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By Thaq Diesel 

So the Reds were swept, running into the buzzsaw that is the blazing hot Phillies.  What bothers me, however, is the way Cincinnati lost.

1. Defense.  The Reds committed an error each day.  Quinton McCracken’s drop of a routine fly ball Saturday night was the most aggravating; I hope he apologized to Dave Williams.  What’s worse is the passed balls in critical situations (Friday and  Saturday) that made comebacks almost impossible. (Despite losing by four runs Friday the Reds were actually threatening when trailing by six runs down in the 9th, but the passed ball kept the tying run from coming to the plate.  Arggggh!) 
2. The Reds wasted three outstanding pitching performances over the weekend (granted the Phillies had great pitching too, but you hate to waste quality starts like that.)  Poor Elizardo Ramirez - the guy can’t get a break.  Three earned runs over seven innings should get you a win.  I won’t even begin to describe how wasteful it is for the Reds to squander the great outings by Claussen and Dave Williams (and make Jon Lieber look like Greg Maddux at the same time.)  
3. Cincinnati has gone cold at the plate.  Their run production has fallen off woefully in the past 11 games, averaging 3.6 runs per game and only scoring one run or less 6 times out of those games.

The defense though is the most painful and tough thing to overcome.  It would appear that the achilles heel of the Reds is indeed their error-prone ways.  Can you teach defense?  Is this just a phase or will the Reds be doomed?

What scene does this describe?  “Jason LaRue stepped up to the plate, his pink bat gripped tightly with both hands.  He waved it in front of the catcher’s face, tapped the plate with it (!), then stared at the man on the mound, waiting to see who would make the next move.”  [Description of “Pink Bat for Breast Cancer Awareness Day,” or opening scene to “Brokeback Ballpark”]

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