This game had a little bit of everything in it. Both teams scored multiple runs in the 1st inning, and Cincinnati scored multiple runs in the 2nd before both teams bats went quite until the 8th inning. Baltimore tied things up with a 3-run inning late, but the Reds put together a big 10th inning that saw TJ Friedl crushed a 2-run homer that felt like it would put the game away. It certainly helped get the job done as Cincinnati added on and held on for an 11-7 victory over the Orioles to pick up the series win.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (43-38) |
11 | 16 | 0 |
| Baltimore Orioles (48-31) |
7 | 10 | 2 |
| W: Diaz (3-1) L: Akin (2-2) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Cincinnati’s offense got moving early on when TJ Friedl led off the game with a single and he then stole second. Jonathan India was hit by a pitch to put two men on for Elly De La Cruz, and he came through with an RBI single to put the Reds in front 1-0. Jake Fraley made it 2-0 with an RBI single of his own as he kept things rolling around. Joey Votto picked up an RBI on a fielders choice as the Orioles failed to turn a double play on his grounder.
Baltimore was up for the challenge in the bottom of the inning. Cedric Mullens and Adley Rutschman had back-to-back singles against Luke Weaver. A grounder to Spencer Steer at first base led to a force out at second when his throw to Matt McLain was high and after making a leaping catch could only get the out at the bag. Ryan O’Hearn followed up with an RBI single to get the Orioles on the board and make it 3-1. Austin Hayes fell behind 0-2, but walks as he took four straight balls out of the zone to load the bases. Gunnar Henderson tripled to make it 4-3. Aaron Hicks hit a grounder to second and Jonathan India came up firing to the plate. The initial call was safe, but the Reds challenged the play and it was overturned.
The come-from-behind club from Cincinnati was going to have to do it again if they wanted to win, and Will Benson did his part by leading off the 2nd inning with a double. He would score the tying run on TJ Friedl’s single. Matt McLain followed up with a single of his own and he took second when the throw went to third base. A ground out would bring Friedl in to put the Reds up 5-4. Jake Fraley then picked up his second RBI single of the day to pad the lead to 6-4.
Both pitchers settled in for a bit after that, but neither could get through the 5th inning. Luke Weaver gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning before getting a fly ball out. That would be the final pitch he threw as David Bell called on Alex Young to enter the game to face left-handed hitter Ryan O’Hearn, but he beat out an infield single to second base when Jonathan India made a sliding stop, but couldn’t get the throw in time. Or so that was the initial call, but the Reds challenged the play and it was overturned as Cincinnati picked up their second replay win of the night. Young then struck out Austin Hays to end the inning.
Cincinnati had an opportunity to add to their lead in the 6th inning when TJ Friedl walked, stole second base and advanced to third on an error by Adley Rustchman on the throw. Jonathan India followed up with a 2-out walk to put runners on the corners for Elly De La Cruz. Baltimore went to their bullpen to bring in a lefty to turn the switch hitter around and it paid off as he would strike out to strand both runners.
Alex Young returned to the mound to begin the bottom of the inning and walked the only batter he would face. Daniel Duarte then entered the game and he walked the first batter he saw in the inning, too. Duarte got a ground ball that resulted in a double play, but moved the lead runner over to third base in the process. He then walked Adam Frazier to put runners on the corners. That was enough for David Bell, who went back to the bullpen again and this time called on Lucas Sims to face Cedric Mullins and Sims got him to fly out to Jake Fraley to end the threat and hold onto the 6-4 lead.
Ian Gibaut took over for the bottom of the 7th inning and he made quick work of the Orioles, needing just 13 pitches to retire the side in order. The Reds would pad their lead in the top of the 8th when Will Benson, who singled and stole second base earlier in the inning came around to score on a ground out by Matt McLain.
That run turned out to be huge because Baltimore came out in the bottom of the 8th inning and put together a 2-out rally. Aaron Hicks started things with a single and then scored on a double by Jordan Westburg. Adam Frazier followed up with a game-tying 2-run homer before a strikeout ended the inning and sent the game into the 9th all tied up at 7-7.
Elly De La Cruz led off the top of the 9th inning with a grounder down the line and easily beat the throw to first base for an infield hit. He then stole second base with Nick Senzel at the plate. Then in an 0-2 count, Senzel bunted the ball over the pitcher and towards shortstop for another infield hit, with De La Cruz taking third on the play. Cincinnati failed to get a run in as back-to-back strikeouts of Joey Votto and Spencer Steer came ahead of a weak grounder to end the inning off of the bat of Kevin Newman.
Alexis Diaz entered the game for the bottom of the 9th inning to face the heart of the Orioles order. After 11 pitches the inning was over and the game was heading into the 10th as Diaz cruised through the frame. In the bottom of the inning Will Benson popped up a bunt on the first pitch, but it was a foul ball that was not catchable. The next pitch was not a bunt. Benson hit it over the right fielder’s head and the ball bounced off of the wall and Benson sprinted around the bases for a go-ahead RBI triple. TJ Friedl battled, foling off three pitches and working a full count before taking the 8th pitch of the at-bat and crushing a 2-run homer into the seats in right field to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 10-7.
Luke Maile then doubled off of the wall in right, and when the ball was tossed back to the infield Maile took off for third base and made it without a throw – ruled a double with an error. A wild pitch followed and Maile scored to make it 11-7.
Fernando Cruz took over for Cincinnati in the bottom of the 10th inning with Baltimore starting Ryan O’Hearn on second base as their free runner. Austin Hays led off with a single up the third base line that traveled about 30 feet, but it got the job done. Cruz would strike out Gunnar Henderson. He followed up by striking out Aaron Hicks after a challenged hit by pitch/hit the knob of the bat call that would have loaded the bases, but replay showed it did not hit him. Cruz then picked up a final strikeout of Jordan Westburg to end the game and seal the series win for the Reds.
Key Moment of the Game
TJ Friedl’s 2-run homer in the 10th. It gave Cincinnati a 3-run lead and a nice cushion for the bullpen to work with in the bottom of the inning.
Notes Worth Noting
TJ Friedl got on base four times in the game. He’s hitting .320/.388/.498 on the season with 14 steals in 15 attempts through 58 games played.
Will Benson, despite his horrible start to the season, has raised his line on the year to .278/.381/.467. He’s been crushing the ball since his return from Triple-A.
Players since 1901 to have a .300+ AVG, 9+ SB & 10+ XBH in 1st 20 MLB games:
Elly De La Cruz
That’s it.
Data via OptaSTATS pic.twitter.com/bSl1wkofdW
— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) June 29, 2023
Matt McLain’s on-base streak now sits at 20 games.
With the Brewers winning on Wednesday night, Cincinnati had to pull out a victory to remain in 1st place. The Reds are off on Thursday but Milwaukee is not.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
San Diego Padres vs Cincinnati Reds
Friday June 30th, 5:10pm ET
Graham Ashcraft (3-6, 7.17 ERA) vs Yu Darvish (5-6, 4.84 ERA)
Friedl is King!!! And Benson is a bad man! Go Reds!!!
We’ve won the last 6 Luke Weaver starts.
And 8 of his 13 starts. Go figure.
“Dream” Weaver.
I believe we can make it through the night.
How many of those wins actually show ip on Weaver’s W-L record?
I figure Weaver is pitching in the 4th or 5th spot in the rotation, meaning he is typically facing the same spot in the opposition rotation. Just as there is a reason that Weaver was slotted that far down when he began his season, there is also a reason the other teams’ #4 and #5 pitchers are slotted there. The opposition beats up on our #4/5 guy and we beat up on their #4/5 guy. We have a better offense than most.
If Weaver were matching up against the Scherzers of the league nearly every start, I believe the team results would be different, and the losses would be piling up on Weaver’s record. That said, it is a team game, and the team wins or loses as a team.
Amazing, isn’t it?
Might be time to go with an “opener” for him. Really struggles to get out of the 1st, then he’s fine as a pitcher.
Maybe we need an opener for Weaver’s pitching days. Ouch!
The question is: is it the first inning, or is it the first inning he pitches?
Reds winning three challenges in one game was huge and can’t be overlooked. Each was a difference-maker in the game.
Good point, Tom.
Wonder if that’s a record? Didn’t check that, but BRef does list Weaver’s 1st inning ERA this season as 14.25, and I don’t believe that includes this game.
.278/.381/.467 Benson
.279/.367/.484 Steer
Gotta love what these 2 kids are doing,
If I’m not mistaken we’re officially at the half way point of the season and in first place. 🙂
Projecting the whole season, that would be 86-76 (improved 24 W over last season).
1960 Reds were 67-87. 1961 Reds were 93-61. 26 more W that year over previous.
86-76 May very well win this division.
At the rate the Reds are playing, their 2nd half win number will blow away the 1st half. I’d suggest an easy 90+ win season.
Since the Reds win every game Weaver starts, how about letting him start every day? Have him throw the first pitch to the backstop and then get a real pitcher in. Take advantage of his talent! Plus, you save every other pitcher from having to throw the first pitch, which is probably going to be a ball anyway.
Weaver only pitched 70 innings last year how much more rope will he get?
I don’t think they are worried about his health.
If he only throws the first pitch every game that’s 82 pitches, the equivalent of around 4 innings of work for him. Shouldn’t be an issue.
