Red Reporter: FanPosts

NLCS GAME 3

nlt-andrew68 — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:30:07 -0000

Time for a new game thread, since the last one was on Friday.

vs. .

Starting pitchers Hiroki Kuroda vs Jamie Moyer

The Dodgers need a strong response to the Phillies to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole from which no NL team has ever escaped in a playoff series. The only AL team to do it was Ramirez's Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.

blah blah blah 75 words yet ?? blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

A day at the ballpark

Daedalus — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:35:56 -0000

via 3.bp.blogspot.com

I haven't been around here much since the death of my laptop in June. You're probably thinking, well, why doesn't she just get another one? Ha! Try doing that with no salary! Ha! Seriously, though, I'm sticking around Ohio until Our Holy Election Day to help out with The Campaign, and though I do get a little bit of dough for that, it sure ain't enough for a new computer!

If you are a UC student, you might have taken one of our shuttles last week to the Hamilton County Board of Elections. You might have seen a short woman with a Reds shirt and Reds cap running around campus trying to meet with people who could help spread the word that we were driving voters to vote (over 500 for the week!) You might have seen her at Baba Budan's - here's a shout out to those folks because they were awesome to us! Go there! I missed most of the division playoffs because of Golden Week, but as the Reds weren't playing, I didn't care much, though I was hoping to see Griffey get to the ALCS. And I wanted the Sausages. I suppose I shouldn't say outloud that I want the Phillies and the Rays, because every team I root for seems to lose.

via 3.bp.blogspot.com

Anyway, I wanted to post something because I'm in the mood for posting things because I have nothing to do until the game starts, and I thought I'd share some photos of the rally at Fifth Third Field on Thursday for those of you who haven't seen them. I've never seen such a line to get into a ballpark as I did at 9am on Thursday morning.

via 2.bp.blogspot.com

It felt awesome to enter the ballpark, and had there been a ballgame, my seats would have been awesome! I was in the second row behind home plate while Barack stood above the pitcher's mound.

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

I don't think I can adequately describe with words the excitement I felt that morning - I got to combine two of the things I love the most - baseball and social justice, and the fact that Senator Obama enters a rally to a U2 song, well, three of my favorite things were evident that morning.

via 4.bp.blogspot.com

There are a few more photos on my blog Church of Baseball and also at my other blog, washingtonrox. That was the blog I started with before I got fed up with politics, but I've started writing there again, so if you are pro-Barack or even respectfully McCain (not bringing monkeys into Palin rallies, for example), feel free to come visit and comment.

Being at the ballpark sure made me wish I could go to a Reds game. I'd even watch Corey Patterson to be able to watch Reds baseball.

Time to start drinking: There's a game on soon!

Gray — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:41:21 -0000

Yeah, I know, I find it hard to care about this, but the Dodgers and Phillies are playing. Does anybody have any good reason why I should support one team or another?

You could read the crappy yahoo game preview here. I bet it's thrilling. I don't really know, since I haven't actually read it myself...

Or we could just talk about politics or the economy or the Office or something. And what's everybody drinking? I'm avoiding the beer so far since I'm actually attempting to get some work done, but don't let me keep you from drinking...

A friendly reminder to keep the NFL action going

BK — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:57:14 -0000

With Slyde already taking down the Survivor pool, we've decided to open up two more pools: a pick'em pool and another survivor pool. Both will be hosted on Yahoo.

Here's the info:

Pick’em:
League ID: 77077
Password: redlegs

Survivor 2.0:
League ID: 33227
Password: redlegs

Just click on the above link to sign up. As a clarification on how they work, the survivor pool works exactly like the previous one did, with all teams unlocked for Week 6. Pick one team to win, if your team wins, you stay alive, if not, you're out, and you can't pick the same week twice. As far as the pick'em pool goes, you pick the outcome of every game, and assign confidence points, from 1 to how ever many games there are. For example, there are 14 games this week, so every game picked would be assigned a value, 1 to 14. At the end of the week, you get the number of points you assigned to every game, and the total determines your score for the week.

Bako Gone

Man Mountain — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:01:46 -0000

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081008/SPT04/810080352/1071/spt04

Fay reports on Jocketty's "decision":

He hasn't talked to representatives for Corey Patterson and Paul Bako, and he probably won't.

"We're going to move on," Jocketty said. "In the case of Bako, we're looking to improve the catching. (Ryan) Hanigan had a good year. We're probably going to go younger."

and gets some passive-aggressive kicking in as well:

Patterson and Bako were two players fans loved to hate this year. Both also played for manager Dusty Baker in Chicago. Both signed late at Baker's urging.

