Lately, I've noticed that Nick Masset tends to throw a slow breaking ball (82-83 mph) once he's got two strikes on a hitter.  If I recall correctly, he struck out Derrek Lee and Marlon Byrd on slow curves to hold off the Cubs on August 11th (saving CoCo, who had BB'd/HBP'd the bases loaded.)  This past Saturday, at least one of his two strikeouts was a slow breaking ball.  I'm not sure about his strikeout on Sunday, as I didn't see the game.

Has anyone else noticed this?  And If I've picked up on it, when will the opposing hitters figure it out? 

Thanks to everyone who provided input on my visit to GABP last week.  My 8yr old son and I ended up going to the getaway game with the Nationals.  Here's my review:  after a morning at the Newport Aquarium, we left the car (and the wife and daughters) and walked across the Taylor bridge, which was closer than the purple bridge others had mentioned.  We picked up some bottled water for $1 from a vendor just outside the stadium, and put them in our small cooler already filled with Cracker Jacks, Slim Jims, and apples.

We had lucked into great seats on eBay, so we picked them up at will call.  They were in Section 131, Row F - the front row, between the dugout steps and the cameraman, and directly in line with first base!  Unfortunately, there was absolutely no shade and it was blisteringly hot.  For future (hot) day games, I'd look for tickets about 25 rows back along the first base side; they seemed to have good shade most of the day.

Being so close, my son was able to get his cap autographed by Joey Votto as he walked down the dugout steps right before gametime.  We also had 2 foul ball grounders that got tossed in our direction; one by the Nat's first base coach, and the other by Billy Hatcher.  My son and the kid sitting next to him were the recipients.

As for the game, it is safe to say that the Reds mailed it in.  I wanted to yell out "Hey, we're hot, too!" but I let it go.  We missed the one run they scored as we were out getting hot dogs.  The two combo meals (hot dog, drink, chips and/or rice krispie bar) were about $12.50, which I thought was reasonable.

Other thoughts:  I was surprised that Jonny Gomes is so small in comparison to Drew and Jay.  Jonny looked more wiry than muscular.  Edinson was awful.  Oh, and buy shirts after the game at a vendor farther away from the ballpark; we saved $5 that way.

Hope to go again this season.  I hadn't been to a Reds game since 1989 or thereabouts.  It was good to be back.

Patrick

Hi all -

My 8yr old son and I are planning to go to GABP this week to see the Reds vs the Nationals, most likely Tuesday night or Thursday afternoon.  It will be my son's first ballgame, so I have a few questions for you...

- What seats would you recommend?  We don't need to be able to see the whites of their eyes, but I wouldn't want to use binoculars, either.

- Where do I find the scalpers, and do they have infield and/or dugout box seats at or below face value?

- How long should I allow for visiting the Reds Hall of Fame?

- How are hot dog/peanut/soda prices?

- Any other suggestions for a first timer?

I'd appreciate any thoughts... thanks!

Patrick

I was looking through the team stats tonight, and noticed that the Reds have 7 players with between 15 and 24 RBIs.  My first thought was that this RBI cluster is unusually high.

The number of 15+ RBI players in the Central Division teams are:

7 - Cincinnati
5 - Chicago
5 - St. Louis
4 - Milwaukee
2 - Pittsburgh
1 - Houston

At this rate, the Reds would have seven position players with between 68 and 108 RBI, but no real masher and only one RBI laggard.  That doesn't seem normal to me.  Anyone with statistical knowledge care to tackle this?

Patrick

Hi all - long time lurker first time poster.  (Do you want me to turn my radio down?)

Last night, Chris Welsh was talking about how few RBIs Ryan Hanigan had.  I was wondering if anyone knew how many opportunities he had to drive someone in?  I'm sure it is a small sample size, but perhaps there is minor league data avaialble, too?  Any info would be appreciated.  Hopefully the Reds can turn it around; I still have my ticket stubs from 1977 when I was a kid.  Ok, back to lurking.

Patrick