So far, so good for Reds | Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati.Com
Pitching: The Reds haven't lost three in a row all season because they haven't gone more than a game or two between quality starts. The Reds are 15-2 when they get a quality start, defined as going at least six innings and allowing no more than three earned runs.
The 2 losses when getting a quality start were the 3-2 14-inning loss to the Marlins (Harang went 7 innings, 2 earned), and the 4-1 loss in Houston when Cordero came in to pitch the 9th and blew the 1-1 tie (Cueto went 7 innings, 1 earned).
Bullpen: It's 14-0 after taking the lead into the fifth inning, and hasn't blown a save under that scenario. It's tops in baseball in both categories.
Bold is mine. They're what though, 0-3 in pulling out ties?
Defense: The Reds rank next to last in National League fielding. But the defense, particularly in the outfield, is much improved. The Reds have seven outfield errors. Darnell McDonald and Chris Dickerson have five between them.
But the starting outfielders against right-handers ? Willy Taveras, Jay Bruce and Laynce Nix ? have a total of two errors. Taveras eats up ground in center field. Nix has been terrific since taking over in left field. Bruce leads the majors with six outfield assists, and has more range than most right fielders.
McDonald and Dickerson really shouldn't even be on this team, but Dusty prefers these types of players over a guy like Gomes because of their body types. They "look" like they're better athletes, despite the fact they're just as big of liabilities in the field as Gomes would ever be and are career AA-class hitters, minus Dickerson's one good month in the Show last year.
The bigger question though is what the hell happens at 3B and SS now? EE's bat is valuable,
when he's in his groove. Rosales doesn't have EE's power, but his approach is better and he's probably less likely to go into protracted hot/cold streaks than EE. Neither of them have shown themselves to be great defenders, though EE has the upside. At this point I'd be happy leaving Hairston at SS ahead of A Gon until he stops producing or injures himself again, whichever comes first.
No idea what the hell Dusty does with this mess. I'm reading comments on other sites where many would like to see Hairston as the everyday SS, A Gon as the everyday 3B, Rosales as the super-utility IF and RH bat off the bench, and EE ... ? Jax said EE would become the whipping boy with Dunn gone, but damn if I'm sick of three seasons waiting for EE to "put it all together."
The running game: Taveras is among the NL leaders with 10 steals and has been caught once. And the Reds are decidedly more aggressive in taking the extra base.
Taveras wanted to steal 100 bases this year. He's on pace for 48.
According to Mark Wagner, stat man for WLW-AM "SortsTalk" host Lance McAlister, entering Wednesday the Reds had gone from first to third base on a single 25 times. That's second-most in baseball. They finished 27th in the category last year.
MLB leaders in the first to third on a single category have been Mike Scioscia's Angels for the last three years in a row, according to Chris Welsh in the last broadcast.
Resiliency: The Reds had some tough losses: A 14-inning, 3-2 loss in Miami. The extra-inning 8-7 loss to St. Louis last Sunday. And the 15-3 Bronson Arroyo blowout at the hands of Milwaukee. But each time, they won the next game.
Just convince Cordero a tie game is actually a save situation and the Reds are golden.
And those bunts Baker mentioned? Cincinnati leads the NL with 26 sacrifices.
Far be it from me to actually pay Dusty Baker a compliment, but damn if the team is less frustrating to watch than any of the squads Miley or Narron ran out there.
Now, oddly enough, this year's team actually has a worse record than the 2006 team did at this point in the season. The '06 team was 22-12 after 34 games and 1/2-game back of the Mets for the best record in the entire NL. So despite the fact the offense is worse, the defense is statistically worse, and the record is worse, this team "looks" better because they play the game "The Right Way"(tm).
Fuck I love baseball!
