Reds Go on the Road with a BIG Opportunity
Written by Jocephus, Wednesday May 27 2009
The Reds won again last evening at home bringing their current home stand record to 5-3 with one more to go against the struggling Astros. Joey Votto once again displayed excellent strength pushing a ball the other way over the fence in left to put the Reds up 2 late in the game. Those ended up being the winning runs as Cordero closed the door on his 13th save tying him for the league lead. Micah Owings turned in an adequate performance giving up 3 runs in 5 innings. That would be considered more than adequate by some considering that Owings is a #5 starter. He once again got it done at the plate with a hit and a run in the 3rd. Also, Owings nearly missed an extra base hit when Michael Bourn stole one away.
After Owings left the game, the bull pen shut down the remaining Astros offense giving up 1 run in the remaining 4. That one run was the result of former Red Jeff Keppinger lining the first pitch thrown by Mike Lincoln into the left field seats. The .1 innings pitched by Lincoln were less than impressive, but nothing out of the normal for him this season. 2 hits, and one run. Ballooning his ERA to 9.56. Why, with a bullpen that has otherwise been amazing, would Dusty Baker continue to place his faith in Mike Lincoln? Nearing the 50 game mark in the season, a middle reliever with an ERA anywhere over 7 has some obvious issues. Give him a short stint in the minors to find his grove. Mike Lincoln has the ability, but he has not been able to find it this season. Leaving him up to get hammered any more hurts him as well as the team.
Other than Lincoln being Lincoln, the Reds had a great game and played some fundamental baseball. They were missing their 2nd baseman Brandon Phillips, but Ramon Hernandez did a great job filling in the cleanup spot. Willy Taveras took the night off, but Chris Dickerson did alright at leadoff. Lance Nix once again proved that he deserves an everyday spot in this lineup. There is no denying a man who ranks 2nd on the team in slugging and tied with the lead in doubles when he doesn’t have near as many ABs as other players.
Perhaps Jay Bruce could take a couple days off. Most people in Cincinnati would not like to hear that, but Jay Bruce is hitting .228. He is a definite asset in the field and proved last night that opposing runners are deathly afraid of running on his arm. There was a base running blunder by the Astros brought on by the indecision of whether or not to run home on a hit to right field. However, until he pushes that average above .255, he will continue to be a hole in the lineup.
The Reds have found their mark again after being knocked down 3 straight in San Diego. Who knew that San Diego would be on such a tear? The won the 3 vs the Reds and have not looked back winning 10 straight. These next 11 games, and the last 2 will be HUGE when it comes to the Central division standings. That includes the Reds, Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers. The Brewers and Cardinals currently have the lead 1.5 games over the Reds and 4 games over the Cubs. But as we creep into the month of June, the Reds have a great opportunity to make an impact on the division over the next 11 games. If they can take 8 of the 11, then they will be looking good as they move closer to the All Star break.
The National League Central is by far the most talented top to bottom division in baseball, and it is anyone’s race at this point. A bold statement to make in May, but your wildcard team for 2009 will also come from this division. But who wants to be a wildcard team? It is the division championship and bragging rights that every manager goes for.
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