Reds Tidbits (2006 Season)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Reds win behind Arroyo’s 7-hitter

Griffey ties Schmidt on career home run list with his 548 th

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Mike Fitzpatrick
ASSOCIATED PRESS

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>BILL KOSTROUN ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez forces Brandon Phillips of the Reds to run outside the base line to complete a double play. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


NEW YORK — Ken Griffey Jr. took another step toward the top 10.
Griffey tied Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt on the career home run chart and Bronson Arroyo pitched a seven-hitter to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the New York Mets 4-2 last night for their eighth straight victory on the road.
Griffey’s 548 th homer spoiled Orlando Hernandez’s start and put him in 11 th place alongside Schmidt.
"He’s one of those guys when he comes in the locker room, you know who he is. You don’t want to play golf with him unless you get some strokes," Griffey said. "He was an awesome player. For my name to be mentioned with him is an honor in itself."
Griffey, 36, and his father, Ken Sr., have combined for 700 major-league homers. Junior got the ball back as a souvenir and said he would give it to his dad.
"Which one am I prouder? Probably 700 with my dad," Griffey said. "Now I can say, ‘Happy Father’s Day — here you go.’ "
Next up on the career list is Reggie Jackson with 563.
"I can’t let my mind drift about what might have been if I didn’t get hurt," Griffey said.
Brandon Phillips added a two-run double for the Reds, thrilled to be on the road again. They just lost eight of nine to end their worst 10-game homestand (2-8) since 1950.
The National League Eastleading Mets also have looked more comfortable on the road recently. They’ve dropped three of four at Shea Stadium since winning eight in a row to close a 9-1 trip.
Arroyo (9-3) gave up a run in the first and Carlos Beltran’s 19 th homer leading off the ninth. He struck out five and walked one in his third career complete game, second this season.
"He’s a tremendous competitor. He is fearless, and one of the better pitchers in baseball — and I mean pitchers," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "It’s a lot of fun to watch. You sometimes think it’s a lost art for guys that know how to pitch. He’s one of those guys."
After David Wright’s one-out single, Arroyo got out Jose Valentin and Xavier Nady to end it on his 116 th pitch.
"I didn’t take a pounding in any inning at all," Arroyo said. "I had plenty left in the tank."
The right-hander, acquired from Boston on March 20 for outfielder Wily Mo Pena in a trade that has worked out beautifully for the Reds, got out 10 straight before Jose Reyes’ single in the eighth.
"He just kept us off balance from the word go. A lot of arms, a lot of legs," Wright said. "The big thing is, he changes his arm angle."
Hernandez (4-6) yielded two runs and eight hits over seven innings. He struck out seven, including Griffey the first two times up, and walked two. Leading off the sixth, Griffey drove a 2-and-2 pitch an estimated 440 feet off the lower portion of the scoreboard in right-center for his 12 th homer this season.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I hate being down on the Reds, b/c I for one knew what was going to break this team and it is the same thing just different year. They have improve in some areas, but their weaknesses are glaring and they shine through when going through a full season, it just sucks that they have to do it in a long stretch like this after playing so well against the Cards and Stros and pulling all the fans in.

I just hope that they can turn it around and give me something to follow until football starts.

 

[coastalbuck]

I think they'll be ok. The bats will come around. 1-1 in NYC so far, tough place to play. Standing well in the wild card race too, though, I think they can catch the Cards.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

6/21/06

METS 9 REDS 2

Trachsel, Nady provide power display as Mets thump Reds

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Bob Herzog
NEWSDAY

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>FRANK FRANKLIN II ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>The Reds’ Brandon Phillips throws to first base to complete a double play after forcing out the Mets’ Jose Valentin at second. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


