Maybe the third time is a charm for the Cincinnati Reds? Over the previous two nights the Cincinnati bullpen has blown a late lead and lost both games to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Perhaps a 12:35pm ET afternoon game will get things back on track.
Starting Lineups
Arizona D’Backs
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
| Pavin Smith – CF | Jesse Winker – LF |
| Wyatt Mathisen – 1B | Nick Castellanos – RF |
| Josh VanMeter – 2B | Joey Votto – 1B |
| David Peralta – LF | Eugenio Suárez – SS |
| Carson Kelly – C | Nick Senzel – CF |
| Eduardo Escobar – 3B | Jonathan India – 2B |
| Nick Ahmed – SS | Tucker Barnhart – C |
| Josh Rojas – RF | Kyle Farmer – 3B |
| Taylor Widener – SP | Jeff Hoffman – SP |
Starting Pitchers
Jeff Hoffman
New team, new pitcher. Or at least that’s what it feels like early on for Jeff Hoffman. After five years in Colorado where he posted an ERA of 6.40, Hoffman has a 2.93 ERA in three starts with the Reds. In his 15.1 innings he’s allowed two home runs, walked six (1 IBB), and he’s struck out 12 batters.
Things have a rough look when you take a peak at the splits for Jeff Hoffman. He’s had plenty of success this year against lefties. Small sample size alert applies here, but they’ve hit just .219/.306/.375 against him – but do have as many walks as strikeouts, four. Right-handed hitters, though, have crushed him to the tune of .346/.393/.538 against him with two walks and eight strikeouts. In his career he has had far more success against lefties than righties (.796 OPS against vs .991 OPS against).
Pitch usage from 2021
| 4-Seam | Slider | Change | Curveball | |
| Velo | 93.3 | 82.4 | 84.9 | 76.7 |
| Usage | 57.6% | 16.0% | 14.0% | 12.4% |
Taylor Widener
After getting his feet wet in the big leagues in 2020 as a reliever, Taylor Widener is now in the Arizona rotation. Through three starts he’s been outstanding, giving up just three earned runs in 17.0 innings. That’s a 1.59 ERA for those without a calculator in your head. He’s allowed just one home run this season after giving up five last year in 20.0 innings. His strikeout rate is down as he’s fanned just 11 batters this season after having more strikeouts than innings as a reliever last season.
When it comes to splits this season, left-handed hitters have had more success than right-handed hitters against Widener through his three starts. Lefties have a .736 OPS against him this season – including all four extra-base hits that he’s allowed. Righties have a .512 OPS against him this year. Last season his splits were quite bit, but also in a small sample size, where lefties had a .977 OPS against him while righties were at just .614 against him.
Pitch Usage in 2021
| 4-Seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 93.0 | 85.2 | 86.7 |
| Usage | 63.6% | 14.7% | 21.7% |
When and Where
- Game time: 12:35pm ET
- Where: Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio (formerly Fox Sports Ohio), MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 47°, Mostly cloudy, 1% chance of rain
News and Notes
Nick Castellanos is back
After serving his two game suspension between Tuesday and Wednesday, outfielder Nick Castellanos is back in the lineup and hitting second for the Reds this afternoon.
Amir Garrett takes the blame
Left-handed reliever Amir Garrett is taking the blame for the last two Cincinnati Reds losses. After the game last night he spoke with the media for just over 6 minutes and we’ve uploaded the entire interview so you can hear exactly what it is that he had to say. You can watch it all right here.
NL Central Standings
Playoff odds via Fangraphs
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff % |
| Brewers | 11 | 7 | 0 | 61.7% |
| Reds | 9 | 8 | 1.5 | 23.6% |
| Cubs | 8 | 9 | 2.5 | 16.2% |
| Cardinals | 8 | 10 | 3.0 | 18.7% |
| Pirates | 8 | 10 | 3.0 | 0.5% |
Suarez-Votto 1-15 thus far in the series. Still in the 3-4 position. SMH. A loss today, a road trip to St.Louis, followed by a trip to LA? The Reds will be in last place within a week if nothing changes.
