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What Does Mat Latos Deal Mean for Joey Votto and… |
In an off-season that has so far seen them improve by standing pat and witnessing their division foes succumb to attrition, the Cincinnati Reds have finally started making a little noise of their own. After watching Albert Pujols leave the St. Louis Cardinals via free agency and Ryan Braun leave the Milwaukee Brewers , at least temporarily, at the hands of a suspension for the use of performance enhancing drugs, the Reds on December 17 pulled off what I would consider to be a blockbuster trade. In the deal, the Reds paid a king’s ransom to bring in starting pitcher Mat Latos from the San Diego Padres, although the young hurler has a chance to actually be worth the price. What is really encouraging to me about this trade, though, is that it represents the first sign that Cincinnati might make an honest effort to retain Joey Votto beyond this season. In order to acquire Latos, general manager Walt Jocketty shipped starting pitcher Edinson Volquez, first baseman Yonder Alonso, catcher Yasmani Grandal and right-hander Brad Boxberger to the Padres. Grandal and Boxberger are two highly-regarded prospects with high ceilings, but Alonso is the key name among the castoffs. The young first baseman has been viewed alternately as the heir apparent to Joey Votto at first, or as being blocked by Votto, depending on who is speaking and how cynical the mood. With Alonso moved out of town, it would seem that the Reds don’t plan to pluck Votto off the sack in Great American Ballpark anytime soon. Votto is in his final season before free agency, and we’ve been debating his future with the Reds for a couple of years now. Votto is 28 and in his prime, so he is likely to command something close to the contract that Pujols inked with the Los Angeles Angels, which would put him in the neighborhood of $20 million per season for 10 or more years. That seems like a lot for the Reds to pay any one player, but with Alonso gone, they don’t appear to have a ready alternative as a slugging first baseman. With second baseman Brandon Phillips hitting free agency this off-season, the Reds also have the opportunity to open up a little salary room simply by letting Phillips walk. Whether or not Votto sticks around after 2012, it will be very interesting to watch the results of this deal develop from both sides. Latos is coming to a decidedly hitter-friendly park, so we may be in for a period of adjustment. If he can make that leap and stay healthy, though, all indications are that he could be a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter. That’s a rare creature in these parts. Adam Hughes was raised, and still lives, in rural Indiana. He has been a Cincinnati Reds fan since the early 1980s, when gods like Dan Driessen and Cesar Cedeno roamed the ethereally green Riverfront turf. He thinks that Dusty Baker is the anti-Davey. Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content. Feel free to leave your comments below. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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Jim Riggleman will manage the Reds’ Class AA… |
Riggleman will restart his career following one of the most unusual endings to a managerial tenure in recent memory. Riggleman abruptly resigned as Nationals manager over his contract situation in June, minutes after the Nationals sealed a walk-off victory that gave them 11 wins in 12 games, their best stretch since 2005. Over the final half of the 2011 season, Riggleman scouted the National League East for the San Francisco, who kept an offer on the table for him to continue scouting. The Giants also allowed Riggleman to look for an on-field position, which led him to the Reds. Riggleman previously worked for Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty, when Jocketty ran the St. Louis Cardinals and Riggleman served as the team’s minor league field coordinator. The Reds had been shuffling their minor league staff, and Riggleman was open to any position that would allow to get back into a uniform, even in the minors. The Nationals went 140-172 under Riggleman from the all-star break in 2009 to this year, an unsightly record that nevertheless included steady progress. The Nationals improved by 10 wins from 2009 to 2010, and they were 38-37 when he resigned in June. The Nationals may build on their momentum and challenge for a playoff spot this season. Their old manager, with 11 major league seasons of experience, will be watching from the Southern League. Thanks for reading! . Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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Canadian Votto among Gold Glove winners |
Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto of Toronto won a National League Gold Glove award on Tuesday. Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier became the first trio of Los Angeles Dodgers to win NL Gold Gloves in the same year, and Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury became the first three Red Sox in 32 seasons to win the AL honour together. Kershaw became a first-time winner at pitcher when the awards were announced Tuesday. Ethier earned his first Gold Glove in the outfield and Kemp regained the NL award he also earned in 2009. Gonzalez earned his first American League Gold Glove to go along with two he won in the NL while with San Diego, Pedroia won at second base for the first time since 2008 and Ellsbury picked up his first Gold Glove. “I try to be a complete player. You can always go into offence slumps,” Gonzalez said during the awards show on ESPN2. The previous three Red Sox to win in the same year were shortstop Rick Burleson along with outfielders Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn in 1979. Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle was the lone AL holdover, winning for the third straight year. Baltimore’s Matt Wieters won at catcher, the Angels’ Erick Aybar at shortstop, Texas’ Adrian Beltre at third, and Kansas City’s Alex Gordon and Baltimore’s Nick Markakis in the outfield. Beltre won for the third time, after gaining the award in 2007 and 2008. The St. Louis Cardinals’ Yadier Molina became the first NL catcher to win in four straight years since Charles Johnson from 1995-98. Phillips earns another GloveCincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips also won along with Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, Philadelphia third baseman Placido Polanco and Arizona outfielder Gerardo Parra. Phillips and Tulowitzki joined Molina as the NL holdovers, with Phillips winning for the third time in four years. “It just shows my hard work really played off,” Phillips said on the show. Polanco also won AL Gold Gloves in 2007 and 2009. This year’s AL group displaced Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer; Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, second baseman Robinson Cano and shortstop Derek Jeter; Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria; former Rays outfielder Carl Crawford; and Seattle outfielders Ichiro Suzuki and Franklin Gutierrez. Suzuki’s streak of Gold Gloves ended at 10. The right fielder, who had won in every one of his big league seasons, had tied the AL record for Gold Gloves by an outfielder shared by Ken Griffey Jr. and Al Kaline. Last year’s NL winners included Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, Reds third baseman Scott Rolen and Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez and Philadelphia’s Shane Victorino joined in the outfield by Michael Bourn, then of Houston. Rawlings announced the winners Tuesday. Managers and coaches vote for players in their leagues and can’t pick players on their own teams. Breaking with the recent format, outfielders were picked for specific spots. The AL had Gordon in left, Ellsbury in centre and Markakis in right, and the NL had Parra in left, Kemp in centre and Ethier in right. Beltre and Gonzalez each earned $100,000 US bonuses, while Aybar and Markakis get $75,000 apiece. Molina, Pedroia, Polanco and Votto each receive $50,000, and Tulowitzki and Buehrle both get $25,000. Phillips gets an automatic $250,000 raise next season to $12.25 million under the option the Reds exercised Monday. Leave any suggestions in the comment box. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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This Date In Baseball |
Oct. 21 1973 -- Bert Campaneris and Reggie Jackson hit two-run homers in the third inning as the Oakland A's defeated the New York Mets 5-2 in Game 7 of the World Series. 1975 -- Carlton Fisk broke up one of the best games in World Series history with a homer in the 12th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 victory against the Cincinnati Reds, forcing a seventh game. 1976 -- The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series in four games with a 7-2 victory over the New York Yankees. Johnny Bench had two home runs for five RBIs. It was the Reds' second straight championship and marked the first time a team had swept the playoffs and World Series. 1980 -- The Philadelphia Phillies became World Series champions for the first time in their 98-year history with a 4-1 triumph over the Kansas City Royals in Game 6. 1998 -- The New York Yankees closed out their historic season with 3-0 victory at San Diego, sweeping the Padres in four games to win their record 24th World Series championship. The Game 4 victory gave the Yankees 125 wins against 50 losses -- for a .714 winning percentage, the best in the majors since their Murderers' Row club of 1927. Their AL-record 114 regular-season victories were the most for a champion. 2000 -- In the first Subway Series since 1956, the New York Yankees earned a record 13th straight World Series victory, a 4-3 win over the New York Mets, surpassing their record set in the late 1920s. 2001 -- Randy Johnson(notes) pitched seven solid innings to beat Atlanta 3-2 and send Arizona to its first World Series. The Diamondbacks reached the World Series faster than any expansion team, doing it in only their fourth year of existence. 2002 -- Tim Salmon's second homer of the game, a tiebreaking, two-run shot with two outs in the eighth inning, lifted the Anaheim Angels over the San Francisco Giants 11-10 and evened the World Series at 1-all. 2004 -- MVP Albert Pujols(notes) hit a game-tying double, Scott Rolen(notes) followed with a home run and the St. Louis Cardinals suddenly erupted against Roger Clemens, startling the Houston Astros 5-2 to take Game 7 of the NL championship series. 2006 -- The World Series had a pair of rookie starters for the first time. Anthony Reyes(notes) pitched brilliantly into the ninth inning, to help St. Louis cruise past Detroit and Justin Verlander(notes) 7-2 in Game 1. 2007 -- Dustin Pedroia(notes) drove in five runs and Boston advanced to the World Series with an 11-2 win over Cleveland. The Red Sox, who rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS three years ago, came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Indians. 2009 -- Jayson Werth(notes) homered twice, Shane Victorino(notes) and Pedro Feliz(notes) also connected and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4 in Game 5 to win their second straight NL pennant. Today's birthdays: Daniel Herrera(notes) 27; Zack Greinke(notes) 28. That’s all the news for today. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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St. Louis Cardinals Comeback Ends In Extra-Innings… |
By Dan Moore – Managing Editor
The St. Louis Cardinals’ comeback vs. the Cincinnati Reds from an 8-0 score falls just short in 13 innings. Follow , and Like SB Nation St. Louis on Facebook. Jul 7, 2011 – After roaring back from an eight-run deficit the St. Louis Cardinals couldn’t quite complete the comeback or the sweep, falling 9-8 to the Cincinnati Reds in extra innings. Matt Holliday homered in the seventh inning to key a five-run rally, Daniel Descalso had four hits, and Jon Jay homered off of Francisco Cordero in the ninth inning to tie a game that began with Jake Westbrook allowing five runs in a brutal first inning. Albert Pujols went 1-6 with a single and an RBI in his incredibly swift return to the lineup following a wrist fracture. The Reds got on top early with a first-pitch home run from leadoff hitter Chris Heisey, and it looked like the game was over when Scott Rolen hit his fifth home run of the year off Trever Miller to extend the lead to 8-0. But the Cardinals picked up two in the sixth off a Descalso double and five more in the seventh to get within a run, whereupon Jay pulled his seventh home run of the season deep to right field. But after seven scoreless innings the Cardinals’ stretched bullpen finally broke; Ramon Hernandez’s ground-rule double drove in a run and Aroldis Chapman sealed the deal for his first career save. Read More: Jake Westbrook (P – STL), Matt Holliday (LF – STL), Francisco Cordero (P – CIN), Jon Jay (RF – STL), Daniel Descalso (2B – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds Not much else going on in the MLB planet today. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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Cincinnati Reds Beat St. Louis 9-8 In 13 |
The St. Louis Cardinals nearly pulled off their biggest come from behind win in nine years Wednesday night, but couldn’t plate a run in extra frames as the Cincinnati Reds won 9-8 in 13 innings. Pinch hitter Ramon Hernandez, the last player left on the Reds’ bench, hit a ground rule double down the left field line in the top of the 13th, plating Jay Bruce with the eventual winning run. St. Louis got a one out hit by former Springfield Cardinal catcher Tony Cruz in the bottom of the 13th, but Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay struck out against Cincinnati flame-thrower Aroldis Chapman to end the game. Chapman, who was the last available relief pitcher for the Reds, earned his first career save. The Cards tied the game in dramatic fashion on Jay’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the 9th that turned an eight run deficit into an 8-8 tie. The Reds jumped out to an 8-0 lead after five innings, scoring five of those runs in the 1st off Cards’ starter Jake Westbrook. The sinker ball pitcher was centering the ball down the middle of the plate, and the Reds hitters were connecting. Chris Heisey hit the first pitch of the game over the left field wall to start it. Bruce later had a two run homer to make it 5-0. Cincinnati’s Fred Lewis homered in the 4th to increase the lead to 6-0, then former Cardinal Scott Rolen got into the act, connecting off reliever Trever Miller in the 5th, putting the Reds ahead 8-0. But the Cardinals wouldn’t give in on this night. After Descalso’s two run double in the 6th made the score 8-1, shortstop Ryan Theriot’s RBI groundout pulled the Redbirds within six runs, 8-2. The big damage came in the 7th as St. Louis sent ten hitters to the plate. Matt Holliday hit his 13th home run of the season in that inning, but one of the biggest highlights was rookie reliever Brandon Dickson’s first major league hit. The Cards banged out six hits in the inning to make a game of it, 8-7, before Jay’s 9th inning dramatics sent the game late into the night. Jose Arredondo (1-3) gets the win in relief for Cincinnati, while Raul Valdes (0-1) suffers the loss for St. Louis. Cards’ slugger Albert Pujols, playing in his first game since being activated from the disabled list, had one hit in six plate appearances and drove in a run. The game marked the longest at Busch Stadium this season, lasting four hours and 11 minutes. The Cardinals drop to 47-41 on the season, one game ahead of Milwaukee in the National League Central. St. Louis will open a four game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday night at Busch Stadium. Kyle McClellan (6-5) goes to the mound for the Cardinals against Arizona’s Joe Saunders (5-7).
What are your opinions. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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