Halfway Gone

For most teams, the 2014 baseball season has reached the numerical halfway point. Usually, the halfway point is used as a good measuring stick to determine how good a team is.

A team always wants to be above .500 at the halfway point. If you’re not above .500 or a few games below that mark, you can almost guarantee you’re not making the postseason.

The Reds reached that point last Sunday, and were 43-38 after they finished a four-game sweep at San Francisco. (Of course, they followed that up with three straight losses to the Padres). They’re hovering around .500, which is about right for the quality of baseball they have played. They’re not a bad team, but not an elite team either. They’re just average.

Now, let’s take a look and see where MLB teams stand in their respective divisions right now, a week before the All-Star break.

The Diamondbacks, Rockies, Padres, Cubs, Phillies, Mets, Astros, Rangers and Twins are all well under .500 and at least ten games back in their division races. That pretty much eliminates them from contending for the rest of the year.

I’m giving the benefit of the doubt to these teams: the Marlins, White Sox, Indians, Red Sox and Rays. These teams are currently all under .500, but they are less than ten games back in their division. I honestly don’t think any of these teams will make the playoffs, but there’s always that one team that defies the odds. (Is it crazy that out of these five teams, the Indians and Marlins are closest to .500?)

This leaves the teams over .500 and therefore still in the playoff race, whether it be in the division or the wild card. These teams are the Giants, Reds, Cardinals, Pirates, Nationals, Mariners, Angels, Royals, Yankees and Blue Jays. (Angels and Mariners(!?) lead the AL wild card, while the Giants and Nationals have the NL wild card spots at the moment).

Finally, you have the teams leading their divisions: Dodgers, Brewers, Braves, A’s, Tigers and Orioles. All of these teams obviously have the best chance to make the playoffs at this point, but many of these teams are holding onto the slimmest of leads.

So, at the halfway point of the season, all division races are up for grabs, which is how it usually is with 80-something games to play. The two really close races are in the NL West and East. The Giants are only a half game back of the Dodgers and the Nationals are a half game back of the Braves. The NL Central though might be the best division right now. Four of five teams are above .500 and within six games of each other.

Meanwhile, in the AL, Oakland is the top team in baseball, but the Angels are right on their heels. And we can’t forget about the surprise Mariners, that are 7.0 games back, but definitely are in the wild card mix. In the AL Central, it would appear to be a two-team race between the Tigers and the Royals, but we can’t count out Cleveland just yet. And in the East, Baltimore and Toronto are battling it out with the Yankees right behind them.

What it comes down to is that fans are in for some exciting baseball in the second half of the season. If you know baseball, you know some teams are going to catch fire and go on a prolonged winning streak while other teams are going to hit some walls (figuratively).  I, for one, can’t wait to watch it all unfold.

Cheering For Free Pizza: Why Is It Wrong?

Something has been bothering me in the past week. So, the Reds have a promotion with LaRosa’s Pizza (the local pizza chain) where if Reds pitchers strike out 11 batters during a home game, everyone in the ballpark gets a small one-topping pizza which can be redeemed any time within the week after that game. I think it’s a great promotion and great marketing for LaRosa’s.

A couple weekends ago, I was watching the Cardinals-Reds game on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. In the eighth inning, Adam Wainwright was at bat. The Reds were down 4-0 at this point, but they were only one strikeout away from delivering free pizza to the sold-out crowd. Wainwright struck out and the crowd went crazy because they knew, from the strikeout tally in the bleacher section, that it was the eleventh strikeout.

Then, last Friday night, it happened again. The Reds were playing the Phillies and in the ninth, they were one strikeout away from pizza. As soon as the pitcher got to two strikes, the crowd would cheer as if the Reds were winning (which they weren’t). They ultimately would fall one strikeout shy of the promotion. But, as I found out on Twitter, apparently there are some Reds fans who aren’t the biggest proponents of cheering for free food.

I just don’t get it.

First, why do people who are most likely not at the game, instead sitting on their couch watching it on TV, care about what those who paid for a ticket are doing at the game? They paid for their ticket; they can do what they want. (Sometimes I also hate what people at games do: *ahem* the wave. But I still understand that they paid for the ticket, so they can do what they want).

