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Reds Tidbits (2006 Season)

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Tipdogusaf said:
There you go jlb... that one was for you. I bet you had a good time last night, it really sounded like the crowd was really in it.
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It was a great time. The best time I've had at a Reds game since Jose Rijo's comeback.

It was also my first night game at GABP. I never did like the place before, but I gotta say, that place seems totally different under the lights. I actually kinda like the place now.

GO REDS!!!!!
 
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Can't ask for much more than we've gotten in April. Color me absolutely shocked, happy shocked, but shocked none the less.

Even if the overall W/L doesn't hold up almost everyone on the team is doing nothing but improve their trade value.

Of a multitude of very positive numbers the one I like the best is the Reds starters averaging over 6IP per start. They are 4th in the NL in IP by starters and the pen is in the bottom half of IP by bullpen. If I could point to one single thing that would make this April hot start feel more "real" than recent one's it would be that. The team ERA below 5.00 a full month into the season is second on my list of things to be very happy about.

If we continue to average a quality start from our SP's we can win a lot of regular season games with the way this offense works counts, takes BB's and mashes the ball. They just work the living shit out of the other teams entire staff.

Many positives I didn't touch on and if it all falls apart tommorow oh well, its been fun to watch the Reds again even for a little while.
 
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http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2425693

Arroyo, Phillips paying immediate dividends
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN.com

Wayne Krivsky, hired in February to replace Dan O'Brien as Reds general manager, has made a smooth transition under less than optimal circumstances. He'd feel even more at home if it weren't for the wardrobe requirements.

Before his arrival in Cincinnati, Krivsky spent 12 years in Minnesota doing everything from negotiating contracts to preparing salary arbitration cases for GM Terry Ryan. He also grew accustomed to eating in media dining rooms and sitting behind home plate with a stopwatch while scouting the National League.

Now, all of a sudden, Krivsky is watching games from a private booth upstairs and standing in front of a mirror tying Windsor knots. It's enough to make a guy feel like a big shot.

"My wife had bought me plenty of ties, so that's not a problem," Krivsky said. "I just had to make sure I could still fit into my suits. I'm OK right now, but I have to watch it and make sure I get my workouts in."

Three weeks into the season, his team is doing all it can to ease Krivsky's transition.

The Reds, who entered the season with minimal expectations, have been one of baseball's big early surprises. Cincinnati raised its record to 16-7 with a 5-4 victory over Houston on Friday, and locals who were ground down by years of mediocrity are taking notice. Krivsky hears the burgeoning euphoria each day when he drives to work and the local talk radio meisters exhort fans to "jump on the Red wagon."

The Reds' strong start is largely attributable to one of baseball's most productive offenses. They lead the National League in runs, doubles, home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, even though Ken Griffey Jr. has appeared in only eight games because of a knee injury. He's expected to come off the disabled list any day now.

Some of the credit has to go to the general manager, who has taken an aggressive, fearless approach to tweaking the roster. Krivsky had a clue what the Reds needed from more than a decade of watching the team as a scout, and he made numerous moves in his first two months on the job.

Krivsky picked up starter Bronson Arroyo from Boston for outfielder Wily Mo Pena, acquired second baseman Brandon Phillips from Cleveland for a player to be determined, added outfielder Cody Ross from the Dodgers, and signed free agents Scott Hatteberg and Quinton McCracken while waiving Tony Womack.

The acquisition of Phillips, a 24-year-old former elite prospect who was out of options, was the type of low-risk, high-upside move that makes perfect sense for an organization like the Reds. The Arroyo trade, in contrast, played to mixed reviews.

"I wouldn't have done that deal," said a National League scout. "I know they needed pitching, but you don't trade a potential Sammy Sosa for a guy that you don't know about. The question is, what kind of pitcher is Arroyo? We'll see what happens the second time around."

Here's the alternate viewpoint: Pena looks great in batting practice and can really fill out a uniform, but he's strikeout prone, defensively challenged and the quintessential "tease." And by moving Pena, the Reds eased the pressure on Austin Kearns. He looks more relaxed this season and is off to a strong start.

As for Arroyo, he has been borderline sensational, going 4-0 with a 2.34 ERA. The fans in Cincinnati have embraced him, just as Boston fans embraced him, for his bleached blond hair, kitchen-sink repertoire and free-spirited, guitar-strumming nature. Hitters are more inclined to notice how deftly Arroyo throws strikes, changes speeds and uses his secondary pitches even when he's behind in the count.

As a footnote, Arroyo is hitting .154 with two homers in 13 at-bats, for a .615 slugging percentage.

"There's a lot to like about him," Krivsky said.

