Kuzul

It’s been a wild season of pitching this year in Major League Baseball, with five no hitters and two perfect games so far this year, but yesterday’s events may just be the icing on the cake. Only 24 hours after Matt Garza tossed the first no-no in Tampa Bay Rays history, teen singing sensation Justin Bieber was on hand to throw out the first pitch at the Cincinnati Reds game.

But Bieber’s pitch looked so unhittable, manager Dusty Baker decided to just leave him in there for the rest of the game.

“He had a no-hitter going after that first pitch, you can’t take a pitcher out when he’s got something going like that,” said Baker after the game. “That first pitch was so unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It couldn’t even reach the plate, it sort of bounced off the ground and then way over the catcher’s head. I knew no one could come close to hitting something so horrible, so I told the kid he was staying in there to finish this thing.”

Pitching in street clothes, Bieber baffled the Milwaukee Brewers for eight dazzling innings, who were likely so confused by the turn of events they couldn’t concentrate on hitting the ball.

“Wow, my daughter isn’t going to believe I was struck out by Justin three times in one game,” said All-Star Prince Fielder. “I couldn’t hit a home run off that kid, despite the fact the couple balls that he managed to get to the plate were right in my zone. My daughter wouldn’t have spoken to me for a year!”

Bieber’s agent was happy with the performance of his client, but furious at Baker’s mismanagement.

“Obviously he should have been pulled after that first pitch,” said the agent, Saul Washington. “Justin is supposed to be on a pitch count! We talked to Dusty beforehand and he said that count would be one, maybe two pitches. This kid has a bright future ahead of symbolic athletic honors before games. I want him to be able to sing a national anthem, toss a coin, or wave a flag at a NASCAR event. Now his whole career could be in jeopardy.”

Bieber was backed up by some stellar defense behind him to pick up the no hitter, but it really served to highlight that indeed anyone can pitch a perfect game this year.

SportsComedian.com

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The Baseball Jimmy with Caesar Cliffius Eastham and Sir Illya Charleton Harrell

Illya Harrell: Cliff, As Jerry Reed so eloquently sang in Smokey and the Bandit we, “Have a Long Way To Go and a Short Time To Get There.”

Down to brass tacks, who should the Reds attempt to acquire before the Major League trade deadline?

After writing a “Reds Need Lee” piece a couple of weeks ago, I got greedy—like Yankee greedy…and I wish to apologize for that.

After Ryan Rayburn calmed me down and set me straight. I got to thinking about the Reds’ needs.

Besides the huge bat of Gary Mathews Jr. (that’s sarcasm for those Mathews fans out there—all two of you), the Reds needs are about as sexy as your granny’s floppy fun bags. 

With a couple of middle relievers, they’re in the race for the long haul.                    

Cliff Eastham: I liked your piece on Lee and I am all over it.

With Edinson Volquez due back at any time, the Reds rotation could heal itself. He, Johnny Cueto, and Bronson Arroyo form a trio of starters that most teams would love to have.       

There is where the problems begin. Who would you want filling the fourth and fifth holes? Aaron Harang and Mike Leake? Harang is so inconsistent it is beyond scary.

Leake apparently needs to be babied for the remainder of the season, which makes me, an old-schooler, sick to my stomach. He isn’t a flame-thrower, so he should be able to endure a complete season with his 88 mph heater.

How about Homer Bailey? Wonder what kind of shape he is going to be in when he returns?

Could one or more of those guys serve as trade bait for Cliff Lee, a tried and true veteran who doesn’t walk anyone?

Illya Harrell: It’s pretty obvious to me that Bailey suffered what I like to call a “phantom injury.”  If you remember, he complained about hitting the DL.  That could be his attitude or an excuse to get him back to Louisville for “rehab starts.”

Mind you, he was out of options and the Reds would have had to waive him before sending him down.  And there is no way he would have cleared the waiver wire.

I do think Homer will be an above average pitcher.  But not with the Reds.  For some reason he just doesn’t seem to gel with the team or, more likely, Dusty.

There’s been a lot of talk about Lee going to Minnesota.  The Twins farm is stacked with pitchers.  But they are almost all righties. 

What’s your feeling on a Homer- and the lefty Travis Wood-for-Lee deal? 

I’d go Homer and lefty Matt Maloney in a heartbeat.  But I’m more than iffy sending Wood over for a rent boy.  If Lee would guarantee to sign an extension, I’d ship Seattle Homer and Wood with a big smile on my face.

