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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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Monday, May 5, 2008

Reds 5, Cubs 3

Sometimes a win is so sweet because of how hard the loss would have been.

That was case Monday night.

"That's a good game to win," Dusty Baker said. "It would have been devastating to lose."

Francisco Cordero had about as rough an inning as you can possibly have without giving up a run. But he got the save and the Reds five-game losing streak is over.

"It got a little edgy at the end," Adam Dunn said. "But I don't care how we win as long as we win."

Johnny Cueto bounced back from his debacle in St. Louis with a solid start. He went six innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck eight and walked two.

Let's if the Reds can build on it tomorrow. It's Carlos Zambrano v. Aaron Harang.


25 Comments:

at 8:14 PM Blogger Unknown said...

I hope Dusty realizes that the Reds WALKED ACROSS HOME PLATE in the first inning.

 
at 8:29 PM Blogger Unknown said...

That's all good and well that the Reds walked in a run Jonas, but Adam Dunn DID take strike three right down the plate because he was looking for a walk. That's the particular situation that Dusty is talking about: Dunn up, bases loaded, full count. He should be looking for a pitch to drive, not a pitch to take.

 
at 9:25 PM Blogger Brick said...

I couldn't agree with you more, Jeff. I have no desire for Dunn to lead the team in OBP. I want Dunn to lead the team in SLG% (of which he's currently 9th).

 
at 10:01 PM Blogger Joe said...

They have got to get Coco more work to keep him sharp. Pitching a closer once every 6 or 7 days does not do it.

Give Soto/Cueto credit, he did not look as good as he did his first start of the year, but he got them to the 6th against a good hitting team.

Weathers looked to have it back together tonight.

Good to see Dunn go very deep tonight....can he get it going.

 
at 10:07 PM Blogger cash said...

Hey john this is the right thread but how is Homer's velocity looking is it back to the mind 90's

 
at 10:53 PM Blogger MJ said...

Dunn should be traded immediately for whomever they can get that would produce instant offense.

 
at 10:57 PM Blogger Dave said...

Aaron (8:15) points out a coaching failure (agree). Reds have to bring Soto in to help Cueto?

Where do they get these (coaches?)guys??

 
at 10:59 PM Blogger KevinFtMyers said...

Good win for Cueto, a character builder coming of a really poor outing. As 1/5 of our pitching future he needed to bounce back and now continue to be solid and continue to improve. I like him alot.

About all I care to say at this point. If they win again tomorrow Ill be more excited.

 
at 11:25 PM Blogger Jaybee said...

Well, let me respectly disagree with the poster who faulted the coaches for not having EE guard the line with 2 out. Let's see - it was the top of the 5th inning and the batter was left handed, IIRC. Sometimes you have to give credit to the hitter for making a good play. And, for my money, Bako saved the game when he ran down the pitch in the dirt and gave Cordero a throw in enough time to block the plate and tag the runner. I know Marty Brennamen said he thought one replay showed the runner as being safe but the other 2 replays showed the runner out. A well-needed win.

 
at 1:32 AM Blogger NVreds said...

I figured out the only thing Bob C can do to "win now". trade dunn, sign bonds.

obviously thats doubtful, but thats it, thats his last card.

 
at 6:31 AM Blogger JackBlueAsh said...

what the heck is a "character builder"? Cuetos pitch count was extremely high.. he was lucky to get the win

The Reds win a game and all is well .. Too funny

 
at 6:48 AM Blogger IndyCat said...

The idea about guarding the line in the 5th on the double is totally incorrect - there is no way EE should be guarding the line there. Theriot is not a pull hitter to begin with. Cueto was throwing 93-94 mph. Theriot is much more likely to hit the ball in the hole than right down the third-base line. He just made a play.

I totally agree with the comment regarding the Dunn's K looking with the bases loaded. He was looking for a walk, rather than a pitch to drive. That pitch is so close, you have to be swinging. The pitch was not right down Broadway, it was on the inside edge, but there is no way Dunn should be taking that pitch. Thankfully, it didn't cost us a win.

 
at 8:50 AM Blogger Rob Dicken said...

