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Reds Tidbits (2006 Season)

Cincy

5/7/06

Reds' win more than a win

Victory ends road trip on high note

BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->PHOENIX - The calendar says early May. But it is not a stretch to say that the Reds' 9-8 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday was one they had to have.
Not because it was such a sweet win, but because a loss would have been so hard to take.
"It's a big game to get," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "I could sit here and lie to you and say it's not, but there's a big difference between going 1-4 and 2-3."
The victory was also the difference between retaining sole possession of first place in the National League Central, which they did, and falling into a tie with St. Louis. The Reds are 21-11, the second-place Cards 20-12.
It was a wild game with a wild ending. The Reds led 4-0, trailed 5-4, got the lead back at 8-5 and then hung on by their fingernails.
The game ended on a double play with the bases loaded. Johnny Estrada scorched one that first baseman Scott Hatteberg fielded with a diving stab. He easily doubled Jeff DaVanon off the bag.
Just a routine save for David Weathers, right?
"Absolutely," Weathers said. "Every ball they hit today found a hole. I'm a firm believer in those things evening out.
"The last guy hits a bullet for a double play. And we go home happy."
The Reds bashed their way to this win. The nine runs equaled their total of the previous four games on the trip.
Adam Dunn, Hatteberg, Austin Kearns and Edwin Encarnacion all homered. Encarnacion's homer in the ninth turned out to be the margin of victory.
"I don't think there's any question about us being able to score runs," Narron said. "I know on this road trip here and Colorado, we didn't do a whole lot. But we're definitely going to score."
Dunn, who came in on a 1-for-14 slide, had his biggest game of the year.
In addition to the two-run homer - his 12th of the year - he had a three-run double. He equaled a career-high with five RBI. Felipe Lopez went 4-for-5. Quinton McCracken had two hits and scored two runs. Kearns was 3-for-4 with two doubles to go with the homer.
"We played terrible on this road trip," Dunn said. "To win two games is a miracle. I'm pretty pleased with two wins."
The Reds seemed to break this one open in the third. Dunn and Hatteberg each homered and the Reds built a 4-0 lead.
But starter David Williams couldn't hold the lead.
He gave up five runs in the bottom of the inning. All scored with two outs. Williams could have gotten out of the inning, but Chad Tracy got down the line and avoided a 1-6-3 double play.
"After that, they scored five runs pretty quick," Narron.
The Reds took the lead for good in the sixth.
Kearns led off with a home run. Jason LaRue walked an out later. After another out, McCracken walked. Then came the critical play of the inning. Lopez beat out a ball to deep short for a single.
That brought up Dunn, who came into the game hitting .123 with runners in scoring position.
He got ahead in the count 2-0. Dunn can be overly selective in those situations. But he wasn't here. He drove a ball just off the plate into the left-center field gap for a three-run double.
"I knew he was going to throw a fastball," Dunn said. "It was all or nothing. I was either going to break the game open or get yelled at for swinging at a bad pitch."
Weathers wiggled out of the ninth, and the tone of the entire trip changed.
"It was one we definitely needed to get," Kearns said. "It was a weird game. We haven't played that well out here. We needed to get that out of our system and get back to playing good baseball."
E-mail [email protected]
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On deck: Reds vs. Nationals<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=storytext bgColor=#eeeeee>TODAY: Off day

TUESDAY: Reds vs. Nationals, Great American Ball Park, 7:10 p.m., first of a three-game series

Who's on the mound: Reds LH Brandon Claussen (2-3, 5.63 ERA) vs. RH Tony Armas Jr. (2-2, 3.98)

TV: Fox Sports Net

Radio: WLW-AM (700)

WEDNESDAY: Reds vs. Nationals, Great American Ball Park, 7:10 p.m.

Who's on the mound: Reds RH Aaron Harang (5-1, 3.78) vs. RH Livan Hernandez (1-4, 6.29)

TV: Fox Sports Net

Radio: WLW-AM (700)
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Just wanted to post my apologies to everyone for causing the Reds' losing road trip out West. For the first time in a long while, I had the weekend free of obligations and was able to tune in to catch some Reds ABs on FSN. I watched most of the game at Colorado (which Cincy lost) and most of the first two in Zona (which Cincy lost). I tuned in just in time yesterday to watch D Williams surrender a 4-run lead then turned the TV off in hopes the Reds could make up the damage I had wrought and pull out the win.

