What a great day it is to be a Reds fan. Coming into today they needed just one more win or one more Cardinals loss in order to win the division. Today the Reds clinch the division title by beating the Houston Astros 3-2 in exciting fashion. They went against the tough lefty Wandy Rodriguez and were only able to produce two runs against him through six innings.
Luckily Volquez delivered a good outing for the Reds and held the Astros to two runs through six innings also.
When I saw it was going to be decided by the bullpens I knew the Reds had a great chance to win. The Reds bullpen did excellent with Rhodes, Masset and finally Chapman getting the win. Each pitcher struck out at least one batter.
The game ended with a dramatic home run. Jay Bruce came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth being hit-less in the game, and had bounced into a disastrous inning ending double play in the sixth with the bases-loaded.
The first pitch Bruce saw he launched into deep center field. He raised his hand up as he watched the ball clear the fence as he rounded the bases his team was waiting to start celebrating. It was a very good game, and I am really happy to be a Reds fans.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Rough September
The Reds are one of a few teams that actually have a winning record in every month of the season this year. But they have gotten off to a terrible start in September. It seems that many areas of their game have struggled.
The month began with a terrible road trip through St. Louis and Colorado. They lost the St. Louis series by one win and two losses. They were swept by Colorado in a four game series. This was pretty tough to swallow since in many of the games the Reds had a lead then lost it because of their bullpen. Recently Cordero blew two save situtaions against the Pirates, but luckily the Reds won one of those games in extra innings.
It also appears the batters are struggling and looking tired. Especially Brandon Phillips after he was hit in the hand and missed some games he looks out of sorts at the plate since he came back. The Reds haven't scored that many runs per game in September. They are still hitting pretty well with runners in scoring position it's they are having trouble getting runners on.
One bright spot in September has been Jay Bruce. After he struggled in July/August he seems to have gotten his stroke back and has hit many homers in his last few games. He also made an amazing catch against Arizona to rob them of a home run save Cordero from having another blown save.
The month began with a terrible road trip through St. Louis and Colorado. They lost the St. Louis series by one win and two losses. They were swept by Colorado in a four game series. This was pretty tough to swallow since in many of the games the Reds had a lead then lost it because of their bullpen. Recently Cordero blew two save situtaions against the Pirates, but luckily the Reds won one of those games in extra innings.
It also appears the batters are struggling and looking tired. Especially Brandon Phillips after he was hit in the hand and missed some games he looks out of sorts at the plate since he came back. The Reds haven't scored that many runs per game in September. They are still hitting pretty well with runners in scoring position it's they are having trouble getting runners on.
One bright spot in September has been Jay Bruce. After he struggled in July/August he seems to have gotten his stroke back and has hit many homers in his last few games. He also made an amazing catch against Arizona to rob them of a home run save Cordero from having another blown save.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Best Record in August
Wow what a comeback the Reds had in the month of August. They had nineteen wins and only eight losses. They only lost two series during the month. The first series loss was to the Cardinals and the second one was to the Giants.
In the beginning of the August the Reds were swept by the Cardinals, but after that the Reds seemed to kick it into high gear and went on a great winning streak. They had a West coast trip that in years past buried them in the standings but this year they had six wins and three losses on that West coast trip and cemented themselves in first place above the Cardinals.
It looks like the Reds are going to be rolling right along into September. I can really feel it this year I hope the Reds can win the division and make some noise in the playoffs. Right now they have an eight game lead in the central division.
In the beginning of the August the Reds were swept by the Cardinals, but after that the Reds seemed to kick it into high gear and went on a great winning streak. They had a West coast trip that in years past buried them in the standings but this year they had six wins and three losses on that West coast trip and cemented themselves in first place above the Cardinals.
It looks like the Reds are going to be rolling right along into September. I can really feel it this year I hope the Reds can win the division and make some noise in the playoffs. Right now they have an eight game lead in the central division.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Swept by the Cardinals
Ouch that was probably one of the worst series for the Reds this year. Probably even worse than they sweep by the Phillies even though that was a four gamer.
This sweep by the Cards put the Reds one game back of first place and their first series loss after the All-star break. I think the Cardinals were sparked by remarks from Brandon Phillips, and they put a beat down on the them. The Reds were outscored 21-8 in the series and were out pitched. It looked pretty ugly. I watched the first two games and you could tell the Cardinals were bringing their A game.
It looks like the Reds bounced back pretty well with a sweep of the Marlins in their next series. It's a good thing baseball has a long season, or this series with the Cardinals could have done the Reds in. This year they seem really resiliant every time they have been knocked down in a series they step up their game and work even harder.
