I am happy for Joey Votto and the Reds. 3 Home runs in a single game is great and it should be celebrated. But let's keep a few things in perspective, shall we?
Votto is an up and coming star in this game. I can see him roaming first base for a long time in a Reds uniform. He will likely be Sean Casey with more power and a bit better speed on the basepaths. I see him being a big part of future NL Central titles. This team has the young guns to do just that. At some point, Volquez, Cueto, Harang, Bailey and company will turn the corner. It won't be this season, but it will happen.
That said...let's not make what happened the other day into the greatest single performance in MLB history. I was fine with the hype until I found out the Reds are putting Votto's cracked bat on display in the Reds HOF. Was the accomplishment THAT big of a deal? It's 3 HR's in one game in a hitters park against a has been pitcher. YES it was fun to watch. YES it is rare. But let's not make it into DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak, or Ted William****ting .406.
If this is the greatest thing the Reds have to cheer about right now, then we have a problem. I hate to be a downer, but it's true. I am happy for Votto. I was excited to see it happen. I just want people to keep their perspective. Votto's 3 HR's overshadowed another dominant pitching performance from Edinson Volquez. More should be said, in my opinion, of his 5-1 record with a 1.06 record, than someone hitting 3 HR's in one game.
Let's celebrate the accomplishment, but in the process, let's not get too carried away. It was one game for the history books. Put the bat that hit 3 HR's in the REDS HOF if you must, but let's parlay that into something even better--fielding a winner.
Good pitching always wins. Zambrano is a hell of a pitcher.
Yes, we have Harang...and as I have mention before, he is a top flight starter.
That said, with the AAA lineup the Reds sport, it's no match for the Cubs. They hit, they don't strike out they have great players (Lee, Ramirez) that hit in the clutch.
What the Reds do is continually make excuses for their lack of offense. Seriously...a 38 yr old RF batting second is a huge red flag. Last time I checked, a number two hitter should be batting at least .275 to be effective....Griffey Jr. is not a number two hitter.
It's time for Jay Bruce.
Send Griffey Jr. to Seattle for a low minor leaguer. Send Dunn to Chicago (White Sox) or Minnesota for the same and get over it. I truly believe that the Reds will be a better team without them both.
We are the worst team in baseball and we need to admit it.
I don't think Chris Welsh was crying in the JTM commercials because the Reds were not home. I think he was crying because he knew at some point, they would be coming back.
Another great start by Bronson.
Marty B's quote of the day, "They may not win again".
You know...last year the Diamondbacks brought their prized prospect Chris Young up and they went to the NLCS. The Brewers brought up Braun and look what he did...30+ homers. We have the consensus top prospect in baseball rotting at AAA for the likes of Freel and Patterson.
Who cares if we don't have a true leadoff hitter on the team if Bruce plays CF....we suck anyway. How about Keppinger? At least he can HIT. Who cares if he can't steal a base? Note to the Reds front office (and Dusty)...you have to get ON BASE in order to steal.
Jeff Brantley sounds like Gilbert Narley. (spelling, not withstanding)
For the love of God, somebody please tell Josh Fogg it's time to leave. He is Jimmy Haynes all over again.
Let's play Reds lineup:
1. Keppinger SS
2. Bruce CF
3. Phillips 2B
4. Griffey Jr. RF
5. Dunn LF
6. Encarnacion 3B
7. Votto 1B
8. (Gulp) Ross/Bako C
9. Pitcher.
Forget about the stolen base in 2008. We don't get on base anyway.
Last night, I said the Reds were one of the 3 worst teams in baseball. I am changing my mind on that. They are the worst.
Right now...today...they are the worst team in baseball. Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Texas...they all have one thing in common...they hit. We do not. We don't even come come close.
This is not a slump folks. This is who we are. A team full of non-hitters. Griffey and Dunn, if they spend the entire season here, will not hit. They won't. It's been longer than a month. We are paying over 20 million million dollars for no production at all.
Brian McCann, Chipper Jones, Jeff Francouer...they hit. Bay, Doumit, McClouth.....they hit. Beltran, Reyes...they hit....I think you get the picture. The Reds are the worst team in the NL for certain, and maybe baseball. We have to face this fact.
Griffey Jr., Dunn, Freel, Patterson, Valentine, Ross--they are dead weight. They make up 40 percent of our hitting. This has to stop. It has to stop now.
We've been sitting here for the last few years saying the same thing over and over. It's time to gut this team and start from scratch. They absolutely suck. Start trading and start now. I am sick and tired of hearing how this team will hit. They will NOT hit. They suck.
The Reds absolutely suck. They are a poorly built team with terrible contracts and players either past their prime, indifferent or simply not MLB calibre. It's time to face facts.
Which MLB franchise has won the most games, all-time? This includes ALL wins throughout the entire track of one team. (Ex: St. Louis Browns became Baltimore Orioles so all of those combined victories count as one.)
