Kuzul

Back in April, if you would have told me that this team would be 49-41 at the All-Star break and in first place, I would have asked for some of whatever goofy gas it was that you were inhaling.

Not that I didn’t think that the Reds were on the rise. The strong finish to last season, coupled with the promising youngsters and gamer vets on this team, had to give fans reason for optimism.

Long gone are the days where Jimmy Haynes and Elmer Dessens were the “staff aces,” and it was up to guys like Willy Taveras, Brandon Larson, and Corey Patterson to deliver at the plate.

Still, even with the better talent in place, I figured teams like Milwaukee and Chicago would hang around, but as it stands right now, it’s a two-team race: us and the hated St. Louis Cardinals.

So what has gone right so far? I think first and foremost there are a lot of guys who have exceeded expectations—Mike Leake being the most surprising. Here was someone who wasn’t given much of a chance to crack the starting rotation, but he did, and he has delivered.

In sticking with the pitching staff, Bronson Arroyo has done what Bronson Arroyo does, which is eat innings. No shocker there, as Arroyo is as solid as they come. Beyond that, though, the success of Johnny Cueto, the recent success of Travis Wood, and the solid work by Aaron Harang are all very pleasant surprises.

In sticking with this “surprise” theme, Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen, and Jonny Gomes are performing better than many people thought. Joey Votto’s play last year suggested that he was ready to take the next step, which he has taken, but the numbers posted by the aforementioned names exceed what many people thought they could deliver.

Phillips batting over .300? Gomes near the top of the leader board in RBI? Rolen with 17 home runs already? Incredible.

As a team, you have to like their overall resiliency, with a bevy of come from behind wins. When things were looking bleak, such as a botched 10-game home stand, followed by a sweep at the hands of the Mariners, they bounced back.

Of course, it’s not been all good news. The bullpen, outside of Arthur Rhodes, has been shaky at best. Francisco Cordero inspires confidence in no one. With the trade deadline coming up, moves need to be made.

Should the Reds address other areas at the deadline, perhaps the bullpen solution lies within. Edinson Volquez and Harang are set to return. Arroyo/Leake/Wood/Cueto all deserve to keep their jobs, so something has to give. Further down the road, Homer Bailey will probably return, and then there is the question of when they will bring up Aroldis Chapman.

So many arms. Really, a nice problem to have, but how the Reds handle it will be key.

As for the offense, when you are atop the leader board in several offensive categories like they are, there aren’t many problems. Not to say that they don’t exist, though. Orlando Cabrera hasn’t gotten the job done at shortstop, and Drew Stubbs has had some painful growing pains. I’d like to see more consistency out of Jay Bruce, and with the return of Ryan Hanigan, overall production out of the catcher spot should improve a notch. 

To stay in first, and in the playoff race, the Reds will need the names I mentioned to keep outperforming what the back of their baseball cards indicate. Rolen, Phillips, and Gomes are all scuffling a bit. Is it just general fatigue that will be cured with the four days away from the game, or is it them regressing back to the mean?

Meaningful baseball in July, and in the second half? I like this concept. I’m not quite ready to start chanting “Who Dey!” quite yet.

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The voting period for the final All-Star Game spot ended yesterday, and New York Yankees OF Nick Swisher won the vote in the American League, while Cincinnati Reds 1B Joey Votto won the vote in the National League.

It’s great to see a wrong being righted with Votto. As I said last week, if you didn’t vote for Votto for the final spot in the National League, then you shouldn’t be allowed to vote for anything again. He went into last night’s game leading the NL in HRs (22) and first in OPS (1.012).

I would say he is the first half MVP of the National League.

At the age of 29, Swisher is having perhaps his best year in the major leagues. Coming into last night’s game, Swisher was hitting .298 with 14 HRs and an .894 OPS.

Is he having a better year than Kevin Youkilis? Not even close. But I would imagine Youkilis will somehow find his way onto the team.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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It is much easier to write about the Reds when they are winning and things are going swell.

Unfortunately they are not, making the job of Reds sportswriters more tedious and less therapeutic.

In the last two games they have averaged one run, and you don’t win many games 1-0.

Even the best percentage in baseball moving runners from first to third is useless if you leave them stranded at the hot corner.

Mike Leake, 5-1, is the latest starter to have a bad night, as he did last night against the Bums. He was roughed up for nine hits and five ER in six IP with three BB and four K’s.

Leake labored the entire time he was in the game, not recording any “three up and three down” innings. The Dodgers left runners on base all night long.

