Cincycoolness.com

August 14, 2008

  "Laugh all you want but this team should have at least contended for the wildcard."

 

July 18, 2008

 

The all star break is over and the time has come for every team to decide to go for it, make some moves for next year, or do some serious rebuilding. The Reds are clearly not in contention and will not be going for it. So how did they get to this point? At the beginning of the season I really expected the Reds to be in contention for the Central all year. So what happened? Well no one saw the Cubs playing out of their minds and the Cards and Brewers somewhat keeping pace. The central was thought to be awful and therefore I thought the Reds might hang if some things went their way. And some did but for every break they got, something else was biting them in the ass (a lot of times it was their own manager). Let’s have a look….



Cueto started off on fire and got everyone all excited. He has pitched very good since his lights out start to the season considering he is a rookie. I expect an excellent second half from Cueto and a finish with 15 wins and an ERA closer to 4.00 than 5.00. But while Cueto has pitched well Arroyo has struggled mightily, pitching wise, and commercial acting/singing wise. I still have no idea how he ended up letting those awful commercials air. They may be the single most disappointing item of a disappointing first half of the year. I think they will hurt his trade value more than his pitching which is saying something.



Our ace has been nothing short of unbelievable. If it wasn’t for rest issues he would have started the all star game tonight and if the vote went down today he would win the Cy young in the national league. What do you mean Harang has sucked this year? No shit! He is not our ace, Volquez is and should be for a long time. Jocketty should be working non stop on locking up Volquez for as long as he can. There is no sense in waiting for his price to increase. I can’t believe more folks aren’t on Jocketty to make sure Volquez is happy and well paid for a good length of time. The Brewers did it with Braun and he will look like a steal in a year or two as will Longoria in Tampa Bay. Small teams are starting to see the reward outweighing the risk in locking up their best young players long term. Jocketty needs to do this with Volquez. As for Harang, he has to be the biggest performance let down of the season. No one saw this coming. I still blame Dumbsty. It is most likely a coincidence that Harang has pitched poorly since his relief appearance in the 18 inning game earlier this year. But I will say it again. This is one of the stupidest things, and that is saying something, that Dumbsty has done since arriving. Unless it’s the playoffs you don’t take one of your best starters and bring him into a meaningless extra inning game. And then you certainly don’t let him go four innings. And on top of that he brought in Volquez too. Damn it man, are your retarded. I am still fuming over the thought of this weeks later. Hopefully it is just a muscle strain and a little rest will return him to the Harang of old. Volquez, Harang, and Cueto could pitch this team to a five hundred record this year if Harang comes around. And that is definitely a top three that most teams would be thrilled to take into next season.



Votto has been excellent at first and won the job from Hatteberg fairly early on during the season. He should have been the opening day first baseman and should have never been in a competition/platoon or whatever you want to call what Dumbsty was doing to start the year. He is a good hitter and plays hard, and doesn’t kill you defensively. But while Votto was making a good impression Corry Patterson was slowly killing us. It isn’t all Patterson’s fault, some moron had to pencil him in the lineup. Thanks Dumbsty. Everyone but you could see that Bruce, Freel, Hariston, or for that matter a mannequin in a reds uniform with a bat duct taped to its shoulder nubs (I am picturing one of those mannequins with no arms) would be a better choice than Patterson. Thanks for taking almost half a year to realize what everyone else new after 3 weeks. It probably cost us 4 to 6 game on the year. Nice Dumbsty. Speaking of Dumbsty….



Man I was excited when the Reds hired a “real” manager after years of interim managers being promoted. I was never a Miley guy, or a Narron guy. I thought it was a bad move to keep those guys. But I thought Pete MacKanin was a good manager and should be given a shot. Then they announced Baker and I thought oh wow, a real manager. Finally. I was excited. Then Cordero Signed partly because of Dusty. That was huge for the Reds to land a guy of his caliber. But once the season began things took a turn for the dumb. Votto inexplicably had to win the first base job when the season started. That was a waste of three weeks. There is no reason why he should not have been the starting first baseman on opening day. Instead Baker foolishly platooned him sending him into a slump that he forutunatey recovered from. Then Patterson started off the season on fire for like 4 games and for some reason Dumbsty can only recall those four games. As Patterson continued to slide, popping out on first pitches, Dumbsty noticed nothing. When reporters would bring up how bad Patterson’s stats were Dumbsty seemed genuinely surprised. How could the manager of the team not notice when a guy is playing poorly enough to recommend himself to be sent down. When a player volunteers to be demoted he is lost. You would think the manager would notice this well before it got to the point of the player demoting himself. Nope, not Dumbsty. He just kept penciling him in at centerfield and batting LEADOFF. I have already mentioned his ridiculous decision to pitch Harang and Volquez in relief. Really not bright. It wasn’t September in the playoff chase, it wasn’t the playoffs. Seriously, inexplicable. A manager should be in charge of the team. He needs to be the authority and have the balls to do what is right for the “whole” team regardless of hurting a players ego or feeling. Dumbsty is clearly unable to do this. Every team in the league bats their best hitter third. Every single one. If not it is their second best hitter, sometimes your best hitter may also be your leadoff hitter. But the Reds continue to bat a clearly aging overmatched Griffey Jr third. He is hitting .235 folks. Seriously, I know he is a hall of famer, he is one of my 4 or 5 favorite players of all time, but he no longer has any business hitting third. I don’t know for sure who our best 3 hole guy is but I know it is not Junior. Clearly Dumbsty is afraid of stepping on his toes and hurting his feelings. Guys get old and they adjust. Ripkin Jr. didn’t hit third as his career winded down. He hit sixth at the end right where Junior should be. Come on Dumbsty, man up and do what is right for the whole team. That is your job you know.



So in spite of Dumbsty the Reds have managed to climb within four games of .500. Their season resumes tonight against the Mets (thank god the Mets are prone to second half collapses, ouch, sorry I couldn’t resist). So where do the Reds go from here. It is hard to say personnel wise what they will do. The Red’s brass really wants to at least finish 81 and 81 and not have a losing season. But they also know they are not far from contention next year if their young pitching continues to progress. So Jocketty has to balance preparing for a run next year with not killing the teams chances for .500 this year. If a team shows interest in Dunn it is likely Jocketty would move him. But who plays left. Unless we get a young outfield prospect in return we will be getting low on outfielders. And you still need someone to play there next year as well. There isn’t another Bruce waiting to come up. I am sure Jocketty would love to deal Arroyo but again he needs a trade partner. All kidding aside I am not sure there will be much interest. It is the same with Junior, sadly I don’t think anyone would want him enough to make a trade. This leaves a huge question for next year. If Junior and Dunn are gone next year who is going to play the outfield? Freel and hopper clearly cannot be counted on to play everyday. I am not even sure they can stay healthy enough to platoon with each other. He could move Votto to left and give 1st base to Keppinger, but Gonzales may never return to form and then you have a hole at short. It will be exciting to see what Jocketty does in the next few weeks as well as the off season. He seemed to hit the jackpot time and again with the Cardinals, let hope it continues with the Reds.



So here are my second half predictions. We’ll check back at the end of the season and laugh at my wrongness, but for now here we go.



Red’s 2008 record – 82 and 80, I think they play six games over the rest of they way and finish with a winning record.



Traded or Not:



Weathers – No doubt about it his bags should be packed, a contender is waiting



Fogg - No doubt about it, Jocketty will hurry and make a deal before he starts sucking again. We have too many young pitchers that need innings to let Fogg pitch regularly.



Affeldt – Likely, someone will want a solid lefty reliever.



Arroyo – Likely. Jocketty wont get much and may decide to hang on to him if the offers are awful. If a contender loses a starter in the next week or two look for Arroyos name to pop up quickly.



Dunn – 50/50. There is no way to tell. The Yankees need and outfielder and a hitter with Matsui going down. The Red Sox need insurance in case Ortiz can’t hold up. The White Sox could really use a bat. I just don’t know if any of them want a guy like Dunn. The pirates are talking about moving Bay and or Nady. Both can play defense and hit. Dunn just hits homers. Who would you rather have. I would love to see Jocketty get something for him but I just don’t see a good fit.



Griffey – Doubtful, I just can’t see a team trading for a 38 year old DH who is hitting .235. He’ll play out the year and sign with an American league team next year or retire.



Player performances



Volquez – 21 wins 7 losses, 2.85 era, 210 K’s, Cy young award

Cueto – 15 wins 12 losses, 4.15 era, 180 k’s

Harang – 14 wins 14 losses, 3.80 era, 200 k’s, he will bounce back

Bailey – 5 wins 7 losses, 4.75 era, will stay in the rotation for the rest of the year



Dunn – will hit 50 homers.

Griffey – wont hit 20 homers

Bruce – will hit 20 homers, he will finish over .300, a couple of ROY votes

Votto – will hit 30 homers, he’ll finish 2nd to Soto in ROY voting

Phillips – will win the Gold Glove he should have won last year

Patterson - will continue to suck, and Baker will continue to play him too much

Keppinger - will continue to his excellent play and people will continue to pick him apart for no reason

Freel - will come of the DL only to get hurt diving into the stands to catch foul ball during his minor league rehab assignment during fielding practice. You have got to love his hustle (are you picking up the sarcasm).

Hopper - will come off the DL and watch Patterson play anytime the Reds need an extra outfielder.

Dumbsty – will find his baseball sense sometime in September and apologize for all that he has put us through.



The Reds will lose a few TV viewers simply do to that fact that they can’t watch anymore JTM commercials

The Reds will lose a few more TV viewers simply do to that fact that they can’t listen to George Grande’s unnecessary non stop speed talking shenanigans anymore (I always have the sound off when Grande is on duty to avoid ear bleeding and upset stomach, how is he employed)

The Reds will get ripped apart for all angles when more people see the “1980’s Adam Dunn bobble head. Maybe the single dumbest thing I have ever seen. It looks Like a bobble head of a young David Letterman trying to impersonate Adam Dunn. It is just awful. If you want to go 80's retro give me a Mario Soto bobble head, or a Tom Browning bobble head, or an Eric Davis bobble head. Or a Schottzy bobblehead. But you decide to go with a David Letterman impersonating Adam Dunn wearing Don Johnson's old get up. Holy shit that is awful. Arroyo you are off the hook. Dunn you better pray you are traded, you aren't living this one down in Cincy.

We’ll check back later to see how I did. Oh yeah Jocketty, while you are busy over the next few weeks looking at trades don’t forget, we could use a real Catcher, a couple of outfielders to replace you know who, a Shortstop and maybe a 3B. That not to much to ask, I am sure you can get it done.

July 3, 2008

 

I know it has been a while since the last Rant, I hope to be more consistent. I am sorry that my lack of a rant forced Jim to post that ridiculous video. I take full responsibility. This is a rough time of the year for me every year. The beginning of July is usually when I take a good hard unbiased look at my Reds and decide do they have any shot at the playoffs. Laugh all you want but I do a gut check every year at the beginning of July. And as you know every year at the beginning of July the Reds are hopelessly out of contention, as they are again this year, so I have been a little bummed. Dumbsty has not been helping my mood either, more on that later. So again I apologize for the delay. I fully intended to have a rant up Friday, and then I went to the coolness to have a look around and there was Kate’s wine pick. As always Kate’s wine pick was an excellent read but in this installment I was made to wonder, “is she naked”. Well this threw my train of thought off completely and any hopes of the rant getting done died. Kate went on to promise a new pick if she got some roller skates. Jim, seriously, why haven’t you provided any roller skates for Kate yet, seriously. The cool factor of the coolness would surely increase exponentially if you had a picture of Kate, possibly naked, and on skates. Anyway on with the rant:



DUMBSTY:



I am not sure if being away from the game has caused Baker to lose all ability to use the common sense area of his brain. I am not sure if having his punk little kid running around all the time causes him to make hasty incorrect decisions. Or maybe he just doesn’t have what it takes to be a manger anymore. I am not sure but something is seriously wrong with the part of Dumbsty’s brain that is responsible for baseball intelligence. I can’t remember seeing a manager quoted so often about a guys stats, only to be completely wrong. Like when he said Patterson was “swinging the bat better” after a 2 – 11 stretch. Huh. Even Patterson isn’t bad enough to be better after a 2 – 11 stretch. Just the latest example was Dumbsty’s reason for sitting Junior the other day against Pirate’s lefty Maholm. Here is why Dumbsty said he sat Junior, "This guy is tough on lefties," Baker said. "[Adam] Dunn has been pretty good [against Maholm] and Griff hasn't. I'm just trying to find a way to get some right-handers in there. Griff will be back in there tomorrow. The guy tomorrow, [Zach Duke], has been tough on Dunn. Jerry [Hairston] and [Jeff] Keppinger are just getting their strokes together, and [so is] Edwin [Encarnacion]" Lets have a look. Dunn is hitting .136 in 22 career at bats vs Maholm with 9 k’s. Griffey is hitting .277 in 18 career at bats vs maholm with a homer. While Junior is not killing the ball against him, he is certainly a better choice to play then Dunn. And against Duke you wonder. Naturally the opposite is true. Dunn is hitting .555 off of Duke while Griffey is hitting a Patterson like .166. So again Baker was completely off in his logic. Speaking of logic…..



