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Around SBN: Fighters React to Nick Diaz's Positive Drug Test

MEAST!

Joe Nuxhall Memorial Star of the Game

Aaron Harang.  It seems like pitchers are often the JNMSotGs, but Harang is immensely deserving of the honor.  He pitched a dandy today, going the full nine innings and showing us all that he still indeed has the stuff of his ought-to-have-won-a-Cy-Young campaigns from 2006 and 2007.  He recorded 9 strikeouts and no walks.

Key Plays

  • With Votto choosing not to hit his customary three-run homer, Phillips ably chipped in by hitting Ian Snell's first inning offering into the Souvenir Section.  This slightly overshadowed Willy Taveras's leadoff double, and any extra base hit from Willy should be duly acknowledged.
  • Nyjer Morgan continued to bedevil the Reds, hitting a leadoff double of his own, and getting hit by a pitch in the third inning.  He was promptly erased though when Harang picked him off.  He also got a single in the 9th to go 2-3.  He's hitting .714 against the Reds this year.
  • Harang struck out the side in the 6th.
  • Havoc watch: The Reds hit into a triple play in the 8th inning.  With Phillips on second (after a walk!) and Bruce on first (after not striking out!), Encarnacion hit a broken-bat bloop to the shortstop, and the 6-4-3 triple play was on.  Encarnacion was also involved in a triple play on April 21, 2007.

Other Notes

  • Harang's season ERA is 0.64.  After using 114 pitches in 5 innings on Opening Day, he needed only 108 to pitch his gem today.
  • Josh Johnson pipped Harang to the first complete game in MLB by a matter of minutes, but Harang recorded the first shutout of the season.
  • Willy Taveras tacked up his first pair of batting gloves.  He has been pretty decent in the leadoff role, going 2-3 today.
  • Jay Bruce had 3 strikeouts.  Is anyone else getting a little nervous?
  • Ramon Hernandez and Alex Gonzalez combined to go 0-6, with a GIDP.  Sea Bass is still waiting for his first hit of the year.  But he played all nine innings!
  • Check out the dominance in the FanGraph!

4-12-09_medium

via FanGraphs


Comment 124 comments  |  0 recs  | 

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dont worry about Bruce

He’s had a hit in 4 out of 5 games.

Grady Sizemore is hititng .200 also. He will be fine.

by TheNaturalMevs on Apr 12, 2009 5:32 PM EDT reply actions  

Bruce struck out three times today.

IIRC his hit today was some kind of excuse me infield single.

I’m not saying we won’t be pimping him when the AllStar ballots come out in three weeks but right now he’s looking for the bottom.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 12, 2009 8:14 PM EDT up reply actions  

Brook Jacoby

This is where the hitting instructor can earn his paycheck.

by Matt McWax on Apr 13, 2009 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions  

Is he any good?

I ask, because Andy Phillips struggled after being called up last year. The Pirates hitting coach looked at the tape, and told him he was holding his hands too high. Andy’s been raking since. Which leads to me to wonder…why didn’t the Reds hitting coach notice?

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 13, 2009 6:38 AM EDT up reply actions  

Dusty said Harang

looked so good- hes going to experiment with him in a relief in between starts.
Also right now- one of the As new young guns-Trevor Cahill(21 yrs old) is throwing a no-hitter thru 6 innings.

by davidmac84 on Apr 12, 2009 5:35 PM EDT reply actions  

Even if he maintains the no-hitter...

he’s not likely to make it 9 innings, unfortunately.

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 12, 2009 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions  

There goes the no-hitter...

and the A’s aren’t having much luck offensively either.

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 12, 2009 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions  

Bruce

Heck yeah I’m more than a little nervous, especially after how he produced in the 2nd half of 2008. The base running gaffe last night gas me concerned that his head really isnt in the game all the time.

"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21

by obc2 on Apr 12, 2009 5:37 PM EDT reply actions  

Bats won

Ben Jukich:

5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 1.80 ERA

Bray and Roenicke still have 0 ERAs.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 12, 2009 6:03 PM EDT reply actions  

it's the era of zeros!