*Whew* that really was a close one.
 
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Damnit Dryden! :wink2:

Hey its baseball. No team is going to win every game so its bound to see a mini slump or two during the season. They ended the road trip the correct way and now come home to get "healthy" again offensively. I think we have good pitching matchups this week and our bats are ready to wake up. The only thing I definitely see from the road trip and even the season up to now, is that Coffey is ready to be a closer. That guy has nasty stuff and attitude on the mound. He has great composure and hes young. What more could we ask for? Also I think middle relievers and long relievers, God forbid, would be cheaper in trade. We've still got Weathers back there with him to save a few or set up which I believe he's better suited for. All in all I think we're in pretty good position. We had a the worst road trip of the season and we're still in first. I'll take it.
 
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We had a the worst road trip of the season and we're still in first. I'll take it.

We had the worst road trip of the season....so far.

I am enjoying the run but I just don't think there is any way in hell the pitching can keep up what its done so far.Arroyo, Harang, and Ramierez are back of the rotation guys pitching waaaayyy over their heads right now. Milton, and Williams shouldn't be in the big leagues and Claussen is doing about what he's capable of. "Regressing to their career norms" is the phrase to keep in mind and it almost certainly has to happen sooner rather than later.
 
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.02

Hopefully we can just chalk that up to a tough road trip and a good Arizona team. 2-3 roadie isn't horrible and the rest of the NL central got it worse.

Monday off then a nice homestand vs Washington and Philly this week. Hopefully we can take 4 of the 6 or better and move on.

Even after Williams 5IP start today the Reds starters are 4th in the NL in IP only 2 IP off the lead. Very good news for us. MLB average 4.5 ish team ERA is icing on the freakin cake. Amazing how long its taken to just be average and what a difference it makes. Can you imagine if it were really good?

We still lead the NL in runs scored after a week long mini slump. At/near the top of every important offensive category. Ho Hum.

Going foreward I think JR's injury is worse than they are letting on and the 5th starters spot has to be addressed. Milton, Ramirez and Williams do not overwhelm me with optimisim filling out the back end of the starting rotation. Arroyo, Harang and Claussen have gotten us this far but there is just no way they can keep this up.

No shame at all in losing a few in Arizona...winning streaks go to die there all the time, and it seems really hard to win night games there.
 
