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From news of the day to news of the weird, John Fay provides a glimpse of what it’s like to cover the Cincinnati Reds

John Fay
John Fay has been the Reds beat writer for the Enquirer since 2001. Prior to that, he served in a variety of roles for the Enquirer: backup Reds writer, UC beat writer, backup Bengals writer and as a general assignment reporter. He is a Cincinnati native and a graduate of Elder High School and the University of Dayton.

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Friday, April 25, 2008

Giants 3, Reds 1

An ugly loss.

A wasted good start by Aaron Harang. Harang was ticked off at himself afterward. But his comments were pretty tame. "He pitched better," he said, referring Jonathan Sanchez, the 25-year-old left-handed that Reds made look like Johan Santana.

The season is spiraling. Three losses in a row -- 11 of 14.

"It feels like Groundhog Day," Dusty Baker said.

I'm not big on moves for the sake of making moves, but Baker or Jocketty should do something.


44 Comments:

at 11:58 PM Blogger NVreds said...

he smoked that ball on a rope, that was very nice, too bad freel couldnt make up for his mistake after that.

 
at 12:03 AM Blogger pskagg said...

Instead of a bat, perhaps Reds hitters should cary a white flag to the plate

 
at 12:03 AM Blogger KevinFtMyers said...

Donkey being Donkey

 
at 12:08 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why doesnt Harang pull a Ocho Cinco and demand to be traded to a true contender?
Oh, I know...he has class. Seriously, this guy is just ROCK SOLID game in and game out. He gives this team a chance to win every time hes on the mound.

By the way...Best of luck to Walt Jocketty. Hope you realize what you got yourself into.

 
at 12:15 AM Blogger robby said...

Absolutely correct. There is something very seriously wrong with this team, but that was evident the day Castellini bought the team. Why after 2 years has nothing been done to address the malaise that is the Reds? The same lousy, complacent attitude continues to permeate through this organization. Maybe Krivsky did a great job of putting in place a pipeline of talent in the minors to turn this thing around(time will tell), but his inability to address the issues at the major league level are playing out each and every day.

This is an awful team that continues to make horrible personnel decisions. I hope Jockety is up to the challenge because there isn't much of a nucleus in place from which to build. Not a good time to be a Cincinnati sports fan.

 
at 12:19 AM Blogger pskagg said...

Instead of a bat, maybe Reds hitters should just carry a white flag to the plate.

 
at 12:20 AM Blogger Big Red Machine said...

Baker needs to show some emotion, and blow up at these guys. They're making 5th starters look like aces, and Baker needs to get this team motivated and start hitting. Let's see a Jim Leyland explosion from Baker.

 
at 12:32 AM Blogger JF said...

Gotta love the overpaid Ross being out of position in the 9th, like a lost little leaguer. Griffey's throw wasn't close either.

I guess the boys have some "man on 2nd ball hit on the ground to right field" drills to do at 11 AM!

Unreal. This team is like that book 100 uses for a dead cat.

Not funny. Not really very useful.

But hey Baker had to rest Bako and Phillips tonight because they might break if they actually played another baseball game without sitting one out.

And this is Krivsky's fault? Maybe Castellini ought to fire himself?

 
at 12:33 AM Blogger Schotzie said...

wow. this team is a JOKE. offense is pathetic...against a real Cy Young pitcher. can't even cover home on an overthrow...runners stealing third nearly uncontested. And Robby is so right about the complacent attitude. It's sickening. And Dusty just keeps eating toothpicks and looks like he's lost.
It is not fun being a Reds fan. Is it football season yet?
wow.

 
at 12:35 AM Blogger Aaron said...

I disagree. I think there is a nucleus -- Phillips, Cueto, Volquez, Bruce, Bailery. It is just too young. As these players progress though, several pieces needed to be added...

 
at 12:43 AM Blogger Unknown said...

