold a seven-game lead in the National League Central. Unbelievable.
–The Reds went 19-8 in August. That’s the best record of any team in the major leagues during the month. Do you believe yet?
–To match last year’s record, the Reds would have to go 1-29 the rest of the way. If Cincinnati plays .500 ball the rest of the season, they would end up with 92 wins.
–Votto and Rolen made incredible defensive plays to record the last two outs of the game.
–This team is so much fun to watch.
–Loved that the (very small) crowd cheered loudly when Chapman was shown on the scoreboard warming up in the bullpen.
–Aaron Harang wasn’t great, but he was better than he’d shown in his rehab outings. We’ll wait to see what the Reds decide about Harang’s role on this team for the last month.
–Sorry, this is quick and dirty (I’ll work on a better one later), but I had to throw something together to celebrate this occasion:
by Chad Dotson on August 31st, 2010 in 2010 Reds, Believe, Game Thread I almost wish August wouldn’t end. After that St. Louis debacle early in the month, would any of you have guessed that August would turn out to be the most enjoyable month to be a Reds fan in years?
An old friend returns to the mound tonight: Aaron Harang. I’m trying to be optimistic, but I can’t deny that I’m a bit worried about Harang after his poor performances while rehabbing. I’d like nothing more, however, than to see the big guy catch lightning in a bottle, and pitch like vintage Harang for the next month. He deserves that, as a mainstay of this organization for so many years.
Yes, I’m too sentimental about the Reds.
Anyway, Yovani Gallardo pitches for Milwaukee. He’s a good pitcher, but the Reds have had some success against him in the past (including his last outing vs. Cincinnati, when Gallardo couldn’t get out of the third inning). I’m cautiously optimistic.
Here’s your game preview. Go Redlegs.
by Chad Dotson on August 31st, 2010 in 2010 Reds, The Phenom Aroldis Chapman and his 105-mph heater will be called up to the big leagues before tonight’s titanic struggle:
Chapman, 22, a Cuban left-hander, has been dominant, overpowering, nasty, filthy or whatever adjective you want to insert for his Louisville performance recently. He is 4-1 with a 2.40 earned run average as a reliever. He’s allowed 17 hits, 12 walks and struck out 49 in 30 innings, since the move to bullpen. His ERA is 0.83 over his last 20 appearances.
In his last eight outings, he’s gone eight innings and allowed two hits and three walks while striking out 15.
How excited are you? Further, how excited are you about this season, in general?
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