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Cincy

5/9/06

The real Kearns is back

Right fielder on pace for 30 HRs and 111 RBI

BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->After 2½ seasons of struggling, and even a banishment to Triple-A, the Austin Kearns of 2003 is back.
That's the gap-finding, short-stroke, line-drive-hitting outfielder who seemed on the brink of stardom three Mays ago.
"I'm sure he doesn't want a day off (Monday) with the way he's swinging," Reds manager Jerry Narron said.
A doubleheader would have been just fine for Kearns on Monday after the way he hit Sunday. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run in the 9-8 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Kearns is hitting .328 with six home runs and 22 RBI. That's a 30-home run, 111-RBI pace.
He went into Monday ranked ninth in the National League in average, was tied for fourth in doubles (11), and was tied for third in hits (39).
His on-base percentage (.371) and slugging percentage (.571) are also respectable.
Most importantly, Kearns is hitting .323 (10-for-23) with runners in scoring position. That's the best on the team. He also leads the Reds with 13 multi-hit games.
It's been a long road back for the outfielder since his ill-fated meeting with Ray King at home plate on May 21, 2003. The collision led to shoulder surgery.
Kearns' run of bad luck continued in 2004. He missed 85 games with a broken wrist and a nagging thumb injury. Last year, Kearns was healthy, but he struggled. He shared right field with Wily Mo Peña, and knew he was an 0-for-4 day at the plate away from sitting.
A slow start, in fact, took him out of the lineup and straight to Triple-A Louisville. He played in 112 games for the Reds, and hit .240 with 18 home runs and 67 RBI.
Kearns, who turns 26 May 20, says his success this season is due to being healthy and getting regular at-bats.
"I feel better," he said. "Last year, I'd feel good one night. Then the next night, I'd feel like I never played before. It's a matter of feeling good consistently."
Kearns is on a tear right now. He's hit in eight of his last nine games, and has a .500 average (16-for-32) over that span.
It's not as if Kearns remade himself as a player. He's simply tapping into his potential.
"I really don't know if there's a big difference (from this year to last)," Narron said. "I don't know if he's doing anything different. I know he knows he's going to be in the lineup every day. That might help him some."
Hitting coach Chris Chambliss made a minor adjustment with Kearns during spring training.
"The thing we did with him is we've got his hands away from his body," Chambliss said. "That's something we did all the way back in spring training. It gives him much more freedom with his hands. He's letting them go."
It seems to be working. Look at Kearns' power numbers after 32 games - six home runs, 22 RBI. It took him 51 games in 2005 to achieve similar stats (six homers, 25 RBI). That's when he was sent to Louisville.
That won't happen this year. The Reds staked their future to Kearns when they traded Peña to Boston. Kearns might have brought more in a trade. But Kearns is a better fit for Narron and general manager Wayne Krivsky.
He's an excellent right fielder, with a world-class arm. He's also a smart baserunner.
"He's a pretty good player," Narron said.
And a pretty hot hitter, too.
"He's seeing the ball well," Chambliss said. "He's swinging at strikes. He's being selective. It's all a matter of seeing what you're swinging at."
That's come from regular at-bats. Kearns has started all but one game this year.
"When you get a lot of at-bats, you start seeing the ball good and swing at strikes," Chambliss said.
Kearns concurs.
"I'm feeling good," he said. "I'm seeing the ball well. When you're feeling good and seeing the ball well, you don't make mistakes."
E-mail [email protected]
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Briefly<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=storytext bgColor=#eeeeee>Reds vs. Nationals

Today: 7:10 p.m. at Great American Ball Park

Pitching: Reds LH Brandon Claussen (2-3, 5.63 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Tony Armas Jr. (2-2, 3.98)

TV: FSN. Radio: WLW-AM (700)

The skinny: The Reds swept three games at Washington from April 24-26 as part of their season-high six-game winning streak.Home cookin' The Reds return home today to open a six-game series against the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies.

They are 10-4 at home and 11-7 on the road.

They won four of five games against Central rivals Houston and St. Louis in their most recent homestand.Sitting pretty The Reds spent Monday's off day in first place in the NL Central for the 10th consecutive day, their longest stretch in first since a 20-day run in 2002.What a difference Last season, when the Reds reached 21 winsthey were 21-30 and 121/2 games out of first place.

Victory No. 22 came on June 7. The Reds were 22-35, 151/2 games out of first.First-place facts The Reds lost only their second series of the season when they lost two of three at Arizona. They have not been swept inany of their 11 series.

The Reds have won 10 of their past 14 games.

Their 21 victories were second-best in the majors entering Monday.
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Dispatch

5/9/06

Slumping Freel can’t get hit, steal

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Hal McCoy
DAYTON DAILY NEWS

<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>
20060509-Pc-E5-0900.jpg
</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>TOM UHLMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Ryan Freel, caught trying to steal third against the Marlins, hasn’t stolen a base since April 17. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


CINCINNATI — For those who clamored for the everyday presence of Ryan Freel in the Cincinnati Reds lineup, for those who fretted and lost sleep wondering where Freel would play when Ken Griffey Jr. comes off the disabled list, well, this falls under the category of being careful for what you wish because you might get it.
This is not to denigrate Freel, because he is the cover boy for hustle and all-out play, but that’s not all it takes to stay in a lineup.
Freel did not get a hit on the fivegame trip to Colorado and Arizona, going 0 for 12 and not reaching base.
Manager Jerry Narron benched him Sunday in a 9-8 victory over the Diamondbacks. Freel didn’t play Thursday against the Rockies, either, and the Reds won 7-1. Freel started the other three games as the leadoff hitter and the Reds lost all three.
The first two weeks of the season, Freel stole eight bases to lead the National League. But he hasn’t swiped one since April 17..
Whether Freel is in the lineup tonight in Great American Ball Park against the Washington Nationals depends on the condition of Griffey., who is expected to do drills this afternoon to test his right knee.
If it’s OK, Griffey could come off the DL and play center field. Of course, Freel could play second base, too, because Brandon Phillips is 1 for 14, that being an infield hit Sunday that ricocheted off the pitcher.
Narron remains a Freel supporter. "I’m sure he is pressing. It’s only natural when things aren’t going right," Narron said. "I probably should have rested him more. I pretty much used him every day in center field with Griffey out because, frankly, I like him in our lineup. He is going to hit sooner or later."
 
