Strikeout - 1/29/09

In attempt to motivate myself to update more, I am going to try to implement a new column series. Since I rarely have the time to write a long piece, these will be a series of 3 quick points regarding a particular sport, and will be titled as such. Baseball = Strikeout, football = 3 Point Stance, hockey = Hat Trick, and basketball = 3 Pointer.

1. Now, I have never been a big supporter of a salary cap in baseball, but during this off-season, the New York Yankees are making me believe something needs to be done. So far, they have spent over $441 million on free agents. The second place buyer is the Cubs at slightly over $87 million. The total expenditure of the other 29 teams is $557.2 million, with the mean being $19.2 million, and the median (#15 on the list) $11.55 million. To me, this represents a problem. While I still do not favor an overall salary cap (although I am leaning more in that direction every year), I do not think a cap on free agency expenditure is not unreasonable. Maybe set a per year limit so teams have to build gradually, or a 2-3 year average mark that forces teams to choose whether they want a slow build, or throw all of their eggs into one basket.

2. The Reds have not done a lot in the free agent market, but I do like the moves they have made. I think signing Willy Taveras was a good move. It gives them a decent lead-off hitter and fills an unsure centerfield. If he can have a season somewhere between his very good 2007 season and his poor 2008 season, the Reds will be in good shape.

3. It sucks that Detroit plays at St. Louis instead of at Cincinnati. Maybe I will be able to convince my Tigers fan friend to go to a game against the Indians or Royals so he can boo those division foes.

It's Been A While

It has been a long while since I have updated this blog, but it is difficult to write on topics when the teams you are following absolutely stink.

• UofL football had an abysmal year, going 5-7. This 5-7 was reached after being 5-2 at one point in the season. Jurich is standing behind Kragthorpe, but I expect some changes to be made on the offensive side of things. Namely a change in Offensive Coordinators. Jeff Brohm is a fine Quarterbacks coach, but his offensive playcalling leaves something to be desired. On the defensive side of the ball, Ron English had greatly improved the defense, for most of the season. If they show nearly as much improvement next year, then the defense will be fine.
• The Cincinnati Bengals have had an even worse season, but thankfully not as bad as the Detroit Lions. The season has not been helped by the injury to Carson Palmer, but things were destined to be bad before the season began. You can't release two starters, an offensive lineman and running back, and expect things to go well on offense.
• Free agency signing is in full swing for the MLB, and it looks like the Yankees are trying to buy their way back into the playoffs, but what else would you expect. They have already signed A. J. Burnett, a starting pitcher rated as the fourth best player in free agency, and are in talks with C. C. Sabathia, the second rated player in free agency. The Reds have not had a lot of movement in the free agent market, but no key players are up for free agency this year.
  

Trade Deadline

That's All You Can Get?
Well, the Reds traded Griffey to the White Sox for pitcher Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar. Do not be ashamed if you have no idea who these players are, I did not either. Nick Masset has appeared in 32 games this season with a 4.63 ERA. Nick Masset is hitting .262 in Triple-A Charlotte. Also, the Reds will split Griffey's remaining salary and the buyout on next year's option with the White Sox. So, to recap the deal, in return for a future Hall of Famer, the Reds get a mediocre relief pitcher, a mediocre minor league infielder, and have to pay half of his remaining salary. This deal does not look good. Even if they wanted to just get rid of his salary, surely they could have gotten more. Also, will what they save in payroll offset a possible drop in revenue from ticket sales and merchandise.

Manny's Out Of Boston
Manny Ramierez has been traded to the Dodgers in a 3 team deal that also includes the Pirates. The Dodgers get Manny, Boston gets Jason Bay from the Pirates, and the Pirates get four prospects.

Saturday Commentary: Can A Position Be Cursed, And Other Questions

Jolbert Cabrera severely dislocated a finger in last night's win against the Yankees. He joins Alex Gonzalez, Jeff Keppinger, and Jerry Harriston Jr. as Reds shortstops currently on the disabled list this year. Is it possible that someone within the organization angered a witch doctor in Florida during training camp, and they put a curse on the position? It is as if it were the professor of dark arts position at Hogwarts. Perhaps the Reds should bring back Barry Larkin to perform an exorcism on the position.