Clayton Kershaw, who is younger than Mike Leake, pitched a dandy last night at Great American Ball Park, as he allowed only seven hits and one run in seven IP, while walking one and notching seven K’s.

Both teams left nine on, but the Dodgers did a much better job of bringing the runners in.
 
The Reds have officially “lost” this home stand, which certainly makes me uncomfortable with a West Coast sojourn looming past the weekend.

There were two bright spots in the events of the evening. The Seattle Mariners whipped the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing the Reds to hold their share of first place in the NL Central Division.

The second shining moment was Chris Heisey hitting his third pinch-hit home run in nine pinch-hit appearances. Jerry Lynch is the first name that comes to mind when I think of pinch-hit homers. “Lynch in the pinch” is a slogan most fans over 50 will recall.

Rookie Jordan Smith, called up from AA affiliate Carolina the other day, worked the last inning of the game for the second straight night.

I understand that he was basically saving arms and performing mop duties, but who thought his statistics warranted a Louisville bypass and direct route to GABP?

With Carolina this season he was bad, at best. He worked 28 innings and gave up 38 hits and 16 earned runs, walked eight, and struck out 14. His ERA was 5.05, and he was 1-3. Are we to think that the Bats have nobody better than that who can help out?

The Reds are currently mired in the muck of a three-game losing streak, having dropped six of their last 10 games. It is hard to get excited about the chances of avoiding a Dodger sweep since the Reds are only 10-11 in day games this season.

Bronson Arroyo (5-3) will take the hill against rookie John Ely (3-3) today at 12:35.

The Reds leave after today’s game for a weekend set against the Seattle Mariners.

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Miami catcher Yasmani Grandal wasn’t supposed to be on the board when the Reds selected at 12th, but when he was, they were quick to pick him up.

Grandal came into the draft as one of the most polished prospects after spending three years at Miami. He has already garnered honors and accolades for his play this year and was named a first team All-American.

The pick looks solid.

Grandal is a safe pick due to his college experience. He is currently batting .412, tops in the ACC, with 14 home runs, and 56 RBIs for the Hurricanes.

It seemed as if the Reds wouldn’t have a shot at Grandal after he had supposedly been in talks with Kansas City. It almost seemed certain that he’d go to the Royals at No. 4, but when he slipped, the Reds knew they couldn’t pass him up as Grandal is a solid hitting catcher that can hit for power from both sides of the plate.

The Grandal pick is also intriguing due to his Cuban heritage.

Like current AAA and former Hurricane first baseman Yonder Alonso, Grandal hails from Cuba. If both develop into contributors for the Reds, the pair would be extremely exciting to watch.

There are some downsides to the pick however.

Grandal could be a hassle to sign. As Illya Harrell pointed out yesterday, he’s likely to demand a lot of money since he’s one of the most MLB-ready players in the draft.

With the Reds not having a boatload of money to throw around, it could be hard to get him to sign. Cincinnati barely signed Alonso a few years ago, inking him just minutes before the deadline. With the money the Reds have spent on Alonso, Mike Leake, and Aroldis Chapman, the negotiations between Grandal and the Reds could be intense.

Some scouts have said that Grandal will have to improve his bat speed to succeed in the minors and majors, and some are skeptical about his defense.

The Reds used a pick on catcher Devin Mesoraco a few years ago, and he’s coming into his own as he moves through the minors. It seems that Grandal brings more to the table than Mesoraco, however.

Overall, the pick is definitely a solid one for the Redlegs as it’s hard to come across such a talented catching prospect at the No. 12 pick. The polish and hitting ability make the pick particularly appealing.

Let’s hope the Reds can sign him.

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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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It has been 22 years since Arthur Rhodes made his first pitch in professional baseball for Bluefield of the Appalachian League in 1988. Now at the age of 40, the Texas native is the leading setup man in Major League Baseball.

He has allowed only one run in 23 relief appearances in 2010 for a 1-1 record and a 0.42 ERA. He has not allowed a run since his second appearance of the season on April 10 against the Cubs.

Rhodes issued his first walk since May 8 last night when he walked two Cardinals. He has allowed only nine hits in his 21 innings and has posted a 0.69 WHIP, and opponents are hitting only .130 against Rhodes.

For the first 13 years of his major league career, Rhodes pitched nine years for the Orioles and four years for the Mariners.

Since leaving the Mariners he has pitched for the A’s, Indians, Phillies, a second stint with the Mariners, Marlins, and Reds. He missed the entire 2007 season due to Tommy John surgery.