Made from 100% recycled awesome,

by chandrathan on Apr 12, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions  

the era of zero eras?

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 12, 2009 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions  

redundant'd

Made from 100% recycled awesome,

by chandrathan on Apr 12, 2009 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions  

Will you stop it with the vegetables

by Man Mountain on Apr 12, 2009 7:06 PM EDT up reply actions  

I hope Jukich

is still with the Bats when they come to Scranton at the end of May. I gotta see if he looks like his photo.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 12, 2009 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions  

I won't post the picture I found because I don't want to spoil Man Mountain's fun.

But here’s a link. He might actually be a bit of a cutie, BubbaFan.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 12, 2009 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions  

that's bizarre

She’s from New Jersey, went to college in Boston, and now works there as a special education teacher.

He’s from Minnesota, went to college in South Dakota, and worked in California, Kentucky, and Tennessee as pro ball player. How the heck did they ever meet?

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 12, 2009 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions  

the Internet?

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 12, 2009 9:56 PM EDT up reply actions  

Perhaps Freel gave him some pointers.

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 12, 2009 10:01 PM EDT up reply actions  

You asked for it...

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on Apr 12, 2009 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions  

that's racist!

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 12, 2009 10:06 PM EDT up reply actions  

could be

Though even then, you usually pick someone who lives nearby.

Someone I know actually dated a Yankee pitcher she met via Match.com. For some reason, I never thought of MLB baseball players going the Internet dating route. Well, except for casual encounters, I guess.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 12, 2009 10:05 PM EDT up reply actions  

Wheelock, eh?

That place is an Mrs. mill, from what I’ve gathered. She also looks and appears way too normal to marry a ballplayer

...because there's already someone posing as Jacob Brumfield

by Cy Schourek on Apr 12, 2009 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions  

get off Bruce

You’re just being paranoid. Really.

by TheNaturalMevs on Apr 12, 2009 6:30 PM EDT reply actions  

really?

Made from 100% recycled awesome,

by chandrathan on Apr 12, 2009 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions  

Seriously.

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 12, 2009 6:47 PM EDT up reply actions  

honestly.

Made from 100% recycled awesome,

by chandrathan on Apr 12, 2009 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions  

faithfully

Made from 100% recycled awesome,

by chandrathan on Apr 12, 2009 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions  

I don't get it.

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on Apr 12, 2009 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

Nice "So I Once Married an Axe Murderer" quote.

Ramon Hernandez can continue to hit like Anderson Machado if he gets Harang pitching like this…and the Pirates just witnessed the most polite and unassuming shutout of their careers.

...because there's already someone posing as Jacob Brumfield

by Cy Schourek on Apr 12, 2009 7:36 PM EDT reply actions  

Kudos to you for the game-calling love.

You beat me by forty-five seconds.

He looks baaaaad at the plate but he and Harangutan are putting up goose eggs.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 12, 2009 8:09 PM EDT up reply actions  

Why do I identify so much with the fella 2nd from right?

...because there's already someone posing as Jacob Brumfield

by Cy Schourek on Apr 12, 2009 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions  

That was my take too..

Education is what you get from reading the directions. Experience is what you get from not reading them.

by snohio on Apr 13, 2009 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions  

you have a unibrow, too?

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 12, 2009 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions  

Are you Chris Dickerson?

"I can eat mayonnaise with a spoon." - Jeff Brantley

by BK on Apr 12, 2009 9:21 PM EDT up reply actions  

Niiiice

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on Apr 12, 2009 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions  

yeah, counting dead people as points (or runs in this case) is hilarious

death is so funny when it is so distant.

Assholes.

"I usually shoot it pretty straight."- a boating enthusiast

by Colin Auscapee on Apr 13, 2009 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

they got what they deserved...

If you murder, terrorize, kidnap, threaten death or otherwise act contrary to the rules of civilized society I will not shed a tear, and yes may even laugh when you get what is coming to you.