What was he thinking?

Can anyone think of a major league manager who would play Valentine at third base. Yep that Valentin, the “stocky” emergency catcher/overrated right hander pinch hitter who plays for the Reds. Anyone….anyone at all? What’s that…..Dumbsty Baker, well yes that’s a given. Anyone else? Anyone who can think of any other manager at any level, even a tee ball manager will do? A YMCA volunteer coach/snack provider? Anyone at all? I didn’t think so. What was he thinking?



Okay I have another one for you. You have 2 men on and 1 out and you are down by 2. One of you best hitters and up and coming young players comes to the plate with a chance to tie the game or give you the lead. Mind you he is a very good hitter, and will more than likely put the ball in play. What do you do? Do you give him the green light, put your trust in him, and see what happens, or do you ask him to bunt taking away all of his confidence. Again you are down by two this is not a get one run in and you win situation. You let him hit right, well you would think you would. But not Dumbsty. In his infinite wisdom he decide to have Votto bunt in an attempt to move the runners up. For one Votto can’t bunt, he has proven this. He looks confused and uncomfortable every time he tries. Probably because a hitter as good as Votto should never be asked too, and has probably never been asked too sacrifice. The results of him swinging would most likely always be better. C. Trent via Mo’s blog verified that Votto has exactly one sacrifice in his career in “A” ball. Way to go Dumbsty, take the bat out of one of you best hitters hands and ask him to bunt when he is one of your worst bunters. That would be as dumb as batting a guy like Paterson leadoff, oooooohhh…low blow. It had to be said. What was he thinking?



Well naturally Votto struck out after two failed bunt attempts, not his fault, but hey no problem, the FRANCHISE is coming to the plate. Beside Keppinger there is no one on the team I would want at the plate when I need a solid at bat and good solid contact. I know Bruce has been in a little funk but he more than anyone except Keppinger consistently has good at bats and hits the ball hard somewhere. He has also had some big hits in his career already. I was thinking sweet, Bruce will get a base knock and at least tie this baby up! Hell yeah! What….What’s that…..What the F#$%. Are you F*C**NG kidding me. You are kidding right. He is Pinch hitting for THE FRANCHISE. What, Why? With who? F$%@ing Valentin. What, the “stocky” emergency catcher/overrated right hander pinch hitter, right I know who the F*&$ he is. What in the hell is he thinking. Holy shit! I am turning off the tv. I did. I turned off the tv, I knew what was going to happen, he was going to make an out to end the inning and the rally. Unfortunately I had to watch Griffey homer on the highlights. Thanks Dumbsty. No one made much of this because Junior saved Dumbsty’s sorry ass when he jacked that walkoff homer. I hope Dumbsty gave him a big kiss on the butt after that one, he deserved it. I can’t resist, in my best Shaq voice, Hey Dumbsty how did Juniors ass taste? Speaking of Junior….



Enjoy him while you can. This season is lost, it is time to prepare Volquez, Cueto, and Thompson for next season to join Harang in what will be the best four man rotation in the national league. It is time to get Bruce ready to be our offensive cornerstone next year flanked by Votto, Phillips, and if the front office has any brains both Keppinger and Hariston (why does George Grande keep calling him Hariston). And it is time to appreciate Griffey. He wont be back next year. Hopefully he will find a home in the AL and get a year or two more out of those legs that have cruelly failed him. Hopefully he can provide a few more moments like the other night during the remainder of the season. With all of the shit going down in sports he is one guy you don’t have to be embarrassed, or prepared to defend your self, for rooting for. So enjoy him while you can.



One final thought. Does Dumbsty’s kid know more about baseball than Dumbsty? We all know why Dumbsty said he decided to give Griffey the night off against Maholm. Dumbsty was way off in his logic, what a shocker. Well Griffey asked Baker’s kid why he wasn’t in the lineup and got this, "Because you can't hit left-handers," Darren said. Griffey mentioned that he tied the single-season home run record with 21 in 1996 and tied it again in 1998 (for lefties vs lefties). “But you're old now," Darren said. "How old am I? Griffey asked. "You're like 50," Darren said.

So Baker’s punk kid told Griffey he couldn’t hit lefties and was getting too old. While it pains me to the core to say it he is right. Griffey is old and needed time off, he was in a little slump, and he doesn’t hit lefties as well as he used to, but he doesn’t need Baker’s boy telling him that, what a punk. Baker’s kid, while obnoxious, was dead on while his dad, the manager doesn’t have a clue. Junior being the class act he is just laughed it off. He should have flown one off his kids up too give mini Baker a beat down. So the managers kid knows more about the team than the manager, unbelievable. John Fay reported that “Dusty Baker was a little embarrassed by what Darren said to Griffey”. You should be Dumbsty, but that is not all you should be embarrassed about. Get it together man. You still have half a season to prove you haven’t lost you mind. I will be rooting for you.

June 11, 2008

 

 

Junior:

Junior reached 600 homers in Florida on Monday and was greeted by a couple of standing ovations, a short segment on Sports Center, and some newspaper coverage. That’s about it, there was no going to his at bats live, or a big MLB sponsored celebration for Junior. I don’t think most fans were that enamored, they were just like wow that’s a lot of homers, nice job. It’s sad, he deserves more.



MLB couldn’t do much. How could MLB go overboard covering JR. “the natural” who has never been linked to any kind of drug use. They can’t really promote him without reminding everyone that Bond’s and Sosa’s numbers are tainted. They don’t want to put that front and center again. By promoting Griffey they are in turn emphasizing Bond’s and Sosa’s “Assisted” achievements. So they didn’t do much. They couldn’t.



There are two reasons that fans weren’t all up in arms over what is really a remarkable achievement. The casual fan has been desensitized to power numbers. They watched McGuire and Sosa chasing Maris only to find out they were juiced. They watched Bonds chasing McGuire only to find out he was juiced. Then they watched Bonds chasing Aaron and Sosa chasing 600 knowing they were juiced. So the casual fan just stopped caring about home run totals since they are now tainted. This is understandable. The casual fan sees Griffey about to hit 600 and says “I’ve seen 600 before, hey was he in that report, you know the drug report, no, hey that’s pretty good then, so what time is our tee time anyway?” I think that is pretty much how the casual fan responded to Griffey’s 600th. It sad but can you really blame them.



The real baseball fans applauded Griffey for an amazing feat and understand what a remarkable achievement it is. They understand all that has gone on in baseball and know Griffey is pure talent and one of the greatest ever. And that is the reason why the real baseball fans didn’t make more noise about Griffey’s 600th homer. They are heartbroken, I am heartbroken. I remember growing up and thinking Pete Rose chasing Cobb was the greatest thing ever. I remember Eric Davis coming up as the next Willie Mays only faster and then getting injured over and over. But right when I really got into baseball hardcore, Ken Griffey Jr debuted for the Mariners. I had heard all about Griffey, being from Cincy everyone new about “The Kid” playing at Moeller. He was a can’t miss prospect destined for a great MLB career. And he didn’t disappoint. He burst onto the scene as a 19 year old whom the Mariners didn’t really want to make the team. They didn’t want to rush him up. He gave them no choice in spring training that year and he won the centerfield job. His first AB, a homer. We all saw it. We watched his power develop as he got older, we watched him roam center like no other except Mays (still the best center fielder ever), we watched him steal bases, and hit .300. He was the best player in baseball in the 90’s and it is not even close. He was named to the all century team. Everyone was just waiting for Griffey to eventually pass Aaron on his way to 800 home runs. It seemed inevitable. And then the injuries came. One after another, and not minor injuries but career threatening injuries. I could see a lot of players retiring with some of the injuries Griffey had. But he never pouted, he rehabbed and played on. He didn’t seek HGH “to help with healing an injury” as so many others did. Griffey lost 3 and ½ seasons of playing time, 567 games. And these were at the tail end of his prime years. When he did play during that time his home run pace was still about 40 per season if he hadn’t been hurt. If you cut that back to a 35 homer per year pace, no one would argue that if healthy Junior would have at least hit 35 homer per season for the 3 ½ seasons he missed, he would have and additional 140 home runs. He would have at least 740 and be on his way to passing Bonds and restoring legitimacy to the name Home Run King. That’s why I can’t get overwhelmed by 600, I can’t let go of what could have been. I can’t stop myself from thinking what if he didn’t get hurt. What if the injuries would have just been a little less severe. What if the Reds had the Seattle Griffey all this time. I think real fans can’t help but be disappointed for Griffey and can’t help wondering what if. Griffey says he doesn’t think about it and I believe him when he says it. I wish I could do the same. I want so bad for Griffey “The Natural” to be the Homerun King like everyone thought he was going to be. So while I understand what a tremendous accomplishment Griffey achieved in hitting 600 home runs in the major leagues all my brain thinks is “damn he was great, what if he hadn’t got hurt so much?” I think that is where most real baseball fans are. It is hard to get all excited when we expected so much more. I give Junior all of the credit in the world for not retiring after so many career threatening injuries, and for not going ballistic on some uninformed fan calling him a bum while he was trying to rehab a hamstring that was completely tore off the bone, and for not focusing on all of the setbacks and instead enjoying the fact that he is still playing baseball. I wish I could do the same. Congratulations Junior, you’ve had a hall of fame career, and you have done it the right way. And while your deserve more recognition than you are getting, I think you will get your due five years after you retire as you become the first player in history to be elected to the hall of fame on 100% of the ballots.



Baker:

Dusty has to be crazy. I just can’t figure him out. Sometimes he make so much sense. For example he decided to give Phillips a day off last night and here was his thinking, "It's a combination of things," Baker said, "mostly a feeling - how many consecutive days, weather conditions, see their swing is out of synch, where they start committing early, not trusting their hand speed. That tells me they don't feel quick." Great observations. These are things a manager should notice and make adjustments for like giving a guy a day off. Phillips did look sluggish and his numbers show it. A day off will probably due him a lot of good. But then Baker does a 180 and says something so remarkably stupid that it is beyond comprehension by those of us who are mentally stable. After Hariston goes down Baker was asked about the leadoff spot. Hariston was playing real well there and now there’s a big hole. Dusty starts with this comment about hitting Bruce leadoff, "I just talked to him about my experience with batting leadoff, and just hit the same," Baker said. "I know he's not your prototypical leadoff hitter, but neither is Hanley Ramirez, Bobby Bonds, Alfonso Soriano ... Chris Young." Nice. Use the best “hitter” you have that’s not injured in the leadoff hole until someone comes back. I like it. It makes perfect sense. What’s that Dusty you have something else to say, all right, go ahead, "Boy, Jerry was doing a hell of a job," Baker said. "I'm going to have to get Corey (Patterson) in there sometime because he's starting to swing the bat good again, made some adjustments. We'll see." WHAT THE FU**. No way did you just say that, no freaking way. Wait a minute, am I on one of those damn camera shows. Okay where is it where’s the camera. Ha, Ha, I can take a joke. Phew, I thought you were serious. What, what’s that, you were being serious. Son of a bi***. Don’t you know how dumb you sound? Yesterday that one quote was a topic on several sports talk shows, that is how dumb it was. That is unbelievable. Is he swinging the bat good again Dumbsty, really? At the time of your quote Dumbsty, Patterson was 2 for his last 21 at bats. I get an .095 batting average. Oh maybe you meant since he was called back up. We’ll let’s have a look see. Since being called back up, and remember he was called back up only because the Reds had no choice, he is 2 for 9 with a solo homer, 3 strike outs, and 0 walks. That’s a .222 average. You’re right that is a lot better than his .200 average on the year. He has really turned the corner. He hits one pop fly that sails and luckily clears the fence and you equate that to him swinging the bat better. Seriously Dumbsty you can’t be that dumb. Let me give you a little advise. Jocketty is a smart guy he is going to realize you are inept if you continue to play Patterson. That team in St. Louis that is playing so well and has been for years, he created it. He would have never signed Patterson, that was a Krivsky error encouraged by you. If you stop defending the bum and stop playing him except for a defensive replacement and pitch running everyone will forget about you wanting to bring him in. It is up to you. Cordero signed here partly because he wanted to play for you. You encouraged Hariston to be signed. Excellent recommendation. Patterson, not so much. It’s okay. Everyone make mistakes. But some people can’t admit when they do and move on. You look like that guy right now. Patterson was a mistake, so what, no one would care if you stopped defending and playing him. So just stop. Seriously.



