Reds 6, Braves 3
Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds — Box Score — May 24, 2012 — ESPN
Well, that sucked.
The offense continues to sputter, and the starting pitching continues to pitch not all that badly, but badly enough to lose with the lack of offense. Homer Bailey was the mediocre righty who would give us fits on this particular occasion.
Delgado pitched very well until the third time through the Reds’ batting order, in the sixth inning, when he loaded the bases before Medlen was brought in to give up a grand slam to effectively lose the game. Homers by Bourn and Francisco gave the Braves their runs. Prado continues to rake; Venters continues to look hurt.
Glad to be getting out of Cincy. Here’s hoping our best hitters get healthy and into the lineup sometime soon.
Stu, can we ban you from doing any recap again?
May 24th, 2012 at 8:57 pmGood thing is we are leaving Cincy, bad thins is we are about to face good pitchers.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:00 pm1—Please do. Not exactly a fun job.
(We won the games I recapped earlier in the season. Don’t think it’s me, unfortunately.)
May 24th, 2012 at 9:01 pm@2 It may actually be good news. The team actually play better against good pitchers.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:04 pm@3 I understand Stu. That’s why I admire how Mac, and you now, has managed to write these amazing recaps regardless of whether the team wins or losses.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:06 pmDon’t admire me; I put less and less effort into these with each one I have to do (especially when the Braves are losing).
Mac is freaking awesome, though. Doing these certainly gives me a greater appreciation for all his work over the years.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:07 pmOh no, guys, do you realize it’s almost June?
From the last post…it’s hard to think of a team whose imperfect roster construction won’t cause them to get swept like this. It is an issue, I suppose, but it doesn’t put us at a disadvantage at the same time.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:08 pmIs there any team desperate enough to take Jurrjens off of our hands and pay his remaining salary? Oswalt has come out recently saying that there’s 3 teams he prefers to play for…and we’re one of them.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:16 pmOswalt has been saying that for a while. Wren also said something coy about the possibility, like “You never know” or something to that effect. We’d have to get creative, that’s for sure.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:24 pm@8 I don’t see how we can manage to find more money to pay Oswalt than the Rangers. If the Rangers want Osqalt, they will get him.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:27 pmThe rangers want oswalt for the pen and he wants to start. The braves need to upgrade the rotation and we cant play through Minor and Delgado’s growing pains.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:40 pmWell, that was a Great American Ballpunch.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:49 pmBest case scenario: Chipper agrees to restructure his contract to accommodate Oswalt and plays next year
May 24th, 2012 at 9:57 pm@13 And Chipper would play one more year…
May 24th, 2012 at 10:10 pmI made the trip to Cincy tonight in hopes that I would get to see Chipper one last time. I was bummed he still wasn’t in the starting lineup, but was hopeful he’d pinch hit. Before tonight I didn’t have a strong opinion one way or the other about Juan Francisco, but I can honestly say now he’s on my bad side. All he had to do was NOT hit into a double play in the 9th and Chipper would have been up. So naturally that is the exact thing he did. What a wasted trip.
May 24th, 2012 at 11:06 pm‘Rissa, I made the trip too (2 hour drive) and was equally pissed at Francisco for the DP.
I’ll also point out that tonight’s infield might have been the worst I have seen at a major league game.
May 24th, 2012 at 11:24 pmLiving in Reds Country has been misery this week.
My office is full of Reds signs this morning. Even my lovely new bride asked if I’d heard last night’s score and then whispered, “Don’t bother.”
A fan’s gotta take his lumps, but it hurts when casual Reds fans ask who we’ve added since last September besides Fransisco.
Why they gotta to bring up September?
May 25th, 2012 at 7:51 amJust show them the Fangraphs chart from the Brooks Conrad game and tell them to smell your farts. That’s what I do.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:55 amAsk your coworkers why Dusty Baker wears all those sweat bands.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:14 amYeah. Or play them some of Bronson Arroyo singing Goo Goo Dolls songs.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:25 am@17
Ask them what happened the last time we played in the playoffs
May 25th, 2012 at 8:25 amOr they last time THEY made the playoffs.