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.02

-OK, couple more nights of this garbage and you can go ahead and warm the fat lady up. Offense goes cold, pitchers come back to earth and viola...2 wins in 6 games and counting. Wait till Arroyo and Harang get their ERA's back up to their normal 4.5 range. :(

-Another "5 IP and lucky it was only 4-5 Run scored" type outing from yet another pitcher who should be in the minors but is a starter for us. Once again...Arroyo and Harang are just MLB average. Williams, Claussen and Milton are garbage.

-The pen will soon add fatigue to an overall lack of talent and you can just hit the rewind machine to any year between 2000 and 2005 to know the rest.

-Hatteberg is one of the best hitters in MLB at working a pitcher deep into a count to get the pitch he wants. Its an art form other hitters would do well to emulate. Too bad he can't do anything with it when he gets it. I thought Casey had a pop-gun bat, sheesh.

Speaking of punch and judy hitters who give judy a bad name......

-Why in the fuck does Narron use Olmedo to pinch hit? I'm fine with him as a late inning defensive substitution but just let the pitcher hit and save Olmedo for the leather. The net result is the same...it looks like a 9 year old right handed girl batting lefty against a MLB pitcher for the first time. Its fucking embarrassing.

Speaking of kids and MLB......

-I despise Grande and Welsh. Watching the Reds is hard enough but having to listen to these two ass pirates is cruel and unusual punishment. The homage to kids glove night as one of the most hallowed traditions in baseball was as far as I got tonight before the inevitible mute meltdown.


Tomorrow nights game is the first big test of the season for Harang to do what a staff ace is supposed to do and stop a losing streak.
 
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Dispatch

5/10/06

NATIONALS 7 REDS 1

Reds treated like babies in loss to Armas, Nationals

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>
20060510-Pc-F1-0600.jpg
</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>TOM UHLMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Washington’s Royce Clayton is tagged out at home by Cincinnati’s Jason LaRue as Clayton tried to score from second base in the fourth inning. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


CINCINNATI – A lullaby and a bottle of warm milk were about the only things missing from the repertoire that Washington’s Tony Armas Jr. brought to the mound last night in Great American Ball Park.
The veteran right-hander rocked the suddenly slumping Reds offense to sleep for six innings during the 7-1 victory. The Nationals’ bullpen looked in later and turned out the lights.
Armas, however, set the tone for the evening. He checked first-place Cincinnati on two hits over six innings while riding two home runs from Jose Guillen and solo shots from Ryan Zimmerman, Matthew LeCroy and Alfonso Soriano to the win. Soriano’s 492-foot blast cleared the batter’s eye in center field.
"We got beat, simple as that," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "(Armas) had pretty good command. It seemed like he hit his spots when he needed to. It just seems like we didn’t."
Armas (3-2) didn’t allow a runner to reach second or third base until the seventh inning when Felipe Lopez reached on an infield single. Armas followed by walking Adam Dunn and hitting Edwin Encarnacion with a pitch to load the bases. Washington manager Frank Robinson turned to his bullpen and watched his relievers wriggle out of the jam.
Brandon Claussen (2-4) had less success against the Nationals. Washington roughed him up for 11 hits in 5 1 /3 innings.
The loss continued a recent toothless trend for the Reds. Multiple players are struggling at the plate so Narron was hoping for a stronger effort from Claussen.
"With the stuff he has, he needs to get guys out as early in the count as possible," Narron said. "He just gave up way too many hits. At times, he kept the ball down. But at this level if you’re going to be successful, it all comes back to being consistent. He’s got to get more consistent."
Royce Clayton started Claussen’s trouble with a leadoff double in the third inning. Armas sacrificed him to second, and he scored on a broken-bat single by Marlon Byrd.
In the fourth, Zimmerman jumped the lead to 2-0 with a homer. With two outs, Clayton doubled again. The light-hitting Armas then came through with a hit, but center fielder Ryan Freel threw out Clayton at the plate.
The Nationals kept the pressure on, bidding an unhappy Claussen good night on the Guillen and LeCroy homers.
"I felt good," he said. "Two of the home runs were first-pitch (homers). It wasn’t like it was a bad pitch. They’re an aggressive team and they like the fastball. That’s what they hit."
Armas cruised into the seventh. After hitting Jason LaRue with a pitch in the third, he retired 11 consecutive Reds before Lopez led off the seventh with his infield hit. Dunn walked and Armas plunked Encarnacion to load the bases.
Joey Eischen entered and fell behind Scott Hatteberg 3 and 0. He battled back to a full count and Hatteberg delivered a sacrifice fly to score Lopez. That was the end of the Cincinnati offense.
"We really had a chance to get back into it … in the seventh inning," Narron said. "I thought Hatty had a good atbat. He worked the count real well. The 3-and-1 pitch was a borderline pitch. But their pitcher got the call. Hatty ended up hitting the ball hard, but right at Guillen in right field. When you only get three or four hits in a ballgame, you’re not going to win many of them."
[email protected]
 
