Red Reposter - 8/12/09

This is what I am are going to miss when Hal McCoy rides off into the sunset
"Justin Lehr was in more trouble all night than little brother playing in big sister’s closet, but the Cincinnati Reds pitcher was a marvel to behold, an execution of escape by legerdemain." Funny how you only really start to appreciate something when you find out you wont have it forever.

Joey Votto has been slumping lately
just 1 for his last 15 going into last night's game (though he did have a single and a walk last night). He wont admit it because he's like that, but as Dusty Baker said "Last weekend was the first anniversary of his father's death and he lost a little bit of his concentration." In all seriousness, I would say it is damn near impossible to find an athlete more worthy of my adulation right now.

The Fayplacement calls Justin Lehr "the new ace"
Of course, it's only halfway tongue-in-cheek. The interesting part is what Dusty said after the game though: "You’ll take any lift you can get," (he) said. "When you’re trying to salvage a season, every win is important." I know this has been beaten to death, but why are wins important to the Reds right now? Of course it's important for the player's confidence and everything, but it's really only an excuse for Dusty to play the likes of Gonzo and T-Virus. And I know I'm going to be angry when Ramon Hernandez comes back off the DL and starts 6 games a week.

Redleg Nation takes a look back at the events surrounding the Ken Griffey Jr trade back in 2000
I had forgotten that they got Dante Bichette that winter as well, so they basically gave up Mike Cameron, Brett Tomko, and a few spare parts for a pair of terrific All-Star outfielders.

THT takes a look back at the 1997 Baseball Scoreboard
when they took a look at what the chances were of certain players reaching certain milestones. I always like to look back at stuff like this, and this part about knocked me over:

"One thing is clear: the hitter who makes a real run at [Hank] Aaron will need to crank out 40-homer seasons year after year. There are only two hitters in the game who have even a 10 percent chance of maintaining that pace long enough to break Aaron's record: Albert Belle, at 15 percent, and Ken Griffey Jr., at 12 percent. Belle's career total is 100 homers behind Aaron's at the same age, but the formula recognizes that Belle may be the one hitter in today's game with the ability to produce enough 50-homer seasons to actually make up ground on Aaron."