Results tagged ‘ Joey Votto ’
Choo & Votto having fun
I saw this picture today and just had to share it. Seeing Joey Votto and Shin-Soo Choo having fun puts a smile on my face. I really think this is going to be another great season for Cincinnati Reds and these two players will help with that by getting on base as much as they can. [The story behind this image is, Joey Votto went to high five Shin-Soo Choo and they missed which lead to Votto going back and trying again.]
Photo: Lynne Sladky
Reds 7, Mets 4 [May 22, 2013]
Image used from; Cashing In: Check swing boosts Reds Photo: SETH WENIG
Zack Cozart goes 4 for 5 and became a very hot topic on twitter today during the game. He was doing great at the plate and in the field (except for the throwing error). Joey Votto went 2 for 3 with 2 walks and a very nice home run. Brandon Phillips went 2 for 4 with 1 walk and 2 runs batted in. Mat Latos went 6.2 innings allowing 8 hits, 4 earned runs with 1 walk and 4 strike outs. Mets players were hitting the ball pretty good off of him today but Reds players were making great plays behind him in order to keep the game close.
One of my favorite things to do now while I watch a Reds game is to keep an eye on twitter. It is amazing how quickly a fan can tweet their thoughts during a play (good or bad). For me, it adds even more excitement to the game. Just to see tons of fans announce a home run in their own words on twitter is a lot of fun to watch. If you have never watched a Reds game and been on twitter at the same time, I highly recommend it but be very careful what you say or retweet, some people might attack you.
Reds 4 Mets 0 [May 21, 2013]
Cincinnati Reds scored early in this game and I have to say it was the best first inning of play I have seen the Reds play in a very long time. Great patience at the plate by some guys that usually go up to bat swinging. Great game to watch and I really enjoyed watching Mike Leake pitch today, he was locating his pitches very nice and that low strike was really working well for him.
Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips extended their hitting streaks and Todd Frazier went 2 for 4 while Devin Mesoraco got a nice home run in the 9th inning.
Last year on May 21 Mike Leake won against Atlanta Braves in Great American Ball Park 4-1.
May 21, 2012 [Braves 1 vs. Reds 4]
Pitching IP H R ER BB SO HR Mike Leake W (1-5) 8 3 1 1 1 6 1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/21/2013.
May 21, 2013 [Reds 4 vs. Mets 0]
Pitching IP H R ER BB SO HR Mike Leake W (4-2) 7 3 0 0 2 4 0
Provided by MLB.com
2013 Cincinnati Reds Top Player Predictions
My early predictions of who will do the best in 2013 for the Cincinnati Reds. (Out of players that are expected to be back.) I will work on a pitcher prediction as the off-season goes on. (I have a strange feeling the starting rotation will change again this off-season.)
| Rank | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Joey Votto |
| 2 | Brandon Phillips |
| 3 | Jay Bruce |
| 4 | Ryan Hanigan |
| 5 | Todd Frazier |
Why?
Pittsburgh Pirates fans have been very vocal about this series at Great American Ball Park and want blood for Chapman and Leake hitting their players. A few fans have suggested that their best pitcher who is coming off of a great game should go out there today and hit a Reds player in order to get revenge and get a message out there. What? I won’t include the quote because seriously I really don’t understand the logic. Why would a team which is down 2-0 in the series want to get their best pitcher ejected from the game for something so stupid? I have stayed off of twitter and have not posted much about this series because the Pirates fans are really out head hunting right now and I don’t have the patience to get into an argument with someone over something so dumb. There was no intention behind those pitches. Both pitchers were trying to get the pitches inside and they hit the batters, that is all. If Burnett hits a batter today, the umps will be all over the Pirates and they are only making this worse for themselves. One thing many Pirates fans are not talking about is the fact that they are not facing Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips or Johnny Cueto and still are losing.
I for one will not be upset if Burnett hits one of the Reds players today. I will not go crazy with rage and think it is intentional and I will not go to every Pirates message board out there and post how I think their team should be fined and banned…. LOL Because, as a baseball fan, I understand one very important thing, it is BASEBALL!!!!!!!
And to those Pirates fans out there that do read this, please don’t bash me for writing this. I am just trying to understand the logic behind some of your fans. I have nothing but respect for the Pirates (At the start of the season I predicted them to be 2nd in the division.) Even when your players pretty much acted like babies when they did get hit, I still have respect for the team. So please keep your mean comments to yourselves and have a nice season.