Keppinger:

From John Fay “Jeff Keppinger had two hits in his first rehabilitation game. That's not surprising. Keppinger is a gifted hitter and was able to take batting practice shortly after he fractured his left knee cap.” This is great news on a couple of fronts. The Reds need his bat back bad. The Reds also now need a leadoff hitter real bad. Keppinger can fill this role until Hariston Returns. Please for the love of god get Keppinger back as soon as he is able to go so Dumbsty has no excuse to use Patterson. I know he is swinging the bat much better lately, what a load of crap. Think about how solid the reds lineup could be once Hariston returns.



SS - Hariston

CF - Bruce

3B - Keppinger

LF - Dunn

2B - Phillips

RF - Griffey

1B - Votto

C - Bako/Ross


That lineup would probably score some runs. Dumbsty would never play that lineup because for some reason he feels Griffey needs to hit third and he still values Encarnacion way to much, but he would be wise to do so. We’ll see. We just need Keppinger back as soon as possible.

June 6, 2008

 

 

HOLY S**T:



First off I will say I completely understand why Corey Patterson got the call to return to the bigs when Freel went down. No one wanted him back so soon. Here is Dumbsty on Patterson:



"We wanted Corey to stay (in Triple-A) a little longer," manager Dusty Baker said, "to work on his stroke. But when you analyze the situation - with Junior (Griffey) having soreness and a history of leg problems, with us taking (Adam) Dunn out for defensive reasons, plus the lack of speed, Freel being gone, us being stronger with infielders than outfielders - it pointed to Corey."



Okay Dumbsty I like what you said there. Freel is down so you have no pinch running speed, no defensive replacement for Dunn, and you are down an outfielder. Then Junior starts whining (more on this in a minute) so you are really down two outfielders. I got it, Patterson had to be the guy. He plays the outfield well. He is a solid pinch runner. He is the ideal guy to be a late inning substitution to run for someone or play left field for Dunn. All of that makes perfect sense. So let’s take a look at lineups that could be used while Freel and Griffey are out:





Any of these would be good options and would give the Reds a good chance to score runs and good defense except in left field (where we never have good defense, did you see Dunn drop the ball in the 8th last night – my goodness that was painful). In a matter of a few second I came up with 4 lineups that Dumbsty could have went with where the offense may have shown some signs of life. I actually think those lineups would be worth a try even when Junior decides to pop an Advil (Advil is a registered trademark of Wyeth Consumer Healthcare © 2008) and lace them up. But oh no, what does Humpty Dumbsty decide to do, yep you guessed it, he decide to insert Corey “A Pitchers Paridise” Patterson into the lineup. When I saw that Patterson was coming back up my first reaction was a lot of swearing and slamming stuff around my desk as if someone who mattered was actually watching me. Then I thought about the Reds choices and it was really the only move that could be made. Then you read Dumbsty’s comments from above and think “hey he finally gets it, he will use A Pitchers Paradise sparingly and only in pinch running or double switch defensive upgrades.” I started to feel better and I relaxed a little. Then I saw the lineup for last night’s game. When I saw the lineup I lost all faith in Dumbsty. I am certain now that he must be insane, stupid, or both. Everyone who even has a spec of interest in this team thought Patterson was a drain on the team and a lineup killer. Everyone wanted him gone so that Dumbsty had no chance to play him. So you would think Dumbsty would be smart enough to at least not start him in his first game back since pretty much every fan was already sick to their stomachs over the fact that he was coming back at all. Dumbsty was asked if he considered other lineup options, from John Fay “Baker said he thought about starting Paul Janish at shortstop and Jerry Hairston Jr. in center.” Great Dumbsty so did everyone else and no one can understand why you didn’t do that. Would you care to explain? "Yeah, I thought about it," Baker said. "But Corey gives me the speed I need. He gives me the same thing I needed before - speed, defense and, in this little ballpark here, he can hit the ball out of the ballpark." HOLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYY SHHHHHHHH********TTTTTTT! Are you freaking kidding me. That is the most unbelievable bull crap logic that I have ever heard in my life. Seriously Dumbsty are you joking? Your not.? Dang it Dumbsty I am sick and tired of hearing you flap you gums about Patterson’s speed. Just how does his speed help you when that Jackass can’t get on base. He doesn’t even walk. He was 0-4 last night with a strikeout. So what did his speed do for you. How was “the speed I need” a help to you last night. Are you looking for a lot of speed when guys walk to the plate and then return to the dugout after making and out. Well if you are then Patterson is your man. You don’t see guys makes outs as fast as him that often. Man he is fast at that. Do you know why that is Dumbsty? Because no other manager would let a guy who is so horrible offensively to play enough that anyone would notice. You are the only manager on 32 major league teams who would have started Patterson last night. And not only did you start him, but what the F**k dude, you hit him 2nd. UNNNNNNNNBELIEVABLE. You do know that a guy batting second has the potential to get more at bats than the guys hitting 3 – 9. You have to know that, so if you are going to play A Pitchers Paradise, why not at least bat him 8th or 9th to limit his at bats a little. I’ll tell you why, either you are a complete moron or you simply hate Reds fans. There is no other explanation. Why don’t you just have all Reds fans line up in a big line outside of Great American Ballpark and then have Patterson go down the line one by one kicking us square in the crotch. It would be less painful and it wouldn’t take long SINCE PATTERSON IS SO INCREDIBLY FAST. I don’t know what we (Reds fans) did to deserve this, but it hurts. You need to know what you are doing to this team hurts. Speaking of hurt....

Well Griffey was out of the lineup again and according to espn he was sitting out due to “general soreness” Holy cow, I have never heard that before, ever, never. Come on Junior. If you are really sore suck it up and get out there. If you are just trying to plan your 600th to land while the Reds are in Florida just say so. No one will care. And if that is why, aren’t you being a little arrogant in thinking that if you play in Philly that you would hit one. Didn’t you just go like a million at bats since your last home run. I find I pretty ridiculous of you to think that you would definitely hit one in 4 games. I think you need to worry a little more about how you are sucking this year and less about where you are going to hit #600. “General Sorness”, wow. I know you have had some strange ailments in your carreer. But wow, General Sorness. That take the cakes. Maybe they should have listed you as Generally Selfish or Generally Sucking this year.

Oh yeah, Dumbsty you still have some time to insult Homer before today’s start. Hurry up he could use a little more discouraging. Man if Homer was only really fast you would probably like him and support him unconditionally even if he was the worst player on the team. To bad he is just a talented young pitcher who runs with average speed. I mean if speed matters let sign a bunch of track guys and give them a bat and a glove, oh you have tried? They all failed MLB’s steroid test? Figures. I am sure you were heartbroken Dumbsty. We all know how important speed is to you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 3, 2008

 

SERIOUSLY DUMBSTY: Dumbsty has some explaining to do. His first blunder was to burn through his starting pitchers in the 18 inning game against the Padres. When you get into a game like that, which is not against a division opponent, and just really isn’t that important, once you get into the 12th or 13th inning you just go with your long man until he wins or loses to save the rest of your staff. In this case Dumbsty should have just let Fogg go once he was in the game. The Relinquisher is useless to this team in almost every way, but he could have made himself useful here and Dumbsty would not let him. Instead Dumbsty let Harang pitch 3 innings and throw 50 or 60 pitches. Seriously Dumbsty! He also pitched Volquez late in the game. Are you serious Dumbsty, our future ace! You do not, under any circumstances, waste your two best pitchers, one of which you should be limiting his pitches some anyway to preserve his arm, on a meaningless game. As a result Harang comes back without his usual rest and pitched like crap. And then Dumbsty decides Belisle is not any good, that took long enough Dumbsty, and gave his start to The Relinquisher. Well Dumbsty The Relinquisher is not any good either so that was a bad move. Secondly if you were going to give the Relinquisher a start fine, but he should have started in place of Harang and everyone should have been moved back a day. The Relinquisher will definitely get shelled every time he pitches so they should have just used him on short rest and allowed Harang to get an extra day along with the rest of the staff. Nice going Dumbsty, instead of wasting one start on The Relinquisher, you wasted one of Harang’s starts as well by over working him. Nice job. Well at least you haven’t played Patterson lately, um what, oh he is in the minors and you can’t play him. Speaking of Patterson….







YIKES: Well at least you can admire his consistency. Patterson’s last game in triple A, um, how does 0-for-4 while grounding into a double play and striking out three times sound. Yep sounds about right, YIKES. I honestly believe that Patterson’s wasted 145 at bats, that’s right Dumbsty let him accumulate 145 at bats, cost the Reds five or six games. Thank god Patterson is unavailable to play due to being in triple A, so that we don’t have to listen to Dumbsty explain how Patterson is getting the start so that he doesn’t wear Bruce out, “he is only 21 you know, we don’t want too burn him out”. You know that would have already happened at least once. Hopefully Patterson will continue his consistent play which would keep him in the minors for good.



On with the rant…



In spite of Dumbsty this group of ball players is starting to resemble a real live team. Just to prove my point about Patterson, there is no one who could possibly argue with the fact that this team has played completely different, and with a whole new energy level, since Hariston has claimed the everyday leadoff spot and a certain minor leaguer was called up and inserted in the lineup. Hariston has been nothing short of exceptional filling in for Keppinger. He has played good defense and has giving the Reds exactly what they need in the leadoff spot, a professional hitter who can work a pitcher and who is smartly aggressive on the base paths. So we had a guy this whole year who is an excellent base runner, a good hitter who can work a count and go with the pitch, and who is hitting with a high average and getting on base? And he wasn’t playing because, oh that’s right, because “Patterson has all of the tools, he just needs to get going”. What a waste Dumbsty. Let just hope that Dumbsty doesn’t make the mistake of setting Hariston down when Keppinger comes back, or even worse not playing Keppinger. Dumbsty listen up, you are currently wasting a perfectly good position in right field that could easily be played by Hariston when Keppinger returns. They both have significantly better numbers than Griffey and Hariston would be a significant defensive upgrade. So please don’t feed us a line of crap about why Hariston and Keppinger can’t play at the same time. Jocketty should be on the phone as we speak trying to unload Griffey to the Red Sox. Ortiz is hurt and Griffey would make a fine DH. And he would probably wave his no trade clause for a chance at a ring. Jocketty are you listening? I know you read the rant so get on it already. And don’t even think about taking at bats away from Bruce, I am pretty sure, no I am positive a riot would result. Hopefully Dusty will let him be. Hey Dusty, what do you think about Bruce and all of the hype? "I don't listen to it," Baker said. "I put him in the lineup and let the kid play. If he does something right, I say good job. If there's something he should learn from, I'll tell him. He hits the ball hard," Baker said. "He hits it where it's pitched. He's a good base runner, real good, aggressive base runner. He hustles. He has a smile on his face." Sweet, perfect, just leave him alone and in the lineup and let him play. That sounds good! Seriously Dusty don’t screw up Bruce. Speaking of Bruce…



Holy cow, what a start. Everyone knows about the numbers, and obviously numbers are important, but numbers are not required to see that Bruce is the real deal and ready to play everyday from now on. Just watching the dude hit, it is a thing of beauty. If you didn’t already know, there is no way you would guess him to be 21. He looks completely comfortable at the plate. He doesn’t rush and he hits the ball where they pitch it. All great hitters do this. Griffey used to do this. If a pitcher is busting Bruce outside he simply extends his arm and shoots the ball to the opposite field and then proceeds to wreak havoc on the base paths. If they bust him inside he waits patiently for one he can handle and then he turns on it a crushes it. I have watched every one of his at bats so far, and he has yet to look bad in one. Everyone swings and misses sometimes or makes bad contact sometimes, but great hitters are rarely fooled or confused. Bruce doesn’t get fooled or confused. He just rakes. He went 2 – 4 with a homer last night and dropped his average to .577, just sick. It is a shame that there was nowhere for him to play until now, because you know that’s the reason the Reds gave as to why he just came up, they were worried about him getting at bats. Luckily centerfield was available for him to play this week. Um, who was playing center before which kept the Reds from calling up Bruce sooner? Oh yeah, they wasted 145 at bats on Patterson. Nice. Even if Bruce cut his production in half he would have hit .288 over those 145 at bats as opposed to Patterson’s .200. I can’t help but wonder about where this team would be record wise if Bruce had been called up sooner. Well at least he is here now, and for good. Speaking of being here now…..



