Cincinnati Reds

It was deja vu all over again as the Cincinnati Reds lost a marathon game to the San Diego Padres last night.

On May 25, 2008, the Reds suffered an 18-inning loss to the Padres at PETCO Park.  In that game, Edinson Volquez was on the mound when Adrian Gonzalez won it with a homerun.

Last night, Volquez started for the Reds.  He gave up two runs in the first then settled down before having to leave in the sixth inning with back spasms.  He was not the only player who had to leave the game for Cincinnati.

Picture this. 

It was a one-run game in the seventh inning.  The Reds had two on with two out and the pitcher due up.  Pinch hitter?  No...

Dusty Baker sent Aaron Harang to the plate.  Harang is considered the ace of the pitching staff.  He is a good-hearted, generous human being.  He is also one of the worst hitting pitchers in the league.

Harang grounded into a force play and the inning was over.

The Reds continued to roll on the road last night, beating Arizona 10-3. That win completed the three-game series sweep. The Reds are now 13-5 on the road, a mark easily good enough for the best in baseball.

The Reds offense came up with 14 hits. Ryan Hanigan, Chris Dickerson, Jerry Hairston, and Brandon Phillips each had two knocks. Phillips has now hit in 11 games in a row. Willy Taveras extended his hitting streak to 13 games by collecting three hits.

As a team, the Reds scored 20 runs on 38 hits in the series against the Diamondbacks.

Not only can I name five very good reasons why the man above, the greatest baseball player to ever play the game, should be sitting in baseball's Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose is the face of America's "true" baseball player.

In his career Rose had more hits, and played more games, than any other player in history. Yet he is still to this day on the outside looking in at the one thing his career needs to be complete.

As I said above, there are plenty of reasons why this man should be in the Hall.

Well, not only can the Baltimore-Washington area lay claim to cultural diversity, great seafood, and the heart of American government, but it is also home to three of the worst owners in professional sports.

Peter Angelos, Ted Lerner and Daniel Snyder (not surprisingly) - are the worst owners in all of pro sports as compiled by Sports Illustrated.

Prior to Spring Training, I wrote an article that provided an analysis of the 2009 Cincinnati Reds and why they may be considered this year's version of the Rays.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/125092-this-years-tampa-bay-rays-the-cincinnati-reds

I have decided to take an early look at the Reds and see how they have matched up against the other teams in their division.