Could Drew Stubbs be worried?
With all the trade talks with the Reds being around a speedy lead off hitter, could this be the reason behind Drew Stubbs’ solid clutch hitting lately? Or could it just be that time of the year for Stubbs to go hot? Or to be even more exact maybe it was just the hometown cooking that got him hitting great.
I am amazed that many out there have not brought this up. I am not knocking his play time now or that he is batting 1st / 2nd in the order but in the back of my mind I am still thinking the trade talks might have given him the boost he needed. Of course we all know, Drew Stubbs will never be traded away but most of the guys that the Reds have shown interest in are playing Stubbs’ position, CF.
No matter what the reason, Dusty Baker is going to ride it out and hope it lasts until Joey Votto gets back and to tell you the truth I don’t blame him. If I was the Reds front office I would keep talking to other teams about CFers and see if it gets Stubbs hitting even better.
As most of you already know, I am not a big believer in the hype about Stubbs and Bailey finally maturing but they are both doing a lot better than other seasons so I will keep my mouth shut and hope that it finally is time for them to shine.
Update:
Here is something I have found today that I think is very interesting. While most hitters get better the more times they see a pitcher in a game, Drew Stubbs is completely different.
Times Facing Opponent in Game 2012
Split AB HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS vs. SP 1st 61 2 4 10 21 .246 .352 .393 .746 vs. SP 2nd 70 2 8 2 17 .214 .236 .357 .593 vs. SP 3rd 64 1 3 4 19 .172 .221 .234 .455 vs. SP 4th+ 13 1 2 1 2 .231 .286 .462 .747 vs. RP 1st 82 4 8 11 29 .256 .351 .451 .802 vs. RP 2nd 1 0 1 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/26/2012.
Jaime Garcia part 2
The Reds have faced Jaime Garcia already this early season and hopefully they can get the win against him again tonight.
In two games this season he has thrown his 81 mph change-up 41 times (24.4%) 53.7% of them being strikes, 46% swing, 24% whiff and only 7% foul while 14.6% were put in play. He has also thrown a 4-seam fastball 20% of the time, slider 19%, 2-seam fastball 18.5%, cut fastball 9.5% and a curveball 8.3%. His season at-bat results are single 26.5%, strikeout 14%, groundout 14%, flyout 14%, walk 6%, pop out, double and grounded into DP 4%, sac bunt, sac fly, forceout, fielder choice out, lineout and triple are at 2%.
Last game Garcia’s at-bat results vs. the Reds were very interesting. Single 40%, Strikeout 16%, Groundout 12% and Walk, Sac Fly, Pop Out, Grounded Into DP, Sac Bunt, Forceout, Double and Flyout were all at 4%. [Source]
AB H 2B RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF
Jay Bruce 2 1 0 1 0 1 .500 .333 .500 .833 0 1
Zack Cozart 3 2 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 .667 1.333 0 0
Ryan Ludwick 2 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .333 .000 .333 0 0
Drew Stubbs 3 1 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .333 .667 0 0
Wilson Valdez 3 3 0 1 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 0 0
Joey Votto 3 3 1 1 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.333 2.333 0 0
Johnny Cueto 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 1 0
Ryan Hanigan 2 1 0 0 0 1 .500 .500 .500 1.000 0 0
Total 19 11 1 3 1 4 .579 .571 .632 1.203 1 1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/18/2012.
Jaime Garcia career vs. Reds
PA H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Drew Stubbs 24 6 1 0 1 2 4 6 .300 .417 .500 .917
Brandon Phillips 23 5 1 0 1 4 0 6 .217 .217 .391 .609
Joey Votto 21 5 2 0 0 2 2 5 .263 .333 .368 .702
Jay Bruce 20 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 .167 .200 .167 .367
Scott Rolen 15 2 0 0 0 1 2 3 .154 .267 .154 .421
Ryan Hanigan 14 4 0 0 0 1 1 1 .308 .357 .308 .665
Chris Heisey 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 .125 .125 .250 .375
Ryan Ludwick 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 .143 .000 .143
Zack Cozart 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500 .500 .500 1.000
Wilson Valdez 6 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 .667 .667 .833 1.500
Bronson Arroyo 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .250 .250 .250 .500
Homer Bailey 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .250 .250 .250 .500
Johnny Cueto 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
Willie Harris 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 .667 1.333
Todd Frazier 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000
Total 161 38 6 0 2 13 11 34 .259 .308 .340 .648
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/18/2012.
2r2d
