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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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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Game 2: Reds 7, Mets 1

Bronson Arroyo had his best outing of the year -- 8 innings, 1 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts.

That way the key to getting the split.

"That’s huge," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "That was big on a lot of fronts. That's the best game Bronson's thrown. He had them off balance. He had great location with his fastball. He was dealing. That's where it starts. You get good starting pitching and it makes everyone feel a whole lot better."

The hitting star was blog favorite Jeff Keppinger. He went 5-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. He had six hits in the doubleheader to raise his average from .292 to .317.

When was the last time he went 5-for-5?

"College," he said. "I think I'm right on that. I never did in the minors. I had a lot 4-for-5s. That fifth one is hard to get."

Baker is a Keppinger fan.

"He works at it," Baker said. "He thinks about it. He concentrates. He focuses. He's trying to maximize his opportunity to play. Boy, that was big, especially for a guy with that slight of build to have that kind of game in the second game after a long, long day night. That shows what kind of shape he's in."

Reds went up 1-0 in the first on Ken Griffey Jr.'s RBI single. He's at 60 ABs since his last home run. But he has four straight two-hit games.

Scott Hatteberg doubled in Keppinger with a go-ahead run in the sixth.

Hatteberg made it a 3-RBI day with hit-and-run RBI single in the eighth. Paul Bako followed with an RBI single.


26 Comments:

at 10:19 PM Blogger Jaybee said...

Welcome back, Bronson. Where've you been? :-)

 
at 11:18 PM Blogger kylemack said...

Is Dusty still worries about body type and if one can handle the heat?
That is racist

 
at 11:21 PM Blogger Cheviot Sports Authority said...

Well John are you ready to admit that Keppinger is the better option at SS over Gonzalez (if healthy) yet?
ST CSA

 
at 11:28 PM Blogger Chris said...

They're together again!!

 
at 12:21 AM Blogger Cheviot Sports Authority said...

Do you think that the Reds should extend Bronson's contract until 2012 after tonight's game?

Did you also notice Bronson and The Creep commercial was only played after Bronson left the game tonight?

I hear JTM sales are way down because of all the people refusing to buy their products while their ears are being assaulted by that hog squalling.

ST CSA

 
at 3:23 AM Blogger lonesome red said...

Johan Santana is a leftie. Now, let's examine the game one line-up.
Patterson vs Santana 3-6(lifetime).
Dunn vs Santana (never faced him)
Patterson vs lefties (lifetime) AVG=.240 OBP=.274 SLG=.378 OPS=.652
Dunn vs lefties (lifetime) AVG=.240 OBP=.360 SLG=.478 OPS=.838
Yeah, Dunn deserved to be benched in the first game (sarcasm).
I admit the pitching sucked in game 1 but the point is for the manager to put the best line-up on the field. I am not a fan of sabermetrics but it does apply to an extent in real baseball.
I wonder if Dusty is still holding onto that old Reds/Dodgers rivalry (sarcasm)

 
at 7:21 AM Blogger JackBlueAsh said...

WOW...Keppinger 5-5... I think he may be an All Star this summer..what a player

Hamilton had 3 hits last night..Texas approaching .500

It will be interesting to see Cueto today

 
at 9:17 AM Blogger KY Reds Fan said...

Just read Bill Koch's story on Daryl Thompason.
*Thompson
*Volquez
*Cueto
With these guys and others in the organization learning Soto's changeup, when does Soto get a raise or get moved to Cincinnati?

 
at 9:21 AM Blogger Joe said...

You eally had to appreciate Bronson's game considering the pressure he was under. We cannot expect that type performance every time out, but hopefully this will get him turned around. If they can move him to the 4 or 5 spot in the rotation it may be he can get back to the Arroyo we saw when he first came over from Boston.

 
at 9:21 AM Blogger Arden Dulou said...

Agreed, for the Reds to win more than they lose this is how Arroyo has to pitch.

Hopefully Bailey (who isn't ruined) will be up here within the next 2 passes through the rotation.

Shearn was mentioned because he is a better choice than Belisle, not because he was some super star in the making...

 
at 9:25 AM Blogger Redleg city said...

exactly where he is supposed to be for a # 3 type pitcher.....inconsist

 
at 9:41 AM Blogger redsfanwoody said...

Hoping this will be a spring board for Bronson to get back to respectable pitching. Not looking for ace material just plain quality starts.

 
at 11:09 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fantastic game for Bronson - could be the pivot point for the Reds turning things around.

Why doesn't Dusty try Keppinger in the LEADOFF spot?

 
at 11:19 AM Blogger Unknown said...

I always chuckle every time I read the Adam Dunn hitting in the #2 hole. Why would you want to place an 0 for 4 plus a walk in the #2 hole in the lineup. Dunn at 45-55 lbs overweight is a base clogger and rally killer. His best position in this lineup is #7. John when the Reds start the inevitable house cleaning in June who besides Dunn do you see getting dumped for prospects? Do you see the Jocketty trading Griffey, Jr?

 
at 11:33 AM Blogger will said...

Never said you should play gonzo over keppinger. Only that gonzo has been throughout his career a better defensive shortstop. You dont play kepp for his glove, you play him for his bat. As long as he hits he plays. But lets play the JBA and CSA game here and complain about something asinine. Why isnt keppinger getting more extra base hits? Something must be wrong.

 
at 11:35 AM Blogger will said...