Votto will be good, but Suarez’ comment about 50 HRs in the Spring, and his swing-for-the-fences K with 2 strikes yesterday, show exactly where his focus is. Unless he changes his approach, it’s not going to be a good year for him. If he were batting 7th, it would be oh well, but he’s in the prime spot in the lineup and with Bell, he could K 20 consecutive times and still be in that spot.
Yeah, before today Votto was hitting .385 in the last 7 games. 2hr, 5rbi, 4bb, 4ks. 2-4 today w/hr. Definitely a problem!
Need fans in front of GABP with signs…Fire David Bell….go full force on social media..Every Reds fan that has a FB page…. post….and do not attend games until he is gone
I double checked and this is now your second warning. There will be no more warnings in the future. No cursing and no personal insults.
Bell needs to go agreed. Move Barry out of the booth and into uniform to take over. He has experience and oh yeah he is a HOFamer. Listening to him question the pitching and hitting decisions makes me think he is scouting as much as announcing. Big Bob was in the booth the other night but didn’t speak. Look out Bell, Lark is in the wings…hopefully
No thanks on Larkin. He would have everyone laying down sac. bunts. Hire a manager that has managed before with some success.
Agree Reds Fan For Life. There is no evidence Larkin would be a good manager. He needs a year or two managing in the minors. He has not done that.
Barry was all for giving Garrett the ball and letting him close it out yesterday. He and Bell were the only two on the planet with that opinion.
Last two management hires for Reds have been baseball guys with little to no deft at being a tactician. That should be the #1 skill in hiring a manager, and it is not for the Reds.
If it is like Price’s time Larkin will meet with players and try to backstab Bell. I fin more fault with the “Great” Pitching instructors mismanaging the bullpen. Coming out of ST Sims and Garrett sat around for days not pitching. I think Romano had three appearances before they had one. Them Sal goes a week not pitching. To stay sharp these one inning guys need to pitch. They have no idea what there roles are and when they might throw at this point. If it were me I’d pull a play out of Sparky’s book. I’d start Garrett. To let him work on his pitches in a non stress situation and relieve him with Castillo to give him a little different situation. Sparky did this several times with Carroll and Borbon.
Follow the posting guidelines.
Doug, Was that for me? If so what did I do wrong? TIA.
No, it’s for Jeffery. But because of how the threaded comments work, it looks slightly “off” here.
We look at the bullpen as the problem. It is the glaring symptom of the problem. Starters not being allowed to continue because of a slick little double switch or a feeling he has thrown too many pitches. That is the problem, a manager that feels he can interject and make a difference. The result is a worn out bullpen and guys pitching in a situation they don’t belong and it is early in the season. As to AG, he needs work either in the pen or the alternate site. He is taking up valuable space here.
Geno might need a rest today. He needs to get back to going to right with the outside pitches like he does when he is going good. Last night with the swing that knocked him down everything he is doing wrong was on display. The guys worried about his back leg being hurt, I worried about his neck from him snapping it so hard to the left to watch the ball he never made contact with. Everything is pulling out and when the hips go like they are, no wonder he fell down.
That has been a problem since before this year…even when he hit 49 bombs. But at least there was 49 bombs in between the ineptness.
Hope Geno can turn it around.
Been having that Frazier swing since last year.
Got to high to fast, from the great start.
Hope for Health from Senzel India Stephenson.
See what Reds have in them, moving Forward.
Pray Winker can stay Healthy as well.
Today’s theme! “For whom the Bell tolls!” After last nights disaster hoping for a better outcome today! Unless Hoffman throws a complete game you can bet the farm that Bell will use Big Sal Romano at the earliest opportunity! One final thought, if you Google the phrase “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” you’ll find Bell’s photo!
The Reds need a kangaroo court. Judges Votto or Moose and Sonny. Called third strike is a fine, if it close enough to call it is close enough to at least waste. Walks by pitcher a fine. A little good light hearted peer pressure is good for the boys.