Had to laugh at “which is probably going to be a ball anyway.Got to love this team.Cruz with the nasty split to strikeout the side was very impressive.Dude has paid his dues in the minors and is working himself in to more high leverage spots.First Benson then Friedl against a lefty,are you kidding me? Reds made Bell look like a genius despite his efforts to prove other wise.GO REDS
Fernando Cruz looked pretty nasty there. So happy for him. Last 7 games his ERA is 0.00 and WHIP 0.67. Best on the team for last 7. This means his injury has healed and good news for our staff.
Weaver — in the first inning, anyway — gets the first two pitches in for strikes, then throws 3 balls that are not close the strike zone. On the 3-2 pitch, he throws a belt-high meatball that the hitter crushes.
He is Don Drysdale in innings 2 and 3. Hitters slash .182/.196/.364 against him in the 2nd inning and .192/.255/.298 in the 3rd. His first-inning pitch count begins to catch up with him, and he is replaced in the 4th or 5th. He pretty clearly needs an opener, so that he can muddle through the first inning against the opponent’s 5-9 hitters, instead of its 1-6 hitters.
Weaver has some ability, because he couldn’t pitch like a Hall of Famer for 2 innings if he didn’t. It’s certainly a head-scratcher.
Hmmm…need to start Ashcraft to take care of innings 1 and 2, then Weaver to take care of innings 3 and 4. Might work?
Good to see Cruz has found his stuff. He was looking very cut-able, but since mid-June he’s been great. The Reds believed in him and it’s paying off. With Law back and Cruz pitching well, that will take some of the pressure and innings from the guys they’ve leaned heavily upon out of the pen.
We needed this win ! With the first two on against Bautista in the 9th, I thought we would get at least one, but it was not to be. Thankfully Diaz worked his stuff in the bottom of the inning, and the Reds showed what they were made of in the 10th…
Weaver at 60 innings pitched now how many more innings can we expect?
Well, following the Verducci Effect, Weaver should be good for about 100 innings this year.
So about 40 more innings.
Which translates to roughly 9-10 more games.
Which, if he pitches every 5th day, means about 45-50 games for the Reds, which will get the team to 131 games played, so that means Weaver would need to be shut down around the final week of August.
That means the Reds would need to find someone to pitch roughly 6 or 7 games that Weaver won’t be pitching. Maybe it’ll be Connor Phillips time by then?
I’m pretty much with the commenter above, who said the Reds likely aren’t too worried about Weaver’s health. His role is to hold the fort until Greene and Lodolo are back in the rotation. He needs an opener, but as I’ve said, he is a Hall of Famer in the 2nd and 3rd inning this season.
Unfortunately, Connor Phillips might be nearing an innings limit of his own by then. I think the reinforcements will have to be the guys coming off the IL around that time. Basically everyone needs pitching, so the cost of adding someone is bound to be sky high. Bid decisions ahead for the brain trust.
This innings limit stuff is a joke. Nothing is out there to support this nonsense. It’s funny, but guys get hurt all the time while they are being babied to death, yet for some reason, innings limits and pitch counts are somehow written in stone to prevent injury. Maybe the current baseball people should watch a little Ken Burns and see what pitchers of “yore” used to be like. 🙂
Welch was saying during the game that Jim Palmer pitched over 300 innings a year several times and had a 19 year career. Who knows what the explanation is? But my question remains: do we think injuries to pitchers would decrease if teams got rid of pitch counts and innings limits? Even if they kept pitching the same way?
Folks lamenting Benson in the 8th / 9th spot.
He scored 3 runs from there tonight.
On base for Friedl, McLain etc.
The man has lifted his BA 100 pts.
I’m no Bell fan, but I think I get the strategery.
If it actually is one.
And the Fraley/Senzel team was on base 4 out of 6 AB’s.
So impressed with Wil Benson who doesn’t get the spotlight he deserves.
Me too, and I’ll be the first to admit, I thought he was just terrible. Love being wrong like that.
Same here Chris
India’s got to be moved out of the 3 hole, but I’m not sure Benson needs to be moved up in the order. Why mess with something that works? He had a couple extra base hits yesterday, something he doesn’t do much of. He’s certainly becoming a key piece on the team, though.
The game was awesome! Benson and Friedl, late, along with Diaz and Cruz. Nice job, guys! (Hard to not notice Votto at 0-6, BA .185, 3K’s. Oops.) WTG Weaver, too, I guess. lol
P.S. Good call by Bell to get the hook and bring in Sims for that much needed third out.
Agreed. Bad call not to bring Sims out to start the next inning. I mean, we are suppose to be trying to reserve our relievers. Try to get Sims to cover one more inning, then we save a reliever for this game.
Not to leave out, it was a close game through the final innings. We could possibly have needed all the relievers we had. It would have been nice to have a competent reliever to go to if we had to go to 11, 12, 13 innings plus.
Doesnt this save Sims instead? I dont get yalls logic at all.
And why yall wanna manage for 13 inning games when they dont exist anymore is beyond me.
For 2020ball,
And, you want to keep using reliever after reliever after reliever, never saving any of them for the next game? Got it.
Sims coming out for the next inning after throwing 5 pitches is going to waste him for the next game? Got it.
How many games does a reliever miss after pitching multiple innings? More, in most cases, than if he pitches one inning. Many guys pitch one inning two days in a row. The decisions likely involve match-ups, too: how the pitcher’s stuff matches up against the guys who are due up.
Why in the world do you think a guy throwing 5 pitches burns him for the next day, youre easily proved wrong with a teeny bit of research. Whatever, complain about nothing forever i guess.
So at the halfway point the reds are currently on pace for 86 wins but have been playing at a much better pace than that recently.
Where are all the “100-110 loss season” posters at now?
They’re probably trying to make sense of it just like you?
Last winter, you have the Reds in 1st place at the mid season point?
1st place – no
However I repeatedly said they could be this years version of last years orioles multiple times. Said they had a very underrated outfield coming into this season and that Steer could fill Drury’s shoes. That + the health of India/Stephenson had me very optimistic with Elly starting in AAA.
McLain and Abbott’s success this early has surprised me, and the fact that the reds are winning this much with a depleted rotation is as well but this team was always going to be much better than last years record. The people who ruined every discussion with the overly negative talk need to be called out
Good call Bdh. I was mostly doom and gloom. I had ‘em for 68 wins, thought it was not a good offense and there was no way the big three would stay healthy for a whole season and a lot of question marks in the fourth and spots in the rotation.
Who thought TJ Friedl would be a .320 hitter right now? Incredible contributions from McLain, Elly, Steer, Abbott, Benson, Diaz, etc. This team is so unpredictable. I am guessing eventually they’re going to return to their mean – meaning everyone’s batting average is dropping 20 to 30 points. Diaz is going to blow some saves. Abbott’s ERA probably ends up over 3.
But who knows. Let’s just ride with it and see how far it takes us. It’s been a heckuva ride so far.
I predicted before the season started that they would win 78 games. And I thought they would be better in the second half. It looks like I low balled it, but if you told me they Reds would have been able to do this with all the injuries they had to the pitching staff I would have said you were crazy.
Don’t get too comfortable. With these starters, an Oakland like 2nd half is not impossible. Don’t expect it now but it’s certainly not out of the question
I know you like to play the doom and gloom card, but NO WAY. The A’s don’t have an offense like the Reds have.
Not doom and gloom, just skeptical. And a lot of faith in Bell and these starters.
If they go full Oakland (won’t happen) in the 2nd half they still beat some predictions on this site by 12-14 games.
Yes, let’s not enjoy this current run of exciting baseball, let’s concentrate on why it might end. Such optimism!
I am enjoying the wins. I’m just not ready to crown them the next World Series champion. The roster issues are too serious to consider them a viable, post-season competitor without overhauling the pitching. And doing so is too expensive. Stick to the rebuild. Don’t sacrifice the future for a very unsure present.
It’s hard to imagine that they can keep scoring 11 runs a game. The rotation is smoke and mirrors, duct tape and crazy glue.
I said the Reds would win about 75 games. I still think they will.
Bell is running this bullpen into the ground. It might start getting ugly around August.
Of course, Bell defenders will say “It’s not Bell’s fault! The players just aren’t performing!”. Yeah, the players won’t be performing because Bell mis-managed them for the whole season.
“Keep on and be wrong”
RLN motto for sure
We’ll see.
You would have said the same thing had I said the Reds would be in 1st place on June 28th.
It’s easy to make predictions when things are going your way in present time. Just like someone would have laughed at you for saying the Reds would be in 1st place back when their record was 21-29, you can also laugh when I say the Reds are going to have a rough second half.
Check back at the end of August. 🙂
Where do you come up with this stuff? What choice does Bell have regarding relievers when the starters can’t get to five innings?
Bell could let his relievers throw more pitches after they are in the game.
They are already warmed up, and if they are pitching well, why not let them keep going?
There is no excuse for using 8 pitchers in a game.
CI3J you sound like somewhat of a pessimist, but I share some of your concerns. I worry about the way the 21 team collapsed down the stretch and don’t know how much of it was Bell’s management, lack of motivating that team. It’s always a challenge I think to determine how much importance a manager really has on a team. If you have little talent, I don’t think it matters how good the Manager is of course. I think Bell needs to leave starters in more even if they stink, and hope the offense outscores teams like tonight. He’s pulling guys too early in my opinion. It probably will catch up to them. They have a good bullpen but are winning with a bit of smoke in mirrors in the pen as well I think. If Farmer, Gibaut, Young, one of those gets injured, or starts struggling it could cause the whole pen to somewhat collapse.
But that’s where a trade or two come in to play and could help.