Let the days of feasting continue apace.....

2009 Frick Finalists Named & Votto is Rookie of the Month

Caleb — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:46:06 -0000

Once again Joe Nuxhall is back on the ballot. Hopefully this is the year. The winner will be announced on December 9. I can't think of a better way to kick of RedsFest.

This is from Reds.Com:

CINCINNATI -- The late Joe Nuxhall's iconic personality with Reds fans continues to endure.

There was more evidence of that fact on Monday when Nuxhall was again listed among the National Baseball Hall of Fame's 10-person group of finalists for the annual Ford C. Frick Award by virtue of popular voting.

A record total of 145,138 votes were cast during September's balloting on baseballhall.org. Nuxhall led the way by receiving 19,547 votes and will be joined on the final ballot by Jacques Doucet, who broadcast Expos games in French for 34 years. Doucet finished with 10,282 votes. Blue Jays broadcasting great Tom Cheek was third with 8,992 votes.

Fans were permitted to cast votes for as many as three broadcasters once daily. During balloting, rallies were held to support Nuxhall's candidacy in his hometown of Fairfield, Ohio.

The other seven Frick finalists -- Billy Berroa, Ken Coleman, Dizzy Dean, Lanny Frattare, Tony Kubek, Graham McNamee and Dave Van Horne -- were named by a Hall of Fame research committee.

The winner of the 2009 Ford Frick Award will be announced on Dec. 9 during the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. Voting will be performed by a 20-member electorate comprised of the 15 living Frick Award winners, including 2000 honoree and Nuxhall partner Marty Brennaman, and five historians or columnists.

EARLY VOTING

justin007000 — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:15:58 -0000

Well early voting has begun in Ohio. Lets have a fun non-baseball releated activity and hold elections of our own at RR. I think we really outta get 1 electoral vote. I consult the Constitution and get us a vote. If the candidate wins RR, and loses the general elections we can give them Boobs and Slydes jobs respecitivly. Remember voting is a basic American right. Please be sure to use your fake vote. Consider this a dry run.

*Note since I and the Reds are in Ohio, I choose the candidates on the Ohio ballot.

One other public service reminder. Today is the last day you can register to vote in the State of Ohio. If you haven't done that yet and you are 18 and haven't commited a felony go out and do it. Even if you don't like Obama or McCain, you don't have to vote for them, vote for the Constitution Party if it floats your boat. If everybody voted for a 3rd party candidate when they didn't like either main stream candidate, it would send a message to the two parties in charge and could even un-seat them.

Poll

Who do you vote for President and Vice President?

Saturday CFB thread?

Cy Schourek — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:47:24 -0000

not sure if anyone else wanted to talk about it, but I know I sure do. So is Penn State for real?

Other things going on: His Tebowness is playing at Arkansas, and the smoking, heaping, remains of West Virginia play Rutgers, leading my favorite "type" from here at UMaryland (West Maryland hicks) versus my least fave (Dirty Jerseys).

Evan Royster looks damned fast though. He just hasn't hurdled anyone yet.

Is this 75 words yet?

RR Survivor Pool Week 5

BK — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:38:58 -0000

5 weeks in and it comes down to this. Slyde vs. Man Mountain for the championship.

Here's the teams that each of you can't pick:

Slyde: Eagles, Giants, Bills, Saints

MM: Panthers, Steelers, Titans, Jaguars

Let's keep it clean, gentlemen.

Also, since this didn't even last for half of the season, there's been a lot of talk about starting up another NFL related game. If anybody has a good idea about this, post it in the comments.

Two Reds in International League Top 20

Thundering Turtle — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:00:30 -0000

Bruce at No. 1 and Homer at No. 1, fans and fannies. Here's the list:

1. Jay Bruce, of, Louisville (Reds)
2. Andrew McCutchen, of, Indianapolis (Pirates)
3. Wade Davis, rhp, Durham (Rays)
4. Reid Brignac, ss, Durham (Rays)
5. Jed Lowrie, ss, Pawtucket (Red Sox)
6. David Huff, lhp, Buffalo (Indians)
7. Neil Walker, 3b, Indianapolis (Pirates)
8. Denard Span, of, Rochester (Twins)
9. Charlie Morton, rhp, Richmond (Braves)
10. Homer Bailey, rhp, Louisville (Reds)
11. David Purcey, lhp, Syracuse (Blue Jays)
12. Kevin Mulvey, rhp, Rochester (Twins)
13. Matt Joyce, of, Toledo (Twins)
14. Brandon Moss, of/1b, Pawtucket (Red Sox)
15. J.A. Happ, lhp, Lehigh Valley (Phillies)
16. Jeff Niemann, rhp, Durham (Rays)
17. Brandon Jones, of, Richmond (Braves)
18. Collin Balester, rhp, Columbus (Nationals)
19. Brett Gardner, of, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees)
20. Chris Getz, ss/2b, Charlotte (White Sox)

