From Garrett to Bronson to Tim Adleman,
The Cincy team’s pitching has lost it again, Votto and Schebler and Duvall’s bats, Can hit as they please, but each game ends the same: “Rats!” Billy just stumbles, He can’t get a hit, Though the crowd rumbles, It’s just grumbles for the team looks like s**t! Team Israel’s Scott Feldman has been good for the game, But on any good team, that’s the fourth starter’s name, Cozart will leave, then what have we got? A team that will win? No, a team that will not! So, what further hope does the Queen City have? It’s tough to say, for the Reds are on “Loser’s Ave,” But as Brooklyn Dodgers’ fans hoped for a trophy to be in the future, near, Reds fans can say: “Just wait ‘til next year!” It’s true, the Cincinnati Reds have taken a dark downhill turn since early, last month and have descended to last place in the National League Central Division. So, what hope do the Reds have to break their, by the end of this season, 27-yearlong drought? To quote the Brooklyn Dodgers’ fans of the days of old: “Just wait ‘til next year!” Why will 2018 turn out better for the Redlegs? For one, Jesse Winker will be ready to play, and that, alone could win them the NL Central. He wasn’t ready earlier this year when he only hit .273 in four games in the majors, but he’s hitting .306 back in the minors for the Triple-A Reds’ affiliate the Louisville Bats. Why is Winker such a bright light for Cincy? Well, Scott Schebler’s contract is up at the end of the 2017 season and the Reds will need an outfielder, assuming either Schebler leaves and they need a third or he stays and they need a fourth. Winker’s bat combined with Adam Duvall’s bat and Billy Hamilton’s glove and speed could be the X Factor that brings this Cincy outfield together. Now, what needs to be addressed: the pitching. What hope is there for Cincinnati pitching? There, you might have a problem. Luis Castillo is the answer to that: his Minor League Earned Run Average was 2.58 and in his two Major League starts, he’s done exceptionally well. With no losses, his ERA stands strong at 3.38. This starter looks like the piece to start completing that starting rotation puzzle. Sal Romano is another great prospect that the Reds need to utilize more. Granted, back in April. Romano lost his only Major League start, pitching only three innings and giving up three runs (two earned), but he was facing the first place in the NL Central Milwaukee Brewers. Back in the Minors he had a wonderful 3.06 ERA, and that’s something valuable for the team. Add Castillo and Romano, work with Amir Garrett, and maintain the abilities of Tim Adleman and Scott Feldman, and you’ve got yourself a strong starting rotation. Bring Winker back up and your bats are gonna soar more than they already do (the team’s batting a fantastic .260, with 114 home runs, and a league-leading 69 stolen bases, 33 of which belong to Hamilton). Granted, the prospects won’t help for 2017, it’s too late to save this dying season, but once they’re on the 2018 Major League roster, you can expect another Cincinnati playoff bout, so once again: “Just wait ‘til next year!” Jesse A. Cook “Cincinnati To Baseball: “Wait ‘Til Next Year!”” July 2, 2017
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The last 50 years have given us some great Mid-Summer Classics, but what are the best moments? There are many fantastic instances, but to fit in as many as possible, a few have to be combined.
