News and notes from around the interwebs, as we contemplate how to endure yet another day with no Reds:
—Bill Bray is hurt again. In related news, the sun rose in the east this morning.
–Mark Sheldon notes some early trends, including this:
The Reds offense is ranked 16th out of 16 NL teams with a .222 team average.
The Reds are fourth in walks with 40 and eighth in team OBP with .333. They are 12th in runs scored.
and this:
Although counted on to be the biggest strength of the team, (pitching) has yet to get into a groove. There have been just two quality starts. It has pitched five innings or fewer four times and into the seventh twice. It came into Thursday ranked 10th out of 16 National League teams with a 4.82 ERA, eighth with 46 2/3 innings pitched and ninth in strikeouts with 37. The staff’s overall ERA is 5.32, also ranked 10th.
Below average offense, below average defense, and the team has been outscored by the opposition. Yet, the Reds are .500. Ain’t baseball grand?
—Doug Gray’s assessment of Drew Sutton, just acquired in the Jeff Keppinger deal:
Sutton would not make my Reds Top 25 prospects. He is a slightly lesser version of Adam Rosales to me. Thats certainly not a bad thing, but he is a bit older and is just a solid kind of guy with no outstanding tools that stand out.
Sounds reasonable.
–John Fay has the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 2009 Reds so far.
—A human face on the steroids subject. You must read this.
–We’re facing Roy Oswalt and the Astros tomorrow. I’m scared. Really scared. Oswalt’s record against Cincinnati in his career? 23-1.
Yes, you read that right. Be very afraid.