Micah Owings

homerun21 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:02:54 -0000

How does he fit into the Reds plans next season? Possible #5 starter? The Reds only used him as a pinch hitter this year I know, not sure if he was injured or what the story was. The top 4 spots seem to be pretty much sewn up. Harang, Volquez, Arroyo, Cueto...after that it's anyone's guess. Would like to see Bailey step forward but I really think he gets traded this off-season. Just was curious.

I Love IT!

kennythered — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:54:27 -0000

More funny videos like the "Jay Bruce Almighty" at Heavy.com

It may have already been posted but its still worth another watch!!

We Love You Bruce and can't wait to watch you hit 30+ w/ 100+ RBI for 10 or so years!

He's not the Pearl from Tennessee,
He's not the Boss from New Jersey,
He's not the Earle from Ohio State,
But his name is Bruce and his game is great,

He don't sing in commercials like Bronson Arroyo,
He hits homers like Griffey and Dunn,
And he gives us more reason to have hope this season,
Cause we all believe he's the one,
Who was called up from Louisville to live out and fulfill,
His destiny truly and mighty,
So in praise of his name I now stand and proclaim,
He is Jay Bruce Almighty,

He's not the Lee who was strong and lean,
He's not the Willis on the big screen,
He's not the Isaac who plays football,
But his name is Bruce and I stand in awe

He don't sing in commercials like Bronson Arroyo,
He hits homers like Griffey and Dunn,
And he gives us more reason to have hope this season,
Cause we all believe he's the one,
Who was called up from Louisville to live out and fulfill,
His destiny truly and mighty,
So in praise of his name I now stand and proclaim,
He is Jay Bruce Almighty ...

Reds Fans Really ARE the Smartest in Baseball!

Brendanukkah — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:32:19 -0000

Fans of Pete Rose and Ryan Freel could have told you this years ago, but there's a new internet article (chance that it's flawed - 0%) that says sliding headfirst is the faster way to go.

Lone nut, er, respected engineer David A. Peters of Washington University explains why:

The reasons that it's faster to lead off with your noggin all have to do with physics, Peters said.

Specifically, it's a matter of the player's center of gravity (or center of mass) — essentially the point where gravity exerts its tug. For most people, their center of gravity is right around the stomach area, Peters said.

Whenever you leave the ground, no matter which end of your body you lead with, your center of gravity will move forward with the speed (and momentum) you left the ground with, Peters explained.

Two factors make you reach the base sooner if you dive head-first, Peters told LiveScience. One is that your arms are lighter than your legs, which means that as your body rotates, your arms are going to extend out farther than would your legs. Also, because your feet are still pushing off the ground as you dive, you can get a little extra acceleration.

Of course, sliding head first also means you have the possibility of going past the bag (cuz you're going so fast!), while sliding feet first will let you pop up at second base, like a ball off Corey Patterson's bat. Sliding head first also means you're really sliding hands first, and can lead to jammed fingers. So really, it seems like the advantages of a faster slide are mitigated by these potential hazards.

But that sort of hand-wringing is for girls and Cardinals fans. The most important thing about sliding head first is that is merely a manifestation of your entire playing philosophy: BALLS OUT, BITCHES!

So there you go. The people at Washington University are no smarter than Ryan Freel. And no, they didn't reject me. I turned them down! ...jerks.

