The man that many nervous Reds fans have dubbed Coo Coo Cordero, pitched a scoreless ninth to nail down the team's 91st victory of the 2010 season.
It gives the righthander his third 40-save season of his career and he has now logged 290 in his career.
Jay Bruce hit his 25th home in the fourth inning and Joey Votto and Jonny Gomes had first inning RBI hits to provide the offense.
Cincinnati Sports News and Commentary
About Me
- Gary Schatz
- I am a freelance writer and a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America. 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.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Bruce and Stubbs Finish at their Highest Points
Jay Bruce hit his 25th home run and singled in his tune up at bats before Dusty Baker emptied the bench in the season finale against Milwaukee.
Bruce finished with 70 RBI and a batting average of .281. It is very close to the highest its been all season. Bruce was hitting .287 on June 26th. Four days later he slipped to .281. Bruce dipped to .253 on August 7. In his last 37 games, he hit .377 with 15 home runs and 29 RBI.
Stubbs had two hits in two at bats on Opening Day. He went 3-for-18 in through April 11th to slip to .250. He was under .200 on May 21. He fought back to .251 on July 20, then slipped to .228 on August 2 before starting the climb back to his current .255 with a 1-for-2 performance in game 162.
Stubbs is a .310 hitter with nine home runs and 28 RBI since his low point.
Bruce finished with 70 RBI and a batting average of .281. It is very close to the highest its been all season. Bruce was hitting .287 on June 26th. Four days later he slipped to .281. Bruce dipped to .253 on August 7. In his last 37 games, he hit .377 with 15 home runs and 29 RBI.
Stubbs had two hits in two at bats on Opening Day. He went 3-for-18 in through April 11th to slip to .250. He was under .200 on May 21. He fought back to .251 on July 20, then slipped to .228 on August 2 before starting the climb back to his current .255 with a 1-for-2 performance in game 162.
Stubbs is a .310 hitter with nine home runs and 28 RBI since his low point.
Reds Rally on Fountain Square Tomorrow
The Reds will have a rally on Fountain Square tomorrow from 2-6 p.m.
Marty Brennaman will host it. CEO Bob Castellini and General Manager Walt Jocketty will speak.
Joe Morgan, Joey Votto, Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips along with Dusty Baker will attend.
The entire team will attend between 2 and 4 p.m. based on their travel schedule which will be determined later this evening.
Marty Brennaman will host it. CEO Bob Castellini and General Manager Walt Jocketty will speak.
Joe Morgan, Joey Votto, Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips along with Dusty Baker will attend.
The entire team will attend between 2 and 4 p.m. based on their travel schedule which will be determined later this evening.
Reds Set Up Pitching for the Playoffs
The Reds do not yet know who its opponent will be in the National League Division Series but the starting pitching rotation has been set.
Edinson Volquez will throw a light bullpen today to save his arm for the first game against an opponent yet to be determined. (San Diego, San Francisco or Philadelphia)
Bronson Arroyo will start the middle game.
"He is soft thrower," Dusty Baker said. "We want him to follow the hard thrower."
Johnny Cueto will pitch the home game.
"He's pitched very well at home," Baker said.
The Reds will carry 11 pitchers and 14 position players. Homer Bailey and Travis Wood will also be on the staff.
"Wood gives us potentially four lefthanders. He and Homer are the least experienced. They may be used in the fourth or fifth game if needed," Baker said.
The Reds don't have to submit the roster until 10 A.M. the day of the first game.
The only tough decisions are between Laynce Nix and Jim Edmonds both of who are recovering from injuries. Nix is further along than Edmonds.
Edinson Volquez will throw a light bullpen today to save his arm for the first game against an opponent yet to be determined. (San Diego, San Francisco or Philadelphia)
Bronson Arroyo will start the middle game.
"He is soft thrower," Dusty Baker said. "We want him to follow the hard thrower."
Johnny Cueto will pitch the home game.
"He's pitched very well at home," Baker said.
The Reds will carry 11 pitchers and 14 position players. Homer Bailey and Travis Wood will also be on the staff.
