Game thoughts: Reds lose again

by JD Arney on Aug 3, 2006 6:59 AM EDT in News

If (when?) the Reds don't make the playoffs it's going to be awfully ironic to look back and realize they missed their chance because of a lack of offense.

Quick thoughts:

Seriously, this offense is just terrible. At the beginning of the year it never felt like the Reds were out of it when a pitcher imploded, but now if the Reds starter gives up more than 3 I feel like we might as well pack it in. Seriously, four hits last night. Four. One two three four. Brad Penny's good, but come on. He only pitched six innings, and then the Reds were shut down by the immortal Elmer Dessens. Yeah, they scored off of him, but in the end they only managed a hit in nearly two innings against him. The offense is a mess.
And I'll tell you this right now, if the Reds are going to lose then I'd much rather them lose 9-8, hitting lots of home runs along the way. That's fun. Watching your favorite baseball team fail to score is not fun. It's the most frustrating thing in sports. Worse than a bullpen meltdown, worse than your favorite QB throwing an INT, worse than watching a basketball team miss free throws. It's terrible. I'll take it if it means playoffs, but if doesn't then I'm going to be pretty unhappy with Krivsky turning this team into a bunch of defensive specialists (many of whom can't actually play defense).
THE CARDINALS HAVE LOST SIX IN A ROW. And the Reds have gone out and matched them every day for the last four days. It's pathetic not to take advantage of such a thing. This is the time when the Reds could be making their move and running away with things, but it seems like they'd rather gravitate towards .500, a mark they probably deserve looking at their runs scored and runs allowed.
Ken Griffey Jr. is apparently now what all the idiots thought Adam Dunn was. Can't hit anything but home runs, and plays terrible defense. I don't know what's up with him, but he's a huge reason why the Reds aren't in first place right now. And to anyone who thinks I'm criticizing with no cause, I didn't even notice he was playing badly until a few weeks ago when I actually checked the stats and realized I hadn't really been paying attention to all those 0-4s. Because it's Junior. He's literally one of the last places I look when there's something wrong with the Reds, because it's never been his fault in the past. It's his fault now.
Great night from the bullpen, all from guys who were on the 40 man at the start of the season except for Cormier.
I'm probably overreacting to this four game losing streak, but it's not just the losses. I can't stomach the way they've been losing at all. The offense needs to come back, and soon.

The baby's staying under the hamper until the Reds win.

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Comments

Are you at least shoving

some carrots between the slats for that poor little bugger? It could be a long stay under there. Actually, I think we will light Maddux up. I just hope the Dodgers do not, in turn, immolate Uncle Milty.

by neckbeard on Aug 3, 2006 8:26 AM EDT reply actions

For the Love of God!!!

Somebody save that baby!!! If we're depending on the Reds to do it right now, that kid may not make it. Somebody call Child Services or the Governor or Chris Chambliss - something needs to be done!

Oh, and JD, you're NEVER babysitting my kids.

by Slyde on Aug 3, 2006 9:15 AM EDT up reply actions

governor?

you must not be in Ohio son....

"Your shower shoes have fungus on them. You'll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes." - Crash Davis

by Caleb on Aug 3, 2006 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah,

He's out of the state on a golf vacation. Which I'm sure he is paying for himself ;)

by neckbeard on Aug 3, 2006 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Taft

go to fcmcclerk.com and search on 2005 CRB 20347

"Your shower shoes have fungus on them. You'll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes." - Crash Davis

by Caleb on Aug 3, 2006 8:56 PM EDT up reply actions

The best part

The best part is the brick on top of the hamper.

Rootin' the Reds home.

by sweaver on Aug 3, 2006 9:26 AM EDT reply actions

they tried an iron skillet

but the kid could still get out.