I’m not a huge Bell fan and I think if the Reds kind of sputter down the stretch this year, or finish below .500 they need to consider a change. But he’s done a pretty good job in many ways this year as well. He may be better with a really young talented team moreso than veteran laden team. I think the way he handles, plays India and Votto could be a key to this team. I’m sure those two hear the whispers of Votto being almost done, India being a trade chip, yet they are leaders on the team. It’s somewhat of a strange dynamic. Votto has been a great player overall, but played on a lot of bad teams and I don’t think is really considered a “leader” on a collective level. Not knocking him and I could be wrong, but just the way I perceive things.
Anyway, we’ll see what happens, and see if your pessimism is on target in the future!
Your argument makes no sense. How is Bell running them into the ground by pitching them less? By not rolling them out there for two or more innings? Bell probably has a better read on his pitchers than you do.
Bell is running them into the ground because he’s not giving them enough recovery days. There’s a reason there has been a shuttle of mediocre relievers between AAA and MLB, it’s because Bell exhausts his bullpen when he doesn’t need to and there’s literally no one available to pitch.
I predicted a winning record because i thought they had youth coming but was worried about the pitching staff, but what the hell does being right about a prediction anyway so who cares. Theyre better than i thought so far, but so far mine looks a far better. Good luck rooting against them the rest of the way so you were right on the internet.
The shuttling of guys through the last two spots in the pen is actually working pretty well. It enables them to use guys like Wynne, Salazar and Wong to eat innings that enable the top 5 guys to get some rest.
Bell needs to get more 6- and 7-inning starts from his rotation, because that is why the relievers are pitching more than we would all like.
The Reds have only 41 games in the next 50 days, which includes a 4-day All-Star break. Diaz will be on the ASG roster, and I hope he doesn’t get into the game. Nine of those games are against the Brewers, all of which are played in a 20-day stretch from July 7-26.
When those 41 games are done, they should have Lodolo and Greene back, and there is at least a chance that the bullpen will not be as overworked. From now through mid-August is the most important stretch of the season.
With the current starting pitchers, I wonder how a manager could do anything other than use the bullpen a lot.
I had the Reds winning 75 games also. Always thought, and argued, that the hundred loss productions were ridiculous. Reds only lost 100 games in their franchise history. However, never in my wildest dreams did I expect them to be contending for a division title.
Don’t agree on the Bell bashing. He’s “mismanaged” the bullpen into a top 10 unit. Maybe he can mismanage the team to a division title as well. It’s a small miracle that they’re this competitive with the starting pitching being in shambles.
Should’ve read
* IIRC only lost 100 games 3 times in their franchise history.
I noticed the guy who proudly posted that his prediction was spot on when the Reds pace was 75 wins has been silent about his prediction the past couple of weeks.
I like this team. They are fighters and they are fun. They have stood toe to toe the last six games with two of the best teams in the league, the Braves and Baltimore and only let one game get away from the. This is a good team and will only get better when the pitching gets healthy.
Agree. The Braves and Orioles are both top 3 teams imo. With that said, the Reds split with them, going 3 and 3. Bad pitching and all, this team can play with any team in the game. This is the best offensive team I’ve seen the Reds have since the BRM. Better than the 90 team. Shore up the pitching and I think this team can match up with any other team in the game. I’m shocked and on board.
This team has great speed and with the rulechanges they should continue to run and run some more.They still need a bonafide thumper in the middle of the lineup to complete this offense.The difference in this year is obviously they have several young players that are above average major league players based on stats and you can win a bunch of games with 5 or 6 players like that and more appear to be on the way.Great time to a Reds fan.We can win and still takes our shots at Bell along the way just like they do at Boone and Roberts and others that manage winning teams.GO REDS
Next lefty this team faces, my lineup would include Friedl leading off (but Newman is probably in the lineup somewhere as DH), Elly is moving down to something like 7th, India is probably dropping to 6th, and Benson is in the outfield. Top 4 guys include Friedl, McLain, Senzel, and Steer — probably in that order.
Senzel should be in Louisville and ES should be in the middle of the order
NO, Senzel should not be in Louisville. Utter nonsense.
Stephenson 2-4 with a lineout and Maile has serious pop. Thats 2 balls in this series that probably sneak out of Gabp….atleast that 1 tonight does. Casali is a great guy and solid, but he’s old and we don’t need 3 catchers.
Kind of surprised they sent Stoudt down. Started with 2 zeros vs the Braves and not many are doing that now. He should replace Weaver
Got to move Casali; he’s not a benefit on this team. CES should replace him. Once he’s here, there is no need for Newman either. That could get you Fairchild back up here for defense late in games.
You know Newman hit .361 vs lefties last year. He helps out vs lhp, but I’d bat him 7th or something.
If CES is up, there’s no need for Newman.
I don’t care how well Newman hits against lefties, CES should be getting all the ABs.
Casali had, as of the start of the Orioles series, a .375 OBP for June. Casali has the lowest catcher’s ERA of the three catchers. He may be the odd man out, but he provides a benefit to the team.
Newman is an INF who can play all 4 INF spots. CES plays 1B and 3B.
CES is more along the lines of Spencer Steer.
CES, since June 13th, has been in a funk: no homers, 2 doubles, only 8 for 46.
In response to a couple of the points above. Yes, Newman can play more positions than CES. Who cares though, because Newman is no longer needed at 2nd base or SS, and he cannot play 1st base, so no he can’t play all 4 INF positions. With that said, he’s only needed occasionally at 3B, but CES can easily play there as well, and can play 1st base, which is actually more of a need.
Casali and his lower catchers ERA on this team. My response to that is who cares? There is no such thing as a low ERA on this team, outside of Abbott, and Maile is the one who catches him. As for Casali’s high OBP for a month; it’s just that, for a month, and he runs so slow it’s not that huge of a benefit.
If Newman is up, there’s no room for CES.
It’s a Bell, Krall, Bender World.
Cut Casali, its that easy. And CES isnt a pitcher so he’s not going to improve the team that much. Votto and him can split time before he earns the spot over him, and you why in the world cant you play CES and Newman vs lefties? Id rather have Newman for spot starts than Votto, why are we cutting a useful player?
Newman is this years Farmer except he isn’t the starter and that works for me.He is a utility guy that starts against lefties.He has a career OPS+ of 79 and this year it is 85.Farmer is at 85 and 83.Newman was a starter for 3 or 4 years for the Pirates and Farmer started for the Reds.They are the same player and Newman will play just as I said he would when they acquired him and Farmer is getting a lot of playing time with the Twins.Farmer makes twice as much as Newman and thats why he isn’t here.Both are utility guys but if Newman alone is the reason why CES isn’t here then somebody needs to take another look.Old -school shared he thought it was because of Votto and the Reds going with 2 back up catchers that was kind of blocking CES right now.I tend to agree with that for the most part but for me I would rather see even on a limited basis what CES can do vs what I already know Newman can do.A thumper or at least his power in the middle of the line up is greater then anything Newman brings at the plate.CES playing a corner outfield spot makes little sense to me cause he is a DH or a first baseman.Krall will decide when that happens but it will happen.
Bautista didn’t pitch the 10th for them, after only 22 pitches.
Their manager must have found Bell’s playbook.
Sneaky move by Bell.
I was worried they were going to send Bautista back out there in the 10th… very relieved when they didn’t.
Just because one manager makes a dumb move doesn’t excuse another manager for making the same dumb move.
According to some of the people who post comments here, it absolutely does. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve seen some version of “well, other managers do the same thing, are you saying they’re ALL wrong and YOU know more than THEY do?” as a defense of something Bell has done. Sometimes it’ll be more like “I’m not saying it’s necessarily the best strategy, but to be fair to Bell, a lot of managers do exactly the same thing…” But it boils down to the same thing either way: if other managers are doing the same thing, who can fault Bell for doing it?
Imagine this defense being used in court. “Your honor, I’m not saying my client was necessarily wise to rob a bank, but have you noticed a lot of people seem to be robbing banks these days? How bad can it really be if so many people are doing it?”
Fine, how about you all would make the same mistakes. You think youre all wizards, but id love to see you try it for a day and likely be laughed out of the clubhouse.
Fallacies abound in that last quote, good lord.
CI3J,
See what I’m talking about? Just read the comments here. People just seem to mindlessly accept the idea that if all the managers do a certain thing, then that thing must be a very smart thing to do, because why else would all the mangers do it?
In the not-too-distant past, managers didn’t use designated “closers” and “setup” men. Those concepts would have seemed insane to the smartest baseball minds of the time. Then LaRussa came along and had a lot of success with that formula, and now we’ve had to suffer through decades of managers who seemingly can’t imagine any OTHER way to run a bullpen. This has led to the Bell-style of bullpen management, when practically NOBODY is allowed to pitch two or three innings. But it’s a “smart” thing to do, because other managers do it too! Eventually, someone is going to come along and have a lot of success with a completely different formula, others will copy it, and then we’ll have a bunch of people insisting it’s *obviously* the best way to run a bullpen because ALL the managers are doing it!
And imagine the expert witness. “Please list your qualifications for the court, Sir.” “Well, I’ve never managed in MLB, never been a pitching coach, never been a trainer, never been a catcher, never talked to any of the above, don’t know any of them. But I do have opinions.”
Imagine another thought model.
Guy sitting home watching TV sports or news channel.
Maybe in the Green Mountains.
“Well, that person is a “figure of authority”. They MUST know everything!
Every decision they make MUST be right! Who am I to question anything!”
