Reds Insider: Mercker's return

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Mercker's return

Kent Mercker pitched the eighth for Reds. It was his first since Aug. 11, 2006. That's the night his elbow blew up in Philadelphia.

His outing: A strikeout of the Chris Synder, a strikeout of Mark Reynolds and a Stephen Drew flyout. Not bad for a guy who didn't throw at all for about a year.

30 Comments:

at 9:59 PM

Brad said...

Gotta love the almost argument that ended with Jeff Brantly saying that Edwin is "not a clutch player" then a three run walk off homer.

at 10:02 PM

firefly118 said...

Mercker looked stellar! Glad to see it!

Affeldt, wow, not sure he is going to cut it!

at 10:08 PM

Jeff In Vegas said...

hope it's the norm, not the exception. Way too many walks by Reds pitchers though. EE sure redeemed himself. But two errors in two games. Not a good start.

at 10:15 PM

REddlegg in Colorado said...

Boy I sure LIke JB & TB alot better than Wally & beav,just for the fact that they have the _____ to call players out.But JB is going to have to eat his words on EE.Agreed, EE can't bunt & That has to change,quickly,But he got hold of that ball & roped it for the win.

Really good AB'S by BP & Gunner Dunner too!!!!!!!

Didn't get home until the 8th inning,Glad to see I got to come home to a Win.Just like I said the other day,chalk it up & get the Win on weds.Now onto thurs.

Lets take the series Redlegs.

Affeldt had me worried,but he got out of it.More luck than skill though,especially with the Byrnes bunt.

I'm sure all you nay-sayers with come back another day,but not today.The reds are a .500 ball team.Cool.

at 10:17 PM

Dan H said...

Glad to see Mercker back,looked just as good tonite as in Sarasota

at 10:19 PM

Joe said...

Merker looked better than ever. How aobut EE! Give the kid credit, he hung in there on a tough night and won it. Phillips and Dunn hitting singles with Dunn going the opposite way against that shift! Cowboy's words about EE not being a clutch hitter were not out of his mouth when the ball landed in the seats! Doesn't get any better than tonight!

at 10:21 PM

Jeff In Vegas said...

Let's hope this is the norm, and not the exception for Mercker and the rest of the Reds pen. Too many walks though. And EE redeemed himself, but two errors in two games. Not a good start.

at 10:26 PM

Grizzlyfox said...

I was at the game Mercker looked great. Eddie just looked terrible at everything, and then he did what makes me want to give him every chance in the world by coming up big in the clutch.

at 10:45 PM

KevinFtMyers said...

1)Mercker was NASTY, Dbacks
looked silly at the plate.

2)Keppinger is the best pure
hitter on the team. Every hit
was a different pitch or
location than the previous
time. Haren didnt throw twice
what he had hit before. It
wasnt bad pitching, it was REAL
hitting. He needs to lead off.

3)EE needs a day on the bench, I
dont care if he did walk off.
Play Freel at third. I honestly
would have pinched Hatteberg for
EE in that last at bat. And how
rediculous did him trying to
bunt look?!

My Wednesday lineup:

Kepp.........get on base
Hopper(CF)...bunt him over
Griff........drive him in
BP...........ditto
Dunner.......yep
Hatte / Votto
Freel (3B)
Valentin
Cueto

4)Dunn has had two impresive at
bats, the sac rbi in game one
and that op field gem tonight.
Called third strike was really
bad though.

5)Whatever Dusty is doing aint
working, these guys dont look
hungry and seem fundementaly un-
sound. Both come from the
manager.

Come on Dusty, MANAGE! PLEASE!

Well those are the five things I take away from these two games, I think anything more is reading a bit to much into a very small sample.

at 11:00 PM

bearcat1984 said...

The Cowboy admitted he was wrong immediately, but that was classic stuff. Heck, I was sitting there agreeing with him too. Oops. Spoke too soon. But Cowboy was right, he looked desperately uncomfortable trying to bunt.

Not sure what Affeldt was doing, but let's hope he was just not expecting to pitch the 9th inning, and was unsettled.

BP and Dunn both hitting opposite field. Very nice. If only Jr had had the guts to lay down a bunt. He could have walked to first.

Homerun aside, EE better take some infield.

Keppinger.... yep.

at 11:22 PM

Hugh D. Pohl said...

Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, fellow Floridian, give it a little more time. Talk about small sample size!

at 11:33 PM

Red Faced said...

kevinftmyers, I like your lineup (Votto over Hatteburg) and I agree with most of your other points.

