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Reds Tidbits (2006 Season)

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I'm lovin' this team!! First place by the end of the week! Also, Castellini was on with Marty and the bad boy. Half priced tickets and $1 dogs for the Padres series(maybe giants) hope everyone can make it down for at least one game. September is going to be fun with the Buckeyes and the Redlegs.
 
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Dispatch

8/23/06

Lohse finding a home in rotation

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>AL BEHRMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Kyle Lohse had no trouble making the large lead stand up, throwing eight shutout innings. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


CINCINNATI — In his first year as general manager, Wayne Krivsky already has left large enough fingerprints on the revamped Reds roster to make a CSI lab technician drool.
By the end of April, Krivsky could count starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo, second baseman Brandon Phillips and catcher David Ross as significant trade acquisitions for the club’s future. It’s beginning to look more and more like former Minnesota Twins pitcher Kyle Lohse could be mentioned in the same sentence.
Lohse (1-0) shut down the Houston Astros last night on four hits over eight innings of a 14-0 Cincinnati victory in Great American Ball Park. He even tossed in three singles for good measure.
First baseman Scott Hatteberg, who had a home run and four RBI in the win, quickly noticed that Lohse had his good stuff.
"I always knew he had a really good arm," Hatteberg said. "I faced him quite a bit (in the American League). He’s a very tough guy, especially when he’s on. He’s got a live fastball, and he’s able to throw it and throw that slider.
"You got a lot of errant swings from some really good hitters. That’s a good sign. Right out the gate … Craig Biggio chased a couple of wide sliders and I thought, ‘Man, he’s got his good one to- night.’ "
The win pulled the Reds to one game behind first-place St. Louis in the National League Central and kept them at the top of the wild-card standings.
The runs were a welcome change. After arriving in a July 31 trade, Lohse had allowed a combined four runs in 18 1 /3 innings in three starts before last night, but the Reds lost all three games for lack of offense. They made up the lapses in a big way.
Adam Dunn joined Phillips, Ross and Hatteberg with home runs in the rout. Dunn hit a three-run moon shot — his 38 th of the season — to cap an eightrun third inning.
Despite having a 12-0 lead, Lohse did not go into cruise control.
"You can’t take any different mentality out there," he said. "You let up a couple of pitches, and the next thing you know you’ve given up three or four runs. You just try to keep doing what you’re doing to get you in a good spot."
Having the opportunity to start in Cincinnati obviously has revived Lohse. He lost his spot in the Minnesota rotation early this year.
"It’s been a great situation for me to come over," Lohse said. "It’s not just the old saying about a change of scenery. To be in the middle of a pennant race and to know what that feels like, I’m trying to be as big a part of it as I can. … Sometimes you just get in a new situation and start new."
The Reds are happy to have him. Juan Castro, who played with Lohse in Minnesota this season, was happy when he heard about the trade.
"When he got here, they asked me some questions and I said, ‘He can pitch,’ " Castro said. "He throws gas. He knows how to pitch. He’s got good control and good command. He’s a very good addition."
[email protected]
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Dispatch

8/23/06

REDS NOTEBOOK
One-time closer blows big chance
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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CINCINNATI — Scott Schoeneweis recognizes that the role of a middle relief pitcher seldom reaches the marquee level of a star closer such as his friend and former Toronto teammate B.J. Ryan.
"As a middle reliever, it’s kind of like you’re the offensive line," said Schoeneweis, who joined the Cincinnati Reds last week in a trade with the Blue Jays. "You don’t get any credit for a whole lot of stuff. I’ve always envisioned that one little chance where you could joke about it."
Schoeneweis envisioned imitating the multiple fist pumps that Ryan employs after pulling off a save. He had one chance in Toronto this season and again Monday night when he closed out the 4-3 win over the Houston Astros.
"I’ve forgotten both times," Schoeneweis said, smiling.
The Reds used the veteran left-hander Monday because regular closer Eddie Guardado is on the 15-day disabled list because of tendinitis in his left forearm.
"I try to look at it as just an inning," Schoeneweis said. "You can’t concentrate on the factors involved. You’ve just got to execute pitches like any other inning. I’m not the closer. We’re going to do what we can to hold the fort while Eddie is hurt."
Schoeneweis spent the first seven-plus years of his career in the American League with Anaheim, Chicago and Toronto. "I don’t have a past with a bunch of (National League) guys," he said.
M * A * S * H notes