Cough *No-Hitter* Cough
May 25th, 2012 at 8:26 amMelky Cabrera .362/.409/.519
Jason Heyward .240/.329/.420
May 25th, 2012 at 8:44 amActually JHEY .237/.329/.414
May 25th, 2012 at 8:45 amI think Melky may be my least-favorite player of all time.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:58 amHeyward is hitting way under .200 for the last month. If he doesn’t hit and Chipper only plays half the time (or less) then we’re going to finish in the bottom half of the division. Our pitching isn’t good enough to hide this team’s flaws.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:40 amLast Month – .188AVG .298OBP 25K’s in 90AB’s.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:44 amWoof.
May 25th, 2012 at 10:38 am#17 – I feel your pain. I live in Columbus. One of my colleagues here at work gave me the sweep signal this morning. Egads. After our display of ‘offense’ the last 4 days I couldn’t even muster up a finger to tell him he was number 1.
Heyward looks helpless. Aside from the double the other night he isn’t making any hard contact.
May 25th, 2012 at 10:42 amAdam Jones is about to get 6/$85
May 25th, 2012 at 10:49 amWhat were the O’s wanting for Jones? JJ and something else?
May 25th, 2012 at 10:55 amJJ + Prado + premier pitching prospect, as I recall.
May 25th, 2012 at 10:56 amBraves were playing incredibly well on the road, but I think fatigue has gotten to them. Tonight will be their 15th consecutive game with no break and they will play 20 consecutive games from May 11 to May 30. Of the 14 consecutive games so far, 10 of them have been on the road.
It should be helpful for the Braves to get back to Atlanta, but with all the nagging injuries for several players, the off day next Thursday will be really nice.
May 25th, 2012 at 11:04 am@32 Well, good thing we held onto Prado, at least.
May 25th, 2012 at 11:04 amI live in Columbus.
No, it is we who should be feeling your pain.
I’m having to spend time in Columbus this summer for work reasons. I can’t believe there is a capital city suckier than Tallahassee.
May 25th, 2012 at 11:07 amHudson and Beachy need to be lights out in this series. I dont think Minor/Strasburg will work out in our favor. I just hope Minor doesnt give up a long ball to Strasburg.
May 25th, 2012 at 11:13 amWill Strasburg take Minor deep?
May 25th, 2012 at 11:40 amEveryone else has been.
May 25th, 2012 at 11:42 am“If the U.S. was a person,” he later became fond of saying, “and it sat down, Columbus, Ohio would instantly be plunged into darkness.”
- Thomas Pynchon
(Self-plagiarized from a bit about Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but the point stands.)
May 25th, 2012 at 12:21 pm#35,#39 Sigh. To paraphrase someone that was writing about Charlotte NC, Columbus is a nice place to live but you wouldn’t want to visit there.
Its pretty bad that I’m having a hard time coming up with any virtues to extol about old Chris town.
#31 – O’s wanted Marteen, JJ, one of Vizcaino, Teheran, Delgado, Wren’s first born child, tickets to Cheetah 3 and a tour of the CNN center.
May 25th, 2012 at 12:40 pmMaybe it’s because I have no standards and I’m just easy to please, but I’ve enjoyed Columbus on the times I’ve visited.
May 25th, 2012 at 12:56 pmThere are no virtues.
You know what Columbus has in spades? Subway “restaurants,” that’s what. There’s really nowhere else to eat downtown after, like, 5 PM that isn’t higher end…see for yourself: http://www.subway.com/storelocator/default.aspx?zip=Columbus,%20OH
Have you ever been in a Subway? How disturbing is it that it smells the way it does? No place in the world smells quite like Subway. You could blindfold me and lead me in there after a period of extreme sensory disorientation, and I guarantee that I could still tell you exactly where I am.
It almost goes without saying that many people in Columbus smell like a combination of cigarette smoke and Subway.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:04 pmI really like Cincinnati, though.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:04 pmHave you ever been in a Subway? How disturbing is it that it smells the way it does?
Try working two doors down from a Subway. Its awful. I can go in for less than a minute or two to get a drink and smell like Subway for the rest of the day.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:12 pmIt almost goes without saying that many people in Columbus smell like a combination of cigarette smoke and Subway.
Where have you been hanging out?
#41 – Like I said, Columbus isn’t exactly a destination city but its a pretty good place to live and raise a family.
