Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds may not be the best player in the league, but he certainly is having one of the best months. Although the Reds are in a nosedive, he has single-handedly tried to carry them on his back. Although the team is only 12-11 in May, Bruce is putting up Pujols-like numbers.

In the 23 games so far this month, he is batting .344/.404/.744 with 10 HR and 27 RBI. He is currently the league leader in homers with 14 and is third in RBI with 38. Do you think he may have a chance to be the Player of the Month?

While most of the players around him have watched their statistics fall quicker than the stock market in the depression, Bruce is seeing the ball well. He is currently riding an eight game hitting streak, with six being multi-hit games, three of them with three hits. He has 10 multi-hit games in the month.

In the 4-game series with the Phillies, Bruce was 9 for 21 with 3 HR and 11 RBI. I am sure Charlie Manual was glad to see him leave town, even though the Phillies won 3 of the 4 games.

The NL Player of the Month for April, Ryan Braun has watched his average drop 61 points, has belted only 2 HR with 14 RBI.

Only 24 years old, Bruce has the potential to be a truly great player. He has very good power, above average speed and is arguably the best right fielder in the National League, certainly he has one of the best arms.

Oddly, he is hitting southpaws better than right-handers, .342 to .275, which should make it more difficult for opposing managers to want to bring a LOOGY (lefty one-out guy) in to face him.

Although he clearly isn’t the best right now, his future looks bright and he could live up to the lofty expectations that have been placed on him.

The Cincinnati Reds are in a tailspin. Five straight losses constitute a tailspin, am I right? One week ago they led the National League Central Division by 1 ½ games, courtesy of a 3-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, after losing a 2-game series to the Pirates, and being swept by the Cleveland Indians, they find themselves 2 ½ games behind the front running Cardinals. They are also only 1 game ahead of the 3^rd place Milwaukee Brewers.

Fingers could be pointed in several directions, if one wanted to play that game. They only scored three games in the two losses to the Bucs as Charlie Morton, 5-1, pitched a 5-hit shutout in the series opener. In the weekend series with the Tribe, the Reds only scored nine runs.

Travis Wood

The quaint old saying, “Live by the sword; die by the sword,” could definitely be applied to the Reds in the Indians’ series. In the opener southpaw Travis Wood was tossing a no-hitter at the Tribe through five and cruising in a 4-0 game. He came undone in the sixth and was lit up for a four spot before giving way to Logan Ondrusek. The Indians went on to win 5-4 as they scored the winning run in their last at bat.

Homer Bailey

Homer Bailey, 3-1, brought a 1-hit shutout into the seventh with a 1-0 lead in game two.  The wheels fell off in the sixth as he gave up a single to Asdrubal Cabrera and was taken deep by Travis Buck to end the scoring.

The finale was all Cleveland, all the time. Cabrera had a 5-5 day with 2 HR with 5 RBI and Edinson Volquez continued his blatant disregard for the sanctity of the first inning.

The Reds were actually off to a 1-0 start as NL MVP Joey Votto drilled his sixth homer of the season. Enter Volquez. In his 11 starts this season, he has failed to end the first inning without surrendering a run, in three of them. Look at that, will you? Eight games of 11 he has been roughed up in the first stanza. His ERA for the first inning this year is an incredible 18.00. He gets treated badly in the sixth inning as well as he carries a 12.46 ERA in that inning. In innings 2-5 he has an excellent ERA of 2.45.

Against Volquez, batters are hitting .421 in the first, .368 in the sixth and .145 in innings 2-5. To me he looks like a four-inning man, which brings me to my first change. I believe he should be given a shot in the bullpen.

Sam LeCure

Perhaps Sam LeCure could take his spot in the rotation. Let him pitch the first inning, then bring Volquez in. Of course this is using the precept that he has some fear of the first inning of the game. If he fears the first inning he pitches, obviously this would be a bust. If that doesn’t work he should be relegated to long relief until he works it out. It is nonsensical to continue to put the team in a first-inning hole that is difficult to climb out.