Pitcher Elizardo Ramirez was placed on the disabled list at triple-A Louisville after a magnetic resonance imaging showed inflammation in his right shoulder. The Reds optioned Ramirez to the Bats on Aug. 13 after he suffered through three consecutive bad outings.
"We’re going to work on calming down the inflammation in his shoulder and work on the flexibility in the shoulder for the next week or week and a half," head trainer Mark Mann said. "We’ll go from there."
Louisville outfielder Chris Denorfia was unavailable for a call-up Sunday because he had fluid drained from a knee. He is day to day. The Reds brought up Norris Hopper instead.
Reliever Gary Majewski (tendinitis) threw a bullpen session yesterday. The team hopes to send him out on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment as soon as this weekend.
[email protected]
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Award mentioned at the end of the article.
AWARD WINNER: Left fielder Adam Dunn was honored before Tuesday's game as the Reds' recipient of the Heart and Hustle Award. The award, which is presented by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, goes to one player from each team that succeeds on the field, is a team leader and "best embodies the values, spirits and traditions of the game."
Former Reds player and 1966 NL Rookie of the Year Tommy Helms presented Dunn with the award.
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hus·tle (hŭs'əl)

v., -tled, -tling, -tles.

v.intr.
  1. To move or act energetically and rapidly: We hustled to get dinner ready on time.
  2. To push or force one's way.
  3. To act aggressively, especially in business dealings.
  4. Slang.
    1. To obtain something by deceitful or illicit means; practice theft or swindling.
    2. To solicit customers. Used of a pimp or prostitute.
    3. To misrepresent one's ability in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling.
v.tr.
  1. To push or convey in a hurried or rough manner: hustled the prisoner into a van.
  2. To cause or urge to proceed quickly; hurry: hustled the board into a quick decision.
  3. Slang.
    1. To sell or get by questionable or aggressive means: hustled stolen watches; hustling spare change.
    2. To pressure into buying or doing something: a barfly hustling the other customers for drinks.
    3. To misrepresent one's skill in (a game or activity) in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling: hustle pool.
n.
  1. The act or an instance of jostling or shoving.
  2. Energetic activity; drive.
  3. Slang. An illicit or unethical way of doing business or obtaining money; a fraud or deceit: “the most dangerous and wide-open drug hustle of them all” (Newsweek).
[Dutch husselen, to shake, from Middle Dutch hustelen, frequentative of hutsen.]
 
