Rus Livingood
Editor’s Note: Make sure to read all of Russ’ early season “REDiculous” entries from our Sports section!
April 1, 2013 – Angels @ Reds – 4:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (0 – 0)
Home Record (0 – 0)
Angels Record (0 – 0)
Away Record (0 – 0)
Starters: Weaver (0 – 0) vs. Cueto (0 – 0)
Storylines:
REDS
The Reds needed a leadoff man, and they acquired Shin-Soo Choo in a trade that sent Drew Stubbs to the Indians. Choo has a much higher OBP than last year’s composite leadoff man for the Reds, which was abysmal any way you slice it. Choo is being asked to play Center, where Stubbs covered a large amount of ground effortlessly.
Todd Frazier is going from rookie utility man to a starting role at third, replacing Scott Rolen. Rolen was out for large portions of the last few years, and Frazier is looking to make an impact on the team full-time.
Joey Votto is back from a knee injury that hampered his power and production late last season. He looked great this spring and seems to have his power back.
Aroldis Chapman is returning to the closer role, after the team contemplated making him into a starter this offseason.
Johnny Cueto pitched beautifully last year but left the playoffs through injury after only eight pitches. He gets the start today.
The Reds look to be a solid team from top to bottom and have been a favorite by many to win the division and be a possible World Series team.
ANGELS
The Angels already had a potent lineup when they acquired Josh Hamilton. Mike Trout had possibly the best rookie season in the history of the game, and could put up even better numbers by playing a full season. His move to Left raised some eyebrows, but we will have to wait and see how that plays out.
Albert Pujols had offseason knee surgery, and that has slowed him this spring. He may miss this game or possibly the entire series, as there will be no DH. Having Pujols and Hamilton back to back in the lineup should do wonders for both men provided they stay healthy.
Jared Weaver had another tremendous season last year and gets the start.
The Angels are also a favorite to reach the World Series by a lot of prognosticators.
The Setting: The Union Pub & Grill in Huntington, WV
The Game and Analysis:
This review and analysis of the game and its strategies will not be as in-depth as future installments.
As de facto host of the Opening Day party at the bar where I have a small food business, I was distracted from various happenings with the game as I helped out with running food, taking orders, and talking with guests. It didn’t take up much of my time, but even a short conversation can take you way from seeing exactly how a pitcher approached an at bat by a great hitter on the other team, or miss commentary from the television analysts that provides additional information on a player or situation.
This game did have a wealth of strategy and good play, and also some things that were uncharacteristic of what we expect from these clubs this year.
First off, I left work early and got to the bar around 3:10 pm, an hour before the opening pitch. My buddy and his wife were already parked outside, waiting to get in, even though the door was unlocked and the owner of the bar was inside with everything pretty much prepped.
As people were expecting to not be able to get in until 3:30 pm, there weren’t many of us there until shortly after that time. We didn’t pack the place, but ended up having around 30 people watching the game, but it made for a quieter atmosphere than a few of us imagined.
I think it just needed that one guy to start clapping loudly or encouraging the players from his seat at the bar. Otherwise, it made for a fun event.
•Cueto and Weaver did not disappoint. Both pitched very well for an opening game, which was somewhat unexpected by me due to the lineups of these two teams. Weaver’s pitch count was running a little higher than Cueto’s. Due to distractions, I couldn’t really determine if it was due to the hitters working the counts better for the Reds, the Angels’ trying to attack Cueto earlier in the count, or if it were a command issue by Weaver.
It wasn’t like Weaver had a high total for his innings, but Cueto was cruising with an average of 10-12 pitches per inning there for a bit. Weaver was stressed by a 33 pitch inning in the third, but Cueto had less pitches in just about every inning early.
Weaver’s final tally was 95 pitches, of which 57 were strikes (60%). This was over six innings of work, and he seemed to throw less pitches in his last two innings than he averaged earlier in the game. Cueto threw 105 pitches over seven innings, with 70 strikes (66.7 %). Both got off to a promising start on the season and looked like Aces.
•One major stat that I got from the announcers was that batters were 0-17 against Cueto with the bases loaded last year. There might be another qualifier to that situation, as I was engaged in conversation when it was mentioned.
It was brought up when Cueto was in a jam in his final inning. After a walk and a single to start the inning, and a sacrifice bunt to move the runners, Cueto was facing runners on second and third with only one out. He intentionally walked the next batter and struck out the next two. This is what Johnny Cueto has been able to do over the last few seasons.