No Reds in Southern League Top 20

Thundering Turtle — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:39:00 -0000

It's not that the Reds didn't have talent at Chattanooga. The Southern League simply was very deep in talent. Some Reds -- Valaika, Dorn, Heisey, Lecure, Manuel and Geronimo -- likely were strongly considered for the Top 20. Here's the list:

1. Clayton Kershaw, lhp, Jacksonville (Dodgers)
2. David Price, lhp, Montgomery (Rays)
3. Cameron Maybin, of, Carolina (Marlins)
4. Matt LaPorta, of, Huntsville (Brewers)
5. Alcides Escobar, ss, Huntsville (Brewers)
6. Chris Volstad, rhp, Carolina (Marlins)
7. Mat Gamel, 3b, Huntsville (Brewers)
8. Michael Saunders, of, West Tenn (Mariners)
9. Tommy Hanson, rhp, Mississippi (Braves)
10. Wade Davis, rhp, Montgomery (Rays)
11. Chris Coghlan, 2b, Carolina (Marlins)
12. Jeremy Hellickson, rhp, Montgomery (Rays)
13. Jordan Schafer, of, Mississippi (Braves)
14. James McDonald, rhp, Jacksonville (Dodgers)
15. Ivan DeJesus, ss, Jacksonville (Dodgers)
16. Jake McGee, lhp, Montgomery (Rays)
17. Angel Salome, c, Huntsville (Brewers)
18. Michael Brantley, cf, Huntsville (Brewers)
19. Adam Moore, c, West Tenn (Mariners)
20. Luis Valbuena, 2b, West Tenn (Mariners)

Thank You RR

jmgard6 — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:09:42 -0000

I have been a Reds fan for 24 years and going into the 2008 season, I had higher expectations than for any year since the 2000 season. Heading into February and March I was anxious to read anything I could on the Reds and this led me to drop in one day to RedReporter. I think I have visited the site 4 times a week since.

This season has been a disappointment to say the least. An underperforming offence, inconsistent pitching and very questionable coaching and managing decisions plagued this team all year, along with injuries to guys just as they got on a roll. This season has been as frustrating to be a fan as any I can remember.

Despite that, I can say that i enjoyed this season immensely, and a lot of it had to do with the perspective and knowledge that I have gained by reading this site. With few exceptions, every consistent contributor to these posts have given me more insight into not the only my beloved Reds, but into the game of baseball as a whole. So for that I want to thank everyone who has posted, facilitated, or contributed to this site. I look forward to it during the offseason.

"Chemical Irritant" "disrupts" Ramadan service in Dayton

andromache — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:50:37 -0000

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/09/27/ddn092608evacweb.html

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/09/27/ddn092708islamicweb.html

A couple points - DailyKos is tying this to the major distribution of 'Obsession: Radical Islam's War against the West' DvDs being included in newspapers.

Also, these articles are both very careful about the language they use. For an industry that's supposed to love sensationalism, I don't think that something like "TERRORISTS GAS CHILDREN AT RELIGIOUS SERVICE" would be all that reasonable. The headline they use almost imply that it was an accident.

And really? No evidence that this was a hate crime? Maybe he just means no other evidence has been found, but the mere fact that the attack was directed a specific religious group is evidence of a hate crime.

Jocketty: Reds need RHB

sidnancy — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:20:45 -0000

I've got yer analysis right here, buddy.

Evidently, Jockety thinks the team's #1 need is a RH bat (of course, that's from Fay's blog; hell, it could have been Jobba the Hutt that Fay talked to for all we know). The boy(s) over at MLBTR throw out the following names:

Adrian Beltre: Will be 30 years old. Will make $12M next year, then a FA. While he's a plus defender (+22.3 RAR by JinAZ through Sept. 5, best among 3B), he hits about as well as EdE. Of course, EdE is 4 years younger and about $9M cheaper next year.

Manny Ramirez: Will be 37. His age-36 season was one for the books, 8th best by OPS+ behind famous juicers Bonds, Ruth, Williams, McGwire, Anson, Dickey, Musial, and tied with McCovey. He's going to command multiple years at $20M+ per. JinAZ has his defense at -10.9 in the AL, -2.2 with the Dodgers (and that's compared to the general drivel that gets run out to LF every day).

Pat Burrell: Will be 32. A nice hitter, but not what I'd term a real impact bat. His defense is about average (1.8), which frankly surprises me.

Magglio Ordonez: Will be 35. With 461 PA next year, his contract becomes guaranteed through '11 for $51M. Almost as bad as Manny defensively (-9.1).

Matt Holliday: Will be 29. Will be a free agent after '09. You know my position - if they think they can sign him long-term, acquire him if at all possible. A good defender (9.2).

In short, I (obviously) don't like most of the list - a guy who doesn't address the stated purpose, even though he's older and much more expensive than the guy who's already there; an old, very expensive FA who would be a severe defensive liability; a not quite as (1) old, (b) expensive, or (c) good FA; a hideously expensive older player who would be a defensive liability; and Matt Holliday.

