Cincinnattitude: The Reds First Half

The first half of the 2012 season concluded today as the Reds took the series against the San Diego Padres. The Reds finished this west coast road trip 6-5, which is not that bad, considering past records.

But now we have four long vacation days. Of course you may be wondering what I plan on doing during the All Star Break: I plan on watching both the Home Run Derby and All Star Game with my best baseball friend. I also hope to spend a lot of time enjoying the 2012 World Choir Games in Cincinnati. Very cool experience!

The All Star break is here. The Reds finished the first half  in second place and one game behind the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 47-38 record. Overall, I am very happy with the Reds first half. I am aware of problem areas and everything the need to improve on but I firmly believe we have a playoff/World Series team. I've decided to summarize the high points and low points of this Reds team. 

April:

• Before the season started on April 2, 2012, the Reds came to an agreement with Joey Votto on a contract extension. His 10 year-225 million dollar extension keeps Votto as a Cincinnati Reds up until the year 2024 and includes a one-year team option. His 10 year extension does not take place until his previous three-year extension from January 2011 is up, officially pushing it to 12 years. That makes Votto's deal the longest active deal in baseball.
• Opening Day 2012. The Reds opened up the regular season with a 4-0 shutout win over the Miami Marlins. That was the first Opening Day shutout for the Reds since 1980.
• April 10, 2012, the Reds and second baseman Brandon Phillips agree to a 6-year $72.5 million contract, through the 2017 season.
• The Reds record in this month was equal at .500 11-11. Their main struggle was scoring runs when the opportunity was given and consistency out of the starting pitchers Mat Latos, Mike Leake, and Homer Bailey.

May:

• Joey Votto homers 3 times, including a walk-off grand slam against the Washington Nationals. Votto became the first player in Major League baseball history to hit 3 home runs, one of them being a grand slam in the same game.
• May was definitely one of the Reds best months. They swept a 4-game series against the Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park between May 21-24.
• The Reds took 2-out of-3 at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees. They faced the Yankees ace C.C Sabathia.
• The Reds record in this month was 17-11, bringing them in first place over the St. Louis Cardinals

June:

• Reds face the Detroit Tigers on a Sunday Night Baseball game. The Reds had a lead into the 8th inning. Aroldis Chapman entered the game and gave up the lead. A very disappointing night in Reds country.
• After the disappointing loss, the Reds then met up with state-rival the Cleveland Indians at Great American Ball Park. They swept the rivals in a 3-game series. The Reds would then continue their winning streak and sweep the New York Mets in New York. They Reds only allowed 5 runs during the 3-game series against the Mets.
• However, the Indians came back for revenge and swept the Reds in Cleveland in a 3-game series. Interleague play was not very friendly to the Reds as they went below .500 with a record of 7-8.
• The Reds finished June 15-12.

July:

• The Reds took a long road trip to the West Coast. In the past, the Reds have not played their best baseball out there. However, this 2012 season, the Reds finished 6-5 on this road trip; a winning road trip.
• The Reds are currently 4-4 in July.

As I conclude, I begin thinking about all the amazing times I've had this first half of the season. I almost saw a no-hitter pitched by Bronson Arroyo, I saw all of Brandon Phillips' gold glove and all star (disappointing, I know) plays, and I experienced Sean Casey break down as he was being inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame. I've been there for the ups and downs of the team, and even the somersaults of Aroldis Chapman. But in the end, I'm very happy with what this team has accomplished. There is so much talent in this organization. Whether it be the veterans or the rookies, this Reds team takes advantage of the "there's no 'I' in team." 

What we have to look forward to from this Reds team in the second half?

Consistency. 

They are aware of the inconsistency the offense has been. They're going to use these four days off to clear their minds and think ahead: October, champagne, and World Series rings. 

Enjoy your All Star break, Reds fan!

I'll be back for more fun on Friday, July 13 when baseball starts up again and the Reds come home for a 3-game series against the defending World Series Champions the St. Louis Cardinals.

Maggie.

Rookie and Veteran Night

Homer Bailey pitched a fantastic game tonight at Dodger Stadium. He pitched 8 innings only allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits. He only walked 1 and struck out 7.

Game Summary:
Bottom of the 1st, Jerry Hairston homers (3) to left field. 1-0 Dodgers on top.

Bottom of the 2nd, Luis Cruz out on a sacrifice fly to center, James Loney scores. 2-0 Dodgers on top.

Top of the 6th, Todd Frazier singles to right field, Brandon Phillips scores, Jay Bruce to second. 2-1 Dodgers on top.
Devin Mesoraco doubles (6) to left field, Todd Frazier and Miguel Cairo score. 3-2 Reds on top.