Job well done to my fellow members of the US Navy

Nobody listens to Andrew

by nlt-andrew68 on Apr 13, 2009 12:41 AM EDT up reply actions  

I think Colin's point...

is that those people who died are still…people who died. And moreso than with usual terrorism or wars, there’s a clear path from the societal breakdowns that Western nations have at best looked on at, and at worse played a role in fostering.

Somalia is a mess, and hence we get this. Colin’s point is that if you think about it in these terms—of all the hopelessness in Somalia that leads people to pull crap like this—then it’s hard to cheer on the deaths of these people. I realize that not everyone agrees with this argument, but at the very least it would be nice for people to consider just a bit more of the context that leads to these horrible stories.

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 13, 2009 12:54 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

I understand the context...and stand behind my comment

my ship was patrolling off the coast of Somalia in 1992.. right after the famous “Black Hawk Down” incident. for some of you that don’t remember, the US was in country to protect the UN mission to distribute food to the starving people in Somalia. There were low life thugs who decided that they could make money by stealing the food shipments, kidnapping aidworkers etc..
  As we were trying to protect the food convoys..etc one of our helicopters was shot down by an RPG and the crew was dragged and desecrated all over the streets of Mogadishu.
  
  These pirates are the same type of low life scum that would steal food from starving people for profit. They dehumanized themselves.

Nobody listens to Andrew

by nlt-andrew68 on Apr 13, 2009 8:58 AM EDT up reply actions  

actually, they aren't

They are the starving people we were supposedly trying to help.

The pirates are out of work fisherman. It’s true the warlords have gotten involved lately, but they’re not the ones who end up in harms’ way.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 13, 2009 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

Nothing happens in a vacuum

it is not like piracy is anyone’s first career choice. They are desperate people with no other options. No one condones their actions. But it is only through distancing ourselves from and dehumanizing our fellow man that we can laugh at killing. I’m not saying that what happened was wrong or unnecessary; I’m simply saying that nothing is funny about people being killed.

I encourage everyone who rec’d this asinine comment to consider your motives.

"I usually shoot it pretty straight."- a boating enthusiast

by Colin Auscapee on Apr 13, 2009 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

agreed

Somalia has been a failed state for years. They don’t have a functional navy or coast guard. Other countries took advantage of that by fishing illegally in Somali waters and dumping toxic waste there. That left the local fisherman with no source of income. They discovered piracy almost by accident, when they tried to patrol the waters themselves. Usually only the pirates are killed in these encounters; they’re after money, not blood. They generally treat their hostages well, seeing them as pawns caught up in the greater game, not as enemies.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 13, 2009 6:30 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

Okay, I did.

I wasn’t chanting “U-S-A ! U-S-A !” while rec-ing it and I do value human life more than the red blooded American “get what they have coming” philosophy so I guess I’m a little bit embarrassed at that but mostly I rec’d it for the same reason a lab chases a tennis ball.

I liked it.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 13, 2009 8:16 AM EDT up reply actions  

believe it or not

it’s possible to think of all of that stuff and still find the ridiculous comparison between that situation and a Reds a game to be humorous. Just like it’s possible to be critical of someone with whom you disagree without calling them an asshole.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Apr 13, 2009 9:05 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

well

I don’t really agree with your opinions on the subject, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t chuckle at your original comment.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Apr 13, 2009 9:14 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

thats ok...

I just didn’t appreciate being called an asshole

Nobody listens to Andrew

by nlt-andrew68 on Apr 13, 2009 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions  

Oh ?

Who deleted my original post on the Resuce in this diary ? Interesting editoral censorship, if you ask me…
I happen to agree with those who have little use for thuggish violent behavior. And yes I understand that people are beyond desperate and that the world community has a responsibility to try and help establish a functioning responsive gov’t in Somolia. Meanwhile – does anyone know for certain that these lethal pirates are taking their spoils back to the people who are in such desperate need? My best guess is no, they’re taking the money and keeping it and saying fuck you to everyone.

