On Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds' Jay Bruce hit a game-winning RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth inning off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Arquimedes Caminero to give the Reds the 2-1 win and the series. Though the game wasn't high-scoring, there certainly were things to take from it. Pirates struggle with runners in scoring position Not to borrow from "Sesame Street," but this first point is brought to you by the number '34'—the number of Pirates who were left on base in the three-game ... Read More
Early NL Central Predictions
Pitchers and catchers start reporting Feb. 17 with other teams doing the same later in the week. This means that baseball season is fast approaching. With that in mind, it is time to offer up an early look at how I expect the National League Central to shape up. Will the St. Louis Cardinals continue its dominance atop the division? 1. Chicago Cubs 88-74 Key additions- Jason Heyward (FA), John Lackey (FA), Ben Zobrist (FA), Adam Warren (trade/Yankees) Key departures- Starlin Castro ... Read More
Reds to hire Jay Bell as bench coach
Ken Rosenthal has reported that the Cincinnati Reds are close to hiring Pirates hitting coach Jay Bell as bench coach. Sources: #Reds to hire #Pirates hitting coach Jay Bell as bench coach. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 12, 2013 In Bell's one season as Pirates hitting coach, the Bucco offense posted a .245 BA (11th NL)/.396 SLG (9th NL)/.709 OPS (8th NL) while hitting 161 home runs (T-3rd NL) and recording 603 RBI's (9th NL). The team struck out 1330 times which was third in the ... Read More
Pirates waste solid outing from Liriano, lose 2-0 to Reds
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Francisco Liriano turned in an outing worthy enough of a victory. Unfortunately for him, the Pirates offense made sure that wouldn’t happen. Liriano struck out 11 in six innings of work, allowing only four hits and a questionable earned run, but the Bucs bats were silenced for a second consecutive night by a Cincinnati Reds starter as the Pirates were shutout by the Reds 2-0. A night after Johnny Cueto tossed eight shutout innings against the Pirates, ... Read More
Reds can’t capitalize as Pirates take game two of three-game set
It wasn't that the Pirates outplayed the Reds on Saturday night. Actually, it was anything but. If you watched the game, the Pirates were outplayed in every facet. Fortunately for the Pirates and the fans, the Pirates were able to win the only category that mattered in a 2-1 victory. Looking at the match up, it wasn't in the Pirates favor as they entered PNC Park. Johnny Cueto, one of the top pitchers in baseball, was going for the Reds. Jeff Locke, a mystery at this point, was taking the ... Read More
Cincinnati Reds playoff preview
The Cincinnati Reds cruised to the NL Central Crown after a mid-season dogfight with the Pirates. After trailing the Bucs by one game at the All-Star break, the Reds accelerated to a double-digit lead in the central winning with 10 games to spare. They will enter the postseason with the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NL, depending on what Washington does to end the season. They have four pitchers that have 12+ wins and all five of their starters have started 30+ games. Only one game was started ... Read More
The “Dude” Who Cried Wolf
A few days ago Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips took to his Twitter account (@DatDudeBP) after a 14 inning victory to accuse one of the Pittsburgh Pirates of shouting something racial at him. He used the hashtags #RealTalk and #Racism to emphasize his point. There’s only one problem with that, none of the Pirates said any such thing to him. So much for “Real Talk.” Naturally the Pirates player in question, pitcher Jared Hughes, quickly and rightfully defended himself but ... Read More