SB Nation User Blog: Brendanukkah

Reds don't lose!

Brendanukkah — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:04:49 -0000

"Hey baby, I'm just gonna throw out this runner, then you and me can get to makin' a Jerry Hairston III." Seriously, what's up with the belt? (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The pitching staff. Johnny Cueto, Arthur Rhodes, David Weathers, and Francisco Cordero combined for nine scoreless innings, only two hits allowed, and eleven strikeouts. There was the ugly matter of six walks, but hey, a two-hit shutout!

Key Plays

Cueto walked three men in the second inning, but was not haunted by them. Gerardo Parra was caught stealing, and Cueto struck out Chris Young and Jon Garland to escape the danger.
In the third inning, Danny Richar led off with a single, then Chris Dickerson hit a double. It would have been ambitious to have Richar try to score from first, but Mark Berry waved him around anyway, and he was out.
The only offense of note came in the sixth inning. Chris Dickerson singled to lead off, went to second on a ground out by Hairston, then was off and running on a single by Votto and beat the throw home. You can't spell "Canada Day" without "R-B-I" (if you're Quebecois).
The Diamondbacks threatened in the seventh inning when Arthur Rhodes came in. Gerardo Parra bunted his way on to lead off the inning, and Chris Young walked. Miguel Montero sac bunted them over, so there were runners on second and third with one out. Then Rhodes went to work. He struck out pinch-hitter Ryan Roberts, walked Tony Clark to load the bases, then got Felipe Lopez to fly out to right, ending the threat.

FanGraphs

Other Notes

Johnny Cueto has no losses against the Diamondbacks.
This shutout was the Reds seventh of the year. Only San Francisco and their rotation of Cy Young winners has more in the NL.
The Reds have not won a game 1-0 since August 8, 2007, but there were three other games tonight that ended with that score.
The Diamondbacks have lost 9 of 11. Never forget.
The Reds are .500 again (38-38). They're .500 at home (18-18) and .500 on the road (20-20). Still only three games out of first place though. One senses that one NL Central team will get hot for a ten day stretch, and at the end of the year it will have been the difference maker.

Final - 7.1.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	X	1	9	0
WP: Johnny Cueto (8 - 4) SV: Francisco Cordero (19) LP: Jon Garland (4 - 8)

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Reds see "Har-" is pitching, instinctively don't score runs. D'backs win, 6-2.

Brendanukkah — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:20:50 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Dan Haren looked like Joe Jackson tonight, the way he beat us with his bat. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Player of the Game

Dan Haren. Not only did he throw seven innings of one run ball, not only did he strike out nine batters, he also went 2-2 with a double and a home run.

Key Plays

In the second inning with two outs and two on, Miguel Montero singled to right field. Chris Young tried to score from second, but Jay nailed him at the plate. All those who complain that Jay is just a younger Adam Dunn are invited to cram it.
It spiraled out of control from there. Dan Haren doubled to lead off the third inning, but was erased on a throw to the plate from Jerry Hairston. There was one on, two outs, and the ground ball to Brandon Phillips should have ended things. Instead, he threw it away and there were runners on second and third. Singles by Gerardo Parra and Mark Reynolds put us down 3-0. And since Dan Haren hasn't surrendered more than three runs in a game all year, that was it.
Three innings later, Arroyo walked Tony Clark, then gave up back to back jacks to Miguel Montero and Dan Haren. The 8th hitter and the pitcher. And that's when you know it's not your night.
The Reds did break the goose egg in the seventh with doubles from Laynce Nix and Ramon Hernandez.
In the 8th, Danny Richar walked, Willy Taveras singled, and Votto got his hit. The bases were loaded with one out. If the Reds were going to mount any kind of threat, this was the time. Brandon Phillips flew out (Richar tagged and scored) and Nix flied out. That was that.

Fangraphs looks like the elevation map from Denver to Lawrence.

