Cy Young?

Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman continue to build Cy Young award resumes.
No Reds pitcher has won the Cy Young award since it was first awarded in 1956.
The Reds are one of five teams without a Cy Young Award winner: Tampa Bay, Texas, Florida, and Colorado. A Reds pitcher has received at least one Cy Young vote 26 times.Multiple Reds pitcher have received votes in the same season on three occasions:
1974: Jack Billingham, Don Gullett, Clay Carroll
1972: Clay Carroll, Gary Nolan
1970: Jim Merritt, Gary Nolan, Wayne Granger

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Reds

How about this tribute to Frazier's Little League World Series team?!

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Follow Joey Votto tonight

(Dayton Dragons)

We will listen in to Joey Votto's at-bats tonight in his rehab assignment with the Dayton Dragons.

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Reds

Forest through the trees

For all the talk of Aroldis Chapman for Cy Young, is anyone looking at what Braves closer Craig Kimbrel is doing? He's got a better case than Chapman.

RP: Chapman/Kimbrel
ERA: 1.27, 1.13
WHIP: 0.72, 0.65
BAA: .135, .117
IN:    64, 48
H:     30, 19
BB:    16, 12
K:     113, 86
K/9:  15.9, 16.1
%K    46.5, 49.3 (thanks Jeff)
SV:     33, 32
BS:      4, 2
W:       5, 0
L:        4, 1

(Thanks Joe for comparison)

Observations
The Reds have the most wins and best record of any team in MLB
Johnny Cueto leads the NL in wins (17) and ERA (2.48)
Ryan Hanigan might be the most underrated/under appreciated Reds player of my lifetime.
Good to see Broxton in a groove
Todd Frazier=RBI machine: .295-18-62
Perhaps the only think more shocking than Rolen's 15 pitch AB is that Juan Francisco has the longest ML AB of season with 16. (Joel Luckhaupt stat)

Reds ptichers with 17+ wins since 1975
From Steven Sharp
It's just the ninth time since the 1975 season (the last 38 seasons) that a Reds pitcher has won 17 or more regular-season games in a season. 
2- Mario Soto, Tom Browning
1-Danny Jackson, Pete Schourek, Edinson Vólquez, Bronson Arroyo, and now Johnny Cueto in that span. 

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Playoff rotation
The question is not IF the Reds will win the NL Central, it is WHEN the Reds will win the NL Central. Time to think playoff rotation/format:

If playoffs started today:
*Wild Card game: Braves hosting Cardinals
*Reds at winner of Wild Card game (Game 1, 2 in St Louis/ATL)
*Nationals at Giants (Game 1,2 in SF)

Keep in mind, the better seed starts on the road in Game 1, 2 and then comes home for Game 3, and 4,5, if necessary. The Best of 5 opening round series will be played over 6 days.
It's a lock Johnny Cueto goes in Game 1.
Probably safe to say the Reds would not bring Cueto back on 3 days rest to pitch Game 4. He would go, if needed, in Game 5 on four days rest.
It's likely the Reds will need four starting pitchers.
it's probably safe to say Mike Leake is odd man out.
That leaves Mat Latos, Bronson Arroyo and Homer Bailey.
Consider the Home/Road splits for the starter:

Pitcher--Home---Road (2012)
Cueto     2.26........2.63
Latos     3.63........4.15
Arroyo    4.43........3.45
Bailey    5.58........2.91
Leake    5.17........3.80
Arroyo's ERA is a run better on the road. Bailey's ERA is 2.6 runs better on the road.
Latos' ERA is a half run better at home.
So, who starts Game 2 on the road? Can the Reds afford to throw Arroyo or Bailey, ahead of Latos in Game 2 and save Latos for Game 3 at GABP?

NL playoff format after Wild Card game

NLDS Game One (Cueto)      Saturday, October 6      
NLDS Game Two                  Sunday, October 7    
                                        Off Day Monday
NLDS Game Three               Tuesday, October 9     
NLDS Game Four*               Wednesday, October 10    
NLDS Game Five* (Cueto)   Thursday, October 11    
 
Or..........

NLDS Game One      Sunday, October 7
NLDS Game Two       Monday, October 8  
                             Off Day Tuesday
NLDS Game Three    Wednesday, October 10
NLDS Game Four*    Thursday, October 11 
NLDS Game Five*     Friday, October 12

Clip and save
HERE is the 2012 MLB playoff format/schedule. Yes, the better seed opens on the road in Game 1, 2 before going home for Game 3, and, if necessary, 4 and 5.
This format is for 2012 only. It's the result of the playoff format and extra wild card teams being added so late in the process. And yes, a divison winner and wild card winner from the same division can play each other.

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Ryan H

Hanigan was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI last night. He's now 16 for his last 38.
Season: .290/.382
Career: .279/.374.
How many current MLB catchers have an OBP better than .374? (Min. 500 games)
In August: 20 for 56, 12 BB, .357/.465 with .858 OPS
He has the best ERA of any catcher in MLB (3.05)
He has thrown out 19 of 48 (40%) base stealers this season, including 15 of his last 30.
Not bad for an undrafted player.
Contract status: $1.2 M this year, $2.05M next year

Perspective
The Reds have matched '11 win total (79-83). Reds currently 79-52.
A year ago at this point they stood 65-66, 13 games back of Milwaukee.
Through 131 games:
2011
Runs scored 616, runs allowed 571
2012
Runs scored 571, runs allowed 496
Reds have scored 45 fewer and allowed 75 fewer than a year ago at this point.

