*

*
Reds Insider
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.

Powered by Blogger

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Lineup v. Pirates, notes

Ryan Freel CF
Norris Hopper LF
Ken Griffey Jr. RF
Brandon Phillips 2B
Jeff Keppinger 1B
Edwin Encarnacion 3B
Juan Castro SS
Paul Bako C
Johnny Cueto P

v. LHP Tom Gorzelanny

Some pregame Dusty Baker:

On the lineup: "We've got to do something with these lefty. . . We've got a little more speed lineup, a create-things lineup."

On Adam Dunn: "I could see Dunner's getting a little frustrated. This way he's getting two days. He usually hits well in Chicago. So I said, 'get your mind right for Chicago.' This is a mental day off for him. I could see him getting frustrated. You can tell. Different guys show it different ways but he gets real quiet. Has that stare."

On the offensive malaise: "You can't hit for them. You can't find holes for them. It's like springtime. Hot one day, cold one day. That's how spring is. Sometimes there's no explanations. Everyone wants an explanation. But sometimes there is no explanation. The next day you go out and score eight runs. Springtime. You don't like it, but you've got to fight through it. The guys are working. They're going to the cage. They're working tirelessly."

Ross out: David Ross is sick with the flu and won't play for Louisville tonight. In fact, he was sent back to Cincinnati, so he wouldn't get the rest of the team sick. The hope is he'll be able to catch Tuesday when Matt Belisle starts for the Bats.


17 Comments:

at 11:54 AM Blogger Unknown said...

John - How is Gonzo progressing? I am also wondering how much longer we're going to let EE play like this before he gets sent down? I could foresee Gonzo coming back, Keppinger being moved to 3rd and EE getting a trip to Loisville...

 
at 12:20 PM Blogger Chuck Batsfan! said...

They sent Ross all the way back to Cincy to keep him from getting the rest of the team sick? Ummmm, this must be one hell of a flu bug he's got, cuz last time I checked there are still hotels in Louisville.

 
at 12:38 PM Blogger John Fay said...

Gonzo hasn't even begun a rehab assignment yet. I think they'll want him to go to Louisville to get a couple of weeks worth of at-bats before he's activated.

Ross was staying his place in Cincinnati and commuting back and forth.

 
at 12:40 PM Blogger Unknown said...

Then as a follow up John, how much more rope does EE need to hang himself with before he gets sent down? The send down did him a lot of good last year - on the other hand, a ballplayer who is ready to play in the Majors shouldn't have to be sent down at the beginning of each year to get his head on straight.

 
at 12:45 PM Blogger John Fay said...

I don't know how much time they'll give EE. I don't think it's a matter of getting his head on straight. The effort is there. He's just struggling.

As I said in the post last night, the Reds have a hot player at Louisville in Jolbert Cabrera. EE has an option. The only thing that makes the move a little complicated is that fact that Cabrera is not on the 40-man.

 
at 12:50 PM Blogger Unknown said...

Ouch. I thought we'd view this game as a must-win. Replacing Dunn's OBP with Hopper/Freel and playing essentially Castro for Votto (who handled the lefty fine last night) looks like one of those get-away day lineups. Might be able to pull it off if Cueto can keep it low scoring.

 
at 12:59 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've asked it a million times : Why is Juan Castro on this team and even worse why is he starting...EVER! He is taking away at-bats from Joey Votto today(Kepp moves to 1st)

 
at 1:06 PM Blogger REddlegg in Colorado said...

B-Team today.

Hopper gets on my nerves, can he hit?or just bunt.I know he produced last season to some degree or another,but that bunting needs to be more reserved for more needed times.

Freel who I like, is a little reckless.That start a 3rd proven that when he was diving for balls when Kepp was just there as business as usual,fielding the ball cleanly & correctly.Kindof making Freel look silly.I like his hustle & grit,but he needs to think before he reacts.

Castro,why he made the team still bewilders me.I know he has a solid glove,but his bat is horrible.I rather see Kepp at SS,Votto at 1st.

CSA is right,when you sub out regulars,don't go cold turkey & sub out 3 or 4 at a time.Just a liitle tweaking.

 
at 1:06 PM Blogger The Dunce Cap Marvel said...

Why sit Votto? I don't think hitting lefties bothers him as much as others on this team, and he's starting to get in a groove at the plate it seems. Sure, they guy had a bad day defensively yesterday but I think you've got to let a guy play through that stuff if you honestly want the kid to get better and help the team. I've been ok with Dusty on everything else he's done, but not this. Play the kid everyday.

 
at 1:45 PM Blogger glenns said...

Come on guys! You complain about all the lefthanded hitters against a lefthanded pitcher so Baker loads the line up with right handed hitters. What do you want him to do, walk on water?

 
at 1:46 PM Blogger Joe said...

I hope they can get this game in this afternoon. It is not looking good to the West of Pittsburg. I sure would like to see EE go 4 for 4 today. It could happen! First two on....lets get it going Reds!

 
at 1:49 PM Blogger Unknown said...

Why is everyone so fast to get down on EE??? I really don't get it!

He's had 2 bad weeks, yes. If he did this in July (at a time when stats like batting average are not so volatile), we'd barely notice it.

Let the kid play. He's our best 3B. You don't let him learn and get comfortable by yanking him around every season. I'd be pressing all the time too if I knew that 40 bad at bats would get me sent down.

Relax... it's mid-April.

 
at 1:52 PM Blogger Ryan said...

So much for this game being in HD. It's not in wide format, and although looks like a cleaner feed, is not HD. Oh well.

Ryan

 
at 1:55 PM Blogger Bcbdub said...

Same darn thing as yesterday. How about taking a few pitches, guys? Especially with RISP...

 
at 2:25 PM Blogger Mr. Doom and Gloom said...

how about jr. dogging it on the way to 1B on the play where hopper broke up the DP?

way to lead by example. i can't even remember the last time i saw him go hard out of the box to 1B.

 
at 3:19 PM Blogger Joe said...

Boy was I wrong on EE having a good game. It is time to send him down and look for other options at third.

 
at 3:28 PM Blogger Unknown said...

Agreed on the HD! Adding insult to injury today by advertising as HD but giving us what appears to be the ehanced def version!

Maybe this teams needs a sweep at the hands of the Pirates to gets their butts in gear. They look to be playing with no emotion. Of course, it doesn't help with half of the regulars out.

 
Post a Comment*

* Our online blogs currently are hosted and operated by a third party, namely, Blogger.com. You are now leaving the Cincinnati.Com website and will be linked to Blogger.com's registration page. The Blogger.com site and its associated services are not controlled by Cincinnati.Com and different terms of use and privacy policy will apply to your use of the Blogger.com site and services.

By proceeding and/or registering with Blogger.com you agree and understand that Cincinnati.Com is not responsible for the Blogger.com site you are about to access or for any service you may use while on the Blogger.com site. << Home


Blogs


Jim Borgman
Today at the Forum
Paul Daugherty
Politics Extra
N. Ky. Politics
Pop culture review
Cincytainment
Who's News
Television
Roller Derby Diva
Art
CinStages Buzz....
The Foodie Report
cincyMOMS
Classical music
John Fay's Reds Insider
Bengals
High school sports
NCAA
UC Sports
CiN Weekly staff
Soundcheck

Advertisement