Man I know EE has been AWFUL but the kid can drive in runs and for some reason he comes up with runners in scoring position and is just locked in, I bet we NEVER seem him attempt another bunt this year.

Both of our starters deserved a little better than they got these first two games but I'm not going to let Arroyo off the hook with all those walks. He looked really, really good at times and then would just walk a guy or two. Now Marty did say that a lot of his pitches were barely missing and after watching some of the game in the later innings I have to agree that it appeared the strikezone was very small tonight but a good pitcher realizes these things and adjusts.

Hope Cueto pitches well tomorrow. I can't wait to see the kid pitch. 1-1 is like SOOOOOO much better than 0-2 isn't it?

at 11:53 PM

Mutaman said...

"Whatever Dusty is doing aint
working, these guys dont look
hungry"

I agree, they don't look hungry enough. Come on Dusty, make them look more hungry. For what we're paying you, we should get more hunger.

at 11:56 PM

Tommy in Tucson said...

These are the type of wins the Reds will get. They're fun to watch, but they'll lose a ton more due to poor fundementals and swinging for the fences. Affeldt's stuff was nasty, but he has to throw strikes. EE has to pull his head out on the field. I was glad to see Backo catching. Javey deserved to sit after he became a spectator on Monday. No room for that. Does Dusty sit EE or not? I don't know, but the kid does seem to work through this when the weather gets better. I wouldn't be surprised to see them sit Keppinger when the other SS comes back. That will be wrong, but I bet it happens. This kid deserves to play everyday. He looked good at short too. Is Coffey snake bit or what?

at 12:15 AM

Rob Dicken said...

Isn't it amazing how when EE does good, all the nasty comments about his errors kind of disappear? hmmmm

EE can field the ball...his problem is throwing.

Anyway, it was a good win! But, we need to get an early lead on teams and not have to make a comeback all the time!

On a side note, check out my Reds Blog site, bookmark it, and leave a few comments: http://redsuniverse.thecasualfan.com

Sorry John! Definitely not trying to steal your thunder! ;)

at 12:21 AM

Swan Lewis said...

haha mutaman...ha

i agree!

no food tomorrow before the game!
get them reallll hungry!

now that is managing!

haha

go dusty!
go ee!

redlegs!

at 12:29 AM

Unknown said...

EE needs to lose that oversized bucket glove - most of his errors are from two things: either he doesn't set his feet and fire (throwing while drifting, letting his front shoulder fly open, causing his arm to drag and the ball to sail) and rushing throws. If he didn't have to go elbow-deep for a grip, he'd have to rush less. That being said, I still have 3 or 4 clips on my computer from him making diving stabs last year. And Brantley, for as great as he is in the booth, should stick to what he knows - pitching - because EE is clutch.

at 12:33 AM

Unknown said...

Oh yeah, and outside of Scott Rolen, name me a third baseman who can drop 25 bombs and bunt...Troy Glaus, A-Rod, Schmidt? Didn't think so...(for the record, Figgins is an out-of-position 2b). I'd take better throwing if I had to pick one thing for him to improve upon.

at 1:24 AM

NVreds said...

You want dusty to manage a little? well he hasnt had that chance yet, he hasnt seen this team play @ GABP yet where they swing for the fences WAY too much. So if that continues then he hasnt managed.

Now is his FIRST CHANCE to do some real managing. this is the time right now that other managers screwed everything up. If he finds the right way to get on the team after this game, and he looked pissed in the dugout, then bam we're starting to get what we paid for. If your going to judge baker after TWO GAMES! well then your insane.

Our current leadoff hitter is going to either benefit from the park, or let it hurt him. He was swinging for the fences after that 1st HR, well that pissed me off more than the HR made me happy. Its fine so long as he goes out there and fixes it, because he isnt going to succeed here if he starts looking for homers.

same goes for EE, griffey, and dunn. all 3 did it (dunn last game), especially griffey with a RISP in todays game. That ball he flew out on, could have easily been a single if he wanted it to be, that scores a much needed run, but instead he was trying to tie the d__m game.

Please dusty get this team to hit according to the situation.

at 3:00 AM

KingsPoint said...

Brantley said EE is not clutch? He needs to know his stats before he makes such a stupid comment. EE has been the best clutch hitter on the team the last two years. He proved it once again on Wednesday.

