First off, let me apologize for not posting anything for about a week and a half. My life has been pretty crazy, however, I’ve still manage to catch every reds game. As you know the Reds are looking pretty decent, besides their hitting, oh and Volquez and Lincoln.

Taking 2 out of 3 against Houston was great but man… taking 3 out of 4 from the Cubs was even better! I sure do hate the cubs and watching Votto tear them up was just so sweet to watch. Every Reds fan knows they aren’t hitting right now and every fan knows that Volquez is struggling (walking 5 straight batters in one game… JESUS) but some fans might not know the unfamilar facts and stats that are listed below:

1. Is Chris Dickerson a strike out machine or what?! What happened to the old Dickerson from last year… apparently he went away. 16 SO in 42 AB… GOOD GOD MAN!

2. Does AGon look smooth at short or what?! Man, he sure has been playing really good D lately. I forgot how nasty he once was. Although he is still struggling, he does have a hit in each of his last 5 games.

 3. Ramon Hernandez has played much much better lately… bringing his average up to .255. He has had two hits in each of his last three games.

4. Jay Bruce has brought his average up to .286 with 34 total bases. If he can lower his strike outs, he would be much much more consistent.

5. I made this bold because Mike Lincoln is the most frustrating player on the entire Reds team. The guy has pitched 7.1 innings and given up 12 ER!! That is TERRRRRRRIBLE. He has a 14.73 ERA and has walked 9 batters. He has WALKED more batters than IP! WOW. What is the world is he doing on this team?!? I hate hearing over and over from the announcers that he did great last year and hadn’t pitched in 3 years blah blah blah. I don’t care if he didn’t pitch for 3 years or 10 years.. ending the year with a 4.48 ERA doesn’t mean you “great” and “spectacular”.

So whats more important for you.. Celebrating Valentines day with your loved one or Celebrating that the Reds pitchers and catchers reported today?? Following a physical, pitchers and catchers will report on the field at 1:30 today. 29 pitchers are reporting and 8 catchers.

Aaron Harang, Fransico Cordero, Bill Bray, Jay Bruce, and Chris Dickerson came to came early. They got their before the weekend. I appreciate that. Especially from veterans like Aaron Harang and Fransico Cordero.

I’m really hoping for Micah Owings for that 5th starting spot. Hopefully he will be healthy and pitch well enough to earn the 5th spot. Besides Owings, we don’t really have a dependable 5th starter.. Malony is a couple years away and who knows with Homer!

What do Norris Hopper, Chris Dickerson, Jerry Hairston, Lance Nix and Jacque Jones all have in common? They are all competing for one starting outfield position- a position that none of them will win. So, who is going to win it? With Spring Training right around the corner, this seems to be the biggest question. The favorites have to be Dickerson and Hairston who heavily contributed to the club last year. However, Hairston may be the starting SS, making Keppinger number one off the bench. Dickerson produced last year batting .304 on the year BUT only played in 31 games and had only 102 AB’s. Can the career minor leaguer keep the stats of last year being the starting day left fielder? I wouldn’t be so sure. Remember, the best he hit in AAA is .287; which is far from spectacular. Hopper coming off of surgery which prevented him from playing all year will probably make him a strong canidadate to be starting at AAA. Layne Nix, although young and able to play all three outfield positions, has no chance to make the starting day roster. He has never found a grove hitting in his entire major league career and has only played in 91 games over the past three years. Jacque Jones, because of Dusty’s love for his former players, will most definitly be on the bench to start the year but I can’t see him being our starting left fielder.

You might be asking yourself well if it’s not any of them, who will be the starting left fielder? You heard it from me -watch out for Jonny Gomes. What seperates him from the other potential left fielders is that he is right handed. The reds desperatly need a right handed hitter to step up and produce. Gomes has shown he could do that in 2005 when he hit .282 with 21 HR’s and 54 RBI’s. for the Rays. He has never been able to get back to his 2005 form because he hasn’t been given the chance to play consistently. In order for Gomes to regain his 05 form his must play everday. He has been given the chance to prove himself and to earn a starting spot. A change of scenery will benefit Gomes and you WILL see him as our staring left fielder.

Wow what an exciting ending to the game on Monday night! The Cincinnati Reds scored three runs off of Saloman Torres of the Milwaukee Brewers to come back and win by the score of 5-4. Talk about not quitting in the game when the Brewers are scratching for every victory they can come up with. The Reds stole one on Monday night that is for sure!

In the ninth inning with the bases loaded, Corey Patterson reached on an infield single and Jay Bruce scored to make the score 4-2. With the bases still loaded, Jeff Keppinger then doubled to deep left field to score Wilkin Castillo and Chris Dickerson. The Reds also picked up a huge win in the eighth inning when Joey Votto hit a solo home run. That hit gave the Reds a little energy and I feel it really helped them out in the ninth inning. Castillo had the first Reds rbi in the second inning on a single that scored Bruce.

Reds starting pitcher Edinson Volquez lasted just 5 2/3 innings. He gave up five hits and four runs while getting the no decision. Jared Burton earned the victory as he pitched the bottom of the eight inning. Francisco Cordero grabbed his 28th save of the year by closing out the game in the ninth inning.

Great come from behind win for the Reds! Let’s see if the momentum carries over into the game on Tuesday night as they look to take another game from the slumping Brewers.

Reds Baseball Blog

The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 as the two teams finished up a three game series on Thursday night. The Reds scored single runs in the second, sixth, and ninth innings of the game to beat the Pirates. With the win, the Reds took two out of three games against the Pirates.

Jose Valentin got the Reds scoring started with a solo home run in the second inning. Chris Dickerson then added a rbi double in the sixth inning. Jeff Keppinger added an insurance run with a sacrafice in the ninth inning. That was enough offense support the way the Reds pitching staff threw the ball.

Six Reds pitchers combined to limit the Pirates to only one run. Johnny Cueto pitched five innings to pick up the win and improve to 8-11 on the year. Francisco Cordero recorded his 23rd save of the season in the game as well. All in all, the pitchers did a great job.

Reds Baseball Blog