That would open up my master plan, sending Leake to the pen for a good portion of the remaining season.  Leake would return as a starter late in the season. 

Harang is a more than adequate fifth starter until then.  What to do with Harang after that? Who really cares? 

Cliff Eastham: I like the way you think—and everybody thought you were just another pretty face.

I have to agree with you on Bailey; someday he will be very good. A scenery change will probably wake him up.

Maloney has at least had an opportunity to play with the big boys while Wood is still wearing a bib.  I like Maloney a lot, but I think Wood has more potential than Matt.

With that being said, this would be my offer to the Mariners: Bailey and Maloney for Lee. On the face of it, that makes more sense to me than the Rolen for Double EE and all the baby pitchers the Reds had last year.

The Reds have an abundance of talent-laden young arms in Louisville and some here already. Sam LeCure will be a good one, but I digress.

As for the middle relief, Aroldis Chapman will be popping up out of the hole soon, and they just called up Bill Bray.

We probably disagree on this, but I would shop Coco Cordero around and keep using rookie Jordan Smith as much as possible in the meantime. That kid is really impressive.

I honestly can’t see Cincy winning the division with a closer no more reliable than Coco. I fully expect to see him go to the mound with a blind fold and a cigarette to face the music. Ready, aim, fire!

Caesar Cliffius Eastham and Sir Illya Charleton Harrell would like to thank you for enjoying our column!

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Bronson Arroyo was again the victim of bullpen mismanagement.

Arroyo has a knack for being the best pitcher in the Central Division one night and the worst pitcher who ever pitched an inning the next night.

He pitched a very good game Sunday, giving up six hits and two runs in eight strong innings. His day was done, and he left the game trailing 2-1.

Miraculously, the Reds clawed back and roughed up league-leading closer Matt Capps and took the lead at 4-2.

Of course, everybody out there in Redland knows what happens in the ninth inning of every game with the Reds ahead, by less than four runs that is.

That is right, kiddies—let us now bring out the big bull, El Toro, the save whore himself, Coco Cordero.

If you are a true Reds fan, you know that all bets are off whenever Cordero enters the ring…er…game.

There he was, called on to protect a now 4-2 lead and preserve a win for Arroyo. As has become his M-O, he started off with a walk, then blah…blah…blah, which translates into another (that is the fourth, and yes, I am counting) blown save—but hey, at least he didn’t get a loss.

The top of the 10th inning saw the Reds get the go-ahead run when Jay Bruce scored on a Drew Stubbs single, putting Cincy in front 5-4. Do you know what else it did? It put Cordero in line to get a win even with the lousy inning he pitched in the ninth.

A Cordero protege, Nick Masset, came in for the home half of the 10th to cement the win for Cordero. He pitched terribly, reminding me so much of Coco that I nearly threw the remote at the TV.

To show you the length and girth of my disdain for Cordero, I came within a whisker of hoping the Nationals would win the game so that Coco would know how it feels for a starter to watch him blow the game up for him. My loyalty to the Reds prevailed, and I willed them to yet another win.

The point of this rant is twofold. First, and foremost, I made it a mission to write a scathing article every time Coco blows a save. Second, I wanted to point out the unjust rewards of MLB rules and scoring guidelines.

Should there not be a rule that if a reliever blows a save attempt, he CANNOT get a win regardless of anything else? I mean, come on; a guy pitches his ass off for eight innings and is in line for a win, watches it disappear, and watches his closer wannabe implode yet be the benefactor of the win. Please!

How stupid does that look in a box score? Cordero (W 2-3; BS-4). It is not like he redeemed himself in the next inning. The only thing that happened was his team scored a run the next inning. It is like a contradiction of terms: blown save, won the game.

Everything else aside, it was a good day for the Queen City fans. The Reds’ win, coupled with a Cardinal loss to the Brewers, pulled the Reds back into a tie for first place.

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The 40 year old Ken Griffey Jr. retired earlier this week after playing professional baseball since he was 19. He will always be remembered for his time in Seattle, not in Cincinnati. In the late 90’s he was the best player in the game and was in the discussion for possibly being the best all around player ever.

The announcement ends a 22-year run in the major leagues that included 13 all-star selections, 630 home runs, 10 Gold Gloves and a .284 career batting average.

After being drafted straight out of high school he became the face of Seattle. His swing, his super human-like play in center field, his smile and his backward-cap wearing enthusiasm was a match made in heaven for him, fans and advertisers.

He was known, simply, as “Junior.”