Top of the 8th, Todd Frazier triples (5) to right field, Jay Bruce scores. 4-2 Reds on top.
Devin Mesoraco singles to left field, Todd Frazier scores. 5-2 Reds on top.

Top of the 9th, Todd Frazier singles to center field, Wilson Valdez scores. Drew Stubbs to third and Jay Bruce to second. 6-2 Reds on top.
Chris Heisey grounds to a force out, Todd Frazier out at second. Jay Bruce to third, Chris Heisey to first, Drew Stubbs scores. 7-2 Reds on top.
Miguel Cairo singles to right field, Jay Bruce scores. 8-2.

Aroldis Chapman closed in the bottom of the 9th and threw many 100 MPH fastballs, including one 102 fastball for a strike.

Zack Cozart Update:
In the 5th inning, Zack Cozart was hit in the head by pitcher Chad Willingsly. He was replaced by Wilson Valdez. Cozart fell to the ground and was holding his head. He was able to sit up and walked into the dugout with smiles. He apparently has a mild concussion, but will be examined on Tuesday.

Former Red Retires:
Former Reds starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis announced his retirement today from the Balitmore Orioles. Willis has had tremendous success in Baltimore.
He tweeted today:
"I'm deeply thankful for everything the game has done for me and I will always remember the great people I met along the way as well."
We'll miss you D-Train!


Sweet Dreams, Reds fans. 10:10 eastern time start tomorrow.
See why tomorrow's game is going to be referred to as the "Snub Match."


-Maggie

Day 79: How Are Things on the West Coast?

As I finished True Grit and move on to finding new, fun summer reads, I decided to read something I'm familiar with. Tom Browning's Tales from the Reds Dugout was a gift to me. Why not read about the life and career of Mr. Perfect?

But back to the 2012 Reds.

Mat Latos:
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Mat Latos was named player of the week. Latos went 2-0 and pitched two complete games with just two combined runs, giving him an ERA of just 1.00. He struck out a total of 20, which led the National League. Those performances improved Latos' record to 7-2 and lowered his ERA from 5.20 to 4.42.
Congratulations, Mat!

Tonight's Probables:
Reds RHP Homer Bailey (5-6, 4.42 ERA)  takes the mound against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bailey had a 6.00 ERA in the month of June and gave up five runs in his last two starts. Bailey's success has been up and down this year. Hopefully, he's successful tonight against the struggling Dodgers.

Dodger's RHP Chad Billingsley (4-7, 4.18 ERA) is looking to start July the way he started June. He won his first two starts in June, pitching a pair of 7-inning, one-run games. He then lost his last 3 starts.

Tonight's Reds Line Up:
Cozart 6
Stubbs 8
Phillips 4 
Bruce 9 
Frazier 5
Heisey 7
Cairo 3 
Mesoraco 2 
Bailey 1

No Update on Votto:
All of Reds Country is concerned about Joey Votto and his current left knee injury. Votto was taken out during the fifth inning on Saturday against the Giants, and did not start in the line up on Sunday. Votto had appeared in all 77 games for the Reds until Sunday. No timeline has been set for Votto's return.

My All Star Heartbreak

The National League All Star team was announced yesterday afternoon. With no surprise, Joey Votto will be representing the Cincinnati Reds in the starting line up. Votto was leading the votes by almost 3 million. Jay Bruce was selected through manager vote and Aroldis Chapman was selected through player vote.


My heartbreak began when TBS announced the NL reserves... Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips were not selected by player/coach/manager votes. "Take a second and breathe," I told myself, "This can not be happening. Tony LaRussa would not be that immature." 

Well. It just so happens that he is that immature.

In case you all don't remember, on August 10, 2010, the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals had a bench-clearing brawl. The fight was originally between Brandon Phillips and Yadier Molina. Brandon Phillips said some pretty immature comments about the "whiny Cardinals." Johnny Cueto became involved when he was pushed against the diamond seat net, and began kicking. He caused Cardinals backup catcher and former Reds Jason LaRue to have a concussion, and supposedly cut Chris Carpenter. Since then, we've had many situations of immature arguments and accusations between these two teams.
(I was 10 rows behind the Reds dugout at that game, pictures below!)

Joey Votto had some comments about these snubs:
“It’s kind of difficult to be overly happy today, considering the two guys I thought were shoo-ins aren’t going to be on the team,” he said. “That’s frustrating. I knew I was going to be an All-Star. I was hoping those two guys, the five of us, would go to Kansas City. As much as I don’t want to get into a (debate) right now, as happy as I am for myself and Jay, I’m disappointed for the two guys who are very, very meaningful to this first-place ballclub.”