This was a great win for the Reds. Probably the best game I have seen them play all year. Dunn's homerun was the difference maker in this one (for all the Dunn haters out there). Without it, we're in extra innings.

He may have struck out with the bases loaded before, but he more than made up for it later in the game.

Nice to see Weathers pitching well again.

trade dunn, sign bonds.

No...let's not. This team does not need the controversy of having Barry Bonds on the team.

I'd rather have Juan Castro over Barry Bonds, to be quite honest.

I'm definitely up for a Dunn trade, but we don't need a lying, cheating, sack of crap...and that is Barry Bonds.

The clubhouse attitude and morale would drop 10-fold.

Bonds and Dunn both belong in the AL where they can DH.

 
at 10:28 AM Blogger Brandon said...

I have been saying we need to give Soto anything imaginable to become our pitching coach. Then fire Jacoby and seek out one Frank Robinson to become the hitting coach.

 
at 1:22 PM Blogger JackBlueAsh said...

I bout fell off my chair...the best game I have seen the Reds play this year"

now that is just silly

what clubhouse attitude or morale?

 
at 1:43 PM Blogger KevinFtMyers said...

"what the heck is a "character builder"?


Being a rookie and after having a terrible outing, to be able to work with a coach on some things and them come back and get hitters out and be much improved builds confidence and character.


I guess you think a high pitch count makes his outing a failure?

Please, learn something about the game, you make comments about things you do not understand. Its really not a good idea.

 
at 1:47 PM Blogger KevinFtMyers said...

"Cuetos pitch count was extremely high.. he was lucky to get the win"

In the scope of the future, this games outcome was less important than Cuetos ability to make adjustments and come back with a respectable outing.

There is a big picture you know.

 
at 1:59 PM Blogger JackBlueAsh said...

you meant confidence builder..Cuetos character is just fine

high pitch count is indicative of issues..

 
at 3:27 PM Blogger Rob Dicken said...

high pitch count is indicative of issues..

No...it's not. Harang throws 100+ pitches an outing. Same with Volquez.

Again...commenting on something you just don't understand.

 
at 4:24 PM Blogger KevinFtMyers said...

"high pitch count is indicative of issues.."

Yes, thats right, but also means your not getting shelled either.

Trust me, this start was not about pitch count. It was about not making mistakes in the zone, which he still made a few, but was vastly improved.

Cuetos high pitch counts are due to him trying to get hitters to chase pitches out of the zone and trying to pitch the edgesof the zone. Hes learning to pitch ahead in the count and that you dont always have to throw stikes on pitchers counts. Before, he threw too many "fat" strikes and it caught up with him. Hes learning to expand the strike zone by using the outer portions of it.

Picture this, we all know the strike zone is a vertical rectangle, now imagine a smaller rectangle inside of it, but shifted up so the tops of both rectangles align. The space outside the small rectangle makes a "U" shape. Thats where a big leage pitcher has to pitch to be succesful. Guys learning to do that throw alot of balls, hence the high pitch counts.

This stuff is all there to see, but unless you know what your looking for, you cant see it.

 
at 5:19 PM Blogger KevinFtMyers said...

"you meant confidence builder..Cuetos character is just fine"


No.. I mean character, not good guy / bad guy character, major league baseball character (of which Cueto has none yet)

A major league ball player has to learn how to fail, how to get his brains beat out, get up, dust off, work hard, and come back better. It happens regularly in the bigs, and he probably didnt deal with it much in the minors.

Dont worry yourself about what I mean or what you think I might mean, just worry about youself.

 
at 5:21 PM Blogger KevinFtMyers said...

high pitch count is indicative of issues..

"No...it's not. Harang throws 100+ pitches an outing. Same with Volquez."

Those guys typically go 7 or more, Cueto has been throwing 5+

 
at 5:56 PM Blogger John Fay said...

Cueto's gone 6, 1.2, 7, 7, 6, 6.1 and 7 in his starts.

That's pretty good for a 22 years old.

 
at 6:13 PM Blogger JackBlueAsh said...

Harang is 1-4

John we were discussing pitch count..not innings pitched..pay attention

whats Cuetos ERA? still over 5?

 
at 6:26 PM Blogger John Fay said...

Jack: The post before said only goes 5+. It was wrong.

 
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