LeCure is an able starter and should be given an opportunity. Something needs to be done to shake the Reds up, and that is one of my suggestions.

Jonny Gomes

My second suggestion is painful for me to write. Let me say this up front: I love Jonny Gomes, and I am probably his last supporter. I have held on as long as I could, but it is now painful to watch him struggle offensively. He has been a big time run producer but his average has sunk consistently. It peaked on April 13 at .273 and has nose-dived to .171, dead last in the major leagues. He has only five hits since April 17.

People have been clamoring for Gomes to be replaced by Chris Heisey, yet I have resisted, defending Gomes in hopes he would soon turn it around. Apparently that is not to be. It is time to give him a break and allow Heisey and Fred Lewis to platoon in left field.

Chris Heisey

Fred Lewis

Heisey has knocked in 17 runs in only 66 AB, while Gomes has 19 in 129. Heisey is currently batting .268 while Lewis is hitting .257. Both are more agile in the field than Gomes.

In Gomes’ defense which seems lame at this juncture, he is sixth in the NL in SecA (secondary average) at .403. Perhaps a short stint in Louisville would serve him well. Something must be done to rattle the cages. To paraphrase a nugget of wisdom, if you continue to do the same thing and expect a different result, you are crazy. Dusty Baker is anything but crazy. He has made good decisions most of his managerial career.

The current five-game skid has dropped the Reds to just three games above .500. They have to go to Philadelphia and play the Phillies four games. They will go up against Cole Hamel in the opener on Monday.  Vance Worley, just called up from Lehigh Valley to replace Joe Blanton in the rotation, will pitch on Tuesday. Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee will start the other two games. The Reds will counter with Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Wood and Bailey.

Series notes:

• Jay Bruce was 5-10 with 1 HR.
• Sam LeCure had another good outing in relief. He pitched 3+ and gave up 1 R, and 1 H, with 4 K’s and 1 W.
• Homer Bailey and Travis Wood both carried shutouts into the sixth inning.

AP Photo/ Al Behrman

The Cincinnati Reds dozed a path directly to the top of the National League Central Division. Going into the weekend series with St. Louis they trailed the Cards by 1 ½ games. After sweeping their rivals the Reds found themselves atop the division by the same game and a half.

The series with the Cards was a masterpiece to Reds fans. Cards’ skipper, Tony LaRussa did not make the trip due to illness. I would imagine that he was orchestrating the Cardinals from afar. The Reds had their hitting shoes on over the weekend, as they amassed 13 H on Friday, 12 on Saturday, and 11 on Sunday.

In the opener the Cards were on top 4-0 until the Reds put up a 2-spot in the sixth inning. Two doubles sandwiched by a single chased ex-Red Kyle Lohse after the inning. Lohse was working on a two-hit shutout until the wheels fell off in the sixth.

Bronson Arroyo (ESPN)

Reds’ starter Bronson Arroyo pitched his sixth quality game in eight starts this season. He pitched six innings allowing 6 H and 3 ER. Joey Votto singled in the winning run in the 10^th inning as the Reds won 6-5, their fourth extra inning game without a loss. Closer Coco Cordero, 3-1 picked up the win while Jason Motte, 1-1 was saddled with the loss.

Johnny Cueto (ESPN)

Jonny Cueto, 2-0, making only his second start of the season, held the Cards in check by giving up just 3 H and 0 ER in 7.2 innings. The Reds took over possession of 1^st place by roughing up Cardinals’ pitching 7-3. They were paced by catcher

Ramon Hernandez (ESPN)

Ramon Hernandez with a pair of homers, and one by Brandon Phillips. Drew Stubbs and Hernandez each had a 3-hit game.

The Reds finally gave nemesis Chris Carpenter, 1-3, a beating as they defeated the Cardinal ace for the first time since 2006. It was also the first sweep the Reds had over their division foes since 2007. The Reds were administering a solid whipping to the Cards behind the pitching of lefty Travis Wood, 3-3.

