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Reds Find Ways to Lose

May 21st, 2006 | Thaq Diesel

By Thaq Diesel

“We had some chances early where we didn’t get guys in,” Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron said. “You get second and third with nobody out and hit three straight balls to third base … that isn’t real good.”

“You always try to do all the little things you can to win, and that includes running on that play,” Leyland said. “Shelton swung at a bad pitch, and I think Guillen was out, but they dropped the throw.”

I’m so frustrated by this team I can’t stand it. The Reds found two different ways to blow a win, but make no mistake: this Cincinnati team had multiple mistakes in both Saturday’s and Sunday’s losses. Why does this team continue to make baserunning errors, throwing errors, fail to get runners over, fail to sacrifice, fail to catch throws that would catch would-be base stealers? I don’t know where else to look, so I’m staring straight into the dugout at Jerry Narron. Do you threaten to bench people? Do you make them run like Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks did in “Miracle?” I’ve always thought Jim Leyland was a grumpy hard ass, but his Tigers team did everything they were supposed to do to win games when it mattered. What is he doing with his team to get them to focus on (and execute) details?

I honestly think this team can be fixed, but I’m not in the dugout every day to know what levers to push. Right now, the Reds are a blunt instrument. They often botch the little details of baseball at critical times but can easily put up five runs in an inning to get the lead (Saturday).

One more rant and I can be free of these two frustrating losses. I have never, in all my years of watching baseball, seen a shortstop botch a routine grounder as the game-ending error. I watch this team and I see great hitting talent, wonderful pitching and all the components a winning team needs. Then I see bizarre backhanded throws to the wall past first base, people picked off rounding first on a base hit and a runner at third running home on a sharply hit ball to the third baseman playing on the grass. Just fix it guys. I’m still pulling for you but it’s painful to watch games slip away. The Cardinals and Mr. Pooholes are starting to hit the accelerator pedal. The Reds needs to this get fixed sooner rather than later lest they find themselves 10 games down (The gap has already slipped to four games behind first, one game in front of third place.)

Make no mistake - the Reds weren’t losing to chopped liver this weekend; the Tigers are a great team and have some excellent pitchers. Not sure if the success of their staff is a big a surprise as it has been for the Reds, but the Tiger pitchers had a say in how the Reds performed at the plate in crucial situations during the series.
It was a shame to see Felipe Lopez’s hitting streak come to an end. Watching him on the basepads this past weekend, however, my wife was struck by the immense size of his booty. I think I may start referring to him as “F-Lo.” In other news, my wife seems to have a baseball butt fetish (see “Reds Off the Schnide - Glass Half Full?” for her description of Kevin Young’s buttocks).
Just when the middle relief gets its stuff together, David Weathers begins a streak of three blown saves in the past three opportunities.
It was another outstanding start by Harang (wasted).