Reds surge toward top in new MLB power rankings

 

 

Cincinnati is the biggest winner in ESPN's newly released MLB Power Rankings.

 

Apparently, the pollsters were impressed with the six-game winning streak the Reds strung together in the past week. That streak came to an end in Philadelphia over the weekend, though, as the Reds dropped two of three from the feisty Phillies.

 

Nonetheless, Dusty Baker's bunch still landed at spot No. 3 this week in the rankings. That is up seven spots from the previous week, which is the highest jump for any team in baseball. Baltimore experienced the worst drop, falling nine spots from No. 4 to No. 13.

 

Meanwhile, the Cardinals fell off the top perch and down to No. 2.

Quotes from weekend series against Philly

Back-to-back home runs from two of the most unlikely suspects was the difference between the Reds winning and losing the series against Philadelphia over the weekend.

Both homers came off Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth Sunday. It marked the first time in 157 career appearances that Chapman had allowed two home runs in the same game.

Despite the heart-breaking loss, the beat goes on for Dusty Baker and the Reds, who now travel to New York for a three-game set against the Mets. Until then, mull over some quotes from the weekend series against Philly.

Friday (L, 5-3)

Video: Watch Joey Votto go yard against Phillies

Cincinnati's six-game winning streak came to a halt Friday night as the Phillies handed the visitors a 5-3 defeat. Philly scored two in the bottom of the eighth to help push past the second-place Reds.

However, one guy Cincy certainly can't blame for the loss is Joey Votto, who notched two hits in the affair, including this solo home run in the top of the eighth to knot the score at three a piece. It marked the fifth of the year for the three-time All-Star.

Broadcaster Thom Brennaman called it the hardest ball Votto has hit all season long. Although it isn't always easy to agree with Thom, it's hard to argue against him on this one. That ball was smoked.

Comparing the 2013 Reds to past postseason teams and other notes

by: Dan Howard
Staff Writer

First of all I want to wish a happy birthday to my “bookend” children. Taira Faith, my oldest, turns 25 on May 20, Ethan Joel, my youngest, turns 8 on May 17. The other three will just have to wait their turn!

Speaking of children, I just got my Father’s Day present, the complete Ken Burns’ Baseball series on DVD, including the Tenth Inning. Thanks kids!

Having five kids is great, especially when four of them are in their twenties. Getting them there is a bit tough!

Prayer request update; Cindy Ward, wife of Tomahawk Missionary Baptist church pastor Dr. Jack Ward, is home from the hospital, her infection is minimal and can be controlled/eliminated by antibiotics. Thank God!

As of the date of this writing, Thursday May 16, 2013, Reds baseball has reached the “quarter pole”. Forty-one games have passed, 121 games remain, and hopefully more for the Reds in October. Now the boring part, here’s how the 2013 Reds compare to the past ten Reds postseason teams since 1970.

Video: Watch Aroldis Chapman throw mind-bending pitch

We already knew Aroldis Chapman was filthy on the mound.

However, the final pitch he threw to Miami Marlins hitter Derek Dietrich Wednesday night was simply mind-bending, not to mention virtually unhittable.

Take another look as the Cuban Missile delivers an absolutely wicked slider that both boggles the mind and freezes the body of the poor rookie.

Whoa.

Video: Shin-Soo Choo talks about his big night in Miami

The Reds and Shin-Soo Choo are rolling right now.

On Wednesday, Cincinnati extended their winning streak to a season-best five games with a 4-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. The offense was fueled by Choo, who pounded out two home runs, to go along with a two singles and three runs scored.

It marked the ninth multi-home run game of Choo's career and his second in 2013. The two bombs give him a total of nine for the campaign, which leads the team, and ties him for sixth in the league. Additionally, his batting average now stands at .322 while his on-base percentage currently sits at .465.

Check out the video clip above to hear what the Korean native has to say about his performance and about the why the Reds are playing lately.

Joey Votto is one of the 50 highest-paid athletes in sports

It goes without question that Reds first basemen Joey Votto is one of the elite players in Major League Baseball. The Canadian native has already racked up a National League Most Valuable Player Award (2010), a Gold Glove Award (2011), and three straight trips to the All-Star Game (2010-2012). Furthermore, he is led the league in on-base percentage every year since 2010 and continues to be regarded as one of the most feared hitters in the modern game.

Naturally, Votto is also one of the highest paid players in MLB too. On April 2, 2012, the Reds and Votto shocked the baseball world when the two sides agreed on a historic contract extension worth $225 million over 10 years. The deal made Votto the richest player in franchise history and guaranteed that he would be averaging $22.5 million per year through the end of 2024.

Injuries costing Reds, other MLB teams dearly this season

The injury bug has certainly bitten the Reds in 2013.

Cincinnati currently has five major league players on its disabled list in the likes of Ryan Ludwick, Johnny Cueto, Manny Parra, Chris Heisey, and Nick Masset. The loss of Ludwick was a particularly untimely one as his crippling injury came in the very first game of the season.

However, the Reds have marched on without the services of their wounded anyway. And they are definitely not alone. Every other team in the league has been forced to deal with injuries to key players, too.

This got the folks at the New York Times wondering, how much does it cost teams to pay their injured players? For the Reds, that figure stands to be about $3,394 per hour, which equates to $81,456 per day, and approximately 13.5% of the team's total payroll.

Video: Dan Patrick mistakes A.J. Burnett for Bronson Arroyo in awkward encounter

Sportscaster Dan Patrick recently had an awkward encounter with Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett. And most of the blame can be attributed to the fact that Patrick mistook Burnett for Reds hurler Bronson Arroyo!

Patrick details the unusual circumstances of the encounter in the clip above.

In his defense, Arroyo and Burnett do share a few commonalities. Both pitchers are right-handed, both are 36-years-old, and both are about 6-foot-5.

However, the two are definitely not one in the same. Patrick hilariously learned that the hard way.

Via Eye on Baseball

Reds off day quotes and notes

The Redlegs took care of business this weekend by sweeping the Brewers in a three-game series at Great American Ball Park. It was a great showing by Dusty Baker's club as they smothered Milwaukee with timely hitting, excellent defense, and good pitching. They will look to build on the positive momentum when they visit Miami beginning Tuesday night.

The Marlins are reeling (pardon the pun) right now as losers of five of their last six. If it wasn't for Houston (10-28), the Fish's 11-27 record would be the worst in baseball. So, as eager as the Reds are to get a crack at the league's doormat, they will have to get through Monday's off day first, which I'm sure is completely fine with them. Off days are more precious than gold for MLB teams this time of year.

In the meantime, enjoy some notes and quotes...