Reds
BP slump
Bradon Phillips went 2 for 3 on July 29 vs Colorado. He moved his batting average to a season high .300 that day. It was the first and only time he'd reached the .300 mark this season. Since then, Phillips has hit .212 in his last 16 games:
.212-.254-.333-.587, 1 HR, 3 RBI (14 for 66)
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Love these
The Bengals are going old school with their program covers this year
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Our weekend: Four soccer games and one baseball game
Soccer
Peyton had a tournament at Clear Creek in Anderson on Saturday and Miami Meadows in Milford on Sunday.
Fall baseball
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Reds
Stretch run math
The Reds stand 74-48 (.606) with 40 games remaining.
The Reds lead Pittsburgh 67-54 (.563) by 6.5 games
The Reds lead St Louis 65-56 (.537) by 8.5 games
What will it take for the Pirates and/or Cardinals to catch the Reds?
If Reds go 24-16 (.600) rest of the way (98-64):
Pirates must go 31-10 to tie
Cardinals must go 33-8 to tie
If Reds go 20-20 (.500) rest of way (94-68):
Pirates must go 27-14 to tie
Cards must go 29-12 to tie
If Reds go 15-25 (.375) rest of way (89-73):
Pirates must go 22-19 to tie
Cards must go 24-17 to tie
Pirates beat Cards 6-3 in 19 innings
Game last 6 hours and 7 minutes
19 pitchers threw 574 pitches
Two other pitchers pinch-hit
The Pirates took 3-2 lead in 17th only to see Cardinals tie in bottm of 17th
Joe Kelly (St L) threw 5.2 innings in relief
The Pirates had to hop a plane to West Coast (SD tonight)
Cards get today off before hosting Houston starting tomorrow
Loss exposes Cards' offense as phony
Bernie Miklasz, St Louis Post Dispatch
If the Cardinals fail to generate another lightning strike, we'll view this somber Sunday as the flash point of their demise. Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium, with the stands gradually emptying over 19 monotonous and frustrating innings, the Cardinals suffered a death by a thousand pitches.
On this date: 2001
(Steven M. Herppich)
Ken Griffey Jr delivered a walk-off inside the park homer to beat St Louis
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Do you lack patience?
Take the time to read this Sunday NY Times piece on waiting.
Why Waiting in Line Is Torture
NY Times
All else being equal, people who wait less than they anticipated leave happier than those who wait longer than expected. This is why Disney, the universally acknowledged master of applied queuing psychology, overestimates wait times for rides, so that its guests — never customers, always guests — are pleasantly surprised when they ascend Space Mountain ahead of schedule.
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Dunn did it: 400
Check out the fan that retrieved Adam Dunn's 400th home run from the Kauffman Stadium water fountain in Kansas City Saturday night.
The fan was arrested and the home run ball was taken away. The fan, wearing a #20 Kevin Youkilis White Sox jersey, hopped the railing and dove into the fountains water to retrieve the ball. The fan was arrested.
Dunn amused by retrieval of 400th HR ball
It's not the first time a Dunn HR got a fan in trouble. From CSNChicago.com:
“That’s the second guy I’ve gotten arrested,” Dunn said.
In 2004, Charles Baker caught Dunn’s 40th home run that season and was interviewed live on a television broadcast. Viewers recognized Baker, who had an outstanding arrest warrant from Miami (Ohio) University, and alerted Cincinnati Reds security guards. The guards, however, weren’t able to track down Baker in time.
Dunn 2012: .207-35-83 with 175 K in 496 PA
Dunn 2011: .159-11-42 with 177 K in 519 PA
Projected 2012 numbers: 47 HR, 112 RBI, 96 R, 116 BB, 236 K
Career: 400 HR, 1005 RBI
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Reds
Here comes a week long test
4 games vs Phils at Citizens Bank Park
3 games vs Cards at GABP
The Reds will face a 14, 13 and 11 game winner, plus Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.
Phillies
Phils starting pitchers this week vs Reds: 16-3 career
Reds starting pitchers this week vs Phils: 2-13 career
Leake (0-1 6.44, 3 starts) vs Halladay (2-1 2.56, 9 starts + playoff no-hitter)
Bailey (0-3 5.88, 5starts) vs Lee (6-2 4.04, 10 starts)
Arroyo (1-7 7.28, 9 starts) vs Worley (1-0 5.73, 2 starts)
Cueto (1-2 5.56, 5 starts) vs Hamels (7-0 1.77, 9 starts)
Cardinals
Scheduled Cards starting pitchers this week vs Reds: 10-7 career
Reds starting pitchers this week vs Cards: 5-11 career
Latos (1-3 9.75, 5 starts) vs Lynn (0-0 2.56, 3games)
Leake (1-2 5.24, 4 starts) vs Garcia (7-1 3.12, 9 starts)
Bailey (3-6 5.09, 11 starts) vs Wainright (3-6 4.39, 10 starts)
*Latos career at Busch Stadium: 0-3 18.83, 3 starts)
Attendance
The Reds drew 146,937 for the four game series vs Cubs.
They are averaging 29,477 through 63 home dates.
That is an increase of 1,754 compared to 63 home dates a year ago (27,723).
Total increase: 110,505
FS Ohio: Latos, Cueto give the Reds the ol' 1-2 punch
No brotherly love
From listener AJ
Since Citizen Bank Ballpark opened in 2004 the Reds are 9-22 (including the 2010 NLDS). They played eight regular season series at CBB. The Reds are 1-6-1, splitting a 4 games series in 2005 and winning the final 2 games of a 3 game set in 2006.
