Rockies 4, Reds 1
The Reds got nothing going off Jeff Francis, which should not be a surprise because Francis is a left-hander and he's coming off a month in which he 4-2 with 2.23 ERA.
The Reds are now 7-17 against left-handed starters.
The game certainly pointed to some of the flaws in the Reds roster. Juan Castro came to the plate in the seventh as a pinch-hitter representing the tying run. Castro's hitting .145.
And Mike Stanton pitched the seventh and eighth. He gave up a run that pretty much put things out of reach with Colorado closer Brian Fuentes coming on. Stanton's ERA is 5.23, but he's signed through '08, so the Reds seem intent of having him pitch his way out of the abyss.
The list of relievers Jerry Narron trusts right now is pretty much Jon Coutlangus and David Weathers.
posted by John Fay at 10:50 PM
4 Comments:
at 11:45 PM 
Chris at Redleg Nation said...
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at 12:33 AM 
Anonymous said...
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at 7:43 AM 
Anonymous said...
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at 11:39 AM 
Ron said...
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Post a Comment*I missed the day in law school where they taught Pinch Hitting Law. Where is it written that you can't use a left-handed batter to bat off a left-handed pitcher?
How Scott Hatteberg? Isn't a good lefty better than a crappy righty, no matter who's throwing? (And not that anybody pays attention to things like this, but over his career, Castro is actually WORSE against LHP than RHP.
But yeah, John's bigger point holds -- Krivsky hasn't given Jerry Narron much of a bench to work with. (Though I'm not exonerating Jerry, by any means. I'm sure he could've spoken up if he didn't want a Moeller-Castro-Wise bench).
"The list of relievers Jerry Narron trusts right now is pretty much Jon Coutlangus and David Weathers."
Since that's a list of relievers he does trust, instead of relievers he should trust, it seems to me you have to add Mike Stanton. To bring him in and then leave him in for a 2nd inning tonight was an egregious mistake on Narron's part, and that's not just talking in hindsight. The dude's proven himself to be nothing but a liabilty all season, yet Narron insists on using MS in high-leverage situations. It really does baffle me how he trusts Stanton to come through in big situations nearly every game, when he can't come through in just about any situation in any game.
If the Reds bullpen is to gain any credibility, Narron needs to end this man-love he has for Stanton and stick with guys like Burton, Salmon, Coutlangus, etc. Save Stanton for mop-up only.
Though I'm not exonerating Jerry, by any means. I'm sure he could've spoken up if he didn't want a Moeller-Castro-Wise bench At the beginning of the year, Moeller and Wise weren't on the bench. I would imagine that Wise will be going back down when Hamilton is activated. Who goes down for Freel? Moeller?
Why not load the top of the lineup with righthanders against a left handed pitcher. Move Griffey down to 6th and sit Dunn; Hopper, Gonzalez, Phillips, Encarancion, Conine,Griffey, Ross, and Wise (I know Wise bats left handed, but he adds defense and might be able to bunt).
When Hamilton returns, it is time to trade Dunn. Hopper has shown the ability to hit and put pressure on the pitcher in the lead off spot.
Here's a suggested trade, Dunn and a starting pitcher (Saarlos, Lohse, Santos, Dumatrait, ?)to the Orioles for Jay Payton and Scott Williamson, plus prospects. Maybe, with some financial considerations, the Orioles would consider Milton. Williamson is a gamble,but he has to be as good as some of the other options.
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