Don’t be alarmed if your favorite moment is missed: plays like Chipper Jones’ last hit won’t be included because incredible players retire every year, and in Chipper’s case, he got aboard on Ian Kinsler letting a ground ball get by him for a “hit.” If you really feel as if a moment that should’ve been here wasn’t, remember that this is only a review of the last 50 All-Star Games, from the 38th in 1967 in Anaheim to last year’s 87th in San Diego. If you still feel left out, feel free to leave a comment about it and there will either be a response in the comments, or, provided there are enough requests, they will be responded to in another article. 5: Torii Hunter robs Barry Bonds 2002 in Milwaukee In the 7-7 tie, the Minnesota Twins’ Torii Hunter was to take part of the blame for the draw. If it were not for his first inning play, robbing the San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds of a solo shot, the game would have ended in a National League victory. Of course, in the 2013 American League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox David Ortiz and bullpen cop, Steve Horgan, made Hunter’s robbing a home run look like a fevered dream. 4: Randy Johnson vs. John Kruk and Larry Walker 1993 and ‘97 in Baltimore and Cleveland These two count as one because both involved the Seattle Mariners’ Big Unit, Randy Johnson, embarrassing a National League left-handed star. In ‘93, the Philadelphia Phillies’ John Kruk took the stand and after Johnson fired one over his head, Kruk’s one hope was to not get killed at Camden Yards that day. The next few pitches, which led to a strikeout, involved spinning, twirling, and, yes, even some dancing as after he thankfully “swung” at strike three he promptly and joyfully tossed his bat and helmet aside with a major grin spread across his face. It was a similar case with the Colorado Rockies’ Larry Walker in ‘97 when Johnson threw one over his head in Cleveland, only Walker took a different stance… literally. Walker, a lefty, took initiative and went to the right handed batter’s box. Walker only spent one pitch with his helmet backwards on the right side of the plate before going back, but thankfully for him, Johnson walked him. 3: Cal Ripken Jr. Homers In Final ASG 2001 in Seattle Under different circumstances, such an occasion as a hit in a player’s final ASG would not be mentioned, but the Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken Jr. went out in pretty historic fashion. The first pitch from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chan Ho Park looked good enough, and Ripken sent it into the left field stands. Ripken’s third inning shot stands above Hunter’s home run robbing grab and Randy Johnson making Kruk and Walker look silly at number 3. 2: Pedro Martinez Fans Five And The All-Century Team 1999 in Boston The two great events at historic Fenway Park are combined into one unbelievable moment for this list. The pregame began with Red Sox’ Hall of Famer Ted Williams touring the field that he played on just over 50 years before and shaking the hands of all the all-stars on either team and with the present members of baseball’s “All-Century Team.” It was an incredible sight to see the greatest players in the world congregate around the then greatest living player inside baseball’s greatest ballpark. Sox future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez started the game by doing the seemingly impossible: with the first four batters in the NL lineup being future Hall of Famers (in order) the Cincinnati Reds’ Barry Larkin, the Rockies’ Walker, the Chicago Cubs’ steroid age power hitter, Sammy Sosa, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ steroid age power hitter, Mark McGwire, getting through even a small portion of the lineup without a scratch looked to be a daunting task for Pedro. Pedro amazingly cut down Larkin, caught Walker looking, pushed another K past Sosa, and started off the second by making McGwire look like a Little Leaguer. While the next batter, the Arizona Diamondbacks Matt Williams reached base when the second baseman, the Cleveland Indians’ Roberto Alomar, made an error, Pedro lucked out when Williams was caught stealing second and the next batter, the Houston Astros’ Jeff Bagwell, struck out; an inning-ending double play. 1: Pete Rose Collides With Ray Fosse 1970 in Cincinnati Imagine, if you will, you’re set and ready to receive the throw from the Kansas City Royals’ Amos Otis in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Cincinnati Reds’ Pete Rose barrels around third. You’re the Cleveland Indians’ catcher, and friend of Rose, Ray Fosse, and just as you’re about to put your glove on the ball to get ready to tag Charlie Hustle, he trucks you and steps on home plate as the walk-off, winning run while you topple backwards, doubled-over in pain. The hometown Cincinnati crowd was excited to see their beloved Rose hustle his way to the winning run for the NL over the AL in the 1970 All-Star Game at Riverfront Stadium, but concern quickly arose after seeing Fosse be hurled backwards. Fortunately, he played another nine seasons, so he turned out to be okay, but every baseball fan knows about this historic moment. Rose’s collision with Fosse to win the ‘70 ASG in extra innings is not only the greatest and most famous All-Star Game play from the last 50 years, but perhaps the greatest and most famous All-Star Game play of all-time. There have been many, many incredible plays, events, and moments in MLB ASG history and these are the top five from just the last 50 years; the first 37 All-Star Games aren’t even represented, here. Keeping that fact in mind, if you feel that an important moment was left out, please make yourself heard in the comments! Your feedback will be appreciated. The next Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. Who knows, maybe there will be something from the game twelve days from now to report on net year’s list… Jesse A. Cook “The Five Greatest MLB ASG Moments In The Last 50 Years” July 1, 2017 In the National League, electing a few first basemen to the team will be a tough task. On the one hand, there are many great players like Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, and Ryan Zimmerman, but there are also situations where the 1B might not be especially good, but they’re the best player on a team that will only get one all-star like Wil Myers, Eric Thames, Brandon Belt, or Anthony Rizzo. Granted, with the way Buster Posey’s hitting, Belt won’t need to be the San Francisco Giants’ only all-star, but it is a tough choice to narrow it down to merely a handful of first basemen.