Hernandez hit his third round-tripper of the series and Chris Heisey hit his 5^th PH HR in two years as the Reds took the series finale 9-7. The final score made the game look closer because of the ninth inning performance of reliever Aroldis Chapman. The Cuban southpaw had been experiencing control problems and this game looked like it was in the win column at 9-2. However he faced five batters and issued free passes to four of them, including a walk-in run. He threw 23 pitches and only five of them were strikes.

Nick Masset attempted to put out the fire but he only faced one batter before manager Dusty Baker came with the hook. Cordero came in with two on, two out and Lance Berkman at the plate, with the score now 9-7. In a nail-biting finish Berkman swung and missed a 2-2 pitch and the crowd went wild. Some of the Cards were taunting Cordero as he walked off the field because he had hit Albert Pujols in the hand earlier that inning.

Series Notes:

• Hernandez was 6-9 with 3 HR, a double and 3 RBI.
• Scott Rolen who was activated prior to the series, was 7-11 with a double and a triple, and 2 RBI.
• Carpenter gave up 7 ER in 6+ innings.
• I proved prophetic as Mike Leake was sent to Louisville to make way for Jose Arredondo
• Wood has now pitched 6 quality starts in 9 games

The Cincinnati Reds just returned home from a six-game road trip. They started the trek with a three game series at Wrigley Field where they bested the Chicago Cubs twice. They followed that up with a three game set in Houston against the last place Astros. After having won a series against the Astros in Cincinnati last week, the Reds threatened to sweep them in their own yard. It was the third consecutive series won by the Reds.

The starting rotation was revamped with the welcome return of both Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto. The rotation had put up some very anemic numbers lately. Mike Leake was sent to the bullpen while Jordan Smith was optioned to the Louisville Bats to make room on the roster.

Homer Bailey

Bailey has had very good stuff in both of his outings thus far. In his season opener he pitched six strong innings at Houston, giving up just four hits, one walk and an earned run on the way to a 10-4 blistering of the Astros. Pitching coach Bryan Price allowed Bailey to throw just under 100 pitches before turning it over to the bullpen.

In his next turn against Houston, Bailey won his second game of the year, pitching shutout baseball over seven complete innings. He only allowed five hits and no walks while fanning five. In his two appearances this season he is 2-0 with a very fine 0.69 ERA and a miniscule WHIP of only 0.769.

Johnny Cueto

In Cueto’s only appearance this season, he shutout the Cubs for six innings before handing the keys to southpaw Bill Bray in the seventhinning.  Cueto allowed only five hits and a walk while striking out four as the Reds won 2-0. It was the first shutout of the season for the Reds pitching staff.

Scott Rolen was activated in time for the series that begins Friday night at Great American Ball Park. His last game was April 20^th against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is hitting a paltry .217 with a pair of homers and 12 RBI. Chris Valaika had been called up to fill in for Rolen and batted .313 in his stead. He was optioned to Louisville when Rolen was activated.

The league leading St. Louis Cardinals come to town for a weekend series with a 1 ½ game lead over Cincinnati. Both teams have won six of their previous 10, with the Reds losing Wednesday while the Cards won their series finale against the Cubs.

Former Red Kyle Lohse goes to the mound in the series opener against workhorse Bronson Arroyo. The Saturday afternoon game will feature Kyle McClellan against Johnny Cueto. The series will wrap up on Sunday with Cardinal ace Chris Carpenter doing battle with southpaw Travis Wood.

It will mark the second consecutive series that the Reds have not had to face Cardinal lefty sophomore Jaime Garcia who is off to a 5-0 start with a 1.89 ERA.

Reds notes:

• Jonny Gomes is third in the NL in Secondary Average at .444 but is only batting .193. He is in a serious slump, his last HR was on April 17, and he has only 4 RBI since then. His average has dropped consistently from .261 on that date.
• Aroldis Chapman has been struggling lately and Price claims that his mechanics are the problem.
• If Leake has another bad performance or two, look for him to do some time in Louisville.

There are some great players in the National League right now, St. Louis’ Albert Pujols, his early batting problems notwithstanding, and Ryan Braun of the Brewers, to name just a couple.