Wow, we're in the midst of wasting another stellar outing by Harang. I wondered about Jacoby as a hitting coach - the guy finished with a .270 ERA and his high 3 season are 17, 20, and 30 homers. That means there are thousands, literally thousands, of better-qualified hitting coaches out there. I know it's on the players in the end, but having been a high school hitting coach myself, I know the position can make a difference with a roster. We don't hit behind runners, we don't hit good pitches, and oftentimes, we don't have any idea what we're trying to do with the AB. I miss the days when a poor showing offensively was no biggie because we gave up 6 runs in the first 4 or 5 innings. Consistently wasting quality starts is more frustrating.

 
at 12:44 AM Blogger JerBear said...

Hey, we could be Pirates fans...which is similar to Browns fans saying they could be Bengals fans.

The Reds are terrible! The apathy is growing. I care, but I don't care. I'm to the point where I'm thinking well maybe next year they'll start to figure something out.

The worst affect the Reds can have on their fans is that the fans just lose interest.

I'll always love the Reds, but this is a very bad and boring team to watch right now.

I'm glad I don't have cable TV or I'd probably be up with you guys watching the Reds hoping against reality that something good would happen!

2009, 2010...those could be better years. But these are really bad times to be a Reds...and a Bengals fan.

 
at 12:58 AM Blogger reds fest said...

Absolutely, our offence is the biggest plobrem so far. The team fired Krivsky because they have to change themselves as quickly as possible. What is Jocketty doing now? "It's a little early yet"?? It's contradictory.

I know, using young talents is not only solution. They need more time. I want to listen to his concrete plan.

 
at 1:04 AM Blogger Cheviot Sports Authority said...

....and now George Grande is back.
St CSA

 
at 1:04 AM Blogger JerBear said...

John, I wanted to say I am sorry to hear about your brother passing also. I just read that in your previous entry.

Baseball is just a game. I appreciate you giving us a place to talk about the Reds.

 
at 1:07 AM Blogger pskagg said...

One not-so-bad thing about the Reds stinking is getting to listen to Marty describe it. For those who didn't hear, after the latest loss, he called this season "an unqualified disaster." I think most of us are in agreement. I really thought this year would be at least a little better than '07, and it still could be, but right now I'd put the over/under on losses at 91. The most frustrating thing has got to be how they aren't scoring. If I counted right, this was the 13th time in 24 games the Reds have scored three or fewer runs, and they scored 1 in the first nine innings of another. The young talent does provide hope for the future, but it may take quite a while for the future to arrive. I'll just try to hang in there until it does.

 
at 1:11 AM Blogger attyatlaw001 said...

Cincinnati is one of my favorite cities but currently, between the Reds and Bengals, is there a sorrier pro sports town in America?

Sorry - too late, too beat, too frustrated for anything more substantive.

 
at 1:59 AM Blogger oldtimer said...

The biggest problem now is that the Reds are deeply stuck under the weight of Krivsky's horrible contract/give-away program. Castellini's already eaten a lot of bad crow and money to lousy players now long gone, and you gotta wonder if he's decided to sit tight for a while and stop reeling from the millions Krivsky blew stupidly on this abortive disaster of a team. Jocketty already has connections around baseball to make some deals, but he needs some time to put together good ones.

As I said the other day, Krivsky
s team this year may beat last year's in dropping out of the race the earliest in frachise history. Whew! Enough!

First move I make is I kick Baker upstairs, and bring Pete McKanin back as manager. The guys responded to him and he had the best players on the field. He did a hlll of a lot more with a hll of a lot less than Dusty Baker.

 
at 2:16 AM Blogger GFYS said...

I know what would wake the bats up... His name is Tom Shearn. The boys hit for him last year and that is what must be missing.

 
at 3:49 AM Blogger BATSFAN said...

This isnt fun anymore at least with the last few years theres something cheer about this year theres nothing, somethings got to be done

 
at 5:10 AM Blogger Unknown said...

Miami...the Dolphins went 1-15 and the Marlins are a far bigger joke than the Reds. Oh yeah, and the Heat are barely better than Xavier.

 
at 6:33 AM Blogger bsu1 said...