A simple case can be made for each player listed, but they’ll probably only have a few. Taking into account the aspect of the designated hitter, there will probably be two first basemen and two just flat-out good hitters in each lineup. To save us some tears over missed players, let’s assume that all four spots will be filled by first basemen and make our list from there. PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT The Arizona Diamondbacks’ star has a lot to offer and is an easy choice for the starting spot, for his bat has been absolutely unstoppable this season. Batting .323, he’s acquired 65 RBIs, 18 home runs, and an unbelievable 13 steals! Goldy’s been showing off and he needs to be a part of the NL lineup for it. ERIC THAMES Batting a mere .241, all-star hopes do not look good for the Milwaukee Brewers’ first baseman. You could argue that his 20 homers are really something to write home about, but 11 of those blasts were in the first month! Unless a teammate like Travis Shaw or Orlando Arcia misses the cut, I wouldn’t expect Thames to be in Miami, this Mid-Summer Classic. JOEY VOTTO The Cincinnati Reds’ Vottomatic has had a possibly Hall of Fame career and his 2017 season has reflected that, so far. He’s clearly been the best Reds player as he has acquired a .303 batting average, 55 RBIs, and a whopping, fifth in all of baseball, 21 home runs! #19 definitely deserves a spot on the NL team, this July. BRANDON BELT The Giants’ first baseman might have had a shot at the all-star game if it weren’t for the team’s unbelievable catcher, but his stats simply don’t add up to a couple days in Miami, Florida. The lefty has batted a terrible .228, with only 35 RBIs, and 14 home runs. I’m fairly sure Eddie Gaedel might’ve had better numbers, so let’s just keep Belt in San Fran, next month. RYAN ZIMMERMAN In his 266 at-bats, this year, this Washington National has assured us that Bryce Harper won’t be the only Nat heading to the 88th Annual ASG. With 61 RBIs, he’s fourth in baseball, with a batting average of .338, he’s third in baseball, and with 19 home runs, he’s got a shot at the Home Run Derby! There’s no reason why Ryan Zimmerman shouldn’t be in this year’s National League lineup. ANTHONY RIZZO Sure, the Chicago Cubs’ first baseman has been playing well in the last month or so, but we can’t just disregard those two months at the beginning of the season. Batting .326 in the month of June doesn’t justify batting .218 in April and .192 in May, and neither does his 18 homers (six of which were hit in the last month), nor does his 50 RBIs (20 of which were in the last month). Say what you will, but one month of skill is not enough to put a player on the all-star team. WIL MYERS Okay, Myers has struggled a bit this year, but let’s face it: the San Diego Padres need an all-star. Things aren’t pretty for Myers, as he is batting just .262, with 15 homers, and 40 RBIs, but, let me rephrase: the Padres are desperate for even just one all-star. You could argue that Hunter Renfroe could make it, but he’s not doing an better than Myers, and he’s competing with Harper, Cody Bellinger, Scott Schebler, Jay Bruce, and Marcell Ozuna, so it’s safe to say that Myers will make the NL team because, again, let’s try this one more time: San Diego really, really needs an all-star. There’s a plethora of applicants for the position of first baseman in the National League lineup, but there can only be a few who actually make the team. Goldschmidt, Votto, and Zimmerman are by far the best at the job in their respective league, but there’s always a chance for maybe one more in the lineup. The other twelve first basemen in the NL, even if they weren’t listed, still have a shot. Jesse A. Cook “NL First Base Is Close To Call” June 29, 2017 Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger are shocking all of baseball with the insane numbers they’re putting up. The two rookies haven’t even played half the season, yet, but they’re the top two home run hitters in baseball!