Well I think your comment about bunts is tongue in cheek…I hope. Actually Barry does have a lot of experience managing big leaguers in the World Baseball Classic for Brazil. He was also the bench coach for the US team under Davey Johnson, that year Johnson had to leave for personal reasons and Lark managed the US team then. His pedigree as a player speaks for itself. He is way more qualified than Bell.
No he’s not. David Bell managed four seasons in the minor leagues. He then was on a big league coaching staff for several years.
Barry Larkin has coached a handful of games of college kids for team USA and managed for team Brazil in the WBC qualifiers for a grand total of like 8 games.
Bottom line is where has all that “experience” got the Reds? Nothing against the guy personally but this is his first stint as a manager and it has not gone well. I would put Larkin’s pedigree up against Bell’s, beginning all the way back as a kid, any day. It can’t be any worse. If being a good guy was all that was needed he would be on the way to a hall of fame career but it is not. Some great baseball minds are just not meant to manage.
There’s a difference between the question you asked and saying “Larkin has a better resume to manage”, which he absolutely does not. Larkin has never once been a manager or a coach at the professional baseball level. He’s been a roving instructor and a television guy. The two resumes are like that of a guy who went to but didn’t graduate high school, and someone with a doctorate. It doesn’t mean one guy will be better than the other, but on paper one guy is far more qualified than the other.
And let’s also note that this is not his first stint as a manager. It’s his first stint as a Major League Baseball manager. He managed like 600 games in the minor leagues and then was on a big league coaching staff for another like 500 games.
Not gone well? As Frankie noted, since the start of 2020 the Cincinnati Reds have more wins than losses. They aren’t the Dodgers or anything, but you (and others) are acting like he’s got the 2003 Tigers record.
Do you really call that “a lot of experience”? Larkin was a great player. I have no reason to think at this point he has any business being a Major League manager. Maybe if he actually got some experience managing at the minor league level and/or coaching at the big league level, but not right now.
C’mon, if “experience” is what is needed and Bell has so much, what is his problem? I would rather have a well versed HOFer who knows what it is to be successful big leaguer than Bell with his mediocre career and all his “experience”. The upside for Lark outweighs the downside. It can’t be any worse.
Since the start of 2020 David Bell and the Cincinnati Reds have a winning record. Saying that it can’t be any worse is a huge stretch of the truth. Take a deep breath.
Forgot to mention his job with the Nationals and Bowden in the front office as well as his role with the Reds. He is very qualified.
Take a deep breath? What is that stellar record? Reds went .500 last year, lost two in the playoffs and are two up so far this year, I think that is still .500. I see a guy trying to inject a move to not lose instead of letting them play. The double steel in the playoffs, a play that stops working in youth baseball when the kids learn to throw and catch, put the cap on my opinion…and I had to take a deep breath then too.
The issue I have with Larkin, is, does he want the job? What if it goes further south than it is now, do the Reds really want another Tony Perez on their hands…I think he is smart and knows what he sees and not sure he would want to commit to that, in its current state
Well Tony would have been a star if he was compared to Bell. Pete did a good job as a former great player. There are all kinds of examples around the league. Barry would be just the medicine they need.
I doubt any manager will do better without a deep bullpen and perhaps without a solid defender at SS, so let’s hope things will turn around.
The bullpen is not being used right. He puts pitchers in spots they shouldn’t be in, he takes out starters too quick. AG should never been put in that position last night. As far as SS, with the shifts he hardly ever is playing true SS. When Suarez comes out of his funk all will be good there.
Call it the curse of the Jesse Winker triple but the Reds as a franchise are now 1-2 all time when Winker triples.
Stick with the home run JW.
The Wink getting things started early today! I missed the first inning but saw the highlight on my phone. Love how he goes the other way with power.
Suarez can’t get a ball thats 1.5 steps away and Hoffman is going 3-2 on everyone. I don’t know? I think we’re going to need atleast 5-6 runs today.
Can’t believe they gave that guy hit.
Then on the bunt, he could have still got the trail runner, but bobbled the exchange.
But hey…at least they got his bat in the lineup.
Not good going to be a Early BP day.
To many Pitches this early.