The reigning MVP in the National League, Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds has started this season much like he finished last year. He is seventh in batting at .357, second in OBP with .492, tied for fifth in slugging, fourth in OPS and leads the league in walks.

He is as steady as can be, having reached base in 44 consecutive games in which he has started, dating back to September 11 of last season. In only three full seasons he has a career OPS+ of 154, a .317 BA, and a .406 OBP. He is only 27 and only great things are predicted for him.

The biggest problem Votto has is the Reds do not have a top-caliber play batting behind him. Manager Dusty Baker has experimented since Scott Rolen went on the DL. He has tried Jonny Gomes and Jay Bruce, both of which were lacking. Most recently he has had second-baseman Brandon Phillips batting in the cleanup spot. He has been productive but still doesn’t product the fear-factor necessary to keep pitchers pitching to Votto instead of giving up a free pass.

Pujols, 31 has had probably the best first 10 years of his career of anyone in history. His lowest BA was recorded last year at .310, the lowest HR output was 32 in 2007, the lowest RBI was 103 in 2007, his lowest OBP was .394 in 2002, and his lowest OPS+ of 151 in 2002.

Pujols has won three MVP awards, second in NL history to Barry Bonds with 7. He was also the NL Rookie of the Year in 2001. It is hard to believe he was a rookie during the season that the disaster of 9-11 occurred.

Brewers’ left-fielder Ryan Braun, 27 has so much potential that it is scary to any NL pitcher or manager. He has as much power as anybody and actually led the league in hits in 2008 with 203. He was Rookie of the Year in 2007 as a third-baseman. He hit 34 HR even though he wasn’t called up until May 25, playing in only 113 games that year.

He is currently second in the league in HR with 10, fourth in RBI with 24, fifth in OBP at .444 and third in OPS with 1.129.

In order for the Reds to repeat as the Central Division champs is for Votto to remain hot and to get some help from Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs and Jonny Gomes.

As Votto goes, so go the Reds. That is what makes him valuable. That is also what makes him having help all the more important. Remember what Branch Rickey told Ralph Kiner when trading him to the Cubs in 1953?  “We finished last with you and we can finish last without you.”

After 25 games or so, only 2.5 games separate the top five teams in the Central Division of the National League.

What began looking like a wire-to-wire run as the top team, the Cincinnati Reds have faltered and won only four of their last 11 outings.

They had lost two of three games to the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend, and found themselves in third place in the division.

After taking two of three from the Brewers in Milwaukee, the Reds salvaged a .500 road trip, and put them just ½ game back of the leading Cardinals.

Of course the most serious contenders are defending champs, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Milwaukee.

They all have formidable lineups and each boast at least one possible MVP candidate.

The Cards have, in my opinion, the best 3, 4,5 hitters in baseball with Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman. Berkman is the “Killer Emeritus” to the Reds. He always was when he was with Houston and he still is, as evidenced over the weekend. His career line against them looks like an MVP season: .323/442/49/137.

The Reds have a young team that is lead by reigning NL MVP, Joey Votto. Gold Glove winner Brandon Phillips is arguably the best second-baseman in baseball. Right-fielder Jay Bruce has been compared to Mickey Mantle. That is high praise indeed and thus far the only resemblance statistically is in strikeouts.

He is loaded with promise, having 40+ HR power and a cannon arm that helps in making him one of the best defensive right-fielders in the major leagues.

Throw in Drew Sutton, Scott Rolen and Jonny Gomes and you have the nucleus of a perennial pennant contender.

The Brewers are not to be pitied with the ammunition they have. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Casey McGehee and Corey Hart provide a 4-man punch that is perhaps unequaled. Second-baseman Rickey Weeks has All-Star power, especially from an interior infield position.

Pitching could prove to be the difference at the end of the season. The Cardinals received the first blow when CYA runner-up Adam Wainwright was out for the season before it started. Ace, Chris Carpenter is joined by second-year man, Jaime Garcia and Jamie Westbrook to lead a rotation which currently consists of Kyle Lohse and Kyle McClellan.