NEW YORK — It was as if Steve Trachsel and Xavier Nady held up placards for their fans and teammates that read, "Hey, remember us? "
Tracshel is the forgotten man in the rotation, tucked into the No. 3 spot behind All-Star and Hall of Fame candidates Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine and ahead of the helpful Cuban Connection of Alay Soler and Orlando Hernandez. Nady missed the 9-1 road rampage recovering from having his appendix removed May 30.
Welcome back, guys. Trachsel pitched six solid innings to pick up the victory and hit a solo home run, his first as a Mets player. Xavier Nady belted two home runs as the Mets pulled away to a 9-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds last night in Shea Stadium.
"It’s nice to get a hit and start to relax," said Nady, he went 0 for 4 in his first game back Monday and was hitless in his first two at-bats last night. "I saw the ball well and I was fortunate to get some good pitches to hit."
Nady said he was frustrated at being forced to watch the Mets’ 9-1 trip.
"It wasn’t fun to be sitting on the couch, but I was their biggest supporter," he said. "I tried to stay up and watch the games on the West Coast. It’s fun just to be running back out there."
Trachsel had some fun, too. In raising his record to 5-4, the right-hander won three consecutive starts for the first time since 2003, when he won four straight in August. He was staked to an early cushion when the Mets belted loser Elizardo Ramriez for three runs in the first inning. Reyes led off with a double for the third time in four games.
Paul LoDuca doubled him home with a shot off the center-field wall. One batter later, Carlos Delgado launched his 20 th homer of the season, a two-run shot to right field.
After the Reds got one back in the fifth, Trachsel helped himself with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the inning, taking Elizardo Ramirez to a full count before hitting the eighth pitch of the at-bat for his third career home run.
Asked which he was more proud of, his work on the mound or at the plate, Trachsel said, "The outing on the mound. The home run was kind of a fluke."
It may have been a fluke, but Trachsel didn’t need much prompting to keep talking about the third home run of his career.
"(Curt) Schilling and (John) Thompson," he volunteered, naming the first two victims of his mighty bat. "And one off (Eric) Gagne in spring training."
Warming to the occasion, Trachsel described his at-bat.
"Full count. I fouled off a couple of pitches. I would have swung at anything," he said, adding that this was the first homer he ever saw go over the wall. "The others, I wasn’t sure would get out, so I was running. This one, after a few steps, I could watch it. It’s a great feeling. Now I know what these guys who hit 25 or 50 feel like."
Trachsel ran into trouble and out of gas in the seventh inning of an unusually muggy night at Shea. Leading 4-1 entering the seventh, he allowed a single to Austin Kearns, a walk to Scott Hatteberg and a single to Brandon Phillips to load the bases with nobody out.
Duaner Sanchez relieved, and after allowing a sacrifice fly to Javier Valentin to make it 4-2, he escaped further trouble by getting pinchhitter Rich Aurelia to bounce into a double play. "Sanchez has been awesome all year getting out of jams," Willie Randolph said.
The Mets then broke it open with four runs in the seventh as Nady hit a tworun drive for his 10 th homer and Lo Duca drove in two more with his second double.
"I just stink," said Reds reliever David Weathers, who allowed Nady’s seventhinning homer. "I tried to throw a sinker and it was as straight as uncooked pasta. The last three or four times out, everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. You can’t sugarcoat it. I just stink." Nady added a solo drive in the eighth for the Mets’ final run.

 

[coastalbuck]

Good win by the Reds last night.

Link

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

6/22/06

REDS 6 METS 5

Two-out rally in ninth produces win over Mets

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Jay Cohen
ASSOCIATED PRESS

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Jose Valentin of the Mets avoids a tag by Felipe Lopez of the Reds on a steal of second. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


NEW YORK — Brandon Phillips didn’t know which pitch was coming from Mets closer Billy Wagner. He did know he was going to strike out if it was another high fastball.
Phillips instead got a pitch he could handle, driving a two-run single into center field to help the Cincinnati Reds overcome Jose Reyes’ cycle in a 6-5 victory over New York on last night.
Wagner retired the first two batters easily but then walked Austin Kearns and pinch-hitter David Ross. Pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia reached on an infield single to third and Phillips followed with a sharp single to center.
"I just tried to hit the ball hard and drive it somewhere," Phillips said. "He threw me a fastball inside, a pitch high, another pitch high. If he threw me one more time a high pitch, I would’ve struck out."
Phillips took a strike, fouled one off and took another strike before he hit a lower fastball back up the middle to drive in Kearns and pinch-runner Quinton McCracken, putting the Reds in front 6-5. Wagner (3-1) blew his fourth save in 18 opportunities.
"I got two quick outs and then just tried to be aggressive and I was probably a little overly aggressive," he said. "By the time I got back into synch, it was too late. I couldn’t make the pitch."
Reyes hit his fourth career leadoff homer to extend his hitting streak to nine games. He doubled in the second, tripled into right-center in the fifth and grounded a single into center field in the eighth.
"It feels good for me but it would have felt even better if we had won that ballgame," Reyes said.
The last player to hit for the cycle for the Mets was Eric Valent, who did it on July 29, 2004, in New York’s 10-1 win over the Montreal Expos.
Reyes went 4 for 5 and is batting .489 (23 for 47) over his last 11 games.
"I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable at home plate," Reyes said.
Ken Griffey Jr. drove in three runs and Joe Mays pitched six strong innings in his first start in the National League for the Reds, whose shaky bullpen almost cost them again.
"That’s what you call your classic giveaway game right there," Mets manager Willie Randolph said.
Cincinnati led 4-2 in the seventh before the Mets pushed across three runs against Chris Hammond. David Wright singled in Carlos Beltran with two outs and Jose Valentin hit Hammond’s next pitch over the wall in center. Jason Standridge (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the win and Todd Coffey worked the ninth for his fifth save in six chances.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