“I’ve never been a politician or a manager or a player or a doctor or a librarian or a mechanic or a dictator or a person who ever thinks for himself!”
“You see, I’m better than you! I’m just a guy who posts lazy rhetorical questions on MLB fan sites and criticizes people who have opinions!”
Lol, stick to your strawmen i guess. Like talking to a brick wall.
I studied many years to become an “expert” in my field. Next time any of my students suggests I might have made some sort of error, or that I might be wrong about something, I’ll be sure to use the “but I’m the EXPERT and you’re just some RANDOM PERSON” strategy. I’ll explain that my many years of training in this specific field means that my decisions are always wise and correct. I guess they might initially think this sounds a bit arrogant on my part, and perhaps they’ll be a little skeptical, but I’ll explain that I learned this principle from some very smart people who comment on this blog. I’m sure everyone will come around and realize I’m infallible in my area of expertise.
Harry, wouldn’t you just love to see how these people interact with mechanics, doctors, plumbers etc.? Do they just go ahead and pay for everything that’s recommended without so much as a question? And if they think the job wasn’t done right, do they just assume they must be making a mistake because experts don’t make them? When someone calls them and tells them they’d be crazy not to sign up for a credit card or something, do you suppose they say “well, you’re the credit card expert, so how do I sign up?”
Opinions have weight when they are based on information. The more information, the more weight the opinion has. I’m glad to hear that you guys are open-minded and welcome criticism. Do you always assume it to be valid? If one of your students criticized your conclusions without being familiar with the sources that led you to them? Would you consider that criticism valid? You phrase your opinions as though they are facts and opinions sometimes are, even when they’re based on incomplete information. But frequently they’re not, and I imagine that you make the distinction between fact and opinion when called for in your profession. You spent considerable time and effort to become expert in your field and your opinions in that field would carry more weight than mine or, probably, David Bell’s. Acknowledging that isn’t the same thing as unquestioning acceptance. Just as it’s perfectly fine for you to have opinions about the Reds and express them, it’s fine for other people to question your conclusions.
Good lord, the only thing sort of coherent you said was the skepticism part. Try being skeptical of your own opinions sometime, you might be surprised.
Bautista hadn’t done that yet this season. He’s only pitched more than an inning a handful of times, and only once more than 1.1 inning. In his only 2-inning game, he threw 19 pitches in the 9th inning and then pitched the 10th inning.
The Orioles used a lefty to face what was going to be two LH hitters, McLain, and Luke Maile. It didn’t work, but they’ve used Bautista 36 times this season — the same number of appearances that Diaz has — and if one believes that Diaz is being overused, then that would also have to apply to Bautista.
If you watch baseball outside of the Reds, you will see that the way Bautista was used is common with every manager in the game now days. We all bash Bell, but he’s doing nothing different than other managers do. I’ll even give Bell credit in that he didn’t wait like a traditional manager would do as a visiting team, and inserted Diaz into the game in the 9th with a tie game, knowing that the top of the order was up then and most likely wouldn’t be up in the 10th. Rare for me to applaud Bell, but I thought he did a great job managing the bullpen last night.
This is a very good point, and reminds me of how the collective Redlegnation posters complained when Dusty would “save” his best relievers, only to never get to them because the lesser relievers would blow it first.
While he does typically save Diaz for save situations, he consistently uses his better relievers against the tougher parts of the lineup over set inning roles.
If Bell uses Cruz in the 9th instead, I think we’d be complaining about that leading to a loss.
I agree about him being like other managers but for me he used Diaz in the 9th just to extend the game after giving up the lead and not scoring in the top of the inning.Baltimore had all of the momentum and Diaz getting them with 11 pitches made it an even game again.They used there closer and so did we and lets keep playing.Benson and Friedl came through against a lefty and if Bell had not used Newman and Senzel earlier we would have not seen either at the plate.Bell said after the game he had a job to do but sometimes you just have to let the players play.Hope he remembers that the next time before he uses all of his bullets and has no other choice.Benson and Friedl saved him and the team.
It didn’t matter much, but it could have caused some chaos. Why in the world wasn’t Senzel running in the 9th inning with EDLC on 3rd with no outs, and with one out? That to me was more surprising than when India didn’t steal against the Braves on Saturday.
I noticed a discussion of this in an Orioles blog. Someone asked why on earth Senzel was still on first, and the response was “David Bell.” They then speculated that Bell himself could probably steal the base if he wanted to, and continued to wonder why Senzel wasn’t doing it.
Pretty amazing that even other teams’ fans are aware of what a poor manager David Bell is.
@CI3J >> Folks who follow other teams are finding RLN as the Reds become a team of interest? 😉
Why risk the out, especially if Senzel is a little gimpy with his knee, when all you need is a sac fly out of Votto or Steer to bring in a run.
@SAR – Because they would never throw through with Elly on 3rd.
@Still a Red, the risk of an out is miniscule in that circumstance. In fact, you likely won’t even entice a throw with De La Cruz on 3rd. And if they do throw to 2nd, DLC likely scores easily. So you certainly risk the out in exchange for the run when the run would literally change the outcome of the game at the time. Especially when you consider how devastating a double play would be in that situation. There was virtually no downside/risk to stealing, and everything to gain.
And their opinions have all of the validity as the opinions of Reds’ fans.
Yeah take an even dumber sample of fans’ opinions and call it a day, classic RLN.
I don’t know the answer, but Chris Welch was saying what the average time from pitch to throw reaching second was for a particular battery. Presumably this info is available to managers and could factor into decisions about whether to run or not.
Still in disbelief someone wanted to bench Benson to fit CES in the lineup
Some people’s perception of Benson is still clouded by his horrible April.
Since he’s been recalled, he’s easily been one of, if not THE, best hitter on the whole team.
I’ve felt positive about Benson since he was acquired from Cleveland in spring training. He has two of the important attributes for right field: speed and a strong arm. The Reds have found their regular right fielder starting next year and beyond.
hahaha!!! Part of a rotation 2020ball. Nine players rotating eight spots with Stephenson catching as much as possible or sitting. lol
Benson should be in the lineup everday IMO, but a light platoon is fine. Id call up CES like everyone else but im far less worried about that than I am the pitching staff. Hes an injury away, it happens across every single team when they have good lineups, guys are blocked. Newman isnt blocking him because they are different players. If its a service-time thing, let them play those games if they want, the futures important too and theyre a small market.
I guess my main gripe is why bother worrying about it when the offense is good. Everyone yall complain about will be on the team by the end of the year, why not just let the process play out. The only stupid thing the FO and the team did this year was ignore their pitching depth before the season, and i still dont know why they cut Cessa.
Trade Stephenson and Senzel for starting pitching and one more reliever. Should get a pretty decent player and the Reds free up some positions with more talent coming in the minors. Our two Louisville catchers are hitting over 325, frees up enough at bats to get CES up and now Marte is on the horizon so neither player will be a big losses.
Terrible idea to trade Stephenson. He will be fine. He has way too much talent. Wouldn’t deal Senzel either. People seem to forget, this might be the best team offense against lefties I’ve seen in years and Senzel is part of that. The nice thing is that guys like Senzel and Benson, Friedl, etc., can also hit the same handed pitchers of which they bat. I think only Casali and Newman should be moved, and or some lower level prospects for pitching.
I have heard of a lot of things on here, but I’m not sure I have every seen anyone suggest that Benson should be benched so CES can be in the lineup. They really don’t even overlap.
That would be the scenario if CES/Votto cover DH/1B and Steer becomes the regular LF. Then you’d have Fraley/Benson/Senzel occupying RF.
Let me try this again. . .
Our Father, who plays ball in Heaven, hallowed be thy bat and glove
Thy franchise dynasty thy will be done
On the diamond as it is in the seats.
Lead us not into temptation, but we would give our right arm for 2 more capable starters until our original 3 are back.
Amen.
I attended all three games. Beautiful ballpark and fans were very friendly. During Monday’s game about the fourth inning the orioles announced open seating since so many fans left. The other nice thing the orioles management did was…. everyone who stayed until the end of Monday’s game received a voucher for a free ticket. I thought both those moves had a nice touch. Almost like a fan was running the team. I sat in section 56 row 9. Really good seats. I’d say about $40-$50. This team is really fun to watch in person. Red’s fever…catch it
That’s really cool that management did that.
Baltimore is a great place to go to and be a visitor. Easy to get there, too.
Cool experience for you. Too bad you had to dodge so many rain storms, but you stuck it out.
I’ve been to Camden several times. Beautiful park.
Any chance TJ Friedl is an All Star? He’s had that kind of first-half. He’s been great overall. Maybe without the missed time he’d have a better chance.
I wish Bell would lead Weaver in for a full 5 innings. Bell pulling these guys at 4.1 innings, I’m not sure it’s actually helping, as it seems many times the bullpen ends up giving runs since you are extending the bullpen just a little more. I’d like to see him keep these guys in for 5-6 innings. If they let up 6-7 so be it some nights, but I’m afraid it’s going to catch up to the bullpen the longer season goes on. Not Bell’s fault really, but Weaver as terrible as he’s been early, was pitching better and I think you got to give him the benefit of the doubt to try to finish the 5th.
You want more Weaver? Really? He pitched 4.1 longer then I cared for
It’s funny, he’s SO bad, yet the Reds keep winning when he starts! What can you do but say, Yeah, sure, let’s roll with him.
LOL. Bell messes up a lot of things, but pulling Weaver is never a mistake on his part.
