Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Good Weekend…Mostly
After losing 12 in a row to Houston, the Reds pulled off back-to-back wins against them on Saturday and Sunday to win the series--and that's impressive. No, the 'Stros didn't have Berkman. Or Beltran. No, Roger Clemens didn't pitch in the series. But Eric Milton outpitched Andy Pettitte and Aaron Harang threw another solid start. And the Astros do have a guy named Jason Lane--who is making it harder for casual fans that assume he's just another young outfielder to ignore his talent. Most of you reading this hopefully already know that. But the Astros will be in the mix this year--regardless of those who think they're not very good. Oh, yeah, I said "mostly" a good weekend. Friday's game tickets were a birthday present. An 11-2 drubbing wasn't what I wished for.
Air Pena
Sunday's flight was a 498-footer non-stop to the upper deck bleacher area, the second longest in the history of the Great American Terminal. Our pilot, Wily Mo, certainly made his case for more PT as he took a round trip around the bases for the third time in five starts. He's hitting .327 against LHP since the start of last year, so you have to think he'll be in there some against southpaws. He also homers 1 out of every 12 ABs against them too. Miley told the Dayton Daily News that he tends to go with the hot hand--and there are none hotter than Wily Mo right now. If you've got him, play him while you can. Hopefully soon the Reds will give him the chance to play regularly like so many of us would like to see. Do be aware of the potential AVG anchor if he does cool (0 BB, 8 K).
Around the Rotation
We're starting with Aaron Harang. If you're scoring at home, that's 2 of 3 solid starts for AH (if you're not scoring at home, I am, so don't worry). 8 Ks in 6 IP, 3 ER and he left the Reds with a solid opportunity to win until the minute a reliever stepped out of the bullpen (more on that later). He did give up a bomb to Jason Lane, but most of his pitches looked good and his stamina already looks better this year in April than it did all of last year. He didn't even average 6 IP a start last year and thus far has completed the 6th in all 3 starts. Bundles of wins might be tough without getting through the 7th, but he's heading in the right direction. One hurler who's heading the opposite direction is Ramon Ortiz, who was DLed retro to 4/9. He'll missed Monday's start and will miss Saturday's as well.
His replacement is Matt Belisle, who's had 1 impressive start and one horrid one. His good one in St. Louis was uncharacteristic of his minor league work, but his control is very good and if he keeps fooling hitters, he can definitely be a serviceable sub for Ortiz. He had a bit of a rough year in Louisville last year, so hold off thinking he may be a diamond in the rough. He's green, and has shown little that suggests star starter. Someone who was given that status (at least by contract numbers) was Eric Milton, who recorded his first good start of the year after tanking in his first 2 outings. Most impressive about it was that he didn't allow any HRs. Unfortunately, one start does mean he's turned around 7 years of gopheritis. His G/F ratio on Saturday was still well below 1.0.
The 6(Hundred)th Man
Now that every other player on every other roster in Major League Baseball has seen action this year, Brandon Claussen will finally get his turn Tuesday night against the Cubs. He'll get the start--against Mark Prior. How's that for luck? Anyway, Claussen was an intriguing--and the most potentially rewarding--piece of the Aaron Boone to the Yankees deal back in 2003. Since arm surgery in 2002, he's slowly made his way back to the status of pitching prospect. His problem now is the same as it was before the surgery--walks. As in too many (4.8 BB/9). His minor numbers last year weren't much better. His '05 spring numbers were down, but his Ks were way down as well. Bottom line--he's a lefty with decent potential. Watch his BBs numbers starting tomorrow night to see how to proceed.
The BloatPen
I actually consulted a thesaurus to find the word with exactly the kind of feeling this collective of relievers exudes. I settled on bloat, but if the 4.85 ERA continues along with the .800 opponent OPS, I may go back for something much worse. I'll hold back somewhat because we're only 12 games in, but as I've said before, the new Reds BloatPen has the potential to be the worst in years. Only Wagner has offered any value through the first 2 weeks, and he's been super. Danny Graves' 5 blundering saves (and 1 vulture win) don't count as value where I'm concerned because he's struck out 1 batter and he's surrendered a hit an inning. The best thing I can say about this pen for now is that it will do wonders for Rolaids stockholders. Outside of Wagner, waive accordingly.
Hitting Against the Kitchen Sink
Here's something--the Reds have already faced Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine (even though he's not the same Glavine), Andy Pettitte, and Mark Mulder, Kerry Wood and Roy Oswalt (twice). Who do they get to finish April? Mark Prior, Dontrelle Willis, Josh Beckett, Carlos Zambrano, and Greg Maddux are all on the list. Maybe that .257 team average and 4.5 runs/game isn't as bad as it looks. Twelve of the next 15 for Cincinnati are against divisional foes, so coming out of this stretch above .500 would put the Reds in the race for the time being. Something tells me the BloatPen could figure heavily in that equation. Here's my equation--less relievers, more wins. Either that or Air Pena will have to start daily flights. I'm Matt Allen, and this one belongs to the Red Letters.