Homer Bailey is being called up to start Thursday’s game against the Phillies. I personally can’t understand why it took this long. I completely understand giving Belisle an opportunity. The stuff is there, the composure is not. But why did we waste so many starts on The Relinquisher. He obviously sucks and has no future with the team so why not see what you have with your young guys in the minors. It didn’t have to be Homer, they could have used Maloney or Thompson. I know Thompson was in AA but Cueto hasn’t pitched in AAA and he is doing fine. It just made no sense to waste starts on the Relinquisher. I think for some reason they didn’t feel Thompson was ready and didn’t want to rush him up. I’m okay with that. I have no idea why Maloney wasn’t given a shot. I think Bailey wasn’t given a shot until now for one reason and one reason only, Baker hates him. That’s right, Baker can’t stand him. I don’t know why. Everyone has heard about him being aloof, and hard to instruct. But not every ball player is well liked. Can he pitch better than your other choices, yes? So you pitch him, case closed. You think I am wrong, listen to baker when asked about Homer: "I don't know if it's his time," Baker said. "Sometimes there's a necessity. How many other guys on the roster do we have who can start?" "So far, so good with calling up the young guys." Wow what a ringing endorsement. Come on Dumbsty even if you feel that way you don’t say it. You say something like “we need shot in the arm, we are kind of depleted, we are hoping he can come up here and win some games for us.” You don’t say you didn’t have much of a choice. Way to help build up his confidence, gee whiz. Baker did soften up slightly when he offered this, "He's still very young," Baker said. "His graduating class is getting drafted three days from now. They're going to A ball at best. He's two or three years ahead." Right Dumbsty he is still very young so why blast him and say you didn’t have much of a choice. Surely you smarter than that, come on, get it together man. You actually have the making of a solid team now try not to screw it up.

May 27, 2008-

 

 'Dumbsty' Baker's Reds were 2-0 while he was suspended.

 

Last Thursday I got all irritated and went on a rant about how moronic Dumbsty Baker was being with respect to his choice of lineups, and how asinine it was that Jocketty had failed to call up Bruce due to worries over playing time. Well go ahead. Come on. I’m waiting. For what you ask? Excuse me but a little thanks is in order don’t you think? Well I am just going to go ahead and say it, YOUR WELCOME. Donations and praise can be sent to the coolness. Let me lay it out for you…

Clearly Dusty either reads the rant or started to last Thursday. How do I know? Last Thursday I posted the rant basically explaining why Dusty was an idiot and must be being black mailed by Patterson as there was no other way to explain his absurd amount of playing time. Clearly Dusty saw this and said “hey, this is elementary. How did I not see it before? Thank god for the rant! What a radical idea, play the guy who plays hard and who is hitting .325 instead of the guy who looks disinterested who is hitting .201. I would have never figured this out on my own. I will start Freel tonight, and tomorrow, and the next day. Yep this is going to be great. This cat at the rant is a genius.” Well thanks dusty but genius is a strong word. I did drive by a Holiday Inn express earlier in the day so maybe I got a little IQ boost there. I due possess mediocre common sense which is really all you need to see how Patterson was basically killing the team. So what happened Thursday night, yep Patterson was benched and Freel got the start in center. What happened the next day, yep the same thing? And the next day, yep the same thing? And the next day, what? Patterson got the start? Dusty how could you? Oh don’t blame Dusty for that one my friends that call came from above. You mean…..Yep Jocketty told him to start Patterson Sunday. Why you ask? Let me break it down for you…

Dusty was clearly impressed with the rant and thrilled with the results. He started Freel three games in row in which he hit .300. They won 2 of the 3. Their leadoff hitter actually resembled an actual major leaguer. Jocketty called Dusty to congratulate him on his lineup change and recent success. Dusty said “hey I can’t take all of the credit, my new dog over at the rant laid it all down for me and it all became so clear. That fella has it figured out. You should give it a read. He had some suggestions for you too. Later Jock.” So naturally Jocketty got curious and read the rant. To refresh you memory I basically called out Jocketty and explained how the rest of baseball was laughing at him and his garbage excuses for not bringing up baseball’s top prospect who was basically destroying AAA. I found it ridiculous that they were worried about Bruce getting enough playing time if he came up. I could not comprehend the concern. He is better than every outfielder you have so how will there not be playing time available, just pencil him in. Needless to say Jocketty read the rant and, well, he was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe we had a guy in the minors hitting .370 with a bunch of HR’s and RBI who plays the very position where we are the weakest, center field. He could not fathom that the only reason he hadn’t called this dynamo up is because he wasn’t sure there would be enough playing time since our three current regular outfielders are hitting .201, .251, and .252. Jocketty thought to himself, “why, why. How could I have been so blind? This shenanigans has gone on for too long. I must put a stop to it, and I will, starting today. And I owe it all to the rant.” Jocketty then picked up the phone and called Baker and said, “Pencil in Patterson in the leadoff hole today playing center”. Dusty reached through the phone line and grabbed Jocketty by the neck and started shaking him and said, “what in the hell are you talking about man, didn’t you read the rant. He said no more Patterson, have you lost you marbles man?” Jocketty escaped Bakers grasp and said, “calm down, you need to start him today to give him one last day to play because I am calling up Bruce and he’ll never get another chance.” Dusty said” oh, okay. Sorry about choking you but I didn’t want to face the wrath that is the rant again.” Jocketty said, “understood.” So feel free to throw your thanks and good wishes upon me. And again, your welcome.

YIKES: Patterson’s last chance, he went 0-8 with 3 strikeouts and 4 left on base. 0-8 you wonder? Well the Reds played 18 innings which allowed for Patterson to get 8 extremely painful at bats. 18 freaking innings and the guy can’t get on base once. Not even a walk. Not even leaning in and taking one for the team. Holy crap Patterson, that is just awful and embarrassing. All I have to say is YIKES. And Edwin what in the hell man? You stranded 8. 8 freaking guys left on base, that is just sad, just plain sad. Double YIKES. Because of you two dusty used 196 pitchers and gave Volquez a loss he shouldn’t have. If Volquez loses the CY YOUNG because of that loss you will be dead to the rant. Speaking of the CY YOUNG….

Yes Volquez looks to be for real and if the award were giving today he would win a close race with Webb from Arizona. I know a lot of people still aren’t happy that Hamilton was traded but even if Hamilton wins the triple crown, this is still a good deal for both teams. I actually think the Reds got the better end. Hamilton is still a little bit of an injury risk and he is always going to be battling his past. Volquez is a legitimate top of the rotation pitcher who is only 24. Teams just don’t trade pitchers like that. And the Reds have a similar player in Bruce in the minors who is younger than Hamilton with no baggage. I know it’s hard but just be happy for Hamilton and laugh at the Rangers every time Volquez wins another game.

And one more thing, Dusty I know you’re a fan of the rant now, so I know you are reading this. Put Bruce in center field every day. Bat him in the 2 or 3 hole or the 5 or 6 hole and leave him there. Pick one and go with it. Every day for at least three weeks Bruce should play, he should play the same position, and he should hit in the same spot in the order. Don’t get cute. If he struggles a little leave him alone and let him figure it out. If he is on a tear just let him go and don’t screw him up. I guess that is what I am trying to say Dusty, just don’t screw him up. Leave him alone and he’ll be just fine. I am not kidding, let him be. Seriously. And keep him away from Patterson to avoid sucking by association. Thanks in advance Dusty.

May 22, 2008-  ******Emergency Reds Rant*******

 

BAKER IS A MORON: The Red’s headed out to LA winners of six straight over the division leading Marlins and intrastate rival Cleveland Indians. They were riding a high scoring runs getting good pitching, everything was running smooth. Then Dusty happened. Do you think he even realizes that major league baseball tracks statistics, and that some of those statistics can be extremely useful in helping you determine who is playing well for your team? Agents know about statistics, they use them all the time when negotiating contracts or fighting arbitration hearings. Fans know about statistics because they use them constantly to rip players and managers. Other team’s managers know about statistics, you never see another team in baseball with a leadoff hitter batting .220 with a .262 on base percentage. Why you ask. Because most PITCHERS hit better than that and no manager with any brain activity at all would play a guy hitting that poorly on a regular basis. But not only does Dumbsty continue to play Crumby Patterson, a lot, he continues to write his name down in the leadoff spot. Can anyone please explain to me why Dumbsty wants to lead off the game with the worst hitter on the team? Anyone, anyone at all? Any reason you can think of will be fine. You got nothing, exactly. There is no excuse, no rhyme or reason, no justification, no explanation, no rationalization, or logical thought that would cause a manager to hit their worst hitter leadoff. The most ridiculous thing is he has started the last three games in a row, all losses, going a mind numbing bad 2 for 13 with 2 K’s and 3 runners left on base. That equates to a .154 batting average folks. And what makes it all worse is he has other options, other very good options. Dumbsty really must not know about statistics. How else can it be explained that he continues to have Freel, who is hitting .317, and Hariston, who is hitting .309, as options, yet he continues to give Patterson the starts in center while hitting a pathetic .220. Holy crap Dumbsty what is the deal:



Does Patterson have embarrassing pictures of you? Are you being black mailed. “No, No, it’s all cool, Corry is workin’ at it. It is hurting him, you can see it”



Were the lineup cards pre printed with Patterson’s name in the leadoff hole and you keep forgetting to change it before the game. I can help Dusty. I am volunteering free of charge, I’ll change them for you. I’ll drive down there right now, what time do you want me there. “No, no. The lineup cards are fine. I appreciate the offer, but I fill out a fresh one each day. You could help Fogg get those pennies out of his locker though, he he.”



You hate Freel, right? What did he ever do to you? All he does is give you everything he has on every play. Also did you know he is hitting .317 compared to Patterson’s .220. You do know .317 is better that .220 right. It isn’t like golf. “Yeah, I know about batting averages but I go with feel more than anything, you know the gut. Me and Freel are cool I just don’t want to wear him down you know, and I need to keep Pat sharp.”



Seriously Dumbsty, none of that bologna makes any sense. Why in the heck are you playing Crumby Patterson so much, and why are you leading him off? Seriously I have to know. “Well you see when you got a chicken who ain’t layin’ eggs you’ve got to keep the saddle on the horse so eventually the rooster will start cock-a-doodle-dooin’ again, you know what I mean. Trust me young fella, I know what I am talking about.”



Um, no Dumbsty, I don’t think you do. Sadly Red’s fans are going to be forced to watch Crumby Patterson all season long playing center field and hitting leadoff. Dumbsty is going to continue to play him and there is nothing anyone can do about it. I can’t believe Freel hasn’t choked him yet. The only positive to point out is his deal is only for a year and there is no way Jocketty resigns him. Speaking of JOCKETTY ITCH…….



