Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 1
St. Louis 11
W: J. Garcia (2-0)
L: M. Latos (0-2)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–The only positive to emerge from tonight’s game is that Dusty Baker finally discovered the ideal spot for Alfredo Simon to enter a game: when the Reds are losing 8-1.
Other than that, I got nothing for ya’.
NEGATIVES
–TOS*
–Only one run again tonight? Really? Are we going to do this every night?
–Mat Latos: 5.2 innings, nine hits, eight runs, three walks, six strikeouts. Not sure what to say. The kid is going to be good, but his first three starts have been pretty bad.
Milton is getting worried.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Never in a million years did I think it could get this bad, this early. I want to keep urging patience, but no one is listening to me anymore on that score.
–I expected to see a team this season that was really exciting to watch. Through the first two weeks, watching this team has turned into a chore. They just aren’t fun to watch; they don’t execute fundamentally, and they haven’t been able to hit the broad side of a barn. I usually don’t get this feeling until August or September.
–Our beloved Redlegs have lost 8 games this season. In those eight losses, they have scored 11 runs. That’s almost impossible to believe.
–For what it’s worth, Devin Mesoraco had a couple of hits and made a really nice defensive play (blocking the plate, preventing a run). That kid is going to be a bright, shining star in this town.
–Believe it or not, that was Latos’ best start in Busch Stadium, ever.
–Brandon Phillips looks like he’s still hurting to my untrained eye. The guy can barely run. Why didn’t the Reds just put him on the DL and get him healed up, rather than letting this linger? Panic because of the poor offense, perhaps (didn’t think they could do without BP for two weeks)?
–Scott Rolen got two hits, and his batting average is almost all the way up to .200. Again, untrained eye, but does it seem to anyone else like Scott Rolen can’t catch up with any fastball quicker than Jamie Moyer’s?
Hey, Nation, repeat after me: Latos is going to be an excellent #Reds pitcher. Give him more than three starts to prove that.
— Redleg Nation (@redlegnation) April 19, 2012
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–A bunch of idiots were giving Mat Latos’ wife a hard time on Twitter tonight because Mat didn’t pitch well. Just breath-takingly lame. Makes one embarrassed to be a Reds fan.
Plus, get this: the chief idiot who was doing that was some guy who, evidently, is an assistant football coach at … wait for it … Springboro High School! Richard from Springboro, perhaps?
–Is Dusty Baker’s seat warm yet? What are your thoughts?
Source: FanGraphs
*This offense stinks.