Other Notes

It was Dan Haren's first career home run.
The Diamondbacks had lost five in a row and eight of nine. Remember when we said that playoff teams should beat up on bad teams?
The Reds run in the seventh was only the eighth run that Haren has given up in six June starts.
The NIH says that symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include fingers that "feel useless or swollen," and "[d]ecreased grip strength may make it difficult to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual tasks." Women are three times likelier than men to develop carpal tunnel. Get a haircut, Bronson!

Final - 6.30.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	0	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	0	6	12	0
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	6	2
WP: Dan Haren (7 - 5) LP: Bronson Arroyo (8 - 7)

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Woof.

Brendanukkah — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:13:30 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

"I dunno man. They score runs for Bronson and Johnny. Maybe if I could figure out a way to bat Willy higher than leadoff..." (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Jeremy "Whiskey" Sowers. The committed Vanderbilt man gave up two runs over seven innings, while the Reds' offense put the "commode" in "commodore."

Key Plays

The Indians scored a bunch in the middle innings. Harang wasn't particularly sharp, and the Tribe hit a bunch of homers off of him. There was a Brandon Phillips error in there somewhere too, and the Indians score more runs after that.
Jonny Gomes and Willy Taveras drove in runs. That's two games in a row that's happened.

Just the link to the FanGraph today. Although if you go there, it's interesting to note that the game was decided by the sixth inning, and even when the Reds scored two runs after that, it made no dent in their probability of winning the game.

Other Notes

I'm gonna be honest. This game was blowful, so I drifted out pretty early on and watched a lot of episodes of Season 2 of How I Met Your Mother. Marshall and Lily are a lot better characters when they're together than when they were apart.

Final - 6.26.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2
Cleveland Indians	0	0	2	2	3	2	0	0	X	9

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It's easy as 1, 2, 3. Simple as Do - Re - Mi. Reds win, 7-5

Brendanukkah — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:00:53 -0000

More photos » by NATHAN DENETTE - AP

Dusty's new "Get a hit or I'll punch you!" strategy is paying dividends. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Joey Votto. Joey came back to play in front of his home town and had a big day at the plate. He went 4-5, with a double, a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. We missed you, big guy.

Key Plays

A rested Willy Taveras got things started for the Reds with a double to lead off the game. Votto drove him in with a double of his own, then Jonny Gomes drove in Votto with a double of his own, Ramon Hernandez walked, and Jay Bruce drove both of them in with a double of his own. Dusty started lifting his glasses up and down and called over to Cito Gaston, saying, "I can't see real good, is that Bronson Arroyo you've got pitching out there?"
Gaston told him to STFU, then instructed Aaron Hill to hit a home run off Johnny Cueto. "Sure thing, Skip." 4-1.
No worries, eh? The Reds got that run right back in the second with singles from Chris Dickerson, Jerry Hairston, and Votto. With a 5-1 lead, they were laughing so hard that they didn't care that failed to knock anyone in when the bases were loaded in the 3rd.
Cueto was cruising, but ran into some trouble in the fifth inning. Everyone was watching to see what L.Overbay would do. He was walking for the weekend, drawing a base on balls to start the inning. Russ Adams singled, but Cueto got Marco Scutaro to fly out. Two outs, and everything's cool, yeah? No, Aaron Hill walked, and Vernon Wells hit a two run double. Scott Rolen then hit a single, scoring another two runs and tying the game. The Blue Jays were going off the deep end, insisting that everyone needs a second chance.
Votto then informed them that that shit was played out and hit a home run to put the Reds back on top, in our Frisch's Big Boy Big Play of the Game.
The Reds decided to pick up some traveler's insurance in the eighth inning. Previously unknown Paul Janish led off the inning with a double, and Dickerson bunted him to third. It's called playing the percentages. It's what good managers do to win ballgames. Then they have Willy Taveras try a suicide squeeze. But because it was that type of day, the squeeze worked! That's right, T-Virus got an RBI. He also HAVOC'd his way to third base with a stolen base and a wild pitch, but Hairston and Phillips managed to strand him there.

