Dick Allen

QUOTE(The Critic @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 06:28 PM) I don't understand why everyone who gets on base against Freddy isn't stealing. He almost never throws over and he has a LONG motion to the plate. You'd think more players would take advantage of that. And of course, as I type this Lopez was running, ha! I agree. Its almost automatic they will make it. It may cost the Reds a run this inning.

Freddy's bringing his 87 MPH heat tonight

Watch out.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 06:22 PM) Claussen's pitched roughly as well as Jon Garland. So 3 homers allowed in 6 innings would be considered an encouraging outing from him from a Reds point of view.

QUOTE(wsox08 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 06:21 PM) I think four will be enough.. Call me crazy I hope I'm wrong, but you're crazy.

I have the feeling 4 isn't going to be enough, lets get 8.

pretty nice start

Hopefully the Sox have a long inning and the sun sets a little in LF. Pods struggles with the sun a lot.

QUOTE(Hangar18 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 04:13 PM) Bob Watson is a YES man .............. If this lazy-ass would get his butt out of the golf cart, put the clubs away, and did some work, this wouldve been taken care of 48 hours after it happened. MLB = Pathetic It is a joke. They dispatch a guy to Chicago for an appeal hearing on June 16, for an act that occurred May 20. I figured it would take weeks. I thought maybe 2, at the most 3, but tomorrow it will be 4. Who knows how long until they rule.

What would be interesting is if he doesn't have it shortened and they ruled on it Monday, his return date would be the series against the White Sox.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 02:34 PM) People are going to love him no matter how poorly he plays, I'm not sure if it's the Scotty the Hotty thing or maybe they just don't know how he compares to other leadoff hitters around the league. The love for him has faded for some. Its mostly based on his lower average, but his OBP is basically the same, and the enormous amount of errors. Next offseason will be interesting with Pods arbitration eligible.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 02:27 PM) I don't think there's anyone who thinks he was great last year and bad this year. There's many a person who felt he was mediocre during last season as well. I got slammed so much last year commenting how Pods was not all that good.

I've never been a fan of Pods, but I've never seen a guy go from must have to must get rid of faster on this board for really no drop-off in performance. In fact his performance may even be better this season, at least offensively. His OBP is only .008 lower than last season, even after his recent slump. His slugging percentage and OPS are both higher. He has only scored 35 less runs than he did all of last season, and is only 5 short of his entire RBI total from 2005. I can't see where you can say he was great last year and bad this season.

I was wondering where that would have landed at USCF. Centerfield, at least the area that is covered by the scoreboard out there is the one area at USCF where the ball doesn't carry all that well.

QUOTE(kevin57 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 12:27 PM) Can anyone tell me if Freddy has ever even tried to incorporate MB's style of pitching (i.e., quick & efficient)? Whenever I've seen him pitch it is torturously slow, and as a general rule, I think that less thinking and a more direct "go at 'em" approach works. (Jon, are you listening?) He's incorporated his 86 MPH fastball.

I don't see it as that big of deal one way or the other. We have been assured by several posters that the Tigers are a mirage.

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 12:21 PM) I'm just glad I'm not a Cubs fan. As a 12 year old, those bright colors, and that cute little bear are extremely enticing, especially when all your classmates and peers are rooting for the Cubs. When I went to USCF against the Cubs, someone in the lot had one of those little bears on a spit, and was spinning around the BBQ. They called it a Cub-bob.

From the Tribune: Aug. 30, 2005 Guillen is incensed after Jermaine Dye, who hit two home runs and drove in six runs in the second game of a doubleheader, was hit by a pitch from Texas left-hander Erasmo Ramirez in the ninth inning. Guillen gets more suspicious when Showalter pinch-hits for slugger Mark Teixeira. "I'm not going to hit anyone today. I'm not going to hit anyone tomorrow. But to me, that's a bunch of [stuff]. . . . I don't know if Showalter did it or the pitcher did it on purpose. . . . You put it all together, and you start scratching your head. ... Good pitchers win games. Horse [manure] pitchers hit people." My how Ozzie's attitude has changed. Either he thinks Tracey is a "horses***" pitcher, or he's a hypocrite. I will say this though, it appears Tracey was going back to Charlotte anyway. Ozzie showing him up was wrong IMO, and could have been handled away from cameras. I am happy that Tracey's failure to hit someone wasn't why he was sent back to Charlotte.

QUOTE(Felix @ Jun 15, 2006 -> 09:37 PM) Montero didn't hit someone because there was no one else warming up in the pen at that time, and since he would have gotten tossed, a pitcher would have to have pitch without warming up. No. Its like an injury. They would have given a replacement adequate time to warm up.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jun 15, 2006 -> 09:35 PM) Hawk just dry heaved into the mic. Hawk obviously doesn't loooooooooooooooooooooooovveee cough buttons.

QUOTE(Contreras @ Jun 15, 2006 -> 05:34 PM) The crappiest arm on the staff is the most expendable in the case of a suspension or injury-causing brawl. Vazquez would be a very large loss. Tracey is a loss we can laugh off. It's all excellent risk management on Ozzie's part. Now that Tracey's gone, who becomes the designated beaner?

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Jun 15, 2006 -> 05:26 PM) So what? The kid didn't hit Blaylock, he got him out. The $12 million a year pitcher pitches to Blaylock and he hits one 10,000 ft. Maybe the wrong guy was throwing at him. Pitchers usually don't have to be told to hit someone. Buerhle wasn't against Baltimore last year, and he got tossed without warning costing him a streak of games where he went 6 innings.

The problem with how this was handled is that Tracey will always be known as the guy who pissed Ozzie off for not hitting someone, and whether its true or not, the guy who was sent to the minor leagues because he didn't drill someone. If Ozzie would have handled this in the clubhouse or the runway, away from cameras, Tracey would have been a guy who was sent down because a veteran was acquired.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 15, 2006 -> 03:43 PM) Randy Johnson was suspended 5 games today by MLB along with Torre picking up a game. No warnings were given out and I'm pretty sure Randy didn't even hit Eduardo Perez. If this is any indication I'd have to say Vazquez would have received something like 6-7 games for hitting a batter after warnings were given out and Ozzie more than likely would have picked up 2. Just an FYI. He didn't hit him, but there was warnings given. This is why Vazquez needed to plunk someone before the warnings were given. Once he failed to do that all bets were off. There wa ample opportunity to protect White Sox hitters, particularly AJ before the warning was issued. It didn't happen. Its not Tracey's fault.

How come Ozzie doesn't scream and throw water bottles and dress Juan Uribe down when he fails to execute a bunt? How come when Pods drops a ball and then takes his time going after it, Ozzie isn't waiting for him at the top step reaming him out? Rookies make mistakes. Every single one of them. Showing up your player like that will eventually bite you in the ass.