Steer, McLain, Fraley, Friedl, Benson, and Cruz all have 100+ OPS+ right now. India stands right at 100. Even Votto is above 100+, though I hold him back until we get a bigger sample size. The only starters down are the C’s. But, Stephenson and Maile are both above 80 still.
Our pitching staff has the 2nd worst ERA in the NL. But, as we all know, it’s because of the starters. We have the 2nd worst starting ERA in the league (Yes, the Rockies is worse). We are behind the Cards by over a run. But, the relievers 5th best in the league.
Sadak can get under your skin sometimes with constant stat reading & preaching his data knowledge, but, he’s invested and is genuinely excited for what we all are seeing and loving it! It’s not just a job with him now. He’s one of us and knows something special this way comes!
Joey’ trying to regain what’s been lost, youth, reflexes and guessing quadrant location. He’s lost what aging doesn’t give you back. I’m 67 and know it well.
Whats wrong with stat reading? He takes it a bit far i agree, but its far crybetter than Thom.
Not stats on our guys. I don’t care what an opposition player did for 5 weeks. 7-10 days leading into out game is a better barometer. Thom was horribly bad.
Note that I praised John as well. He was use to doing radio & calling games differently.
I care, why cant us fans who arent blindly hating stats also get what we want from a broadcast?
I’m onboard for stat reading as well.
He has to do something to fill the air since Larkin provides no insight other than a pitch location being “out over the plate”
Those are good points about Sadak. My biggest problem was that he was too loud of a cheerleader for a team that was playing awful. Now that they are playing well, his loud cheerleading is actually pretty nice. It’s neat to see him yelling with excitement. I’m on board with him these days. Larkin though, that’s a different animal. I loved him as a player but I can’t stand him in the booth. Please don’t ever let him manage the Reds.
I know what you mean on the cheerleading AAAA players the past couple of years. I really like Brantley when he does the color role. Welsh is even re-energized with our young talent. I was hoping John would’ve asked Chris about how our hitters approach be facing the sweeping curveball. I know that it’s a new term used on an old pitch. Our hitters kind of answered that last night, but those type question & answers I love to hear about from guys that played this cerebral MLB game. Nuances if you will.
Larkin doesn’t offer enough inside. John will prompt him at times & at times gets no response from Larkin. I’m with you Chris, I loved Barry the player & his ocassional Intel on our farmhand risers.
Maybe Cowgill might be a Mgr candidate when that time comes.
Agree that his stat reading is tedious. Wears me down. Silence is not an unwelcome attribute for a broadcaster, especially for baseball.
Yeah Terry, let the game breath at times! I like to hear sounds that baseball yields up. Bats clanging in the on deck center, baseball hitting the mitt, ocassionally hearing the dugout responding to the strike zone calls, lets go Matt, Elly(all of our guys), urging them on.
Got a lot of Youngbloods out there showing out before they were expected to, but I love seeing Friedl getting his after paying his dues.
Me too Klugo. TJ is a fixture now & needs to stay at the leadoff spot with some rare exceptions from some elite lefties.
It’s looking like Hinds will be the next player promoted to Louisville. He’s done a tweak that has yielded great returns for the slugger. I’m glad that he was converted to the OF.
The lineup today looks perfect. Only India/Stephenson under OPS 800 and India around 750. There is no hole. Are Friedl and Benson really this good? Do they really have 9 man lineup settled for next FIVE YEARS?!!? They have everything! Power, speed, defense, interchangeable parts, depth, useful platoon splits, star power, and lots of team control. I cannot see where bringing CES up makes any sense right now, I don’t want any of these guys losing at bats. He is natural replacement for Votto so I would not trade, but I think he needs to stay in AAA until someone is injured. Senzel playing decent but there is no spot for him. I do not see a clear opening for Marte next year, particularly if Senzel stays as depth/utility. India is the only one that makes any trade sense at all, and I hate thought of it. They have SO MUCH payroll flexibility this offseason to go buy pitching, I hate trading anyone away.
+1
Agree with everything but CES. The lineup is a little short vs lefties imo. I don’t want a backup catcher or Senzel playing over CES and I’m definitely tired of Newman at 1B.
The Reds have only started taking off when they added power to their speed and CES can add to that.
Agree with you on the 3rd catcher and Newman. CES would improve lineup over either of those slots. I just think CES is the type of prospect that needs to play every day when you bring him up. If he’s only in “Vs LHP” lineup, I’d rather let him play every day in Louisville, and give Benson and Fraley a look as everyday players and see how it goes.
Part of this is, I want to know where Marte fits next year. I’m not sold this is a “go for it” year yet, so I want extended audition for Fraley, Benson, Friedl as true everyday starters. If one of them falters, that might be where Marte fits. If all 3 can maintain OPS 800 for a season, including starting vs lefties, then I’m giving serious thought to trading India (or extending him and trading Marte for SP.)
If we already know Benson and/or Fraley are platoon guys, then I’d drop Casali and bring back Barrero. I think he’s had fair shot as everyday guy and didn’t win it. I do think he brings value as backup CF, late inning PR/defensive replacement, and platoon partner for any of the outfielders to start vs LHP. I don’t mind him being on roster and sitting most days. I would be disappointed if CES came up and he (or Benson, or Fraley) sat too much.
Theyre short vs lefties yet youre tired of one of the best performers vs lefties? Whut?
Newman is going nowhere. Crushes lefties, can play all 4 infield positions defensively, and has experience on a very young team. We may not re-sign Newman after this year, but he’s here this entire year.
@Andy – I think there is a large enough sample size to indicate that Fraley can’t hit lefties. And that’s fine, he gets 80% percent of the starts, and is a great choice later in the game when pitchers are changed.
Friedl doesn’t need a platoon partner.
Newman does not play all 4 positions. At least with any credibility. The argument that he can do that is ridiculous. He CANNOT play 1st base. He’s a huge liability there. Also, while he can play 2nd and SS, he’s NEVER needed in those positions anymore, so that really only leaves 3rd base, where he also isn’t needed. Yes he hits lefties but the problem is, Bell leaves him in when righties come into the game. CES is going to be a much better upgrade against lefties and righties AND he can play 1st base, which Newman can’t. I actually liked Newman but with EDLC and McLain up the middle, Newman is no longer needed.
CES can now come up when the inevitable Votto injury hits. I love Joey and everything he was for the Reds in the early 2010’s when we competed, but his body just isn’t holding up.
Trading Stephenson and Denzel would most likely get you better returns and easier in our system to replace. Get CES up to take Stephenson’s at bats and Vottos soon.
I’d trade him too, he hasn’t made a good movie since Equalizer
I feel like the Reds are two quality starting pitchers away from being on the same level as the Braves. Right? At least in terms of talent and potential.
I’d say they would be very close to the Braves.
This is a very good young reds team. With some starting pitching they could take the next step.
Could be. Another series win against another good team, all the same.
CES is 2-25 with 7 K’s.
OPS is still over 1 and his avg still over .300, despite the slump.
@Hal Ludwig, 25 five at bats isn’t a prolonged slump. Hope he gets going again.
The K rate is 28% which is not outrageous for a power hitter if their OBP is better than .300 (which CES’s is not in this short sample of 6 games).
In his previous 6 games, his K rate was 24.1% and his BB rate was 13.8%. His OPB was .379 but his OPS was “only” .713 because his slugging had fallen off to .333 (it is .628 on the season).
It might be a good guess he is tiring (mentally, physically, or both) or fighting through minor injury as they reach the half way point of the season.
Or maybe the pitchers from the White Sox org (first 5 games the most recent 6 games sample) are very good or just had him dialed in. With the weeklong 6 game series, it is easy to get a skew either way in a short sample based on who they were playing
@Jim everyone goes through a slump. He will get hot again. He has always had a bit of swing and miss in his game.
Yes, and EDLC just went through a decent slump too, and has K’d a lot. So what, that’s baseball. CES is still way more valuable on this team than is Casali and Newman. I’d much rather have CES and Fairchild over Casali and Newman.
After his hot start, most people seemed to think Votto from 5 or 10 years ago was back.
But, suddenly he is hitting 0.184 with a 35% strikeout rate.
What’s up with the 5:10 starting time on Friday?
Taylor Swift crowd, etc. Its going to be nuts downtown
Thanks
Guess whoever scheduled the Swifties in for a Friday night concert at Paycor when the Reds were in town figured the Reds would be long forgotten by July 1 😉
Going to the games Friday and Saturday.
Finding a room for Friday was next to impossible. Price gouging in full effect.
At least until the Red’s starting pitching situation improves in August, be hesitant in sending Weaver down. He routinely gets the Reds in an early deficit and then their new found youthful offense wins it all. It makes for exciting baseball.
Hitters this season have slashed .182/.196/.364 against Weaver in the 2nd inning and .192/.255/.298 in the 3rd. He even got them 1-2-3 in the 4th inning yesterday.
It’s befuddling how he can consistently botch the first inning and then get his sea legs for the second and third inning.
Weaver’s next start figures to be a 10:05 a.m. game against the Nationals on July 4. Maybe he’s a morning glory.
Yes, Weaver is befuddling. I don’t buy into the opener talk though. He’d probably just do the same when he got into the game as he does in the 1st now. If he hasn’t already tried working with a sports performance psychologist, that would seem like a logical next step to me.
I agree with Jim. At least him blowing up in the 1st inning gives the offense more time to make up the runs he allowed.
A psych? Dude, large assumptions built into that for sure. Im 100% for an opener for him and start him eith the bottom of the lineup, he looks like he just needs some time to settle in. So much simpler an explanation.