FanGraphs

Other Notes

This was the first time this season Joey Votto batted cleanup. He did pretty well there, bagging his first homer since May 26.
Overshadowed like Farrah Fawcett, Willy Taveras had one of his best games of the season, going 3-5 with a double, an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Since Dusty's gonna play him there regardless, let's hope our leadoff hitter has turned a corner.
Jonny Gomes has thrived against the AL, especially in his last five games. He is 7-14 with 2 HR, 4 RBI, and 4 BB.
The Reds held the Jays to only five hits, although they maximized their efforts for five runs. They also drew four walks, which came back to haunt. It's probably for the best though, since Reds pitching was on the verge of killing smooth music for the next ten years.

Final - 6.25.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati Reds	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	7	15	0
Toronto Blue Jays	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	5	5	0
WP: Johnny Cueto (7 - 4) SV: Francisco Cordero (18) LP: Shawn Camp (0 - 3)

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Happy Who's Your Daddy Day! Maury Povich says, "Chicago White Sox, you ARE their daddy!" Reds lose, 4-1

Brendanukkah — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:08:03 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

The numeric values of the Hebrew letters for "lack of run support" add up to 39. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Scott Podsednik. Podsednik capped off a big series against the Reds with a 2-5 performance and two runs scored.

Key Plays

Aaron Harang got off to a rough start, giving up singles to the hard to spell Podsednik, Ramirez, and Pierzynski. Podsednik scored, and then Alexei Ramirez scored when Paul Konerko grounded into a double play.
In the fifth inning, Podsednik led off with a single again. He moved to second on an A.J. Pierzynski ground out, then scored on a Konerko single. 3-0 Pale Hose. What a terrible nickname though.
In the eighth inning, the Chris Dickerson replaced Willy Taveras, and immediately things got better for the Reds. Dickerson singled, stole a base, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Brandon Phillips sac fly. Linebrink was looking vulnerable, with Gomes and Jerry Hairston on base, but first half "MVP" Ramon Hernandez lined into an inning ending double play.
The White Sox pooh-poohed the Reds run, when Gordon Beckham walked in the ninth and scored when DeWayne Wise - yes, that DeWayne Wise - hit a double.

Looks kind of like an elevation map of Maryland.

Other Notes

The Reds are perfectly .500. 34-34 overall record, 17-17 at home, 17-17 on the road.
Paul Konerko's RBI single was the 1,000th of his career. Sean Casey had 735 RBI in his career.
Aaron Harang has not won since May 25, but this was Mark Buehrle's first win since May 19.
Adam Rosales is taking a commanding lead in "McBain: Race for Mendoza." The standings are as follows: Rosales (0-3) - .202, Alex Gonzalez (DNP) - .214, Bruce (1-3, BB) - .216, Taveras (0-3, 2K) - .224.

Final - 6.21.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	9	0
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	6	0
WP: Mark Buehrle (7 - 2) SV: Bobby Jenks (17) LP: Aaron Harang (5 - 7)

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Why's it gotta be WHITE Sox? Civil Rights, bitches! Reds win, 4-3

Brendanukkah — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:08:52 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

Oh, you didn't KNOW? Yo' ass betta CALL SOMEBODY! (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Brandon Phillips. The key to wins in the time of T-Virus is Cancer, evidently. Phillips was 1-3 with a two run homer and 3 RBI. Honorable mention goes to Bronson Arroyo, who went 6.2 innings and only gave up two runs on two hits, striking out 7. His four walks weren't so great, though.

