What's this baseball with offense?
With the Reds in New York, famous cartoonist Jerry Dowling, and I went to watch Louisville play Columbus in a battle between Ohio farm clubs.
Wes Bankston hit two home runs off Zach Jackson, who made one start for the Indians this season. He had a chance to tie the franchise record but grounded out in his last two at bats.
Bankston saw a lot of action from the fifth inning on during spring games in Sarasota but he turns 34 on July 26.
While Justin Lehr, who will be 32 on August 3rd, handcuffed the future Indians with four hits. The Clippers managed to bunch three of them to score three times but Lehr used a nasty change up to limit the Central Ohio club.
Lehr lost his previous start to the Indianapolis Indians after winning six straight. His 8 1/3 inning performance put him in position to win his 12th game of the season. He allowed five hits and walked one.
But Pedro Viola allowed a three-run ninth inning home run to Matt LaPorta that tied the game.
Chris Valaika singled home pinch runner Luis Bolivar to give the Bats its 50th win of the season. Jared Burton pitched two innings of relief for the win.
Chris Heisey, who was recently promoted to Louisville, hit a home run completely out of Slugger Field on Friday, according to Columbus Dispatch reporter, Jim Massey. Massey covered the Reds for eight seasons before being reassigned to the Clipper's beat.
Heisey went to St. Louis to play in the Futures game.
When he was promoted from Carolina, Heisey was leading the Southen League with a .347 batting average. Since he ascended to Louisville, Heisey is hitting .365 in 14 games with three home runs and 13 RBI. His home run on Friday gave him long balls in consecutive games.
Cincinnati Sports News and Commentary
About Me
- Gary Schatz
- I am a freelance writer. I've covered the Cincinnati Reds, Bengals and others since 1992. I have a background in sales as well. I've sold consumer electronics, advertising and consumer package goods for companies ranging from the now defunct Circuit City to Procter&Gamble. I have worked as a stats operator for Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati, the College of Mount St. Joe and Colerain High School.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Slugger Field
What's this baseball with offense?
With the Reds in New York, famous cartoonist Jerry Dowling, and I went to watch Louisville play Columbus in a battle between Ohio farm clubs.
Wes Bankston hit two home runs off Zach Jackson, who made one start for the Indians this season. He had a chance to tie the franchise record but grounded out in his last two at bats.
Bankston saw a lot of action from the fifth inning on during spring games in Sarasota but he turns 34 on July 26.
While Justin Lehr, who will be 32 on August 3rd, handcuffed the future Indians with four hits. The Clippers managed to bunch three of them to score three times but Lehr used a nasty change up to limit the Central Ohio club.
Lehr lost his previous start to the Indianapolis Indians after winning six straight. His 8 1/3 inning performance put him in position to win his 12th game of the season. He allowed five hits and walked one.
But Pedro Viola allowed a three-run ninth inning home run to Matt LaPorta that tied the game.
Chris Valaika singled home pinch runner Luis Bolivar to give the Bats its 50th win of the season. Jared Burton pitched two innings of relief for the win.
Chris Heisey, who was recently promoted to Louisville, hit a home run completely out of Slugger Field on Friday, according to Columbus Dispatch reporter, Jim Massey. Massey covered the Reds for eight seasons before being reassigned to the Clipper's beat.
Heisey went to St. Louis to play in the Futures game.
When he was promoted from Carolina, Heisey was leading the Southen League with a .347 batting average. Since he ascended to Louisville, Heisey is hitting .365 in 14 games with three home runs and 13 RBI. His home run on Friday gave him long balls in consecutive games.
With the Reds in New York, famous cartoonist Jerry Dowling, and I went to watch Louisville play Columbus in a battle between Ohio farm clubs.
Wes Bankston hit two home runs off Zach Jackson, who made one start for the Indians this season. He had a chance to tie the franchise record but grounded out in his last two at bats.