Second, it’s a fun promotion designed to get the crowd excited and into the game. Have any of these people been to a home game and noticed people counting strikeouts, especially when it gets to six or seven? Even the casual baseball fan will pay closer attention when the total nears 11 strikeouts.

Finally, have you ever been to one of those games where the Reds are losing by three runs or more, have been for the entire game, and can’t just seem to get anything going as a rally? Those games tend to be on the boring side and people really have nothing to cheer for. If Reds pitchers are near 11 strikeouts, it gives those in attendance something to get excited about during an otherwise boring game.

I know it may be hard for some to refrain from criticizing other people’s happiness, but sometimes you just have to let fans enjoy the little things, such as free pizza.

 

BTW, I came across this on Twitter on Wednesday. Funny little cartoon about the free pizza promotion: http://www.wcpo.com/sports/baseball/reds/reditorial-cartoon-free-pizza-is-the-only-thing-to-be-excited-about

Craziest Baseball Game I’ve Ever Attended

Sometimes the decision to attend a baseball game last minute is the best one. And my decision to go to the April 14th Reds game against the Pirates reaped plenty of rewards.

I wanted to go to a game during that series because the Reds were embarking on a ten game road trip that weekend and I was itching to see a live baseball game, since I hadn’t seen one since last season. I knew Wednesday was out because of work and Tuesday was a question mark. It was supposed to rain that night, but I was monitoring the radar and every indication the Cincinnati weathermen gave was that the rain would not start until close to 11. So I decided I’d go, hoping to get a $7 ticket. (Apparently other fans had the same idea because the $7 tickets were sold out and I had to buy a $14 bleacher seat instead).

First glimpse of the field in seven months

It started to rain, lightly, as I walked into the stadium. Thanks to my smartphone, I was able to moniter the rain and at that point, I wasn’t too worried. I just thought it was a brief shower. Boy, was I ever wrong.

 

 

I should’ve known the game would be a back-and-forth game after the first inning. The Pirates scored in the top of the first, and then Todd Frazier homered in the bottom of the first, in what would be the first of many balls to end up in the seats.

The Reds would have a very short-lived lead, as the first two batters of the second inning, Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez, went back-to-back.

The next couple of innings were relatively quiet, in terms of offense and weather.

 

Darker than normal skies approached the downtown Cincinnati area. I started getting worried because the rain appeared to be moving faster than every single weatherman predicted.

This happened.

 

(I’m still trying to adjust to this. More accustomed to it in football; little weird to see it in baseball).

After the review, Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run home run to put the Reds back in the lead.

That’s when things started to get crazy.

It started to rain, but there was no sign of delaying the game. Not long after Ludwick’s home run did the first two batters for the Pirates go back-to-back again.

Homer Bailey could not keep a lead, both Pirates and Reds fans at GABP felt like they were on a rollercoaster of emotions, and it got colder as the rain fell harder. At this point, I was saying, “What an insane game this is.”

Grounds crew was the hardest working people on the field that night.

In the middle of the fifth, the Reds ground crew spent a lot of time putting extra dirt on the infield and trying to get it in playing condition. As you can see, there were still puddles everywhere. It really wasn’t working.

But they kept playing because they had to at least give the Reds a chance to bat in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Neftali Soto pinch hit for Homer Bailey and doubled for his first major league hit. Billy Hamilton flied out and then Joey Votto homered to put the Reds back in front. That was the seventh home run of the game, and fans started to talk about how crazy the game was, what with it pouring rain, getting cold, and everyone getting home runs IN APRIL.

Second on-field delay. Notice the giant puddle at third base.

The roller coaster ride continued in the top of the sixth after another on-field delay. Even quicker than the Reds took the lead, JJ Hoover gave it right back up. Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez went back-to-back again, and the same fans who were cheering not even ten minutes earlier were grumbling. I think the whole situation was magnified by the fact that no one knew if the game would get called or not.

But those home runs would not be the last of the long balls. In the bottom of the sixth, Devin Mesoraco would put a charge into one and the place erupted (well, the people who were still there braving the rain). I couldn’t believe it.