Has a pitcher on a team with a losing record ever had a 20-win season, started the All-Star game, or won the Cy Young Award? Last night, Edinson Volquez pick up his 10th win of the season, bringing his record to 10-2. He also leads the league in the majors with an 1.71 ERA and 110 strikeouts. Unfortunately, I doubt he will be considered by many for the Cy Young. These type of awards usually go to the best pitcher on a good team. I just hope he fares better than Harang did a couple years ago, where he became the first pitcher ever to lead the league in strikeouts and not receive a single vote.

Are people in the New York Mets' organization complete jackasses? Based on the way they handled the Willie Randolf situation, I would say yes. Well, not all of them, but whoever decided to fire Randolf at 3 a.m., while he is on a road trip to Los Angeles definately is. And people that did not stand up and say that they thought it was a bad idea.

When is Griffey going to be traded? After listening to one of the out-of-town Fox announcers during last saturday's game, one would come away from it thinking that it was already a done deal. I am not so certain that he will be traded. He has a no-trade clause in his contract, and can veto any trade he does not like. There is also still the sentimental fact that he grew up in Cincinatti. Yes, Griffey is in the the last year of his contract, with it being unlikely that the Reds will pick up next year's option and pay him $16.5 million. However, a new contract is not out of the question.

Should baseball start using instant replay? Hell yes. Actually, let me clarify that. Baseball should start using it in close plays to determine if a ball is a home run or not. They should not use it to determine if a player was out or safe at a base. And they should absolutely not use it to determine balls and strikes. Let those decisions stay with the umpires on the field. Fortunately, after a breakout this season of hard to determine home runs, the MLB is going to test it in fall ball leagues and possibly Spring Training. Hopefully, it will work out.

Countdown to 600

The countdown is over. In the first inning of Monday's game against the Marlins, Griffey hit 413-foot, 2-run shot for the 600th home run of his career.

Countdown to 600.....And It's All Part of the Plan, Again

In the first inning of Saturday's game against the Braves, Griffey hit a 2-run home run for his 6th of the season, and 599th of his career.

1 to go.

Also today, the Reds blew an early 3 run lead to come back and tie the game in the ninth inning. Then in the bottom of the 10th, rookie Jay Bruce, who was called up Tuesday, as you may recall, hit his first major league home run to win the game. It was his first walk-off home run at any level.

Jay Bruce Is Here

The Reds have finally called up Jay Bruce, who many consider the #1 prospect in baseball. In his debut, he went 3 for 3, with 2 walks, and 2 RBIs, in a 9-6 win over the Pirates. There are many fans that feel like Bruce should have been starting in centerfield on Opening Day. However, management did not feel like he was quite ready to go. Corey Patterson was signed in the off-season to play center, but he had been having a horrible season. Today, the GM decided the time was right. I happen to agree with managements' decision to start him in Louisville. If you're not confident the eventual future of your organization is ready, you do not rush them. That is how top prospects become forgotten. I believe Homer Bailey was hurt by being called up last year, and that set him back, causing him to not be ready for this season. I also liked what I saw, and stories the announcers told about Griffey and Dunn spending time and joking around with Jay Bruce and Paul Janish before the game. It is important for the established vets to ease the transition for the rookies. Yes, I know every game for Bruce is not going to be like this, but it is nice to see his first one go well. And two shaving cream pies to the face is always fun to watch.

Countdown to 600

In the top of the first inning, against the San Diego Padres, Griffey hit a two-run home run for his 5th of the season, and 598th of his career.

2 to go.

Dunn Does It Again

The Reds won today on a 3-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. This is not the first time Adam Dunn has beaten the Indians with a walk-off home run. In 2006, Dunn won a game with a grand slam.

