* Top 1: This is Jolbert Cabrera's first big league appearance since Oct. 3, 2004 for the Mariners. Rough start for Cueto. He gave up seven runs (six earned) and eight hits in 1.2 innings in his other outing against the Cardinals, and today's not much better. After walking two, the UnNatural goes way deep to make it 3-0. 412 feet is the offical word. A walk to Glaus and then a homer to Jason Freakin' LaRue? Wow. 5-0. "Bruuuuuuuuuuuce!" Birds 5, Legs 0
* Bottom 1: Braden Looper has no such troubles. Birds 5, Legs 0
* Top 2: A huge tip of the cap to John Fay, who asked me if it was my day to do radio. It was and I got there before the inning started -- thank God. I'd hate to Sheldon it. I haven't done it yet -- knock on wood. Anyway, no runs that inning -- a throwing error on Cueto and he's now lasted longer than he did in St. Louis, so there's that. Birds 5, Legs 0
* Bottom 2: I just got one whiff of clogne. Don't know where it came from, but boy was it strong. 4-5-6 for Looper. Birds 5, Legs 0
* Top 3: A leadoff walk to Ankiel but a really nice 6-4-3 to empty the bases. Great plays by both the 6 and the 4. And another walk. That's 5. So, I've been looking at perhaps purchasing a PS 3 or XBox 360 in the future, just for NCAA Football 09 action (and perhaps Rock Band with proper downloadable content) and I've been debating the merits of the two. When I saw the cover of the PS3 version of NCAA 09 has Matt Ryan on it and the cover of XBox version has Darren McFadden, well, it just makes the decision pretty easy. Always, always with the SEC. Nice job by Junior to track down the other Cowboy's popup. Birds 5, Legs 0
* Bottom 3: Cabrera nearly has a hit in his first at-bat. He hit it deep into the hole between 1st and 2nd, Miles knocked it down, then got it and just threw Cabrera out. Instead, it's 7-8-9. Birds 5, Legs 0
* Top 4: Two quick outs then two walks before Ryan Ludwick -- to borrow a Wayne Krivsky phrase -- "the RBI Machine" doubles down the 3rd base line. Nice throw from Dunn to cutoff man Paul Janish to the plate and an incredible job of blocking the plate by Paul Bako to get Aaron Miles at the plate. Birds 6, Legs 0
* Bottom 4: 10-11-and the Reds won't get no-hit. Griffey doubles off the wall in left. Dunn strikes out looking. Birds 6, Legs 0
* Top 5: So a littel more digging -- UGA's No. 1 on NCAA 09, but Knowshon Moreno is only a 97. Man, I may need to get the Wii version and a 360. Seriously, Jason LaRue is now hitting .185. He came in with 1 RBI and now has 3. And he walks. Cueto has 95 pitches -- 48 balls, 47 strikes. And then goes 2-0 to the pitcher and someone screams from the stands, "He's the pitcher!" Another ball. "Bruuuuuce!" I love the guy screaming, "throw a strike!" Don't you think he knows that? There's a difference between knowing what to do and doing it. 101 pitches, 51 balls, 50 strikes. Ouch. Birds 6, Legs 0
* Bottom 5: At least I'll get out of here at a decent time. Another 1-2-3 inning. Looks like a double switch with Herrera coming into pitch, Andy Phillips headed to second in Cabrera's spot. Birds 6, Legs 0
* Top 6: Man, was looking around on the EA site and on the team ratings, they have UGA's offense a 99 and defense a 99. Wow, speaking of 99, what a sick pitch by Herrera to get Ryan. 68 mph. He was way, way out in front. I do love watching this guy pitch. I saw that in spring and Chattanooga. He's tough. Even though Cueto wasn't throwing well tonight, he was going 95 and then throw Herrera out there. Herrera did dial it up to 86 to get Miles looking. Great inning by Herrera. Birds 6, Legs 0
* Bottom 6: Jay Bruce singles with two outs for the second Reds hit of the night. 67 pitches for Looper. Seriously. Janish gets the third hit of the night. Nice play by Duncan to get Griffey and end the inning. Birds 6, Legs 0
* Top 7: When you don't throw very hard, you can't make too many mistakes. Herrera got a pitch up and Ludwick crushed it. 7-0. Cueto's eight walks are the most by a Reds pitchersince Steve Avery had nine in seven innings on June 29, 1999 against Arizona. It's the most by a righthander since Bruce Berenyi had eight in 6 2/3 on April 17, 1982 at San Francisco. Birds 7, Legs 0
* Bottom 7: 82 pitches for Looper through seven. Three hits. Birds 7, Legs 0
* Top 8: Danny Herrera on the mound for another inning. Three striaght hits and his night is done. Another double switch, with Corey Patterson in the game in center in Herrera's spot (seventh) and Bill Bray pitching and in Ken Griffey Jr.'s spot, Bruce to right. Herrera's got some nasty stuff, but not sure I'd keep him out there for a team to see him twice in one game. And there it is --9:14 on June 11, 2008 -- the official first booing of Jay Bruce. He dropped a ball in right. Hit him right in the glove. And, trust me, they weren't saying "Bruuuuuuce". Birds 10, Legs 0
* Top 9: Hey, at least this is going quickly. I may be home by 11! Which is good, considering I have to be at PBS by 9:30ish. Jason LaRue was briefly back to .200, but now down to .196. But Was 2-for-4 on the night. Birds 10, Legs 0
* Bottom 9: A 3-hit shutout for Looper. Just amazing. And this one belongs to the Red(bird)s
Once through the Cardinals' lineup on Tuesday, Reds starter Homer Bailey looked in control.
