OK so I know we don’t have sole possession of first place in the NL Central, but even being in a three way tie for first is something I never thought was going to happen. Not even two weeks ago!

Since the last time I posted alot of stuff has went down. Is that Rosales guy fun to watch or what?? Of course, I don’t think he’ll continue with his .295 average the rest of the year but, at least he would be a good guy off the bench. 15.6 seconds around the bases for a home run.. HAHA! I sure hope, if he continues hitting the way he has, that he stays the starting 3b…I’ve never been a big EE fan.

Besides Rosales, I can’t pick out one particular player that has improved because EVERYONE has! It seems like everyone has started hitting better, which is always fun to watch!

BP has as many RBI as Votto- 26

Willy T is hitting .322

Ramon Hernandez is hititng .279

Votto is hitting .374- highest BA in the NL!

Hanigan is hitting .310

Look at our starting pitching- We could have four 15 game winners! Cueto 1.93 ERA

Even with all the good… there is still going to be somebody that is bad. Take in part, Mike Lincoln. God, I hate him. 13.1 IP 19 Hits and a 9.35 ERA… JESUS thats awful!

PLEASE, OH PLEASE Walt bring up Pedro Viola to replace him. We could add another lefty to the pen and look at his AAA stats… WOW. 14.2 IP 6 hits and a 0.61 ERA. Bring up Pedro!

I apoligize for not posting in awhile, however, I hope people check back more often because I will be posting more frequently.

Yesterday, the reds completed their fifth game of the season. Winning 1 out of 3 against the Mets isnt too bad and was what I expected. The mets have one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball, and competing very well in each game says alot about this ball club. Splitting the game with the Pirates was ok as well, considering we had to face Paul Maholhm. A lefty and a damn good one at that. Below I listed some positives and negatives from these two series:

Positives:

1. Aaron Harang- Good Lord! This guy looks nothing like last year. Pitching that complete game, 0er and only 3 hits was an AWESOME thing to see. His line of 14IP, 10 Hits, 3BB, 11SO, and a 0.64 ERA is impresive.

2. Joey Votto- Hard to put this guy second. He has been hitting the SHIT out of the ball. Hitting .400 with 7 RBI and 2 HR!

3. Brandon Phillips- Hitting .357 with 4RBI’s and 5 BB

4. Edwin Encarnacion- Although his average isn’t up to par, he does have 7 walks- the most on the team. Is this the year he has better plate discipline and turns into the player we have been wanting??

Negatives

1. Jay Bruce- hitting .200 with 5SO and only 1BB

2. Ramon Hernandez/Jerry Hairston/Alex Gonzalez- hitting a combined 2 for 29. They all look lost at the plate and swing and very bad pitches. Alex Gonzalez is still waiting to get his first hit of the year. It’s hard to watch these three.

3. Mike Lincoln- 34.71 ERA– IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE!?? 2.1 IP with 9 ER. That is NOT GOOD.

Today, the reds will play their first ST game against the Rays. The reds will be in full force all the way until March 1st, when six players will go and play for their respective teams in the World Baseball Classic. First baseman Joey Votto will play for Team Canada, while starting pitchers Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto and center fielder Willy Taveras will play for the Dominican Republic. Utility player Jerry Hairston Jr. will play for Mexico, and catcher Ramon Hernandez will play for Venezuela. Joey Votto has already been told that he will be Cananda’s DH because Justin Morneau will be the starting 1B.

After seeing the dates for the World Baseball Classic, I was furious. I buy tickets to the Reds ST games RIGHT when most of the players I wanted to see are not going to play. Yes Jay Bruce and BP will be there but I was really excited about watching Willy T and Hernandez.

I’m excited to watch the WBC but I hope it doesn’t have a negative impact on our pitchers. Especially, Cueto being the youngest. I hope they don’t ask him to pitch more than he should. i guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Dusty announced the other day that BP will bat cleanup for the reds this year. Dusty, honestly, what are you thinking? BP is the biggest free swinger on our team and you want to put him in a run producing situation?? BP needs to bat 3rd, a spot where the their is less pressure and he can put the ball into play more often. Then you put Votto at 4th because he is a smart hitter AND can hit from both sides of the plate. You also put BP’s speed in-front of Votto rather than behind him.

