Forget About That Road Trip; the Maturation of a Star

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

A miserable 2-8 road trip seemingly left every Reds fan and player reeling. The pitching has been completely decimated (they've made 15 transactions involving pitchers in the last week, and are starting their 7th different starter in the last 10 games) and the offense has been relegated to the lone bat of Jay Bruce. Even worse was the lack of luck the Reds had, going 0-5 in one run games. Their only two wins came on Tuesday night in Philly, where Bruce broke a 3-3 tie with a three run double, and a 5-1 win in the opener in Atlanta, where Mike Leake threw 6 solid innings. Even with the eight losses, the trip wasn't as bad as it looked on paper, though. Look, they got shellacked the final day in Cleveland 12-4, and the opener in Philly 10-3. Those were definitely ugly. The other 6 losses weren't as bad as they seemed, however. Of course they had the brutally tough 5-4 loss in that 19 inning game last Wednesday. And that game was as ugly as it got. They had 11 hits off of Roy Halladay, including a big game tying two run single from Jay Bruce, but only managed 3 runs. Bruce also homered in the 10th, before Cordero blew it in the bottom of the inning. You know the rest, with Brandon's boneheaded play and Wilson Valdez looking Cy Young, etc. Even the 10-4 loss on Thursday afternoon was somewhat bearable. Why? Because they battled back against Cliff Lee, who had a 4-0 lead, and got him for 10 hits, including a Jay Bruce two run homer (picking up on a theme here?). If it weren't for the fact the bullpen was absolutely gassed, the Reds wouldn't have had to turn to Darryl Thompson, who gave up 5 runs in 3 innings. The kid had just come up from AA, what did you expect? Had Homer Bailey not gotten hurt, the Reds probably could have had a chance to win that game. And the two losses in Atlanta were not bad at all. A 7-6 loss in 12 innings, where the Reds had rallied from down 5-0, and a 2-1 loss on Sunday night, where Johnny Cueto threw a complete game and Jay Bruce homered.

Now, don't get me wrong, I hate losing as much as the next guy, but if anyone thought the Reds would come out of that road trip with a winning record, they were fooling themselves. I was hoping for a .500 trip. There were more than enough opportunities for that to happen. If the Reds win one of those games in Cleveland, win the 19 inning game in Philly, and win the 12 inning game in Atlanta, all of the sudden it doesn't look too bad. If you pick the 2-1 loss in Cleveland, then those three games were all one run losses. Score a few more runs, and the Reds would have split in Philly and taken 2 of 3 from the Braves. It didn't happen, though. Games like the Reds played on that trip even out over the course of the season. We'll see what happens. For now, it looks like the cure for the Reds' woes was to come home to play the Milwaukee Brewers. Despite an NL best 21-7 home record, the Brewers are a brutal 8-18 on the road and are 1-11 in their last 12 at Great American Ball Park. The Reds are a stunning 21-4 in their last 25 games against the Brewers, including 6-1 this season. And Cincy, led by Bruce's three run homer, beat Milwaukee 7-3 last night. Hopefully that dominance will continue tonight, as newcomer Chad Reineke will take the hill for Cincinnati, making his first appearance since August 5, 2009 for the Oakland A's. He will face one of Milwaukee's big offseason acquisitions in Zack Greinke, who is 3-1 with a 5.79 ERA in 28 innings. Greinke also has 39 strikeouts compared to just 3 walks, so the Reds better be prepared to go up swinging.

And he'll be facing a slightly reordered lineup tonight for the Reds, with Jay Bruce and Scott Rolen flipping places in the order. At this point in their careers, Bruce has become more suited to hit behind Votto, while Rolen has only homered 9 times in his last 118 games. As much as I love Scotty, he's not a cleanup hitter any more. Yes, he had a terrific run at it last year. Now, he's more suited to hit 5th or 6th. Let him drive the ball to right center instead of trying to pull the ball to left. Hopefully the change can get Rolen's bat going again. The Reds need it.