Greene and Lodolo IL stints into August may turn out to be a silver lining to the year. Those guys should be strong and fresh at that time and could be unstoppable during the stretch drive of September!
Agreed. Kind of like picking up two quality starters after the deadline who can still pitch in October. Just have to keep winning and get there.
Problem is I don’t believe in the August return timeline. The Reds have been way off in giving time estimate for starting pitchers. The team needs to make do with what it has. Weaver and Ashcraft have the pitches to be decent starters. The coaches need to help them overcome mental blocks or with pitch selection.
LOL. Weaver does not, nor has he ever. Ashcraft will turn it around and I think as soon as this series with the Padres. Ashcraft has way too much movement to not get it together.
LOL Chris. I bet you $1 that Weaver will give the Reds better starts before Ashcraft.
Well, well, well … what a pleasant wake-up call this morning. Watching our half of the 10th and that bomb by TJ was so sweet! And then Maile with a 3-bagger courtesy of Santander/Mullins.
I’ll have to go back and watch the pitching performances in the 9th and 10th to keep us in it and then seal the deal. Finding ways to win just seems like our jam this season.
Hey! Reds just went 3-3 against two of the four or five teams in MLB. Not too shabby.
I don’t have the numbers, but I think eliminating the shift is really adding offense not just to the Reds, but maybe all of baseball. Lots of ground balls finding their way into the outfield for singles.
A good move returning the game to the way it was usually played before the shift became routine.
I have been yelling from the rooftops to do this for a long time now. I was literally getting sick of watching a game that had nothing but a K, BB, or HR. The game is so much fun to watch again. Now if we can get rid of the stupid blocking the plate rule at home, all will be great again.
Me too.
July’s schedule is brutal, better off find some pitching help way before the trade deadline.
Yes x 1000
True. September’s schedule is very kind, though.
Or else, bring up Encarnacion-Strand to maximize the Red’s offense.
Just finished the bottom of the 9th and 10th. Minor case of heartburn from Cruz, but the big cushion helped ease that.
Series win against another good team in their house. Let’s make a habit of that.
What a great series and great managing by Bell and his staff
Interesting conversation with a neighbor. We were talking about starting pitching or lack of starting pitching at the moment. He said and I quote “that is good management and coaches” this coaching staff has done a great job.
Great day to be a reds fan.
Have you not learned, that this team wins despite Bell and he deserves no credit for any of the moves that work and all credit for those that don’t?
It’s a tough crowd around here, even during this fantastic month of June!
I’ve been hard on him in the past – and still have a gripe here/there – but, looking at the big picture, he/they’ve done a fantastic job and deserve credit too. It feels like the coaching staff is aligned with the front office, it just took a while to get the right players into the roster to utilize speed, defense, small ball, handedness splits, grit, etc. which DB has mentioned prioritizing from day 1.
DB took too much crap the last couple of years due to ownerships decisions to give him a AAAA roster.
I hate to admit it, but I do agree. I have my issues with Bell, but one can’t discount the positive things he has done for this team as well. Not sure I’ve ever seen a team play so hard as does this team, and that is a reflection of their manager.
I love that it was ownership’s fault that the team was terrible last year (even when it had a significantly higher payroll than it has now), but this year Bell deserves a lot of credit now that he’s winning with all these new players ownership gave him to work with. Seriously? If ownership was to blame for Bell’s inability to win (which is putting it mildly) last year when he had players like Castillo, Mahle, Greene, Lodolo, Ashcraft, Votto, Solano, Naquin, Fraley, Senzel, Pham, Drury, Stephenson, India, Friedl, Farmer, Barrero, and most of the same guys who are in the bullpen right now, how are we not supposed to give all the credit to ownership for the team’s performance with McLain, Steer, Elly, Benson, Maile, Abbott, and Newman all playing huge roles? Did Bell make those guys into great players? Did he turn Friedl and Fraley into better players this year?
In reality, Bell is almost as bad as he was last year. He makes slight improvements each year, but he’s still bad. The team is winning because his bad decisions (such as allowing Weaver to start yesterday instead of at least trying an opener, taking Gibaut out after 13 pitches when he was sailing along, not telling Senzel to steal in an obvious steal situation, not calling for a safety squeeze from Steer against a pitcher throwing 103, asking Benson to try to bunt, etc.) aren’t bad enough to overcome the talent he has. Benson’s triple only happened because Bell’s initial strategy (bunt) failed, and it might have been the hit that won the game. But Bell deserves the credit because everything eventually worked out despite at least six or seven strategic blunders?
You miss the point: Managers of teams with good players, few weaknesses, win lots of games. Give the same manager a team with few good players and many weaknesses, and he will lose lots of games. That’s why ownership was to blame last year, and they are still culpable for the lack of starting pitching. The Reds aren’t doing well because of Bell, nor were they terrible last year because of him.
So are you suggesting it makes no difference what a manager does? The lineups, choice of starters, pitching changes, in-game strategic decisions, ability to inspire… none of this matters? You’re saying if any other manager were in charge of this team during the Bell era, they’d have the same number of wins and losses because everything is decided by the quality of the players? Am I getting the point now?
Dusty taught me the one and only thing i want from a manager is his players will play for him. End of story. I love the effort of this team and the aggressiveness on the base paths and focus on hits not necessarily HRs and launch angle. Thats a reflection of the coaching staff. Im certain there are better managers, but complaining about every tiny thing you think you notice while the teams winning just sounds so stupid to me. I realized the limits of my scope and opinion a long time ago, i suggest everyone do the same and enjoy a fun team.
Man that last strikeout by Votto was an UGLY at-bat. He is regressing hard to his mean. You can tell how hard he is pushing it.
Swinging and missing on a 102 MPH? That sort of gas has made most players look ugly this season, which is why he is the best in the game right now; just above Diaz.
Jeebus, did you see Steers? Is he “regressing to the mean” because he sturck out vs one of the leagues best relievers too?
My 2 cents worth.
1. Unfortunately Votto is a platoon player at best. Nice story at first same Votto now.
2. If you don’t believe they have found holes in EDLC’s swing you’re crazy. Can’t hit right handed
3. Newman is an intregal part of this team as long as Bell uses him as a spot starter and bench relief
4. Bell may be wearing his bullpen down but have you seen our starters? Even Greene and Lodolo couldn’t go seven
5. The youthful exuberance is contagious. There’s nothing they don’t think is possible.
6. And finally everyone says LDS is a pessimist. He says he’s a realist. The only thing he was optimistic about was Barrero was a future star who wasn’t getting enough at bats. We’ve seen how that turned out.
i agree with most of your points. i think EDLC Will be fine. I think it is only natural to be pessimistic if you are a reds fan. I mean we have been bad for LONG,LONG time. I know we had some success with Baker in 2010,2012 and 13 but those teams were not offensive juggernauts. Just had good pitchers that stayed healthy. I haven’t had this much fun watching the reds since the 1999 team
#5 is correct, and very much to Bell’s credit for those keeping score at home.
Disagree to varying degrees about the remainder of the list.
Agree about EDLC. I think his numbers will look surprising like O’neil Cruz’s pretty soon which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as he can still contribute out of the batters box like Cruz can.
Not sure I’d say Votto is a platoon player. I’d be more inclined to wonder if he is a starter or not. At this point, he’s been very productive, even with the low average, so I think the jury is still out on him.
You are just flat out wrong regarding EDLC. The fact is he’s hit better from the right side in AAA, but with slightly less power. You’ve concluded this without giving the kid a chance to react to the curveballs that he’s seeing. He will be fine, and you will eat crow, gladly I suspect.
Newman isn’t really integral anymore. He’s only needed at 3rd base, and he really isn’t needed there; he can’t play 1st base. Yes he hits lefties, but Bell leaves him in against righties too. CES would be a huge upgrade.
100% on #5
Chris, I’ll gladly eat crow but you’re seriously comparing AAA to the majors. Even Chris and Sadak brought up the comparison to Barnhart going strictly left handed. Like I said, several MLB analysts have said the same thing. But I’m sure with all your experience you’re more savvy than they are.
Dont agree at all with Bell being responsible for bullpen wear and tear. Golly, he is giving many of these starters 6 runs and 85 pitches. Which typically consumes 3-4 innings. How is he to cover the last 5 innings? He has brought up 14 different pitchers from Louisville to try to find some secret potion. Just look at the stats aqnd you will see our starters are at the bottom in innings pitched and ERA, and the teams we are ahead of have won won like 25 games each. I am possibly a voice of one but I see no way this overworked bullpen getting through August without injury and arm fatigue. When it happens it is too late to reverse! We better get some real non-Louisville starters in here or Greene, Lodolo. Abbott, and Ashcraft are going to have to pitch 125 pitches each outing upon their return. The current mode of having 4-5 starts of 3-4 innings every week is not sustainable. I think Bell is doing a great job of spreading the workload the best he can. Last night was a strong example using both Sims and Diaz in critical but minmum batters. We are not going to win diddly if Farmer and Cruz can not be used in 2-3 run situations!
@Rib agree completely!!!!!
Yes, agree!
If you read closely, I’m saying he has no choice but to use his bullpen when starters can’t go more than 6 innings. If the bullpen wears down it’s because the starters aren’t able to go deep.
I find hard to justify Newman and Votto roster spots with Fairchild and CES languishing in Louisville.
For me it’s Senzel and Casali. CES handles both handed pitchers equally well, so he would be an upgrade over Senzel.