Its probably going to happen - bend over

by Madville on Apr 13, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions  

I have no idea what you are talking about in terms of a deleted post

As far as I can tell, there hasn’t been a single comment deleted from this thread, and you haven’t had any comments deleted in the past week.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Apr 13, 2009 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions  

maybe he posted it in a different thread

Made from 100% recycled awesome,

by chandrathan on Apr 13, 2009 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions  

maybe

but it sure as hell hasn’t been deleted.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Apr 13, 2009 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions  

Has he reply'd in the last week?

"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21

by obc2 on Apr 13, 2009 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions  

What? Mads having trouble with posting?

Shirley you jest.

I miss the old days of the internet when men were men, hot girls were middle aged men, and hot underage girls were FBI agents.....

by jch24 on Apr 13, 2009 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions  

Maybe I was on acid...

If there were no deletions then I apologize for my reactive cyber behavior -

I do think there is a time and a ‘place’ for Pirates

Its probably going to happen - bend over

by Madville on Apr 13, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions  

here's Thomas Jefferson's take on the whole thing....

After the United States won its independence in the treaty of 1783, it had to protect its own commerce against dangers such as the Barbary pirates. As early as 1784 Congress followed the tradition of the European shipping powers and appropriated $80,000 as tribute to the Barbary states, directing its ministers in Europe, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, to begin negotiations with them. Trouble began the next year, in July 1785, when Algerians captured two American ships and the dey of Algiers held their crews of twenty-one people for a ransom of nearly $60,000.

Thomas Jefferson, United States minister to France, opposed the payment of tribute, as he later testified in words that have a particular resonance today. In his autobiography Jefferson wrote that in 1785 and 1786 he unsuccessfully “endeavored to form an association of the powers subject to habitual depredation from them. I accordingly prepared, and proposed to their ministers at Paris, for consultation with their governments, articles of a special confederation.” Jefferson argued that “The object of the convention shall be to compel the piratical States to perpetual peace.” Jefferson prepared a detailed plan for the interested states. “Portugal, Naples, the two Sicilies, Venice, Malta, Denmark and Sweden were favorably disposed to such an association,” Jefferson remembered, but there were “apprehensions” that England and France would follow their own paths, “and so it fell through.”

Paying the ransom would only lead to further demands, Jefferson argued in letters to future presidents John Adams, then America’s minister to Great Britain, and James Monroe, then a member of Congress. As Jefferson wrote to Adams in a July 11, 1786, letter, “I acknolege [sic] I very early thought it would be best to effect a peace thro’ the medium of war.” Paying tribute will merely invite more demands, and even if a coalition proves workable, the only solution is a strong navy that can reach the pirates, Jefferson argued in an August 18, 1786, letter to James Monroe: "The states must see the rod; perhaps it must be felt by some one of them. . .

We have to keep the sea lanes open…. thats the whole reason we have a Navy..

as for some who think that its such a horrible thing we laugh at 3 “people” killed
over this incedent… where is the indignation over our whole “Bereavement Pool” ??
these people have family too yet we poke fun at them ( me included ), and they’ve done nothing to deserve the fates that we have prognosticated upon them.

politics as usual

Nobody listens to Andrew

by nlt-andrew68 on Apr 13, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions  

Why are you still going?

Seriously. Do you need to be called an asshole again?

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 13, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions  

Second'd

Let’s bring it back to baseball, guys.

"I can eat mayonnaise with a spoon." - Jeff Brantley

by BK on Apr 13, 2009 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions  

sigh.

I’m grinding my teeth, but I’m letting it go.

Everybody's a jerk. You. Me. This jerk.

by andromache on Apr 13, 2009 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions  

kiss my ass...

now i’m finished

Nobody listens to Andrew

by nlt-andrew68 on Apr 13, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions  

Sorry I called some RRers assholes

it is just that I like this blog, and it is tough to stand idly by and act like I think casual disdain for the lives of my fellow humans is humorous.

"I usually shoot it pretty straight."- a boating enthusiast

by Colin Auscapee on Apr 13, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions  

apology accepted

..and I apologize if my tasteless joke offended you.
we’ll have to agree to disagree on the politics.

