Time for a recap of tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 2
Toronto 8
WP: Richmond (6-4)
LP: Arroyo (8-6)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Jonny Gomes had two of the Reds four hits, including his third homer.
–Willy Taveras didn’t make a single out tonight.
NEGATIVES
–TOS*
–The Reds got four hits, and they were facing a guy who was pitching in the independent leagues two years ago. How bad is that?
–Bronson Arroyo was just terrible. The first five Jays to bat in the first inning scored, and the Reds were never in the game after that. Miserable.
–Pitching was awful, hitting was awful, defense was bad. Yep, that just about covers it.
ETC.
–The Reds are now two games under .500. The only time all year they have been two under was after…two games, when they dropped to 0-2 before topping the Mets to get their first win.
–Is this the beginning of the end for our beloved Redlegs? I hope not, but the upcoming schedule looks pretty brutal. The Reds are going to play St. Louis, Philadelphia, the Mets, Milwaukee, the Dodgers, the Cubs, and Colorado — all during July. If the good guys don’t get things going soon, they could be in bad shape before August gets here.
–Dusty Baker looked like he wanted to strangle someone in the dugout after the game. I could feel his anger through the television, even in standard definition.
–I know Dusty wanted to get his left-handed bat in the lineup, but I just can’t understand why he thought it was a good idea to start Danny Richar at 3B. Richar has never played 3B in the majors. He has played 3B in the minors exactly 6 times in 731 career games. Louisville has played 8 different guys at 3B this year; none of them are named Danny Richar. (Tip of the cap to Lance McAlister on those numbers.)
Is it just a devious plot to keep Paul Janish out of the game? (Janish. J-A-N-I-S-H. I swear to you, he plays for the Reds. No, really. Just trust me on this one.)
–He’s not my favorite, but Reds announcer Jeff Brantley hit the nail on the head:
“The Reds can’t turn the double play and the run will score…that’s what happens when you continue to play guys out of position like Hairston and Richar”.
As I said in the game thread: Why not Janish at short and JHJ at third? Better defense at both positions (and of course, Richar committed an error tonight), and the offense doesn’t take a hit either (as compared to JHJ and Richar).
Dusty vexes me.
–Series wrap-up tomorrow night. I can’t wait.
*This Offense Stinks.