Reds Tidbits (2006 Season)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

6/4/06

REDS 7 ASTROS 5

Arroyo burns Astros with bat

Sunday, June 04, 2006

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HOUSTON (AP) — As an avid musician, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo knows all about hits.
But with his batting average, he was more likely to get a hit on the music charts than the baseball diamond.
Last night, that tune changed as he broke an 0-for-27 slump by going 3 for 3 with a career-high four RBI and pitched six strong innings to lead the Reds to a 7-5 win over the Houston Astros.
The performance was the most RBI by a pitcher since Houston’s Wade Miller had four against St. Louis in September 2003 and the most by a Reds pitcher since Jose Rijo’s four in 1993.
Arroyo, whose CD Covering the Bases debuted at No. 2 on one Billboard chart last summer, had just six hits and three RBI in 84 career at-bats coming into yesterday. But he had a double and two singles to carry Cincinnati’s offense, including RBI in the third, fifth and sixth, all against Andy Pettitte.
"It’s a lucky day, man," Arroyo said, chuckling. "You’re always surprised as a pitcher to get a hit. So to get three hits and four RBI is probably a career day for me. Every now and again people get lucky."
The win is Cincinnati’s third straight and the loss is Houston’s third in a row and its 20 th in the past 28 games.
Arroyo (7-2) struck out six and allowed no earned runs with eight hits for the win.
Reds manager Jerry Narron seemed more impressed with Arroyo’s pitching than his hitting. He liked how Arroyo struck out two players to end the sixth after Houston put runners on second and third.
"Bronson really came through tonight," Narron said. "In the sixth, he showed what a big-time pitcher he is."
Giving up three hits to Arroyo was especially tough for Pettitte (4-7), a two-time All-Star, to take.
"It’s embarrassing," Pettitte said. "The guy swings the bat three times and gets four RBI. So it’s just unacceptable. He obviously was seeing the ball really well off of me." Save for a home run by Ken Griffey Jr. in the fourth, the bottom part of the Reds lineup keyed the offense. Cincinnati’s last three batters combined for six hits and six RBI and three runs in the first six innings.

 

[coastalbuck]

Woohoo!!!!!! Another big win today!!!!!

Link

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Freel with a big game today.

Rameriz threw good enough to win today, but the pen couldnt hold it.

The diving catch by Griffey saved the game b/c they probably would of got all 3 runners across if he misses that ball.

I am just glad we didnt have to face Oswalt today.

We have the Cards next and they could be without Pujols. Would be nice to see Clauseen get back on track.

I think this team is on the right path, we seem to have people in place that understand what the hell is going on and have made some nice trades out of nothing. I think we could have some say in the way the wildcard race ends up, but in the end I think we are still a year or so away. The best part about the slump that they have been in the past couple weeks, has been the fact that the pitching has been good, but it was the bats that was letting us down. We are still a dominant pitcher away from contending for the division.

 

[jlb1705]

I must say, I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the pitching so far this season. I think they've managed to put together a rotation consisting of two #3 pitchers (Harang & Arroyo) and three #5 pitchers (Milton, Claussen, Ramirez) - and if you would've told me at the beginning of the season that the Reds would have two legit #3s and three legit #5s, I'd have been ecstatic. Us Reds fans should be doing backflips over the fact that all five members of the starting rotation are pitching like they actually belong in the majors.

It's also good to see the "return" of Ken Griffey, Jr. as a stellar defensive presence in CF. I know his range ain't what it used to be, but he's still solid out there, and he's been making some spectacular plays out there lately.

 

[coastalbuck]

On to St. Louis. Another big series.

Enquirer

 

[jlb1705]

One win in St. Louis means a winning record for the road trip. I wouldn't mind that.

Two wins in St. Louis would put them at 6-3 on their toughest road trip of they year, and would bring them within 2 games of the Cards. I would be ecstatic with that.

If they sweep the Cards, I will run naked laps around GABP in celebration!

 

[jlb1705]

Griffey for MVP!!!!!

 

[crazybuckfan40]

JUNIOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jlb1705]

Great win tonight!

I was reading the Rumor Mill on CBS Sportsline earlier today, and it was saying how the Yankees are eyeing Griffey and/or Dunn for midseason trades. It must suck for George Steinbrenner that his AAAA farm team in Cincinnati is doing well enough to warrant holding on to their veteran talent.

Speaking of the trade market - I think the Reds are showing little by little that they're gonna stick around this year. They're two back of first place, and they're in the wild card position in the NL. I know it's only two months into the season, but I think the Reds might actually have a shot at making the rest of the season interesting if they make a couple good personnel moves. Of course, I don't want to see them mortgage the future because of that. What kind of moves do you think the Reds could make to improve without giving up too much?