Currently, my guess for the coming Home Run Derby looks as if the participants will be Giancarlo Stanton (he’s already confirmed that he’ll try to defend his title), Joey Votto, Scott Schebler, Mike Moustakas, Logan Morrison, Joey Gallo, and, somehow, Bellinger and Judge! The two lead their respective leagues and soon it won’t even be any close. The New York Yankees star rookie right fielder has been absolutely tearing up the Major League level. The Yankees have hit a small slump, but Judge cannot be to blame. Since the month of June began, Judge has hit nine homers, batted .341, had 32 hits, and 22 RBIs. The Los Angeles Dodgers star rookie left fielder has not been “out in left field.” He has been a major factor in the Dodger’s 18-5 month of June and their current ten game winning streak, having had four two home run games just in this month! Since the month began, Bellinger has hit thirteen home runs, has batted .307, had 27 hits, and 26 RBIs. On the year, apart from them being on separate teams, this race is not unlike 1961’s home run race between Yankees’ center fielder Mickey Mantle and Yankees’ right fielder Roger Maris. It looked an awful lot like one, if not both of the Bronx outfielders would break former Yankees’ right fielder Babe Ruth’s single season home run record of 60 bombs. Unfortunately, while Maris broke the record, finishing at 61, and left an injured Mantle at 54, the MLB Commissioner, Ford Frick, decided to put an asterisk next to the new record because Maris did it in 162 games, while Ruth only had 154. The only difference is that Judge has played 71 of the Yankees 73 games and Bellinger has only played 57 of the Dodgers 77 games. In 71 games, Judge has hit 26 home runs, yet in 57 games Bellinger has hit 24. That means that while Judge only averages about .366 homers a game, Bellinger averages about .421 homers a game. With those averages, assuming neither player gets injured or hits a slump, Bellinger will soon surge past Judge and into an unbeatable first place. LA has the best win percentage in the National League, second in all of baseball only to the Houston Astros, and the Yankees’ losing streak of late has allowed their rival Boston Red Sox back into the American League East picture, as they are now tied for first. It seems like this race is going to not only come out with Bellinger beating Judge, but LA absolutely crushing the NL and NY being overwhelmed by the AL. Now, we don’t know who every participant in Miami’s coming Home Run Derby will be, but we do have the general inkling that it will most likely end up as a Judge-Bellinger final bout. By the way the season has gone, so far, we do also have the general inkling that the home run race will come to a similar Judge vs. Bellinger result. Keeping in mind that no rookie has ever hit 50 homers (Mark McGwire hit 49 in his 1987 rookie year), we wish happy homers to all, especially to the two battling interleague rookies. Jesse A. Cook “The Rookie Home Run Race” June 26, 2017 Heartbreak has befallen both the fans of New England sports and the foes of it, but what are the five best moments that unfortunately still came to no avail? After careful consideration, one from each of the Boston teams was found, except two for the Patriots, totaling to five moments.