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Dispatch

Loss turns on Coffey’s ejection

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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CINCINNATI — How much more the games suddenly matter to the Reds moved front and center in the course of two seventh-inning pitches yesterday afternoon in Great American Ball Park.
With the bases loaded in a 2-2 tie against the Houston Astros, home plate umpire Wally Bell viewed backto-back pitches from Cincinnati reliever Todd Coffey as balls to Morgan Ensberg.
After the first, Bell removed his mask, circled catcher David Ross and heatedly told him to keep his opinion on the matter to himself. After the second, Bell sprang from behind the plate and threw a gesturing Coffey out of the game.
Carnage ensued. The Astros put together a five-run inning and rolled to a 7-3 victory in front of 24,873 fans. In the aftermath, Coffey didn’t blame Bell for the outcome.
"First and foremost, I let the team down," he said. "Second, I made myself look like an idiot out there. No matter what the umpire calls, if it’s a strike, it’s a strike. If it’s a ball, it’s a ball. I have to keep my mouth shut."
Coffey said he didn’t curse. But given the fact the Reds are in a pennant race for the first time since 1999, a slip would have been understandable.
"Every pitch is important," Coffey said. "Right now, we’re playing teams in our division. A win today would have been huge. I dropped the ball for the team."
Through six innings, it looked as if Cincinnati might squeak by Houston ace Roy Oswalt (10-8) on the strength of a two-run first inning and the pitching of left-hander Chris Michalak.
Michalak carried a 2-1 lead into the seventh but left in favor of Coffey after Brad Ausmus singled and Oswalt sacrificed him to second base. Willy Taveras worked a walk before Chris Burke singled. Left fielder Adam Dunn charged the ball. He had a chance to knock off Ausmus at the plate, but his throw sailed over Ross’ head. For that, he felt as badly as Coffey.
"This is what we play for," Dunn said. "Each pitch could be the game. Today, one play opened the game up for them. If I don’t throw the ball into the fifth row, who knows what happens? It was just a terrible throw."
Coffey walked Lance Berkman intentionally to load the bases for Ensberg. Bell barked at Ross on the 1-and-1 pitch. He tossed Coffey after the 2-and-1 delivery.
"They were close pitches," Ross said. "I’m not going to lie about that. But that’s beside the point. You got no reason to react the way (Bell) reacted. You got to keep your calm out there. They’ve got to be the calm ones on the field."
Ryan Franklin relieved Coffey and completed the walk to force in the go-ahead run. Rheal Cormier entered and surrendered three quick hits that settled matters.
The Reds hit the road now to play 10 games against San Francisco, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego.
"Any time you put added pressure on yourself, the performance is going to be different," shortstop Rich Aurilia said. "Today we had an opportunity to beat Oswalt. We had the lead. We just couldn’t hold it.
"But all in all, this was a good homestand for us. The goal is to win series, and we won two of them here. Now we take the progress we made on this homestand and go west." [email protected]
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Dispatch

8/24/06

COMMENTARY
Umpire’s quick toss throws Reds for hard loss

Thursday, August 24, 2006


BOB HUNTER

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CINCINNATI — Kill the umpire?
Well, no.
This world has enough violence without issuing a death sentence to an overly sensitive umpire. Justice could be just as easily served by tying him to a barge and shipping him down the Ohio River.
Crazy as it sounds, the Cincinnati Reds might have lost a critical game to the Houston Astros yesterday because of two sentences they uttered to home plate umpire Wally Bell.
"I didn’t think it was up" and "That was right down the middle" sound like something you might hear during a softball game at a church picnic, but the words were anything but harmless. They dropped the Reds like a shotgun blast at close range, leading to a 7-3 loss.
Given the Reds’ position in two races — one game behind first-place St. Louis in the National League Central and two games ahead of San Diego for the wild card — that could have been the team’s season that Bell murdered when he threw relief pitcher Todd Coffey out in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and a 3-and-1 count on Morgan Ensberg.
Ryan Franklin entered and lost Ensberg on two pitches to force in the tying run, and then Rheal Cormier relieved Franklin and gave up a single to Aubrey Huff that scored two more runs. Although you can’t blame the umpire for Cormier’s failure, Bell set the disaster in motion by getting ticked at Reds catcher David Ross for asking him where a 1-and-1 pitch to Ensberg was.
Bell took off his mask, circled around in front of Ross and reportedly game him a verbal tongue-lashing that didn’t end until manager Jerry Narron came out of the dugout.
"I just said, ‘Where’s that pitch?’ and he said, ‘Up,’ " Ross said. "I said, ‘I didn’t think it was up’ and he decided to take off his mask and come around in front of me. I didn’t say anything. … I didn’t cuss at him, I didn’t raise my voice. I just guess he wasn’t in the mood for that. I lost a lot of respect for that guy today."
After Coffey threw what he thought was a strike on the next pitch, Bell ejected him.
"I think I said, ‘That was right down the middle,’ " Coffey said, "but I said more than I should have said."
Agreed. Coffey should have kept his mouth shut. He shouldn’t have made an up-anddown gesture with his hand to show what middle he was talking about to an umpire who had just acted like a guy working through a vicious hangover.
But seriously, throw the pitcher out of the game with a 3-and-1 count and bases loaded in a game that could ultimately decide a pennant race? Bush.
"It was huge against us," Narron said. "We’d love to have had Franklin after Cormier in there, instead of the other way around."
Narron didn’t have much more to say about the situation, which seems funny in a city where Lou Piniella once kicked dirt on umpires, threw bases into the outfield and generally reacted to perceived injustices like a man trying out for a remake of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
But then, that was before Bud Selig, Bob Watson and the courtesy police cleaned up baseball. The commissioner and his sheriff — Watson’s official title is vice president of on-field operations — have suspended, fined and all but banished the poor schlubs who don’t have sense enough to realize that corporate sponsors don’t like to see any displays of hostility within their product. For some reason, this rarely applies to umpires.
"All (Coffey) said was, ‘That pitch was right down the middle,’ " Ross said. "Whether it was or it wasn’t, that’s not my job to say. But I don’t know if that’s grounds for tossing somebody."
And it certainly isn’t grounds for costing a team a playoff appearance.
If the folks were really serious about cleaning up baseball, umpires would face the same scrutiny as the players they adjudicate.
The barge would be waiting.