This sweep by the Cards put the Reds one game back of first place and their first series loss after the All-star break. I think the Cardinals were sparked by remarks from Brandon Phillips, and they put a beat down on the them. The Reds were outscored 21-8 in the series and were out pitched. It looked pretty ugly. I watched the first two games and you could tell the Cardinals were bringing their A game.
It looks like the Reds bounced back pretty well with a sweep of the Marlins in their next series. It's a good thing baseball has a long season, or this series with the Cardinals could have done the Reds in. This year they seem really resiliant every time they have been knocked down in a series they step up their game and work even harder.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Edinson Volquez
Watching Volquez pitch is like pulling teeth it is so slow and agonizing. It seems that he isn't all the way back yet. Chris Welsh keeps commenting on his problems with his release point, but I don't really know if that is his only problem or not.
The problem with watching Volquez pitch is, he is so slow coming to the plate he seems to really take his time between pitches and it really slows down the pace of the game. At least today against the Cubs he went six plus innings and was able to only surrender one run. It amazes me that in the last two starts he has only given up two earned runs over eleven innings and he has so many walks.
His last starts have been a lot worse than his first start back from the disabled list. His first start back was great, and I was hoping he would be back to his all-star form in 2008, but so far he hasn't. At least Volquez at 75% is still pretty good.
The problem with watching Volquez pitch is, he is so slow coming to the plate he seems to really take his time between pitches and it really slows down the pace of the game. At least today against the Cubs he went six plus innings and was able to only surrender one run. It amazes me that in the last two starts he has only given up two earned runs over eleven innings and he has so many walks.
His last starts have been a lot worse than his first start back from the disabled list. His first start back was great, and I was hoping he would be back to his all-star form in 2008, but so far he hasn't. At least Volquez at 75% is still pretty good.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Reds Win Series Against Braves
What a great home series that was against the Atlanta Braves. This is probably one of the few times the Reds have beaten the Braves in a three game series in maybe even a decade. They even had a chance to sweep them but lost the first game in extra innings. The Reds looked pretty good playing against them.
The pitching is what really won these games. They did have some timely hitting but the pitching is what kept them in the game. I still can't believe the Reds are leading the league in many battling categories. It is pretty amazing how this team turned around from last year, and they didn't even have Volquez for half the year.
I think the Cincinnati team has won every series since the all-star break except the series against the Nationals in which each team won two games. Hopefully they will continue to win deep into the post season, but it is still a really tight race for both the Central division and wild card.
The pitching is what really won these games. They did have some timely hitting but the pitching is what kept them in the game. I still can't believe the Reds are leading the league in many battling categories. It is pretty amazing how this team turned around from last year, and they didn't even have Volquez for half the year.
I think the Cincinnati team has won every series since the all-star break except the series against the Nationals in which each team won two games. Hopefully they will continue to win deep into the post season, but it is still a really tight race for both the Central division and wild card.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Rain Delay Disaster
What a wild game it was last night, I really wish the umpires had just called the game over instead of waiting almost three hours for the rain to stop. It would have been a complete game since the Nationals batted in the top of the fifth.
As it ends up the Reds still won (thankfully), but man the bullpen really blew a huge lead and it was a one run lead for the last three innings. The Reds had an eight to one lead going into the sixth inning and Owings and Bray did a bad job. Combined they gave up six runs and only pitched one inning.
Luckily Masset, Rhodes, and Cordero combined for three score less innings and the closer pitched a good one, two, three inning. I was pretty tired after watching that game.
I was glad to see Bruce get that double, it was a solid swing and hit. Hopefully he is coming around, and I hope that Rolen comes back today to bat against Strasburg. I'm not sure if Miguel Cairo is a good match-up against Strasburg.
The Reds need to keep winning since the Cardinals are on an unbelievable win streak right now.
As it ends up the Reds still won (thankfully), but man the bullpen really blew a huge lead and it was a one run lead for the last three innings. The Reds had an eight to one lead going into the sixth inning and Owings and Bray did a bad job. Combined they gave up six runs and only pitched one inning.
Luckily Masset, Rhodes, and Cordero combined for three score less innings and the closer pitched a good one, two, three inning. I was pretty tired after watching that game.
I was glad to see Bruce get that double, it was a solid swing and hit. Hopefully he is coming around, and I hope that Rolen comes back today to bat against Strasburg. I'm not sure if Miguel Cairo is a good match-up against Strasburg.
The Reds need to keep winning since the Cardinals are on an unbelievable win streak right now.
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