The Pirates got the last out of the inning and that’s when the umpires decided to delay it. I spent the next 45 minutes to an hour charging my phone in the new Reds Connect Zone (kudos to the person who came up with this idea. That place is awesome!) and talking baseball with random fans.

After waiting through the rain delay (I wasn’t leaving that game; not with the way it had gone so far), they finally suspended it. But I was leaving GABP with the opportunity to come back tomorrow and exchange my ticket. Oh, and free pizza.

This one was probably one of the craziest, most insane baseball game I’ve been to. Never before had I been to a game with ten home runs until last Monday. Sometimes the last-minute decisions are the best ones, and I’m so glad I decided to go that night. It was quite the experience.

http://m.mlb.com/video/v32086685/pitcin-bucs-reds-set-great-american-homer-record/?query=reds

I did make another last minute decision to go the next day, only with one of my friends who ended up getting her ticket for $7.50 on Stubhub. We had a lot of fun eating nachos, fan girling over Chris Heisey and watching one and one-third baseball games. (We always seem to go to the games where it’s freezing cold though…)

Back To Writing

Hello there, baseball fans! It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything on this blog, but I’m back. I really want to start writing about baseball again because, frankly, I do miss it.

My plan is to post twice a week, at least to start out. I already have some ideas in mind for potential posts. This blog will not be limited to just Cincinnati Reds talk, but there will be a good amount since that’s the team I watch almost daily.

There will be a variety of topics. I’ll deal with current issues in baseball, controversial issues, analysis of teams and players, and of course, some lighthearted fun.

I’ll start with this gem of an interview that Reds first baseman Joey Votto did for Intentional Talk on MLB Network.

Anytime a player is wearing a costume, it’s automatically a winner. Even better, Votto’s wearing a Canadian mountie uniform. (A screenshot of this interview just may be the lock screen wallpaper on my phone).

I love it when players don’t take themselves too seriously, and that’s exactly what Votto was doing here.

What Makes Baseball Special

After a long hiatus which included graduating from college, I’m back. I originally started this blog for a journalism class last fall, and recently decided I want to continue blogging. So here I am!

I’ve always loved baseball, especially since I was about 11. A couple weeks ago, something happened that reminded me why I love the sport known as America’s pastime.

In a game against the Atlanta Braves on May 7, the Reds were down by one  in the bottom of the ninth and facing Craig Kimbrel, one of the premiere closers in the league. Two outs later, Devin Mesoraco stepped in as a pinch hitter and was down to his last strike before surprising everyone  by hitting a home run to tie it.

Before anyone could say “extra innings”, the next batter, Shin-Soo Choo, hit a towering home run to win the game. Reds radio announcer Marty Brennaman was so shocked by the outcome that he forgot to say his signature ending “…and this one belongs to the Reds.”

What made the comeback so unlikely is that 1) the Reds had been trailing all game and 2) they were down to their last strike. As soon as Mesoraco touched home plate after rounding the bases, it was a brand new ball game. Anyone could win.

And that’s what I like about baseball. Unlike the other three major sports, there is no clock. Until a team gets all 27 outs, anything can happen. That’s why baseball will always be a such a crazy game and why I will always love the sport.

It’s also the premise for this blog. Aside from being my outlet to talk baseball, it’s here to show you just how crazy this game we love can get.

Voting for NL Rookie of the Year

The BBWAA National League Rookie of the Year award came down to three players, but most fans thought it would be between only two players: Todd Frazier, utility player for the Reds and Bryce Harper, left fielder for the Washington Nationals.

That’s why most people were a little surprised to find that Frazier finished third behind both Harper and Wade Miley, pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Frazier received only 45 votes total as opposed to Harper’s 112 votes and Miley’s 105 votes.

Frazier didn’t get left out completely though. He won the Player’s Choice Award for the most outstanding rookie in the National League. It meant a lot to him that he was voted the winner by his peers.

“It’s the ultimate award because the players vote,” Frazier said in an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer when he won the award. “They understand the game. They understand how hard it is to play and the grind. I’m very happy to receive it.”