Bankston saw a lot of action from the fifth inning on during spring games in Sarasota but he turns 34 on July 26.
While Justin Lehr, who will be 32 on August 3rd, handcuffed the future Indians with four hits. The Clippers managed to bunch three of them to score three times but Lehr used a nasty change up to limit the Central Ohio club.
Lehr lost his previous start to the Indianapolis Indians after winning six straight. His 8 1/3 inning performance put him in position to win his 12th game of the season. He allowed five hits and walked one.
But Pedro Viola allowed a three-run ninth inning home run to Matt LaPorta that tied the game.
Chris Valaika singled home pinch runner Luis Bolivar to give the Bats its 50th win of the season. Jared Burton pitched two innings of relief for the win.
Chris Heisey, who was recently promoted to Louisville, hit a home run completely out of Slugger Field on Friday, according to Columbus Dispatch reporter, Jim Massey. Massey covered the Reds for eight seasons before being reassigned to the Clipper's beat.
Heisey went to St. Louis to play in the Futures game.
When he was promoted from Carolina, Heisey was leading the Southen League with a .347 batting average. Since he ascended to Louisville, Heisey is hitting .365 in 14 games with three home runs and 13 RBI. His home run on Friday gave him long balls in consecutive games.
Friday, July 3, 2009
The Game Looks Easy But
Edwin Encarnacion found out the hard way. He had a broken wrist that put him out of action since April 28. It was the first time that he had an injury that kept him out of action for an extended period of time.
While he worked out with cardio exercises until he healed well enough to swing the bat, he was forced to watch his teammates from the dugout and on TV.
"The hardest thing was watching my teammates play. I found the game looks so easy from the bench or on TV. I can now understand why fans think everyone should be able to get a hit any time they want to," Encarnacion told reporters before the St. Louis Cardinals came off the mat to win 7-4 over the Reds.
Even the great Albert Pujols struggled until he was able to reach David Weathers for his fourth grand slam of the season and a record setting 10th of his career. Both were records held by Hall of Famer, Stan Musial.
Pujols was 0-for-3 until then.
Homer Bailey struck him out in the first inning with two runners on and no outs. After that Bailey made it look easy. Starting with Pujols, Bailey retired 12 straight batters until he hit Joe Thurston with a pitch in the fifth inning. He retired seven more in a row while his teammates constructed a modest 3-0 lead.
"Homer Bailey threw an unbelievable game," Pujols said. "He has electric stuff. He is going to be around for a long time."
Bailey tired after Cody Rasmus led off the ninth with the Cardinals third hit, a ground single to right. After getting Bredon Ryan to fly out. Bailey showed fatigue. His pitches to Skip Schumacher were all up as Bailey walked him.
The mostly reliable Arthur Rhodes was summoned to get one batter out, lefthanded hitting Chris Duncan.
Tony La Russa elected to send young Jarret Hoffpauir to the plate instead. Hoffpauir was called up from Memphis on Wednesday. The at bat marked his major league debut.
The rookie, who roomed with former Colerain High School star, Mike Ferris, was nervous.
"I had to get on base. We had the best hitter in baseball batting behind me," Hoffpauir said. "I told myself to settle down. I've done this before and I have, just not at this level."
Hoffpauir's walked agains the veteran Rhodes to set up the key match up in the game.
David Weathers, who is in 19th place with over 900 appearances, came on to try to get the hitter who has had the highest batting average, most home runs and RBI over the last 10 seasons.
Pujols was 9-for-18 against Weathers, lifetime with two home runs.
Weathers almost got the key out but a foul ball on a 2-2 pitch eluded Joey Votto and landed out of play.
Pujols eclipsed Musial on the next pitch making it look routine in a situation that was anything but.
The game even for Pujols is difficult and his manager when asked about the St. Louis fans by a national writer before the game said, "The fans in St. Louis understand how hard it is. They don't get upset when a player or manager gets beat. They won't tolerate less than your best effort but they know how to take a win and a loss the right way."
