A FEW MO' THINGS, 8/6/12
I often wish Joe Nuxhall was still alive. Moreso when I see names like this and imagine them on the back of a baseball jersey.
(Photo courtesy of my friends Tim and Jeff)
I spent the last two days out of town and just flew back this morning. Airport wifi is a ripoff, so I didn't get to update the blog as early as I would've like. So this will be short and sweet.
Programming Notes: I'm on every day this week on ESPN1530, starting at 3:04. I'm also on 700WLW today through Thursday starting at 6:05. Tell your friends, enemies, and if you're an Olympic gymnast, tell your frenemies.
Party Notes: We have an ESPN1530 Reds Watch Party for tomorrow's tilt against the Brewers. It starts at 8:00. Be there or we can' be frenemies anymore.
-I wouldn't call the NL Central race over, but after this weekend let's be honest, it'd be hard for the Reds to not win the division. A four and a half game lead is not insurmountable, but given the schedule in front of them, and given what this team has avoided doing all season, not winning the division at this point would be a pretty massive upset.
The Reds have 54 games to go. 42 of them are against teams with losing records. If they simply go 27-27 the rest of the way, they'll end the season with a record of 93-69. For the Pirates to tie them, they'd have to go 33-22 (.582). Certainly possible, but that'd be a pace better than they're playing at this season. The Cardinals would have to go 34-20 (.630). I think the Cards have a run in them, and the champ deserves proper respect, especially after what they did in the final month last season, but they ain't playing .630 baseball.
And by the way, I don't think the Reds are playing only .500 baseball the rest of the way.
They also won't win 22 of their next 26 either, but remember this is a team that's only lost four consecutive games once this season, that's avoided long losing streaks the way I avoid exercise equipment, and that has the kind of front-of-the-rotation ace that's needed to stop losing skids before they happen.
Given how the final third of the schedule is populated with a lot of Brewers, Cubs, and Astros, do we really feel like these guys are gonna lose seven straight?
Oh yeah, and they get the game's best hitter back at some point.
Might the Pirates and/or Cardinals cut into the lead? Sure. In fact, probably. Could it at one point totally evaporate? It's plausible. But after watching this team the first 108 games, it's safe to say that the Reds are not only the favorite to win the division, but that anything short of a second NL Central crown in three years would be both a massive upset and a colossal disappointment.
-Been to probably 250 games at Great American Ballpark. Friday night might have been the best atmosphere I've ever experienced there. Even a half-hearted attempt at a wave was thwarted. That's how into the game the crowd was. A few thoughts on the weekend....
*Mat Latos opens the biggest series of the year to date by pitching 7+ shutout innings and hitting a two-run dinger. Maybe the Twitterverse can say something nice about him.
The dude is 6-1 with a 2.72 ERA in his last ten starts. He's kept the ball in the yard in six of them. The team has won seven of them. He still walks too many guys and you still sometimes wonder if he'll unravel at the first sign of trouble, but the centerpiece of the Reds offseason is also on pace to win about 15 games.
Put as much stock into pitcher win-loss records as you want, but if I would've told you in January that Mat Latos would finish with 15 wins, you'd have taken it.
And if I would've told you in May that he'd have ten wins this season, you'd have asked me to pee in a cup.
*I thought Brian Gorman handled Saturday night's controversy well. That entire game was played against the backdrop of potential retaliation for McCutcheon getting drilled on Friday. The ump was extra vigilant and had to be. The Pirates didn't get a chance to hit a Red. So what? Brian Gorman ensured that Saturday night's baseball game was about being a baseball game.
*The Marty head shaving shin-dig Friday night was one of the cooler things I've had a chance to be a part of. (I took many of the pictures you'll find in this gallery) No part of the ceremony was cooler than him revealing his "Im Still Me" t-shirt and acknowledging this group of kids and the organization that helps them and their families.
-More later, including a preview of today's radio show on ESPN1530. The blog returns to being done in the morning tomorrow. Please say a prayer for my friend and colleague Ken Broo and his family. He lost his wife last week at the age of 59.
This commercial is airing during the Olympics. I never walked in on my parents boning, but if I did, I'm thinking crappy spaghetti sauce wouldn't have been what I needed.