Lastly, let's spend some time taking a look at the Reds' new cleanup hitter, Jay Bruce. If Bruce doesn't win the NL Player of the Month, I'll be shocked. He's hit .346 with 12 homers and 32 RBI's. That ties Eric Davis' club record for the most homers in the month of May, and is just two off of Frank Robinson and Greg Vaughn's record for the most in any month. Overall, he's hitting .294 with 16 homers, 43 RBI's, and a .937 OPS (On Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage). He's on pace for 47 and 127. Can anyone else say MVP? But how in the world has this happened? Over August, September and a few days in October last year, Bruce hit 15 bombs with 29 batted in. He also posted batting averages over .326 in each month. But what he did at the end of last year doesn't compare to what he is doing now. So why has Bruce improved so much? He recently stated that it is because of his consistency at the plate, and his pitch recognition. What do the numbers say? (All stats from here.)

The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II

• Bruce's average on batted balls in play has actually fallen 24 points from this year to last year, so it's not like he's been luckier.
• His walk percentage is actually down, too, from 10.1 to 9.3%. That would make one believe he's been less patient. Not true.
• The strikeout percentage is down, as well, from 26.7 to 23.0%. 
• He's making contact on 61% of pitches outside the zone, compared to just 53.7% last year. Thus, Bruce has been able to get to more pitches and foul them off. That wears a pitcher down and gives him a better chance of getting something to hit.
• And making contact has been key for Bruce, who is seeing 1.5% less fastballs, while seeing 2.4% more curveballs and 3.5% more changeups. Fouling off those pitches means more mistakes from the pitchers, and more fastballs to Bruce. And we all know what happens when a pitcher misses his mark with a fastball.
• On those fastballs, Bruce is worth 5.6 runs above the average player. And, if you're thinking about getting him out with a slider, he has actually improved from below average to 3.2 runs above average.
• Lastly, Bruce is hitting .381 against lefties, the biggest reason that Dusty cannot be afraid to bat him behind Joey. There aren't many lefties around that can get both of them out (Votto is hitting .426 against lefties and .299 for his career.)

Clearly, Jay has improved greatly overall as a player. His ability to hit consistently for the rest of the year will lead to better pitches to hit for Joey Votto. At this point, a pitcher would rather walk Votto and go after Rolen. Now, Jay is actually hitting better than Joey. And we all know Votto won't stay down for much longer, if you can even call a .330 average down. For opponents now, it's time to pick your poison. 

Reeling Reds Hit the City of Brotherly Love

That went exactly as I feared. Since sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals, the Reds have struggled mightily. They're 2-5 since the sweep, including losing those 5 games in a row. The two wins came as gifts from the Chicago Cubs, who simply imploded in their two games in the Queen City. One game, Cubs' ace Carlos Zambrano was cruising through 5 innings of one hit ball when the wheels fell off. The Reds reached 10 straight batters and scored 7 runs to win 7-4. The following night was an absolute joke, and showed the incompetence with which the Chicago Cubs play baseball. A pair of errors allowed the Reds to score 7 unearned runs - 1 off of an error by Carlos Pena, 2 off of an error by Matt Garza who threw a ball into the camera well, and 4 more after Kerry Wood threw a ball down the left field line. The fact that the Cubs can still call themselves a Major League team is embarrassing.

The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

Next came a two game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates. A complete game shutout by Pirates' starter Charlie Morton should have come as no surprise, considering he threw a complete game against them on April 15. In that game, he didn't give up a run until the 9th inning on a Jay Bruce home run. This time, he made it look easy, only needed 106 pitches to toss the shutout. And there wasn't anything special that he did. Like some of the great sinker ball pitchers, he kept it low and got 15 ground ball outs, compared to just 7 fly ball outs. Morton is 5-1 with a 2.62 ERA, a year after he went 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA. The kid has a filthy fastball that moves everywhere. And he changes speeds on it. Over the offseason, he watched video of Roy Halladay and patterned his new delivery and gameplan after him. I'd say it's working so far. The next day represented Johnny Cueto's first bad start of the year, as he walked 3 and gave up 3 runs in 5 innings of work. Meanwhile, James McDonald was on his game and handcuffed the Reds over 6 2/3 innings of work. A pair of Jay Bruce homers weren't enough en route to a 5-3 loss.

AP Photo/Tony Dejak

None of those losses to the Pirates, however, stung as much as the sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Indians. I don't know why I'm upset over those games, it's not like Cleveland is bad. In fact, they are the best (record-wise) in baseball at 29-15 with a +66 run differential. I don't know. Something tells me the Indians aren't for real, probably just because I can't name a ton of people on their roster. I know, I know, that's a crappy reason to not believe in them. I just don't. Sorry. None of their pitchers have a track record other than Fausto Carmona, who has only shown that he can be inconsistent. Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner are important pieces to that team, and I don't know if they can stay healthy. Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana, and Shin-Soo Choo are talented players as well, but how will they react to having to carry a team? At the same time, I realize so many people asked these questions about the Reds from last year. I'm not buying into the Indians yet; let the last 120 or so games play themselves out.