He could fix all of this. He is the one man with the power to stop the insanity that is Dumbsty. Jocketty could release Patterson and call up Bruce. Who is Bruce you say? He is just the number one prospect in all of baseball who is hitting .369 with 10 HR and 37 RBI. I know it is hard to believe that the Reds have the best prospect in baseball, but what do you know, they do. Why isn’t he playing center field for the Reds you ask? Well Jocketty and Baker say they want to make sure there is enough playing time for him. This from John Fay “Bruce, a 21-year-old outfielder, is the Reds' ace in the hole. He's hitting .369 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI at Triple-A with a .397 on-base percentage and a .661 slugging average. Jocketty has said the reason Bruce hasn't been called up to this point is a playing-time issue. But the Reds' starting center fielder Tuesday night - Corey Patterson - went into the game hitting .227 with a .270 on-base percentage. Patterson's OPS (on-base plus slugging) was seven points higher than Bruce's slugging.” Holy cow Jocketty, do you read the paper? Do you watch the games? I can’t comprehend this “not enough playing time” issue. That is a bull crap excuse from a GM who is afraid of his manager or his veteran players. If Bruce was just playing okay and so were Dunn Griffey and Patterson, then ok I see your point. But Griffey is unfortunately looking and playing his age. Dunn is what he is and we don’t need it anymore. And Crumby Patterson has just flat out sucked. He has just played awful. But Bruce has been lights out. He is actually performing like the number one prospect in baseball. He is even playing better than expected right now. He is better than Griffey. He is better than Dunn. He is better than Patterson. He is better than Freel and Dumbsty hates Freel anyway, he must. So where exactly is the playing time issue. You simply play your best outfielder in center, it’s Bruce Dumbsty, and you put the rest of the guys in right and left as you can. Whose playing time are they worried about anyway. There should always be plenty of playing time for a guy hitting .369 and slugging .661, right. We’ll not if you are in the Red’s organization (organization is used in the loosest of terms)

 

May 20, 2008-

 

 BEST OF BAKER: Dusty has done some good things this week. He also had a conversation with Cueto, that he needed to have, that may change the course of Cueto’s season. Unfortunately none of these actions can qualify for the best of Baker because for some reason, know only to Dusty, he continues to play Corry Patterson. Freel coming off of a 2-4 performance Friday was benched Saturday in favor of Patterson who responded with an 0-4 effort (effort is used in the loosest of terms). Come on Dusty, if you play a horrible player, who puts forth no effort, but “who can really run”, enough, he will occasionally hit a blooper and bunt his way on once or twice (which happened last week). That doesn’t mean he should play instead of a guy hitting over .300 who gives everything he has on every play. For the love of god, you have won 6 in a row, don’t screw with it. Play your best players, please. Corry Patterson is an expensive late inning defensive replacement. That is it. No more starts.





YIKES: The Reds have won six in a row including a sweep of the Indians. With the exception of Corry Patterson’s absurd amount of playing time I really have no grips with the Red’s “play” this week. But boy did we ever have a YIKES moment. The Red’s best hitter and fan favorite Jeff Keppinger fouled a ball off of his knee breaking his knee cap, YIKES. He was the Reds best, most consistent, most clutch, most trusted, and most productive hitter and he went down for 6-8weeks, DOUBLE YIKES. I know they said 4 to 6 weeks but there will have to be a couple of weeks to get back into baseball shape. I really felt sick when I saw him come out of the game. He had finally got his shot and solidified himself in the lineup. He had a chance at an all star reserve selection. Now he is rehabbing. Fortunately Hariston and Janish have stepped in and played real well, hopefully that can keep it going until Kepp returns.



On with the rant:



Baker had a conversation with Cueto before his last start in the hopes of getting him back on track. It wasn’t a long conversion. The message? Throw the pitch Bako calls. Stop shaking of Bako and just pitch. I hadn’t really noticed this until I read about Bakers talk with Cueto. But when I thought about his first couple of starts, which were dynamite, he rarely shook off the catcher. But in his last start before the talking too, I do remember getting irritated with how often he was shaken off the sign. Bakers reasoning: "That alleviates him having to do a bunch of thinking and concentrating and delivering the pitch," Baker said. "This way he can be more committed to making that pitch. All he has to think about is making that pitch and locating it." This was excellent of Dusty and Dick Pole to notice. A young pitchers best friend is a quality veteran catcher. Cueto has one and wasn’t utilizing him. Cueto’s line following the wakeup call: he threw a no hitter threw 5 innings with 7 strikeouts. He did blow up slightly in the sixth allowing 3 solo home runs. But those could have just as easily been three pop outs. Cueto looked like the guy who dazzled everyone in baseball in his first two starts. Hopefully he will continue to take Baker’s advice and just pitch.



The Relinquisher finally gave the Red’s something to smile about, well he was involved in something that gave the Reds something to smile about. No silly, of coarse he didn’t pitch well, he is not capable. But he was the butt of a Griffey prank that provided some much needed loosening in the clubhouse. Apparently Griffey lost a $1500.00 wager to The Relinquisher. Griffey being a standup guy promptly repaid the replenisher…..with pennies. Griffey with the help of National City Bank stacked 150,000 pennies in The Relinquisher’s locker. At least he is good for a laugh.



Speaking of laughing that is what the rest of baseball is doing right now at the Reds. I know they have one 6 in a row. But how many teams do you think would leave the #1 prospect in baseball in AAA when he is hitting .360 with 10 homers and 35 RBI. Maybe they don’t have anywhere to play him you think to yourself. Well let us take look at his competition for playing time. There is the slow left fielder that is on a four game home run tear to raise his average all of the way up to .227. And he even threw a guy out the other day so his defense must be coming around. Then there is the slow right fielder that is hitting .245 with no power but is good for the occasional club house prank. Or there is the starting centerfielder, who should be the 5th outfielder who is barley hitting .200 and just seems uninterested. It sure seems like Mr. Bruce would be a significant upgrade over any of these players. So why is he still in the minors? The Reds say they want to make sure he will get enough playing time. So as the rest of baseball laughs, I ask the Reds, why again wont there be enough playing time for Bruce? Who is it exactly that is playing so well that he isn’t good enough to take their spot? Exactly, Bruce should be up helping this team, and everyone in baseball but the Reds know this.

BEST OF BAKER: Nothing, Baker continues to give Patterson at bats, and even more ridiculously, he has started him twice this week, and on top of that he hit him leadoff in those two starts. Why would you want to start a game of with an out? Seriously Dusty, what the hell. How can you expect any offense early in the game when you waste an at bat on an automatic out in your leadoff spot. You may as well leadoff with the pitcher. At least they might draw a walk. Due to these shenanigans there is still no best of Baker this week.





YIKES: Patterson started two games last week, YIKES. Patterson is hitting .196 with a .252 on base percentage, DOUBLE YIKES. In Patterson’s two starts last week here are his lines:



1 for 5, 0 Walks, 2 K’s, 3 left on base

1 for 5, 0 Walks, 2 K’s, 4 left on base



That’s right ladies and gentlemen, our “leadoff hitter” went 2 for 10, with 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, and a whopping 7 men left on base. TRIPLE YIKES!

And too add insult to injury, yesterday the Reds batted out of order when David Ross came to the plate to hit, when guess who…., come on guess….., right, Pop-up Patterson should have been hitting. Everyone is ripping Dusty for this. Dusty is only at fault for having Patterson in the game in the first place. It is the professional baseball player’s responsibility to know when they are hitting. Others are ripping Ross for heading up there to hit when he should have been on deck. Granted he should have probably remembered where his spot was after the last inning ended. But the real culprit here, the guy who deserves all of the blame is Patterson. How in the name of all that is right in the world does a professional baseball player not know when it is his turn to hit. You should be chomping at the bit to hit every chance you can get. This crap doesn’t even happen very often in little league because guys want to hit, so they know when it is their turn. How does a pro not know when it is his turn to hit. How is a pro not just jumping at the chance to get up there for another at bat. Ross wanted to hit. He wanted to hit so bad he ran up there early. Either Patterson is a moron on top of being a giant waste of athletic ability or he doesn’t care. I believe it is both. Only an idiot who doesn’t give a crap could waste so much ability. INFINITE YIKES.



Other theories on why Patterson didn’t make to the plate:



He was looking for a lighter bat so it wouldn’t hurt so much on all of his swings a misses.

He assumed they were just counting him as an automatic out and he didn’t need to go up.

Jocketty called down to Dusty and said “take the damn out, I can’t watch this crap anymore. Skip him and take the out.”

Dusty decided as opposed to letting the pitcher get on a roll in the ninth by striking out Patterson, it made more sense to take the sure out without giving the pitcher any added confidence, and let Ross head up on up there too face a cold pitcher.

Freel tied him up in the clubhouse after his frustration of losing playing time to Patterson finally boiled over. Hopefully he left him tied up there in New York.



I can’t believe I have already had it with this team and it is only May 12th.



I have always rooted for Junior and it makes me sick when I see old highlights of him in Seattle. That is the Griffey we were trading for. Injuries happen and nobody could have seen all of the injuries coming. And a lot of lesser men would have probably quit rather then go through the rehab Junior had to endure. He doesn’t get enough credit for that. I always hoped he would return to form but it is too late now, age has caught up with him. If there is a taker for Junior, Jocketty needs to giddy up and get it done. Screw waiting for 600 homers to come. You actually may get a little more from Seattle if he were to be able to hit number 600 there. It is time to bring up Bruce and move on from Junior. Bruce would provide some spark and excitement, as well as most likely a lot more offense and most assuredly better defense in right. I hate that it has worked out this way with Junior, but is has, so move on and get a deal DUNN.



Speaking of Dunn, if there is a taker, which there may not be many, he needs to go too. I don’t know who would want a power hitter who is not hitting homers who would rather walk or strike out looking than swing. I would imagine the market is small but someone will take a chance on him. I think. I hope. Anyway then Votto could move out to left and Hatteberg, and Andy Phillips (who needs to be called up along with Bruce) could handle first base. Your defense would be dramatically improved and you would most likely get more offense as well. Dunn is a horrible outfielder, and he is not making up for it with his power numbers anymore. Jocketty will notice soon, hopefully real soon, and send him packing to an AL team hurting for and underperforming power hitter. Hopefully we’ll get the good news that one or both of them have been moved soon.



Speaking of good news while this team has tested my intestinal fortitude more than any other in recent memory there has been a couple of very good developments this season. Joey Votto has claimed the first base job after a ridiculous early season platoon. It is now his position to keep until he moves to left when Dunn finally leaves. He is showing some power as well as good plate discipline and is leading the Reds in RBI.

Keppinger has excelled and has claimed a spot in the everyday lineup. Even if Gonzales someday returns to play short Keppinger is in the lineup for good. He will most likely end up at first base when Votto moves out to left. Keppinger is leading the team with a .324 average and is 2nd on the team with 18 RBI.

But no Red has excelled more this season than Edison Volquez. He is out pitching Harang right now which is saying something. Poor Aaron has been victimized by no run support. Volquez and seen this and proved to be a pretty smart dude. Clearly he realized the Reds can’t score runs so he has just decided not to give up any. Volquez is leading the national league in with a 1.06 ERA. He is second in the league in strikeouts with 52, one behind the league leader. He has gotten better with each start. In a season with little to look forward to I still get excited when his turn in the rotation comes along.



It has been a while since the Red’s have had good young pitching to get excited about. Cueto will come around he is only 22. Volquez is already pitching dominantly, and Bailey should get the call soon. Teaming those guys with Harang looks pretty exciting for the next few years. Hopefully Jocketty can fix the lineup sooner rather than later.

---

 

BEST OF BAKER:



Nothing! There will be no best of Baker section until Corey Patterson does not bat leadoff for at least 10 games in a row. Baker may have finally realized, much like the rest of the baseball world, and even the most casual Red’s fan, that Pop-Out Patterson is just never going to get it. He has started Freel the last two games in center and hit him leadoff. Maybe he is really going to stop torturing us with Patterson’s play this time. We’ll see.



YIKES:



The Reds found the Relinquisher yesterday and decided to let him releive Arroyo who was getting shelled to the tune of 7 runs in 1 2/3 innings. Monkey see monkey do. The Reliquisher came in and gave up 5 earned runs in two innings, YIKES. Maybe no one told him that it wasn't a contest to see who could give up the most runs. Unbelieveable. I honestly can't think of a reason why he hasn't been released.



