Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

After Cincinnati's first winning road trip in almost a year and a walk off homer by Junior tonight, the Reds are still mired in last place of the NL Central Division. However, I would argue that the Reds have as much talent as anyone in baseball. What other team has 4 Rookie of the Year Candidates (Volquez, Votto, Bruce, Cueto), a perennial 40 HR hitter (Dunn), a premier closer, (Cordero), 30/30 2nd baseman (Phillips), and Future Hall of Famer (Griffey)?

Most would agree that Cincy has one of the best offenses in baseball. So then why have they so often struggled to score runs? Be patient. I will tell you.

RISP. Runners In Scoring Position. That's when runners are either on 2nd and/or 3rd. In this situation, the Reds bats go AWOL. As a whole, their team average in these situations is significantly lower. How can Hall of Famers, All Stars, Silver Slugger winners, and .300 lifetime hitters turn into Mario Mendoza when their bats are needed most?

Experience, in whole, cannot be to blame. Sure there are a lot of 1st year players in the lineup, but the vets have struggled with RISP also.

Do they easily choke? I don't think so. Every year they are among the league leaders in come from behind and walk off wins.

So why the Jekyll and Hyde routine? Like I said, be patient.

The next time you watch a game where the score is close and there are runners in scoring position, pay attention to how many pitches are thrown before our heroes take a hack. Chances are you could count the number of pitches on one hand...even if you're a Simpson character (they only have 4 fingers). Be patient.

The other day I watched a game in which the Reds were trailing late in a close game. They managed to induce a couple of walks with less than 2 outs. Brandon Phillips, the Reds cleanup hitter, and run producer promptly swings at the first pitch and hits a lazy fly that didn't even leave the infield. I love Phillips and think he will be an All Star type player for many years to come, but I have seen this approach at the plate far too many times by him and just about every other player on the team. If you are facing a pitcher struggling to throw strikes, why in the world would you help him out by swinging at the first pitch? Why not try to draw a walk or force him into a predictable fastball count? I 'll put my money on any Major League player who knows that a fastball is coming. At that point it's batting practice. Patience is the key.

So why do they lack patience in these key moments? I think their success is their reason for failure. They are such good hitters, that they may be over confident. They are the type of players who want to be in clutch situations. They are so eager to get the big hit and help a franchise that has had 7 consecutive losing seasons that they swing at the first halfway decent pitch they see.

If the Reds are ever to compete for a pennant, they are going to have to learn how to work a pitch count with runners in scoring position. "Wait for your pitch" is what I was taught in little league. Wade Boggs, and I believe Pete Rose as well, never ever swung at the first pitch, in any situation. They were only two of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball. If it worked for them, it can't be a halfway bad strategy.

Coming Soon

Just some ideas I'm working on.

1. New webite - This will replace the current blogging host currently being used. This will have more space for articles, comments, products, etc.

2. Rosie Red Section - Monthly articles written from the female perspective.

3. Readers Forum - Readers will be able to create their own topics of discussion.

4. Scrapbooking - Send us your pictures, used tickets, clippings, or whatever can be fit into a book. Give us your ideas, and for a small fee, we'll create a beautiful scrapbook full of memories.

As always, leave me your comments, or suggestions. You can also e-mail me at bdye1@columbus.rr.com

Arroyo is a No-No

So I'm in a fantasy baseball league and doing pretty well. The top 4 spots are tight and my team, the Wall Street Bears, were in 2nd place going into Tuesday's games. I have an open spot in my roster, so each night I scour the available players that I could pick up for one game. Usually I look for a starting pitcher who can help me in a few key categories. Guess who I picked up? Bronson Arroyo. I figured he might do well against a struggling offense in the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays 3-4-5 hitters have as many HR's as Adam Dunn combined. So I'm safe there. Also, AJ Burnett had struggled in recent starts. I figured I had a decent shot at picking up a W as well.

The game started at 7:05. The game was over by 7:20. Here's Arroyo's line:

IP___H___R___ER___BB___K___HR
1.0__11__10__10____1____1___3

Niiiice. I'm guessing Bronson had too many JTM burgers. Either that or he was up late the night before with his powdery friend (I'll save that discussion for another day).

The reason I'll never consistently win a baseball fantasy league is because I bleed red. Um, unless you're a Vulcan, we all bleed red. Take 2...The reason I'll never consistently win a baseball fantasy league is because I am a homer. I believe our guys are better than what they really are. I'm like you buddy from college. You know the guy. He's dating a girl that no one can stand. She treats him bad, spends all his money, and has a hook nose. No matter how much you try to open his eyes, all he sees is Angelina Jolie...perfect in every way and a saint to boot.

In case you're wondering, I'm now in 4th place thanks to Arroyo's Eric Milton impersonation.

What is RedsMLB?

Hello everyone. My name is Bruce. I am a financial advisor with a large brokerage firm. As I stared at my computer today wondering if the stock market would ever rebound, I started to think about what I would rather be doing at that moment. Many things came to mind. But when I asked myself what am I passionate about, a few things came to mind. 1) my family, 2) money, and 3) the Cincinnati Reds. Rather than bore some people with stories of my 3 year old triplets, I decided to start a blog about my favorite team.

In my posts I want to share my thoughts and observations on the Reds. I have been following them for over 25 years. I've been to 10 consecutive Opening Day Games, attended the 1990 World Series Parade in Cincy, collected memorabilia, and the craziest thing of all, I named my first child after Ken Griffey Jr. His name is Griffey Aaron. Having said that, I think I am qualified and enough of a fanatic to start an entertaining blog that will be thought provoking and informative.

I welcome everyone to comment and participate. Let's have fun and root on the Redlegs.