Move #1 for me would be to move Griffey. I know that he has a no trade contract but he would agree to the right move. If you move him before magic #600 he has even a little more trade worth. Trade for a high minor prospect.
Move #2: call up Jay Bruce.
Move #3: Trade Ryan Freel. You have somewhat interchageable parts with Freel, Hopper, Hairiston, & Patterson.
Move #4: trade Javier Valentine.

 
at 7:06 AM Blogger Steven Ross said...

What gets me is how boring this team is to watch. It's awful. No life at all. Fundamental gaffs where I simply shake my head. Freel's throw in the 8th was a joke. From CF, he barely made it to 2nd. Griffey's over-throw with nobody at home was an award winner. Un'stinkin'believable.

Memo to Walt: the purge can begin now.

 
at 7:09 AM Blogger Mr. Doom and Gloom said...

i would love to see this teams records over the last 3-5 years vs. starting pitchers that were better than league average...

 
at 7:24 AM Blogger JackBlueAsh said...

This team is put together poorly, very little chemistry, players like Griffey and Dunn collecting huge paychecks, overall malaise. Dusty baker was not the right manager for this personnel, I would have been happier with Ron Oester.

Jocketty needs to articulate to the fans that this will be a transitional year, get the youngsters up here, do everything possible to move players like Dunn and Griffey..change the face and ..most importantly..the personality of this team

John what do you think needs to be done?

 
at 8:18 AM Blogger Tom Hehenberger said...

Wow. I am going to have to eat my words earlier this season. Will this team win 20 by early June? Very disappointing--usually the Reds don't punk out like this until late July-August!

 
at 8:26 AM Blogger keepinitreal said...

I would agree that the Reds pitching has improved, but only a little. As we wake up this morning the Reds are 11th in NL era. Overall, that's not a big improvement from last year. They have a couple of pitchers who have been fantastic and a couple of others who have fallen flat on their face. The offense, what can I say? If they don't hit the long ball they don't score much.

 
at 8:28 AM Blogger Unknown said...

I wonder if Dunn already has his golf clubs by his locker so he can hit the links instead of taking extra batting practice because as you know "Dunn shrugged at the questions: "I have no idea. We're just playing bad at the wrong time. There's nothing we can do. I guess we could take extra batting practice, but that's not really going to do anything ..."

 
at 9:47 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Instead of a bat, perhaps Reds hitters should cary a white flag to the plate"


I'm not one for negative comments but that was funny!

 
at 10:01 AM Blogger redsfaninchitown said...

Jocketty, do something, anything. Get rid of the re-treads Hairston and Patterson that have never performed at this level for a winning team and bring up Bruce and let him play. If nothing else than just to give the fans something positive to watch. Dusty, Move Griffey, Phillips and Dunn out of the heart of the line-up until they start hitting. Keep Bako behind the plate and show some emotion or get out of the dugout. By the way, this team is way worse with fundamentals than Narrons team was, as evidenced in the game last night.

 
at 10:11 AM Blogger Unknown said...

They hit for Harang last year too...

 
at 10:27 AM Blogger JF said...

Wow, from even before Dusty signed I was railing against his hiring, and absolutely NO ONE agreed with me.

I see some of you are waking up.

Baker is extremely over-rated. The Reds ought to fire all their hitting and fielding instructors from AA through the Majors. Apparently the big guys are so busy signing their bloated paychecks that they can't be bothered playing fundamentally sound baseball at the plate, in the field, or on the bases.

I told you all that the Reds would suck again this year and while the season isn't half over, they're playing as if it's September and they're out of the wild card race.

God Bless the Maupins and all our fighting men and women. Our trivial love of professional sports pales before the serious and dangerous work of keeping this country free and safe, so that those of us at home can quibble about on-base-percentage and toothpicks.

 
at 10:37 AM Blogger JF said...

Actually, John Fay, my censoring nemesis here, you do sound good on the radio. And with Marty ripping the team (deservedly) you might add some of your well-practiced fawning and sychopantry and excuse-making to balance the hall-of-famer out a little.