Bob Hunter is a sports colum nist for The Dispatch
.
[email protected]
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Dispatch

8/24/06

REDS NOTEBOOK
Michalak pitches with grandma on mind

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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CINCINNATI — Pitcher Chris Michalak arrived in Great American Ball Park late Tuesday night after a whirlwind trip to attend the funeral of his 102-year-old grandmother, Rose Grant, in Joliett, Ill.
She still was on his mind yesterday before and after he pitched 6 1 /3 innings against the Houston Astros.
"It meant a lot because my grandma never saw me throw," said Michalak, who checked the Astros on two runs in a 7-3 loss. "I think she was watching today. So to go out and do that, that was special for me. I took a couple of looks up to the sky just to let her know I was thinking about her."
He brought a rose from the funeral and placed it in his locker in her honor. Michalak, a minor-league journeyman, hopes the performance was strong enough for the Cincinnati Reds to give him a third start.
"It just reassures me that I can pitch at this level," Michalak said. "No matter where it is, if I pitch my ballgame, I’m going to get ground balls and get people out."
He was thrilled to match Houston ace Roy Oswalt, who also allowed two runs in six innings.
"That is what every kid wants growing up." Michalak said. "You want to pitch in a pennant race, and you want to face their best. I think that’s what every true competitor wants to do."
Ticket discounts

The Reds are offering tickets at half price in 10 seating locations for the Sept. 12-14 series against San Diego. Hot dogs will be available for $1. Check www.reds.com or call 877-647-7337 for ticket details.
The Reds also are offering half-price tickets for the Labor Day (Sept. 4) game against San Francisco for fans who donate nonperishable or canned food items to support the Freestore-Foodbank, one item per one discounted ticket.
Short hops

Before the game yesterday, the Reds optioned outfielder Norris Hopper to triple-A Louisville. Hopper, 27, was 1 for 3 in his three-day stay and didn’t hurt his chances to be included in the September call-ups when rosters expand. "There’s a good chance of it," manager Jerry Narron said. "He’s got an idea what he’s doing. He’s going to be fine." … Reliever Gary Majewski (tendinitis) is expected to begin a rehabilitation assignment with the Bats this week. … Reliever Jason Standridge (back spasms) pitched two scoreless innings for Louisville on his rehabilitation assignment Tuesday night.
[email protected]
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For the scoreboard watchers out there:

The Cards have one more game today against the Mets. That's good news, I suppose. However, the Mets are trotting Dave Williams :sick1: out there tonight, so the Reds will need to start strong on this road trip.

Also, the Reds are just one game behind the Cards, but they also need to watch the wild card teams creepin' up behind them. San Diego and Philadelphia are playing well lately. Fortunately though, the Reds will get a crack at the Padres on this road trip.
 
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Eric Milton is getting tagged tonight. I guess we're lucky this game is at PacBell and not Great American. Lucky that only two of the many rockets that have been hit off of him have left the park so far. It's a 3-2 Giants lead through six innings. If the score stays that way, I'm blaming Narron for not pinch hitting for Milton with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth.

By the way - the official scorer in San Francisco is godawful. How was that play by Durham NOT an error. Sure, he didn't technically get a glove on it - that's just a testament to how BAD an error that was.
 
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