Casali’s lack of offense doesn’t come close to making up for his pitch calling and defense. And looking down the road, but Maile is an impending free agent…certainly a guy we’d want around beyond this year. Certainly he’d give a hometown discount.
I don’t understand your issue with Senzel. He mashes lefties, and he can play almost all positions. Newman can really only play 3 infield spots (NOT 1st base), and is never needed in the middle infield anymore. Agree with Casali though.
How about checking out Votto’s entire career with the Reds as justification of his roster spot.
That not enough for you, how about his current .852 OPS, 4th on the team.
I’m guessing the Reds are trying hard to move Senzel, one of the Catchers and Newman but there simply are no takers at this time. Expect one of these guys to go by the deadline for some no name AA reliever.
I’ll virtually guarantee they are not actively trying to deal Senzel. He may come up in trade talks, but he’s not being promoted in trades. For starters any trades that we make are most likely going to be minor leaguers moving for pitching. Casali will be let go and asked to be involved in the organization in one way or the other. You can’t have the 5th worst era and 3 worst era among starters, and then brag about how valuable your .150 hitting catcher is defensively.
So you would cut Votto and Newman and keep Senzel and Casali? Geesh, I am sure glad you aren’t in charge.
I’m not pessimistic about EDLC. I’m just saying advance scouts have found his weaknesses. Minor Leaguers couldn’t adapt, major leaguers can. Even the analysts on MLB said its gonna take changes in his pitch recognition and swings to reach his potential. I think he has more God given talents than anyone. Just an observation. An example, look how well McClain, Steer and even Benson have adapted. Also Newman is 10x more important to this team than Fairchild ( who I really like) and Votto is going nowhere. If I was in charge (God forbid) I would go to 2 catchers (Stephenson and Maile) and bring up CES.
Good post, Beaufort Red. It’s not sacrilege to say that he’s struggling a little. It’s a small sample size, different caliber pitching, and they’re really bearing down him–his reputation preceded him. He’ll figure it out.
Newman crushes lefties, gives you a veteran presence, and can back up all 4 infield spots. You want the kids to be getting consistent at bats, Newman can start 1 day a week and be ok.
What they need to do is stop ever having Stephenson DH and get back down to 2 catchers.
Like many I would like to see CES at the big league level but right now this team is playing well. Outside of starting pitching we are a very good team that is capable of qualifying for the postseason. While I know many don’t want to just qualify and I’m among that group but the experience our youngsters can gain by playing in the playoffs could be very valuable in their growth. Also qualifying could be a nice lead in to negotiations with some free agents in the offseason.
The Newman/Casali, and to a lesser extent Senzel/Maile, discussions are much ado about not much. Will any of them be on the 2025 roster? Perhaps Senzel. Will any be on the 2024 roster? Again, perhaps Nick, and Maile. Odds are greater than the answer is none on both rosters.
Would they miss any of them for the remainder of this season? Perhaps for a game or two, which of course may make a big difference.
If they all go, who replaces them? We all seem to agree on CES, but beyond that it’s a pitcher. Will CES and that pitcher make a bigger game or two difference than if they all remain? I think so.
For next season and beyond I wonder about pitching, as always, but also defense at Catcher. I believe TySteve’s bat will play just fine after a full season following surgery – much like India’s rebound this season. There’s also possible regression across the board, yet it really seems they have 2 or 3 or more all-stars for several years ahead.
And, of course, there’s always the pocketbook issue to look after. (Insert favorite Bob/Phil comments here)
Interesting point about “how much difference would it make?”
The Reds have 29 come from behind victories.
How many of those games would they have lost last year with the anemic bullpen and woeful hitting?
Half? 2/3? Maybe all.
The changes have been meaningful and have required some risks.
We’ve seen during the win streak (and since) what the long ball can do.
“Okay, we have enough offense!”
With this staff there will never be enough offense.
Bring up your HR threat and figure it out.
That would require some serious rethinking that I don’t think the Bull and the Bell can make right now.
Bell gets my vote for “Luckiest Manager of the Year”.
@ Harry, Im sure Bell will sleep better tonight knowing he has your vote.
I agree that very little has turned out like whatever mix the of Krall and Bell planned it.
Votto wasn’t ready yet they bluffed to the end that he would be (and from what Bell has said since at least he knew Votto wasn’t going to be).
They went with the 3 catcher scheme in case Stephenson wasn’t ready; but, then they decided he was. Now the results indicate he isn’t. Yet he continues to play when they now have a better option (CES) for DH.
Steer started out at 3B (or was it super sub) and has ended up one of the top players but at 1B (now also LF).
Friedl has exceeded all expectations. Nobody really saw McLain coming as fast or with the sustained impact he has had. EDLC was to the show quicker than they wanted it to happen.
Myer was bust. Benson was a bigger bust; but, at least temporarily, he now he isn’t.
Barrero was a bust.
I’m stopping there because my mind and fingers are tired. 😉
Essentially little to nothing they planned when to plan; but, when they started throwing mud at the wall in desperation, it all stuck and looks like a classic artwork mosaic at this point.
Still doesn’t answer the question of 3 catchers. CES is ready. By that logic, if he isn’t, neither we’re McClain or EDLC Like I said Votto will soon be, if not already , a platoon player. And Maile should catch 3 days and Stephenson 4. If that doesn’t work Louisville is right down the road.
Skippy Pender laid it out.
He knows CES is ready.
He tacitly admits that there’s no room for him now.
We may dream they’ll shed Casali or Newman or Votto.
He said they’re waiting for an injury or when rosters increase…by 2, one of which will certainly be a pitcher and the other…..Reynolds.
In fact if someone went down hurt this weekend, you can bet Bell would be lobbying for Reynolds.
CES is going to twist in the wind until ST 2024.
“Today’s just not your day!”
If someone gets injured its CES 100%, Bell is not pining for veteran depth bro, why is that so hard for people to think. Pointless assumptions and cry cry cry. Go root for the dodgers if this isnt your thing, jeez.
Hello fellow Red’s fans! This is my first post in any of these fan pages after getting to enjoy reading all of your comments for the past few years. I am in the Army, stationed in Maryland. Born in Dayton and thus a Reds fan. I attended many Dragons games as a kid. Check one out if you haven’t been, they’re very fun as well!
I was at the first 2 Reds vs Orioles games (stayed past the rain delays) and it was my first time getting to see them play in person this season. I will be in town this wknd and am hoping to catch a couple of games in the Padres series, as well as when the Reds come to DC and play the Nationals.
I very much enjoyed game 2 and watching Abbot pitch. I also thought the Reds fans at the game did a great job clapping back at the Orioles fans. They really seemed to hate us and esp Elly. Which was disappointing as I was rooting for them last year when they were partly where we are this season and becoming relevant again.
My thoughts on game 1: I feel like we win this game if the rain delay does not happen. Forcing BW to pitch in the rain was hard to watch as he certainly didn’t have command due to the ball slipping which he was noticeably frustrated about. He was looking very good before then with 2 outs and 2 strikes on the 3rd batter in the 2nd inning before the rain and the walks which led us to be down 2-1. After the rain delay the game went down the drain along with the rain. We were robbed of the chance to beat up on 7+ ERA Cole Irvin and our misfit patch up relievers could not get the job done for us. While waiting for the rain to pass while wishing to see the Reds play again, I did hope they’d cancel the game and give us a chance to win the make up.
Game 2 thoughts: Abbot is a stud, his Dad told us and he certainly is living up to that. Good guy who knows he has capable stuff and believes in his game. The boys battled hard and it was great seeing them get another W. I was very close to catching the McClain HR. You can see me in the video. Unfortunately the fan threw the ball back onto the field and the young Orioles fan behind him was quite upset he was not able to get the ball. Poor kid, become a Reds fan now 😉
Game 3 thoughts: Great rebound by Weaver. I thought it was going to be much uglier esp after the first. I was unable to attend the game as I had to work later than expected and got home just before tip off. Great win, our guys have a lot of heart and watching the Farmer, Sims, Diaz trio has been very pleasing. Esp after last years disaster.
Last thought: I was reading comments on one of an Orioles fan page and they comically think that they should’ve swept us and think they are much better than our incREDibles. I LOL’d at those thoughts, maybe I am biased though. I actually think we should have swept them had BW not been made to pitch in the rain.
Go Reds!
You all have me to thank for the Reds season thus far. After 20+ years of buying 8 tickets for every Saturday game for my workplace, I decided to cut back to 4 seats this year because I couldn’t give the tickets away the past few years! My timing never fails!
So we’re at the 1/2 way mark of the season with 43 wins which is way better than any of us imagined. Considering our starting rotation is a mess with injuries until August, what’s your best guess for total wins this season? I’ll go with 81-81 finishing about 4-5 games out.
Your best guess may be very accurate, yet they also may be in an odd situation of faltering badly for the next month (especially if they mess up the multiple Brewers series) while having proven they can have productive streaks do just that in the September schedule with much of the returning staff and anyone acquired along the way. Will be fun if they’re chasing a wild card into late September. More fun if they .500 in July.
Current Bench
Senzel VS LHP .382/.433/.600
Newman VS LHP .319/.395/.542
Maile .241/.300/.434
Casali .162/.287/.189
The only hole on this bench is Casali. If I were the GM I’d add 1 of these 2 to the roster. CES is the obvious choice, but if they’re truly worried about playing time for CES, then add Ramos. He’s been killing it in AAA, maybe he’ll come back up like Benson, and continue to kill it for the Reds.
