NL CENTRAL RECAP
Remember a week ago, the fun of the trade deadline. We were able to watch the Pirates actually acquiring players. A time so strange that Jim Rome invited Andrew McCutchen on his show to enlighten his “clones” on the phenomenon. We watched the Cubs keep promising young talent, and build for the future. We watched Astros giving players away and paying teams to do so…you are welcome, Philly. We watched the Cardinals turn into Sybil and go from “you will obey the all knowing Tony La Russa” (the Rasmus trade), to “our starting pitching needs an upgrade, we need an inconsistent Edwin Jackson who’s contract is up at the end of the year”, to “let’s play Ryan Theriot /Brendon Ryan musical chairs”, to crying “we need another bat and will reach for anyone (Rafael Furcal)”. Seriously, the Cardinals took a page from the prom playbook and put on as many moves as they could possible to land the big score. We watched the Reds sit on their thumbs, and move only struggling fan favorite, inexpensive Johnny Gomes for prospects (potentially to make room for Michael Bourn, but the deal fell through …your welcome, Atlanta), and the Reds went on a downward spiral. Finally, we watched the Brew Crew executives taping their fingers on their desks like a Bond villain after changing the KROD contract giving them two amazing closers.
FLASH FORWARD ONE WEEK…
The Brewers are on top of the division, the St. Lunitics are trailing by 3 games, then the once hopeful Pirates are 8 back and the underperforming Red Legs are 9 games back after dropping the previous series to the depleted Astros (25.5 games behind), and losing the second in a row to the confused Cubbies (14.5 games back). The cream is rising to the top and the moves made at the deadline make more sense. The Brew Crew made one major move to bring in KROD, which was a bit puzzling because they had good talent in Axford but it appears it is a case of the rich getting richer and the young closer having a support system for a playoff run.
It appears the Cardinals freaked out that someone other than the Mighty La Russa could possibly be on top of the NL Central and went anti-Jockety (former Cards GM who finds and grows talent rather than making drastic short-term moves) and acquired anyone who knew where St. Louis was on a map. That is, unless your name was Colby Rasmus. I happened to be driving through St. Louis the day that Edwin Jackson made his premier in a Cards uniform and caught the pre-game radio call-in show. The fans were panicked, drunk, and acted like the world was ending. Even though that is the job of a sports fan, it seemed odd that a town so rich in baseball fortitude would be screaming “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!” At any rate, the broadcast also offered an interview with Colby Rasmus’s father, who was accused of coaching his son and offending baseball legend and completely arrogant (I bat pitchers in the 8 spot and somehow everyone is ok with it) Tony LaRussa, who shipped him out for a bag of baseballs and 15% off of a Moon’s Over My Hammy at any Toronto area Denny’s…and Edwin Jackson. Senior Rasmus pled his case that he was in fact encouraging his son, who hit a slump at the end of last year, during batting practices, but offered nothing in the way of correcting mechanics. The Cards also picked up outfielder Corey Patterson in the deal, for the potential of that working out for them you can call the Chicago Cubs or Cincinnati Reds. Is it just me or has Patterson just taken the Jim Edmond’s title of NL Central town bicycle?
Then there is the rest of the pack. Are they out of it? Not mathematically, but we have reached the part of the season where teams either lustfully chase after the top of the division like Ducky in ‘Pretty in Pink’ or their own reality comes crashing down and they shut it down for this year and prepare for next season. The Pirates went all out so they are going to make a likely embarrassing “the little engine that could” effort to overtake both the Cards and Brewers. The Reds are only a game behind the Pirates, but are in 4th in the division and have played with as much emotion this season as Ben Affleck in Gilgi. The Red Legs are also bringing up AAA players to fill in for injuries/get experience for the future. I believe that is the white flag. The Cubs are seemingly lost, but playing good baseball at the moment. Finally, the most exciting thing in Houston may be the prospect of being moved to the AL in baseballs potential re-alignment that seems to be on the horizon. At least these clubs can find peace in at least one regard made famous by the Chicago-land area, “there’s always next year”.