Nobody listens to Andrew

by nlt-andrew68 on Apr 13, 2009 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions  

Not sniping at anyone. Really :P

But, it’s funny, yesterday’s This American Life was on apologies we don’t really mean.

Everybody's a jerk. You. Me. This jerk.

by andromache on Apr 13, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions  

I have such strong conflicting opinions about 'This American Life'...

..that even just reading a reference to it in a blog post sends that familiar quiver of appreciative angst through my shoulders and spine.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 13, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions  

This American life is usually pretty darn funny

For intellectual moderates that is…

Its probably going to happen - bend over

by Madville on Apr 13, 2009 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions  

Bruce

I’ve been on him since last August or so about these strikeouts. Now that it’s 2009, I’m starting to get worried. It doesn’t look like he’s making any adjustments. I’m not talking about changing, but everyone has to make adjustments. His approach is the same every time up, and it’s dreadful.

by Brian B on Apr 12, 2009 8:56 PM EDT reply actions  

Just to be clear. . .

. . . I’m not anti-Bruce. I just don’t get a good feeling when he comes up, and it worried me.

by Brian B on Apr 12, 2009 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions  

Joe Morgan sez:
A home run is better than a single with a man on second base. Because sometimes the man on second doesn’t score on a single.

Think about that.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 12, 2009 8:58 PM EDT reply actions  

Deep.

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 12, 2009 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions  

Now Joe sez:
OPS has some credibility because the best player has the highest OPS.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 12, 2009 9:26 PM EDT reply actions  

Best player has the highest OPS?

oh man, Brandon Phillips is going to be PISSED!

...because there's already someone posing as Jacob Brumfield

by Cy Schourek on Apr 12, 2009 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions  

He's not much for logic, is he?

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 12, 2009 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions  

Old Joe must've been smoking something tonight

Jeter doesn’t have the highest OPS…

Made from 100% recycled awesome,

by chandrathan on Apr 12, 2009 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions  

Reed Johnson just robbed Prince Fielder of a grand slam.

Might be the play of the young season.

(Either that or the Pirates’ triple play.)

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 12, 2009 10:11 PM EDT reply actions  

The Pirates triple play wasn't anything special.

I realize triple plays are rare and all, but that was about as gift wrapped as you can possibly get. I think just about anyone on this site could have turned that one, honestly.

The double play by Wilson on Hernandez’s grounder up the middle, however, was absolutely spectacular. It was so pretty I wasn’t even mad.

by Geki on Apr 12, 2009 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions  

that double play was bad ass ... the triple play was just dumb ass

"I never use a big word when a diminutive one will work." — Pete Mackanin.

by joshuar9476 on Apr 12, 2009 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

I agree that their double play outwowed their triple play.

Still, if you were watching on Sunday you saw a unicorn.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 13, 2009 8:09 AM EDT up reply actions  

I dunno...

It seems like the Reds manage to hit into a triple play every year. I’m sure it’s less frequent than that, but it definitely seems that way.

by Geki on Apr 13, 2009 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions  

Appropriate'd

Dusty Baker said it was the first [triple play] he’d seen in person. When he was with the Dodgers, they hit into one, but he was in the bathroom.- C Trent

by The Crushinator on Apr 12, 2009 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions  

You know why he was in the bathroom?

Reading Hustler… Featuring Ryan Freel, Willy Taveras, Cory Patterson, and Nyjer Morgan.

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on Apr 12, 2009 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

a rec for c trent

"I never use a big word when a diminutive one will work." — Pete Mackanin.

by joshuar9476 on Apr 12, 2009 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions  

Reminds me..

I was at the Jake last year for Asdrubal Cabrera’s unassisted triple play. My buddy was sneaking a smoke somewhere and missed it.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 13, 2009 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions  

If you keep sending 'em

you’ll see more triple plays, Dusty.

Everybody's a jerk. You. Me. This jerk.

by andromache on Apr 13, 2009 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions  

too true

"I usually shoot it pretty straight."- a boating enthusiast

by Colin Auscapee on Apr 13, 2009 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions  

I'm not all that worried about Bruce.

