Question: How do you end a three-game winning streak?

Answer: Give up 7 runs in the first 2 innings.

That’s exactly what Johnny Cueto did last night against the Cards, giving up a very Josh Fogg-esque 7 runs and 8 hits in 1.2 innings.  This was Cueto’s worst start in the majors, and his second bad outing in a row.  He hasn’t won a game since his first start of the season. 

One has to wonder if all those innings Cueto threw in Winter Ball are starting to catch up to him.  Some expected Cueto to show signs of fatigue some time around mid season, but not in April. 

And as much as it pains me to say it, Josh Fogg actually pitched… uh… well in relief.  He threw 4.2 innings without giving up a run, which is pretty staggering in Fogg Land.  Then again, Fogg probably looked at the scoreboard, saw that the score was 7-0 in favor of the Cardinals, figured he’d given up all those runs, and was able to settle in.

Apparently Bronson Arroyo has been working with pitching coach Dick Pole (heh-heh… Dick Pole) on locating his fastball.  It’s not that Bronson didn’t know where his fastball was, he just didn’t know where to throw it without the other team launching it out of the park.

Monday Night’s Line:

Dick, whatever you’re doing, keep it up.

Wait.  That sounded bad.

For my more sophisticated readers that didn’t catch that last reference, fortunately, Wikipedia was kind enough to spell it out for you:

Pole’s name is often treated in humorous fashion by sports columnists and pundits because both his first and last names could be considered euphemisms for penis.

You see, his first name is Dick.  And his last name is Pole.

It’s hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago some of us were praising Corey Patterson and his hot start, while others were talking about sending Edwin Encarnacion to the minors to work out his “problems.”  Since that time, Patterson has shown why he has no business being a leadoff hitter, and Encarnacion has quietly put up the following stats:

Apparently, Ryan Freel is none too pleased with his lack of playing time, and Scott Hatteberg trade rumors are starting to develop. I’m not too sure what kind of value we could get back for either of these players (Dusty’s hoping for the 1-2 punch of Neifi Perez and Henry Blanco), but with a new GM in office, I wouldn’t be surprised if something happens soon.  

Oh, the Reds have won three in a row.

After an extended weekend stay in the Queen City for a niece’s baptism (and to devour a few cheese coneys), I’m back to bore you with my horribly uninspired musings about our beloved Cincinnati Reds.

I watched most of Saturday’s game, and I couldn’t help but shake my head at Matt Belisle’s inability to pitch well.  Yes, the Reds got the win (barely), but Belisle didn’t exactly make a positive contribution.  Between him and Arroyo, I just don’t know what to do. 

The bats came alive during the Giants series, but let’s face it, they’re the San Francisco Giants.  If the Reds continue to swing a hot bat in St. Louis, then maybe (maybe) I’ll breathe a temporary sigh of relief.

Todd Coffey continues to unimpress this season, and because of that he was shipped down to Triple-A Louisville (lew-ih-vul) today.  Hello, Bill Bray.  Let’s see if Bray can reverse the trend of Stud in the Minors/Bum in the Majors that we’ve been seeing recently.

Other than that, the two-game win streak feels good.  I feel a lot better about this team than I did a week ago, but they’re are still some issues that need to be resolved.

On the mound tonight: Mr. JTM vs. Todd Wellemeyer

The Reds had their press conference yesterday afternoon to officially announce Walt Jocketty as the new General Manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

I had and have very neutral feelings about Wayne Krivsky’s tenure here. I applaud him for his role in picking up Brandon Phillips (when nobody else wanted him), and even though the Josh Hamilton move resulted in a temporary stay with the Reds, Hamilton would later net the Reds one Edinson Volquez. So far, I can’t complain about that deal.

And while it’s easy to dismiss last year’s Adam Dunn signing now (while he’s struggling), Dunn is an important piece of this team, and I hope Jocketty realizes this and signs him to a multi-year deal soon. 

But for every one good Krivsky move there was two questionable moves. Rheal Cormier? Juan Castro, anyone? And I don’t care what it looked like on paper at the time, but the Austin Kearns/Felipe Lopez trade still ticks me off.

Stupid Gary Majewski…

Here are some Jocketty quotes from the press conference:

Actual quote:

“I think one thing I talked with Dusty about today … we need to change the culture and mindset to have everyone believe we can win. … You have to surround yourself with positive people. We’ll evaluate that in the coming weeks and months.”