Showing posts with label Reds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reds. Show all posts
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
OVERLY CRITICAL FAN EVALUATES 3RD BASEMAN’S BATTING APPROACH
There is no other feeling like being at a baseball stadium, and I have no idea what it would be like to take bat in front of a stadium full of fans who either love or hate you. I do know, however, how cool it is to watch it all go down. And with that, a note of complete light-hearted, over-criticism…
When Scott Rolen joined the Reds in 2009, I attended a game and he was greeted at the batter’s box by Limp Bizkit’s “rollin’, rollin’, rollin’” and it was fantastic. Not only is it a great play on words, you got the sense in watching him that it may have been one of the first few times he had even heard the song. In what I would deem a controversial move, his intro song has been changed to Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” Is there anything more depressing than a player in the twilight of his career approaching the plate to the lyrics of “that is when I ruled the world?” I’m not sure that remembering the best days are behind him is the greatest motivator in the world, but maybe the dude just digs Coldplay.
Side note: at a 2011 game, Rolen made a play at third and threw a laser to get the guy at first and they played “rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ – RAWHIDE”…that was good.
POST SCRIPT: I posted this and then later in the evening listened to the Reds/ Yankees game on the radio while doing various chores. For the readers who may not have had the pleasure, Marty Brennaman is a legend in sports broadcasting and does the majority of the calls for the Red’s game. During the broadcast there is a segment called “Ask Marty” where a fan will email in a question (baseball related or not) and the Hall of Fame Broadcaster will answer it. The question for June 20th: “Two parts, 1. Do players get to pick the music they walk up to the batter’s box to before an at-bat? 2. What song would you pick?”
Marty’s answer, without hesitation…”Tiptoe Through the Tulips”. First of all, imagine anyone walking up to bat with that song – it is hilarious. Secondly, I recognized the song, but didn’t realize anything of its origin or that (at least one of) the artist was on Johnny Carson (see it at: http://youtu.be/sOjso0rPncc). At any rate, the timing was perfect comedically on the delivery and was just a flat out funny answer.
When Scott Rolen joined the Reds in 2009, I attended a game and he was greeted at the batter’s box by Limp Bizkit’s “rollin’, rollin’, rollin’” and it was fantastic. Not only is it a great play on words, you got the sense in watching him that it may have been one of the first few times he had even heard the song. In what I would deem a controversial move, his intro song has been changed to Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” Is there anything more depressing than a player in the twilight of his career approaching the plate to the lyrics of “that is when I ruled the world?” I’m not sure that remembering the best days are behind him is the greatest motivator in the world, but maybe the dude just digs Coldplay.
Side note: at a 2011 game, Rolen made a play at third and threw a laser to get the guy at first and they played “rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ – RAWHIDE”…that was good.
POST SCRIPT: I posted this and then later in the evening listened to the Reds/ Yankees game on the radio while doing various chores. For the readers who may not have had the pleasure, Marty Brennaman is a legend in sports broadcasting and does the majority of the calls for the Red’s game. During the broadcast there is a segment called “Ask Marty” where a fan will email in a question (baseball related or not) and the Hall of Fame Broadcaster will answer it. The question for June 20th: “Two parts, 1. Do players get to pick the music they walk up to the batter’s box to before an at-bat? 2. What song would you pick?”
Marty’s answer, without hesitation…”Tiptoe Through the Tulips”. First of all, imagine anyone walking up to bat with that song – it is hilarious. Secondly, I recognized the song, but didn’t realize anything of its origin or that (at least one of) the artist was on Johnny Carson (see it at: http://youtu.be/sOjso0rPncc). At any rate, the timing was perfect comedically on the delivery and was just a flat out funny answer.
TORONTO FANS ARE AWESOME
Saturday, June 18th I took my girlfriend (and after the game fiancé…thank you) to the Reds/ Blue Jays game. I have a few observations on the evening. First of all, scalping is awesome. We paid $25 per seat to sit 17 rows from 3rd base. Secondly, Blue Jays fans are awesome and travel incredibly well. And third, the Reds don’t seem to really care at this point.