Stress Pitches as well.
no need to argue this point anymore. Larkin has a baseball pedigree that can’t be touched by Bell starting back with Midland or before up through Michigan and a HOF career. He worked in the front office of the Nationals, not as a roving instructor, which by the way if he has been doing that here he knows the players. As I said above, Bell is a great baseball mind and guy, some of those guys are meant to sit next to the manager and some are meant to be the manager. It is not personal, just a fact.
And yet you continue to act like the Reds are the 2003 Detroit Tigers and not a team that’s won more games than they’ve lost since the start of 2020. That’s a fact.
And really? Midland? A high school travel team? That’s how you know how incredibly far you are reaching to try and make your point.
No Doug i said pedigree. Midland is just not any highschool summer team. Many many major league players from around the country have started their resume, hence pedigree, in that storied organization. At 18u you have to be in the top 1% of players to play there. That’s players from all over the country and south of the border.
Do the math how many over .500 since the beginning of 2020 or since. What about the year before that, doesn’t that count?
You’re embarrassing yourself, Jeffrey. David Bell’s pedigree is coming from a 3-generation big league family, having over a decade of managing and coaching experience in the minor and major leagues, and a 12-year big league playing career and you’re talking about someone playing for a high school travel baseball team in 1980 as some proof of a pedigree or resume.
As a sidenote: David Bell played for Midland.
Now the real fun begins! Which fireman do you bring in from the bullpen! Big Sal is salivating!
I am starting to feel like this is becoming personal. Did you grow up in the local baseball community? You have no idea of what pedigree or tradition means. The Larkins not the Bells are the first family of sports here. Add all the managerial, coaching and playing games all together and it means Bell has never won. Add all David’s games up from all three and what are the percentages? I have said he has a great baseball mind and is a good guy but maybe he needs to be that guy with the good ideas that sits next to the manager. He needs to be held in check.
Finally did you think of the fact that both Bell and Larkin came up relatively the same way, learned the same things yet Barry has been a whole lot more successful ending in the HOF.
No one is arguing that Barry Larkin isn’t the better baseball player of the two, Jeffrey. No one is asking the two guys to play baseball.
Suarez has to smother that ball. He was right there? Hoffman didn’t help with the error, etc.
Only 2. Now lets go!!!
If Barry isn’t the answer then Freddy can be interim. He has done it and been successful at filling in. He doesn’t try to interject or justify his existence. He, like I think Barry would, lets the boys play.
Poor Suarez. He could use some luck right now and not bad luck.
The David Bell trashing makes zero sense to me. This team isn’t going to instantly be better with another manager but it could be a lot worse with a manager that breaks chemistry.
For the folks bashing David Bell, imagine if your boss talked about your work performance the way you talk about Bells? My guess is that for most of us, David is far better at his job than we are at ours.
I was a manager in large corporations for over 30 years. Performance on par with Bell’s simply wasn’t tolerated. If you didn’t perform, you were out. So no, I don’t think the Bell bashing is over the top. Management’s indifference to his approach is over the top.
David Bell has a winning record over the last two seasons. If you had someone performing better than average you wouldn’t tolerate that?
My job was time studied every day and in my 30 years I might have been over 5 times the allotted time. And those five times was probably do to going out into the field without enough work and management knew it. I watched my father take pride in his work and I took pride in my work. Not to mention the Air Force taught me failure wasnt an option and I’ve taken that to my job on the outside world.
After today, the Reds will likely be 9-9 and at best tied for 2nd place. They were 2 games over last year and counting playoffs, again even. Twelve games under his first year. So no, I don’t credit him as above average. Pay for performance and the team isn’t getting it from Bell nor several of the highly paid players.
This seems to be a never-ending battle with people who defend lousy managers and coaches. “But they win games” isn’t a reason to assume the manager is doing a good job. You could let me manage the team and they’d win a lot games. They’d certainly win games with Votto managing. The question is what is the manager ADDING, and it’s hard to believe Bell can possibly be adding very much — given the fact that he makes so many bad strategic decisions. With a different manager, would Votto suddenly not know how to hit? Would Senzel no longer be able to catch fly balls? They could do these things with anyone managing. So, the question is: what does Bell ADD? I don’t think it can possibly be very much based on what I’ve seen on a daily basis since he’s taken over.