Key Plays

The White Sox got the early lead thanks to a walk to Ramon Castro in the fourth, followed by Chris Getz's first home run of the season. 2-0, and recent history suggested this game was over.
But Lee Corso cautions us to decrease the speed with which we make assumptions. Everybody put on their Mr. Redlegs heads as Laynce Nix and Ramon Hernandez hit back to back doubles to pull a run back in the bottom of the fourth.
Ryan Hanigan tripled to lead off the fifth. The rout was on! Oh, except Paul Janish, Bronson, and Chris Dickerson couldn't bring him in. Nice job, Strand Landers.
Oh, your second baseman hits home runs, does he? Check it. And your Jerry Hairston has been retired for twenty years? Well guess what! Cherry led off the sixth inning with a single (he didn't have to bunt someone else over) and Brandon Phillips hit his eleventh homer of the season to give the Reds a 3-2 lead, our Frisch's Big Boy Big Play of the Game.
Phillips added a Great American Insurance Run with a sacrifice fly, following a double by Dickerson and a single by Hairston in the seventh inning.
Good thing too. Coco Cordero gave up a big home run to Paul "We'll Stick With Sean Casey, Thanks" Konerko in the ninth inning. Fortunately, it was the first batter he faced, and he got the three outs to nail down the Reds victory.

via FanGraphs

Other Notes

The top of the order went 5-10 with 3 runs, 3 RBI, and a stolen base. In unrelated news, we won.
Bronson's seven Ks were the most he's had since Sept. 21, when he struck out 8 Brewers in six innings. But that day he also gave up six runs and the Reds lost 8-1.
Despite a lot of swinging from his heels, this was BP's first homer in 53 at bats, since June 3.
Prior to Nix scoring the 4th, Contreras had pitched 19.2 innings of scoreless ball.
Bronson Arroyo now has as many wins as Johan Santana.
What offensive drought? Five Reds players had multiple hits. Meanwhile, the White Sox only managed four hits, though two of them were home runs, and they did walk four times and stole three bases.
Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker tomorrow at a luncheon for the Civil Rights Game. No word on whether White Sox fan and president Barack Obama will be on hand for the festivities tomorrow.

Final - 6.19.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	3	4	1
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	0	X	4	11	0
WP: Bronson Arroyo (8 - 5) SV: Francisco Cordero (17) LP: Jose Contreras (2 - 6)

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Game 66, Thread 2: Chicago's Shoeless Jose is not throwing this series

Brendanukkah — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:25:26 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

"Let me tell you about this time I went to Cuba." (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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The Reds are actually outhitting another team, but a Chris Getz home run has them on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline. Arroyo seems to have pretty good stuff today, with five strikeouts already. The Reds can still pull this out!

In glorious retribution for 1917, the Royals soundly defeat the Reds

Brendanukkah — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:58:34 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Nicholas II wishes he could have put down the October Revolution in June. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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The tsarist Brian Bannister shut down the team of factory workers, peasants, and intellectuals from Cincinnati. Moreover, he highlighted the fundamental flaw in the Bolsheviks' central tenet of "each according to his own ability." Johnny Cueto pitched according to his ability, allowing no earned runs and striking out four, but Jerry Hairston also played according to his ability and committed two errors that led to five unearned runs. The rest of the Reds offense has been assigned to the Winter Palace to take notes. Assurances come down from Party Secretary Jocketty about a "five year plan."

Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Word of the Day

Morass. Noun. "A situation that traps, confuses or impedes." Used in a sentence: It's hard to tell who on the Reds could suck morass.

Key Plays

I didn't watch this game either. It was a beautiful day, so I went outside to take advantage of it.
I went to the Capital Pride street fair. So, so gay. There were booths there for lots of activist groups, and a number of sports clubs as well. The Washington Nationals had a booth, and so did DC United. Rookie Chris Pontius was inside, and he signed a poster for me. I congratulated him on taking hard fouls last night that led to both United goals. He looked unenthused to be there, and I am confident that the veterans made him go. Didn't see any representation by the Redskins, Wizards, or Capitals though. For shame!
Eating a long Italian sausage in front of a booth where buff underwear models sit in a dunk tank kind of gets you in the swing of things. But $15 for a sausage and Pepsi? I rescind all my support for equal rights!
Then I went to see "Up." Fantastic movie. I sniffled a little. And in the spirit of the day, I took satisfaction in the fact that the movie had a female character named Kevin.
Pride street fairs and crying at children's movies is all well and good, but the gayest thing I did today was spend five minutes in Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Other Notes

Brian Bannister is 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in three afternoon starts this season. He is 15-4 in 26 career day games, as opposed to 13-25 in night games.
Two errors for Cherry. "I don't know if I could have a worser day," Hairston said. Three errors, then.
This was the first three game sweep for the Royals since Sept. 22-24.