All Part of the Plan

Going into the top of the 9th inning against the Marlins, the Reds had a 6 run lead. They then proceeded to blow said lead. First one by Cordero this season, granted he only gave up the final 2 of the 6. However, in the bottom of the 10th, with runners on first and second, two outs, and 2 strikes, Paul Janish hits a walkoff single to win the game. Who? Paul Janish. If you do not know who he is, do not feel bad. He was just called up from Louisville today, to replace the injured Jeff Kepinger. He entered the game in the eighth inning, and Baker allowed him to hit in the 10th. His first major league hit won his first major league game. To add to that, his mother had just happened to have traveled up from Houston to watch him play in Louisville yesterday.

Reds vs. Brewers 4/18 - 4/20

Game 1 - 4/18
Brewers 5
Reds 2

WP: B. Sheets (3-0)
LP: B. Arroyo (0-2)
SV: E. Gagne (5)

Game 2 - 4/19
Brewers 5
Reds 3

WP: G. Mota (1-0)
LP: D. Weathers (0-2)
SV: E. Gagne (6)

Game 3 - 4/20
Brewers 3
Reds 4

WP: J. Burton (1-1)
LP: E. Gagne (1-1)

Thoughts
The Reds need to start scoring first. Granted, they need to start scoring more runs period, it is important that they start getting some leads for their pitchers. Even in the game 3 win, they had to come back twice. The Reds have only scored first in the game 5 times, winning 4 of those games. Whereas, they've scored second 14 times, having a recored of 4-10. If this trend continues of scoring second 3 times as much as scoring first, it is going to be a long season, and a lot of quality starting pitching is going to be wasted.

Encarnacion continues to be a frustrating player to watch. He will look like he has the potential to be a good player one moment, then the next moment, look like he should not be playing higher than double-A ball. In game 3 for example, he made a great defensive play, and had a home run to tie the game at 1. Then in the 10th inning, he had an error on a relatively easy ground ball that allowed, then came back in the bottom of the inning to hit the first of back-to-back home runs to tie the game. He also has 6 of the teams 11 errors.

Up next: 2 game series against Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles. First meeting of the year. Matt Belisle makes his return from rehabbing in Louisville, on Monday.

Overall record: 8-11
Series recored: 2-3-1

Reds vs. Diamondbacks 3/31 - 4/3

Game 1
Arizona 4 WP: B. Webb (1-0)
Cincinnati 2 LP: A. Harang (0-1)
S: B. Lyon (1)

Game 2
Arizona 5 WP: J. Affeldt (1-0)
Cincinnati 6 LP: B. Lyon (0-1)


Game 3
Arizona 2 WP: J. Cueto (1-0)
Cincinnati 3 LP: D. Davis (0-1)
S: F. Cordero (1)

Good Series
Johnny Cueto - Making his major league debut, he struck out 10 in 7 innings, had 0 walks and only allowed 1 home run, a solo shot in the 6th inning. Until that home run, he had a perfect game going.

Jeff Keppinger - Went 5 for 10, with 2 walks, a double, a solo home run, and only one strikeout.

Edwin Encarnacion - In game two, hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 9th.

Bad Series
Ken Griffey, Jr. - Went 1 for 9, with 3 strikeouts, but did manage to get 3 walks.

Brandon Phillips - Even though he went 4 for 12, he struck out 5 times.

David Weathers - Gave up 3 walks in 1.1 innings during the series.

Thoughts
It was encouraging that a couple pitchers that were brought in to improve the staff did not disappoint. Cordero did what he was brought in to do, and closed out the game, and Cueto performed well in the #3 starter spot. Harang and Arroyo did not have bad starts, but they were plagued by errors by Encarnacion. Strikeouts continue to be a problem for this team. In 88 at-bats, there were a total of 21 strikeouts, compared to 17 hits. To have a successful season, this number needs to be reversed. Phillips cannot strikeout this much if he is going to be batting fourth.

Overall record: 2-1
Series record: 1-0-0

Next up: 4 game series against Philadelphia