@J
And also a manager can SUBTRACT
Good god they were projected to be fourth in central and 500 he is performing ahead of expectations marginally. Maybe look at some of our “prodigies” that have cooled and hold them accountable our predicted closer is struggling.
As for Larkin he was great player definitely does not equate to he is great manager.
I think looking at record, while obviously a significant part of the picture, is not the measure of whether their performance has been above average. Obviously again context matters. A manager with a horrible roster might develop young players and have them closer to .500 than they have any right to be. A manager with a stacked lineup might be above .500 but underperform the talent level. That was the criticism of Dusty at multiple stops across his career (not necessarily agreeing with it, just saying that was the narrative).
That cuts both ways with Bell. If you look at his Reds career, not just the last two partial seasons, he is under .500. 3 years 115 124 .481.
But that first full season team was not exactly stacked, so is that below average? And one of those partial seasons was the COVID debacle, which who knows how you judge anyone on.
Bell has made some decisions that have been very questionable as documented here at length, but so do most managers. What is the old line about every man knows that he is better than every other one about two things, cooking BBQ and managing a baseball team?
I think this full season is the test. I believe the importance of the manager is always overrated, and much is beyond Bell’s control. But if the younger players develop (and I include Senzel, India, Stephenson, and even Winker in that group) and he is creative in using what he has in the bullpen, I think he deserves another shot. A
Sorry for the diatribe. Rant ended.
I would hope not. If my closing rate was anything like his winning percentage I wouldn’t have made it through the first year. He must win just as you or I must succeed. Remember neither one of us is a weatherman.
It’s become evident to me that Antone and Sims are going to have to pitch 300 innings each out of the pen for the Reds to have a chance.
Well 4 runs is pretty steep with Cy Young on the mound. Cardinals will be looking for payback tomorrow and then the mighty Dodgers. Back in the day the Dodgers were the hated rival. Reds need to come alive soon or this could get ugly quick. Dodger games starting at 10. God help you Doug.
Reds will get swept by the Diamondbacks! Bell’s decision to go with AG last night and not bring in Fulmer after the 3rd batter is indefensible. But you can’t win in the majors with only 1 or 2 trustworthy relievers.
When do the ’27 Yankees reincarnated as the 2021 Dbacks leave town?
Boy the Reds will be glad to see Arizona leave town. This year’s Reds have quite literally been snake-bitten
Alas, they seem to be going gently into that good night
Ooo! I’ll have to post like this more often—reverse psychology lol
4-4
4-7 my original comment stands
Wow…did Geno need that!
Good for you young man.
THE BATS ARE ALIVE! ALLELUIAH!
Why do you pinch hit for Hoffman in the 5th inning in a non-critical situation in a 2-1 game where he’s thrown just 88 pitches?
Bell
I’ve defended Bell more then I’ve criticized him this season, but when he gets a quality start then he needs to milk it. No other choice with this pen. 105 pitches is not going to kill Hoffman and he was just starting to get ahead and not go 3-2 on everyone.
I cant be happier for Suarez at this moment. Hate to see a guy struggle like that .
Senzel is really hitting it well….kind of like Joey before he started to do damage. About 380 feet twice this game.
Rooting for that kid!
Reds hitters have just missed Homer’s today. India’s as well. Only if it was 15 degrees warmer.
$$ Hit Over 8.5. The ball always jumps in these businessman’s specials
I’ll tell you I was pretty down on Barnhart last year and deservedly so. He was atrocious at the plate. This year though he is totally different. Seems like every at bat he is grinding it out. Happy for the guy.
Gas cans in bullpen in full effect
Fulmer? Bell isn’t David Copperfield. No manager can win with only 2 good arms. Garrett has a career era over 5 so he’s not someone we can count on either. He’ll be better, but he’s not a good closer.