6/23/06

<META content="The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, Ohio's Daily Newspaper" name=description> <META content="The Columbus Dispatch" name=publication><META content="Walk by Milton leads to key runs for Mets" name=title><META content="Friday, June 23, 2006" name=dateofpublication><META content=Sports name=category><META content=Reds name=section><META content="NEW YORK — Sure, David Wright hit a pair of two-run homers and Pedro Martinez struck out eight batters in six innings for the New York Mets. But Cincinnati Reds starter Eric Milton said it was a key pitch in the fourth inning to Carlos Beltran" name=storylead>
METS 6 REDS 2

Walk by Milton leads to key runs for Mets

Friday, June 23, 2006


ASSOCIATED PRESS

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>KATHY WILLENS ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Pedro Martinez went six innings for the Mets and picked up just his second win since April 28. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


NEW YORK — Sure, David Wright hit a pair of two-run homers and Pedro Martinez struck out eight batters in six innings for the New York Mets.
But Cincinnati Reds starter Eric Milton said it was a key pitch in the fourth inning to Carlos Beltran that turned the tide against the Reds in a 6-2 loss yesterday.
Milton (4-4) thought he had struck out Beltran with a 3-and-2 pitch, but he instead yielded a walk. That brought up Wright, who sent the ball into the stands in left-center to tie the score at 2.
"It was a fastball (to Beltran)," Milton said. "It was right there. That’s a strikeout. That changed the whole game for me. There’s one out there. Even if Wright comes up with a homer, it’s not a tie game. We’re still up by a run."
By the time Wright came up again, in the fifth inning, Milton was on the ropes and trailing 4-2. Wright added to his misery with another two-run shot, this one to right.
"He was a little erratic," Wright said. "With the count 2 and 0, he wants to throw a strike. He threw a fastball and I got it. I kept my hands back, put a good swing on it and hit it on the good part of the bat."
The win gave New York a split of the four-game series and widened its lead in the National League East to 10 games over Philadelphia. The Reds have lost 10 of their past 14 games.
Martinez (7-3) overcame some unusual wildness — he walked five, three above his per-game average — but allowed just two hits. The threetime Cy Young Award winner struck out the final four batters he faced to win for just the second time since April 28.
"I made pitches when I had to," said Martinez, who had won his first five starts but just one of his past nine, with five no-decisions.
Heath Bell worked a scoreless seventh for the Mets, and Chad Bradford came in with two runners on in the eighth and struck out three of the four batters he faced for his second save.
The Reds nicked Martinez for a run in the second when Austin Kearns and Adam Dunn opened with singles. Brandon Phillips bunted the runners along and David Ross delivered a sacrifice fly.
In the fourth, the Reds loaded the bases with none out on walks to Scott Hatteberg, Kearns and Dunn. Phillips hit a sacrifice fly, but Martinez escaped further damage.
The Mets took the lead in the fourth. After Wright’s first homer, Julio Franco doubled and scored on a single by Xavier Nady.
The Reds tried to come back in the fifth when Felipe Lopez and Hatteberg walked with two out, but Martinez struck out Kearns. Jose Reyes opened the Mets’ fifth with his second hit of the game. Beltran followed with an RBI single and Wright hit his 17 th homer. The Mets third baseman notched his third two-homer game of the season, raising his batting average to .338. He has 10 RBI in the past five games and 60 in 71 games this season.

 

[coastalbuck]

I'll take a split in NYC. Let's get some wins in Cleveland!!!

 

[Dryden]

*groan* This has gotten ugly.

On the positive side, it was a 2-2 road series split with the Mets, who have the best record in the NL. The White Sox pounded the Cardinals even harder than they did the Reds, and Cincinnati's schedule sets up very nice from now until the break. 16 games remaining in 5 series, and not one opponent currently has a winning record. @ Cleveland, KC, Cleveland, @ Milwaukee, @ Atlanta. The Reds have favorable pitching matchups for the next five games too, so maybe they can work up a streak here heading into the break. They're still 2 games ahead in the Wild Card standings and have the third best record in the NL.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, have to play @ Detroit, Cleveland, KC, @ Atlanta, @ Houston.