His timing seems a little off so far, but he’s far too talented to keep this up forever. He came up with all the hype in the world and destroyed the minors, but he just turned 22 a week and a half ago, and a lot of the people who were ranking him as the best prospect in baseball also said that some growing pains were pretty likely. By all accounts his work ethic is outstanding and he’ll get it together, but we’re gonna have to deal with some strikeouts and less than awe-inspiring results before that happens. He had all of about 450 plate appearances above A-ball before coming to the majors and he had an .869 OPS against righties last year in the majors. A lot of young lefty hitters struggle against left-handed pitching when they first hit the majors, and I think five games is a little early to be too worried about him this season. The kid’s gonna rake, but after what he gave us in his first week up last year, he may have hurt himself by setting the expectations so high. Come 2011, we’ll all just be glad we have a slugger like him in our lineup.

by Geki on Apr 12, 2009 11:24 PM EDT reply actions  

I'll admit that I've been worried...

But I forget that the guy is only 22. You raise some really good points… Plus, Votto’s early success this year could take some of the pressure off of him…

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on Apr 12, 2009 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions  

SportsCenter

Describes Harang’s game as a gem from an unlikely arm.

Unlikely?? What is he, Carl Pavano?

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 12, 2009 11:43 PM EDT reply actions  

chris welch

"I never use a big word when a diminutive one will work." — Pete Mackanin.

by joshuar9476 on Apr 12, 2009 11:45 PM EDT up reply actions  

Actually, the opposite

it’s unlikely because there are no good pitchers that don’t play for the Yankees or Red Sox

"I can eat mayonnaise with a spoon." - Jeff Brantley

by BK on Apr 13, 2009 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions  

I noticed

at Halos Heaven, only one rec is required to turn a post green.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Apr 13, 2009 8:47 AM EDT up reply actions  

Yeah...

that’s lame.

We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.

by Gray on Apr 13, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

The green thumb?

It’s growing on me.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 13, 2009 8:54 AM EDT up reply actions  

I still have the asterisk in FF

But I get the green thumb in IE. Weird.

I miss the old days of the internet when men were men, hot girls were middle aged men, and hot underage girls were FBI agents.....

by jch24 on Apr 13, 2009 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions  

it's probably not Tango's fault

so it must be your cache.

HA! I kill me.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Apr 13, 2009 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions  

Stop.

Or my mom will shoot.

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Apr 13, 2009 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions  

While I appreciate a good pun

I cleaned my cache, twice even. I don’t care though, so no worries.

I miss the old days of the internet when men were men, hot girls were middle aged men, and hot underage girls were FBI agents.....

by jch24 on Apr 13, 2009 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions  

i dont buy that you clean anything twice

maybe a courtesy splash here and there….

"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21

by obc2 on Apr 13, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions  

I'm getting the green thumb on firefox

but then again you don’t have to look at any advertisements on the internets

Made from 100% recycled awesome,

by chandrathan on Apr 13, 2009 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions  

What? You're not using some beta version of a Belgian browswer?

I miss the old days of the internet when men were men, hot girls were middle aged men, and hot underage girls were FBI agents.....

by jch24 on Apr 13, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions  

Maxthon is a good browser

Made from 100% recycled awesome,

by chandrathan on Apr 13, 2009 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions  

Same here

Count me down as the only person who doesn’t like it as much as the “splat” effect

"I can eat mayonnaise with a spoon." - Jeff Brantley

by BK on Apr 13, 2009 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions  

nah, I'm with you

all for abstract art these days

...because there's already someone posing as Jacob Brumfield

by Cy Schourek on Apr 13, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions  

It may be gone now

But the S-Curve at the Sackler Gallery was pretty cool. It was created by the same guy who made Cloud Gate in Chicago.

by Brendanukkah on Apr 13, 2009 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions  

way to take me literally

...because there's already someone posing as Jacob Brumfield

by Cy Schourek on Apr 13, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions  

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