Ask Marty to let you pinch-hit while the Cowboy is out.

Junior does get a gold star for that running catch late in the game--he used that rarely seen extra gear (the tweak or tear gear) to get to that ball, so it's not like he's not trying out there.

And Dunn looked as fast as Freel last night on two plays, but good defense is more than sprinting and diving and if the players don't know that yet well what exactly do these coaches do to earn their salaries?

 
at 10:39 AM Blogger JF said...

"I have no idea. We're just playing bad at the wrong time. There's nothing we can do. I guess we could take extra batting practice, but that's not really going to do anything ..."

With our hitting instructors, Dunn is right.

Let the PURGE continue. All Reds hitting instructors need to be fired.

"Wrong time" translation: during regular season games.

 
at 10:42 AM Blogger Ray McNab said...

Johnny B. Goode needs to shake things up. Start moving players
in and out of the lineup until the right combination starts to win! Aaron Harang is still solid, just needs a little run support. Seems like Volquez is better than Cueto; what a difference a little bit of seasoning at the major league level can do. C'mon Reds, the future is now!!!!!

 
at 11:16 AM Blogger Cheviot Sports Authority said...

Who still thinks Ryan Freel ($7mil over 2) should play everyday? He can't hit and when he does get on he $%^$% it up. He is the worst baserunner I have ever seen. Just like a Sunday softball player, run til you are out. Unbelievable!

Since Dunn and Castellini are such good friends, maybe Dunn will give back the $13mil he stole for this season.

Does anyone think that the fact that Arroyo will make $9mil next season and $11.5mil in 2010 will make it difficult to move him?

Last rant for the moment: Anybody still out think that Ken Griffey Jr actually helps this team?
ST CSA

 
at 11:18 AM Blogger Zippy said...

Back when I was criticizing Dusty's strategic skills and nobody was agreeing with me because the Reds were 6 and 4, I kept hearing about how great Dusty is at motivating his players and getting the most from his talent. Anyone care to admit their mistake?

I imagine Baker already has quite a bit of money in the bank. If he had any pride whatsoever, he'd admit this was all a big mistake and step down immediately. The Reds could hire me, or anyone else who posts here, pay 3% of what they're paying Dusty to run the team, and the results couldn't possibly be any worse. Since I'd actually put my high OBP players at the TOP of the lineup rather than the middle and bottom of the lineup, I think the offense would see an immediate improvement.

 
at 11:30 AM Blogger LittleRedMachine said...

Horrible loss


Who can the Reds fire next?

 
at 11:40 AM Blogger JackBlueAsh said...

lets be perfectly honest..there has been no one more vocal than myself when it came to this team, expectations and the hiring of Dusty Baker.

It is time to blow this team up..articulate to the fans that this will be a rebuilding year or two and let the youngsters play

 
at 12:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

So the Reds Museum is Charging people to attend during Matt Maupin's funeral?

I say we protest the Hall of Fame!!

Call them and let them know this IS WRONG!
(513)765-7923

 
at 12:08 PM Blogger Unknown said...

I blame Patterson for last nights loss. Oh wait, he didn't play. hmmmm, well, somehow or other it's gotta be his fault.

 
at 12:15 PM Blogger Todd McElmurray said...

This team is in dire need of some ballplayers with grit. Who/Where is the next Rich Aurilla/Sean Casey/Ron Gant/Greg Vaughn/Pete Rose?

We need some "ballers" to step up and kick some of these guys butt! There's no personality or emotion from this team. As the manager, Dusty needs to do something, however, it sure would help if the team had guys to help reinforce. It's a shame that we continue to stay pat with the same "comatose" line-up.

 
at 12:23 PM Blogger Phill said...

Fire Jocketty, it's the only way.

 
at 12:45 PM Blogger Unknown said...

Here's a little nugget of information I just picked up off another message board.

The Reds leadoff hitter has gotten on base 14 times over the last 6 games.

Care to guess how many times he's scored????

ONCE.

Thanks Griffey.
Thanks Dunn.
Thanks Phillips.

 
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