2007 Scoring Position (.360; .447; .500)
2006 Scoring Position (.303; .392; .523)

If that's not the best with RISP, then it's awful close. And he'll only get better if he's given a full season of at-bats.

at 8:09 AM

Frank Robinson's Ghost said...

I understand EE has bunted 6 times in his professional career -- 3 in rookie ball.

So, it is not a skill he has developed because no one has ever made him do it. He can work on that in his spare time, but it sure wasn't realistic to think he could drop a good bunt last night.

at 8:49 AM

Kyle Cummins said...

Possible Lineup Today??????

Hopper CF
Keppinger SS
Votto 1B
Phillips 2B
Dunn LF
EE (have to don't we???) 3B
Freel RF
Valentin C

Kyle

at 9:11 AM

Steven Ross said...

Two games so relax on the some of the negative spin. Yes, EE's two errors are a serious concern. Biggest hurdle will be what to do with Kepp when Gonzo returns. Gotta play him.

As for Brantley's "he's not clutch", the graphic immediately before his words showed EE is clutch in those situations. One of his few bright stats! TB was right. However, I love the honesty from TB and JB over Grande's candy coating of everything! Welch gets his shots in too but Brantley's very candid.

at 9:22 AM

Randy said...

Not trying to mess up everyone's opinions, but I would love to see a everyday columm keeping up with all Reds minor league games. I really think that all of us would love to read this , and I for one would look forward to some thing like this.

Thanks

at 9:42 AM

Dutch in Richmond, IN said...

I hope TB and JB become the norm on the television side. They work well together and Jeff Brantley does a great job at color.

TODAY IS A BIG DAY in Reds Nation !!! One of the future hopefuls takes the mound in the rubber match. I can't be there, but I will be listening. If we can turn around and win the series against a team like the D-Backs it says a lot for this ball club.

Ohh...I haven't read one nay sayer from Monday bring up Patterson's homerun last night. I say give him a chance.

BIG DAY TODAY !!! Go Cueto !!!

at 9:51 AM

BrewFan said...

Hello,
Every year for the last 4 yrs I have picked a different city to catch a Brewers game. I've always liked the Reds new ballpark (on TV) so this year it's Cin.
I am looking for input from Reds fans about where to stay/restaurants/other points of interests. I am traveling with my wife and 2 kids (ages 15 & 9). We are not obnoxious Cubs fans or anything so please don't try to steer us to gay bars or crime infested neighborhoods. I'll do my homework. This is just a family getaway and I thought I could get some good info from fellow MLB fans.
I have a GPS so a name and general location will do.
Thanks in advance.
p.s. You should love Cordero. Best slider I've ever seen.
Brew Fan

at 9:52 AM

redsfanwoody said...

I for one have enjoyed the past two games of not seeing double switches in the 6th,7th innings.

Also nice to see Baker give guys the chance to get out of their struggles.

at 10:04 AM

kevin in west lafayette said...

same goes for EE, griffey, and dunn. all 3 did it (dunn last game), especially griffey with a RISP in todays game. That ball he flew out on, could have easily been a single if he wanted it to be, that scores a much needed run, but instead he was trying to tie the d__m game.

I think the Reds have looked for the homer way too much as well...that said... the day before yesterday Dunn put a bat on the ball to get a runner in from third... and last night both Phillips and Dunn swung for base hits leading to the Encarnacion homer. I have to say that I'm impressed with Dunn... but it was rough watching some called strike threes. I didin't see Paterson swinging for the fences. I think he's going to be just fine. His homer woke everyone up I think.

at 10:37 AM

BrewFan said...

I am coming to Cincinnati to catch a Brewers/Reds game. For the last 4 years I have checked out a different ballpark. I like the new Reds ballpark (what I see on TV) so this year it's Cincy.
I am looking for input about where to stay/restaurants/other interests. I am traveling with my wife and 2 kids (15 & 9). We are not obnoxious Cubs fans so please don't steer us to gay bars or crime infested neighborhoods.
I thought I would to get some good input from fellow mlb fans. I have a GPS so a name and general location should do. Thanks for your help.
You'll like Cordero. Best slider I've ever seen.
BrewFan

at 11:45 AM

matty buckets said...

Like nearly all former players, JB shoots from hip. I recall last year he said Phillips rarely grounds into double plays but he did it 26 times.

I liked how Dusty let Coffey and Affeldt work out of jams. Narron/Miley/Boone would have shuffled in 4 other relievers. However, from the post game comments it sounds like he did that in case he needed them today.

Previous Posts

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Mercker's return

30 Comments: