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CINCINNATI (AP) – Brandon Phillips got two more hits in the
leadoff spot and the Cincinnati Reds reached .500 for the first
time since early July with a 6-3 win over the Washington Nationals
on Saturday night.

Phillips scored twice and drove in a run. He’s gotten a hit in
10 straight games at the top of the lineup, going 19 for 43 (.442)
with 10 RBIs and nine runs in that span.

Mike Leake (11-8) gave up two runs in six innings, and leads the
team in wins.

Cincinnati (66-66) has won six of eight and is at .500 for the
first time since the NL Central champions were 44-44 on July 6.

Nationals first baseman Chris Marrero committed two key errors
in his major league debut as Washington lost its fifth in a row.

Read More: Ryan Franklin (P – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals, Apr 23, 2011 3:10 PM CDT

Ryan Franklin’s latest misadventure out of the St. Louis Cardinals’ bullpen, in the team’s 5-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds Saturday, has led to renewed calls for his outright release from the team—a sign of just how fast a closer debate can escalate from “Is he a closer?” to “Is he a Major Leaguer?” The anger makes sense, but Saturday’s game was difficult to situate as proof he shouldn’t pitch in the Majors. 

For one thing, the situation—coming cold into a game with the bases loaded and the score tied is something that is best done if you’re the team’s best reliever. We’ve established already that Franklin isn’t the team’s best reliever, and he failed, somewhat predictably, to stop the Cardinals’ bleeding. 

So Franklin was brought in to do something that wasn’t his job, and he failed to do it. At some point the Cardinals will be forced by bullpen machinations, both necessary—the hard work the young right-handers had done over the last several games, which made them unavailable Saturday—and unnecessary—the intentional walk and the multiple pitching moves that inning in particular—to bring in their worst reliever to pitch in a high-leverage situation. Oftentimes it looks like this. 

Franklin might be the Cardinals’ worst reliever, but at this point it’s difficult to say they could find a better worse reliever out of the pieces currently around. 

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak and manager Tony La Russa reiterated Saturday that a decision to start Friday’s series opener against the Cincinnati Reds on time had more to do with the changing weather forecast than gamesmanship.

“I promise you. We were as surprised as anybody when we looked up and it was pouring,” Mozeliak said.

The Cardinals had informed the Reds and the umpiring crew of a window of 45 to 60 minutes of playable weather. However, the game had to be halted after only two minutes and six pitches – and after the Cardinals had held back scheduled starter Kyle McClellan.

“If there was a decision that could be second-guessed, it was my decision not to cover the field before the game,” director of stadium operations Mike Bertani said Saturday.

Bertani said he received information from head groundskeeper Bill Findley of an approaching storm cell that could reach Busch Stadium around first pitch.

Crew chief John Hirschbeck received the same initial estimate as the Reds and also voiced surprise that a downpour interrupted play so quickly. (The home team controls start time until first pitch. At that point, the umpiring crew assumes control.) Mozeliak said the club consulted the National Weather Service before making its decision to start on time.

“It’s what the experts were telling us,” Mozeliak said.

“There’s this thing around 7:00 that there was rain around (Interstate) 270 and it was coming this way,” La Russa recalled. “We already had made the decision to start, whether it was at 270 or an hour (away). Our decision was made on exactly the same information they had.”

Cardinals traveling secretary C.J. Cherre told Reds first base coach Billy Hatcher of the forecast and La Russa’s decision to change starting pitchers about 30 minutes before first pitch.

The Reds wondered how the Cardinals had enough information around 6 p.m. to notify McClellan he would be held back until after a rain delay but wait until 6:47 to notify the Reds of the move. Miguel Batista threw the game’s first six pitches but gave way after the 2 hour, 10 minute delay. Reds manager Dusty Baker had Edinson Volquez prepare for the start but replaced him with lefthander Matt Maloney following the delay. The Cardinals reached Maloney for three runs in two-plus innings of a 4-2 win. The Reds optioned Maloney to Class AAA Louisville on Saturday.

The Cardinals had promoted a fireworks display for a Friday night that drew an announced crowd of 40,327. Bertani insisted that marketing played no role in the decision to start on time.

Mozeliak said before Saturday’s game he had not received criticism from the Reds about the decision but acknowledged that “now there seems to be a little bit more momentum about this.”

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty later defused the matter by saying through a team spokesman that he did not intend to pursue it with Major League Baseball.

“If you’re the Reds, you can go back and look at how we arrived at the decision and whether it could have been handled differently,” Bertani said. “If there’s a question, it rests with me and not (Mozeliak and La Russa).” Bertani referred to the decision to start on time and La Russa’s pitching switch as “two completely independent decisions.”

One of a kind

The Cardinals’ loss of Brian Tallet to a fractured hand has made the bullpen’s lone remaining lefthander, Trever Miller, a precious commodity. Like many one-of-a-kind items, Miller has since been handled carefully.

Miller, who has averaged more than 63 appearances his two previous seasons with the Cardinals, walked his only batter in Saturday’s eighth inning and has worked three outings and faced five hitters since Tallet was placed on the disabled list April 13.

“They tell me to get up, I get up. There tell me to go out and pitch, I go out and pitch,” he said. “Other than that, it’s my responsibility as an athlete to stay ready to go out and do what’s best for my team. It’s that simple. I don’t like built-in pre-game excuses. I’ve never believed in that. That’s why I’ve been around a long time.”

The 37-year-old Miller appeared six times in the team’s first 10 games.

Et Cetera

Jake Westbrook (1-2) takes the ball on short rest in tonight’s series finale. Westbrook used 69 pitches in a three-inning start against the Washington Nationals in an 8-6 loss. Westbrook carries a 9.82 ERA after four starts despite being tied for sixth in the National League with 46 ground ball outs. … The Cardinals and their charitable arm, Cardinals Care, announced that they are donating $30,000 to the American Red Cross in its efforts to help those affected by Friday’s tornadoes that struck the St. Louis area. “Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends and neighbors tonight,” Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III said late Friday. “We want to do our part to immediately help these families begin the process of rebuilding their lives.”

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds will be honoring one of their own by opening an exhibit this weekend that highlights the career of the greatest catcher in the history of Major League Baseball.

The new Johnny Bench exhibit debuts Saturday at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.

Bench will cut the ribbon at the official opening of the feature exhibit of 2011, Johnny Bench: A Celebration of Baseball’s Greatest Catcher presented by Dinsmore and Shohl LLP, at 12:30 p.m.

The year-long exhibit follows Bench from the sandlots of Oklahoma to the stadiums around the major leagues. It includes never-before-seen artifacts, many of which originate from Bench’s personal collection. In addition, video and audio elements will take visitors back in time to see how Bench and his Big Red Machine teammates unleashed their formidable talents on the opposition.

“We are thrilled to honor Johnny through this year-long celebration,” said Rick Walls, Executive Director of the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum. “As the greatest catcher of all time, Bench’s extraordinary career and influence on the game will now be showcased like never before.”

Fans wanting a chance to interact with the Reds legend who can’t make it to Saturday’s event still have a chance. Bench will participate in an online chat with fans on Saturday at 11 a.m. at RedsMuseum.org .

Bench was born in Binger, Oklahoma in 1947. In 1968, his first full season in a Reds uniform, he won the Rookie of the Year award.

Bench went on to play 17 seasons during which he revolutionized the position and served as one of the key components in the dominant Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s.

Bench possessed a rare combination of offense and defense. He’s still regarded today as the best catcher to ever play the game.

During his Hall of Fame career Bench was elected to 14 All Star teams, won 10 Gold Gloves, two National League MVP Awards and helped the Reds win two World Series Championships.

Bench was inducted in to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1986 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

Bench remains a fixture in the Cincinnati community and had his number 5 retired by the team in 1984.

For more information on the Johnny Bench exhibit and other things offered at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, go to http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/hof/ or call (513) 765-7923.

The exhibit runs through Jan. 31, 2012.