NUMBER 5: The Boston Bruins 2013 Playoffs “Bergeron! Bergeron! Bergeron!” chanted Bruins radio play-by-play announcer, Dave Goucher, as Patrice Bergeron jumped into the excited arms of his teammates after the incredible 3rd period and Overtime Game 7 comeback over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Everything had looked gloomy with about ten minutes left in regulation, until Bergeron’s Bruins scored 3 goals to tie the game at 4 apiece and sent the B’s onto the next round and eventually onto the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately, this great upset led to no trophy for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane’s Chicago Blackhawks took only six games to take home the title over Boston. NUMBER 4: The Boston Celtics 2002 Eastern Conference Finals Versus the New Jersey Nets, the Celtics made possibly one of the greatest single game comebacks in NBA history: down 84-53 at the end of three quarters, Game 3 hopes looked grim for Celtics fans. Fortunately, Paul Pierce led his team to a 41-16 fourth quarter which ended in a 94-90 Celtics win. This was incredible, although the Nets took Games 4, 5, and 6 to win the series and head to the NBA Finals. NUMBER 3: The Boston Red Sox 1975 World Series Game 6 of the 1975 World Series versus the Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine is what led to the left field pole on the Green Monster at Fenway Park to be called the “Fisk Pole.” The thriller of Game 6 began with future beloved Bruins singer of the national anthems of the United States and Canada, Rene Rancourt belting out the Star Spangled Banner, it got interesting when Red Sox’ outfielder Bernie Carbo tied the game in the eighth inning, and it ended when BoSox’ Hall of Fame catcher Carleton Fisk swung his arms above his head, waving the ball fair, and hit a walk-off home run. The next game, Game 7, ended with Redlegs’ center fielder, Cesar Geronimo jumping in midair after catching the Carl Yastrzemski fly ball that finished the ’75 series. NUMBER 2: The New England Patriots 2015 Super Bowl XLIX When Russell Wilson tossed the ball to Jermaine Kearse, it looked an awful lot like the ball had hit the ground, but in actuality, the Seattle Seahawks receiver had kicked the ball up before taking control of it. Seattle then took the ball from the spot of the lucky grab and drove down to the Patriots’ one yard line where head coach Pete Carroll told his quarterback to pass the ball instead of handing it off to great running back Marshawn Lynch. Fortunately, this has a happy ending for the Foxboro based franchise because with about 20 seconds remaining in that quarter, which happened to be the fourth, young and unknown cornerback Malcolm Butler made the biggest play of his career and intercepted the ball in the end zone to preserve the Pats’ 28-24 lead and win the 49th NFL Super Bowl. NUMBER 1: The New England Patriots 2017 Super Bowl LI Apart from losing the 28-3 lead, the Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback, Matt Ryan, tossed a seemingly impossible throw to future Hall of Famer Julio Jones, but he miraculously caught the projectile over the out of bounds line and slammed his feet into fair territory before falling out of play having gained the dearly needed yardage. Without that highlight reel play, Atlanta would not have made it into field goal range. Once again, to the delight of all of New England, the Patriots’ opponents would befall great misfortune: after several yards lost due to sacks that would push the Falcons out of field goal range, a Matt Bosher punt to the nine yard line, a Julian Edelman catch that seemed to transcend the realm of human ability, a Danny Amendola touchdown, a two-point conversion, an Overtime period, a James White touchdown, and a Tom Brady MVP Award, with a score of 34-28, the Patriots rendered the incredible Jones play redundant and secured the greatest NFL comeback in Super Bowl history. There have been many incredible plays in New England Sports history that tragically or joyfully did not come to ultimate fruition, but these are the obvious top five. Despite the misfortune that might meet the great city of Boston, it is important to keep in mind that they did win at least one championship in each of the Big Four sports in under ten years. Jesse A. Cook “Five Heartbreaking Failures From Great Plays In New England Sports” June 26, 2017 Anthony Rizzo has begun leading off for the Chicago Cubs and Joe Maddon’s expert managing has led the Cubs to an insane winning streak. Rizzo, a power hitter who would usually be found in the cleanup spot,the best leadoff hitter in baseball. He’s been hitting home runs like clockwork.
