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(W)KTE in Cincinnati

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 17 2008 03:17 PM

Baby, if you ever wondered Wondered whatever became of me I’m learnin’ ‘bout the Reds of Cincinnati Cincinnati doin’ the KTE Getting tired of Jay Bruce hackin’, Adam jackin’ They can’t pitch but they hit the ball a mile Maybe they could steal one but never two or three Not without a change in their play style I’m doing a KTE on Cincinnati The 10th through 13th victories in the longest winning steak in Mets history will take place in Cincinnati, the city that invented National League baseball then forgot how play it behind a parade of incompetent players and ineffectual management. The Mets took 2 of 3 from the Reds in their last go-round at Big Shea. After a rainout forced a day-night doubleheader, the Mets won big behind Johan in Game 1 them had zero for Bronson Arroyo in the nightcap and settled, Willielike, for a split. We won the rubbery game behind back-to-back homers by Beltran and Church off Cueto and the Reds batting out of order. The pitching matchups this time around look like: Johan v. Johnny Cueto (7-9, 4.67) tonight, 7:10 Maine v. Bronson Arroyo (7-7, 5.97) Friday, 7:10 Ollie v. Josh Fogg (1-2, 7.94) Saturday, 7:40 Pedro* v. Edinson Volquez (12-3, 2.29), Sunday, 1:15 *-Maybe not. It was reported in our last Know Your Reds KTE that Johnny Cueto idolized Pedro Martinez. Now comes word that Edinson Volquez hearts Pedro too. We missed Volquez the first time around. Word may be getting out about him: He’s been cuffed up a little since his remarkable start and looked none too keen in the All-Star Game. Here’s an interesting passage from a recent article on that remarkable Volquez-Hamilton trade: [Hamilton] feels more accepted by his Texas teammates than in Cincinnati last year, when no one invited him out. He sensed jealousy and perhaps resentment over the attention his comeback story received. "I even heard comments that I was signing too many autographs for the fans," he says. "It just got worse as the year went on." The discord played no factor in the trade, but, Krivsky said: "There were issues in the clubhouse. Maybe that stuff would have gone by the boards had he stayed." Also new since the last series is outfielder Jay Bruce (270/335/429) who incidentally has cooled considerably since a Red-hot start. They are slotting him leadoff tonight. Bruce made me briefly reconsider drafting Pelfrey a few weeks ago now I take that back. Adam Dunn, with 26 HRs and 137 OPS+, is still the Reds’ best hitter only they don’t know it: There was chatter among Reds fans that Dusty Baker might platoon him. Griffey is close to finished but he bats third. Reds rank in the bottom half of the league in pitching and hitting even though it seems to me they run a capable lineup out there most nights and have good talent in the rotation in Arroyo, Volquez and Harang (out with an injury and will miss this series). Jerry Hairston Jr. may also miss this series with an injury: He’s having a good year and so his ABs will go to Jeff Keppinger. Bonus for us. The Reds are still entertaining ideas about contending this year but if we do what we should, they won’t, and Arroyo, Dunn, and Griffey etc. could have new addresses by month’s end. I’d like to get Brandon Phillips maybe.

metirish Jul 17 2008 04:54 PM

Nice work , I'm sure it means nothing but the way Edinson Volquez carries himself to me looks like he might be a lazy tardy fuck , the cap sideways , the I don't give a fuck look on his face.....again means nothing when he's striking out the side.

cooby Jul 17 2008 07:24 PM

what a neat intro!

soupcan Jul 17 2008 07:53 PM

Irish has quite the potty mouth lately. I think he's trying to impress Fman.

metirish Jul 17 2008 08:05 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 17 2008 08:10 PM

Fman can't be impressed , I shall watch my language.

AG/DC Jul 17 2008 08:09 PM

Bands from Cincinnati: Over the Rhine Blessed Union of Souls 98 Degrees The Greenhornes

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 17 2008 08:21 PM

AG/DC wrote: Bands from Cincinnati: Over the Rhine Blessed Union of Souls 98 Degrees The Greenhornes Yes, they're all on a Cincinnati compilation album called "We Won't Rock You."

AG/DC Jul 17 2008 08:29 PM

Over the Rhine is Over the Rated -- Strictly smalltime but they had their moment. Blessed (actually Blessid) Union has scratched mediocrity, and (Met connection) they have a bassist named Tony Clark, but like small-time Goo-Goo-Dollers, they do ballad after ballad with a rock posture and try to cover up that fact that, as you say, they can't rock you.

Gwreck Jul 17 2008 09:06 PM

AG/DC wrote: Bands from Cincinnati: Over the Rhine Blessed Union of Souls 98 Degrees The Greenhornes Afghan Whigs (frontman Greg Dulli = huge Reds fan).

AG/DC Jul 17 2008 09:07 PM

Oooh. They rocked. One of the loudest bands I can think of.