With these two schedules, the Reds have to make up some games going into the break.

 

[coastalbuck]

That's one!!!

Link

Great job by Harang. His road ERA of 1 something is incredible.!

Arroyo on the hill this afternoon. Let's get another one.

 

[Dryden]

Arroyo on the hill this afternoon. Let's get another one.

Arroyo (9-3, 2.47) for the Reds; Paul Byrd (5-5, 4.78) for the Tribe.

The number of runs scored by the Tribe in Byrd's five Ws: 11, 10, 15, 14, 11

Arroyo's 3-year split (2003-2005) against the Tribe: 2-1, 3.45, .196 BAA

I like the Reds' chances this afternoon. Let's get another game back from St. Louis as they have to deal with Detroit again.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

6/25/06

Reds waste solid pitching effort by their ace

Cincinnati’s offense fires blanks against soft-tossing Byrd

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>TONY DEJAK ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Reds starter Bronson Arroyo allowed three runs and five hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out five. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


CLEVELAND — Cincinnati Reds manager Jerry Narron juggled his pitching rotation Friday so that Bronson Arroyo would get one more start before the All-Star break.
Given Arroyo’s status as staff ace and how much the new ownership wants to stay in the pennant race, tossing that particular ball in the air seemed like a good idea for everyone wearing a Cincinnati uniform.
Sadly, however, sending Arroyo to the mound yesterday in Jacobs Field didn’t translate into a win because the Reds couldn’t find a way to score a run in a 4-0 loss to Cleveland starter Paul Byrd.
"Byrd threw a good game," Arroyo said. "He was also fortunate that he had a lot of balls hit right at people."
The line drives that the slumping Cincinnati offense sprayed around the ballpark doubtlessly increased the building frustration that accompanies 10 losses in 15 games.
The Reds’ power-laden lineup hasn’t hit a home run for a season-high five consecutive games. They have produced just one long ball in the past seven games. The dry spell popped up after a stretch of 16 straight games with at least one homer.
Arroyo (9-4) could only wish for runs. With the Indians working him into deep counts, he couldn’t pay much attention to the hard luck his teammates were finding against Byrd (6-5)
"Not so much," Arroyo said. "It’s frustrating not to get runs. But you don’t really care. A zero is a zero and you’re trying to concentrate on your half of the game, which is getting outs.
"But I’m sure it’s frustrating for these guys, especially when you’re hitting the ball on the screws against a guy who is throwing soft stuff up there. I’m sure it would be more frustrating for the hitters."
Narron was pleased that Arroyo managed a 12 th quality start in 16 appearances. Todd Hollandsworth’s two-run homer in the second inning was the big blow off Arroyo.
"Talking with (catcher) David Ross, (Arroyo) had real good movement on his sinker," Narron said. "It was almost to the point where he didn’t have good command of it. He left a pitch to Hollandsworth right in the middle of the plate. But he gave us a chance to win."
The offense just couldn’t put two hits together. Ryan Freel doubled in the third inning. He was the only Cincinnati baserunner to reach second base in the game. Ken Griffey Jr. had two singles, and Brandon Phillips and David Ross each had a hit for the Reds.
Ross, like Narron, hated to waste a good effort from Arroyo.
"He was really sharp," Ross said. "I thought he threw the ball really well. It was probably the best stuff I’ve seen him have all year. It was just one bad pitch to Hollandsworth. That’s part of this game. You win some and lose some.
"Him and Aaron (Harang) every time out, I expect to win. Those guys have been our horses. But there’s not one guy we go out there with that we feel like we don’t have a chance. We’ve got to score some runs. That’s our job."
[email protected]