Translation:

Josh Fogg and Corey Patterson - your asses are gone.

Actual quote:

“Both Dusty and I hate losing. We’re not going to stand for it.”

Translation:

Who should we fire next? 

Actual quote:

“I will at some point (address the team). I’ve discussed that with the staff a little bit today. … We may wait until we get on the road to do it.” 

Translation:

Josh Fogg is really dreading this road trip now.

Actual quote:

“Trust me, me and Dusty are very motivated. We’re both guys with a vendetta and chip on our shoulders.”

Translation:

Dusty was booed out of Chicago and would like nothing more than to show the Cubs brass that they made a mistake in letting him go.

So, what does all of this mean to the immediate future of the Reds? I’m not sure. It’s too early to call this season a wash (I’ll wait until at least next week to do that), but there are too many things that need to be fixed immediately in order to right this ship and save the season.

But if there’s anyone that can do it, Walt Jocketty is the guy.  All signs point to this move being a positive step in the right direction.

You know what 0-3 means…

I’m sorry that I had to do that to you, but this is just painful:

What do you do with Bronson Arroyo? Seriously, what do you do?

Ken Griffey, Jr. is three HRs away from 600.

Six hundred homeruns.

That’s pretty awesome.

The Walt Jocketty Era begins today. From this point forward the Reds will be a better team. Mark my words. Their offense will explode, their pitching will be dominant, their fielding will be legendary.

{Prediction subject to change if Corey Patterson continues playing in centerfield}

Goodbye Wayne Krivsky, hello Walt Jocketty.

And who are the poor schleps that will be on the receiving end of this punishment - ladies and gentlemen, welcome the Houston Astros to town for yet another (stupid) two-game series. May God have mercy on your souls, Astros, because there’s a new GM in town.

His name: Walt Jocketty*

*Haven’t you been paying attention, I just said it a few sentences ago.

GAME 1

Chris Sampson (0-2, 8.74 ERA) vs. Bronson Arroyo (0-2, 5.48 ERA)

By the way, I’m going to continue posting the JTM videos until Arroyo gets a win, so for all of our sake, I hope he wins. This is one guy that doesn’t want to be “together again” any time soon.

GAME 2

Jack Cassel (2008 Debut) vs. Johnny Cueto (1-1, 3.42 ERA)

REDS GM KRIVSKY FIRED

Walt Jocketty to take over GM duties.

Read more here. 

The Cincinnati Reds commemorated Earth Day on Tuesday by conserving the energy (for once) of the bullpen.  Edinson Volquez went to 3-0 by pitching 7 innings of 3 hit, 1 run, 7 K ball.  Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips both went yard.  The Reds ended up with 15 hits, and Jerry Hairston Jr. went 4-5 with 3 RBI.  Corey Patterson pinch hit and managed to raise his average to .197.

It seems like years since the Reds won two of the last three games.  I’ll take it.

What rock does Thom Brennaman live under?  It wasn’t until the 9th inning that he realized that Van Halen was next door at the Riverfront Coliseum (I’m not going to pretend to know what that place is called anymore).  I don’t even live in Cincinnati and I knew that Van Halen was in town.  Then again, I used to be somewhat of a Van Halen freak, so I would know that. 

Over the years I’ve seen Van Halen in concert 16 times, but this is the first tour I sat out.  Not having Michael Anthony on bass was the last straw for me.  Anyone go to the show?

What’s worse is that Brennaman had no idea David Lee Roth was back in the band.

Come on, Thom, gimme a break.

One break, comin’ up!

Could it be?  Could it possibly be that my boy Gary Majewski is showing signs of becoming a competent Major League pitcher?  Well, if lowering your ERA to 11.57 is a sign of progress, then Majewski is certainly heading in the right direction.

Gary Wayne Majewski

Season

Individual Games

Keep up the good work, Gary.  Any day now you’ll be serving up 450+ foot homeruns in the Majors.

Somebody forgot to tell Matt Belisle that even though he was pitching in place of Josh Fogg, it didn’t mean that he was supposed to pitch like Josh Fogg.

To make matters even worse, Josh Fogg came into the game in the 6th inning and pitched, well… like Josh Fogg.

Oddly enough, Fogg was actually able to lower his ERA with that outing.

Lastly, it’s nice to see that someone finally explained the rules of baseball to Edwin Encarnacion, and informed him that the object of the game is to HIT THE BALL.