A FEW MO' THINGS, 6/11/12
Programming Notes: I'm on every afternoon this week on ESPN1530, plus tonight and Thursday night on 700WLW.
Frustrating weekend.
Three really good games at Great American Ballpark yielded only one win, and last night's loss is the current leader for the title most disheartening defeat of the season.
When you have a four-run lead in the seventh inning, and you hand it to a bullpen that's been the backbone of the team, you're supposed to win the game.
I'll give Dusty a break here. I know with only one man on base and two out, it's fair to wonder if the Reds manager was a little too trigger-happy with his starter, but with the score 6-2 and with the likes of Arredondo, Marshall, Ondrusek, and Chapman, all of whom have been very good this season, waiting in the wings, is it too much to ask them to get the game's final seven outs?
No.
Perhaps Dusty could've instructed his relievers to borrow from Jose Valverde's playbook and load up the baseball....
....beats throwing up all over the mound, I guess.
What was odd, and I don't know how to capture this on this blog, was the mood of the crowd as last night's meltdown unfolded. Not angry. Not restless. Not uncaring either. Rather this weird, quiet, vibe that filled the air. Weird.
-I see both sides of the walk/don't walk Cabrera debate. Fielder is one of the game's best run producers, but Sean Marshall is getting paid to get out of those situations and his manager put him in a situation he's compensated well to get out of.
-Lost in the frustration of the last two games (and Thursday's for good measure), is how good and exciting Friday's was. I still can't believe that neither manager knew that Wilson Valdez was bunting.
And I still can't believe how brutal Wilson's hair is.
-With the ESPN crew in town for Sunday Night Baseball, some stuff from Buster Olney....
The legend of Billy Hamilton grows. The Reds' minor-leaguer -- a second-round pick in 2009 -- has 70 stolen bases in 84 attempts for Sinlge-A Bakersfield, and he's increased his on-base percentage this year from .340 to .401. Walt Jocketty, the Reds' general manager, has asked his player development folks about the nature of Hamilton's stolen bases, and he has been assured that this is not a case of a baserunner piling up numbers without discretion, in empty moments. "He's running in the right situations," said Jocketty.
Chris Buckley, the Reds' amateur scouting director, wrote in an e-mail that Cincinnati "first starting scouting him in the 11th grade. Our scouts raved about his speed and athleticism. He reminded me of a guy I grew up admiring and played with as a young guy -- Willie Wilson." Hamilton was a four-sport athlete, and the more he plays, Buckley wrote, the better he's gotten.
Hamilton is a shortstop, but the Reds have the smooth-fielding Zack Cozart in the big leagues and Didi Gregorius in Double-A, and at some point in the upcoming offseason, Cincinnati may decide to shift Hamilton to another position.
Todd Frazier of the Reds seems a lot like Sean Casey: Loves playing baseball, always has a smile and is a positive force. In his 79th game in the big leagues Sunday night, he mashed an opposite-field homer -- and when the ball cleared the right field wall, a huge smile formed on his face. Nothing showy and certainly not an effort to show anybody up; it was just pure joy.
-Joey Votto is not only the best hitter I've ever seen, Tom Verducci says he's currently the best hitter in baseball.
-This blog started at 9am. It's finished at 1:47. Should give you a glimpse into how today has gone. I haven't had a chance to get to the NBA Finals, a great game seven on Saturday night, the boxing sham, or much of anything else. I have six hours today to cover it all. 3:04 on ESPN1530, then at 6:05 on 700WLW. Be there for both and be glad you're not a Jaguars fan.