He was consistently among the leaders in home runs. He had seasons of 49, 46, 46 and 48 between 1996 and 1999. Fellow major leaguers voted him the player of the decade in 1999. He was on pace to break Hank Aaron’s career home run record.

Then he decided to go back to his hometown. Back to where is dad spent the majority of his career—the Cincinnati Reds. He grew up running around the Big Red Machine’s locker room and played high school ball at the local powerhouse Moeller.

Griffey signed for $116M over 10 years, a monsterous contract at the time. He was joining a team that had won 96 games the year before, a team that was losing relatively little in exchange for the best player in the game.

“Well,” Griffey said at his introductory press conference at Cinergy Field, “I’m finally home. This is my hometown. I grew up here. It doesn’t matter how much money you make; it’s where you feel happy. Cincinnati is the place where I thought I would be happy”.

It was suppossed to be a fariy tale story. Too bad it had a nightmare ending.

After hitting 40 home runs and driving in 118 runs for a 85 win Reds team, the injury bug bit him hard and often.

Injuries limited his output and robbed him of his natural abilities—right shoulder surgery, right knee surgery, left knee surgery, left knee surgery twice, hamstring surgery and five or six drainage procedures after the hamstring surgery.

In 2002, his worst season ever, injuries limited him to 70 games and eight homers. In 2003, early in the season, Griffey dislocated his right shoulder while diving in the outfield, an injury that held him to just 166 at-bats. After four years with the Reds, Griffey had played in only 58 percent of games, and hit no higher than .286.

His pre-30s numbers (398 homers and a .300 average) weren’t even close to his numbers in his 30s (.263 and 83 homers).

In 2004, Griffey played well enough to earn his 12th starting selection to the All-Star team. In early July he collected his 500th career homer. But in mid-July he suffered a tear in his right hamstring. Two days after he returned from the injury he completely tore the same hamstring when he attempted to make a sliding catch. Less than a week later he had season-ending surgery to fuse the tendon to the bone.

The player of the 90s simply grew old and frail as his days with the Reds went on. The team never finished above .500 after 2000. The fans tired of the constant injuries and they voiced their displeasure with . He got in a verbal dispute with one of the radio commentators and he even gave a fan the bird in Cincinnati.

In 2007, he was moved to right field. In 2008, he hit just .245 until the team traded him to the White Sox for relief pitcher Nick Masset and Triple-A second baseman Danny Richar. Griffey’s contract gave him the right to refuse the deal.

The Reds organization has nothing bad to say about him.

“He was always happy, always in a good mood”, said former teammate Bronson Arroyo. “I enjoyed him because he always didn’t talk baseball. I’d talk to him about flying his plane. He was always like a kid in that he was enthusiastic about things he was passionate about. That’s first and foremost as far as what I remember about him.”

“I’m glad he retired on his terms,” said manager Dusty Baker.

From all accounts, Griffey is a class act that will go down in history as one of the greatest center fielders of all time.

Griffey will be eligible for the 2016 Hall of Fame class. He will be enshrined with his Mariners hat on. Baseball fans will always remember him for his days in Mariner blue. The lost years that were his Reds years will be forgotten.

The dream of bringing home a championship to Cincinnati didn’t even come close. The Griffey era with the Reds is a long painful stretch of time that both parties involve hope to forget.

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The Cincinnati Reds lead the National League Central in wins so far this season. With excellent players like Bronson Arroyo and Joey Votto, this trend is sure to continue throughout the rest of the season.

As of now, the NL Central standings show the Reds are leading with 30 wins. They are followed closely by the St. Louis Cardinals who have 29 wins.

As long as the Reds keep playing as well as they have been in this series against the Cardinals, they are sure to continue to pull ahead and lead in number of wins for the league.

Arroyo has contributed to the Reds’ standing with his excellent pitching so far this season. Last week he pitched a complete game against St. Louis. His win pushed the Reds to first place over the Cardinals in the division.

Also, according to MLB.com, Arroyo is one of the top pitchers in the National League this season. As long as Arroyo continues to play as well as he has, the Reds will continue to succeed.

Votto has also been a major contributor to the success of the Reds. With a batting average of .312, Votto is one of the top players in the league. He is also one of the top leaders in RBIs in the National League this season, with 33.

Even though he has missed the last five games due to an injury, once he returns, he is sure to continue to help lead his team to further victories.

With star players like Arroyo and Votto, and a whole roster of other talented players, the Reds are sure to see a great deal of success this season. The success they have had so far has shown the depth of the Reds roster, and is a likely predictor of how they will do for the rest of the 2010 season.

