Reds Over .500 Watch

Owings gets hit pretty hard and Dickerson drops a fly ball that costs us three runs. Cubs win, 7-2. We really need to start getting some wins out of the #5 spot in the rotation; the Reds' announcers said we were 4-21 in games started by the #5 last year and are 0-2 so far in 2009.

Cueto, who pitched very well against Oswalt and Houston Friday, goes up against tough lefty Ted Lilly tonight.

Originally posted by no1marauder
Owings gets hit pretty hard and Dickerson drops a fly ball that costs us three runs. Cubs win, 7-2. We really need to start getting some wins out of the #5 spot in the rotation; the Reds' announcers said we were 4-21 in games started by the #5 last year and are 0-2 so far in 2009.

Cueto, who pitched very well against Oswalt and Houston Friday, goes up against tough lefty Ted Lilly tonight.

Cueto goes 7 innings and throws a good old goose egg that is finished by the bullpen. Nice!!

I realize that Dickerson committed an error and helped lose the game the other day, but I still stand behind by assertion that he deserves to be out there every day. In fact, I think that he as well as Harriston need to be out there every day. What I wonder about is Gonzo. How much longer can Crusty throw him out there and have him not get the job done? He may not like Harriston to take his place but at least he could throw Janish out there in his stead. The man is batting .094 for crying out loud!!! 😲

Reds spank the Cubs, 7-1.

7-3 on the road trip, winning each of the series in Milwaukee, Houston and Chicago - all against divisional rivals who finished well ahead of Cincinnati last year.

9-6 for the season. Again, so far, so good.

Originally posted by whodey
Cueto goes 7 innings and throws a good old goose egg that is finished by the bullpen. Nice!!

I realize that Dickerson committed an error and helped lose the game the other day, but I still stand behind by assertion that he deserves to be out there every day. In fact, I think that he as well as Harriston need to be out there every day. What I wonder abou ...[text shortened]... e could throw Janish out there in his stead. The man is batting .094 for crying out loud!!! 😲

Dickerson dropped another catchable ball (foul this time) and booted a hit for an error. On the plus side, he hit a triple and a two run single (insurance runs, but they count). I'm still not sold on him as an every day player though. I'd like to see McDonald get some playing time against lefties in LF.

I agree about Janish, who is currently 4-10 and plays D as good as Gonzo from what I see.

Tonight we take on the dreaded Braves, granted, they are not so dreaded this year being one game under .500. It will be Valquez going against Vazquez. It will be fun to see if the announcers get the two mixed up.

I also heard that EE will assume the clean up role. I know Phillips is not a #4 hitter, and he admits to as much, but I am not sure about that decision. At this point, I think I would try Votto in the #4 spot.

Valquez seems to be the weak link in the pitching this year. Who would have thunk it? He needs to start throwing strikes or have a long season ahead of him as well as the rest of the ball club. He has good enough stuff that the opposition still can't hit the guy that well even though he is a little wild. If it weren't for his walks, he would be 4-0 instead of 2-2.

Originally posted by whodey
Valquez seems to be the weak link in the pitching this year. Who would have thunk it? He needs to start throwing strikes or have a long season ahead of him as well as the rest of the ball club. He has good enough stuff that the opposition still can't hit the guy that well even though he is a little wild. If it weren't for his walks, he would be 4-0 instead of 2-2.

He has great stuff, but doesn't seem to have any confidence in it so far this year. Dusty's been bending over backwards to get him wins; I was surprised when he left him after a trip to the mound after the 5 straight walks. But our middle relief hasn't been very good either, so I guess it was worth the gamble. Tough loss.

On the plus side, a good crowd of over 30,000. Maybe the fans are noticing.

Bring back Schotzie!!!!

Originally posted by no1marauder
He has great stuff, but doesn't seem to have any confidence in it so far this year. Dusty's been bending over backwards to get him wins; I was surprised when he left him after a trip to the mound after the 5 straight walks. But our middle relief hasn't been very good either, so I guess it was worth the gamble. Tough loss.

On the plus side, a good crowd of over 30,000. Maybe the fans are noticing.