Blame management for this dumpster fire of rejects, has-beens and wannabes
Upper management certainly deserves plenty of blame for this bullpen, but so does Bell. He doesn’t seem to pay much attention to whether guys are struggling or pitching well. He makes decisions based on which hand a guy throws with, how many pitches he’s thrown, what inning it is, who’s on deck, etc. When a guy is getting people out, leave him in. When he’s struggling to throw strikes and get people out, replace him. It’s not NEARLY as complicated as Bell seems to think it is. So, yes, he doesn’t have a lot to work with in this bullpen, but part of his job is figuring out how to get the most out of what he does have, and he often seems to be getting the least out of it.
Like Fulmer in for Hoffman for no good reason at all? Nolan Ryan averaged 126 pitches per game, had 7 no-hitters, and pitched into his 40s. I doubt there’s any evidence that pulling pitchers at 90 or so pitches increases their longevity or improves the teams odds of winning. Too much faith in the 3rd time through the lineup BS.
Yesterday was only the only game you can really pin on Bell and we got outhit like 12 to 6 in the suspended game. They stranded a million guys.
He could’ve got 1 more inning out of Hoffman today, but Antone and Sims are probably not available. This pen sucks
Fulmer gives up 2 and then gets picked up with 3 runs to tie game so how does he respond? Walks the first two hitters
Biggest problem with most, not all, of the Reds relief pitchers is Walks, Walks, Walks! Pitch to contact please and let your defense do its job!
Doolittle at 91 mph. I don’t see how this team can make .500? Not with this pen.
2-7 vs Arizona and SF. How is it going to look against LA and SD?
Arizona and SF have like 5 starters under .200 and maybe 1-2 guys over .250
We will find out Monday against the Dodgers. I myself will go to bed because it will ugly.
And how is it going to look against the Cardinals in Louie this weekend?
IMO, that’s not the question. The question is why pull Hoffman. This like the last two is on Bell. The bullpen may not be ideal but misusing/overusing it when it’s not necessary is a management flaw.
Sheesh….I’d rather watch every game of the 1971 season as this garbage….announcers included
Just sit there Bell……..
Embarrassing effort . Every move Bell makes backfires .
He has absolutely zero feel for the game. Makes inexplicable move after inexplicable move. He doesn’t have much to work with but there is little logic in many of his decisions.
Bell knows his bullpen is terrible. We all do. Anyone who is paying attention does.
So why pull Hoffman at 88 pitches? Why keep pulling starters early? Hoffman could have pitched 1 more.
Bullpen = daily train wreck.
Simple idea = give them fewer innings
I’d bet good money that is mostly if not entirely based on not wanting starters going 3rd time through the order. No matter what is happening with the starter or the current bullpen.
Well Fulmer had a 1.50 era or whatever. He pumped in his first pitch for a strike and I said to myself….now we’ll be ok. Then he walked the guy and gave up a laser HR. He’s throwing 91-92 straight as an arrow. Thats batting practice in todays game
Doolittle is horrible. And quite honestly why doesnt Johnson come out before he throws the 3rd and 4th ball? Why do they always come out after the damage is done.
Five (5) walks so far in the top of the 7th inning by the Reds fire brigade!
How long until the Reds make some roster moves with the bullpen? Why not bring up Lodolo and Greene? If the Reds are trying to win this year, that would be the best option unless a trade is made.
Our pen can put up some astounding numbers))) I’ll give them that much!
Arizona shutout thru 8 on 2 hits. Pen comes in and they end up with 8 runs
2 runs thru 5 today. Pen comes in and it at 8 in the 7th. So far)))))
This bullpen is painful.
Reds players, maybe only the relief pitchers, need to have a closed door meeting after this game! Disgraceful!
Don’t worry , they’ll have bobblehead days and great fireworks coming soon .
Organization could care less about putting competitive product on the field . Please sell to somebody that gives a rip !!!!!!
This bullpen reminds me of the bullpen a few years back. Maybe 16 or 17 that gave up about a million home runs. I think that pen set a record.
Pen = 14 runs in 4 innings to a team with half their guys under .200
Alrighty then
SMH
Great job to Krall and Castellini for getting rid of two solid relievers and replacing them with a revolving dumpster fire all in the name of saving money.