While he worked out with cardio exercises until he healed well enough to swing the bat, he was forced to watch his teammates from the dugout and on TV.
"The hardest thing was watching my teammates play. I found the game looks so easy from the bench or on TV. I can now understand why fans think everyone should be able to get a hit any time they want to," Encarnacion told reporters before the St. Louis Cardinals came off the mat to win 7-4 over the Reds.
Even the great Albert Pujols struggled until he was able to reach David Weathers for his fourth grand slam of the season and a record setting 10th of his career. Both were records held by Hall of Famer, Stan Musial.
Pujols was 0-for-3 until then.
Homer Bailey struck him out in the first inning with two runners on and no outs. After that Bailey made it look easy. Starting with Pujols, Bailey retired 12 straight batters until he hit Joe Thurston with a pitch in the fifth inning. He retired seven more in a row while his teammates constructed a modest 3-0 lead.
"Homer Bailey threw an unbelievable game," Pujols said. "He has electric stuff. He is going to be around for a long time."
Bailey tired after Cody Rasmus led off the ninth with the Cardinals third hit, a ground single to right. After getting Bredon Ryan to fly out. Bailey showed fatigue. His pitches to Skip Schumacher were all up as Bailey walked him.
The mostly reliable Arthur Rhodes was summoned to get one batter out, lefthanded hitting Chris Duncan.
Tony La Russa elected to send young Jarret Hoffpauir to the plate instead. Hoffpauir was called up from Memphis on Wednesday. The at bat marked his major league debut.
The rookie, who roomed with former Colerain High School star, Mike Ferris, was nervous.
"I had to get on base. We had the best hitter in baseball batting behind me," Hoffpauir said. "I told myself to settle down. I've done this before and I have, just not at this level."
Hoffpauir's walked agains the veteran Rhodes to set up the key match up in the game.
David Weathers, who is in 19th place with over 900 appearances, came on to try to get the hitter who has had the highest batting average, most home runs and RBI over the last 10 seasons.
Pujols was 9-for-18 against Weathers, lifetime with two home runs.
Weathers almost got the key out but a foul ball on a 2-2 pitch eluded Joey Votto and landed out of play.
Pujols eclipsed Musial on the next pitch making it look routine in a situation that was anything but.
The game even for Pujols is difficult and his manager when asked about the St. Louis fans by a national writer before the game said, "The fans in St. Louis understand how hard it is. They don't get upset when a player or manager gets beat. They won't tolerate less than your best effort but they know how to take a win and a loss the right way."
The Game Looks Easy But
Edwin Encarnacion found out the hard way. He had a broken wrist that put him out of action since April 28. It was the first time that he had an injury that kept him out of action for an extended period of time.
While he worked out with cardio exercises until he healed well enough to swing the bat, he was forced to watch his teammates from the dugout and on TV.
"The hardest thing was watching my teammates play. I found the game looks so easy from the bench or on TV. I can now understand why fans think everyone should be able to get a hit any time they want to," Encarnacion told reporters before the St. Louis Cardinals came off the mat to win 7-4 over the Reds.
Even the great Albert Pujols struggled until he was able to reach David Weathers for his fourth grand slam of the season and a record setting 10th of his career. Both were records held by Hall of Famer, Stan Musial.
Pujols was 0-for-3 until then.
Homer Bailey struck him out in the first inning with two runners on and no outs. After that Bailey made it look easy. Starting with Pujols, Bailey retired 12 straight batters until he hit Joe Thurston with a pitch in the fifth inning. He retired seven more in a row while his teammates constructed a modest 3-0 lead.
"Homer Bailey threw an unbelievable game," Pujols said. "He has electric stuff. He is going to be around for a long time."
Bailey tired after Cody Rasmus led off the ninth with the Cardinals third hit, a ground single to right. After getting Bredon Ryan to fly out. Bailey showed fatigue. His pitches to Skip Schumacher were all up as Bailey walked him.
