2nd Half Starts Today: Should We Just Give Up On the Reds?

By:  Coop


The Reds had a very mediocre 1st half, having a record of 45-47, 4 games behind St. Louis for 1st place, and in 4th place.  So should we give up on the Reds and start thinking about next season or looking forward to football season?  No we cannot.  


If we are 2 games under .500, and in 4th place, yet only 4 games back, that is some hope.  Usually if you are 2 under and in 4th, you would think you were a least 10 games back.  4 games isn't a whole lot, and if they win the series against the 1st place Cardinals, they could be looking at only being 1 game back.  Then if they win the series against Pittsburgh, they could be in 1st place.  If they are not in 1st place (only way they wouldn't be is if the Brewers did great and won as much as the Reds), they would still gain serious ground in the NL Central.  Let's just say they take 2-out-of-3 from the Cardinals and Pirates, then they have a record of 49-49.  Yes, that is only .500, but they could be in at least 2nd place.  Then as long as they win majority of the series they play for the rest of July, it should be smooth sailing from then on, as the Reds have a 2nd half schedule in their advantage.


What will it take for the Reds to win all of those games?  Well they need to make a division-changing trade. The Brewers got K-Rod, the Reds need to respond.  They could make a deal with San Diego and get Heath Bell, which they are interested in.  There have also been talks in trying to get Rockies' pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez. He has a poor record, but has many quality starts, just isn't getting enough run support, something he could get in Cincinnati.  But what I think the Reds really need to do is get Jose Reyes from the Mets.  Send Devin Mesoraco, Fred Lewis, Edgar Renteria or Paul Janish, and Matt Maloney to New York for Reyes and maybe a minor leaguer or two.  If Jose was a Red, I could promise you they would win the NL Central.


So in conclusion, don't give up on the Reds yet.

Leake Sensational In Reds Win

By:  Coop


The Cincinnati Reds were trying to go back to being over the .500 mark with a win tonight against the Chicago Cubs.  Mike Leake was on the hill for Cincy, while Matt Garza was pitching for the Cubs.  Mike Leake was nothing less than great.  He pitched 8 innings of 2 run baseball, helping the Reds get the 8-2 win, here is how.


The Cubs had the early lead when Pena hit a sac fly to plate Barney in the 1st, it was 1-0.


The Reds would answer back in the 2nd when Johnny Gomes hit an RBI single to bring Bruce home, the game was tied.  


Yesterday Drew Stubbs hit a home run, and today he did as well.  In the 3rd inning he hit a solo shot to right, his 9th big fly of the year, and the Redlegs had a 2-1 lead.


In the 4th inning, the Reds added 2 more runs.  The 1st run was scored when Mike Leake hit an RBI single to right, Cairo scored from 3rd, it was 3-1.  The 2nd run was plated when Stubbs grounded out, but Hanigan was able to score, and the score was 4-1.


The Cubbies would shorten the lead in the 5th when Starlin Castro hit a sac fly, it was a 2-run ball game.


But not for long.


In the Reds half of the 5th, with two on, Johnny Gomes hit a long ball to left field, a 3-run jack, and it was 7-2 Cincinnati.  Johnny defiantly needed this home run, hopefully his slump is over.


Cincinnati would add a run in the 7th when Paul Janish reached on a fielding error by Ramirez, Bruce would score from 3rd, 8-2 the score.


Mike Leake would pitch in the 8th, and Bray in the 9th to seal the deal.  


Leake gets the win, as he went 8 innings, gave up 2 runs on 10 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts.  He is now 5-2.


The Cardinals did not play today, and the Brewers won, so the Reds only pick up a half game and are 5 games back.


Tomorrow Edinson Volquez will come up and pitch against Doug Davis.  The game will be at 7:10 PM ET and will be on Fox Sports Ohio. 

Arroyo Strong, Reds Win 2-1

Bronson Arroyo went 6 innings, giving up just 1 run in the
Reds win over the Dodgers, Friday.

By: Coop


The Cincinnati Reds had an off day yesterday, a much-needed off day.  That off day could have played into today's game.  Bronson Arroyo got an extra day of rest, and played well today.  Bronson gave up only 1 run, and got just enough run support to pick up the win.  2-1 is the final, here's how it all happened.


There was no score until the 4th, when Loney flied into a sacrifice double play, but Andre Either would come across to score, it was 1-0 Dodgers on top.


Then in the bottom of the 5th, the bases were loaded with 2 outs.  Scott Rolen stepped up to the plate and delivered.  He hit an RBI single to center, Stubbs and Votto would both score, and the Reds had a 2-1 lead.


Dodgers pitcher, Hiroki Kuroda, would finish that 5th inning, as well as the 6th.  His final line is 6 innings pitched, giving up 2 earned runs, on 6 hits, 4 walks, and 3 strikeouts.  He was hoping to get a no-decision in this one rather than a loss.  The only way he could get the no-decision is if the Cincy bullpen gave up at least 1 run.


But the bullpen was very strong.  Ondrusek came in to pitch in the 7th, got the job done.  As did Masset in the 8th.  As did Cordero in the 9th.  Cordero picks up save number 11, Arroyo picks up win number 4, and LA's Kuroda is the tough-luck loser, he is now 5-6 this season.


Let's talk about Bronson.  He got the win as I previously said.  He was very strong today, as he went 6 innings, gave up 1 run on 5 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts.  Very impressive outing for #61.


The Brewers and Cardinals are both winning right now, so if they both end up winning, the Reds will remain 3.5 games back in the Central.  If they both somehow lose, then they will be only 2.5 games back.  Sounds good.  


Tomorrow the Reds will play at 4:10 PM ET.  Johnny Cueto will take the hill for the Redlegs, while Clayton Kershaw will pitch for Los Angeles.  That game will be televised on FOX.  Yes FOX, not FS Ohio, but FOX. 

MLB Preview 2011

By:  Cooper Ledford

It's not too early to do a preview for all of the MLB divisions is it?  Didn't think so.  Here are my pre-season predictions, and at the end of the season, I will see how good I did.

Let's starts in the best league, the National League:

NL East:
1.) Phillies-94 wins
2.) Mets-88 wins
3.) Braves-85 wins
4.) Marlins-75 wins
5.) Nationals- 69 wins

NL Central:
1.) Reds-95 wins
2.) Brewers (WC)-91 wins
3.) Cardinals- 87 wins
4.) Cubs-75 wins
5.) Astros-71 wins
6.) Pirates-61 wins

NL West:
1.) Rockies-93 wins
2.) Giants-90 wins
3.) Dodgers-86 wins
4.) Padres-77 wins
5.) Diamondbacks-71 wins

Now to the 2nd best league, the American League:

AL East:
1.) Red Sox-95 wins
2.) Yankees (WC)-92 wins
3.) Blue Jays-86 wins
4.) Rays-84 wins
5.) Orioles-71 wins

AL Central:


1.) Twins-93 wins
2.) Tigers-90 wins
3.) White Sox-84 wins
4.) Indians-79 wins
5.) Royals-70 wins

AL West:


1.) Rangers-90 wins
2.) Angels-80 wins
3.) Athletics-71 wins
4.) Mariners-69 wins