"Your shower shoes have fungus on them. You'll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes." - Crash Davis

by Caleb on Aug 3, 2006 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions

What the lineup would be in a perfect world

(1) Freel - RF (Deno once or twice a week)
(2) Dunn - LF
(3) Jr - CF
(4) EdE - 3B
(5) Hatte - 1B
(6) Aurilia - SS
(7) Phillips - 2B
(8) Ross - C
(9) Pitcher

I mean seriously, can anyone argue with a straight face that the offense we give up by having Royce or Castro in the regular lineup is worth the defense we give up by always having one of Aurilia, Hatte, or EdE on the bench?

I say the new motto should be "Free the SS position (from no-hit, overrated fielding, defensive specialists)."

Narron needs to recognize that trading away Kearns and Lopez took away some of his fire power and it needs to be replaced somehow. The easiest solution is to plug in a hitter at SS. For some reason, he thinks that the Bad Man is no longer able to field the position. What gives?

by pbinsd on Aug 3, 2006 9:40 AM EDT reply actions

Cubs

I guess we know how the Cubs feel now with Cedeno, Neifi, and now Izturis.

by Stevo154 on Aug 3, 2006 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions

lineup

To JD's point and echoing something I said earlier this week, moving Felipe took a good LH-bat out of the top of the lineup. I feel that makes this team vulnerable to good RH-pitching. Lopez in the lineup would have allowed you to slide Dunn to 3rd and Jr to 4th. I'd recommend that now, but I don't know who on this roster bats 2nd?

by rojosoto on Aug 3, 2006 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Phillips

I think he's your #2 hitter.

by satyanaas on Aug 3, 2006 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions

8 hole

I don't like Ross there. I would prefer him higher using the 8 spot as a second leadoff spot. Flip Ross and Phillips and I like it a lot.

"Your shower shoes have fungus on them. You'll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes." - Crash Davis

by Caleb on Aug 3, 2006 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions

The Brick

You would need a concrete block for my kid. The brick would have just have slowed him down and then given him something to throw at you when he got out.

by snohio on Aug 3, 2006 9:58 AM EDT reply actions

We Need Bill Veeck

Anyone else familar with this story? Surely, if given the opportunity, the Red Reporter readers could break us out of this skid, right?

(from thebaseballpage.com)

"In 1951, the (St. Louis) Browns were not a good team; in fact, they were dreadful... (Bill) Veeck arranged for one of the St. Louis newspapers, the Globe-Dispatch, to print ballots. Under Veeck's plan, fans would choose the starting lineup for the night. Veeck encouraged fans to write him letters, stating why they should be allowed to manage the team that night.

Based on their letters, two of the fans, Charlie Hughes and Clark Mitze, were chosen by Veeck to suit up and become actively engaged in managing from the sidelines during the game."

The Browns won, 5-3, by the way

by indy on Aug 3, 2006 10:12 AM EDT reply actions

Narron would have

a circus monkey and a three-year-old in the dugout with him if the only prerequisite was that someone come up with a better lineup. And that brick from the top of the hamper.

by Ash on Aug 3, 2006 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

more...

here is more on the infamous "Grandstand Managing" promotion...

"Over 1,100 fans also sat in a special section at the park and participated in running the game. Each fan was given a large placard, with a green "YES" and a red "NO" printed on opposite sides. Questions regarding most conceivable game situations had also been printed. Throughout the game, these questions were posed to those fans, who voted their opinions with their yes/no placards."

by indy on Aug 3, 2006 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions

technology

They could so do that now with text messaging. Like in the playoffs when Fox puts up polls for managerial decisions. I remember the infamous Grady Little-Pedro game as the fan voice edged toward 100% in favor of pulling him.

by Red Menace on Aug 3, 2006 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions

I said this to my dad on tuesday

That they should have "Ask the Audience" life-line system from "Who wants to be a Millionaire" installed at GABP and require Narron to use for any situation.

But maybe to the bloggers would have better results. He could also get a phone-a-friend straight to JD. ; )

But seriously, why not have a series where the fans vote for the line-ups and see how they perform. That would be fun.