The Brewers made some off-season deals that made them look good on paper. CYA winner Zack Greinke, obtained from the Kansas City Royals was promptly put on the DL to start the season. Another acquisition, Shaun Marcum fell in line behind Yovani Gallardo to bolster a rotation that includes southpaws Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson.

The Reds have more prospects on the mound than the Cards and Brewers put together. The only problem is keeping them healthy and happy. When 2010 returnees Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto return from the DL things will look up for the “home made” duo of Travis Wood and Mike Leake and veteran workhorse Bronson Arroyo.

As the division contenders beat each other up all season, don’t look for the Wild Card to come from these parts. The winner will be the only representative to the playoffs in 2011.

]]> http://www.prosportsblogging.com/2011/04/28/nl-central-division-looks-like-a-year-of-looking-over-your-shoulder/feed/ 0 http://www.prosportsblogging.com/2011/04/22/mike-leake-puts-troubles-behind-him-and-helps-reds-end-4-game-losing-streak/ http://www.prosportsblogging.com/2011/04/22/mike-leake-puts-troubles-behind-him-and-helps-reds-end-4-game-losing-streak/#comments Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:18:00 +0000 Cliff Eastham http://prosportsblogging.com/?p=49341
Mike Leake did not look like a 23-year old with legal problems and the baseball world inspecting him on a petri dish. The second-year former Arizona State Sun Devil picked up his third win of the season as the Reds beat the Diamondbacks 7-4 behind Joey Votto’s solo blast and a pair of 2-RBI games [...]]]>

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Mike Leake did not look like a 23-year old with legal problems and the baseball world inspecting him on a petri dish. The second-year former Arizona State Sun Devil picked up his third win of the season as the Reds beat the Diamondbacks 7-4 behind Joey Votto’s solo blast and a pair of 2-RBI games from Miguel Cairo and Paul Janish.

Leake was arrested Monday for shoplifting six shirts at a Macy’s store in downtown Cincinnati.  Some internet scuttlebutt claimed that Leake was merely exchanging the clothes without following the proper procedures, such as allowing an employee to assist in the transaction.

After getting Arizona’s second baseman, Kelly Johnson to fly out in the first inning, it began to look like business as usual for the Reds starting pitchers. Newborn Reds “killer” Ryan Roberts doubled to left and later scored on Stephen Drew’s single.

The Reds’ pitchers, headed by Edinson Volquez have been notoriously horrendous in the first inning this young season.

Cincinnati erupted for a 4-spot in the home half of the first, as they drew three walks, hit three singles and Ramon Hernandez was hit by a pitch.

Leake gave up another run in the second inning sandwiched between two walks and a single. Then he settled down and retired eight in a row before Johnson lit him up in the 5^th.

He then retired the next eight batters before handing the keys to Logan Ondrusek after 7 complete innings. It was his 3^rd quality start in 4 appearances this season.

Arizona won the series opener 5-4 as Armando Galarraga (3-0) pitched six strong innings. Reds starter Sam LeCure (0-1) was tagged with the loss. Chris Young and Johnson both homered while Roberts went yard twice. Drew Stubbs hit his 4^th HR of the year for the Reds in the losing cause.

Arizona won the second game, this time by a score of 3-1, as Ian Kennedy (2-1) out-dueled Bronson Arroyo (2-2).

The Reds recent tailspin reduced them to a share of the division lead with three of the other five teams at 9-9. The St. Louis Cardinals kept the pace with a 5-0 shutout of the Washington Nationals, while the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers were idle.

The weekend series with the Cardinals has wider appeal as they start off in a tie for first place. Saturday and Sunday night’s game will both be televised nationally. Volquez will start the series opener Friday night against Kyle McClellan. Saturday’s game on Fox will feature Travis Wood and Chris Carpenter. The series will end Sunday night on ESPN with Sam LeCure taking the hill for the Reds while Cards’ manager Tony LaRussa hasn’t decided who will start for him.