The Reds are tied for the worst record in baseball, YIKES. They are not just playing bad, they are playing the worst baseball in the league double YIKES. When does Baker step up to the plate and lead this team by sitting down guys who suck. He may have finally done that with Pop-Out Patterson, we’ll see. But how much longer can he let Junior and Dunn kill this offense.



Dunn’s slugging percentage is .389 this season. His career slugging percentage is .516. So all the crap we are feed about “Dunn’s average can be low because he gets on base and hits a lot of homers” doesn’t hold water this year, so why in the world is he still getting so many at bats. If you are going to play him at least put him in the 7th or 8th spot until he gets going. Junior is tanking just as bad as Dunn. Junior’s slugging percentage this year is .377 compared to his career average of .551. Junior’s problem may just be that he is trying to hard to get to 600 and therefore trying to pull every pitch he sees. That would explain all of his groundouts to 1st and 2nd when pitchers are going away from him. Dang it man, send the ball the other way for a double and help the team. WTF, I can’t take it anymore they both need to sit. Now check this crap out:

 

 

Given the choice, which lineup do you think a manager at any level of baseball experience would choose. Your taking way to long, one quick glance says lineup #2 is far superior to lineup #1. In lineup #2 your leadoff hitter is getting on base and has a high batting average. Your 3,4,5, and 6 hitters are hitting the ball well which shows in their averages, and hitting the ball hard which shows in their slugging percentages. Your 7 hitter provides you some good numbers and your 8 hitter brings up the rear as they normally do.

In lineup #1 your leadoff hitter isn’t hitting anything or getting on base. Your #3 and #5 hitters aren’t hitting as their batting average shows. And on the rare occasion when they do decide to hit they are not providing any power as is evident in their slugging percentages. And your wasting all of you power in the 6th, 7th, and 8th spots in the order. What manager in their right mind would choose lineup #1 over lineup #2. I’ll tell you what manager would do something so clearly inept. Our very own Dusty Baker. Lineup #1 is Dusty’s most used and favorite lineup. Lineup # 2 is the lineup Dusty should be using if he wants to win games. Take a look:



Dusty’s boys are sucking it up to the tune of the worst record in baseball. The common sense lineup is just sitting there waiting to be played. Why Dusty? I wonder what he would say if you showed him the numbers. What could he say? There is no defense that would even begin to justify ever playing the Dusty’s boys lineup. Serious someone show this to Dusty and see what he says. Or better yet show it to Jocketty and have him ask Baker to explain himself.



It is way to late to be saying “it’s still early we just need guys to get going”. Sorry folks, but by now if they aren’t going, they are not going to get going. It is time for Baker to do what a major league manager is expected to do and that is to take control of the team and play the guys who ARE producing. Don’t play the guys who HAVE done it before, or SHOULD be able to break out of it, or CAN get it done, or WANT to really bad, or are getting PAID a lot, or have ALL THE TOOLS. Just play the guys who ARE, TODAY, THIS SEASON, RIGHT NOW, GETTING IT DONE. It is just a matter of common sense.

This page was last modified on Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:48:59 AM

BEST OF BAKER:



On having three lefties in the bullpen after calling up Brey:

"I don't mind having three lefties and those three can get righties out," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "A couple of them are getting righties better than lefties. Thank goodness you noticed Dusty!



One of the biggest wastes in baseball is a good left handed reliever who comes in every two or three days to face one left handed hitter. First of all, watching a pitching change take place is almost as unpleasant as watching Mr. Relinquisher do his thing (I refuse to call it pitching). Secondly, most lefties don’t have that big of a disparity in success with respect to the right handed verses left handed match up. Brey is a stud and if he stays healthy will be a great setup man for K-ordero. Affeldt is a quality middle reliever who can get righties out as well. And Merker is crafty enough to get anyone out when his arm is right (and it looks right so far this season).



On a side note, why are lefties who don’t throw real fast, and who are up there in years, always called crafty? I have never heard a right hander called crafty. Weathers is kind of like a right handed Merker. He is never called crafty. He battles. Greg Maddux is right handed and considered a pitching genius. Tom Glavine is left handed and is considered crafty. Mario Soto was just great. Tom Browning was crafty. This is really very unfair to still successful, aging, slow throwing righties (pipe down Relinquisher, the successful part eliminated you). Righties need a cool descriptive word too. I propose wily. You have the crafty left handed, and the wily right hander. Excellent, someone tell the Brennaman’s so they can start using it.





YIKES:

Dusty played Corry Patterson last night in center when he had both Freel and Hariston available to play. I can’t say this loud enough, YIIIIIIIKES! Freel is hitting .387 with a .424 OBP in his starts this year and is hitting .292 overall. He also just had a great series in San Fran. Hariston is hitting .364 with a .391 OBP. Patterson you ask? He is hitting a whopping .212 with a .281 OBP. That’s right folks he is hitting freaking .212. I could understand if he had a track record of great play and you were waiting for him to come out of a funk. Patterson has never been real good and has certainly not played well this year. Actually that is being kind. He has been absolutely embarrassing at the plate. With two clearly superior options, WHY DUSTY, WHY do you continue to smack us square in the face by playing Patterson at all. And if that isn’t enough you insist on kicking us right in the groin by batting him leadoff. YIIIIIIIIKES! Come on Dusty, seriously, play someone else in center for a while. Frankly I can’t stand the fan abuse any longer. Maybe FSN Ohio can blackout Patterson’s at bats. They don’t last that long, he usually pops out on the first pitch he sees anyway. Maybe he should do push ups every time he pops out or swings at the first pitch like Willie Mays Hayes in the movie Major League. Actually that is an excellent idea, someone tell Dusty so we can get that going.





On with the rant:



The Reds have their first winning streak of the year. Two in a row is not a streak. That is back to back wins. Three wins in a row is officially a streak. It is about time. The key to the three wins you ask? Jumping out to early leads.



In the Reds three recent wins they jumped out early in the game and scored some runs. This makes all of the difference in the world. For the rest of the game hitters are more relaxed and generally score a few more runs (for example the two 10 run outbursts the Reds had in San Fran).



I wonder if the Relinquisher snuck himself a Giants uniform and secretly pitched against the Reds in those two games, kind of like a really twisted Taster Choice commercial. I can just see The Relinquisher walking into the Giants clubhouse after the game and saying “Hey guys, you know how I , Barry Zito, gave up all those runs today and lost us the game”. Awkward pause, Stupid grin. “We’ll guess what. I’m not Barry Zito”. Then he whips off his hat. “I’m Josh Fogg, I knocked Zito out and stole his uni and pitched instead. Isn’t that hilarious. Why isn’t anyone laughing, hey what’s with the bats? AHHHH!” Crazy you say, the numbers make since, and has anyone seen The Relinquisher lately.



Anyway back to why scoring early helps, it also takes all of the pressure off of your starting pitcher. Arroyo final had a strong outing yesterday and I think it had a lot to do with the 4 early runs the Reds scored. Arroyo could relax knowing he had some room for error and just pitch. Baker and pitching coach Dick Pole attributed his success to his extra work on his off days to improve the location of his fast ball. John Fay asked Arroyo about the keys to his success last night and wrote this- “Bronson Arroyo said the key to his first quality start was swimming laps. I'm not making that up”.



While all three probably had something to do with it I have another theory. I think he has finally come to grips with the fact that those JTM commercials are not going away, are not a bad dream, and he just needs to suck it up and move on. I think that is most likely why he pitched better last night. Either that or it was all of the JTM grease Chris Welch rubbed on Arroyo’s hat, belt, and glove before the game. That might explain Encarnacion’s early error (Arroyo pitching, JTM grease), and then his great play in the 7th ( Burton pitching, no JTM Grease). Speaking of Encarnacion….



Everyone who wanted EE sent to AAA can now start apologizing. Why you ask. All Encarnacion has done lately is save Monday nights game with a great defensive play in the seventh inning. Oh yeah, he had two doubles in the game that resulted in two RBI. Um, oh yeah I almost forgot, in his last 18 games he is hitting .371 with 5 HR and 11 RBI. The dude can flat out hit. He has the ability to be a solid defensive player and from the sound of it he works at it. "He's conscious of it," Dusty Baker said. "He needs to be consistent. Someday he's got a chance to be gold. He works it." Gold Glove Dusty? That may be a stretch, with his offensive skills I would be happy with serviceable.

 

 

 BEST OF BAKER:



On Joey Votto’s 5 RBI performance last Thursday:

Baker said he "almost won the game by himself."

John Fay noted that Baker has been happy with Votto’s improvement in bat speed, aggressiveness and confidence. "Votto's upside potential is outstanding," Baker said. Thank god you finally noticed Dusty. Votto has not sat since and should now be in the lineup everyday regardless of the pitcher. It’s about time.



YIKES:

Corey Patterson’s batting average and on base percentage. .198 and .258 respectively. Yikes. That is just awful. I doubt there is a major leaguer getting regular at bats right now with numbers that poor. I really thought Patterson was going to play at least decent this year. He looks worse by the game. He swings at the first pitch a lot. That is an awful trait for a leadoff hitter, and explains his horrible OBP. I think someone else needs a shot at regular playing time in center. I really believe if Bruce was right handed he would already be up and replacing Patterson. I think it is time to give Freel or Hopper a lengthy chance at claiming center.



On with the rant:



The starting pitching continues to excel with a few exceptions. Harang, Cueto, and Volquez have been excellent. With Harang you know what you are getting but Cueto and Volquez continue to pitch with a lot of poise for being so inexperienced. Volquez needs to work on being more efficient with his pitches so he can go a little deeper in games. But they both have been excellent on the few occasions they have faced adversity. Arroyo has struggled. He has not been horrible, he’s just a little off which for him results in 4 or 5 earned runs. I think he will turn it around and he is still better than most teams # 4 starter. Now on to the Relinquisher….



Mr. Relinquisher has finally been demoted to the pen. While he should have been released, I’ll take no longer throwing batting practice for the opposition every fifth day for now. Matt Belisle has been called up to make tonight’s start against the Dodgers in place of The Relinquisher. You know there was a collective “Damn, their not pitching Fogg” from the Dodgers. Teams love to face guys like The Relinquisher. I know he has only made three starts this year but it seems like a lot more due to the quality of the job he has done. Why he wasn’t released puzzles me. A guy the Reds were counting on for late game relief, David Weathers, has been placed on the DL. Bill Brey has continued to look great in the minors and has some of the best stuff in the organization. Releasing The Relinquisher would open up a spot in the pin to bring up Brey. There is no way The Relinquisher gets any work out of the pin, so why keep him?



Last nights 10th inning come from behind win has all of the makings of a winning streak starter. Hopefully this will be a turn around for the team. And thankfully the Reds made the move to start Belisle tonight. The last thing you want after an emotional late inning win is to kill the momentum by running out a guy with a 13.09 ERA. There is no way Belisle pitches that poorly. At least there is hope. I think when Baker realizes Patterson’s not the answer at the top, and if he leaves Votto at first, the offense will start to heat up. Hopper/Freel, Kepp, Griffey, Phillips, Dunn, Votto, Encarnacion, Bako should score some runs. Hopefully we’ll see a consistent lineup minus Patterson soon.

 

 

 

BEST OF BAKER:



Baker decided that Encarnacion would benefit from a day off Wednesday. But he didnʼt want EE sitting around, he wanted him hitting. Baker was asked Wednesday why EE wasnʼt in the lineup.

"Give him a mental day off and let him hit, hit, hit," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He's been hitting in the cage. He hit on the field. Just give him a day off and give (Ryan) Freel a start."

EE took to heart Bakers instructions and spent most of Wednesday hitting, and the blister on his left hand provided the proof.



Baker considered giving EE another day but thought better of it. "This early in the season, two days is too many," Baker said. Good thinking Dusty! EE responded from his day off with a walk, a hit, and a 2 run home run, while looking much more comfortable at the plate. Hopefully this is the beginning of EE returning to the guy we saw at the end of last year.