He'd
given up three hits, but had been unscathed -- getting out of the first
inning in just 10 pitches and getting Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel to
pop up to end the first and then getting a double play ball in the
second.
But with two outs in the third inning and St. Louis
second baseman Brendan Ryan on second, Bailey's good fortune ended.
Ryan Lidwick doubled in a run and then Pujols and Ankiel hit
back-to-back home runs to give St. Louis a 4-0 lead en route to a 7-2
victory in front of 34,234 at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday.
"Tonight
after the first go-around, they could tell he didn't have the feel for
his breaking ball," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "After that they
more or less spit on his breaking ball and started to sit on the
fastball."
Bailey walked another batter and gave up another hit
in the third before getting shortstop Cesar Izturis to ground into a
fielder's choice to end the inning.
The fourth inning followed a
nearly identical pattern to the start of the third. After getting
Cardinals starter Mitchell Boggs, Ryan again got on base, this time
with the walk. Leadoff batter Skip Schumaker flew out to center for the
second out of the inning. Once again, Bailey couldn't get out of the
inning, as Ludwick doubled in Ryan again.
After an intentional walk to Pujols, Baker came to get Bailey, ending his night after 76 pitches.
"All
their runs came with two outs, either I slacked off mentally or tried
not to do enough or tired to do too much with two outs, instead of
finishing off of the inning and getting back in the dugout, I let them
do their damage with two outs," Bailey said. "One of the keys to being
a pitcher is getting out when you have two outs."
Bailey pitched
well in his first start of the season, last Thursday in Philadelphia,
allowing four hits and two earned runs in 6.1 innings, although he was
saddled with the loss.
On Tuesday, he wasn't as sharp. Bailey
walked four in his start against the Phillies and walked three more
(one intentionally) on Tuesday.
"He's still a very young
pitcher," Baker said. "Most pitchers his age do have problems with
walks and location. Like I said, he got bit by the two-out hits
tonight. He gave up two-out home runs, two-out RBIs."
Bailey said he felt good physically, he was just having trouble with his breaking ball and his command.
"If
one breaking ball's working, you have to find a way to find it or use
your changeup," Bailey said. "I threw a couple of good changeups today.
I probably should have had a light bulb go off and use that pitch more
and start locating the fastball better."
Mike Lincoln relieved
Bailey and got Ankiel looking to end the fourth and then worked two
more perfect innings before giving way to David Weathers and Jeremy
Affeldt, who each surrendered a run, both off the bat of Ludwick, who
after striking out in the first had RBIs in each of his final four
at-bats, including his 15th home run of the season in the seventh
inning.
Boggs, in his first big league start, was more
successful than Bailey, allowing four hits and two runs in five
innings, with both runs coming on Joey Votto’s 11th homer of the season.
The
Cardinals, however, may have lost something much bigger than just a
game. In the seventh inning, Pujols had to be helped off the field by
teammates after suffering a strained left calf on a groundout. He will
be reevaluated on Wednesday.
* Word from the Cardinals clubhouse is to expect Pujols to go on the disabled list. He had a preexisting calf injury and this could mean a lengthy stay on the DL.