"Wood gives us potentially four lefthanders. He and Homer are the least experienced. They may be used in the fourth or fifth game if needed," Baker said.
The Reds don't have to submit the roster until 10 A.M. the day of the first game.
The only tough decisions are between Laynce Nix and Jim Edmonds both of who are recovering from injuries. Nix is further along than Edmonds.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Harang Starts and Finishes
Aaron Harang was the starting pitcher on Opening Day on April 5th. He gets the honor of closing the season nearly six months later.
Edinson Volquez was listed as Sunday's starter on the Reds notes this morning.
They announced that Harang will get the start instead.
Harang was once the ace of the staff. He won 16 games in 2006 and 2007 but has struggled since.
His 109 2/3 innings is the lowest total since he joined the Reds in 2003. He is 6-7 with a 5.25 ERA in 19 starts (21 appearances).
Edinson Volquez was listed as Sunday's starter on the Reds notes this morning.
They announced that Harang will get the start instead.
Harang was once the ace of the staff. He won 16 games in 2006 and 2007 but has struggled since.
His 109 2/3 innings is the lowest total since he joined the Reds in 2003. He is 6-7 with a 5.25 ERA in 19 starts (21 appearances).
Reds Reserves Rally to 7-4 Win
Dusty Baker is treating the last two games of the season as if it is spring training. He wants to keep players sharp yet give them rest.
The starters including Homer Bailey the pitcher, worked five innings then took a seat.
The Reds starters built a 4-1 lead with two home runs by Jay Bruce. After he struck out four times in last night's game, Ken Macha of the Brewers ordered him walked as the winning run in the ninth inning last night.
He should have followed the same strategy today as Bruce hit two home runs, a two-run job in third and a disputed solo home run in the fifth. It was Bruce's fifth two-home run game of the season. A fan appeared to interfere with Lorenzo Cain's attempt to catch the drive but a replay examination upheld umpire Sam Holbrook's initial call.
Jordan Smith, who is trying to earn a postseason roster spot coughed up the lead in the seventh after working a scoreless sixth.
He hit Ryan Braun and walked Prince Fielder. Casey McGehee launched a game-tying upper deck home run to cost Bailey his fifth victory.
Bailey was decent in his five innings, six hits and one run but took 120 pitches to navigate his five frames.
The Reds took the lead back for good in the eighth.
Supersub, Miguel Cairo singled off former Red, Todd Coffey. Yonder Alonso doubled, his second hit of the game off the gate to the Reds bullpen to score Cairo. Corky Miller blasted a long home run to centerfield.
Logan Ondrusek got the win with 2/3 of an inning to go 5-0 on the year. Francisco Cordero gave up one hit but faced just three batters for his 39th save.
The Reds reached the 90 win mark with the victory a number that Baker says is significant.
"Now we join all the division leaders and playoff teams that have 90-plus. That was big. In spring training, usually that's my goal every year but especially this year. Most of the time if you can get to 90, you'll be somewhere in the playoff hunt. You've usually got a pretty good chance for something between 90-95. Usually 90 is that magic number. Then you start thinking back on things and you're saying, 'Hey, man, this team has the potential next year of achieving that magic 100 even, 10 more games.' You're happy where you are, but as a manager you always want more."
The starters including Homer Bailey the pitcher, worked five innings then took a seat.
The Reds starters built a 4-1 lead with two home runs by Jay Bruce. After he struck out four times in last night's game, Ken Macha of the Brewers ordered him walked as the winning run in the ninth inning last night.
He should have followed the same strategy today as Bruce hit two home runs, a two-run job in third and a disputed solo home run in the fifth. It was Bruce's fifth two-home run game of the season. A fan appeared to interfere with Lorenzo Cain's attempt to catch the drive but a replay examination upheld umpire Sam Holbrook's initial call.
Jordan Smith, who is trying to earn a postseason roster spot coughed up the lead in the seventh after working a scoreless sixth.
He hit Ryan Braun and walked Prince Fielder. Casey McGehee launched a game-tying upper deck home run to cost Bailey his fifth victory.