Rizzo, one of the key factors in breaking the 108 year curse, became very accustomed to the role of 4-hitter until, lately when he hit a slump. He was batting under .250 all year, until June when Maddon tried something new. Now, in the last month, he’s been hitting at .356. Here’s a question: why is this working? Well, we are all sort of wondering ‘what the heck?!’ but there is an answer: As a cleanup hitter, you’re generally going to have lower pitches thrown to you because higher pitches are easier to hit farther and cleanup hitters generally hit for power. Leadoff batters aren’t trying to clear the fences with every swing, so pitchers have a better mind to throw the ball higher to force a pop-up. Low pitches to power hitters usually end up as ground balls, but they end up as singles to players who hit for average. So what does this mean for Rizzo? Good question; unable to hit the constant barrage of low pitches, he promptly and quite noticeably slumped to the worst he’s ever been, but when pitchers saw him up first and threw higher, he began to soar. In June, alone he’s hit 5 home runs, 17 RBIs, and 26 hits! The man batted only .218 in April and an atrocious .192 batting average in May. These stats convinced Maddon that the current situation was not working. Not only was Maddon’s strategy working for the cleanup turned leadoff man, but they were working for the leadoff man turned cleanup hitter. Addison Russell has also improved in the last month: in this last month, the shortstop has elevated to absolute all-star status! He’s now batting .302! Granted, he has sat out a few games due to undisclosed reasons, but he could still turn out to be the starting shortstop for the National League in Miami in the coming All-Star Game. Clearly, not only Rizzo has benefitted. In fact, in the last month, the team has been much, much better than usual, for they had a losing record at 21-27. Fortunately for the Wrigley Field Faithful, the defending World Champion Cubbies went 12-9. For those of you wondering, their winning percentage drastically went up. In April and May, they had a .438 winning percentage, however, in June, it was at a fantastic .571! Maddon’s expert managerial skills this year have thus far proved effective. Now, just half a game behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers, Maddon’s North Chicago Squad is on pace for a repeat of their previous, historic, drought-breaking year. What does this say about Mr. Maddon? Simply that his mind is incredible. In his 14 years in baseball management the man has only one American League pennant win, one National League pennant win, and one World Series win, so what makes him great? Just looking at the last month, starting Kyle Schwarber after his being out all season in Game 1 of the 2016 World Series, and inventing the shift against the greatest designated hitter ever, nicknamed the “David Ortiz Shift,” Maddon has a case for most brilliant manager in baseball history. He even out-managed the Cleveland Indians Terry Francona, who turned the 2004 Boston Red Sox into a historic, record and drought breaking, comeback-from-three-down-against-the-Yankees team and the 2016 Indians into the American League champions. The combination of where pitchers throw the ball to certain batters, depending on where they stand in the opponent’s batting order, expert managing, and the flat-out hard work of two players apparently can turn any losing team into an unstoppable monstrosity. The bats of Rizzo and Russell and the mind of Maddon have turned the Cubs back into their former glory. Obviously, October now holds a very possible promise of Banner #4. Jesse A. Cook “Anthony Rizzo Leads Off To Success” June 24, 2017 When A.J. Ellis took the bat against Max Scherzer last Wednesday night, the 36,742 Miami fans at Marlins Park stood on their feet, hoping to either win the game or witness history. With one away in the bottom of the 8th inning of the 1-0 Nats lead, the catcher, Ellis, stared down the Washington Nationals’ starter, Scherzer. With the count at one ball and two strikes, Ellis sent a tragic chopper right back up the middle.