I was really surprised to see as many Blue Jays fans at the game as what I did. There were several in our section, including one wearing a Canadian flag one in a Nacho Libre-style wrestling mask, and they all stood up and begged for a souvenir each time the Blue Jays retreated to their dug out after a defensive inning. I have always heard that the nicest people in this country come from the Midwest and Canadians are famously polite. So what happens when you have a group of Canadians at an Ohio sporting event? Pure awesomeness. I had a running conversation with a group of 4 guys from Toronto throughout the night about Joey Votto, the NL vs AL rules, Corey Patterson, the best parks in baseball, Molson vs. Labatts, and so on. We each rooted for our teams, talked a little smack on the other and shook hands at the end of the game. I honestly wished our kids were at the game to see how to be an honest sports fan. And then, the post game happened…
After the game, the girlfriend (at the time) and I went downtown for some drinks and an appetizer. We sat outside by a fountain and spotted the Blue Jays closer Jon Rauch walking into the restaurant. Not being a huge BJ fan (strike that) Blue Jay fan, I decided against asking for an autograph, but will tell you the dude is huge. We sat next to a group of younger Reds fans (early 20’s) who had plenty to drink for the night. Out of nowhere, the exact group that sat behind us from Toronto from the game came into the restaurant. Unfortunately, the drunk 20 year olds spotted them and heckeled them to the point where I actually told them “guys, those people are actually really cool and came here from Canada to watch some baseball. They had a really good time tonight and have been really impressed with the city of Cincinnati, give them a break”. That was not well received and they continued to heckle to the point that the manager asked them to leave. That being said, I was terribly disappointed because I truly felt like we had reached a new level in sports fandom. Isn’t it sad when someone is hurt for wearing the opposing teams jersey to a game? Isn’t it sad that you can’t go to a city where your team is visiting and grab a burger and a beer post-game. It is absolutely barbaric and that is why I am “outside the inside of sports” because as much as I love sports…they are just games.
Anyway, as far as the game goes, it was disappointing. The Reds had a great 2010…and they seem to be pleased with making the playoffs last year and then looking like a deer in headlights in the post season. The highlights of the game: Chris Heisey played well in left field, Edinson Volquez pitched well (but got a lot of criticism from the local media), and the stadium did have a bit of a buzz even if it didn’t come until the eighth inning and I thought we had a legitimate shot at a comeback. The downside: outside of Heisey and Volquez nobody really seemed to care to play baseball on Saturday June 18th, an American League team came into a National League stadium and put on a 3 game clinic in how to play small ball (embarrassing), and the less than 10% crowd of Blue Jay fans showed more enthusiasm than any Red fan or player in the park.
On a parting personal note I will add the following. I did ask my girlfriend to marry me following the game. It did not go according to plan, it was awkward, and spectacular all at the same time. Cincinnati always has had a special place in our relationship because of the Reds. After passing my boards for my medical profession she told me to block out a certain weekend and she was kidnapping me. She took me to a Reds game, we fell in love, and I knew that was where I was going to propose. You will get to know her as I have asked her to write 1 entry every 2 weeks to capture the true spirit of “Outside the Inside of Sports”. However, I wanted to share the story because as much disappointment I felt from the society of sports at the restaurant while the Reds fans were badgering the Blue Jay fans, I felt a proportionate amount of joy in the realization that one of the most important events of my life is connected to the culture of sports.