Bailey was decent in his five innings, six hits and one run but took 120 pitches to navigate his five frames.
The Reds took the lead back for good in the eighth.
Supersub, Miguel Cairo singled off former Red, Todd Coffey. Yonder Alonso doubled, his second hit of the game off the gate to the Reds bullpen to score Cairo. Corky Miller blasted a long home run to centerfield.
Logan Ondrusek got the win with 2/3 of an inning to go 5-0 on the year. Francisco Cordero gave up one hit but faced just three batters for his 39th save.
The Reds reached the 90 win mark with the victory a number that Baker says is significant.
"Now we join all the division leaders and playoff teams that have 90-plus. That was big. In spring training, usually that's my goal every year but especially this year. Most of the time if you can get to 90, you'll be somewhere in the playoff hunt. You've usually got a pretty good chance for something between 90-95. Usually 90 is that magic number. Then you start thinking back on things and you're saying, 'Hey, man, this team has the potential next year of achieving that magic 100 even, 10 more games.' You're happy where you are, but as a manager you always want more."
Reds Choosing Post Season Roster With 3 Future No. 1 Pitchers.
The Reds are playing out the schedule, not yet sure who the opponent will be. The most likely candidate will be Philadelphia but as former manager Jerry Narron used to say, "It ain't written in ceement."
At stake are positions on the 25-man roster. Dusty Baker said that the Reds have it pretty much figured out but won't publicly reveal it because he wants to tell his players first. He won't even tell how many pitchers he'll use because, "those guys can all count."
"We want to keep everybody but you can't," Baker said. "That's why its a tough decision picking three out of five."
"I think our pitching has been better than it's ERA," Baker said.
If it is indeed the Phillies, they have three number ones in Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, longtime noted Reds killer.
"Roy Hallady wasn't always a number one," Baker reminded. "We have some guys who will be number ones."
Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez, Travis Wood and Mike Leake all have number one starter potential. All but Volquez came up through the Reds system, although Leake bypassed it. He is a rare case learning at the Major League level, though he has been shut down after reaching an organization imposed innings limit.
"This system is producing players," Baker said. "That's the only way to sustain excellence."
At stake are positions on the 25-man roster. Dusty Baker said that the Reds have it pretty much figured out but won't publicly reveal it because he wants to tell his players first. He won't even tell how many pitchers he'll use because, "those guys can all count."
"We want to keep everybody but you can't," Baker said. "That's why its a tough decision picking three out of five."
"I think our pitching has been better than it's ERA," Baker said.
If it is indeed the Phillies, they have three number ones in Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, longtime noted Reds killer.
"Roy Hallady wasn't always a number one," Baker reminded. "We have some guys who will be number ones."
Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez, Travis Wood and Mike Leake all have number one starter potential. All but Volquez came up through the Reds system, although Leake bypassed it. He is a rare case learning at the Major League level, though he has been shut down after reaching an organization imposed innings limit.
"This system is producing players," Baker said. "That's the only way to sustain excellence."
Friday, October 1, 2010
To Philadelphia For the Playoffs With 4-3 Loss
The Reds are going to play the Philadelphia Phillies in the opening round of the playoffs unless San Diego or San Francisco beats out Atlanta for the wild card.
Atlanta lost tonight so their lead over San Diego is a game and a half over San Diego. San Diego must sweep and the Braves must get swept by the Phillies for that to happen.
The Reds had a chance to edge San Francisco for the second best record in the National League but needed to sweep Milwaukee while San Diego sweeps the Giants. San Diego leads 5-0 in the fourth inning as of this writing (11:35 pm).
Travis Wood did not allow a hit for five innings but Rickie Weeks led off th sixth with his 29th home run. With one out in the seventh Casey McGhee doubled and Lorenzo Cain singled him to third. Wood was replaced by Logan Ondrusek, who allowed a pinch hit single to Craig Counsell and a sacrifice fly to Jonathan Lucroy to tie the game.