I have 4 notes about this All Star snub:

- Do I believe Tony LaRussa is holding a grudge against Brandon Phillips and Johnny Cueto for a past problem? Yes, I strongly believe it. He chose Astros second baseman Jose Altuve over Brandon Phillips. Now, I understand giving all teams equal opportunity to represent their team in the All Star Game, however, I believe Brandon Phillips is the best defensive second baseman in the game. If you look back at the beginning of the season, Phillips started off slow, following a hamstring injury. LaRussa might possibly be basing his decision off Phillips' start of the season numbers.

- Johnny Cueto has a  9-4 record and a 2.26 ERA, which is better than 6 of the 7 pitchers picked for the All Star Game. Clearly, these numbers speak for themselves. I don't have much to say for this.

- The fans didn't vote enough. As much as I love the Reds organization, they pushed the "#VotePhillips" campaign too late. Fans were aware Phillips was only 1 million votes away from passing Atlanta Braves' Dan Uggla. Why they decided to campaign a couple weeks before voting ended, I don't know. Take note for next year, Reds fans. Some people outside of Reds Country do not appreciate the way Brandon Phillips carries himself or acts, so people just resort to Dan Uggla.

- A positive note, the Reds are being well represented in Kansas City. Joey Votto is starting at first base, first Red to start in an All Star Game since Ken Griifey Jr. in 2007. Jay Bruce is known for his power hitting and great defense in right field. And Aroldis Chapman seems to just blow everyone away with his ridiculous amounts of strike outs and speeds on his fastballs.

- Even though you hate to say it, or even think it, we have to respect Tony LaRussa. His managerial numbers speak for themselves. I just would like to say, if you retire from baseball, you're retired.

Hope you all enjoy your week, and I will be back for Reds vs Dodgers preview! Be easy!
Maggie

A-Roll-Dis Chapman and Almost No-No Arroyo

Once again, I apologize to my wonderful followers about my lack of posts. I've spent three of the last five days at the beautiful Great American Ball Park. I can say, I've been a very happy girl. Now to talk about tonight's crazy win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

No-No Arroyo:
And you all may be shocked when I say Bronson Arroyo pitched 7 innings of NO HIT baseball. He had an amazing success tonight over the Brew Crew. He gave up a double to Tyler Green, which ended up with 3 tying runs to come in. Arroyo was replaced by Sean Marshall. Bronson Arroyo received a standing ovation for his amazing effort and great start.

A-Roll-Dis Chapman:
Whenever I earn my ninth save of the season, I always do a somersault. Maybe two. However, Reds manager, Dusty Baker, and pitching coach Brian Price did not appreciate Aroldis Chapman's "decision of celebration." His somersault could've resulted in possible injuries. Veterans Joey Votto and Jay Bruce talked to Chapman for a couple of minutes, no news on what happened.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22617219&topic_id=8877986&c_id=cin&tcid=vpp_copy_22617219&v=3

Todd Frazier Honored for Life Saving:
Last month in Pittsburgh, Reds outfielder and third basemen Todd Frazier saved a man's life by using the Heimlich Maneuver. Tonight's game, Dr. Henry Heimlich, the man who invented the life-saving procedure, met with Frazier. Dr. Heimlich presented Frazier with a "Save-a-Life" award to recognize his heroic acts.

4 Million For the 250 Million Dollar Man:
Reds star first baseman Joey Votto is now leading the All Star Votings with 4,475,180 total votes. Votto will be making his first All Star start. Votto has appeared in the last two All Star Games.
"I don't let my emotions go too high or too low, but this is something that is a great, great honor for me," Votto said. "Especially being able to do it as a Cincinnati Red. Hopefully things finish out well, but to be at this point, it's really something I'm very proud of."
Votto will be the first Red to start an All Star Game since Ken Griffey Jr. in 2007.


Game Summary:
Bottom of the 6th, Jay Bruce homers to right center field, Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto score. 3-0 Reds on top.

Top of the 8th, Corey Hart doubles, George Kottaras and Taylor Green scores.
Norichika Aoki singles to left field, Corey Hart scores. 3-3 Reds/Brewers tied.
Bottom of the 8th, Drew Stubbs homers to center field. 4-3 Reds on top.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 9th save this season, Sean Marshall earned the win.

Rollercoaster

6/22/12 Home runs not enough for the Reds to take the first game of this 3-game series against the Twins.