CES .323/.395/.628
Ramos .311/.393/.583
Sounds reasonable. Casali is the odd man out. First 2 play multiple positions and Maile better all around receiver. Harry Stoner I’ll bet anything we’ll see CES before 2024. How about September call ups? And anyone who thinks Votto will be let go is insane. Not because of production, just loyalty to Reds fans and his hanging in there during terrible years. Of course his contract didn’t hurt. I do agree though if someone gets hurt, Reynolds will probably get the call.
I agree…September call ups aren’t what they used to be though.
Just 2, and one will be certainly a pitcher, likely reliever.
From an Human Resources standpoint it would be crazy not to bring up CES then, but I don’t have much faith in Bull or Bell.
You’d think CES would be starting to get a little depressed by now.
All his pals called up and thriving, the team surging and in first place and he’s riding buses around.
“Be patient, today’s not your day.”
I’ve thought the 2 Sept. callups would be Phillips and Marte, since CES should be up before then (say mid-May or so). Still, CES should be up after the deadline clears some space. Joey isn’t going anywhere, nor should he. An injury could always affect who is called up, but CES still gets here in early August – if not, something has gone seriously wrong.
The 3 catcher plot unravels then as well, since they’ll know that TySteve and #2 catcher can carry them the final 8-10 weeks. The wildly interesting scenario is if Chuckie becomes the #2 catcher after the deadline (>1% chance, but it would be fun)
I think you have to add Newsom to that. Newman does play multiple positions, but the positions he plays (2b, SS, 3b) are not really needed because we are loaded in those spots, and CES plays 3rd and 1st. Newman cannot play 1st. Realistically, we should have CES and Ramos up. We need another outfielder, and both guys can flat out hit.
If hes depressed then trade him, get that attitude off my team. Every. Team. Does this. Why is that so hard to accept for people. As soon as he’s up itll be someone else to cry for i guarantee, the process starts and stops with yall.
God why would any team call up a guy because they dont want him depressed. Sounds like he needs more time in the minors because this league will chew you up and spit you out if thats the case.
Senzel vs LH pitching, June1-28>> .083/.214/.333/.548 (rounded).
He is being marginalized just as Fairchild was when used as a strict platoon replacement guy.
Source: Fangraphs Splits Leaderboard.
Filters> vs LHP June 1- June 30 2023.
@Jim, Over a 1/3 of that timeframe he was on the IL. That’s a very small sample size you’re using. He’s been historically good VS LHP.
You often make the argument against platoons, and I don’t’ disagree. I’d rather have 8 guys in the field that don’t need to come out because of matchups. The problem is Fraley/Senzel is so much better than any other option the Reds currently have.
Blake Dunn seems like he may be an option for the Reds by 24/25. Hinds may also become an option by 24/25, and he’s killing the ball right now. The problem is he’s never stayed healthy, and possibly related he K’s too much. Maybe if he can stay on the field he can refine his swing and cut down on his K’s.
Yes, NS’s OPS vs LHP from the start of the season thru the end of May was 1.159. I think FanGraphs use some different rounding than other sites which causes some slight differences. That was on 44 PA. Believe the number for June was a dozen give or take 1 or 2.
But it did catch my eye and surprise me in the opposite direction that Fairchild’s OPS in June vs LHP was 1.080 on roughly the same PA count as Senzel in June. And that’s remarkable because when he was a platoon only guy, it was ~.300 lower (at times even lower than his OPS vs RHP; Thru the end of May, his OPS vs LH was .747 on 64 PAs.). The sample size is very small and there are other circumstances, it but could just be both guys are much better vs LHP when they are playing more regularly.
A Fraley/ Senzel platoon is the best platoon they have. But why does there need to be a platoon when CES from both sides looks like he would match or surpass their combined output? If Benson can go both ways, that’s doable with him in RF, Steer in LF, CES at DH, and Stephenson catches or sits (which they are coming to anyway).
Not so sure Senzel has been historically good vs LH. He’s been decent, but not the LH masher all are trying to make him out to be.
Senzel LH Splits PA BA OBP SLG OPS
2019 vs LHP 110 0.316 0.371 0.526 0.898
2020 vs LHP 30 0.074 0.133 0.222 0.356
2021 vs LHP 20 0.333 0.35 0.389 0.739
2022 vs LHP 123 0.241 0.292 0.304 0.595
2023 vs LHP 60 0.382 0.433 0.6 1.033
Career vs LHP 343 0.28 0.331 0.424 0.755
Split PA BA OBP SLG OPS
Senzel Career vs LHP 343 0.28 0.331 0.424 0.755
Fairchild Career vs LHP 136 0.25 0.356 0.422 0.778
How about going out of the box and trading Tyler Stephenson for a really good starter. His offense hasn’t been that much better than Maile and it seems like the pitchers like throwing to Maile and Casali more than they like throwing to Stephenson
I meant to say really good starting pitcher.
Tj Friedl has amassed 2.5 fWAR and is raking.
Most stolen bases by a red since Hamilton, solid cf, hits for avg, gets on base, has some pop and would run through a wall to win a baseball game. While 15-20 at bats shy of qualified due to his injury, he is 3rd in the NL in hitting, top 10 in OBP, 10th in SB.
He has more fWAR than any player the Reds had in 2022 x Drury who he should pass soon. HE could very well top Votto and Castellanos 3.6 in 2021 and it would be the best Reds season since Geno Suarez 2019 season of 4.2
Kudos to Friedl for having a great and unexpected first 1/2 of the season
@old-School , thanks for posting couldn’t agree more.
What’s interesting, and sad, is that if I speculate correctly TJ will appear on the NL stat leaderboards this weekend – he’s right at the 3.1 PA/game threshold. The sad part is will that be too late to get him in the All Star game? Do those paying close attention have enough power to get him on the team? Diaz obviously, but there are several beyond TJ who could justify a pick as well.
For those who like to continually critique Bell’s decisions as manager, I have a question: Have you ever coached/managed yourself, even Little League? If “Yes”, your credibility is strengthened, if not, give a try sometime and then come back and preach. Otherwise, consider corking it.
A lot of truth and a friendly reminder, but I’d expand the criticism beyond Bell to general field and game management. Take the personality out of it, and look at the 3 general levels of management – 1 – ownership; 2 – front office; 3 – game/field/MiLB staff.
Looked at that way I think we all agree #1 easily lags behind the others, while #2 is doing very well (and I’ve long thought the DW/Boddy/extended staff was very well run). As for #3, you see the immediate zero-sum game results – the positives have been the morale and spirit, even thru the worst of last year, but the negatives were the worst of last year with thankfully just a little carry over to this season. Talent makes a huge difference – see #2.
Great post, and I would add its so easy to critique Bell from your couch, chair, where ever. Also some act like pitching and hitting is a cake walk, oh and fielding.
Seriously, coaching little league gives one credibility? Really? That’s funny.
It’s better than nothing, like most of these armchair managers possess.
After experience as a catcher in high school and American Legion ball, I managed a knothole team for a couple seasons. What does that make me other than a lifetime fan of the Cincinnati Reds.
I’m speaking to those who criticize Bell’s every move. Are you one of those? Likely not because you know better. Am I mistaken?
The original critique of the critiquers is a non-starting argument.
The Reds players, staff, and management are human (most-likely) and, as such, can make mistakes, despite expert knowledge, extra data, and lengthy life experience.
In their favor, I and many others here have the advantage of not doing our daily work in front of 10’s of thousands.
We should be able to respectfully critique them and enjoy when they do well.
“Only a Sith deals in absolutes!”
If I go to a restaurant, am I not allowed to criticize the food for being too salty since I’m not a professional chef?
Huh?
If I’m not allowed to criticize the decisions a professional baseball manager makes since I’m not a professional baseball manager, it would stand to reason I’m not allowed to criticize the food a chef makes since I’m not a professional chef, or criticize an actor’s performance since I’m not an actor, or criticize a politician’s policies since I’m not a politician, and so on.
Basically, the argument “unless you’ve managed baseball yourself, shut up!” implies that you’re not allowed to criticize anything unless you personally are of the same profession.
More strawmen, yall love these. Last years team was too salty, im pretty sure you noticed that. This years is a much different dish, yet all you think is its gonna be salty forever. Good luck with that. Your negative opinions arent fact, theyre uninformed just like you palate.
Well, Bell makes a lot of objective dumb decisions, and many times the Reds win in spite of him because of their talent.
There, I criticized Bell. What are you gonna do about it?
Critical is fine if you realize your limits, i dont see much of that around here thats all our point is.
The “wins despite of” argument holds literally zero water for me, it sounds so uninformed and stupid if you ask me. Even if youre right, great who cares theyre winning.
What “limits”? It’s a free country, and I’m allowed to express my opinion, especially when it’s supported by facts. There is literally nothing I’m not allowed to say about Bell’s dumb decisions if I so feel like it.
I’m really curious why you people get so defensive of Bell. Is he a blood relative?
Oh, there are limits about what you’re allowed to say here.
OK. Thanks for the insight, Optimist. And yes, #1 leaves much to be desired.
Doug, over 700 comments for game thread and post game highlights and review! Is this a new record?
Stewie with 4 HRs in his last 8 games (2 Reds, 2 Lville).
Just for the record I found some stats that fit my narrative of Stewie>Nick. Isn’t that what stats are for?
Senzel career OPS .758 lefties, .635 righties
Newman career .748 lefties, .633 righties
Fairchild career .778 lefties, .718 righties
I am turning off comments on this post.
More than a few of you need a time out. Take the day off of posting angry comments towards each other.