As I stated in my previous post, the “official” awards for baseball are voted on by the writers. In past years, some fans have argued that the writers should not vote for awards because they don’t know as much as players or coaches. Their argument is that most writers are old school and don’t take into consideration new sabermetric statistics such as Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

“I think it would be interesting to see how the players, managers, and coaches would vote,” said James Wilson, journalism professor at the University of Cincinnati. “You could argue that both fans and sportwriters are equally biased, but maybe not so much the athletes who actually play the game?”

Part of the problem might be that the baseball writers who vote are not the writers who cover teams every single day. For example, John Fay and Mark Sheldon are the Reds’ beat writers, for the Cincinnati Enquirer and MLB.com, respectively. But the two writers from Cincinnati who got a vote were Tom Groeschen, a writer who only covers the Reds part-time, and John Erardi, who writers feature stories for the Enquirer. Neither are with the team as Sheldon and Fay are. The same can be said for the writer from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He votes for the award, but he is not the main Pirates beat writer. One would probably find this with almost every writer who votes for the award.

Another problem one of my readers pointed out is that since it is the media’s award, it will always be their award that is considered the official award.

“It’s really a losing argument. The media is always going to give the most publicity and status to its own awards,” Jim Davis said. “You can have players awards, fan awards, etc., but the media awards will always be the most important to the media.

He went on to compare it to the various movie awards.

“You see it as well in the movies. The “Academy” supposedly represents all the various groups related to movies,” Davis said. “You might have Screen Actor Guild awards, Director guild awards, people’s Choice awards, Golden Globe awards, etc, but the only one that really matters is the Academy Award. Todd Frazier can take pride in winning the players’ award, but it will unfortunately never carry as much prestige as the BBWAA award.”

So, why did the baseball writers choose Harper?

Frazier was second among all rookies in RBIs and slugging percentage and had a higher batting average and more RBIs than Harper. He only had three less home runs than Harper. Frazier also played his best baseball while filling in at first base for the injured Joey Votto. From August 8 to September 8, the time Votto was out, he reached base in 30 straight games, the best by a Reds hitter in 2012.

However, Bryce Harper, a 19-year-old phenom, plays the game old-school. He gets on base, steals bases and hits for power. He plays hard all the time, isn’t afraid to get dirty and tries to catch the other team off guard when he is on the basepath. That’s what baseball writers tend to like.

Harper’s age and his willingness to play the game “old-school” is why the writers chose him for NL Rookie of the Year.

Todd Frazier might have been a little disappointed he didn’t win the writers’ award, but he still got to take solace in the fact he won among his peers.

Awards Season

In baseball, you have the regular season, the postseason and awards season. Awards season is the month of November. So, the 2012 MLB awards were handed out a couple of weeks ago.

One of the more contested awards this season was National League Rookie of the Year. The three finalists for this award were third/first baseman Todd Frazier of the Reds, outfielder Bryce Harper of the Nationals, and pitcher Wade Miley of the Diamondbacks. All three had a legitimate shot to win.

Now, different groups hand out different awards. The two biggest awards are  the Players Choice Award and the BBWAA award, in which the baseball writers cast votes. The latter is considered by many as the official award. The former has never been considered as prestigious as the BBWAA award, but players still think it’s an honor to be voted a top player by their peers.

This year, Todd Frazier won the Players Choice award, but Bryce Harper won the BBWAA award.

Some fans think the baseball writers should not vote for awards like this for a variety of reasons. They think the writers are biased, vote solely by statistics or hype, or aren’t around the team as much as the players or coaches are.

So, my question to you is: Who do you think should be able to vote for these awards? Should it be the writers, who go to the games, sit in the press box, interview players and write game stories? Should it be the players, who actually play the game and interact with other players? Or should it be someone else in the MLB community, such as the managers and coaches or even the fans?

Do you think the players award should get more publicity and be considered as high of an honor as the writers’ award?

MLB In the Community

My last post detailed MLB’s partnership with Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) and the recognition of it during Game 1 of the World Series. I asked for your opinion on this, and everyone who commented agreed that it was a great thing.

