| 17 June 2010
Bronson Arroyo was the star of this one as he hammered a three-run homer to give the Reds a 3-1 lead which just snowballed from there. Joey Votto added his 14th HR of the season and Brandon Phillips added his ninth.
In addition to his heroics at the plate, Arroyo gave the Reds a much-needed quality start on the mound. He went 7 innings and improved his mark to 6-3 on the season with an ERA of 4.53.
At least the Reds can count on one of their high-priced starters from time to time. Harang, on the other hand, has completely fallen apart. He is 5-6 with an ERA of 5.44, making fans wonder what happened to the hurler that was borderline excellent from 2005-07. I just don't see it getting much better with Harang. His stuff is weak and he nibbles far too much. I'd rather see him come right at batters with his sneaky-fast fastball than all this nibbling that he's become notorious for. The guy simply does not have a good curve, slider or change. He's never going to blow hitters away with his fastball, but that used to be his calling card. He could spot his fastball and he's lost the art of doing that.
Who would replace Harang?: Let's say Harang continues to pitch like his name is Jimmy Haynes. Or Eric Milton. (Or fill in your favorite atrocious Reds starting pitcher in recent memory.) What would happen next? Well, they certainly wouldn't release him; not with what he's making. But they could perhaps move him to a long-relief role in the bullpen (which definitely needs as much help as it can get).
The best thing for the Reds would obviously be for Harang to re-gain at least some of his old form and at least be able to keep the team in ballgames. However, if that doesn't happen and he needs to be replaced, I still think Aroldis Chapman should be the one that is added to the rotation. He's had a few rocky starts at Triple-A Louisville, but is still putting up solid numbers overall (5-4, 4.22 ERA, 59.2 IP, 56 H, 36 BB, 70 K). The walks are a bit troublesome, but that was expected by everyone who scouted him. I am very encouraged by his strikeout numbers and the fact that he's reached 103 MPH on the gun multiple times.
The time is coming soon where Chapman will be wearing a Reds uniform. At least I hope. Even with his wildness, he would give the team a better chance to win that Harang right now.
Bailey still nursing sore shoulder: It's not clear when Homer Bailey will be back in the rotation as he continues to recover from right shoulder inflammation. Therefore, Sam LeCure will continue to fill in for Bailey. LeCure has been solid, but teams are figuring him out more and more with each start. He does not have good stuff at all and it's not a good thing for the Reds if he remains in the rotation much longer. And no, Bailey wasn't exactly tearing things up, but Bailey has a lot of potential while LeCure has AAAA pitcher written all over him. Too good for the minors but not quite good enough for the Majors. I think his numbers this year so far have been a bit of a mirage given the fact that his career minor league numbers aren't all that impressive.
Reds need to trade for a reliever pronto: No sense in waiting until the trading deadline or even close. If the Reds believe they are in the race to stay, they have to do something about the bullpen soon. And calling up guys like Jordan Smith who couldn't even get hitters out at Double-A Carolina is not going to do the trick. Seriously, they called a guy up from AA with a 5.08 ERA? Really? Why not call up Matt Maloney and use him out of the bullpen? Some of these moves make absolutely no sense and Walt Jocketty better make a trade before it's too late. The Reds are in dire need of help in their ‘pen. Can't rely on Arthur Rhodes having a 0.31 ERA all season. Although, I sure wouldn't complain if he did. (BTW, Rhodes better be on the All-Star team. I don't care that he's not a closer - he's been the best reliever in baseball this season. It's nothing short of amazing what he's done, especially considering he's 40. Yes, he's a man. He's 40.)
The Reds can't continue to run guys like Danny Herrera out there and expect to stay in the race. Herrera is so hittable that he makes Harang look like Stephen Strasburg at times.
Pleasantly shocked about the offense: "Pleased" wouldn't even do it justice. Entering the season, I thought the weakness of the team would be offensive production. I didn't think they'd be terrible by any means, but I certainly didn't expect this.
Think about it: Almost all of Cincinnati's key hitters are having good years: Votto has been very Vottolike so far, the streaky Phillips is as hot as Brooklyn Decker at the moment, Scott Rolen is enjoying an offensive renaissance in Great American Small Park (although, to be fair, he did start off very hot offensively with the Blue Jays last year before being traded to the Reds), Jonny Gomes is having a career year and Jay Bruce is holding his own (don't forget Mr. Bruce is still only 23 ... he's doing just fine). The only key member of the lineup that continues to be a black hole most of the time at the dish is Drew Stubbs. However, he will continue to get a free pass no matter how poorly he plays. If he was a former 10th-round pick, he'd probably be in Louisville right now. But because the Reds took him in the first round (8th overall to be exact) they feel the need to make him their everyday starting centerfielder, despite the fact that it's obvious to everyone that Chris Heisey should be playing more. However, thanks to the other members of the lineup getting it done, Stubbs' horrible at bats have been swept under the rug to some extent. I mean, if a guy is going to strike out that much, I would at least like him to be a big-time power hitter like Adam Dunn. Stubbs is just never going to be a good hitter in my opinion. What about his minor league numbers would make you feel differently?
Bottom line: It's June 17 and the Reds are in sole possession of first place. You gotta love that.
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