Max Scherzer has had a possibly Hall of Fame career, but he has come uncomfortably close to no-hitters on three occasions with no results. Fortunately, almost exactly two years since the unfortunate Nats versus Marlins game, on June 20, 2015, Scherzer struck success when he beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a no-no on home turf, and did it again later in the year on October 3 in Flushing Meadows, New York over the Mets. In both of those games, Scherzer came close to perfection. The least aggravating of the two was the latter because of how it was lost and how early on it was lost, too. Third baseman Yunel Escobar would forever regret his inconsistent accuracy after he muffed an easy throw to first base in the 6th inning. The Mets catcher, Kevin Plawecki, would be the only base runner of the entire game. Despite Escobar picking the worst time in baseball history to make an error (with the exceptions of Fred Merkle, Fred Snodgrass, and Bill Buckner), José Tabata committed a far worse atrocity to blow up a Scherzer shot at history. In the top of the 9th inning in Washington D.C., with two out and two strikes, Scherzer threw a pitch that would have caught the upper inside corner of the strike zone if it were not for the eagerness to reach base of the Pirates’ outfielder, Tabata. Home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski missed the obvious call that Tabata had leaned into the pitch to breakup the perfect game, which from then on would merely allow Scherzer to achieve the lesser, but still difficult, no-hitter. The two crowning accomplishments of Scherzer’s career would be far greater if it were not for the carelessness of a fielder and the wickedness of a batter, but Scherzer can only blame his glove for absolutely losing it versus the Marlins. Ellis’s chopper back towards the mound bounced half an inch too high and nicked off of the pitcher’s glove, causing him to lose his third no-no one third of the way through the 8th inning. Unlike missing his opportunities for perfection, Scherzer could not keep his cool and let the bases loaded. Unfortunately, the man with blue and brown eyes threw a wild pitch, allowing José Urena, the pinch runner for Ellis, to score and tie the game. Giancarlo Stanton sent the next pitch into left field and took the lead 2-1; a lead which the Nationals would be unable to tie in the ensuing inning. Scherzer could blame Adam Lind for the loss as he dropped the third out of the 8th, but we still do not know how the 9th would have turned out. Nevertheless, like Dave Stieb, Scherzer has thrown at least one no-hitter in his career, but he constantly comes just too close. Hopefully Scherzer will have a long career, and if he’s lucky, maybe one long enough to finally achieve his long sought-after perfection. Jesse A. Cook “Can’t Catch A Break: Scherzer Loses It In The 8th” June 21, 2017 Becoming the first man in team history to accomplish the amazing feat, the Cincinnati Reds’ second baseman, Scooter Gennett, had a four-home run game last night at home in the 13-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals! He came merely one runner shy of becoming the first player in baseball history to hit for the home run cycle! That would be a solo shot, a two-run blast, a three-run dinger, and a grand slam all in one game.
Scooter led off his day with an RBI single in the bottom of the first which broke the 0-0 tie. Scoring on the play was Billy Hamilton from third. Hamilton, by the way, scored on May 24 to go ahead against the Cleveland Indians in the top of the ninth inning with two outs from first on a Zack Cozart single… I’ll just let that sink in… Now, as great as the speed demon, Hamilton, is, we must return to the topic of the fantastic history the scrawny middle infielder of Cincinnati made last night against the rival Cardinals: the young Gennett, born and raised in Cincinnati, might I add, stepped up again in the bottom of the third against the same pitcher, Adam Wainwright. Around the bases stood Reds’ teammates, Zack Cozart, Joey Votto, and Eugenio Suarez. With one out, Gennett looked to make a large contribution to his team’s 1-0 lead. With the full count, Wainwright dealt suicide to his Cards: Gennett hit a shot over the right field wall for a grand slam. 5-0 Reds was the score, and Gennett had the first of his ten total RBIs. It was now the fourth inning and Gennett had a tough act to follow: not merely repeating his homer of the previous inning, but following Eugenio Suarez’s base loaded-bases clearing triple. Gennett looked in at the new pitcher, John Gant; Gant put Scooter on another full count, but delivered the pitch that would put this game at a double digit lead for Cincy. Gennett swung hard and drove a line drive over the center field wall, which was a long way away; 404 feet. That turned from a 404 foot hit to a 404 error: baseball not found. Gennett, now coasting at 8 RBIs looked forward to the rest of the historic evening. Gant, nervous to face the red-hot Reds’ second