Sporting News: Chapman putting pressure on Cy Young voters to pick reliever

When the Marshall Plan gave way to The Missile
On Saturday, May 19, Dusty Baker turned to closer Sean Marshall to close out a 6-3 Reds lead in the 9th inning at Yankee Stadium. Marshall retired just one batter, allowing four hits and two runs. With the lead cut to 6-5, Baker turned to Jose Arredondo to get the final two outs. Aroldis Chapman had already pitched the 8th inning in the set-up role. Arredondo recorded his first ML save in pinning down a 6-5 win.
The next day, Sunday, May 20, Baker handed the closer role to Chapman.
Marshall had been shaky in his first 16 appearances. He had blown a save and been replaced in two other save situations. Marshall had a 5.02 ERA in 14.1 innings and the league was hitting .344 vs him.
Chapman earned his first save of the season that day in preserving a 5-2 win.
The Reds stood 20-19 going into that game. The Reds are 59-33(.641) since the move to Chapman as closer.

Baker on Frazier again
Cincinnati.com
Baker has said he won’t play Jay Bruce in center field to open right for Frazier. He also said he won’t play Frazier at shortstop to spell Zack Cozart. Frazier did come up as a shortstop.
“You just can’t put guys some place,” Baker said. “It’s going to cost you defensively. You see how close our games are. You can not give away outs. We tired that last year with (Yonder) Alonso.”

Just wondering, how many pitchers miss an entire season, without having had a surgery? (Nick Masset)

On this date: Monday evening, August 29, 1966
Cincinnati Reds versus St. Louis Cardinals
Crosley Field/Cincinnati, OH
"Nuxhall Shuts Out Cardinals, Johnson Two Homers"
Veteran lefthander Joe Nuxhall pitched a three-hit complete game shutout for the Reds, as the Reds defeated the Cardinals, 2-0.  Leftfielder Deron Johnson homered in the second inning and again in the fourth inning, to account for both Reds runs.  The win was the sixth straight for the 1966 Reds and moved them back over the .500 mark for the season.
It was the second consecutive complete game for Nuxhall.  He defeated Gaylord Perry and the Giants in San Francisco, five days earlier with a complete game effort.
The win for Nuxhall was his 135th and FINAL MLB win.  Nuxhall won 130 of those games with the Reds/Redlegs franchise.  He would finish out the 1966 season for the Reds and retire as a player in the spring of 1967.
From: Steven Sharp
Twitter.com/TheStevenSharp

UC

From UC Athletic Director Whit Babcock, on Twitter
@WhitBabcock
Here is the video we showed in our All-Staff Mtg this a.m. Great time to be a Bearcat.

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Down on the Farm

From the Dragons
Dayton, Ohio—Major league all-star Joey Votto returned to live game action for first time since July 15 and the Dayton Dragons defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps 9-3 on Tuesday night.  Votto played the first four and one-half innings on a major league injury rehabilitation assignment, going 0 for 1 with a walk for the Dragons. A crowd of 9,198, the largest of the 2012 season, saw the former National League Most Valuable Player in the first of a scheduled two-night rehab assignment as he recovers from knee surgery.

Last night at Louisville
Todd Redmond: 6 IN, 5 H, 0 R
Bill Bray: 1 IN, 1 BB, 11 pitches/6 strikes
Logan Ondrusek: 1.1 IN, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K, HR, Loss, 36 pitches/23 strikes

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NL Central

Molina, Cards KO'd by Pirates
St Louis Post Dispatch
"I would love for him to slide, but this is baseball," Molina said. "It's one of those things that is going to happen."
Asked if it was a clean play by Harrison, Molina responded, "You tell me. I know it's part of baseball. I don't know if it was clean or not.
"I don't know if he had an opportunity to slide or not. I never saw the guy coming.
"I'll be OK, for sure, but I'm pretty sore right now."

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Bengals

Trade?

Dave Lapham joined me on Sports Talk last night. He said he doesn't think there is any way Kyle Cook plays in the opener. In fact, he wondered about Cook not returning until after the bye week. That would mean Cook misses first seven games.
Lap also wondered about a possible trade while the Saints are in town. He noted the Bengals need a center and the Saints need a MLB. The Bengals have Vontaze Burfict and Roddrick Muckelroy, in addition to Rey Maualuga. The Saints have Matt Tennant as their backup center. Matt is from Moeller High School and played at Boston College. He's 6'4 300 lbs. He was a 5th round pick in 2010 and has played in 28 NFL games.  

Hobson: Jack of all trades

Hoculi on Munoz
Yahoo
When asked to name his favorite player of all time, Ed Hochuli does not go with a skill guy; he picks Anthony Munoz.
"To watch him block was artistic," Hochuli says of the Hall of Fame offensive lineman. "His feet were so good. He was always between the rusher and the quarterback. He never held."

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