Rhodes has been stingy when it comes to allowing home runs and has allowed only eight home runs since 2004.

He pitched very well for both the Orioles and Mariners in back-to-back seasons. He compiled a 19-4 record for the Orioles over the 1996 and 1997 seasons. Later he would post an 18-4 record over the 2001 and 2002 seasons for the Mariners.

When Rhodes played his first season for the Orioles he only earned $100,000, and in his sixth season with the Orioles he was only earning $300,000. Today a first-year player earns over $400,000, but Rhodes didn’t earn that much till his seventh season, when he earned $1.6 million.

The Reds are currently one game ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central race, and Rhodes has been a big part of their success.

Around the Diamond

The Braves extended their winning streak to seven games after defeating the Phillies again last night.

While the Braves have the longest winning streak in the majors, the Diamondbacks have the longest losing streak with nine consecutive losses. A.J. Hinch, who took over the managerial reins for the Diamondbacks last season, may be replaced since the team has been 78-108 with him at the helm, and he has shown no sign of being able to turn the team around.

In his defense, though, the Diamondbacks have been without the services of Brandon Webb, 2006 Cy Young winner and the runner-up in 2007 and 2008, since he has thrown only four innings since 2008.

The Rangers moved into a one percentage point lead over the A’s yesterday. The Red Sox are only a half game behind the third-place Blue Jays in the AL East.

Javier Vazquez won his fourth game of the 2010 season last night. He didn’t win his fourth game till May 20 in 2009, so he has to be hoping he can put together another 10-3 record in the second half to make up for his dismal start in 2010. However, his ERA was 3.58 at this time last season but is currently 6.06.

Trevor Hoffman allowed three runs in the seventh inning to the Marlins when he allowed three hits and two walks, as the Marlins broke a 3-3 tie to take a 6-3 lead and eventually defeated the Brewers 6-4. It was the third time in his last seven appearances that Hoffman gave up three runs.

Hoffman has allowed 22 runs and 25 hits in 17 innings while striking out 10 and walking 10. Two years ago he had a strikeout to walk ratio of 46-9 in 54 innings but has walked 10 already this season in 37 fewer innings. He is proving not only that he cannot close games, but also that he cannot hold a lead if he enters the game before the ninth inning.

The Brewers are in a quandary since they would probably like to release him now but would like to pay him as little of the $7.5 million owed as possible depending on whether he has a guaranteed contract. One thing for sure is that it is very unlikely he will garner his 600th save since he still needs four more. I can’t see any team wanting his services since he has a 2.06 WHIP.

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Dusty Baker has always been criticized for overusing his starting pitching. Critics point to Kerry Wood and Mark Prior as exhibits A and B. Then there is the whole fiasco with Aaron Harang in May of ’08.

I always thought he got a raw deal on that label. Wood’s delivery made him destined to screw up his arm, and Prior was simply a one-and-a-half-year wonder. Harang seems fine mechanically; he just hasn’t been able to avoid the home run ball.

Homer Bailey has recently been placed on the DL, and the critics are starting to blame Baker again. But his shoulder injury has nothing to do with Dusty, and Bailey looks to be ready to go in 15 days. Bailey himself got angry with the media when they tried connecting those dots.

The real problem for Baker and the Reds: his over-reliance on the back end of the bullpen. Sure, seemingly every game has come down to the final few innings. Sure, the Reds boast one of the best setup men in the league. But Arthur Rhodes, Nick Masset, and Francisco Cordero are all on pace to set personal records for appearances.

The 40-year-old Rhodes, who just pitched in his 800th career game, is on pace to pitch in a career-high 74 games. It’s hard not to use a guy with a 0.47 ERA and 0.62 WHIP. The problem is that he is ancient in baseball years and needs more rest if the Reds plan on using him in September.

The 28-year-old Masset hasn’t pitched well of late, blowing two games in the past week. Yet he is still a reliable setup man that can provide key outs in the eighth inning of a tight game. Giving up an Opening Day grand slam to the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina has left Masset’s 7.29 ERA as bloated as a Goodyear blimp.

He is projected to pitch in a whopping 88 games. That is 14 more than his career high of last year. He has closer velocity, but injuries are certainly a concern if he keeps this rate up.

Cordero, the $12M, 11-year veteran, has not been his usual dominant self this season. The 35-year-old “Co Co” has already blown three saves—he blew a total of four saves last year.

Is it because of his workload? His current career high in appearances is 77. This year Dusty has him on a pace for 90 games! That’s waaay too many. Sure, he’s on pace to have 54 saves, but there is no way his arm doesn’t fall off before that. In a five-game stretch last week, he pitched in four of them.