Anyway, back to the games. The Reds coughed up the first two games, after a 4-0 lead in the first, and a 1-0 lead in the 7th inning in the second. Both of them stung a lot, considering the good pitching performances the Reds had. Travis Wood had a no hitter through 5 1/3 innings, and then never got another batter out. In the second game, Homer Bailey took a one hitter into the 6th inning, and was an out away from 7 shutout innings. But he left a fastball out over the plate and Travis Buck hit it out for a 2-1 Indians lead, which would be the final. The last game was an unmitigated disaster. Edinson Volquez coughed up 4 first inning runs, and 7 over 2 2/3 innings. Cincinnati also played hot potato with the baseball, including an embarrassing two run error by Ramon Hernandez after a failed run down by Brandon Phillips.

Getty Images/Joe Robbins

After the start on Sunday, Edinson had this to say, "Everybody has to step up. Start to score some runs. In the last five games, how many runs have we scored? Like 13? That’s not the way we were playing last year. We’re better than that.” Get over yourself Volquez. Really? Blame it on the offense? 21 first inning runs over 11 starts and it's the offense's fault? They've trailed in every single game in which he has pitched. That can't happen, not for a team that considers this guy to be their "ace" and the man they tabbed as the Opening Day Starter. Apparently, Dusty and Walt agreed. Today the Reds shipped Edinson Volquez and Jordan Smith down to Louisville. Hopefully Rick Sweet and Teddy Power can get Edinson straightened out. If not, I doubt he will ever pitch in a Reds' uniform again. The guy has all of the talent in the world, but he doesn't have the same kind of maturity above the shoulders. Coming up are reliever/starter Matt Maloney, and utility man Todd Frazier. Frazier can play outfield and infield, and was the Reds' top prospect in 2010 before the Aroldis Chapman signing. He was hitting .293 with 11 homers down in AAA.

The Volquez issue is hardly the only one this club is dealing with. There's also the question of what to do with Aroldis Chapman, whom the Reds have decided would be better off working out his issues in AAA while recovering from shoulder inflammation. I was asked today if I thought the Chapman signing was a mistake. I'm not sure how I feel about it, honestly. Part of me says yes, simply because of what we have seen so far this year. Also, it's safe to say that Aroldis may never be a starter. The control issues are just too much. He walks three or four in an inning. You don't want to walk three or four in six innings as a starter. The closer role may be out of the question, too, because you don't want someone that wild trying to close out games. The other part of me, however, thinks it's far too early to make conjectures on Chapman. The kid has 26 1/3 innings in the big leagues. That's not enough. I would also like to think that the Reds' brass can help this kid smooth out his delivery, even if it means he can't throw 105 any more. Let's also not forget the kid is still undergoing a culture shock here in the United States. Give him some time to mature. Yes, Jocketty and Castellini spent a great deal of money on the lefty. I think this may have been about more than just the money, though. This was a signal to the fans and baseball that the Reds were committed to winning. It was also about taking a gamble on a once in a lifetime arm. And it was about energizing a fanbase and giving them something to hold on to. Before all of these issues, how many of us would love to walk into a bar somewhere else in the country and walk up to a pair of baseball fans talking about the game, and be able to say that Chapman pitches for OUR team? Yes, it was an extreme gamble. I'm okay with that. You don't hit on all of them. I like the fact that we finally have people that will gamble like Jocketty and Castellini will.

A final issue is Jonny Gomes, who is hitting a miserable .126 since April 16. Throw three straight sliders outside and Jonny will trot back to the dugout having swung at all three. It's brutal watching him right now, and if he ain't swinging a hot bat, he's of no help to this team. Gomes is a fantastic clubhouse guy and a fan favorite. But he can't play left field the same way that Heisey can. And right now he can't hit the way Heisey can. That makes Gomes expendable. I don't think he's done in Cincinnati, though. I'd imagine the Reds will send him to Louisville come Friday when the Reds need a pitcher. Either Mike Leake or Chad Reineke will come up, and one of them, or Sam LeCure, will make the start. I hope Gomes can turn it around, and I know that many other fans would love to see it too.

Getty Images/Joe Robbins

The Reds have fallen to 25-22 now, and are 2 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals, with the Milwaukee Brewers breathing down their neck. The Reds are not too far off from where they were last year, at 27-20. In fact, the pitching has actually been 5 runs better, and the offense 8 runs better, which means the run differential is up by 13. Those would seem to indicate the Reds have actually been a little better this year than last year. All of that aside, Cincinnati is a streaky team. There were several times last year when I believed the other shoe had dropped and the Reds were done. Remember when they started 7-11? Or when they were swept in Seattle, scoring just 1 run in 3 games? Or the 4 game sweep in Philadelphia? How about the fight and sweep at the hands of the Cardinals? Cincy rebounded each time. I think this team is extremely resilient, and will undoubtedly be tested in Philadelphia. As I type, Philly is already up 9-0 in game one against Bronson Arroyo. And with Cole Hamels on the mound, it is pretty much over. Toss in Wednesday and Thursday starts against Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, and Cincinnati could be in trouble. Let's not mention three games that are still left in Atlanta. But the story of this 2011 season hasn't been written yet. There's still 115 games to go. Like the Indians, let's wait this thing out. And don't forget to believe. The Reds' earned the right to have their fans believe in them last year. Don't forget about that. 

Reds Exorcise their Demons, Sweep the Cardinals

In what became a statement series, the Reds swept away their arch-rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, in impressive fashion. Mark this series down, folks. Remember it for the future, because this series may have been the changing of the guard in the NL Central. I don't want to read too much into the sweep - remember, the Cardinals swept the Reds last year and then tanked in August and September - but it's hard not to get excited. The Cardinals have beaten up on the Reds for years, and owned a 14-7 record against the home town nine coming into this weekend since last year. A sweep hardly means the division is the Reds' to lose. It's only May 16th. What the series showed is that the Cardinals are an extremely flawed team and the Reds have the ability to exploit those flaws. They did that, finally getting the monkey that was St. Louis and Chris Carpenter off their back.

The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

It started Friday night. And, in truth, the series changed completely on Friday night, too. Trailing 4-0 in the 6th inning, things looked bleak for the Redlegs. Kyle Lohse was pitching a good game, and the Reds managed little offense. They rallied, though, on the strength of good team offense. In particular, it was Edgar Renteria, who came up with three good at bats late in the game. He doubled home two in the 7th, walked in the 9th to start the Reds' rally that tied the game, and drew a walk to get Joey Votto to the plate in the 10th. Votto delivered a single to right to score Chris Heisey and give the Reds a walk off 6-5 win. The crowd at the game was on their feet more often than not, waving the white rally towels which had been passed out at the gate. It was a playoff type atmosphere at Great American. And the crowd appreciated the effort of the Reds, giving Joey Votto chants of MVP late in the game.

The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

Saturday was definitely meant to be an interesting day, with Johnny Cueto making his first start against the Cardinals since the brawl. One might have expected something to happen in the game. Instead, Johnny Cueto brought his A+ stuff while the Reds played long ball and the Cardinals rolled over. Brandon Phillips drove in three runs, including a homer, and Ramon Hernandez hit 419 and 401 foot shots off of St. Louis starter Kyle McClellan. Cueto delivered 7 2/3 innings of 3 hit, no earned run baseball (the three runs scored in the 8th came after a pair of errors) in route to a 7-3 Reds' win. Cueto was efficient and dominant, getting ground balls and easy outs. No Cardinal reached second base until the 7th inning. He could not have been better, and capped the day off with this ridiculous play.

Sunday was the day where the Reds finally kicked the Cardinals, and their past troubles, to the curb. Chris Carpenter had won 10 of his last 11 starts against the Reds and was taking the hill to avoid the sweep. Carp, though, had not pitched well thus far this year, having won just one game. The Reds actually won a game started by him back in St. Louis, when Travis Wood pitched a good game and Cincy struck against the Cardinals' bullpen. Yesterday, Wood out dueled Carpenter. A pair of early homers put the Reds in a quick hole, but bad defense by the Cardinals and a homer by Ramon Hernandez gave Cincinnati a 3-2 lead. From there, the Reds blew the game open. An RBI triple by Scott Rolen in the 6th and a two run double by Brandon Phillips in the 7th chased Carpenter from the game. Jay Bruce's two run double charged Carpenter with 8 runs (7 earned) on 9 hits. A Chris Heisey homer gave the Reds a 9-2 lead, which they clung to in the 9th when St. Louis scored 5, mainly on Aroldis Chapman's walks. Francisco Cordero struck out Lance Berkman to cap off the sweep. The win was Cincinnati's first against Chris Carpenter since June 6, 2006, when Eric Milton (of all people) beat him 7-0. The victory also gave Cincinnati their first series sweep of St. Louis since September 11-13th of 2007.

AP Photo

Of course, when these two teams meet, it's never just about the game. In the 9th inning, with Albert Pujols representing the tying run, Cordero let an 0-2 fastball get away from him and hit Pujols on the wrist. The Cardinals, apparently, took offense to it. Backup catcher Gerald Laird, acting manager/bench coach Joe Pettini, and pitching coach Dave Duncan were all barking at Cordero from the dugout. Apparently, they believed Cordero intentionally threw at Pujols. On an 0-2 count. With a two run lead. And the .379 batting Holliday coming up. And Reds killer Lance Berkman behind him. Really? Here's what Cordero said, "Out of all the guys that are great hitters, great players, Gerald Laird doesn't even play. He's the one yelling at me because I hit Pujols 0-2. 0-2! I wasn't trying to hit him. I've got to face Holliday next, who can take the lead with one swing, and he's yelling at me." Pujols said of the situation, "I'm pretty sure Francisco didn't try to do that on purpose. He doesn't want to bring the winning run to the plate with two big hitters, Matt and Berkman. It's probably something that slipped. You turn the page and get ready for tomorrow." There you go. Albert Pujols, like the classy man and player he is, understands that things like this in baseball happen. It was an accident. Move on. The Cardinals wouldn't, though. "You pitch away, you pitch in. But you've got to have a clue when you do it, especially against a hitter like Albert," said Joe Pettini. Really? Get over yourself. There was no intention behind the pitch. And since when did the Cardinals invent the rules on pitching inside? Plus, the Reds didn't complain when Hanigan was hit on the hand by a pitch on Friday. The umpires had to ask the Cardinals to leave the dugout after the game. Things like this don't help the Cardinals' case when they don't want to be considered "whiners." This wasn't the only thing that happened this weekend, however. Chris Carpenter was upset because the mound wasn't properly treated. Really? The same mound that Travis Wood threw 6 innings of 2 run ball from? He didn't have issues. And Carpenter also wasn't happy about the lingering smoke from the homer that Ramon Hernandez hit. Well, then maybe you should keep the ball in the yard. Finally, the Cardinals were unhappy that Brandon Phillips seemed to be showboating when he hit the homer on Saturday. He didn't seem to take longer to round the bases. Yes, he touched his hand to his helmet at each base. Guess what? He does that with every homer. The Cardinals believe he saluted their dugout. I think he was giving a gesture to Reds' third base coach, Mark Berry. You be the judge on this. (Go to the 16 second mark to see Phillips' salute.)

AP Photo/Al Behrman

Here's what we learned from the series, starting with Cincinnati. The Reds' offense is better than the Cardinals'. Especially when Scott Rolen is in the lineup. He went 7 for 15 in the series with a double, triple, and 2 RBIs. Since Rolen came over on August 1, 2009, the Reds are 181-133 when he starts. And they are 95-30 when he drives in a run. Rolen lengthens the lineup and gives it more right handed pop. The great Cardinals' pitching was hammered in the series by the Reds, who pounded 22 runs on 36 hits. Let's not forget the pitching. Since Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto have returned to the rotation, Reds' starters are 7-0 with a 2.00 ERA. And the bullpen, other than Aroldis Chapman, has been terrific. And how sweet was it to see Brandon Phillips kill the Cardinals in each game? He drove in the tying run Friday, drove in three on Saturday, and knocked Carpenter out of the game on Sunday. Beat them with your play, not your mouth. That's what Phillips did all weekend.


The Cardinals, meanwhile, appear to be an absolute mess. Yes, they have a tremendous offense, and pretty good pitching. But unless the Cardinals' pitchers suddenly become strikeout artists and the offense can put up ridiculous numbers all year, a porous defense will come back to bite them. They have the second most errors in the NL and the most unearned runs given up. This isn't a good way of measuring that though. There isn't a good way, in fact. Lance Berkman and Colby Rasmus misplayed multiple balls in right and center throughout the series. Carpenter failed to back up third base on a bad throw by Jon Jay. Ryan Theriot let several ground balls get by him on Saturday. Nick Punto and Tyler Greene had no communication on a ball up the middle on Friday, and it got through for a hit. Greene misplayed a ball on Sunday that cost them a run. Albert Pujols committed an error. It's bad for St. Louis. Holliday, Rasmus, Berkman, Theriot, Descalso, Punto, and Greene are all below average fielders. Skip Schumaker, when he comes back, is below average at second too. And when you have contact pitchers like Lohse, Carpenter, McClellan, Garcia, and Westbrook, a good defense is necessary. St. Louis doesn't have that. And I don't even want to get into that bullpen. Batista, Franklin, and Miller are all terrible relievers. The rest of the bullpen is far too inconsistent. They lead the NL in blown saves. And they were a disaster in this series. The Reds fed off of their poor pitching to come back and blow games open. 


Finally, all of the complaining and crying by St. Louis is ridiculous. You don't like Brandon Phillips? Don't like that Johnny Cueto was pitching a heck of a game? Brush them back, then. Make a statement. Otherwise, the Reds will keep walking all over you. The Cardinals have no one to blame, but themselves. Want to make a statement? Stop complaining. Win a game. 

37 Games In, What Have We Learned?

You would think with it being summer and all, I could find the time to write this blog more often. My bad. And now I find myself in the tedious position of having to catch up on all the games I haven't talked about since the opener of a series in St. Louis weeks ago. Well, I'm not going to recap those games for you. Instead, let's get into some other topics dealing with the Reds.

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Thirty seven games into the season, the Cincinnati Reds sit at 20-17. Last year, at this many games into the season, the Reds sat at 21-16. So, not much of a difference. As a team, they are hitting .263, with 44 homers, 185 RBIs, 31 stolen bases, and 189 runs scored. They lead the league in homers, are third in average, second in runs scored, and second in stolen bases. In other words, without getting into the sabermetrics of it all, the Reds' offense has been fairly prolific. The offense that led the league in almost every category last year seems to be up to that par, again. And the Reds might be clicking at the same time they did last year, too. It was on the 37th game last year when Cincinnati took first place, and if the Cardinals lose today, Cincy will be just a 1/2 game back going into a big weekend series against St. Louis. Last year, it was a weekend series against the Cardinals when the Reds grabbed first place. Sound familiar? Last year they were 14-15 before they reeled off 9/10 to take first place. Through the 30 game mark this year, they sat at 15-15, just like last season. They've won 6 out of 8, including going 4-2 on the road trip, after slumping horribly after the 5-0 start. So who is this team? The one that took off like last year, and played well early and lately this year? Or the one that slumped at 10-15 after the 5-0 start? I tend to believe its going to be the same story as last year, and it all has to do with the pitching.



AP/Pat Sullivan

 It was this time last year when the pitching finally began to click. Remember the back to back complete game shutouts by Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto? Or the three complete games in 6 days by the club? Reds starters went 15-4 last May, and the club posted a solid 3.84 ERA. So what was the solution to this year's team's ailing starting rotation? Cueto and Bailey. Homer is 2-0 in his first two starts, throwing 13 innings of 9 hit one walk baseball. He's given up one run in those two starts (both against the Astros) and struck out 12. Cueto went 6 shutout innings against the Cubbies in his debut, striking out 4 and giving up just 5 hits. Take a look at the Reds last 8 starts:

5/4: Travis Wood: 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 7 Ks, 4 BB (No Decision - Win)
5/5: Homer Bailey: 6 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 7 Ks, 1 BB (Win)
5/6: Edinson Volquez: 5 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 Ks, 4 BB (Win)
5/7: Bronson Arroyo: 7 1/3 innings, 7 hits, 1 run, 3 Ks, 2 BB (No Decision - Loss)
5/8: Johnny Cueto: 6 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 4 Ks, 1 BB (Win)
5/9: Travis Wood: 6 2/3 innings, 6 hits, 0 runs, 6 Ks, 1 BB (Win)
5/10: Homer Bailey: 7 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 5 Ks, 0 BB (Win)
5/11: Edinson Volquez: 4 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, 3 Ks, 5 BB (No Decision - Loss)



AP Photo/Pat Sullivan



Anyone else see the glaring weakness in this rotation? Yes, it's the Opening Day starter, Edinson Volquez. How he is 3-1 is beyond me. The batting average against him is just .242. He's averaging almost a strikeout an inning at 8.72, but he has also walked 33 batters to go with those 41 strikeouts. That means He's only averaging 1.24 strikeouts per walks. When he won 17 games, that number was 2.22. Also, batters aren't just drawing more walks, they're hitting him harder: the slugging percentage against Volquez is .425, whereas it was .351 when he was an All Star. He's also averaging a pitch more per inning this year than he did in his little time the past two years and from 2008. This, along with the walks, is why he is averaging just 5 1/3 innings this year, compared to a little over 6 innings in 2008. Look, I like Volquez. I like his stuff, too. I will even defend the Josh Hamilton trade, which is tough since Hamilton is my favorite player. But, the Reds made the right move, at the time. We had all seen too many summers die early at Great American because people like Eric Milton, Paul Wilson, Brandon Claussen, and Dave Williams were taking the hill. Those guys didn't have the stuff to get minor leaguers out. Volquez, when right, can make Albert Pujols look foolish. I get it. You win with pitching, which the Reds didn't have. They had offense, and more on the way. Wayne Krivsky knew that. Now, it's up to Bryan Price and Dusty Baker to fix Volquez. And trust me, no one wants to throw strikes more than Edinson. Remember the extension he turned down in the winter? Think he regrets that now? No way he's getting that kind of offer again this offseason. Other than him, the last turn and a half through the rotation has been extremely solid. It looks like the kind of pitching we all expected coming into the season.

Speaking of struggling pitchers, what's up with Aroldis Chapman? Check out his last three lines:

4/30 vs. Florida: 1 IP, 1H, 2ER, 3BB, 3Ks
5/5 vs. Houston: 0 IP, 1H, 1ER, 2BB, 0Ks
5/10 vs. Houston: 0 IP, 0H, 3ER, 3BB, 0Ks, 1HBP



AP Photo/Denis Poroy

 What the heck? He now has 16 walks and 15 strikeouts for the season. Yes, Bryan Price, it is mechanical, I agree. But the kid needs to learn to take the fastball down to about 92 and just get it over the plate. Good Lord, guys are only hitting .146 against him, just get it over the plate!! And Dusty says that they won't send him to the minors to get things straightened out. Well, how else is he going to figure it out? He certainly won't if he's only pitching every 5 days. Get Mario Soto up here ASAP to work with Chapman and get this kid's confidence back.


Sticking with the slump theme, where has Jonny Gomes gone? Raise your hand if you'd rather him hack at that first pitch fastball instead of trying to work a walk, knowing that in the end he will look at a pitch right down the middle for strike three or swing over a changeup on the outside part of the plate. Look, he's still on pace to blast 26 homers and drive in 74 runs while walking 96 times. He's also on pace to score 79 times, which is higher than last season. The walk total and homer total is also significantly higher than last year, too. But the RBIs are down, mainly because the hits are down. When the guy gets hot, he's hot. He'll carry the team for weeks. But when Jonny goes cold, it's brutal. He's hitting .192. The guy couldn't buy a break if he wanted to. Will he come out of it? I don't know. He's always been a part time player, up until last year. I hope he comes out of this, I really do. Gomes is one of my favorite players, and he is part of the swagger that this team has. Hopefully, he'll come back around. By the way, check out this cool E:60 story that ESPN ran on the Reds' slugger.

Well, let's end this on a positive note, ok? Scotty Rolen might be back in the lineup Friday night, and the Reds would love to get him back. He is critical to this team, even when he isn't hitting all that well. They're   8-7 this year when he starts, and 73-52 when he started last year. That means they were 18-19 when he didn't. And, when he came over in 2009, the Reds were 27-13 down the stretch with him in the lineup. I can't explain the magic that Rolen brings to this team, but it's special. Hopefully he'll be back in there Friday and get that sweet swing going again.

Finally, check out the link here for some Brandon Phillips highlights of the season. I don't think I need to say anything else. Hopefully I can be more consistent with these posts from now on, maybe a couple per week. I'll get one out on Sunday about the Reds-Cards series at Great American this weekend, and some other stuff from around baseball. Have a good weekend everybody, and make it down to the park this weekend to support your Reds!