Early in his career, he would get behind in counts and run his pitch count up, and could never get out of the jams once he got in them. He has turned into a true ace in my book, even if he is not viewed on the same level as others in the league.
•The Reds were dealt a huge blow when they tied the score, as Ryan Ludwick hustled to go from first to third on a wild pitch by the Angels. Ludwick jammed his right shoulder sliding into third (safely), dislocating it. There’s no word yet on how long Ludwick will be out, but this could have huge ramifications on the early part of the Reds’ season.
It was Ludwick’s non-throwing shoulder. That helps, a little. But depending on what he did to it, he might be out for a while.
Ludwick’s position in the field won’t be as difficult to replace, as Chris Heisey can immediately step in. The problem is that Ludwick is the cleanup hitter, and breaks up the two lefties in Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. The immediate solution that comes to my mind is to replace Ludwick with Heisey and Xavier Paul in left, and move Todd Frazier to the cleanup spot. Ludwick’s removal from the game could have had a direct effect on Votto being intentionally walked in a scoring opportunity, but he may have been walked in that situation even with Ludwick still in the game.
•Shin-Soo Choo delivered at the plate, getting two of Cincy’s three hits on the day, and also getting on base via getting hit by a pitch in the first at bat of the season. He got on base three times and scored the only run for the Reds.
Much has been made about the question of whether or not Choo could handle centerfield, and a triple that went over his head might lead some to believe he won’t be able to handle it near the level of his predecessor, Drew Stubbs.
While I am not in that camp just yet, it will be something to watch. I believe that once Choo gets more familiar with his surroundings, he will adjust just fine. The Reds did not give up a run because of the triple, otherwise this would be discussed much more.
•The defenses were a little disappointing, as the sure-handed Brandon Phillips booted a grounder and the Angels had three errors, as well. The wild pitch gave the Reds a run and allowed a player to go from first to third as they seemed to be concerned with the close call at home. Both of these teams will likely be very good defensively this year.
•The umpires seemed to basically be a non-factor, which is always great to see. They got the call right on Choo beating the tag on the passed ball, but seemed to miss Heisey beating the throw at first by a step. If that is all that you can bring up in a 13 inning game, I would say they did a fantastic job.
•Aroldis Chapman totally froze Josh Hamilton with his sweeping slider. Chapman looked good, as did the entire Reds bullpen.
J. J. Hoover pitched very well to get out of a jam, but then got himself back in one the very next inning and ended up giving up the winning runs. The intentional walk in that inning initially made me want to dissect that strategy apart, as it ended up failing. However, when Cueto intentionally walked a batter in the seventh inning and struck the next two out, I didn’t complain.
You can’t complain when it doesn’t work, as that is the game of baseball. I stand behind the decision to intentionally walk the guy now, and do not blame the Reds on this one. I was just bummed out about the loss of the lead at the time.
What Worked: Nearly everything for the Reds except their bats. The Angels have one of the most dangerous lineups in the game, and the Reds basically stifled them through 12 innings. Cueto’s mistake pitch to Chris Ianetta was the lone run given up until the 13th inning, and I honestly expected a much different ballgame.
Ryan Hanigan continues to call a terrific game behind the plate, and Cueto kept all of the big name sluggers in check. Choo did his part with the bat and gave the Reds the opportunities to get him over and get him in.
The bullpen performed well.
What Didn’t Work: The Reds’ bats. They did not hit well, and they notoriously started badly last year. Hopefully, they will get the bats heated up much quicker this year. With not many opportunities with runners on, there wasn’t much strategy to discuss regarding hit and runs or sacrifices. The Reds tried when they had the opportunities. They just failed to score runs.
Reds manager Dusty Baker had Brandon Phillips sacrifice bunt to move a runner into scoring position for Votto, who was immediately walked intentionally. While the sacrifice did not lead to a run, I stand by Dusty’s decision. With runs being so scarce in this game, he had to do what he could.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 0 -1 on the year and tied for last place.
Hopefully that will be the last time I type those last few words in this blog.
Overall Thoughts: The Reds and Angels are expected to be two of the top teams this year, and I got that feeling during the game. Two aces faced each other in a pitcher’s duel, the game went to extra innings, and the smallest of mistakes allowed the other teams to score.
These two teams should excel this year, as their bats will definitely do much better than today.
Up Next: The Reds and Angels get an off day to rest their bullpens and will face each other Wednesday night.
See you then!