Why hasn’t Baker used the overpaid Mike Lincoln more? He’s only pitched three times since May 8. His ERA is a fat 5.87, but that is the result of two rough outings. Give him the ball a bit more to relieve the relievers.

What about Carlos Fisher? Pitching only twice since May 7, he hasn’t had a chance to deflate his 9.39 ERA. He has been better of late and is another fine candidate for a bigger part of the winning formula. After starting off the year on the DL, Fisher is 100 percent, young (27), and hungry for a bigger role. Why not give him a shot?

But the biggest head scratcher of the bunch is the lack of use of Micah Owings. I assume Baker views him as the long reliever, but why not utilize him more often? On pace for only 77 innings, the former starter threw 119.2 innings last year—including a stint on the DL. Clearly this guy has plenty of juice in his arm still. A perfect 3-0, and he averages a strikeout per inning so far.

The 27-year-old righty has a 3.43 ERA and is also a legitimate threat at the plate. Dusty always tiptoes around the pitcher’s spot in the batting owner, and Owings is an easy solution. Why can’t he be relied upon more often?

Baker has a bad rap for screwing up starting pitchers’ arms. Yet the real problem may be the lack of rest for the meat of the bullpen. Rhodes and Cordero are getting to the twilight of their careers and are being worked harder than ever. The results have shown lately in the multiple blown leads over the past week.

The time is now to ease up on them and give some of the others a larger role. If not, Baker could have a new title: reliever wrecker.

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Remember that scene in the movie Bull Durham when Crash Davis (aka Kevin Costner) tells the manager what he should do to get his team to respond? Funny, you see those kinds of tricks work in the movies.

But believe it or not, the Cincinnati Reds manager may have hit a home run of his own with such a tantrum back in April.

If you don’t remember from the movie, Crash Davis tells the manager to remember that the guys are just a bunch of kids, and that you have to scare them to get them to listen.

The manager then goes ballistic, throws baseball bats all over the clubhouse, and rips the team for lollygagging , not being committed, and playing like horse pooh. Magically, the team responds, and they live happily ever after.

ANYWAY, back to reality. On April 24 , after the Reds were shut out by San Diego five to nil, Dusty Baker let them have it. And they deserved it.

Cincinnati produced all of four hits (to go along with being shut out), had three base running errors (caught stealing twice), Drew Stubbs lost track of how many outs there were, and starter Johnny Cueto added a wild pitch and hit a batter to a so-so mound performance. After this fiasco the Reds had all of seven wins to go along with 11 losses.

According to an article on Cincinnati.com from April 25 Baker was asked about the so-called closed door meeting with his bunch of lollygaggers . His response: “Anybody that’s a parent knows that sometimes you’ve got to chastise your child,” Baker said. “Even though you spank ’em, you still love ’em. It’s over now.”

Dusty had seen this poor play all to often, “It wasn’t just yesterday (April 24 ), it was a number of things,” Baker said. “You just gotta keep teaching and preaching.” He went on to say, “It’s not through lack of effort, it’s proper effort.” It was obvious to everyone.

Funny, Baker hasn’t been there long enough to understand that this is the type of play Reds fans have seen for the last 10 years. Surprisingly enough, the Reds actually took to Dusty’s get-your-butt-in-gear-or-get-out firestorm. Cincinnati has gone 16-5 since that time, had an 11-game errorless streak, and is playing the type of ball Reds fans enjoyed prior to 2000.

They have even produced some wins that still make me question whether or not I actually saw it, including Tuesday’s (May 18 ) come from behind 5-4 victory over Milwaukee where they scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth (four runs total in the final two innings)!

Not only are the Reds playing like winners, they are also playing the part. On ESPN Radio’s Baseball Tonight Monday night (May 17 ), rookie pitcher Mike Leake spoke with ESPN’s Chuck Wilson. The interview sounded like Wilson was conversing with a 10-year veteran: no frills, no over-the-top statements…just baseball.

Leake credited his success to watching and learning from the veterans (Bronson Arroyo, Aaron Harang, and others) and pretending like you have been there before. Wow, it was refreshing to hear.

For those of you who still don’t believe, or are just waiting for the Reds to hit the brick wall (don’t worry, we’ve seen it all to often), I think you need to reconsider.

Or maybe rent Bull Durham and scare yourself at how eerily similar that flick from 1988 resembles the Cincinnati Reds of 2010.

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