As I write this, I'm watching Jim Day interview Griffey on FSN. I swear at the end of the interview - Junior bagtagged Day as he turned to the camera to wrap up the interview.

Anyway, I'd really like to see the Reds make some moves and show the fans they're willing to do what it takes to field a winner. With the new ownership and front office, everybody is looking for a turnaround. What the Reds are doing right now is happening way sooner than any of us could have expected. I'd like to see them take advantage of that. Contending deep into the season could put more butts in the seats - and that's crucial in a small market like Cincinnati. That revenue could build a bit of momentum for subsequent seasons.

 

[jlb1705]

Oh yeah - Does ESPN even know that there are 27 other teams in the majors besides the Yankees and Red Sox and the team Barry Bonds plays for? I've turned it there a few times tonight, and I may as well have been watching YES or NESN.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Great win tonight!

I was reading the Rumor Mill on CBS Sportsline earlier today, and it was saying how the Yankees are eyeing Griffey and/or Dunn for midseason trades. It must suck for George Steinbrenner that his AAAA farm team in Cincinnati is doing well enough to warrant holding on to their veteran talent.

Speaking of the trade market - I think the Reds are showing little by little that they're gonna stick around this year. They're two back of first place, and they're in the wild card position in the NL. I know it's only two months into the season, but I think the Reds might actually have a shot at making the rest of the season interesting if they make a couple good personnel moves. Of course, I don't want to see them mortgage the future because of that. What kind of moves do you think the Reds could make to improve without giving up too much?

As I write this, I'm watching Jim Day interview Griffey on FSN. I swear at the end of the interview - Junior bagtagged Day as he turned to the camera to wrap up the interview.

Anyway, I'd really like to see the Reds make some moves and show the fans they're willing to do what it takes to field a winner. With the new ownership and front office, everybody is looking for a turnaround. What the Reds are doing right now is happening way sooner than any of us could have expected. I'd like to see them take advantage of that. Contending deep into the season could put more butts in the seats - and that's crucial in a small market like Cincinnati. That revenue could build a bit of momentum for subsequent seasons.

I think the Yankees have gotten rid of a lot of their famr system to try and better their pro team which they are able to do b/c they have the money.

I honestly would not mind giving up a Dunn/Griffey/Kearns and one our catchers if we could get a legitimate starter. Even a number 2 guy.

That would give us some depth in the rotation and I think we could move a guy to Clausen to the pen and use him for long relieve or as the second lefty out of the pen behind Mercker.

I really like what Yan has brought to our team. He gives us another guy that can throw fairly hard out of the pen and after seeing some our soft tosser we have in the starting rotation I think that throws guys off at times, and that is why I think that Coffey is a much better option as closer. BTW he has done pretty good and has not folded under pressure since being moved to the closer role.

I think this year could be our year. Not trying to get ahead of myself and really need to knock hard on some wood here, but we have been the team over the past couple years that have battled and battled injuries, this year we have stayed fairly healthy besides Griffey, Aurillia, Milton having their short stays on the DL, some of the other teams have been fighting injuries like the Cardinals. Right now we have a winning record against the Cardinals for the year and lets hope we can take 1 or 2 of these next 2 to keep it that way.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I think the Yankees have gotten rid of a lot of their famr system to try and better their pro team which they are able to do b/c they have the money.

I honestly would not mind giving up a Dunn/Griffey/Kearns and one our catchers if we could get a legitimate starter. Even a number 2 guy.

We desperately need to get the organization infused with young pitching. There is no depth. If one of our starters goes down right now, who steps in? Joe Mays? A guy released by KC with an era over 10? Dear god, I hope not.

That would give us some depth in the rotation and I think we could move a guy to Clausen to the pen and use him for long relieve or as the second lefty out of the pen behind Mercker.

Claussen would end up the third lefty. Hammond has been outstanding since the first week of the season. That 63 mph change-up is just about impossible to hit these days. If we were to obtain a better starter than Claussen, I wouldn't mind him taking over the long long-relief role from Belisle and use Belisle in a middle relief role instead of Rick White.

I really like what Yan has brought to our team. He gives us another guy that can throw fairly hard out of the pen and after seeing some our soft tosser we have in the starting rotation I think that throws guys off at times, and that is why I think that Coffey is a much better option as closer. BTW he has done pretty good and has not folded under pressure since being moved to the closer role.

100% spot-on. I could not be more in agreement.