Phillips drove in 20 runs in his first 16 games with the Reds, but it remains to be seen whether he'll fulfill his promise of three years ago, when Baseball America ranked him as Cleveland's No. 1 prospect. He lacks patience at the plate and, according to some, has issues turning the double play. But Phillips is a high-energy player and fun to watch. On a team that has produced five straight sub-.500 seasons, there's something to be said for entertainment value.

"He got a little bit of a rap in Cleveland, but he's gotten out of the chute well by being aggressive," said an NL front office man. "He's always been a good baseball player. If he learns how to relax and make some adjustments through the course of the season, he could be a more offensive version of Orlando Hudson."

The Reds punish left-handed pitching, and most of the Cincinnati hitters are adept at working a count. Adam Dunn and Ryan Freel rank among the league's top 10 in walks, and Freel, Kearns, Dunn and shortstop Felipe Lopez are averaging more than 4.00 pitches per plate appearance.

Of course, it won't matter much if the Reds can't pitch. The bullpen is shaky, and Arroyo and Aaron Harang are the only two starters with ERAs below 6.00. Paul Wilson just began a rehab assignment, and Eric Milton should return from knee surgery sometime in May. But history shows they'll only contribute so much.

The long-term prospects in Cincinnati are better than they've been in a while. Owner Robert Castellini, who's active without being meddlesome, has created some positive vibes, and Krivsky wins points for listening to his scouts and uniformed personnel in an effort to make informed decisions. He also has strengthened the front office by bringing in respected talent evaluators Scott Nethery and Chris Buckley.

The Reds might have a better handle on just where they stand after the current home stand with Houston and St. Louis, but Krivsky doesn't buy the notion that they can make a statement with a strong showing. It's too early in the season for statements.

"Just keep playing them one at a time," Krivsky said. "Every game counts the same. I'm going to give you a boring answer on that one."

Night after night, Cincinnati's new general manager will be sitting in his private booth, in his suit and tie, making mental notes and keeping score. Judging from his first two months, he won't miss a thing.
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Dispatch

4/30/06

REDS 6 ASTROS 3

Reds use grit to get another win

Savvy base-running helps erase deficit

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>TOM UHLMAN </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Brandon Phillips scores on a wild pitch by Andy Pettitte in the fourth inning. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
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CINCINNATI — A month into the season, the postgame face of the Reds always seems to be covered with dirt and streaks of perspiration.
"We’re just grinders, man," first baseman Rich Aurilia said. "We go out and try to play hard. You know what? The thing is everybody in here wants to play every day. If there was a guy in here who didn’t want to play every day, I wouldn’t want him on the team. We’ve got a good group of guys, and as long as we all stay within what we’re capable of, we’ll all be OK."
April has been more than OK in Cincinnati. After the Reds upended the Houston Astros 6-3 yesterday in Great American Ball Park, the players left the stadium in first place in the National League Central and with a six-game winning streak.
Heading into the season, nobody predicted or expected that kind of start from the lightly regarded Reds. Yet here they are with 17 wins, the most in franchise history for April, and a signature style of play perhaps best represented by the dive center fielder Ryan Freel took on the warning track in the sixth inning while attempting to catch Craig Biggio’s double. The cloud of dust and lost skin registered with his teammates.
"The most important thing about any team is that you’ve got to have guys that come to the ballpark every single day willing to do whatever you can do to win a ballgame," catcher Jason LaRue said. "You’ve got to have guys that are willing to sacrifice their bodies to win a lot of ballgames. If you don’t have that, you’re not going to (win).
"If you have good defense and you have guys that can catch the ball and throw the ball and make great plays like that, you’re going to win a lot of games. The history of baseball tells you that."
The Reds trailed Andy Pettitte 2-0 through the first three innings before they began to impose their will. By that time, Cincinnati starter Aaron Harang (4-1) had found his rhythm and Pettitte (1-4) was losing his.
The door cracked after Pettitte issued one-out walks to Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns. Edwin Encarnacion doubled home Dunn. Brandon Phillips then hit a tapper in front of home plate. Pettitte fielded the ball and threw wildly over the head of first baseman Lance Berkman.
Kearns and Encarnacion scored. Phillips followed by stealing third before he motored home on a wild pitch that only bounced a few feet away from catcher Brad Ausmus. In the fifth, Aurilia homered and Phillips drove in Dunn with a fielder’s-choice grounder. From that point, Harang throttled the Houston offense until he left the game with two outs in the eighth.
The fast start has been a blast. But nobody knows what to predict or expect during the course of the season.
"The guys on this team believe what they can do," Aurilia said. "The reason we got off to a good start is we’ve scored a lot of runs. We’ve gotten some key pitching. There are still areas we need to work on. I think we need to work on our defense. And some of our guys need to (pitch) deeper into games and take the toll off the bullpen.
"But I just think we’ve played well. We’ve played better than anyone expected. And that’s a good thing. It’s good sometimes to be the underdog. It’s better to chase than be chased. Now we’re being chased. But it’s still early. We’re in this for the long haul."
[email protected]
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Dispatch