The mostly reliable Arthur Rhodes was summoned to get one batter out, lefthanded hitting Chris Duncan.
Tony La Russa elected to send young Jarret Hoffpauir to the plate instead. Hoffpauir was called up from Memphis on Wednesday. The at bat marked his major league debut.
The rookie, who roomed with former Colerain High School star, Mike Ferris, was nervous.
"I had to get on base. We had the best hitter in baseball batting behind me," Hoffpauir said. "I told myself to settle down. I've done this before and I have, just not at this level."
Hoffpauir's walked agains the veteran Rhodes to set up the key match up in the game.
David Weathers, who is in 19th place with over 900 appearances, came on to try to get the hitter who has had the highest batting average, most home runs and RBI over the last 10 seasons.
Pujols was 9-for-18 against Weathers, lifetime with two home runs.
Weathers almost got the key out but a foul ball on a 2-2 pitch eluded Joey Votto and landed out of play.
Pujols eclipsed Musial on the next pitch making it look routine in a situation that was anything but.
The game even for Pujols is difficult and his manager when asked about the St. Louis fans by a national writer before the game said, "The fans in St. Louis understand how hard it is. They don't get upset when a player or manager gets beat. They won't tolerate less than your best effort but they know how to take a win and a loss the right way."
While he worked out with cardio exercises until he healed well enough to swing the bat, he was forced to watch his teammates from the dugout and on TV.
"The hardest thing was watching my teammates play. I found the game looks so easy from the bench or on TV. I can now understand why fans think everyone should be able to get a hit any time they want to," Encarnacion told reporters before the St. Louis Cardinals came off the mat to win 7-4 over the Reds.
Even the great Albert Pujols struggled until he was able to reach David Weathers for his fourth grand slam of the season and a record setting 10th of his career. Both were records held by Hall of Famer, Stan Musial.
Pujols was 0-for-3 until then.
Homer Bailey struck him out in the first inning with two runners on and no outs. After that Bailey made it look easy. Starting with Pujols, Bailey retired 12 straight batters until he hit Joe Thurston with a pitch in the fifth inning. He retired seven more in a row while his teammates constructed a modest 3-0 lead.
"Homer Bailey threw an unbelievable game," Pujols said. "He has electric stuff. He is going to be around for a long time."
Bailey tired after Cody Rasmus led off the ninth with the Cardinals third hit, a ground single to right. After getting Bredon Ryan to fly out. Bailey showed fatigue. His pitches to Skip Schumacher were all up as Bailey walked him.
The mostly reliable Arthur Rhodes was summoned to get one batter out, lefthanded hitting Chris Duncan.
Tony La Russa elected to send young Jarret Hoffpauir to the plate instead. Hoffpauir was called up from Memphis on Wednesday. The at bat marked his major league debut.
The rookie, who roomed with former Colerain High School star, Mike Ferris, was nervous.
"I had to get on base. We had the best hitter in baseball batting behind me," Hoffpauir said. "I told myself to settle down. I've done this before and I have, just not at this level."
Hoffpauir's walked agains the veteran Rhodes to set up the key match up in the game.
David Weathers, who is in 19th place with over 900 appearances, came on to try to get the hitter who has had the highest batting average, most home runs and RBI over the last 10 seasons.
Pujols was 9-for-18 against Weathers, lifetime with two home runs.
Weathers almost got the key out but a foul ball on a 2-2 pitch eluded Joey Votto and landed out of play.
Pujols eclipsed Musial on the next pitch making it look routine in a situation that was anything but.
The game even for Pujols is difficult and his manager when asked about the St. Louis fans by a national writer before the game said, "The fans in St. Louis understand how hard it is. They don't get upset when a player or manager gets beat. They won't tolerate less than your best effort but they know how to take a win and a loss the right way."
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