Series notes:

• The Diamondbacks won their second series of the season against the Reds. It was the third series the Reds have lost so far against three wins.
• Reigning MVP Joey Votto is now the league leader in batting with a .418 average. He is also the leader in OBP with .518, and is second to Troy Tulowitzki in OPS.
• The starting rotation of the Reds has a collective ERA of 5.16. The team’s overall ERA of 4.43 is above the league average of 3.89 and ranks 11^th of the 16 teams in the NL.
• The only starters who are still batting .300 or better are Votto, Brandon Phillips (.350) and Ramon Hernandez (.351).
• Roberts finished the series with 4 hits in 10 trips, including 2 HR and 4 RBI. Johnson was 4-12 with a pair of homers as well.

Photo by Al Behrman/AP

The Pittsburgh Pirates sailed into Cincinnati and took three out of four games from the division-leading Reds.

Kevin Correia pitched the second complete game of the series as the Bucs overwhelmed the Reds 9-3. Every Pirate’s starter except Andrew McCutchen got 2 hits as they outhit the home team 15-4. The score looks closer than it really was because Chris Heisey hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.

Travis Wood did not have anything in the tank last night as he turned in his shortest starting appearance of his career at 3.1 innings. He was tagged with his second loss in three decisions. His line for the game is  8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.

The Reds have lost four of their last five, and 7 of 11 as they now hold a scant one-game lead over everyone in the Central Division with the exception of the bottom-feeding Houston Astros who are four games off the pace.

Pitcher Charlie Morton had broken the seal on the series with a 6-1, five hit masterpiece on Friday. Catcher Chris Snyder had a 3-4 night and Neil Walker smashed a 2-run jack. Garret Jones also blasted a solo shot as the Bucs showed few signs of the franchise which has had 18 consecutive losing seasons.

Game 2 was the only game of the four-game set in which the Reds  resembled the reigning NL Central Division champs. Jonny Gomes went yard twice with 3 RBI and Ramon Hernandez hit a grand-slam and went 3 for 4 as the Reds routed the Pirates 11-2.  2010 MVP Joey Votto also had a 3-4 day with and RBI.

Mike Leake (2-0) posted his second quality start of the year, going 6 innings and allowing 4 hits and 2 runs. The relieving corps of Jordan Smith, Bill Bray and Nick Masset provided three inniOngs of 2-hit shutout ball in support of Leake’s strong effort.

The game was tied at 2 after four innings when the Reds erupted for 7 runs, anchored by Hernandez’ blast and Drew Stubbs‘ solo shot in the bottom of the fifth. The game was never in doubt after that.

On Sunday with the teams knotted at one-game each, the Reds’ Edinson Volquez began the same way he has in all of his starts thus far, a disastrous first inning.  He surrendered a lead-off home run to McCutchen and followed it up by throwing a gopher ball to left-fielder Jose Tabata, marking his second game of the season serving up back to back home runs to start a game.

Gomes hit his 6th HR of the season in the second making it a 4-1 game after two. Miguel Cairo hit his first homer of the season off starter Jeff Karstens and the Reds rallied to take a 5-4 lead after five. Jay Bruce showed the ability he possesses in a 4-5 game with 2 HR. The game ended in heartbreak fashion for Cincy as Stubbs flew out on a 2-0 count with the bases loaded. The final score was 7-6 as Logan Ondrusek was saddled with his first loss of the year.

Series Notes:

• Bruce got 6 hits, including 2 HR in the series raising his average to .268.
• Gomes had 3 hits, all HR as he is now 2nd in the NL with 6 HR. He is also tied for 3rd with 14 RBI, and leads the league with 15 walks.
• Hernandez finished the series with 5 hits in 8 trips including a grand slam lifting his average to .328.
• Second-baseman Brandon Phillips who was injured in the final game with the Padres missed the entire season.
• Snake-bitten reliever Masset appeared twice in the series without a catastrophe. His line for the series: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K. He was only used in non-critical situations and hopefully is finding his way back to his 2010 form.
• Jeremy Hermida was called up from Louisville to fill the spot on the roster vacated by Juan Francisco who was placed on the DL.

The Arizona Diamondbacks will come to town on Tuesday for a 3-game series and then the Reds will leave town to finish the week with a 3-game series in St. Louis.