Air Pena
Sunday's flight was a 498-footer non-stop to the upper deck bleacher area, the second longest in the history of the Great American Terminal. Our pilot, Wily Mo, certainly made his case for more PT as he took a round trip around the bases for the third time in five starts. He's hitting .327 against LHP since the start of last year, so you have to think he'll be in there some against southpaws. He also homers 1 out of every 12 ABs against them too. Miley told the Dayton Daily News that he tends to go with the hot hand--and there are none hotter than Wily Mo right now. If you've got him, play him while you can. Hopefully soon the Reds will give him the chance to play regularly like so many of us would like to see. Do be aware of the potential AVG anchor if he does cool (0 BB, 8 K).
Around the Rotation
We're starting with Aaron Harang. If you're scoring at home, that's 2 of 3 solid starts for AH (if you're not scoring at home, I am, so don't worry). 8 Ks in 6 IP, 3 ER and he left the Reds with a solid opportunity to win until the minute a reliever stepped out of the bullpen (more on that later). He did give up a bomb to Jason Lane, but most of his pitches looked good and his stamina already looks better this year in April than it did all of last year. He didn't even average 6 IP a start last year and thus far has completed the 6th in all 3 starts. Bundles of wins might be tough without getting through the 7th, but he's heading in the right direction. One hurler who's heading the opposite direction is Ramon Ortiz, who was DLed retro to 4/9. He'll missed Monday's start and will miss Saturday's as well.
His replacement is Matt Belisle, who's had 1 impressive start and one horrid one. His good one in St. Louis was uncharacteristic of his minor league work, but his control is very good and if he keeps fooling hitters, he can definitely be a serviceable sub for Ortiz. He had a bit of a rough year in Louisville last year, so hold off thinking he may be a diamond in the rough. He's green, and has shown little that suggests star starter. Someone who was given that status (at least by contract numbers) was Eric Milton, who recorded his first good start of the year after tanking in his first 2 outings. Most impressive about it was that he didn't allow any HRs. Unfortunately, one start does mean he's turned around 7 years of gopheritis. His G/F ratio on Saturday was still well below 1.0.
The 6(Hundred)th Man
Now that every other player on every other roster in Major League Baseball has seen action this year, Brandon Claussen will finally get his turn Tuesday night against the Cubs. He'll get the start--against Mark Prior. How's that for luck? Anyway, Claussen was an intriguing--and the most potentially rewarding--piece of the Aaron Boone to the Yankees deal back in 2003. Since arm surgery in 2002, he's slowly made his way back to the status of pitching prospect. His problem now is the same as it was before the surgery--walks. As in too many (4.8 BB/9). His minor numbers last year weren't much better. His '05 spring numbers were down, but his Ks were way down as well. Bottom line--he's a lefty with decent potential. Watch his BBs numbers starting tomorrow night to see how to proceed.
The BloatPen
I actually consulted a thesaurus to find the word with exactly the kind of feeling this collective of relievers exudes. I settled on bloat, but if the 4.85 ERA continues along with the .800 opponent OPS, I may go back for something much worse. I'll hold back somewhat because we're only 12 games in, but as I've said before, the new Reds BloatPen has the potential to be the worst in years. Only Wagner has offered any value through the first 2 weeks, and he's been super. Danny Graves' 5 blundering saves (and 1 vulture win) don't count as value where I'm concerned because he's struck out 1 batter and he's surrendered a hit an inning. The best thing I can say about this pen for now is that it will do wonders for Rolaids stockholders. Outside of Wagner, waive accordingly.
Hitting Against the Kitchen Sink
Here's something--the Reds have already faced Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine (even though he's not the same Glavine), Andy Pettitte, and Mark Mulder, Kerry Wood and Roy Oswalt (twice). Who do they get to finish April? Mark Prior, Dontrelle Willis, Josh Beckett, Carlos Zambrano, and Greg Maddux are all on the list. Maybe that .257 team average and 4.5 runs/game isn't as bad as it looks. Twelve of the next 15 for Cincinnati are against divisional foes, so coming out of this stretch above .500 would put the Reds in the race for the time being. Something tells me the BloatPen could figure heavily in that equation. Here's my equation--less relievers, more wins. Either that or Air Pena will have to start daily flights. I'm Matt Allen, and this one belongs to the Red Letters.