I would definitely do if I were the Pirates or Phillies organization and had nothing to lose.

by satyanaas on Aug 3, 2006 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions

from the man that...

brought you Ed Gaedel, all 3'7" and 65 lbs. He walked in his only at bat.

"Your shower shoes have fungus on them. You'll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes." - Crash Davis

by Caleb on Aug 3, 2006 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions

Vulnerability lies in inflexibility

The team has become vulnerable because it has been constructed according to a too narrow, short-term model. We now have lots of bullpen (though as J.D. points out, the best part last night was pre-Krivsky), but the starters are tired and the offense is currently slumping. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that your team will be less subject to hitting slumps if everybody among the eight regulars can hit. We no longer have that situation. We also now have very little with which to get what we might need to fix the current problems. At the moment, I'd say there are several teams more likely to win the WC than us, including the one that's beaten us the last two nights.

by HokieRed on Aug 3, 2006 10:50 AM EDT reply actions

Zach Ward

Not to beat a dead horse, but FSN's Dayn Perry has an article up today analyzing all the prospects traded before the deadline.

Zach Ward was the 2nd highest rated, fyi.

The last two games have been atrocious and I don't think half price tix or dollar dogs is enticing enough to overcome that.

Hooray beer! One dollar drafts at Florence Freedom tonight. I must admit on dollar beer night I don't care about the score. I just wait for the 8th inning stretch with the SpongeBob SquarePants sing-a-long.

by ohiobobcat on Aug 3, 2006 12:00 PM EDT reply actions

A-ball prospects

Other than a guy named Bailey, most of the future hope of this franchise is still in Dayton. Who knows whether Zach Ward will ever make it to the majors? However, of the 4-some having a great year in Dayton, his numbers were right up their with Johnny Cueto. 2.29 ERA, 74 hits and 2 HR allowed in 114 innings for Ward.

That yields 7.07 ERA Lohse?

The guy received for Dave Williams (7.20 ERA) is 0-2 with a 4.19 ERA, 51 hits and 4 HR in 43 innings.

Robert Manuel for Lohse seems like a lot more even deal to me.

by rojosoto on Aug 3, 2006 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Not clear what Wayne's thinking was

about Ward, but he's known for his strong scouting experience. So time will tell.

by pw on Aug 3, 2006 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Griffey

The Griffey situation is really weird. Everyone seems to be ignoring it in the media or they're just focussing on how happy he is to be playing in meaningful games this time of year. I don't think Narron and Krivsky want to rock the boat this year, but, if this downward trend continues, they will have to address where he hits and where he plays in the off-season.

by pw on Aug 3, 2006 12:16 PM EDT reply actions

the offense

is still pretty good. Clayton is the only player playing who shouldn't be. If we eventually get Aurilia at SS and EE at 3B, we'll have maybe the best offense in the division again.

by Blue on Aug 3, 2006 2:10 PM EDT reply actions

Or even

If Griffey starts hitting again, that would be a BIG help. This lineup could sustain a Castro or Clayton, if Griffey and Phillips are hitting. I dont know about you, but I feel more comfortable with Catro up there than McClayton, not only because his D is a LOT better, but he has hit rather well since he has been here.

by MixFMKyle on Aug 3, 2006 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Brandon Phillips

If Phillips really is critical to the lineup, then we're in trouble.

His career OPS, including this year's breakout, is .648. In 2800 career minor leage AB, his OPS is only .748.

by sidnancy on Aug 3, 2006 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions

streaking

I haven't done any research but it seems like whenever the Cards go on a losing streak the Reds do the same. We got 7 games vs. the Cards in the next two weeks which will probably seal our fate one way or the other.

Visit The Olde 320 Pub! (my blog)

by SpaethC on Aug 3, 2006 5:07 PM EDT reply actions

You're correct

although I don't have the exact dates either. The Cards had an eight or nine game losing streak right around the same time we lost our eight in a row to begin July. Here we are again.
We've got to get Jeff Weaver in that 4-game series, right? Pleeeeeeeeease!

by Ash on Aug 3, 2006 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions