Results tagged ‘ Reds ’
Reds walk off….2011
With a new baseball season the Cincinnati Reds win on Opening Day pretty much as they did last season, with a walk off. I have to see the stats of this game, but the Reds fell behind three runs twice, and yet rallied and walked off with a much deserved win after basically not doing much for most of the day. As far as the Brewers sending a message to the Reds, well…Cincinnati was quick to reply. I know, it’s Opening Day, but still, the game that was just played in Cincinnati between this two teams is just the opening salvo of a long season fight for the division.
Brewers leading….
I guess the Brewers are sending an early season message to the Reds…I know it’s only Opening Day, but the Brewers/Reds game has to be the most intriguing game of the day.
Predictions…..N.L
I’m not good at making predictions since it seems that every year I pick the Yankees to win the World Series (I know I’m biased). However, I have decided to put aside my bias for the moment and objectively look at the season that is almost upon us. So, as we bid farewell to the month long Spring Training interlude before the beginning of the marathon–and to the players who unfortunately will not be in the Show–it is time to make brief but objective prediction for the upcoming season.
After an exciting and surprising post-season, the off season had its share of excitement and surprises. The biggest surprise and excitement this past winter undoubtedly has to be Cliff Lee’s rejection of both the Yankees and Rangers in favor of the Philadelphia Phillies. By taking less money to be a member of the Phillies Lee joined a team that already had three legitimate aces. Now that Lee is part of the Phillies rotation the Four Horsemen (and Joe Blanton) made the Philadelphia the early winter favorites to win the National League and the World Series. In Boston, the signing of Carl Crawford and the trade for Adrian Gonzalez made the Red Sox the early winter favorites to win the American League and represent it in the World Series…of course losing to the Phillies in 7 games (when a Jimmy Rollins slow roller gets through the legs of Gonzalez, allowing Shane Victorino to score the game winning and Series ending run…hahaha).
But those were the few predictions of the winter. How do these predictions and among the others made but not mention above hold now that Spring Training is over? Well, time will tell. Here are now my National League predictions.
N.L East Champions: Atlanta Braves
Yes, I’ll admit it, it seems insane for me to pick the Braves over the Phillies especially when the later have the Four Horsemen at the top of their rotation. However, there is a method to my madness and I believe the reasons I am about to give will be correct by the end of the year. At the moment, the Braves lineup is a tad better than Phily’s lineup. The veteran Chipper Jones will be the anchor of this lineup and if he stays healthy, he could very well have a productive season since he will have protection in the lineup that will include Dan Uggla, Brian McCann and Jason Hayward. Although the Braves do not have the rotation that the Phillies possess, they still have a formidable rotation with Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe and Jair Jurjens. What will help these pitchers out will be Atlanta’s tough lineup. However, there is an achillies hill on this team and that is their defense. If they want to win the division, the Braves have to improve.
N.L Central Champions: Cincinnati Reds
Adam Wainwright’s season ending injury early this Spring has definately opened the door for the Reds to continue what they started last year, as they surprisingly took the Division title over the St. Louis Cardinals. And this year, I look for the same thing to happen. The core of this team is built around NL MVP Joey Votto. With Votto leading this team, the Reds didn’t do much this winter to improve, but they didn’t need to. The Reds pitching is also deep with no shortage of arms in the rotation and in the bullpen. However, don’t count out the Cardinals yet, or dismiss the Brewers. I think this will be a close three team race and in the end, the Reds will come out on top.
N.L West Champions: San Francisco Giants
This is an easy pick, but which other team in the NL West has the pitching rotation the Giants possess? It was the pitching of Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and especially Bumgarner that carried this team through the first two rounds of the playoffs and in the World Series. And it will be this rotation that will carry the Giants back to the post season and possibly back to the World Series. The Giants however need to improve their on their lineup since they could face a much tougher opposition in the post season this time around after the improvements made by the Braves and Phillies.
N.L Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies
They stole Cliff Lee away from the Yankees so the Baseball Gods will punish them this season. But to be serious, I think the Phillies will have the best rotation in the NL, but a substandard lineup that will struggle to score runs. The injury this Spring to Chase Utley doesn’t help and the fact that Jayson Werth left town for DC will have a major impact on the Phillies ability to score runs. Jimmy Rollins has to be the most overrated short stop in the league and since his MVP year (which he won on the strength of a Spring Training prediction..hmm), Rollins has been on the decline. In 2011 Rollins’ decline will continue. Moreover, will Ryan Howard’s power numbers decline again this year? If they do, how can this lineup score runs to support their pitchers?
The Phillies pitching staff looks great on paper, but in reality, there are some issues. Leave Roy Halladay aside, Cliff Lee is not a great regular season pitcher as he is in the post season. His only dominant regular season came in 2008 for a very poor Cleveland Indians club. Moreover, Lee is injury prone and it wouldn’t surprise me if he spent sometime in the DL this year. As for Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, I believe that both will have good years, but will only win 12 to 14 games each. The only pitcher in this rotation which could win more than 15 games is Roy Halladay.
NLCS: Giants over Phillies in 7 games: Giants have the younger pitching staff that has come a long long way after their success last year. With that experience and confidence, they will take down the Phillies again to earn another trip to the World Series.
Wainwright’s injury…what does it mean for the NL Central.
As of this morning, I’m sure every avid baseball fan and fantasy baseball player already knows that Adam Wainwright’s season has ended before it started. The ace of the Cardinals suffered what the team calls a “significant elbow injury.” That injury will require Tommy John surgery and months of recovery and rehab. So, if you’re a fan of the Cardinals this injury certainly has you bummed out; if you’re a fantasy baseball player who wasted $30 in an auction draft to acquire Mr. Wainwright’s services the night before the injury, well………..
So what does Wainwright’s injury mean for the Cardinals and the NL Central? For one, this injury certainly opens the door for the Reds and Brewers to have a much easier chance at battling all season for the NL Central crown. The Reds pitching staff that is anchored by Bronson Arroyo, who again had a solid season with 17 victories and over 200 innings pitched. Along with Johnny Cueto and what the Reds hope would be a bounceback year for Edinson Volquez. The Reds also have a very solid bullpen. With Aroldis Chapman being designated as a setup man to Francisco Cordero, if the Reds get the lead late in any game, it will be very hard to beat them. The Reds were the favorites to win this division anyway, but their task gets much easier now that Wainwright is out for the Cardinals.
As for the Brewers, they will no doubt leapfrog over the Cardinals. This off season, the Brewers went out and traded for Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum. Greinke, the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner, is now on a team with a lineup that will provide him with the much needed run support he never got with the Royals. And Shaun Marcum’s impressive 13 win season while pitching in the AL East, will likely put up better numbers in the NL now that he doesn’t have to face a DH every five days.
I won’t make a prediction as to who will win the NL Central, but there is no doubt that, unless the Cardinals make a big trade, they won’t be the team winning the Central.
Phillies advance to NLCS!
Cole Hamels pitched a wonderful game tonight to send the Phillies to the NLCS for the third consecutive time. Hamels complete game mastery of the Reds was just another warning to the rest of the playoff teams that the Phillies are the class of the league and the team to beat in the World Series. Hamels was able to use his fastball with command, painting the corners all night, allowing him to use his changeup effectively. His changeup accounted for 9 out of the 27 outs that the Phillies recorded.
The combination of H20 is without a doubt at this time the best pitching rotation the Phillies have fielded in the post season the last three years, and at the moment, the best in baseball. The only team that could outpitch the Phillies right now is the San Francisco Giants, as they have had three quality starts in the playoffs so far. A Phillies/Giants NLCS would be a pitching fan’s dream, as no doubt the games will be decided late.
As far as the Reds are concerned, their game 2 loss was the straw that broke the camels’ back as far as I’m concerned. There is just no way a baseball club can make four errors and win against the Phillies. The Reds didn’t stand a chance tonight down 2 games in the series. Had they won game 2, things would have been different no doubt. However, the Reds future looks bright, as the emergence of young pitchers like Travis Wood and Aroldis Chapman, there is no doubt Cincinnati will be a team to reckon with in the National League Central for sometime to come.
Once again, congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Post season…
Let the (Post-Season) games begin. Tomorrow the road to the World Series begins for all 8 teams still alive this baseball season. As the other 24 teams in the league make plans for next year, the final 8 prepare to battle it out for baseball’s ultimate prize: A World Series Championship. So here are my short predictions.
American League Prediction:
Rangers v Rays:
I say the Rays win this series in five games. In the end, I do believe the Rays will do enough to manufacture enough runs to beat Cliff Lee, CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis. I also expect a big series from BJ Upton who will have to pick up the slack if Longoria doesn’t play. But even if Longoria plays, the Rays won’t win if Upton doesn’t produce. So the key for the Rays to win this series is simple: jump all over Cliff Lee in game one, and out pitch the rest of the Rangers staff. James Shields will have to be Big Game James and Matt Garza has to repeat the post season performance he put together in 2008.
Of course, just because I think the Rays could win in five doesn’t mean that the Rangers won’t surprise me and win this series. Cliff Lee has emerged as a dominant post-season pitcher, and I don’t expect that to change tomorrow. He will be tough on the Rays lineup and if CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis pitch well, the Rangers could beat the Rays. But I don’t expect to see Wilson and Lewis pitch well.
Yankees v Twins:
I’m biased, so the Yankees will win..enough said. However, could this be the year the Twins finally get over the hump? For all the Yankee fans who wished for a Twins/Yankees series, all I have to say is..be careful of what you wish for…
National League Prediction:
Phillies v Reds:
The Phillies are the class of the National League and will begin the road to their second World Series championship in the last three years (it makes me sick just typing that) tomorrow at home against the Reds. I expect Doc Halladay’s first post season game to be a great one. Halladay has always been a great regular season pitcher, and tomorrow I expect him to become a great Post-Season pitcher. Roy Halladay could be this year’s Cliff Lee for the Phillies. And unlike last year, the Phillies will have two top pitchers to ride this post season, and Roy Oswalt, a veteran post season pitcher will provide that Phillies staff with the experience and the arm they so miserably lacked last season, especially during the World Series. Moreover, the Phillies lineup is stack and could be a nightmare for the Reds starting rotation.
Where the Reds have a slight edge over the Phillies however, will be in the bullpen. The Reds have three tough lefties that could shut down Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez. Now that Travis Wood will be in the bullpen, along with Rhodes and Chapman, the Reds could steal a few games, or maybe even the series from the Phillies if any of the games come down to a big at-bat in the late innings by any of Phillies three top left handed hitters. However, the Reds will need a big performances from Arroyo, Volquez and Cueto and frankly, against this Phillies lineup that would be too much to ask for.
Giants v Braves:
I predict that the Giants will win in four games. San Francisco’s pitching will be too much for the Braves to handle, and the poor defense of the Braves infield will be a liability throughout the series. Derek Lowe had a great September and he has the post season experience to come up big, but the idea that Hudson and Hanson outpitching this formidable Giants staff is unrealistic.
All Stars snubs..
Now that the 2010 All Stars for both the National and American leagues have been announced, too much was made about the players that were snubbed. Personally, I don’t pay attention to the All Star game, but when baseball writers and commentators talk about players that were snubbed then the All Star game gets my full attention.
Frankly speaking, nothing perks up my interests than a little controversy; and since the All Star game is hardly a place where controversy is found, the list of snubs by both the AL and NL has me wondering if this year, of all the years since the last meaningful All Star game in 1994.
So, lets see if players were indeed snubbed.
AL Snubbs…
Kevin Youkilis: Yes he was snubbed. Joe Girardi as AL Manager decided to take one of his own players to the game, therefore he chose Alex Rodriguez. As a Yankee fan I agree with the move, why take a Red Sox player over a Yankee player? It would be blasphemous for a Yankee manager, who is managing the All Star game, not to pick one of his own guys for a Red Sox player. However, as an objective baseball fan, A-Rod doesn’t deserve a parking pass at Anaheim this year, since Youkilis was more deserving of a roster spot. Lets just look at the numbers. Youkilis this season is batting .299, with 17 homeruns and 54 RBI’s. He has an OBP of .416 and a slugging percentage of .584, which gives him an impressive 1.000 OPS. Youkilis has accumulated 160 total bases, has walked 50 times, and has scored 65 runs. To put all those stats into perspective, Youkilis is a player that helps the Red Sox create runs, which is no wonder why the Red Sox are one of the teams that leads the majors in runs scored.
Alex Rodriguez on the other hand is batting .276, with 12 homeruns and 62 RBI’s. A-Rod’s has posted a slugging percentage of .486 and an OBP of .349. That gives A-Rod an OPS of .835, which is .165 points lower than Youkilis’s OPS. A-Rod has been struggling for the most part this year, even though the Yankees haven’t missed a beat. Even though he has more RBI’s than Youkilis, that is probably because there are more runners on base when A-Rod bats than when Youkilis bats.
However, Youkilis carried the Red Sox offensively until Big Sloppy woke up and started to hit homeruns again. Without Youkilis in the lineup early this season, the Red Sox could be 5 games back of the Yankees instead of being 1.5 games behind. Yeah, I think Youkilis was clearly snubbed.
Andy Pettitte: He wasn’t snubbed, he was robbed of a deserving spot. The fact is, Andy Pettitte has been the only consistent starter in the Yankees rotation this season than All Star pick CC Sabathia. It took until the middle of June for CC Sabathia to settledown as a consistent started. Moreover, AJ Burnett has been consistently inconcistent, while Javier Vazquez has looked lost on the mound for the most part this season. That brings me to the other Yankee pitcher that made the All Star game, Phil Hughes. Hughes had a very strong start to the year, posting an ERA under 2.00 in his first seven starts, but since May 17, Hughes has an ERA over 3.00. In his last two starts in particular, Hughes surrendered 6 homeruns and frankly, has looked anything but sharp.
Pettitte on the other hand has been a consistent pitcher all year. There are times when he gets in trouble, but finds a way to fight and get out of it. It has been the ability to get out of trouble that has earned him 10 wins this season and his best start to a season during his career.
Paul Konerko: Possibly snubbed. Konerko has carried the White Sox offensively, and is second in the league to Jose Bautista in homeruns with 20. Again, Girardi had to make a choice, but we know that he will always pick one of his players than one from another team.
NL Snub
Joey Votto: In my humble opinion, Votto was the clearly snubbed. When a player like Omar Infante makes the All Star team, instead of a player that is putting MVP numbers you know something is wrong. Votto is batting .320, with 19 homeruns and 53 RBI’s. He has been the most important offensive player for the Reds this season, and their success so far this year is because of Votto’s offensive production. Votto is definately more deserving of an All Star selection than Omar Infante.
Reds the win the Aroldis Chapman Sweepstakes.
It looks like Aroldis Chapman will be the property of the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds and the 22 year old have reportedly come to terms on a 5 year $30 million contract. This could be a risky move for the Reds, but a move that nontheless should be made. As I have written before, Chapman has raw talent that needs to be developed into a Major League talent. He posses an electric fastball but has to develop his secondary pitches. Already possessing a good curveball, he needs to develop his changeup and his slider, a pitch many scouts have said is his second best pitch.
In the video above, notice how chapman changes his delivery when he wants a bigger break on his curveball.
David Veloz
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