4/30/06

REDS NOTEBOOK

Lopez off to a running start

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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CINCINNATI — Nobody ever doubted that Felipe Lopez possessed the raw speed to steal bases.
Until this season, however, the Reds shortstop was only a mild threat to run. Suddenly, that has changed.
Lopez already has nine steals, which is second in the National League and one more than teammate Ryan Freel. The emphasis on running isn’t an accident.
"That is something I’ve worked on since this spring," Lopez said. "Me and (coach Billy) Hatcher, we talk about it. He’s been a big help just in understanding everything that goes on. It’s complicated to steal. You can’t just be fast and steal. You’ve got to get good jumps."
Hatcher, who swiped 218 bases in his big-league career, has been working with Lopez on some of the other aspects.
"It’s just knowing when to go, the right count or who the hitter is," Lopez said. "I don’t even know. I’ve got a lot to learn."
The Reds are running more and depending less on home runs to generate offense. Second baseman Brandon Phillips stole third base in the fourth inning against Houston yesterday and scored on a short wild pitch by Andy Pettitte.
"We’re doing the little things that we need to do to win," Lopez said. "That’s what we need to keep doing."
No choice

Phillips almost didn’t have the chance to score on the wild pitch. He initially appeared to be out after trying to go from first to second on a wild throw by Pettitte. The umpires conferred and ruled that a fan interfered with the ball on the field.
"The umpires put the runners wherever they think they would have gotten," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "They knew after they threw (Phillips) out at second that he wouldn’t have gotten to second so they sent him back to first. The umpire asked me, ‘Do you want him out at second or back on first?’ That was pretty easy."
Good Fridays , etc .

The Reds are 4-0 in Friday games. In the past three wins, they have beaten St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter, Milwaukee ace Ben Sheets and Houston ace Roy Oswalt. … The Reds set April records for runs scored (147) and RBI (132). They need four homers today to tie the April record of 39 set in 2003.
[email protected]
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The million dollar ? to me is who sits when Griffey comes back.

Our lineup has been extremely good with Phillips, Freel, and Lopez in there swiping bases and making things happen on the base paths, but Aurilia and Hatteberg have been hitting the ball well.

I would like to see Dunn move to first and have room for Freel in the outfield and leave Phillips at second and then when you want to give a rest to Phillips or Freel or Lopez or EE or Griffey then Aurillia can fill in. That leaves Hatteberg as the odd guy out and he can be our official pinch hitter.

What do you guys think. I think that Phillips and Freel are going to be splitting time, which would be ridiculous, but sometimes these Reds managers never seem to amaze me.
 
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At one point I would have agreed that Hatteberg would have been the odd man out. But I really like his plate discipline. The guy has a great eye, is hitting around .300, walks a lot, and almost always gets a good swing on the ball. Hatteberg certainly doesn't get cheated at the plate, and, as of no anywazy, could be a solid hitter off the bench.

Even though Narron isn't using too many of them, I don't think they will drop down to 11 pitchers by dropping one of the lesser effective bullpen arms.

I think McCracken is the one to go at this point. He is barely over .100 right now and doesn't really offer you anything unique that you can't get off of someone else on the bench.
 
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Jaxbuck said:
Another quality start.

As long as that trend holds this isn't smoke and mirrors.
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yeah he threw way too many pitches, but was still able to get 6 strong innings of only 3 run ball.

I don't like to see the homeruns, but I think on most days when the Astros arent throwing one of thier aces we are going to be able to score more than 3 runs.

Nice way to win the first series against the stros.

I believe that last year they said we were 66-68 against the rest of the league besides the Cards and stros and we were 9-19 agaisnt them. We have a decent start against them this year with a 3-3 record. I think the way we play against them two teams will determine our fate.
 
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coastalbuck said:
3-2 loss, but the guys were still in it. Hate to lose but it happens. On to the Cards, two more big games. Let's go Reds....
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Well, nobody is ever going to go 162 - 0 in the majors. "Great" teams still lose more than 1/3rd of their games.

Taking a series against the Astros is more than I expected when comparing the pitching matchups. A split in the 2 games against StL will make me one happy Reds fan.

It's much easier to stomach losing 3-2 as opposed to 13-2.
 
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