baseman, put on his game face to attempt to keep Scooter off of the bases. Gennett stepped up to the plate in the sixth inning with nobody on base and one out with an eager expression. Fittingly standing with a three and one count, otherwise known as a “hitter’s count,” Gennett moved Gant to a gaunt mood with the ensuing 3-1 solo drive to opposite, left field. After Stephen Piscotty finally put his team on the board, hitting a solo homer to left against starter Tim Adleman, John Brebbia took the hill to try to be the man to shut down Gennett and keep him from the history books. Disregarding the fact that the lone Scott Schebler on base would definitely keep him from hitting for the fabled home run cycle, Scooter went up to the plate merely looking for a base hit. Having only hit three bombs all season before the three last night, Gennett had had enough excitement for one night… Or had he? With a count of zero balls and two strikes, Brebbia looked to be leading the young batter away from history. With two away, Brebbia dealt the pitch: “Gennett hits a drive to right! Did he do it? He has!” Scooter hit a line drive over the Great American Ballpark right field wall to complete his four home run night, only becoming the 17th player in baseball history to achieve such a feat. Before last night, the last man to hit four home runs in one game was Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers on May 8, 2012. Now Scooter has joined the names of Mike Schmidt, Willie Mays, and Lou Gehrig. Scooter Gennett made history last night and the Cincinnati Reds have a great shot at the playoffs if players like him can continue to play great. Jesse A. Cook “Scooter Knocks Out 4!” June 7, 2017 At this point, it’s tough to tell who will win the next World Series Championship and whoever wins has quite the task ahead of them. Not only will they have to overcome the best team in the opposite league and 14 others in their own, but they will have to top the Chicago Cubs coming back from being down three games to one and go to the 10th inning in Game 7 to break their 108 year curse. So who will become the 2017 Major League Baseball World Series Champions? It will be the-wait for it…
The Cincinnati Reds. Think about it; they’re outfield has been fantastic, they’re on a roll, and their pitching staff hasn’t been terrible for the first time since 2013. Sure, Jesse Winker struck out on four pitches to end his first game, but he’s had a great minor league career: he had a .296 batting average, 54 home runs, and 279 runs batted in. At this point in baseball, now, a great deal of the ballplayers will be former MiLB opponents. Currently, he’s back in the minors, but soon, the Cincinnati outfield will have the speedster who’s started to hit in center in Billy Hamilton, the power hitter in left in Adam Duvall, and eventually the five-tool player in right in rookie Winker. Hamilton has struggled in the past, but he has improved lately: his on-base percentage is up around .280 and he already has nine steals! The more he gets on base, the more opportunities he’ll have to steal. When Hamilton is hot, the Reds are on fire. Because of his insane playing of late, Cincinnati is just half a game behind the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central division. Duvall is another story for the Redlegs, but with a similar theme: he already has five homers and an almost .290 OBP! Duvall is looking at yet another all-star season, but so are many other Reds! With this amount of star athletes, there is no way that the Reds do not make the postseason. It’s pretty clear that Duvall is going to continue to hit and get on base, and so is Hamilton, so what’s keeping the Cincinnati ballclub from the playoffs? The answer is their starting rotation. None of their pitchers who have started a game have an Earned Run Average below 2.70 and the majority of them lie around 4 and 5. Cincinnati’s Scott Feldman, Brandon Finnegan, Bronson Arroyo, Rookie Davis, Tim Adleman, and Amir Garrett need to step up their playing. Garrett started the year off strong, but has faltered of late: the 3-2 starter only gave up four runs in his first three starts combined, but in his last three, he has given up all of 14 runs! Unless Garrett and his fellow starters can pick up their play by the month of June, the Hunt For Red October will be over before it started. When Winker is called back up to the Big Leagues, after having figured out how to hit better, the Cincinnati offense will have the added boost that they so desperately need to bring them to a sixth World Series banner. Hamilton has been hitting, Duvall has been crushing the ball beyond the fences, as is usual for him, so all the team needs to win, is a powerful Winker and a functioning starting rotation. Once these are taken care of, the Cincinnati Reds will be your 2017 Major League Baseball World Series Champions. Jesse A. Cook May 16, 2017 “The World Series Champions Will Be The- Wait For It...” |
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