Giving BP the cleanup role before a ST game has started is flat out wrong. Not only does he not fit in the 4 hole, Dusty is completly forgetting that everyone on the team needs to “win their spot”. Giving BP the cleanup spot before ST starts isn’t making him work for anything!

Dusty strikes again.

The Cincinnati Reds scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning as they came from behind to beat the Florida Marlins on Monday afternoon. The 7-5 victory over the Marlins was a one game makeup game that the two teams had to play on what should have been an off day.

Joey Votto was one of three players to finish the game with two rbi. Votto had a solo home run and a rbi double in the game. The other two players with two rbi each were Jerry Hairston Jr. and Andy Phillips. Ryan Hanigan also chipped in with one rbi as well in the game. Great comeback by the offense in the seventh inning to pick up the pitching staff.

Aaron Harang picked up his sixth win of the season and is now 6-16. Harang tossed seven innings and gave up eight hits and four runs. It was a decent start for Harang but he did allow two walks and two home runs in the game. Reds closer Francisco Cordero allowed one run to score in the ninth inning but was able to record his 33rd save of the season.

The Reds will now head to Houston to take on the Houston Astros in a three game series.

- Reds Blog

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 scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning as they came from behind to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6. The Reds avoided a three game sweep by winning on Thursday afternoon. It was awesome to see the team come from behind and pick up the victory.

Jeff Keppinger and Joey Votto both had big days for the Reds at the plate as they both finished with two rbi. Votto had a solo home run to count for one of his rbi’s. Jay Bruce also had a solo home run in the game as he finished with one rbi. Edwin Encarnacion and Brandon Phillips both finished the game with one rbi as well. Votto and Encarnacion both had hugh hits in the bottom of the eighth inning to score two runs.

Nick Masset ended up with the victory after throwing two innings in relief. Reds starting pitcher Josh Fogg pitched the first three games of the game before leaving with a groin injury. Fogg had been roughed up for four hits and five runs as he put the Reds in a big hole. He was lucky not to be charged with the loss. Francisco Cordero picked up his 27th save of the season in the ninth inning.

Reds Baseball Blog

The Cincinnati Reds hit two solo home runs but ran into Carlos Zambrano and they lose by the score of 3-2. The Reds just couldn’t get much going against Zambrano even though they out hit the Cubs 7-6 at the plate. Six strikouts and 19 runners on base didn’t help the cause.

Jay Bruce and Joey Votto were the players to hit the solo home runs. Bruce hit his off Zambrano while Votto went deep off of Cubs reliver Carlos Marmol.

On the mound it was Josh Fogg who gave up four hits and three runs in only four inning. Fogg took the loss and is now 2-6 on the year. Nick Masset and Mike Lincoln both pitched two innings of relief after Fogg left the game and both did a very good job.

Reds Baseball

Bronson Arroyo gave up two home runs including a grand slam to Carlos Lee and the Cincinnati Reds were defeated by the Houston Astros on Tueday night.  The grand slam by Lee blew the game wide open and the Red’s offense was not able to score enough runs to get back in the game.

Arroyo had the first rbi for the Reds when he doubled in the third inning and Joey Votto scored.  The Reds did not score again until the ninth inning when Brandon Phillips grounded out and Jeff Keppinger scored.

The Reds have now lost five games in a row and will have to win on Wednesday to avoid the three game sweep.  I don’t know if they have what it takes to get the job done to be honest.

Reds Baseball

The Cincinnati Reds pulled out a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres in 11 innings on Tuesday evening.  Jeff Keppinger hit a game winning double that scored Jay Bruce for the game winning run as the Reds evened up the series at one game each.

Paul Bako got the Reds scoring started in the 6th inning with a two run single and then Joey Votto added a rbi single in the inning as well.  The Reds didn’t score again until the Keppinger rbi double that was the game winner in the 11th inning.

Red starting pitcher Johnny Cueto got the no decision as he only lasted six innings.  Cueto was pulled after giving up four hits and three runs.  He did strikeout ten batters while nly walking three however.  Mike Lincoln tossed two innings in relief while  Jeremy Affeldt, Bill Bray, and Gary Majewski all pitched one inning of relief.  Majewski picked up the win and is now 1-0.

Good come from behind win for the Reds as they were able to even up the series.  Reds Blog