I will say that campus on a sunny day is the most scenic place in Columbus.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:19 pmThe Subway Stink is indeed unmistakable and awful.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:22 pmIt would be a great place to sell sofas, that’s for sure.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:23 pmCincinnati is a great town
May 25th, 2012 at 1:40 pmWell, I wasn’t even aware of a mercy rule in college baseball, but Tech just achieved it against Virginia. Now I reluctantly root for FSU tonight to get us into the Championship game.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:42 pmMcLouth DFA’d. Career = over.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:47 pm@50
Ouch. Someone will give him a minor league deal.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:58 pmSure, someone probably will, but I think he’s in the twilight of his career.
Since 2010: .203/.312/.313 in 566 AB
May 25th, 2012 at 2:19 pmGreetings from Detroit…
#42
If you hated Columbus, let me show you Cleveland.
(Go Devils.)
May 25th, 2012 at 2:35 pmWe’re in a leased space (have been for a few years) right above a Subway until we move into a campus building in the fall.
I smell it when I first walk in and then don’t the rest of the day. Can you call it anosmia if you still smell it everyday (but apparently get used to it very quickly)?
May 25th, 2012 at 2:50 pmSince 2010: .203/.312/.313 in 566 AB
Ouch!
May 25th, 2012 at 2:56 pmTrivia discovered during random Wikipedia-ing: What retired MLB player had the most career ABs of anyone who never hit a homer?
May 25th, 2012 at 2:59 pmDon Sutton had over 1000 AB’s without one.
May 25th, 2012 at 3:11 pmBill Holbert
May 25th, 2012 at 3:12 pmFrom Stark
Teams that have checked in with the Braves say their offense has been so good that, barring injuries, they’re more likely to shop for an impact starting pitcher in July than a bat. But GM Frank Wren says: “We have a guy internally who’s probably better than any arm who will be available, and that’s Kris Medlen. He’s never thrown over 120 innings in a season, so we’ve got to be careful with his innings. But if we feel we need a guy late in the season, we wouldn’t be afraid to take him out of the bullpen and transition him into the rotation.” In case you hadn’t noticed, Medlen has the lowest WHIP (1.04) in a very talented Braves bullpen these days.
May 25th, 2012 at 3:14 pmGrowing up there was a kid on our street that could never hit a homerun, no matter how hard he tried. We looked it up in the Baseball Encyclopedia and use to call him Bill Holbert
May 25th, 2012 at 3:15 pmFreeman is back, no Bmac or Chipper
Bourn
Prado
Freeman
Uggla
Diaz
Heyward
Ross
Wilson
Hudson
Ross/Wilson will always be in there for Huddy, so I dont know if Bmac/Chipper are available to PH. I would say we could DL Chipper, but that PH walk the other night would delay his return.
May 25th, 2012 at 3:59 pmDOB – •Freeman has new contacts and new glasses and he’s going to test them out during bp. Ideally will wear contacts and have glasses as backup
May 25th, 2012 at 4:00 pmJeez.
May 25th, 2012 at 6:46 pmAnd today’s episode is brought to you by Tim Hudson and AFLAC, the Anthrax Duck.
May 25th, 2012 at 6:51 pmCan we just… win a game? Would that be okay?
May 25th, 2012 at 6:52 pmI was wrong. It got worse.
May 25th, 2012 at 6:52 pmWell, chip away, boys.
May 25th, 2012 at 6:55 pmPrado doing Prado things.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:01 pmIs it September already?
May 25th, 2012 at 7:07 pmBallgame?
May 25th, 2012 at 7:07 pmJust a note: I live in Columbus OH too, and I think this attitude towards the city is crazy. Columbus has tons of good food, an excellent night-life (though you have to be careful to avoid the undergrads) and I’ve generally enjoyed my years here.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:14 pmInsult to injury…
May 25th, 2012 at 7:20 pmSeason’s going down the f*cking tubes.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:20 pmRoss off w an injury. If McCann is pinch running, surely he’s staying to catch?
May 25th, 2012 at 7:22 pmWhat? What just happened? Why is B-Mac going into the game? Did Ross get hurt?
May 25th, 2012 at 7:22 pmhttp://www.wsbtv.com/s/sports/home/
Check the video half-way down the page for a shot of Chipper’s “bruise.”
****
May 25th, 2012 at 7:23 pmHuh. I guess McCann is the emergency catcher!
May 25th, 2012 at 7:23 pmPull a groin, checking his swing.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:23 pm#76: Flesh eating virus, obviously.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:32 pm“HOT SMASH, RIGHT FIELD!”