YIKES:



Mr. Relinquisherʼs line from his first start as a Red:

4IP, 5H, 6ER, 2HR, 3BB, ERA 13.50

YIKES, that was horrible. He looked completely over matched and showed no confidence in his stuff at all. Bakerʼs thoughts, "Josh didn't have his location," Baker said. "When Josh doesn't have his location, bad things happen." It is not just a location thing Dusty. Itʼs a combination of a lack of concentration and aggressiveness. But this comes as no surprise to me as I discussed in a previous rant. He has quit in him. The team obviously realized if they donʼt score, and score a ton, they will lose with the Relinquisher on the mound. The team responded with 12 runs in his second start, which was much better, 1ER through five innings lowering his ERA all the way down to 7.00. After the offensive outburst Mr. Relinquisher had this to say to Griffey: "I told (Ken Griffey Jr.): Get me 12 a night and I'll be a pretty good pitcher," YIKES, if he only new how true that was he probably wouldnʼt have said it.



ON WITH THE RANT:

There have been some developments early this season that are critical for the Reds success as well as exciting to watch. There has also been a troubling trend as well. Iʼll start there.



The Redʼs stats when pinch hitting this season are bad, 0-11. That is not going to cut it. Unfortunately I donʼt see it improving much. The Redʼs bench includes Freel, Hopper, Castro, Valentine, and either Votto or Hatteberg. Freel and Hopper are adequate subs but pinch hitters they are not. A good pinch hitter knows how to work a count, has a good eye, and makes contact. Freel is so jacked up at the plate that he swings early and often. That exactly why, despite his speed, he is also a terrible leadoff hitter. Hopper is a little more patient, he just doesnʼt make solid contact enough. He is best suited to bunt or weakly ground out to move a guy over. Castro couldnʼt get a hit off of a tee, against a tee ball team, a girls tee ball team. Valentine is our best pinch hitter but he has been hobbled and was victimized by a horrible called strike 3 the other night. It was clearly ball 4 which would have loaded the bases for Phillips. That one is still getting too me. Hatteberg and Votto give you good at bats when they are in there but neither one is able to settle into a pinch hitting role or a starting role with their sporadic playing schedules. This could be a weakness all year.

Now for the good news. The bullpen has been excellent. Before the season anyone who predicted Mike Lincoln and Kent Merker would be giving us quality work out of the pen would have been deemed stupid, crazy, or both. But Merker and Lincoln have been great. Burton shook off his shaky spring training and has looked good as well. Coffey appears to have regained some confidence and has been strong to date. Weathers has been the only reliever to struggle. He is a pro and will work through it. And if he doesnʼt we actually have other options. But the most important piece of the bullpen, K-ordero, has been great. It was good to see him get his first save out of the way during the Redʼs opening series. The last thing you want is a guy who just signed a huge deal to get rocked right off the bat and start pressing to live up to his contract. Then K-ordero strolled in last night to a chorus of boos and promptly retired the heart of the Milwaukee lineup, in dominating fashion, in Milwaukee. This was huge. Players sometimes struggle against their former teams. This would be horrible since the Brewers are in our division and we play them a bunch. K-ordero set the tone for the season against the Brewers with that save.



Cueto and Volquez starting well has also been huge for this team. I expected Volquez to pitch well as he got some big league games under his belt last year with the Rangers and pitched fairly well in them. While I hoped Cueto would pitch well I never dreamed he would start off as dominate as he has been. Two starts, 18k, 0w. That is just sick for a 22 year old pitcher. Control and poise are usually the last things to develop in a pitcher. A lack of control and poise is precisely why Homer is going 5 innings a game for Louisville right now instead of 7 innings for the Reds. Cueto has displayed impressive control and has not appeared rattled yet. I canʼt wait to see what he does against the weak hitting Pirates on Sunday. While Cueto has been great, I donʼt think Volquez has been giving enough credit for his first start of the year against an excellent Phillies lineup. His line against the Phillies: 5 1/3IP, 1 ER, 8 K, 2 W. While those numbers look good, they look even better when you consider the Phillies saw Volquez two times late in spring training. This was his third time facing the Phillies in a three week stretch. If they were going to figure him out they had every opportunity too. They say a young pitcherʼs second time around the league can be a little rough. Well this was Volquezʼs third time facing the Phils and his outing was anything but rough. To me that means his stuff is real good, and that Bako can really call a game.



Speaking of Bako, HOLY COW. He has been a life saver. Pitchers era with him behind the plate this year is 2.63. That is exceptional. I havenʼt noticed a lot of shake offs by the Reds pitchers either. There is nothing worse than a pitcher not trusting the catchers call and shaking off the sign over and over. It ruins the pitchers flow and it just sucks to watch. I keep waiting for a catcher, after a series of shake offs, to throw off his mask and charge the mound. Former Cubs catcher Michael Barrett got into a fight in the dugout with a pitcher over pitch selection. Thatʼs close. Bako has been calling great games and he has been playing real good defense as well. Cueto and Volquez both pitch low in the zone with movement and Bako has caught them well. Oh yeah he is also hitting .364. Seriously, look it up, I did. It definitely says .364. Now granted that success probably will not last, but it has been a pleasant surprise. He has provided the Reds with some key RBI from the bottom of the order. I really think Baker will have a hard time not playing him when Ross is ready. I expect Bako to catch all of Cueto and Volquezʼs games even when Ross returns. Baker will try not to do anything to disrupt those two and replacing a catcher they are comfortable with would be a bad idea. I was very concerned about the Redʼs catching situation entering the season. Bakoʼs handling of the rotation has eased my concerns. Now lets just hope Baker doesnʼt get cute with the catchers and just goes with the hot hand.



Speaking of a hot hand Keppinger has been on fire as well. Yesterday saw and eight game hitting- streak stopped but on the year Keppingerʼs numbers are fantastic. .342BA, 2HR, 7 RBI, .409OBP, .579SLG. Those numbers are outstanding. He has played well in the field too. Baker has no choice but to leave Keppinger in the lineup once Gonzalez returns. When asked about Keppinger, Baker had this to say, "No. 1, he knows his limitations. He uses the whole field. He uses the center part of the ballpark . . . He's probably the one guy on the team that you see practicing hitting during batting practice. He's 8-for-10 every time. I see other guys hitting the ball up in air, seeing how far they can hit it. You can practice making outs like you practice making hits. He practices getting hits. He hit the home run yesterday and he went right back to using the whole field. . . he's the perfect second hitter." Thatʼs right Dusty, he is the perfect second hitter, and the only hitter we have who can be successful in the 2 hole. So he is going to stay in the lineup when Gonzalez returns, right Dusty? "I'll that figure out when that happens. In meantime, we'll get what we can until that happens. Kepp's seizing the opportunity. . . He reminds me kind of Rich Aurilia when he first came up. Everybody talked about Richie's range and whatever but he was always making the plays. That's what counts." Iʼll take that as a yes. While Dusty will not come right out and say it, if Keppinger continue to mash the way he has been fans would riot if he got sat down. One of these scenarios will play out when Gonzalez returns. Gonzalez will play and he will play short. It makes sense he is the Reds best shortstop. If EE continues to struggle, Keppinger will just slide over to third. If EE is hitting well, but still struggling in the field he will platoon at first with Votto and Keppinger will slide over third. Or Keppinger will just take over at first full time. One thing is for sure, Keppinger has played his way into being an everyday player.


This page was last modified on Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:48:59 AM

 

BEST OF BAKER:



On Cueto’s Debut -



"The line score says it: Seven innings, one run, one hit, 10 strikeouts, That is some debut right there." Dusty, you forgot about the 0 walks without even reaching a 3 ball count on any batter.



"I'm giddy inside," Baker said. "I'm excited to hear the guys on the bench talk. They haven't seen this in a long time. As a matter of fact, they haven't ever seen it." Were all giddy Dusty!



"What I liked the best is after he gave up the no-hitter (in the sixth inning on) the home run, it didn't affect him," Baker said. "A lot of guys give up a no-hitter and it affects them. He's a very poised young man. He knows what he has to do." My thoughts exactly.



On Encarnacion’s game winning homer-



"You can't let him swing in that situation," Baker said. "He was struggling. I told (coach Chris Speier), 'I kind of hope he doesn't get it down so he can hit a three-run homer, and he hit a three-run homer." Well that worked out nicely didn’t it.



"Being on the other side, he was one of the guys I didn't want to see up there in that situation," Baker said. "He's a clutch man. That's why he's in the sixth spot." Did you here that Jeff Brantley? Apparently you are the only person who is unaware of Encarnacion’s abilities with men on base. More on this later in the rant.



"It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Baker said. "It was eating him up inside."



YIKES:



EE has two throwing errors in just three games that has cost the reds 3 unearned runs. Yikes.

David “Stormy” Weathers line from his first outing of the year: 0.1IP, 1ER, 3W, 19 pitches of which only 5 were strikes. Yikes. He has got to do better than that.



ON WITH THE RANT:



The Reds just completed their first series of the year taking the last two games of the three game set with the Diamondbacks. I have never really thought much about the importance of opening day but I have always thought it was critical to win your first series of the year. The Reds have done that and I am stoked.



The loss on opening day was tough. Harang pitched well and if not for the error by EE the game could have been completely different. You can’t give a guy like Webb an extra run to work with. It was also a little discouraging to see the Reds bats not come to life once Webb exited. Diamondbacks 4, Reds 2.



Game two was equally frustrating until the last pitch of the game. Again we got a good starting performance, this time from Arroyo, only to see EE throw away another ball allowing 2 unearned runs to come in during the inning. And watching poor EE try to bunt in the ninth was like watching a bird with a broken wing trying to fly. Just sad. You know that bird wants to fly so bad, and it tries as hard as it can, but it just can’t do it. That was EE. He would have been better off just holding his bat completely still in the center of the strike zone and just hope that the pitcher accidentally hits it with the ball. But as bad as he looked trying to bunt he made up for it with his next swing. A rope to left field, that if he would he been sitting there, would have fittingly knocked Reds announcer Jeff Brantley’s teeth right out. I case you missed it, as EE was flailing about in his attempts to bunt, Brantley was questioning Baker’s decision to have someone bunt if he is not sure the guy knows how. There is nothing wrong with that statement as I question that decision by Baker as well. I was also wondering if anyone had ever shown EE how to bunt before. But then Brantley goes on to say that EE is not clutch, right before, and I mean right before EE drills the homer to left. First of all it is not good to call out a young guy on your team as not being clutch. That is something that could get in a guys head and stick. Making a comment like that was a really poor choice by Brantley. Even worse is the fact that he said it about EE. Who was the Reds best hitter last year with runners in scoring position, definitely a stat that would indicate a player’s ability to hit in the clutch. That’s right folks it was Edwin Encarnacion who hit .360 with runners in scoring position. Hopefully the next time Brantley is going to say something ridiculous like that, he’ll cover up his mike and lean over to Marty and run it by him first. Reds 6, Diamondbacks 5.



Game three provided precisely the reason why every Reds fan should be as happy as Matt Lienart looked in that hot tub full of females. Johnny Cueto (currently living up to Homer’s hype) made his big league debut, and what a debut it was. Before the game Baker talked about just getting him through the first inning calmly and then everything would be all right. Cueto didn’t require any calming. The only calming needed was for the stomachs of the poor snakes in the other dugout watching Cueto throwing 96 mph fastballs with movement mixed in with a nasty slider and a consistently improving changeup. Cueto was perfect through five and his only blemish was a solo home run in the sixth. That was Arizona ’s only hit, run, and base runner. Cueto walked none and allowed only the one hit while striking out 10. Not a bad debut, 7IP, 0W, 10K, 1H, 1ER. He only needed 92 pitches in the gem throwing 68 for strikes. It is hard to walk people when 74% of your pitches thrown are strikes. Someone should tell Bailey that. I wonder if he reads the rant, he should, he could greatly benefit from that bit of info. The reds got just enough offense to pull out the 3 to 2 win. The other run you ask. Um yeah, the eight got a little “STORMY” so Baker had to roll up the windows on the Lincoln to traverse the high water. David “Stormy” Weathers tried to blow it in the eight when he walked the bases loaded while somehow managing to get an out in there somewhere. So in came Lincoln who limited the damage to a sac fly to score a run. He struck out the next batter to get the Reds out of the inning. A tremendous job by Lincoln . The Reds new 46 million dollar man came in for the save and pitched an uneventful ninth. Last year the Reds lose that game as we would have no one to bail out Weathers and then no one to pitch the night. What a refreshing change to no K-ordero is down there in the bullpen. I know his name is Cordero but wouldn’t a closer named K-ordero be so much cooler. He should change it. Use the hyphen too. One more note on Cueto. Here is what he had to say after giving up the homer to breakup the perfect game in the sixth "I went back and started the same way I was throwing before. I knew I was throwing a no-hitter, but it went away. I just went back, and I didn't want to give up any more runs. I worked harder." He worked harder! I don’t think many 22 year olds, after losing a perfect game bid, would be able to settle down and continue dominating the way he did. I remember as a kid always looking forward to a Mario Soto start. Then it was Jose Rijo who I couldn’t wait to see pitch. Now the Reds have another legitimate future ace who is worth the price of a ticket by himself.

