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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Brief reflections on the game

Saw tonight's game. Yesterday was crazy-busy, so I missed Volquez's gem. And tomorrow is radio-only here in PA, so I won't see it either. But it was "good" to see the Reds again...been a long while.

Highlights:
  • Jay Bruce jacking an 0-2 pitch over the wall.
  • Affeldt going crazy-wild on Freddie Sanchez, and then getting him to fly out on a fastball down the middle.
  • The Pittsburgh announcers, while not particularly exciting, were a refreshing change. They talked up their young players, and had a small featurette on improvements in hitting mechanic instruction over the past 30 years that I found interesting.
  • The uniforms still look nice and stuff. PNC's a darn pretty park too.
  • It was a quick game.
Lowlights:
  • I kept score, which was interesting because it reinforced how few swings and misses Fogg induced on the evening. I counted two. Not strikeouts--swings and misses on any pitch. I guess 84 mph fastballs just don't cut it. Who knew?
  • Encarnacion seeming to give up on that catchable flare over his head, and then Fogg not covering third. Maybe Keppinger called him off or something, but I'd sure like to see them pull a Braun and put Eddie in left field next year. In fairness, Edwin did make a helluva throw on Michaels' grounder in the 8th.
  • I see the lineups every day when they're posted. But it really is something to see a game unfold with a starting lineup featuring Jolbert Cabrera, Andy Phillips, Ryan Hanigan, and Corey Patterson. The Pirates' 2-run lead felt freaking insurmountable, which is ridiculous.
Ah, well. As I said, it was nice to have a chance to see the team play again. One more series vs. the Pirates left, and hopefully we'll also see some nationally-televised games vs. the Cubs or something. I know I'll never really quit the Reds, even if I do start paying more attention to other teams.

3 comments:

  1. Pirates announcers: Frattare is great, Blass is good, Walk is OK, Greg Brown is annoying. When you get Frattare and Blass together on TV or radio, it's a well-broadcast game.

    I've been talking up Edwin to LF for a couple weeks now. Let's see if we can get someone's attention!

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  2. Yeah, I think we've brought it up in the Erardi columns over the past few weeks (I think--sometimes I forget what actually goes into them), which is probably the best way to get it in front of the Reds personnel.

    But surely they've thought of it too. It just makes too much sense. Eddie's clearly not getting visibly better. And defensive aging curves start their decline phase very early in players' careers. It's time to move him somewhere that is a better match for his skills and find someone else to man the hot corner. -j

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  3. Did you hear the Pirates announcers (I think T.V.) when Brandon Phillips hit his homerun? They ragged on him bad for his homerun trot.

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