Red Reposter - Managerial Mysteries

BK did us proud again this year, organizing what turned out to be a great evening. -ManBearPig took home the newly dubbed "Farney Award." Most importantly, the Reds took home the win.

• Mike Scioscia on pitching to Votto: "It's pick your poison," - Well, yeah... but Joey Votto happens to be the deadliest poison in the game of baseball. Brandon Phillips is a nice player, and Jay Bruce is no slouch, but we're talking about Joey Votto here. If we're using the "poison" analogy, Votto is like cyanide while Phillips and Bruce are bourbon and gin. Sure, the bourbon can kill you but it's certainly preferable to the instant death that Joey "Cyanide" Votto represents. Proof
• Baker attempts to explain bunting with Heisey - Thanks to Scioscia's incredible decision to keep the bat in Votto's hand, Baker didn't have to explain why he tried to take the bat out of Votto's hand for the second consecutive game. Regardless of the result, it's tough to justify Baker's bunting ways.
  
• Redleg Nation - Ludwick's injury may not be a bad thing - As many have pointed out, Ludwick was likely the most replaceable of all the Red's starting players.
• Hardball Times has a nice piece on how to evaluate starting pitching - I think the key to using the newer pitching metrics is to understand that they aren't perfect.

With the early afternoon game, we'll keep it short and sweet today. Reds!

• UPDATE - Sean Marshall has been "unavailable" to pitch due to shoulder fatigue