Game Summary:
Bottom of the 1st, Chris Heisey homers (2) to left field, Zack Cozart scores. 2-0 Reds on top.

Top of the 2nd, Brian Dozier grounds out to Zack Cozart, Trevor Plouffe scores. 2-1 Reds on top.

Top of the 3rd, Josh Willingham out on a sacrafice fly to right field, Ben Revere scores. 2-2 Reds/Twins tied.

Top of the 4th, Ryan Doumit homers to right field. 3-2 Twins on top.
Bottom of the 4th, Scott Rolen homers (3) to left field, Ryan Ludwick scores. 4-3 Reds on top.

Top of the 6th, Denard Span walked, Ryan Doumit scores. Jamey Carroll to 3rd. Liam Hendriks to 2nd.
Ben Revere out on a sacrifice fly to right field. Jamey Carroll scores. 5-4 Twins on top.


Hall of Fame Induction Weekend:


Saturday night is the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for fans to experience. Today, the Reds Community Fund is hosting a block party from 11 a.m until 3 p.m before the game. All types of beverages are available by purchase. The block party is held from Joe Nuxhull Way and Freedom Way. Tonight's 4:10 game is sold out! 
Sunday night is the Hall of Fame gala, which is a ticket only night. The gala is held in the Duke Energy Center.




Drew Stubbs Rehab Assignment:


Drew Stubbs has been out since June 5th with a strained left oblique, and now he's ready for an assignment. Stubbs will start rehab in Dayton on Friday. He is expected to spend 3 days in Dayton, and then possibly be activated on Monday. 


VOTE VOTTO, VOTE PHILLIPS, VOTE BRUCE:

A Not So Sweep Dream

I've been upset by the Reds visit to Cleveland. They gave up two given victories. I, unlike many of you fans, am staying positive. Remember when the Reds gave up the lead against the Tigers on Sunday Night Baseball? After that game, the Reds swept two in a row! I still firmly believe this team is doing well and will possibly win the division (maybe even become World Series Champions). I do apologize for my lack of blogging and twitter posts. I just couldn't think of anything good to say. 


The Boys Are Back in Town:
Maybe it's a good thing that they're coming back to Cincinnati for a 6-game home stand. They take on the Minnesota Twins for a 3-game series. During the series, our city will honor our new Reds Hall of Fame inductees. Saturday night is Sean Casey bobble head night and also a pre-game ceremony for the new members of the HOF. I am lucky enough to have tickets for this sold out game. I will have plenty of pictures and blogging to do! After we say goodbye to the Twins and interleague play, a division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers come in for another 3-game series.  The Reds in the past have had tremendous success against the Brewers. The Brewers are not playing their best baseball this season, so we shouldn't be worried about that series.

19 Days Until All Star Game in Kansas City:
The title gives it away. That's right, Reds fans. Here are where the Reds stand in the voting:
First Base:
Joey Votto, Reds (3,151,032 votes)
Freddie Freeman, Braves (1,193,455 votes)
Lance Berkman, Cardinals ( 1,159,418 votes)
Brandon Belt, Giants: 907,739Ryan Howard, Phillies: 677,368 


Second Base:
Dan Uggla, Braves (2,054,920 votes)
Brandon Phillips, Reds (1,272,389 votes)
Jose Altuve, Astros (1,074,993 votes)
Omar Infante, Marlins (901,970 votes)
Rickie Weeks, Brewers (814,263 votes)


Outfield:
Matt Kemp, Dodgers: 3,322,009 votes
Carlos Beltran, Cardinals: 2,652,980 votes
Melky Cabrera, Giants: 2,144,107
Ryan Braun, Brewers: 2,118,925
Andre Ethier, Dodgers: 1,517,218
Matt Holliday, Cardinals: 1,374,004
Hunter Pence, Phillies: 1,234,428
Michael Bourn, Braves: 1,201,215
Angel Pagan, Giants: 1,158,500
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates: 1,151,403
Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies: 1,120,406
Jason Heyward, Braves: 1,049,769
Shane Victorino, Phillies: 1,039,970
Martin Prado, Braves: 893,995
Jay Bruce, Reds: 893,101


Help Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips! Vote at http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2012/ballot.jsp?affiliateId=234331Y-138CSPE


Home Run Derby Fan Poll:
Through Wednesday, June 20th, these are the leaders of the fan poll in the National League:
1. Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
3. Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals
4. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
5. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds


Tune in on June 9 to see the Home Run Derby on Fox!

Be easy!
-Maggie