I was really surprised to see as many Blue Jays fans at the game as what I did. There were several in our section, including one wearing a Canadian flag one in a Nacho Libre-style wrestling mask, and they all stood up and begged for a souvenir each time the Blue Jays retreated to their dug out after a defensive inning. I have always heard that the nicest people in this country come from the Midwest and Canadians are famously polite. So what happens when you have a group of Canadians at an Ohio sporting event? Pure awesomeness. I had a running conversation with a group of 4 guys from Toronto throughout the night about Joey Votto, the NL vs AL rules, Corey Patterson, the best parks in baseball, Molson vs. Labatts, and so on. We each rooted for our teams, talked a little smack on the other and shook hands at the end of the game. I honestly wished our kids were at the game to see how to be an honest sports fan. And then, the post game happened…
After the game, the girlfriend (at the time) and I went downtown for some drinks and an appetizer. We sat outside by a fountain and spotted the Blue Jays closer Jon Rauch walking into the restaurant. Not being a huge BJ fan (strike that) Blue Jay fan, I decided against asking for an autograph, but will tell you the dude is huge. We sat next to a group of younger Reds fans (early 20’s) who had plenty to drink for the night. Out of nowhere, the exact group that sat behind us from Toronto from the game came into the restaurant. Unfortunately, the drunk 20 year olds spotted them and heckeled them to the point where I actually told them “guys, those people are actually really cool and came here from Canada to watch some baseball. They had a really good time tonight and have been really impressed with the city of Cincinnati, give them a break”. That was not well received and they continued to heckle to the point that the manager asked them to leave. That being said, I was terribly disappointed because I truly felt like we had reached a new level in sports fandom. Isn’t it sad when someone is hurt for wearing the opposing teams jersey to a game? Isn’t it sad that you can’t go to a city where your team is visiting and grab a burger and a beer post-game. It is absolutely barbaric and that is why I am “outside the inside of sports” because as much as I love sports…they are just games.
Anyway, as far as the game goes, it was disappointing. The Reds had a great 2010…and they seem to be pleased with making the playoffs last year and then looking like a deer in headlights in the post season. The highlights of the game: Chris Heisey played well in left field, Edinson Volquez pitched well (but got a lot of criticism from the local media), and the stadium did have a bit of a buzz even if it didn’t come until the eighth inning and I thought we had a legitimate shot at a comeback. The downside: outside of Heisey and Volquez nobody really seemed to care to play baseball on Saturday June 18th, an American League team came into a National League stadium and put on a 3 game clinic in how to play small ball (embarrassing), and the less than 10% crowd of Blue Jay fans showed more enthusiasm than any Red fan or player in the park.
On a parting personal note I will add the following. I did ask my girlfriend to marry me following the game. It did not go according to plan, it was awkward, and spectacular all at the same time. Cincinnati always has had a special place in our relationship because of the Reds. After passing my boards for my medical profession she told me to block out a certain weekend and she was kidnapping me. She took me to a Reds game, we fell in love, and I knew that was where I was going to propose. You will get to know her as I have asked her to write 1 entry every 2 weeks to capture the true spirit of “Outside the Inside of Sports”. However, I wanted to share the story because as much disappointment I felt from the society of sports at the restaurant while the Reds fans were badgering the Blue Jay fans, I felt a proportionate amount of joy in the realization that one of the most important events of my life is connected to the culture of sports.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
REDS CORNER
This is a portion of the blog dedicated to my favorite MLB team the Reds. I try to be unbiased in every other section of the website, other than this…
This is an exciting year for the Reds, if they pull their shit together. They have the talent, but lately seem to be missing the drive from last year. The 2010 Reds bragged about “1st to 3rd” in the All-Star game and seemed to play with a “swagger” (my new favorite hip-hop sports-themed phrase that I actually use in any possible scenario. “I just cooked a bad ass chicken Florentine, try not to deep throat the swagger).
The pitching has been fantastic, and early on the Reds seemed to be fighting for close games. On Sunday night, I saw something different. Those hungry bunch of kids who would pride themselves on “1st to 3rd” didn’t even sprint to 1st in the 9th inning. If I were to call someone out, and I will Edgar Renteria, I would state the obvious in that offensive production is unacceptable and defensively the SS position has too many errors. To some degree, I unintentionally called it. My friend Marconi lives in Cleveland and upon hearing the news I called and said…I will trade you a case of Labatts and in return the Reds get Orlando Cabrerra. It made sense because he may have accidentally confused Orlando with Estrubal Carberra. He did not accept, and the Tribe were off to the best record in baseball.
It is too late to get him back, but the Reds demonstrate glaring errors in two positions. Left field and short stop due to lack of offensive production. Speculation has explored Miguel Tejadaand/or minor leaguers to fill the SS void. As far as left field, Chris Hiesey (in my opinion) deserves more of a chance.
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