People are starting to call it “The Curse of Barry Larkin” and saying it will only end (our not having a permanent shortstop since him) until he is back in the organization. Since 2004 ended and Barry was forced out of the organization, 13 people have played shortstop for the Reds…in under 4 years. I say get him back in the organization NOW.
Felipe Lopez (224 games) Alex Gonzalez (103 Games) Jeff Keppinger (85 Games) Rich Aurillia (56 Games) Juan Castro (46 Games) Royce Clayton (43 Games) Jerry Hairston Jr. (22 Games) Paul Janish (19 Games) Pedro Lopez (12 Games) Ray Olmedo (9 Games) Brandon Phillips (4 Games) William Bergolla (1 Game) Enrique Cruz (1 Game)
Well, some would argue Larkin's final contract cursed the Reds more than his departure...
Anyway, I asked Dusty Baker if there was a shortstop curse now that the Reds have played their third different starting shortstop on the disabled list.
"I don't believe in that. I heard enough of that **** in Chicago," Baker said. "There's no curses. Sometimes it's outfielders, sometimes it's pitchers. If that's the case, we were cursed before I got here, because Gonzo was hurt before I got here."
Baker was asked about Brandon Phillips playing shortstop, but doesn't plan on doing that.
"I know everybody says that, he could probably do it, but how many guys do you want out of position?" Baker said. "Do you want one or do you want two or three? What would happen on a double play -- Brandon's not used to doing it and he gets wiped out on a double play, then what? Then you're without Brandon too. It's not that easy.
"It's like football, moving from right tackle to left tackle, it's not that easy. Some guys can do it, some can play left tackle, right tackle, center, guard, but there aren't many. There's not that many guys who can play all over the field in baseball, too. Plus I asked Brandon yesterday, 'I said, hey man, it may come down to you playing shortstop.' He said, 'Not the way things are going at that position.'"
So, it's Jolbert Cabrera up for Jerry Hairston Jr. and Gary Majewski is on bereavement list as his wife Melissa is having a baby. Danny Herrera is up to take his place.
No lineups yet.
* New All-Star voting released today. Ken Griffey Jr. is third among NL outfielders, behind Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome and ahead of Carlos Lee. No other Reds is among the top five at any position (or among the 15 outfielders).
* Ah, tons of stuff, but no Reds lineup. I know Jay Bruce is leading off, but didn't write down the rest from the list on Baker's desk, thinking it'd be up here.
Here's the Cards' lineup:
Skip Schumaker lf
Ryan Ludwick rf
Albert Pujols 1b
Rick Ankiel cf
Troy Glaus 3b
Yadier Molina c
Cesar Izturis ss
Mitchell Boggs p
Brendan Ryan 2b
* As for Bruce leading off, Baker said, it's "through the process of elimination."
* Good news for Jerry Hairston Jr. today. The break of his finger was "the best case scenario" Dr. Timothy Kremchek told him. He should be back in two weeks he said. He'll be taking batting practice in a week and continue to do everything else, because it's on his non-throwing hand. Hairston said he's done sliding head first.
* I asked Ken Griffey Jr. if he felt 600 was devalued by the questions surrounding the last two players to accomplish the feat. "600 is 600. I understand what's going and whatever people think, 600 is 600."
Griffey was asked if he wanted to return to the Reds next season and said, "That's not up to me. It's a two-way street. I can't control that." He did say that there's a "love-hate relationship" between him and the city and the city and him.
Griffey on Joe Nuxhall night tonight: "Joe is a big part of this city, not just Hamilton County or Nuxhall County, as some call it. This is his day. I'm glad I can be a part of it, but it's his day and his family's day."
Griffey on "being stuck" on 599 -- "A lot of people would like to be stuck on 599."
He said he wants to play as long as he's having fun and is able to play.
Video will be coming soon (limited, because according to MLB rules, I can only post 120 seconds.)
* Adam Dunn said the feeling at Dolphin Stadium was weird. "It wasn't how I pictured it -- packed house, elongated celebration. ... It was like he hit it at Ed Smith."
On 600 home runs: "It's like thinking about Bill Gates' money. It's mind-boggling."
Of course, I added, "it's like thinking about Ken Griffey Jr.'s money."
Dunn also joked about Paul Bako's night: "I could just see the headline, 'Bako hits 2 home runs, Griffey hits one for No. 600."
"I don't what was more unbelievable."
* I asked Dusty Baker if he thought he was cursed at shortstop.
"I don't believe in (curses). I heard enough of that **** in Chicago."