Dispatch

6/25/06

COMMENTARY
Hitting the ball hard is not enough for Reds
Sunday, June 25, 2006

BOB HUNTER
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CLEVELAND — Jerry Narron says that any day now, the Cincinnati hitters are going to get hot. He has been saying that, or something very much like that, for quite a while now.
A kind person would call him an eternal optimist. A mean person would call him an … uh, well, never mind.
Yesterday, the Reds turned the burner all the way up to "warm" against Indians starter Paul Byrd and recoiled as if they had suffered second-degree burns. They lost 4-0 and tried to take solace in the fact that they "hit some balls hard," which is what you say when there is not much else to take solace in.
As is usually the case, the comment was accompanied by the persecuted look of a man standing on the side of the road with his hands on his hips, looking at his flat tire.
"Offensively, there will be a lot of zeroes in the box score tomorrow, but we hit some balls hard," Narron said. "We probably hit more balls hard in this game than we have the entire road trip."
Gee, Jerry, doesn’t sound like much of a road trip, does it?
"There was one spot in there in the third or fourth inning," he said, "where I think we hit six in a row hard."
The baseball record book doesn’t have a line for "balls hit hard in a row," darn it. That sure would have been a nice little record to have if the Reds don’t qualify for the postseason, which they almost surely won’t if they don’t start hitting the way they think they can.
What has been happening lately seems like cruel irony. This is a team that has worn the good hit-bad pitch label for the past few years, and now that the starting pitching is coming around, the offense has become inconsistent.
There’s time to recover, of course, but it may be worth worrying about.
Although the Reds had fallen three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central before their latest loss, they were still clinging to a narrow lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers in what eventually will be called the wild-card race come September.
While late June is too early to spend a lot of time thinking about that — half the free world is in the wild-card race in June — when you’re leading, it tends to get your attention.
The Reds, fifth in the NL Central last year with a 73-89 record, are leading. They have a shot.
"One thing we can do is we can hit," Reds utility man Ryan Freel said. "We have just been a little inconsistent with that lately."
Well, just a little. In the past seven games, the Reds have scored three runs or fewer five times and lost four. In the past 15 games, they have been at three or below eight times and they have lost 11.
In the eight-game winning streak that preceded this stretch, they scored six or more runs seven times.
See a pattern?
When these Reds score runs, they’re actually pretty good.
"We haven’t been as consistent offensively as I think everybody thought we’d be," Narron said. "I know at some point we’re going to run a streak the other way and get some guys hot."
There are a couple of ways to look at this. If the Reds are, in fact, the same potent offensive team they have been in the past, then this is just a little bump in the road and they have a good shot at the postseason. If they aren’t — and we are 75 games into the season, remember — then it may be time to start tweaking the roster a little.
Aside from the offensive inconsistency, this Reds team has flaws — it doesn’t have an established closer, for one — and doesn’t seem to have much margin for error. If they sink back into the wild-card pack, they may never recover.
If they’re not going to tweak, they had better hope those line drives start falling in.
"I guess I’d rather have some luck and score some runs," Narron said, "but it’s nice to see us hit some balls hard."
Nice? OK.
So why wasn’t he smiling?
Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.
[email protected]

 

[coastalbuck]

Well, they hit them hard enough today. Nice win to win the series.

Gotta love the title

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

6/26/06

REDS NOTEBOOK

Narron finds ways to utilize three catchers

Monday, June 26, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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CLEVELAND — Cincinnati Reds manager Jerry Narron used a lineup change yesterday to open a conversation about why the team continues to carry three catchers.
Narron normally starts Spanish-speaking Javier Valentin when Elizardo Ramirez pitches. But he decided to use David Ross instead in the series finale against the Cleveland Indians.
"We’ve got three catchers, and everybody has made a big deal of three catchers," Narron said. "But at some point, one catcher is probably going to have to catch about 18 out of 21 games. That’s going to happen.
"But just looking at all three of them, you ought to check out their plate appearances and at-bats. Check them out."
Jason LaRue would appear to be the odd-man-out recently, with Ross doing most of the catching. The numbers show that Narron is splitting the playing time.
LaRue entered yesterday with 112 plate appearances and 97 at-bats. Valentin had 111 plate appearances and 99 at-bats. Ross finished the day with 117 plate appearances and 103 at-bats.
Narron put Ross with Ramirez for offense. Valentin, a switch hitter, is better batting left-handed. The Indians started left-hander Jeremy Sowers.
"With Javy, I want to try to get him the best matchup I can offensively," Narron said. "And David Ross has been pretty good against left-handed pitching."
Getting to know you

Juan Castro played shortstop opposite second baseman Brandon Phillips yesterday for the first time in a 4-2 win over the Indians.
During batting practice Saturday, the two worked together around the secondbase bag. The veteran Castro returned to the Reds in a trade with Minnesota on June 15. He likes to practice with potential double-play partners.
"He asked me if I wanted to take some throws at second," Castro said. "We did. He wanted to take some balls at short, which was nice. That way, we see each other. He’s smooth. He’s a good player."
Castro said it takes more time for a second base-shortstop combination to mesh into a fine-tuned machine.
"Probably I’d say maybe about a month of facing all kinds of different plays," he said. "You have to see how they go on the field and how they throw and how they move before you get really comfortable."
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

6/27/06

Tuesday, June 27, 2006