Cards take two, lead still at six games Not a great weekend for the Red Legs, who captured just one of three games against second-place St. Louis this weekend. The Reds now hit the road for three games apiece against the Diamondbacks and Astros in their final western road trip of the year. Until Game 1 against San Francisco or LA.
NBC Sports' "Caught Looking" was in town to film this weekend Bronson Arroyo's already spinning defenses - she walked into my sight line - but the show will mainly focus on the Reds-Cards drama from this past weekend. The show airs this Thursday night.
Larkin's week was chock full of wonderful things Including this toss between he and Brandon Phillips, who grew up idolizing no. 11. With as many DP partners that both Larkin and Phillips have partnered with, it was neat to see these two connect here.
Votto looks to return soon Which could be as early this week against Houston. He starts his rehab assignment tomorrow in Dayton. Check out kcgard's injury report for more on top dog Votto and the Masset Hound.
With Meso down in Louisville getting his mojo back, it's Navarro's time Dioner Navarro is back in a pennant race, four years after the Rays' mercurial rise to the top of the American League and eight years after his ML debut with the Yankees as a 20 year-old. It's been a rough few years for Dioner, but the switch-hitter's earned his stripes again with a very solid .832 OPS in Louisville. With the Reds not saying whether Mesoraco will return this year, there's a very real possibility that Dioner will be suiting up for the team in October. In case you're wondering, Navarro owns a .293/.339/.362 slash line in 62 postseason PAs.
SI takes notice of the Nasty Boys 2.0 The comparisons are inevitable with fireballer Aroldis Chapman leading a Reds' bullpen which is "striking out 10.11 batters every nine innings, the best rate of any team of relievers in any season in baseball history." An interesting read here on both the bullpen's performance and the changing roles of each pitcher.
Big news for the Dodgers last week Jerry Hairston Jr., the utility player everyone can agree upon, just underwent season-ending hip surgery. He's slashed .273/.342/.387 while playing all over the diamond this year. We sure coulda used that, huh? Somewhat relatedly, the Dodgers acquired this weekend from Boston SS Nick Punto, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, LF Carl Crawford, and SP Josh Beckett. I've never heard of them either, but apparently the Dodgers are absorbing $250 million in salary.
Philly swept the Nats this weekend Mentioned for three reasons: 1) makes the Reds split in Philly look pretty good, 2) the Reds remain just one game behind Washington for the best record in the league, and 3) Gio Gonzlez lost, keeping him tied with Johnny Cueto for the league lead in wins and putting Cueto in the driver's seat for the NL CYA. The Nats certainly didn't enjoy their time in #Philadelphia like Dat Dude.
Berkman calling it quits? It sounds as if the St. Louis Cardinals' Lance Berkman is ready to hang them up after this season. Which is fine with me considering how much he's killed the Reds throughout his career (1.089 OPS). Pretty amazing that even with Big Puma limited to 28 games this year, Cardinal 1B have still slashed .300/.366/.514.
Twins expect to receive 2014 ASG Only fair, right? They've been waiting almost three years since opening their new stadium. Bud Selig's upper-midwest favoritism rears its ugly head again.
For anyone who's ever struggled with the decision to throw down a beer or go for a run, Nick Symmonds doesn't understand the quandry. Symmonds, who finished 5th in the 800m in London, made a game effort to break the "beer mile" (chug a beer before every lap) world record. Makes you wonder who could throw a "beer complete game" or win the "beer HR derby."