Say it Ain't so ken

Ouch. I cannot say how disappointed I am. I mean, keeping it in perspective, we all know that even this year we didn't get the Griffey we traded for.

He's now a one-dimensional offensive player...low BA, good power. Not only doesn't he steal, but he can barely run from second to home. Good defense. Good arm.

But his presence in the lineup added an energy and a strength we will be missing without him.

Not to mention the fan appeal. It was just great to have him in the lineup.

And he was elected to start the All-Star game, and was set for the HR derby. Gone. I really am sick about it.

Now, it looks like another season like all the rest. He's out at least 5 weeks--they seem to fear many more on the radio today.

Our shallow lineup is all the more exposed now. Still, we rallied for a win today to finish out 3/4.

I'll do a mid-season wrap up in the next couple days. Suffice it to say that if this team, with its injuries, will be lucky they to finish .500.

They better hope Sean Casey doesn't tail off in the second half again.

That one hurts.

We needed last night's win--badly. You get good pitching and good enough hitting, and bring in a guy who is pitching really well, and boom, the Cardinals win.

The Cardinals are a good team, and objectively, they are a much better team than the Reds. They have a number of strong hitters. I don't think those pitches that were hit to left last night off White were bad pitches--good hitters just hit good pitches.

St. Louis plays long ball

Congratulations!!

A well-deserving honor for the over-achieving Reds. Thanks to Jack McKeon for not holding a grudge!!

Four Reds named All-Stars

Update: Reds Trendline

As part of what is nominally a continuing series, I'm looking at the areas where the Reds looked to improve their pitching and whether its working or not.

The basic answer is yes, but it still has a ways to go. I remain somewhat encouraged. Claussen and Bong are pitching well in AAA, and I continue to think the team may have enough umph to put together decent pitching in the future. The bottom line for 2004 is this...when the hitters are healthy, we're a decent team, maybe 88 wins. When the hitters are benched, we have no depth, and we're barely servicable.

With that in mind, here is how the numbers stack up. Our control is better and strikeouts better than last year--but still below average. We are giving up just as many HR's (second most in NL and more than the Rockies), and one hit per game above the league average. We are 14th in Runs Allowed. The slight drop over 2003 in ERA is due to better control and more K's, but its still very high.

BB/9 (2003--3.67 2004--3.19 NL Avg--3.42) (Note, this has steadily risen all year)
K/9 (2003--5.80 2004--6.05 NL Avg--6.54)
H/9 (2003--9.82 2004--9.81 NL Avg--8.96)
ERA (2003--5.09 2004--4.98 NL Avg--4.27)
K/bb (2003--1.58 2004--1.90 NL Avg--1.91)
hr/9 (2003--1.30 2004--1.34 NL Avg--1.07) (Rocketed up in the past month)
e/game (2003--0.87 2004--0.61)

Finally, our pythag. We should be 36-44, and we are 43-37, so we are seven games above our pythag, and holding, more or less, over a month ago. Some might argue its inflated by a couple blowouts (Oakland and Cleveland...curse inter-league play), but this team is still over its head. I love it, and we play hard and don't give up, but we are over our head.

The Reds ERA is almost equal to the D-Backs. Yet they are 29-52. Amazing.

Well, we need to win the series today, which we should be able to do, and then head to Busch for the fourth, grit our teeth and pull some wins out. They have nasty pitching waiting for us, and if our guys do not produce or are not healthy, we will get eaten alive.

Great and fun New Game

With the Reds not doing so well, and Falcon football some 64 days away, and Lion football another 8 days further out than that, I wanted to divert a minute to give props to a great new outdoor game my son got for his birthday. Its from Temperance, Michigan, and its called Rattle Rail Toss. Its kind of like horseshoes, but a lot easier. You throw weighted balls with rope between them at a stand that has three rails in them, and you get points when you wrap the rope around the target.

Its a heck of a lot of fun. Check the web site out below for a better description, but its a great game because its challenging enough to be interesting, but can be played competitively by nearly any age person, especially if you let the little ones stand a little closer. I have no stake in this product, merely to say its a riot on a summer evening. It would be great for picnics and family gatherings, and it is easy to break up for team play as well as for head to head play.

Rattle Rail Toss

Finally, for anyone who wants a succinct description of what ails our Reds, I think this does the trick.

Daugherty in Enquirer