Those two “solid” relievers both have ERAs over 5 and would have been making a combined $15M. Getting rid of them was not the problem and keeping them not the solution.
Iglesias has pitched 6.1 innings and has gotten 11 K’s vs 1 BB. Bradley is currently on the IL, but has 3 K’s and 1 BB in 3.0 innings. The small sample size is hurting their ERA’s. I’d still take those proven pitchers over what options the Reds have now, especially over a full season.
Absolutely true. Even if they did not keep Bradley, I always thought giving up Iglesias was a huge mistake.
Sadak or that “other guy” said “we dont need all the runs right here”. Yes we do! Arizona still has 2 more innings to hit against our lousy bullpen.
Sadak is horrible!
The main reason I don’t like him is that his voice is almost the same as THom’s
But he’s not THom and that is enough for me
Dolittle was awful in Spring, yet made the team. He was their “big” free agent signing, so that had to be the reason, because he earned nothing.
Just how bad did the guys have to be that he beat out?
Since when is 91 mph straight hard for mlb guys to hit?
My Pal Sal. Can’t pitch a clean inning but maybe he’ll keep them from scoring
I dont care if he walks the bases loaded as long as he can put a zero on the board.
He did it!!!
Big Sal to the rescue! Only question is how many walks before he gives up the long ball
Bring up this Warren guy. Bring up Joel Kuhnel. They can’t be worse
BIG SALLY!!!
Omg….can’t believe that went out. If it was summer they might have 7-8 hrs so far today
INDIA….1st career tater!!…Tie game!
I’ll say one thing, our hitters are battling. Hope they can tack on just a few more, and then time to cross our fingers when the D-Backs hit.
Let’s GO Wink!
Let’s GO Nick!!!
GABP special. Glad I snuck out of work to catch last few innings.
Hopefully battle of the bullpens works out better for us today.
6 hrs so far and they walked their way to their 8 runs. Sick? They have got to get this one done!
Who pitches the 9th?
Hoping Dibble is in the building. Maybe john Franco…
Let Blandino do it with his knuckler
Lol I thought about him when Doolittle was throwing up all over the mound.
Yankees aren’t hitting. Trade them Naquin for an arm. I’ll love to keep him with the universal DH most likely coming back, but the next few years are shot without a decent pen. I’d take that Johnny Losaigna kid in an instant
Or Philly. They need a centerfielder. Their pitchers have produced more than their Centerfielders combined.
Problem is their pen is horrible too
Trade for Archie Bradley and then when he comes off IL he can be the closer. Stupid Reds
Positive is that relief help is the easiest thing to acquire. Unlike a shortstop…
BIG SALLY! Riding lady luck with one more roll. Good lord help us.
Sims or big Sal? Hmmm? Cmon already. If Sims is warming then bring him in!
With Moustakas missing so much time, the Reds should have traded with the Pirates for Frazier. Would have cost next to nothing and would be an upgrade over Farmer.
The way Blandino is hitting, move Eugenio back to 3rd and let Blandino play short till Moose comes back.
What are the odds, do you think, of AG reappearing if we don’t walk this off?
I just threw up in my mouth
Can we find more arms like Lucas Sims please!
Lets get a walk off win here!
This extra inning rule should only apply if it’s still tied after 12 innings. Doing it right away is just STUPID. Make a team earn a baserunner
So Sims is probably shot for the Cards series. Antone maybe Sunday or Saturday for 1-2 hitters. We need to win this one atleast, but probably won’t
For sure it is ! Sorry , it’s just not real
baseball either
Regarding starting runner on second in extras … it is stupid to do it right away
I hate, hate, hate the runner on 2b rule. It solves a mostly nonexistent problem. Need to do it, do after the 11th or 12th inning.
The rule gives an IMMEDIATE unfair advantage to the visiting team
Nothings easy.
C’mon? Guys shouldn’t completely meltdown this fast?
This has been one hellish three days to care about whether or not the Cincinnati Reds win baseball games.
As Lloyd Bridges says in Airplane, “I picked the wrong day to quit smoking!”