May 25th, 2012 at 7:34 pmPrado does another Prado thing, and the rest of the offense will now do rest-of-the-offense things and strand him.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:37 pmMatt!
May 25th, 2012 at 7:41 pmAtta boy Matty.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:41 pmDetwiler has thrown 77 pitches through 3.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:46 pmAnd the Braves have scored one run. Our offense sucks.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:48 pmI wonder if the Braves have to put Ross on the DL if they will call up Bethancourt.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:51 pmGroin strain for Ross. No sex for David tonight.
May 25th, 2012 at 7:55 pmThis feels a lot like September.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:02 pmSounds like Joe has a mancrush on Harper.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:07 pmI’ve got a mancrush on Prado.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:14 pmFreddie doesn’t need to be playing.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:15 pmUggla is tied for second in the NL in walks. Interesting.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:19 pmYES!!!!!!!!!!
May 25th, 2012 at 8:20 pmWhatever Prado and Matty have been eating should be force-fed to the rest of these hitters.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:21 pmand no.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:21 pmDare we hope?
May 25th, 2012 at 8:26 pm@71, My in-laws live in Columbus, it’s nowhere near as bad as it’s being made out to be. And if there’s a contest for the worst state capital city, I nominate Montgomery.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:27 pm97- Gotto go with Montpelier, Vermont, home of about 6000 people, all of whom failed their tryouts for Newhart.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:29 pmMontgomery is awful.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:34 pmI like living in Columbus. But as far as the stuff that makes an interesting town it pales compared to my hometown, Charleston SC.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:44 pmI hate this.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:45 pmOh joy, another Episode.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:46 pmI actually like Montpelier. Visited some friends that were there for culinary school a few years back. Had several great meals, saw a really good French horn/guitar jazz duo. They had a nice yarn shop, according to my wife, and a couple good book stores.
And while we were visiting the capitol, the President of Macedonia came strolling by with a bunch of high ranking military dudes. The earpiece guys stuck to us like glue, just in case. Wouldn’t live there, but it was beautiful that fall.
/well crap, Tim.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:47 pmThat’s what happens when you walk the pitcher.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:47 pmAnd of course, Fredi leaves a gassed Hudson in long enough to give up three more runs, squelching the comeback. I take back anything nice I’ve said about you, Fredlot.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:47 pmA pitcher with one career hit and a bad hammy.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:48 pmClearly y’all haven’t been to Helena, Montana.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:49 pmBack up the truck… It is September 2011 again. Fredi is a moron… Just had to state the obvious again
May 25th, 2012 at 8:49 pmI don’t envision putting a lot of heart into this recap, you guys.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:50 pmThe Nats announcer won’t shutup about how personally Zimmerman took the walk to Harper.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:52 pmWell, pack it in; the Odarp’s run out of awesome for today.
May 25th, 2012 at 8:55 pmMatty D with the D.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:03 pmHe didn’t miss that one.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:08 pm#107: I haven’t been to Helena, but I have been to Missoula, Bozeman, and Billings, which are awesome little towns set amidst gorgeous Big Sky scenery, and I’ve also been to Butte, which is ass.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:14 pmGood thing Fredi let Wilson hit.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:15 pmPastornicky < Hernandez as a hitter. Why didn't he pinch-hit for Jack (Sh**) Wilson?
May 25th, 2012 at 9:16 pmNot watching but through game summary it looks as though Frediot is in full swing.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:17 pm“A complete moron ran onto the field.” -Jim Powell
Was it Fredi?
May 25th, 2012 at 9:22 pmWe need a pitcher, a bat, and a new manager. Nothing more. Oh wait, a useful SS and a middle reliever.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:27 pmYou just really have to tip your cap to the Washington hitters tonight. They just kept fighting up there.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:29 pmAnd another outfielder. And a new manager. And infielders who can play defense. And a new manager. And at least one set-up man we can depend on, and did I mention a new manager? Because we need a new manager.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:30 pmHomer Simpson overheard talking about the Braves on the telephone.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:34 pmDrew Sutton 2-3 again today. He couldve been useful.
May 25th, 2012 at 9:48 pmAlso, for what it’s worth, urbandictionary.com definition of “hot smash.”
(Porcelain? I never knew Chip was so European.)
May 25th, 2012 at 9:50 pm