Rus Livingood
April 24, 2013 – Cubs @ Reds – 12:35pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati – Radio
Reds Record (12 – 9)
Home Record (11 – 4)
Cubs Record (6 – 13)
Away Record (3 – 8)
Starters: Samardzjia (1 – 3) vs. Latos (0 – 0)
Storylines: Can Mat Latos get his first win of the year after four no decisions and a 2.73 ERA to start the year? Which Reds offense will show up? Can the Reds cap off a tremendous home stand with a win, making them 8 – 2 over those last 10 games?
The Setting: I am watching the start of the game at home during my lunch hour. Living five minutes from work helps out with that. I’ll catch the end of the game on the radio while I hold down the fort at work.
The Game and Analysis:
•The MLB blackout rules don’t make sense to me, or maybe it is the fact that it is followed incorrectly for this particular game that angers me. I went home for lunch, and the game was blacked out on MLB Network. It was not televised on Fox Sports Cincinnati, or Fox Sports Ohio. I go through every channel and see that it is showing on the Cubs regional sports channel, but it is blacked out there, too. So a 12:35pm game on Wednesday is blacked out for me nationally, even though it is not playing on any local or regional station. This can’t possibly be because they wanted everyone within four hours of the stadium to go to the game. I don’t understand this at all. The game is delayed by rain anyway, and won’t get underway until 2pm.
•The rain delay actually helps my cause, as I get back from lunch with plenty of time to get the radio set up in my office to listen to the game. In fact, I get back very early from my lunch, as the office called my cell phone just as I get ready to take my first bite. There is a customer for me, and I am the only person in my department today. As I always say, work comes first.
•Shin-Soo Choo starts off bottom of the first inning by singling back up the middle. Pitcher Jeff Samardzjia tries to catch it bare-handed, and apparently split the end of his finger open doing so. The announcers are talking about the blood dripping from his finger, and the amount of blood on the back of his pants as he keeps wiping it off. If Samardzjia has to leave the game, that will be huge. With a hit and run on, Zach Cozart pops out softly to the second baseman and Choo is easily doubled off at first. Joey Votto singles, but is caught attempting to steal second base. They might have had another hit and run on. No matter what, the Reds did not execute much of anything to capitalize on the two hits.
•Latos has been perfect through three, and seems to be much better prepared for the start of the season than he was last year. I think he worked hard to get off to a great start this year, and if he really heats up during the summer like he usually does, he will be dominant. Heating up even further than what he is now would be ridiculous. He sits at 43 pitches through three innings.
•The Reds picked up a few more singles (Jay Bruce, Devin Mesoraco, and Mat Latos) through the first three innings, but no one has gotten past second base. Samardzjia had his fingertip glued, but the blood was still coming out in the second inning.
•The cubs finally get a base runner on a double by Julio Borbon. They still have nothing to show for it, though. Latos is at 54 pitches through four.
•The Reds can’t capitalize in the bottom half of the inning, as Todd Frazier gets a walk (five pitches) and goes to second on a wild pitch. Xavier Paul walks (four pitches) to put two men on, but Mesoraco grounds into a force to the shortstop. Samardzjia is having some control problems, and it might be due to the finger. The slightest issue with a finger can make all the difference in the world to a pitcher.
•Latos has a seven pitch inning to mow through the Cubs in the fifth. He is at 61 pitches now, and looks (sounds!) great.
•Zach Cozart gets another single for the Reds, but nothing else is going on as we are scoreless through five.
•The Cubs get some small ball going in the sixth, as Cody Ransom leads off with a single. He moves to second on a sac bunt by Samardzjia, and to third on a groundout by David Dejesus. Latos gets Borbon out to end the threat, though, and is at 73 pitches through six.
•Frazier ends the scoring drought with an absolute bomb to centerfield. For those of you who know Great American Ballpark, he hit it to dead center and nearly hit the boathouse. The announcers got an official estimate of 480 feet! Paul walked to follow, but went nowhere and the game is now 1 – 0 Reds after six innings.
•Latos gives up his second hit of the game on a single by Starlin Castro. Mesoraco throws him out trying to steal second base, and the other two batters were retired. Latos has just been cruising along so far, but sits at 90 pitches after seven innings. He is probably getting another inning at the most if the score stays close, as I imagine Aroldis Chapman will get the ball in the ninth inning.
•It’s quitting time at work, and I head down to The Union to take care of my daily duties and train the new guys a little more. It’s a five minute ride, but Jonathon Broxton is now in the game. The Reds had gotten a single from Choo, but Cozart hit into another double play to end the inning. The Cubbies started off with a walk and a single to chase Latos, and here we are. Ransom with a sac bunt to move the runners to second and third with one out, and Broxton is in a jam. I wait in the car outside the bar to hear that Alfonso Soriano strikes out, and then DeJesus grounds out to end the inning. Still 1 – 0 Reds.
•The heart of the lineup goes three up and three down for the Reds, as a couple of us are following along on our phones.
•Chapman is in, and the training will have to begin when this game is over. Executive decision by the boss! He doesn’t have good velocity according to the app on my buddy’s phone, but he sits the first two down. Anthony Rizzo manages to get a single, putting the tying run on base and brings the go ahead run to the plate. Chapman is now hitting 98 – 99 on the gun (according to this app), and gets Scott hairston to ground out ending the game. THIS ONE BELONGS TO THE REDS!
What Worked: The pitching! This was just a tremendous effort by Latos, and Broxton and Chapman did their thing in the final two frames. Latos lowered his ERA to 2.16, and has thrown a quality start in each of his outings so far this year.
What Didn’t Work: It’s hard to argue with getting to watch about 155 of the 162 Reds games per year, but I found today’s blacked out game to be ridiculous. As for the on-field action, the Reds’ run production needed some serious work. Samardzjia wasn’t allowing much, but it seemed like the runners that did get on base were double up or thrown out. Zach Cozart batting second was particularly ineffective in this game, twice hitting into double plays to erase a hit by Choo.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 13 – 9, and trail the Cardinals by ½ game in the NL Central.
Overall Thoughts: It is great to get the win, but the Cubs aren’t exactly a stellar team. The Reds have got to get the bats going consistently. Latos looks amazing, which is greatly needed with Johnny Cueto on the disabled list.
Up Next: The Reds travel to D.C. to play the first game in a four game series with the Nationals.