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Dispatch

5/10/06

REDS NOTEBOOK

Progress pleases Griffey

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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CINCINNATI – Ken Griffey Jr. hit third base on the dead run yesterday afternoon, cut hard and turned for home. In the process, the Reds’ center fielder might have cleared the final hurdle in his recovery from a strained tendon behind his right knee.
Out since April 13 with what turned into a nagging injury, Griffey ran the bases hard before the game with the Washington Nationals and finished with a smile on his face.
"It’s probably the best I’ve felt running," he said.
Griffey knows that he needs to be able to sprint from first to third and second to home before the team will risk taking him off the disabled list.
"I’m finally starting to turn the corner," he said. "Pitchers have dead arms for a while; I’ve had a dead leg. It just didn’t get over the hump, and now it’s starting to. I think that’s a good sign for me to get back. We’ll just see what happens (today). I’m trying to push through it."
He still has some discomfort.
"It doesn’t have to be 100 percent," Griffey said. "I need to feel comfortable in the baserunning aspect of it. Defensively, I’m fine."
Manager Jerry Narron was pleased with what he saw. "He took fly balls and ran the bases," Narron said. "He did better. To me, it didn’t look like he was running without holding anything back, which is a good sign. It looks like he’s getting pretty close. I’m really looking forward to having him back in the lineup."
Griffey declined to guess when that might be.
"The biggest thing is to have a setback and then be (hurt again)," he said. "I don’t want to be there, and I don’t think they want me there."
Popups

Pitcher Eric Milton tested his surgically repaired left knee by participating in pitcher’s fielding practice. His schedule gets busier today.
"He looked fine," Narron said. "The plan with him is to face some hitters (today). We’ll see where he is after that."
Narron added that "there’s a good chance" Milton will pitch in the exhibition game Monday at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Pitcher Paul Wilson remains in limbo after being scratched Sunday from a medical rehabiliation start for triple-A Louisville with a fatigued right shoulder.
"I’m not sure when he’s going to start back on the mound," Narron said.
[email protected]
 
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Reds beat the Nats tonight, 9-6. Harang didn't have his best stuff out there, but he pitched well enough to win. The pen gave up the decision, but the bats finally came through to put it away. Hatteberg had a sure fire web gem, making a diving snare of Damian Jackson's pop-foul bunt attempt.

Has anybody else noticed the Nats roster roughly resembles what the Reds may have looked like if Jim Bowden had been allowed to spend some cash? Kinda scary, and kinda a relief. He definitely has a fetish for certain players (namely, anybody who has ever been a top prospect in the Yankees organization, Jose Guillen, Ramon Ortiz, Marlon Byrd, Daryle Ward, etc.)
 