I agree that a big RH bat would do wonders for this team; I just hope whatever Jockety does it doesn't either gut the minors for mediocrity or cost a bazillion dollars for past glory.

NLDS Thread

ken — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:38:50 -0000

It's a couple of days early, but here's a quick rundown of the National League's upcoming series for anyone else that's bored at work.

Brewers vs. Phillies

MIL: 90-72. 750 RS (7th); 689 RA (4th). Pythag: 87-75.

PHL: 92-70. 799 RS (2nd); 680 RA (3rd). Pythag: 93-69.

Wednesday, 3:00. Suppan/Bush/Gollardo* v. Hamels

Thursday, 6:00. CC v. Myers/Moyer.

Saturday, 6:30. Suppan/Bush/Gollardo v. Myers/Moyer

Sunday, TBD.

Tuesday, TBD.

I sense that most around here are pulling for the Brewers. How soon we’ve forgotten the final series of the 1999 season, when Bud Selig’s former team played spoiler and knocked our best team since the BRM out of the wildcard. Philly, on the other hand, happily embraced our Pete Rose sloppy seconds and values GRIT like no other market outside of the Queen City.

I’m predicting Philly in 4. They’re peaking at the right time and enter the postseason without any significant injuries. Their biggest weakness – rotation depth – doesn’t matter in a best-of-five. The Brewers’ rotation, on the other hand, has serious questions after Sabathia. Sheets has said that he’s out for the year, which leaves Gollardo (just coming back from knee surgery), Suppan (poor year) and Bush as the likely starters for the other games. Milwaukee does have a potential matchup advantage because they hit lefties (806 OPS; 738 against righties), but that hasn’t translated into success against either Hamels (whom they’ve only faced twice, and done poorly) or Jamie Moyer (111 IP, 3.63 ERA career vs. MIL).

Dodgers v. Cubs

LA: 90-72. 700 RS (13th); 648 RA (1st) Pythag: 87-75.

CHI: 92-70. 855 RS (1st); 671 RA (2nd) Pythag: 98-63.

Wednesday, 6:30. Lowe v. Dempster

Thursday, 9:30. Billingsley v. Zambrano

Saturday, 10:00. Kuroda v. Harden

Sunday, TBD.

Tuesday, TBD.

This one looks like a mismatch, but the Dodgers finished the year strong in adding Manny Ramirez and riding their young pitchers like Billingsley, Broxton and Kershaw along with veterans like Lowe and Saito. I’ll say Cubs in 5, if only to set the stage for a Bartman-esque flameout in the LCS.

* Post-season rosters and rotations haven’t been announced, so these are my guesses

Where's JD??

gg — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:36:28 -0000

Casual visitor and all that I am, I have been wondering about this for a bit. So I waited till after the season ended. But is he still involved? Is everything ok?

Now, I don't want to slight anyone and all the guys (Slyde) who have been picking up that slack have done great. But since this was JD's baby, I was wondering what the heck happened.

And that's about all I have to say about that.

Four Reds in FSL Top 20

Thundering Turtle — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:34:20 -0000

From Baseball America:

1. Rick Porcello, rhp, Lakeland (Tigers)
2. J.P. Arencibia, c, Dunedin (Blue Jays)
3. Logan Morrison, 1b, Jupiter (Marlins)
4. Jeremy Jeffress, rhp, Brevard County (Brewers)
5. Adrian Cardenas, 2b, Clearwater (Phillies)
6. Jeremy Hellickson, rhp, Vero Beach (Rays)
7. Sean West, lhp, Jupiter (Marlins)
8. Wilson Ramos, c, Fort Myers (Twins)
9. Scott Cousins, of, Jupiter (Marlins)
10. Michael Taylor, of, Clearwater (Phillies)
11. Todd Frazier, ss/3b, Sarasota (Reds)
12. Drew Stubbs, of, Sarasota (Reds)
13. Chris Valaika, ss, Sarasota (Reds)
14. Jose Ceda, rhp, Daytona (Cubs)
15. Juan Francisco, 3b, Sarasota (Reds)
16. Taylor Green, 3b, Brevard County (Brewers)
17. Cale Iorg, ss, Lakeland (Tigers)
18. Francisco Samuel, rhp, Palm Beach (Cardinals)
19. Jonathan Lucroy, c, Brevard County (Brewers)
20. Zach McAllister, rhp, Tampa (Yankees)

In the subscriber-only write ups, all four receive plenty of praise, although Valaika and Francisco seem to get more than Frazier and Stubbs, each of whom is ranked higher.