The announcers said that the team Valquez was with before coming to Cincinnati also had this problem with him. Basically, they said it was a lack of concerntration and sent him back down to AA to sort things out. They then said that perhaps the Reds should do the same, but I don't see that happening.

As for the hitting, it continues to be abysmal with 5 starters hitting under .200!! It is by far the worst hitting Reds team I can recall, however, it also has some of the best pitching I can recall since the Nasty Boys in 1990.....of course that was until today when Arroyo gave up the ship as the Reds allowed 10 runs to lose by 8. I think you will find Arroyo to be erradic this year. At least, that is how he usually has been with Cincinnati. Out of the pitchers, other than Owens, I think perhaps the Reds might trade him if and when they fall out of contention.

As for tomorrow, I look for the Reds to get swept since Owens will start for them. One thing about this ball club is that if you are able to score more than 4 runs or more you pretty much can garauntee a victory against them.

Originally posted by shortcircuit
Bring back Schotzie!!!!

Its already been tried, trust me. I would even settle for bringing back the Big Red Machine. Even at their advanced ages, surely they can hit better than this crew.

Originally posted by whodey
The announcers said that the team Valquez was with before coming to Cincinnati also had this problem with him. Basically, they said it was a lack of concerntration and sent him back down to AA to sort things out. They then said that perhaps the Reds should do the same, but I don't see that happening.

As for the hitting, it continues to be abysmal with 5 ...[text shortened]... re able to score more than 4 runs or more you pretty much can garauntee a victory against them.

Your extreme pessimism is unwarranted. It's not unusual for a pitcher to struggle with his control early; I think Volquez will recover. With Harang back to his usual fine form and Cueto pitching well, the Reds first 4 starters should be fine. No, they won't throw quality starts every time out; no pitcher does. But SP looks like a strength though we do need to start getting something out of the #5 spot.

It's absurd to call this team "by far the worst hitting Reds team". First, we've only played a little bit more than 10% of the season; it's a bit early to be so hysterical. Second, some guys are off to slow starts but Phillips, EE, Hernandez, etc. etc. aren't going to wind up hitting under .200. And since only Votto is arguably over-performing (though with his stroke, a .350 season doesn't look impossible), once these guys start hitting like their usual levels the offense is going to perk up appreciably. As I said, considering the offensive woes, a 9-8 start is a big positive.

Owings pitches 7 strong, Bruce hits 2 HRs and Votto adds a 3 run double in an 8-2 win.

Roy Oswalt again tomorrow night.

Originally posted by no1marauder
, Roy Oswalt again tomorrow night.[/b]

Oswalt is 0-2. My, my, who would have thunk it? To be honest, I can't wait for anther shot at the assassin!!

No one has mentioned it, but Willy Taveras has done a terrific job so far. He's an outstanding CF and he's been showing patience at the plate with a better than .350 OBP and has scored 13 runs in 16 games. Kudos to him.

Regarding the hitting problems in the infield, when do you think it might be time to pull up Adam Rosales? http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Adam%20Rosales&pos=3B&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=489267

He's hitting .397 in Triple A. He's mostly a 3B and EE's only hitting .136. It's still early, but how long does this kid stay down?

Originally posted by no1marauder
No one has mentioned it, but Willy Taveras has done a terrific job so far. He's an outstanding CF and he's been showing patience at the plate with a better than .350 OBP and has scored 13 runs in 16 games. Kudos to him.

Regarding the hitting problems in the infield, when do you think it might be time to pull up Adam Rosales? http://web.mi ...[text shortened]... y a 3B and EE's only hitting .136. It's still early, but how long does this kid stay down?

To be honest, I'm not much of a EE fan. He has had plenty of time to mature in the Big Leagues but simply has not panned out. You could say it is early in the season, however, considering he has been around as long as he has he has been given ample oppurtunity.

Initially, if they bring up Rosales I predict a fast start for him......that is until the pitching makes adjustments to him. Then once they do we will see if he can adjust to them. It is then and only then that you deserve to be in the Bigs.

What's frightening is that I hear Rosales is the only one hitting in AA. I wonder if that is the last hitting prospect they have for some time to come.