“SU2C is very smart to partner with media outlets,” said one reader, doyoumemethat. “There are thousands of people at baseball games every night, and if they’re talking about cancer research, that’s making thousands of people more aware.”

However, others questioned  if it was enough.

Sarah Kragise, a University of Cincinnati student, said “I lost someone to cancer when I was a kid and he loved baseball. Back then, they didn’t have this kind of thing. I guess, I feel like baseball is just jumping on the proverbial bandwagon when it comes to social responsibility.”

But SU2C isn’t the only charity MLB supports or partners with. This past season they also partnered with Budweiser. This includes the “Walk Off a Hero” program. For every walk-off hit by MLB teams in the 2012 season, Budweiser donated $5,000 to the Folds of Honor Foundation.

The Reds would honor a soldier during every game by having them stand atop the Reds dugout and let the crowd thank him for his service with a standing ovation. It was part of the Hometown Heroes program. (I’m not sure if other teams do this too; I only know the Reds do it because I went to Reds games frequently).

MLB has a website dedicated to helping in the community. The website lists both programs that MLB participates in and foundations or charities that each individual team has within their own city’s community.

The Reds themselves partner with quite a few foundations.  The majority of the Reds’ community involvement is through the Reds Community Fund.

Most recently, Marty Brennaman decided to shave his head for charity. He originally made a bet with the bench coach Chris Speier that if the Reds won 10 games in a row, Marty would shave his head. Well, the Reds did just that in late July 2012 and Marty upped the stakes, saying that if fans and corporate sponsors raised $20,000 for the Reds Community Fund, he would have his head shaved on the field after a game.

He partnered with the Dragonfly Foundation that night to promote their cause, which helps parents and siblings of young cancer patients.

Other charities that Reds players participate in include their own foundations that they started themselves. Aaron Harang, former pitcher for the Reds, started a foundation called “Aaron’s Aces” that benefits current and former military families. Basically Harang would set aside about 25 tickets for military families every Sunday for them to enjoy a baseball game without the stress of worrying about their loved ones.

When Harang became a free agent and signed with the San Diego Padres, right fielder Jay Bruce took over his foundation and renamed it Bruce’s Battalion. Bruce also has another foundation, called Bruce’s Buddies, that helps out special needs kids and their families.

Aaron Harang still runs his foundation, but in Los Angeles now, where he plays for the Dodgers.

One particular comment sums up MLB being in the community well, even though the commenter was talking about SU2c.

“I think anything that gets people talking about and hopefully accelerating a cure is fantastic,” said Sarah Arriola, also a University of Cincinnati student.

Giving back to the community is an important aspect in MLB, especially when they make such a big impact and have such a wide reach across the country.

SU2C with MLB

After the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 1 of the World Series last Wednesday night, everyone, including players, umpires, fans and broadcasters, in AT&T Ballpark in San Francisco stood up and held signs that said “I stand up for_________.” People filled in the blank with names of loved ones or people they knew of who have or had cancer. It was part of MLB’s partnership with the program, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C).

Click on the photo below to watch a clip from that night:

SU2C is an initiative dedicated to accelerating cancer research in the hopes that it will save lives now. They work to bring together the best researchers to collaborate with the entire cancer community. They want to create awareness and build public support by using the entertainment industry to reach people.

What do you think about MLB partnering with SU2C? How about other things MLB does in the community?

What does it do for MLB? How does it connect them to the fans and even the non-fans of baseball?

Baseball is Not Boring

Here’s proof that baseball is one of the greatest sports ever.

In a do-or-die, winner plays on and loser goes home, game, Jay Bruce made Sergio Romo throw 12 pitches during his at-bat in the bottom of the ninth of that Game 5 just three weeks ago.

The Reds were down 6-4 with two runners on base and only one out. What made it even better was the crowd basically living and dying with every pitch.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25386213&topic_id=37975852&c_id=cin

I was sitting on a couch with my hands covering my eyes, only peeking to see the pitch thrown. I held my breath with the first pitch and then had to do it all over again 11 times.

Only in baseball do you get this kind of drama.

Or maybe that’s just my opinion.