[/QUOTE]I think this year could be our year. Not trying to get ahead of myself and really need to knock hard on some wood here, but we have been the team over the past couple years that have battled and battled injuries, this year we have stayed fairly healthy besides Griffey, Aurillia, Milton having their short stays on the DL, some of the other teams have been fighting injuries like the Cardinals. Right now we have a winning record against the Cardinals for the year and lets hope we can take 1 or 2 of these next 2 to keep it that way.[/quote]

I'm still holding out hope that we can stay healthy. At some point, StL is going to get healthy, and I hope to hell we have a decent lead over them by then, because otherwise, we are in trouble. However, this team seems to be building some of that "chemistry" that the '99 team had where they won far more games than they had any business winning.

Anyway, I'd really like to see the Reds make some moves and show the fans they're willing to do what it takes to field a winner. With the new ownership and front office, everybody is looking for a turnaround. What the Reds are doing right now is happening way sooner than any of us could have expected. I'd like to see them take advantage of that. Contending deep into the season could put more butts in the seats - and that's crucial in a small market like Cincinnati. That revenue could build a bit of momentum for subsequent seasons.

Starters are friggin' expensive and the club cannot afford to overpay for another medicore starting pitcher.The only moves I could really see being made at this point would be adding some more depth to the bullpen. In the bullpen right now, they have White, Mercker, Weathers, Hammond, Yan, Coffey and Belisle (who is on the DL). I would REALLY like to see someone (anyone?) other than Rick White taking up that 6th/7th spot. Once Belisle comes back, we'll have our long-relief guy back and we should see about getting a seventh guy who can pitch. In the end, I want it to look more like this:

Long/spot-starter - Belisle
Middle - Weathers, Mercker, White's replacement
Setup - Hammond, Yan
Closer - Coffey

Weathers has been so damned hittable this year. I dread seeing him jog out of the pen at this point. Use him in the 6th or 7th if necessary, but he just isn't good enough to be out there in the 8th or 9th in a one run game.

Also, see if anyone wants Q. McFC. Waste of a spot on the bench. Designate his ass and get Denorfia up here. And as much as I like him, I think LaRue's time with the Reds might be coming to an end. If anyone will give up a MLB quality reliever, I say take it. Ross and Valentin aren't long-term answers, but they certainly do a pretty good job back there.

IMO, since coming off the DL, this is the best Griffey has played in a Reds uniform. Getting on base, clutch homeruns, outstanding defense, leadership. He has it all going for him right now.

Griffey for MVP runner-up to Pujols!:tongue2:

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Reds statistics (MLB rank):

--Offense:
--BA - .261 (18th)
--Runs - 298 (10th)
--Hits - 510 (17th)
--HR - 79 (4th)
--2B - 114 (6th)
--RBI - 282 (11th)
--SB - 45 (t-6th)
--OBP - .346 (9th)
--SLG - .447 (8th)
--OBPS - .793 (t-8th)

--Pitching:
--ERA - 4.42 (13th)
--Hits - 544 (22nd)
--BB - 158 (3rd)
--K - 379 (12th)
--SV - 15 (t-10th)
--WHIP - 1.38 (13th)

 

[crazybuckfan40]

We desperately need to get the organization infused with young pitching. There is no depth. If one of our starters goes down right now, who steps in? Joe Mays? A guy released by KC with an era over 10? Dear god, I hope not.

While I agree, we have the draft coming up, and there are a couple guys that have been impressive. But I think that if we are going to trade one of Griffey, Dunn, Kearns we need to get at least one young kid that can help us no later than beginning of next year and get 1 or 2 more arms that will be ready in a couple years, if nothing else to bolster the talent in the minors and maybe trade them later.

BTW Homer Bailey lit it up the other nite going 7 scoreless innings. He has stud written all over him, but it is goign to take at least this year and next b4 he is ready.

Also if Wagner can get his shit back together and with Coffey and Belisle and maybe Clausen in the pen that is some good young arms in the pen.

Claussen would end up the third lefty. Hammond has been outstanding since the first week of the season. That 63 mph change-up is just about impossible to hit these days. If we were to obtain a better starter than Claussen, I wouldn't mind him taking over the long long-relief role from Belisle and use Belisle in a middle relief role instead of Rick White.

But Clausen is your long term solution Hammond is 40.

I'm still holding out hope that we can stay healthy. At some point, StL is going to get healthy, and I hope to hell we have a decent lead over them by then, because otherwise, we are in trouble. However, this team seems to be building some of that "chemistry" that the '99 team had where they won far more games than they had any business winning.

I agree

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

BTW Homer Bailey lit it up the other nite going 7 scoreless innings. He has stud written all over him, but it is goign to take at least this year and next b4 he is ready.

I saw that. Gave up one hit, maybe? Let's hope they don't push him too hard.

But Clausen is your long term solution Hammond is 40.

Good point but with the way Hammond pitches, he can still be productive for at least a couple more years. That 84 mph fastball shouldn't be too stressful on his arm.