Cantu went o-3 last night by the way. Left three runners on base. I didnt see my daily cantu update, so I thought everyone here would appreciate that.

 
at 11:54 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Dunn at 45-55 lbs overweight is a base clogger and rally killer"

John, you must be honored to see that Dusty Baker is now posting comments on your blog.

 
at 12:03 PM Blogger Cheviot Sports Authority said...

Cantu was 0-3. Thats terrible. I'll bet his team won though, so I guess it didn't hurt them any. Still 60 points higher than Dunn. LOL.
CSA

 
at 12:15 PM Blogger JackBlueAsh said...

Keppinger is 2nd in the national league in fielding percentage for all shortstops..makes less errors than Gonzalez

Keppinger has never been given the opportunity to play SS on a consistent basis.. he is now..hes superior to Gonzo

 
at 12:22 PM Blogger s said...

Those you posting updates on Josh Hamilton or Cantu -- not sure why.
Any GM, at this point, would take Volquez over Hamilton. Texas had 3 shut-outs in a row -- they weren't winning because Hamilton was knocking in the winning run every game. Pitching is always more valuable than hitting. They are getting close to .500 because of pitching.

However, those of you who like J. Hamilton so much, perhaps you should post on the Rangers' blog. Hamilton is not a Red anymore, had one good half-season for the Reds -- here all year, but injured for nearly half of it, yet you act like he is Albert Puhols or something. Please give it a rest.

Also, I am as a big a fan of Kepp. as anyone, and think he should play over Gonzo. However, I don't think anyone should go overboard with Kepp either -- if he gets back to .340 or something (or had 6-8 homeruns to go with a .300 batting average), ok -- but a 5-5 brought him to .317, with 2 homeruns for the year -- much better than Gonzo will ever be at & is one of the best hitters on a 15-22 team. However, an "all star" -- not sure I would say that yet....& I am as a big fan of Kepp as anyone, and definitely think he should start over Gonzo (or anyone else on the Reds) at SS.

Back to Hamilton, he hit 19 homeruns with a .292 batting average for the Reds -- stop acting like that is comparable to Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey in his prime, Babe Ruth, A-Rod, Manny Ramirez -- it is 19 homeruns, with a .292 batting average -- for a full season for which he was on the roster. Hamilton was NOT even an all star last year. Also, Texas is notoriously just as much a hitter's park as the Reds -- so he leads the AL in RBIS (THUS FAR) -- tout his horn if he wins the triple crown at the end of the year or something, but this love-fest with Hamilton -- do not understand it. Give it a rest on Hamilton -- PLEASE.

The love-fest with Cantu -- that is not even worthy of comment.

 
at 12:28 PM Blogger Red Faced said...

This is the type of game we needed out of Arroyo and I've been defending him all year so here's hoping he gets turned around from here on out. He struggled early last year as well and turned it around but never got any run support so his record didn't show it.

The biggest thing though is it really is starting to look like the offense is finally making some strides. We had a decent game against Santana and some decent games against the Cubs too. Let's hope the offense will continue to improve also. Sure would be nice to see Harang get a couple of wins this week so please score some runs for the big guy.

Oh and I would be doing us all a big injustice if I didn't say - Get Patterson out of the lead off position once an for all Dusty!!

Glad to see Hatteburg have a good game. He's a very solid ballplayer. This team should be able to get something for him. I'm sure there are a handful of teams that could use him.

Great game Keppinger. Just keep getting hits and playing hard man.

 
at 12:47 PM Blogger JackBlueAsh said...

Scott ..you want to discuss the Reds 7 year losing streak?

Hamilton won the Al Player of tye month award last month..not all games played were in Texas

Hamilton recovering from serious drug abuse, being given a chance by the Reds and moving on becoming and allstar in the American League is interesting and warrants discussion

 
at 1:07 PM Blogger Jeff said...

Nice write-up, Scott. Insightful as always, Jack…but your forgot to ask him how many games he attends a year.

 
at 1:20 PM Blogger s said...

The Reds had to do the Volquez for Hamilton trade, precisely b/c of the 7 year losing streak.

As for the background baggage re: Hamilton, who cares. I am a baseball fan, want the team to win, and last I checked -- the Reds WITH Hamilton last year stunk.

He hit .292 with 19 HR last year.

AL player of the month -- again -- who cares - Texas has a losing record & Volquez leads the NL in strikeouts, ERA, and is 5-1, on a team that is 15-22. As for the drug use re: Hamilton, that is relevant to me as Griffey and 600 HR. I could care a less -- I would much rather root for a team that wins.

However, it is a free country -- those of you who like JHamilton so much -- post on the Texas blog. JHamilton is not a Red anymore. You also ignore that the Reds have a glut of outfielders, including JBruce in the minors (minor league player of the year last year)...

Again, PLEASE give JHAMILTON a rest -- he is not a Red anymore & he has never hit 40-50 HR in a season -- nor has he even hit .300 in a full season....

 
at 2:40 PM Blogger will said...

Hey JBA I've asked this before and you didnt answer. Kepps got a better career fielding percentage at shortstop than Barry Larkin. Does that make him a better shortstop? Fielding percentage is a tricky stat. If your range is on the lower end but you can field, it looks great. No one is claiming Kepp cant field, but hes no great defensive shortstop like you claim him to be. The career numbers across the board show Gonzo to be a better defensive shortstop. M

 
at 2:48 PM Blogger will said...

CSA, What does Dunn have to do with Cantu? How about we compare Votto's stats to Cantus stats. Wouldnt that be more of a realistic comparison. LOL? What are you a 12 year old girl?

 
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