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Cincy

5/11/06

Reds' bats pick up the arms

Late Hatteberg 2B snaps tie

BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->With the pitching incapable of holding a lead Wednesday night, the Reds played a little smash-mouth baseball in defeating the Washington Nationals 9-6 at Great American Ball Park.
"It was one of those nights where whoever (hit last) was going to come way with it," first baseman Scott Hatteberg said.
The Reds got several key contributions:
Austin Kearns went 4-for-4 with two RBI.
Felipe Lopez stole a career-high four bases and scored three runs.
Brandon Phillips had two hits and two RBI.
Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer.
But the big blow was Hatteberg's two-run double in the eighth that gave the Reds the lead for good.
Aaron Harang labored through six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. Only a blown save kept him from pushing his win streak to six.
Ray Olmedo's RBI single in the seventh inning had the Reds up 6-4 and feeling good.
"I thought we had it there," Kearns said.
But the bullpen - Todd Coffey, Kent Mercker and David Weathers - gave up the lead in the eighth. It was Weathers' first blown save in his past seven chances.
In the bottom of the inning, Dunn led off with a walk and Kearns doubled. The Nats walked rookie Chris Denorfia to load the bases and bring up Hatte- berg against Mike Stanton.
"It made sense," Hatte- berg said. "It puts the force on and gets lefty on lefty."
Hatteberg's two-run double made it 8-6. Phillips' sacrifice fly made it 9-6.
"Maybe this is kind of game that will jump start us," Kearns said.
 
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Dispatch

5/11/06

REDS NOTEBOOK

Freel trying to bust out of slump

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>
20060511-Pc-B7-1200.jpg
</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>AL BEHRMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Felipe Lopez of the Reds steals second base as the ball gets by Nationals shortstop Royce Clayton. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


CINCINNATI — For Reds center fielder Ryan Freel, a slump is like waking up to a breakfast combo of sour milk and burned toast. No matter what he tries, the rest of the world keeps jumping ahead in the count no balls and two strikes.
"I know I can hit," Freel said. "I’m going to hit. I’ve done decent the last three years. It’s nothing to push the panic button about. It’s still early."
Yet his recent struggles at the plate are driving him to distraction. He entered last night batting .228 but finally broke an 0-for-20 streak with a single in the sixth inning.
"I’ve been thinking about trying to get on base so much that I’m taking too many pitches for strikes," Freel said. "The balls that maybe I’m swinging at aren’t in the location I want. I’m getting myself in holes and not being aggressive. The next thing you know, you’re in a freaking slump."
He feels more pressure because he is supposed to trigger the offense and the offense is sputtering.
"I take a lot of the blame," Freel said. "I’m pretty hard on myself. Here we were winning and I was getting on base a lot. Now we’re not winning like we were and I haven’t been playing as well. I take a lot of that pressure. It’s hard to keep the line moving when you’re watching your teammates hitting well and you’re not."
Reds manager Jerry Narron wants Freel to work his way out of the slump.
"I know Freely is going to come out of it," Narron said. "I just know with (Ken Griffey Jr.) coming back he’ll have some time off. Before that, I want to make sure he gets a chance to get as many at-bats as he can. When he’s getting on base, it’s huge for us."
Freel has gone back to the basics.
"I’m going to try to be aggressive, see the ball and have a game plan," he said. "I’m not going to watch two fastballs go by for strikes. It’s about being mentally tough and realizing that you’ve done this before. You can get out of it."
Cap and gown

Narron is flying home today to watch his daughter Callie graduate from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She is planning to attend graduate school at the University of Cincinnati. Narron is planning to return for the game tonight. Bench coach Bucky Dent will run the team in his absence.
Another stride

Pitcher Eric Milton tested his surgically repaired left knee yesterday by throwing 85 pitches to hitters. He is scheduled to start against Pittsburgh in the Hall of Fame exhibition game Monday in Cooperstown, N.Y. He used all of his pitches in the session. "I was making stuff up," Milton said. "Since I’ve been down, I’ve added some stuff. We’ll see what happens."
[email protected]
 
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Wheels are coming off folks, wait and see.

The pen is showing signs of fatigue, the Phillies are coming to town and the Reds starters for the weekend are The Lizard, Claussen and Williams. We are going to get rocked and the pen is going to get even more depleted. This is how it always starts.
 
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