I was thinking if I had a shot for every walk I would need a shopping cart at the liquor store.
23 walks in 3 games.
Perez walks the park so Bell brings him in with bases loaded…..lollllllllll
What’s the over/under? He walks in 2 runs?
Nah. Grand slam
Sims was clearly gassed, but the four RP options available, Perez, AG, Antone( not ava), De Leon. Crap shoot..
And Bell gives away another one
Now might be the time to put in Garrett
Heh. I concur.
This bullpen is BRUTAL !!!!!
Oh for Pete’s sake.
Perez has to go. Either walking guys or going 2-0 3-1 and gives them a cookie.
Lollllllllllll
I can’t even add up all these bullpen runs
184 pitches last night.
Over 200 pitches today.
No off day … in St. Louis tomorrow.
Krall/Bell/Whomever better get some new arms in to tighten up the Reds pitching staff … or there could be some fried brains and/or injured arms before long.
Seriously, bring up Lodolo and Greene for the bullpen. Are there any better options?
20 runs in 7 innings
It may be time to flush the pen and start again….
So after Antone and Sims our 3rd best reliever changes by the day. Today its Romano. Go figure.
Castellini should be ashamed.
But it will be business as usual
I mean come on… It doesn’t matter but another one off the wall?
Doug I know no swearing, but what about images of dumpster fires?
Castellini needs to sell the team to a owner who will spend money. This is utterly embarrassing. The Reds have hit SIX home runs today and are still going to lose and be swept at home by the awful, fourth-place Diamondbacks. Maybe Reds fans should start throwing objects onto the field like Yankees fans did last week. Maybe that will get his attention. Doubtful…
Embarrassing is the word and, sad to say, nothing organizationally will change.
Hit 6 hrs (prob 1-2 more) and still get beat by a field goal atleast. Loollllll
I think the Coors field East probably scares away alot of free agents. They have to blow it up and start over, but that can’t be done midseason.
Free agents are scared off by lack of offers
6 home runs and behind by 6 runs..my oh my…
Now we only need the touchdown….
Atleast I have Wink, Votto, and Castellanos on my fbb teams. I wasn’t expecting 4 hrs))
Here we go! Comback for the ages!! 🙂
So does a pitcher who comes on in the 10th with the free runner on 2nd who gives up a single scoring the runner then strikes out the next 3 batters get charged with an earned run?
No
No. I guess runs, rbis, etc still count?
Comeback …
Two brutal losses followed by a complete bullpen implosion today, wow! The Reds are really trying there best to crush, any early season fan enthusiasm.
Hey—then they’ve succeeded at something at least!
Bullpen era last 2 days = 25.71
Garrett’s era = 16.20
Perez now at = 8.31
Sims over 6 thanks to Perez
Castillo = 6.05
Thats ugly
Complete shock. Reds tie game and Ariz. tacks on 6 runs in the 10th. inning. Now 14-9. The result of bargain basement relief shopping in the offseason. The front office should be embarrassed.
They, as you said above, will merely carry on as usual
But hey there was an Eric Davis bobble head last night!
So there’s that
Ouch.
Kudos to the batters for not giving up and battling back, and to Hoffman for another decent outing by a starting pitcher. But this bullpen is U-G-L-Y.
LeCure will be 37 in a few weeks. See if he wants to make a comeback? Seriously. He would atleast challenge guys and didn’t walk the park. Desperate times require desperate measures
I’ll always remember Sam Lecure in the 2012 playoffs in SF when Jonny Cueto went down on the second pitch and Sam picked up the ‘Dusty’ Reds and led them to victory and they took the first two games from the Giants. The Reds then proceeded to lose three. It still hurts. That was the year for at least a pennant.
Gosh I did not know the 27 Yankees were in town. I would have bought a ticket.
Really feel sorry for the hitters. This just sucks.
The choice doesn’t have to be between Bell and Larkin.
The only reason I don’t want
To see Bell fired is because hiring Larkin would be a typical Red’s move.
Personally, I don’t think Bell is the answer. But, I know Larkin isn’t.