Opening day is finally here, sort of. There were those games in Japan which will be followed by the A’s and the Sox returning to play some more spring games, Huh? There was the game last night to open up the Nationals new park. But as far as Reds fans are concerned the season doesn’t start until the Reds take the field for the first time. That’s today. Of all of the dumb things Selig has let happen on his watch, I think letting opening day disappear was a very bad thing. Having a few games spattered out all over the globe as opposed to everyone opening up the same day following the Reds really screws up the beginning of the season. It will never change back and it should have never been allowed to happen, but we are where we are. So lets play ball.



BEST OF BAKER:



"The regular first baseman is who's playing that day,"



- Reds manager Dusty Baker



Baker knows Votto will end up at first but he hasn’t shown himself ready yet this spring. Hatteberg is solid and always gives you good at bats. All the pressure is off of Votto and he can just worry about getting straight at the plate. He will get plenty of time at first and will be “the regular first baseman” everyday by the all star break.



YIKES:



Manager Dusty Baker wants to win now. Friday morning, Baker said the Reds plan on cutting veteran reliever Mike Stanton, costing the team $3 million this season, plus a $500,00 buyout option in 2009.



Stanton was giving every opportunity to make the club and earn his money. His performance this spring was so unconvincing the small market Reds who do not have $3.5 million just laying around, bought him out, YIKES. The Reds did the right thing, regardless of money they couldn’t waste the roster spot.





HERE IS YOUR OPENING DAY LINEUP:



CF – Patterson

SS – Keppinger

RF – Griffey

2B – Phillips

LF – Dunn

3B – Encarnacion

1B – Hatteberg

C – Valentin

P – Harang



This will be your everyday lineup for the most part. As I said Votto will eventually take over full time at first base. Bruce will not see time unless Patterson or Griffey gets hurts. The catcher spot is a mess and hopefully Krivsky can pull off a deal of some type. Ross, Valentin, or Bako is not the answer. It will be a season long sore spot if they can’t find a starting catcher. The big if in this lineup is Keppinger. It he starts hot and is not killing the Reds defensively, watch how slowly they bring Gonzales back. This is Keppinger’s shot. I can assure you Baker will not be taking away much time from a guy hitting well over .300 and getting on base. Another potential move could be to slide him over to third if EE continues to struggle. I think EE will be fine and I think the Reds are going to have a very expensive backup SS in Alex Gonzales. Here are my offensive predictions:



Patterson – 150 G, .280, 10 HR, 60 RBI, 40 SB, .350 OBP - He will play well

Keppinger – 150 G, .320, 10 HR, 80 RBI, 10 SB, .400 OBP

Griffey - 135 G, .290, 30 HR, 90 RBI, 0 SB, .380 OBP

Phillips - 160 G, .305, 35 HR, 120 RBI, 45 SB, .380 OBP

Dunn - 160 G, .270, 54 HR, 140 RBI, 10 SB, .430 OBP - He will be a monster.

Encarnacion –150 G, .285, 29 HR, 105 RBI, 10 SB, .360 OBP



Votto will hit well once he takes over, but it is way too hard to predict his production. The catchers spot will be ugly, enough said. This team will score a lot of runs as usual, but they will be able to pitch as well. THIS TEAM WILL BE THE SURPRISE OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE. TODAY IS THE BEGINNING OF THE REDS JOURNEY TO TAKE THE NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL CROWN. GO REDS.





Last week the Rant promised you National league predictions, here you go:



NL EAST – BRAVES. That right the Braves will take the division. This team will score a ton of runs and should be able to pitch too. Sorry Jim, but the Mets should get the wild card since the central is a mess and the West will beat up on each other so bad.



NL CENTRAL – REDS. That’s right the Reds will take the division. The Cubs just are not that good. I don’t see what is with all of the hype. The Cardinals and Astros are a mess. The Brewers will be good but they are going to struggle to close out games, ha ha ha. It will be tight between the Brew Crew and the Redlegs but in the end October will be Red.



NL WEST – DIAMONDBACKS. The west is a crap shoot. The Diamondbacks should have the best pitching and their offense is adequate. The Padres can’t hit. The Dodgers pitching will let them down. The Rockies are scary and could take it. But I say the Diamondbacks come out on top.



WILDCARD – METS, by a Johan Santana eyelash.

 

We are just 10 days away from the start of the season so this week’s rant will have some predictions. This week I will go with pitching predictions. Next week I will give my offensive predictions, thoughts on the final roster, and national league standings predictions. I will also have a best of Baker and a “Yikes” spot each week. I’ll start there and then get into the pitching.



Introducing: THE BEST OF BAKER



"A strike down the heart of the plate ain't no strike. That's a rocket somewhere."

- Reds manager Dusty Baker



This quote makes me realize that Baker understands the difference between throwing good strikes (Harang, Cueto, Arroyo, Volquez) and just throwing strikes (Bailey, Fogg, Affeldt, Belisle).





Introducing: YIKES



"If I was going to be good every start, I don't think I'd be in the situation I'm in right now. I'd have a guaranteed job somewhere. Everybody gets beat up every once in awhile. It's part of the game."



-Josh Fogg after giving up six runs, three earned, Tuesday



YIKES, DOUBLE YIKES. If I was Krivsky I would cut him after that statement. I am being completely serious. CUT HIM. If you have a pitcher who thinks that he is going to “get beat up every once in a while” you don’t have a pitcher. You have a coward throwing balls at the catcher. Fogg has quit in him. He can never be counted on. His success down the stretch last year for Colorado was a fluke. As a professional athlete you should have the confidence that every pitch you throw or every swing you take is going to result in something great happening. You have to believe that you will always win regardless. Yes you will fail sometimes but you can’t expect it. I am serious, I would cut him.



Now onto my pitching outlook.

There are still some huge questions with this team. One area that I am not worried about is the starting rotation. I know that sounds odd after our yearly parade of washed up starters looking for an eighth chance in the league. This year we will actually have a solid rotation 1 through 4 (yes I know two of them are rookies). And that is really all you need. You can get nothing from your fifth starter and be just fine. This is a good thing since our fifth starter may be Fogg who will now be referred to by The Rant, until Krivsky wises up and cuts him, as Mr. Relinquisher. Let’s take a look.



#1 HARANG - is a borderline ace, he will always keep you in a game and one out of every four outings is usually exceptional, he has no quit in him.



Joel Prediction: 18+ wins, sub 3.50 ERA, top 5 in the league in stikeouts



#2 ARROYO - is proven and solid. Not great but solid. He also has no quit in him.



Joel Prediction: 14+ wins, sub 4.50 ERA, 70% quality starts



#4 VOLQUEZ - was acquired in a trade with the Rangers for fan favorite Josh Hamilton. I know, I know I loved Hamilton too. I don’t think I missed a televised at bat of his all year. No matter how much you like Hamilton this was a great trade for the Reds. Starting pitching has been the Reds Achilles heel and Volquez will be one of the major pieces to correcting it. He has wowed people in camp and has the stuff to be a very good pitcher. He will take some lumps this year but he will win more than he loses. He will be the best number 4 starter in the Central Division and his ceiling is very high in the future. Again no quit in this kid.



Joel Prediction: 10+ wins, sub 4.50 ERA, 60% quality starts, 125+ strikeouts



#3 CUETO – is currently living up to Homer’s hype. Everyone with a functioning brain knows that Cueto will be our number three starter to begin the season but so far Baker hasn’t come out and said it. He may have let a little out of the bag when before the Red’s spring game against the Tigers he asked Detroit manager Jim Leyland about bringing in young and inexperienced pitchers from the minors to the majors, the way the Tigers did with Joel Zumaya and Justin Verlander. Leyland smiled and said, “If you don’t want Cueto, we’ll take him off your hands.” This was before actually witnessing him pitch. Afterward, Leyland said, “Some of the best crude stuff I’ve seen. Good velocity, good breaking ball. One of the best-looking young pitchers I’ve seen. Very impressive.” This seems to be the consensus of those who have seen Cueto throw. I finally got to see with my own eyes thanks to the power of DVR last week. In what was considered his worst outing of the spring he held the Tigers, who have without argument the best lineup in baseball, too 2 runs through four innings. Those 2 runs came on two bloopers and a couple of walks in the first. Cueto proceeded to pitch three more innings allowing only a walk. His fastball is really good but what makes him special is the changeup he mixes in. When he throws it right, currently about 65% of the time, hitters look silly swinging at. It is not only effective with speed change but it drops, a lot. Cueto will be our number two by the end of the season. He wont take as many lumps as Volquez, he is ready now. He may struggle a little as he goes back through the league in the middle of the year but it will be minor. The last pitcher I remember being this excited about from a pure stuff standpoint was Jose Rijo. When he was right he was unbelieveable. Cueto has that kind of stuff. Look for a big year from Cueto. Oh, also he has no quit in him.

Joel Prediction: 12+ wins, sub 3.50 ERA, 175+ strikeouts, rookie of the year contention, flirt with at least 2 no hitters



#5 – Who knows, who cares, it just isn’t that important.



This will end up being the top rotation in the National league central. I know that’s not saying much but for the Reds, after so many years of starting pitching disasters, it is huge.



THE PEN – The bullpen can only improve after last year’s debacle. Weathers for all his effort is not a closer and we couldn’t get the ball to him anyway. He is a very serviceable setup man which is where he will be slotted this year. With the addition of Cordero two problems are solved. We now have a closer, a real live closer, and someone reliable to get through the eight inning. Affeldt will be a good addition to the pen and if Bray stays healthy the pen wont kill us. It may not be an asset but it wont kill us. Belisle will end up in the pen as well and this may be the best thing that could happen to him. He has good stuff in one and two inning spurts. He will help the bullpen and wont be ripped for being a crappy starter.



Until next time this is Joel swinging and missing and awkwardly stubbling back to the dugout (What? I just faced Cueto, give me a break)

 

At least each week or really when ever he feels like it, Joel Coomer is going to give his rant on everything Cincinnati Reds.

 

Here is his first installment:

 

I have got to say I like Baker more everytime he talks.

Example #1:
A reporter asks about Cueto (currently living up to Homer's Hype, have I mentioned I'm not real impressed with Homer)
What have your eyes told you? (In reference to Baker not paying much attention to scouting reports and hype, he uses his eyes)

Last year Narron would have said "Well he has put together a good little stretch. You know I am a BASEBALL GUY and he just doesn't look like a BASEBALL GUY. He is kinda short and doesn't have a gut you know. I really like BASEBALL GUYS. We'll see."

Baker says "Same thing yours are telling you." (which means he is awsome, enough said)


Example #2:
A reporter asks about Cueto (currently sucking every bit of knowledge he can out of the great Mario Sota and Cordero, while Bailey is most likely shopping for some new Tony Lama boots (see attached mp3), have I mentioned i'm not real impressed with Homer)
What are your expectations for him?

Last year Narron would have said "Well I just don't know yet. I haven't seen enough of him to tell if he is a BASEBALL GUY. I need BASEBALL GUYS in my rotation. He not really using our pitch to contact philosiphy like we would like. He is striking out way to many batters and not allowing enough contact so the jury is out, BASEBALL GUY er um uh BASEBALL GUY" (pitch to contact, what a retarded idea when you play in a launching pad)

Baker says "Just pitch, son, that's all. No pressure, no expectations, just pitch. ... I've got some expectations, I'm just not telling him yet -- that comes later."

Wow, I may have a man crush on Baker.