Final - 6.14.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati Reds	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	2
Kansas City Royals	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	2	X	7	9	1
WP: Brian Bannister (5 - 3) LP: Johnny Cueto (6 - 4)

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Reds continue to lose in uninteresting ways, DC United claims sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference

Brendanukkah — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:53:46 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

"How 'bout those Wizards? 3-1 over the Revolution. Davy Arnaud is a goddamn stud!" (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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I didn't watch the game tonight, and haven't checked any of the scores. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say that our offense was unimpressive. We've now lost three straight games to teams that had the fewest wins in their respective leagues before playing us.

Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Josh Wicks. Commanded his box well, and came up huge in the second half, stopping a penalty kick from Brian McBride.

Other Notes

Jaime Moreno scored his MLS all-time career best 127th goal.
Christian Gomez enjoyed one of his best games of the season, notching his second goal of the year on a brilliant free kick. He also hit the woodwork on a long range shot that would have put the game beyond dispute.
DC United remains unbeaten at RFK this year. Its back line is gelling and holding on to leads that earlier in the season would have ended in draws.
A chippy game for Chicago, resulting in four yellow cards.
The previously unbeaten Chicago Fire have now lost their last three games.

Final - 6.13.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	6	1
Kansas City Royals	0	3	2	0	0	2	0	0	X	7	14	1
WP: Kyle Davies (3 - 6) LP: Bronson Arroyo (7 - 5)

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Joe Posnanski appreciates the contrast to the 1975 Reds. Cincinnati's offensive woes plumb new depths in 4-1 loss.

Brendanukkah — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:28:06 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Here is one of Luke Hochevar's pitches. He only threw 79 others. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Luke Hochevar. Former #1 pick Hochevar looked like Greg Maddux going against Cincinnati's terrible offense. He only needed 80 pitches to throw a complete game, giving up three hits and a run, striking out three and walking one.

Key Plays

Matt Maloney put himself in an early hole, giving up a solo homer to Billy Butler in the first inning.
After much futility, the Reds tied the score with a solo shot of their own, courtesy of Jonny Gomes's first dinger of the season.
Any shred of hope quickly vanished in the bottom of the inning when Alberto Collaspo was hit by a pitch and Miguel Olivo singled to put runners on first and second with no outs. Coco Crisp moved Collaspo to third on a ground out, and David DeJesus hit a well-placed single to score him.
In the sixth inning, Collaspo struck again, hitting a two-run homer right after Mark Teahen's single.

Crummy graph

Other Notes

Hochevar's pitches per inning: 1st - 4, 2nd - 7, 3rd - 8, 4th - 10, 5th - 15, 6th - 9, 7th - 12, 8th - 9, 9th - 4. Jay Bruce and Laynce Nix tied for longest at-bats, seeing six pitches one time each.
Willy Taveras is 0-28 and does not have a hit in the month of June.
Matt Maloney pitched decently, going another six innings and striking out five. He did give up two home runs.
Mike Lincoln pitched two scoreless innings in relief, the first time he's had two scoreless innings in an outing since May 6. His ERA is down below 9.00 for only the third time this year, the first being after he pitched 0.1 innings on Opening Day.
Game time was 2:12. These things fly when nobody's hitting.

Final - 6.12.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	0
Kansas City Royals	1	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	X	4	6	0
WP: Luke Hochevar (2 - 2) LP: Matt Maloney (0 - 1)

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