Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Where Has the Pitching Gone? Ellsbury on Fire!

The Reds pitching, which kept them in the mix early in the season, has hit the skids. In 4 of the last 11 games, the starting pitcher had more earned runs than innings pitched. Starting pitchers are averaging 5.25 earned runs per game while the bats are only averaging 3.36 runs per game. Reds starting pitchers are also averaging 5.5 innings per start which leaves alot of work for the bullpen. The Reds fall to Toronto last night 5-7 and drop below .500. With the bats and the arms going cold, this could be a long summer.

Jacoby Ellsbury went 4 for 4 with 2 triples Tuesday night and the Red Sox beat the Nationals 11-3. Jacoby, a leadoff hitter in my mind, has thrived since moving to the number 7 spot. The Sox rallied for 6 in the 8th inning to put the game away. The Sox have won 3 in a row and 7 of their last 10 to go 5 games ahead of the second place Yankees.

Reds (34-35) 4.5 GB
Red Sox (43-27) 1st in AL East

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Wake at the Fens; Not Your Father's Braves

Tim Wakefield is undefeated at home this year and continues his quest for his first All-Star appearance. Wake threw 6 innings last night giving up 6 hits and only 2 runs. Tim has been near masterful at home this season going 8 innings against Toronto and giving up only 1, 6 innings against Cleveland giving up 2 and 7 innings against Minnesota giving up only 1. David Ortiz helped lift the club to the victory last night with his fifth homerun of the season going 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs.

The Reds get back on the winning side against the Braves. However, this is not your father's Braves. Twenty years ago (1989) guys like John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and David Justice were just getting started at wouldn't hit their stride until the early nineties but the pieces were coming together. This year's Braves are 30-33 and 6.5 games back in the NL East. Nonetheless, the Reds won 7-2 in a game that saw two lengthy rain delays. The game was much closer than the score would indicate as the Reds were only up 3-2 in the middle of the eighth before scoring 4 in the bottom to seal the victory.

MLB note: Congratulations to Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez for tying Carlton Fisk's record for most games caught in MLB history.

Reds: (32-31) 3 gb
Red Sox: (39-25) 1st in AL East

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

SWEEPS!

A week of sweeps. One good and one not. The Red Sox continued their domination over the Yankees with yet another 3-game sweep running their streak this season to 8 over the Bronx Bums. The last time the Sox enjoyed such a feat, the team from New York was known as the Highlanders and Fenway Park was in its inaugural season. WOW!



The Reds are on the other end of the stick. After moving up to a tie for second in the central and only 1.5 games back, they drop the final game to the Nationals and get swept by the last place Royals. What happened? This was a great opportunity for the club to make a run and let other teams in the central know that they are for real. An opportunity wasted.



Reds (31-31) 3 GB
Red Sox (38-25) 1st in AL East

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

How Sweet it is!

The Red Sox shut down the Yankees (again) 7-0 on just 2 hits. Starting pitcher Josh Beckett allows only 1 hit over 6 innings and strikes out 8. Big Papi gets his third homerun of the season as the Red Sox extend this year's winning streak over the Yankees to 6 and moves them back in to a tie atop the AL East. Tonight Wake (7-3) goes up against Wang (0-3). How long can the streak last?

The Reds beat Washington 3-2 behind Johnny Cueto's 7IP allowing only 4 hits and 1 run. The win moves the Redlegs percentage points ahead of the struggling Cardinals into third place and only 2.5 GB. With the Reds continuing the series with the lowly Nationals and then heading the Kansas City for three games, this could be a great week for the club.

Reds (30-27) 2.5 GB
Red Sox (34-24) 1st in AL East

Monday, June 8, 2009

Cubs/Cards Rangers/Yankees

Well, this weekend wasn't great but all is not lost. The Reds and Sox both lost 2 of 3 this past weekend when some wins would have been nice. The good news for the Reds is that the Cardinals have lost 4 in a row and the next two series should go their way. Tuesday, Cueto(5-3) vs. Zimmerman(2-3) looks good for the Reds. The good news for the Sox is that the team ahead of them (the Bums from the Bronx) are coming to town so they can help themselves out. Tomorrow, Beckett(6-2) vs. Burnett(4-2) matches up nicely on paper.
Will Ellsbury play?

Reds: (29-27) 3.5 GB
Red Sox: (33-24) .5 GB

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Mid Season Critical Game

With the win yesterday over the Cardinals, the Reds are guaranteed atleast a tie in this four game series with the chance to win it tonight. I'm not one to put more emphasis on one game over another, they all count as one, but as far as confidence goes, lastnights game was huge. The Redlegs take the momentum from this series into a series with the struggling Chicago Cubs followed by two bottom dwelling clubs in the Nationals and the Royals. Now is as good a time as any to make their move.

Josh Beckkett stuck it to the Detroit Tigers and the Red Sox have moved back into a tie with the Yankees at the top of the AL East. Their road ahoe is a bit tougher although they are playing some better ball. Tonight they face the D Train (Dontrelle Willis) who appears to be getting back on track. Then, although it's tough to say and hard to believe, the AL West LEADING Texas Rangers come to town for three games followed by a mid-week three game series against the Junkees. As if that isn't a tough enough schedule, the Sox then travel to defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, followed by two home series with the April NL East leading Florida Marlins and the perrenial powerhouse Atlanta Braves. By late June we should definately see the character of this team.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Damn Yankees

The Yankees have been on fire and have now been atop the AL East for about a week. The Sox trail by only a single game but the next meeting of the two perrenial powers is Tuesday, June 9th. The Bronx Bums have only lost 4 games since May 13th. Quite impressive. The Sox on the other hand have lost 10 in the same stretch. Every club has a rough patch or two throughout the season and to go through this one and only be back 1 game looks favorably on the Sox.

The Reds have had their fate in their hand with a 3 games series with the first place Brewers and now a 3 game series with the second place Cardinals. They were swept by the Brew Crew but have managed to take one of the first two games against the Cards to fall to only 2.5 back. A win tonight keeps them right in contention for the NL Central.

MLB Note: The All-Star voting seems to be coming around a little. I was a little worried at first when Raul Ibanez was sixth in NL outfielder voting although he may have had the best first half in all of baseball. He is currently in second. And despite an effort to expose the flaws of voting, Manny Ramirez has dropped back to fifth. I agree that the process could be tweeked but this is not the way to handle it.

Red All-Star Voting: Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto lead the way for the team but still need some help. Phillips is currently 5th among NL 2B and Votto is 4th among NL 1B.

Red Sox All-Star Voting: Jason Bay is getting rewarded for his outstanding first half performance and is leading all AL OF, Youk is atop AL 1B and Pedroia is 2nd for AL 2B. Mike Lowell is 4th among AL 3B and Tek is being rewarded for his first half as well and is currently 2nd in AL Catchers but could use your help to stay there.