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There is an old saying that goes something like this: “Some days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you, and some days it doesn’t pay to go into the woods.”

Those words could be used to describe all of the pitchers in this article. Most of these guys are not bums or “tomato cans”. Most are decent pitchers while some are even very good.

When things go badly, they tend to bundle up on you. Ask any of these men and I am sure they will concur.

Not all of them completed the inning. They do have much in common however. They all surrendered at least eight hits, at least six earned runs, and they all faced at least 10 batters.

In some instances the “inning” consists of three outs, not necessarily in the same frame. However, that is what history reflects, one inning (or less).

With that as a background let us look at the 10 worst innings by active pitchers.

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With the Reds in first place of the NL Central near the end of May, hope is back in Cincy. The only problem is that the Reds may be playing the best baseball they’ve played in years, but they are not the most complete team in the division. These 5 roster moves, in my opinion, are needed to make the Redlegs a better team. By trading away, trading for, or moving certain players into different spots, it would make the team better defensively, offensively, and chemistry wise. Otherwise known as….a complete team. Enjoy!

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Entering the 2010 baseball season, the Cincinnati Reds and their fans had lofty expectation for the starting staff. Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, Aaron Harang, and Mike Leake have gone way above and beyond those expectations since, on April 24, manager Dusty Baker went “Bull Durham” on the entire team.

Yesterday Craig Simpson wrote an article titled, “Dusty Baker Goes Bull Durham, Cincinnati Reds Respond.”  Simpson explained that Baker chastised his team for it’s lackadaisical play.

The old curiosity peaked and an investigation was in order.  

Knowing that the starters were pitching better than they were at the beginning of their dismal excuse for a season, a team of experts was sent to delve deeper.

The findings are mind blowing.

Collectively, over the last 21 games, the starters are 12-3, with an ERA of 3.11, and a 1.11 WHIP.

The “quality start” stat used to be looked at as a joke. In recent years, it has become a pretty decent indicator of a staff’s success, or lack thereof. In their last 21 games Reds’ starters have amassed 15 quality starts. Boys and girls, that’s a 71 percent clip.

From April 25 until yesterday, May 18, their ERA has dropped almost two full points—from 6.49 to a 4.55 spot.

Before the meeting only one starter, Leake, had an ERA under four.

Small sample sizes, yes. Bailey is the only guy with five starts—all others have four. 

However, since the meeting Arroyo’s ERA has dropped 2.65 points, Bailey’s 2.26 points, Cueto is down from 5.33 to 3.67 (a difference of 1.66 points), Harang has seen his dip 2.29 points, and even Leake now sports a 3.09 ERA, 0.83 points better than before. 

WHIPs since Dusty went Durham: Cueto 0.88, Leake 0.92, Arroyo 1.14, Bailey 1.16, with his 1.37 WHIP, Harang is looking like the chump of the bunch. But his ERA during the run is 4.01—very respectable. 

The Reds have played 12 home games and nine away. 

Great American Ball Park is a notorious home run stadium—that’s putting it kindly.

During the three-plus week stretch the staff is letting only 1.03 balls leave the yard per nine innings.

The numbers go on-and-on: a 7.6 K/9 ratio, while allowing only 2.27 batters to reach via walk per nine. 

How are they doing it?

Throw strikes, baby…Throw strikes! Getting ahead in counts while making hitters work down in the count allows the starter to work deeper into the ballgames.

In 19 of the last 21 games, the starting pitcher has thrown at least six full. Just once during the span has a starter been removed before completing five innings, and only once more before the pitching six full.  

So Dusty must be abusing his starters again, right? Nope. Well, maybe.

Twice Baker has allowed a starter to throw more than 120 pitches. Both Bailey and Harang threw 121 in a start.

Cueto has thrown 113 and 118—that may be a bit distressing. He also needed 102 in his complete game, one-hit shutout. 

Rubber-armed Arroyo has pitched 100-plus (never hitting 110) in three of his four starts. 

Rookie sensation, Mike Leake, has been allowed over the 100-mark in just one of his last four starts.

Besides Dusty’s Durham speech, much of the credit must be given to first-year pitching coach, Bryan Price. 

Price has twice been named the Major League’s Pitching Coach of the Year—once with Seattle by USA Today Baseball Weekly, and again in Arizona by Baseball America.

No doubt, it has been a promising three-week run for the Cincy starters. 

One that has The Queen City and it’s surrounding regions all ready buzzing with a long forgotten playoff vibe. 

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