The Reds had few opportunities with rookie Mark Rogers. Rogers was taken by Milwaukee one pick ahead of Homer Bailey. The Brewers narrowed their choices to those two in the 2004 draft, deciding on Rogers.
Rogers had a good season in Double AA. This was his second start and fourth appearance in September. He started his career with nine hitless innings including tonight.
The Reds scored a run without a hit in the first inning on Joey Votto's sacrifice fly. Drew Stubbs walked, stole second and advanced to third after Brandon Phillips grounded out. The Reds scored one in the fifth on a suicide squeeze play by Paul Janish and in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Phillips.
The game went into the 11th. Sam LeCure gave up a single to Corey Hart and walked Ryan Braun. He was relieved by Jordan Smith, who allowed a single to McGhee. It was a potential double play but Phillips couldn't come up with it. It was ruled an error but changed to a hit because Phillips was screened by the umpire on the play.
Atlanta lost tonight so their lead over San Diego is a game and a half over San Diego. San Diego must sweep and the Braves must get swept by the Phillies for that to happen.
The Reds had a chance to edge San Francisco for the second best record in the National League but needed to sweep Milwaukee while San Diego sweeps the Giants. San Diego leads 5-0 in the fourth inning as of this writing (11:35 pm).
Travis Wood did not allow a hit for five innings but Rickie Weeks led off th sixth with his 29th home run. With one out in the seventh Casey McGhee doubled and Lorenzo Cain singled him to third. Wood was replaced by Logan Ondrusek, who allowed a pinch hit single to Craig Counsell and a sacrifice fly to Jonathan Lucroy to tie the game.
The Reds had few opportunities with rookie Mark Rogers. Rogers was taken by Milwaukee one pick ahead of Homer Bailey. The Brewers narrowed their choices to those two in the 2004 draft, deciding on Rogers.
Rogers had a good season in Double AA. This was his second start and fourth appearance in September. He started his career with nine hitless innings including tonight.
The Reds scored a run without a hit in the first inning on Joey Votto's sacrifice fly. Drew Stubbs walked, stole second and advanced to third after Brandon Phillips grounded out. The Reds scored one in the fifth on a suicide squeeze play by Paul Janish and in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Phillips.
The game went into the 11th. Sam LeCure gave up a single to Corey Hart and walked Ryan Braun. He was relieved by Jordan Smith, who allowed a single to McGhee. It was a potential double play but Phillips couldn't come up with it. It was ruled an error but changed to a hit because Phillips was screened by the umpire on the play.
From Press Box Funny Man - Tom Hardricourt
The beat writer for the Milwaukee Brewers was reading on the internet that the Mets were going to fire its General Manager, Omar Minaya and Manager, Jerry Manuel.
The Brewers just took three out of four in New York.
"If I had a dollar for every manager that got fired after losing a series to the Brewers, I could buy a franchise," Hardricourt said. "Everytime a manager drops three out of four to the Brewers, management gasses them."
The Brewers just took three out of four in New York.
"If I had a dollar for every manager that got fired after losing a series to the Brewers, I could buy a franchise," Hardricourt said. "Everytime a manager drops three out of four to the Brewers, management gasses them."
Former Colerain Player Is the NCAA Leader
When Kent State visits Miami Saturday afternoon, the will feature the current NCAA interception leader.
Brian Lainhart, who played at Colerain High School, has 15 interceptions. He is the all-time career leader for the Golden Flashes. The senior is looking for his first pick of the season against the Redhawks.
Kent State will also bring Lainhart's High School teammate, linebacker Cobriani Mixon, who is the team's leading tackler.
Lainhart was a member of Colerain's 2004 state champion team but was injured much of the season. He led the Cardinals secondary during his senior season in 2005.
Brian Lainhart, who played at Colerain High School, has 15 interceptions. He is the all-time career leader for the Golden Flashes. The senior is looking for his first pick of the season against the Redhawks.
Kent State will also bring Lainhart's High School teammate, linebacker Cobriani Mixon, who is the team's leading tackler.
Lainhart was a member of Colerain's 2004 state champion team but was injured much of the season. He led the Cardinals secondary during his senior season in 2005.
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