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Down on the Farm
(Michael Chang/Getty Images)
Hamiltonn closes in on record for steals in season
NY Times
“After the season, I’m going to invite Billy down to Atlanta for an old-school barefoot backyard foot race with my son to see who the best man is,” DeShields Sr. said.
Having watched Usain Bolt win the gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the London Olympics, Hamilton says he feels ready for the challenge of the World’s Fastest Man.
“I’m a competitor, so I’m going to say I could beat him,” he said of Bolt, the Jamaican sprint king, though he said he liked his chances more if the race was from first base to home plate, rather than straight down a track.
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Skyline Chiii Crosstown Showdown preview tonight
Get ready for the start of the Ohio high school football season with a special in-house Showdown Preview Special featuring coaches from Elder, Oak hills and St. Xavier high schools, from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Holy Grail West on Monday night. The Holy Grail West is located at 1278 Ebenezer Road in Delhi.
The show will feature interviews with Elder coach Doug Ramsey, first-year Oak Hills coach Dan Scholz and St. Xavier coach Steve Specht. The show will be hosted by Tom Gamble, organizer of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown, and Enquirer reporter Richard Skinner.
Elder hosts Centerville in a Showdown game at 7:30 p.m. Friday night, while St. Xavier takes on Middletown that same night, at 8:30 p.m. at UC’s Nippert Stadium. Scholz makes his Oak Hills debut on Saturday, facing Walnut Hills at 3 p.m. at Nippert.
For complete showdown details, visit www.skylinecrosstownshowdown.
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Reds
Here is what you need to know about this team
Ryan Hanigan delivered a game winning hit Sunday to beat the Cubs 5-4.
Hanigan threw out the go-ahead runner, trying to steal 3B, in the top of the 9th.
Just 90-seconds after the game Hanigan was interviewed on the field by Jeff Piecoro of FS Ohio. The first thing Hanigan said was that Mat Latos was the "story of the game".
During the interview, Logan Ondrusek gave Hanigan the ball from his first career game winning hit.
Mat Latos pitched 8 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs. He was a victim of 3 errors behind him and got a no decision. Did he pout? No. He snuck up behind Hanigan during the interview and got him with shaving cream in the game.
That is a TEAM.
Observations
The Reds have gotten a little loose lately on defense. That's 9 errors in the last 5 games.
Xavier Paul did what Xavier Paul does...hit off the bench.
Still can't believe the Cubs tried to steal 3B, in a tie game, with a LH batter up, and one out.
Every time I watch David DeJesus I think the same thing: I like that guy.
I'm no American Idol judge but that was a hell of a job by Angela Cheslock on God Bless America.
Meet Barry Larkin at the Reds HOF & Museum - Aug. 23
CINCINNATI (August 18, 2012) — The Reds Hall of Fame welcomes Reds and National Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin for an exclusive fan meet and greet on Thursday, Aug. 23.
The newest member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame will greet and take photographs with fans in the Reds Hall of Fame’s Great Teams Room from 5 to 7 p.m.
Mr. Larkin will not be signing autographs during the event.
Pricing for this unique opportunity to meet a true Reds legend is $11 for Reds Hall of Fame members and $16 for non-members.
All proceeds from the event benefit the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the celebration and preservation of Cincinnati Reds and baseball history.
The Barry Larkin Meet & Greet is one of the events held during the “11 Days of Larkin,” a series of celebrations from August 16-26 that include the retirement of his uniform number 11 on Saturday, Aug. 25.
Tickets for the meet and greet are available at the Hall of Fame box office or by calling (513) 765-7923.
Barry Larkin Meet & Greet at the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum
Thursday, August 23, 2012 from 5 to 7 p.m.
$11 for Reds Hall of Fame members; $16 for non-members
www.redsmuseum.org or (513) 765-7923
**Photos only, no autographs please.
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Bengals
Hobson: Kirkpatrick debuts
Hoard: Sanu looks to answer call
Reedy: Bengals camp a success
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UC footballl
Hoard: Lefeld gaining confidence on offensive line
SI previews Big East football
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Stuff
Here are two good reads on why Dan Dakich accepted the West Virginia basketball job in 2002 and quickly turned around and returned to Bowling Green. The story involves a WVU player that told Dakich he was still owed part of the $60,000 he was promised when he chose to play at WVU.
Doyel: Ok, Bud Selig, make it so Cabrera can't win NL batting title
Video: Touchdown Pead
NY Daily News: Bizarre plot by Melky Cabrera to duck suspension
Ranking American Pro Sports uniforms
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Listener photos
From Bill Walters:
My buddies had been in cahoots with my wife since April to pull this off as en early 40th birthday celebration for me. They arranged for time off for me without my knowledge. My buddies showed up at my house early last Friday morning and kidnapped me! They knocked on the door and said, “Come on, we’re taking you to Chicago!” They had a brand new Reds batting practice shirt waiting for me in the car. Great road trip. When we got to Chicago there were two more buddies who flew in to spend the weekend with us. We sat in the bleachers and saw the Reds win last Saturday. I was absolutely floored. A thousand thanks to David and Chad for pulling off the biggest surprise of my life.
From Chris: Saw this tattoo on a guy at the Darke Co. Fair in Greenville. I was impressed and thought you might be too so I took a pic to send. Needless to say the guy was a huge Bengal fan.