G-Fafif Jul 17 2008 11:32 PM

I'm a little disappointed this KTE didn't analyze the softball team from WPIG.

Elster88 Jul 21 2008 08:03 AM

I can live with splitting the four games. When you're playing a contest of who can hit the most pop flies to the outfield just do your best and get the hell out of there. The Reds would win 65 games if they had a normal stadium.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 21 2008 08:18 AM

What a dumb ballpark that is. And what's the deal with the giant toy boat in the outfield?

metsguyinmichigan Jul 21 2008 08:30 AM

It's kinda quirky, but it's a decent place to see a game. Lots of fan-friendly features. I'd rate it way above Comerica, above Cit Bank and below PNC. I parked three blocks away for $3, and there are people selling cold bottled wated fror $1, and they let you bring it into the stadium. View of the bridges and river is nice. Live music before the game. Some things were very small town, even minor-league. Little league teams paraded around the warning track before the game, about five different people threw out ceremonial first pitches. Little leaguers ran out to the positions to greet the players. Not saying that's bad. The Reds shoot for that small-town feel. But you don't see those things much in the majors. The smoke stacks spray mist, which is nice to cool off, and fireworks throughout the game -- for anything special, not just home runs.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 21 2008 10:07 AM

="metsguyinmichigan"] Lots of fan-friendly features. The Reds are supposed to have the best team Hall of Fame exhibit in the Majors, qualitatively as good as Baseball's HOF in Cooperstown, but obviously scaled down because it's featuring but one team. Have you seen it? (I was never in Cincinnati). Oh, and congrats on ending that losing streak. If the Mets had lost yesterday, I'da started calling you Mets Mush in Michigan. (P.S. - I'm taking a little bit of credit for your streak ender because yesterday was the only time I ever started the In Game Thread).

metsguyinmichigan Jul 21 2008 11:17 AM

The Reds Hall of Fame is spectacular. Ineractive displays, real historical stuff, Tom Seaver's jersey on display. You could easily spend hours in there. My only beef is that they started charging $10 admission, though it gets you in for the whole season. Last year, your ticket to the game got you inside. I'm guessing they did that to thin the crowd a little as well as generate some more cash, because it was packed last year. And I will happily credit you with the assist! Whatever it takes!

batmagadanleadoff Jul 21 2008 11:38 AM

metsguyinmichigan wrote: My only beef.... I'm sure you know this, but Cincinnati is famous for its' Chili. Skyline Chili is Cincy's best known. It's touted everywhere, including the Food Network whenever FoodTV does either a chili show or a baseball food show. During Saturday's broadcast, Gary Cohen said that Cincinnati's chili, particularly Skyline Chili, was the worst Chili he'd ever eaten. Cohen essentially described it as a watery, flavorless soup of a mess. Gary then asked Hernandez for his opinion, assuming all the while that Keith had been eating the stuff for decades, dating back to his days as a Major League rookie. Keith said he'd never eaten Cincy chili and revealed that he has a sensitive stomach, thus making it unlikely that Keith'd ever eat chili. So how was the Cincy chili?

Benjamin Grimm Jul 21 2008 12:12 PM

I saw Anthony Bourdain eating it on his No Reservations show when he was in Cleveland, and he seemed to enjoy it. (He likes the iconic foods, I think.) It looks just awful, though, with that mound of slivered cheese on top. A hand grenade to the heart, you might say.

themetfairy Jul 21 2008 12:24 PM

I remember liking the Syline Chili. It has a bit of cinnamon in it, IIRC.

metsguyinmichigan Jul 21 2008 12:37 PM

="batmagadanleadoff"] ="metsguyinmichigan"]My only beef.... I'm sure you know this, but Cincinnati is famous for its' Chili. Skyline Chili is Cincy's best known. It's touted everywhere, including the Food Network whenever FoodTV does either a chili show or a baseball food show. During Saturday's broadcast, Gary Cohen said that Cincinnati's chili, particularly Skyline Chili, was the worst Chili he'd ever eaten. Cohen essentially described it as a watery, flavorless soup of a mess. Gary then asked Hernandez for his opinion, assuming all the while that Keith had been eating the stuff for decades, dating back to his days as a Major League rookie. Keith said he'd never eaten Cincy chili and revealed that he has a sensitive stomach, thus making it unlikely that Keith'd ever eat chili. So how was the Cincy chili? Two of the three guys I went with are from Cincy, so we went to Skyline after the game, as we did last year. Cohen is 100 percent correct in his assessment. Which doesn't mean that it is bad. It's just not chili and they shouldn't call it that. It's to chili what White Castle is to a burger. (And I like White Castle, sadly now only in small doses.) I had the "three way," which was spaghetti with the "chili" sauce and a pile of cheese. One of my friends had "five way" which also had beans and onions. When we do our annual baseball road trip, we try to eat something that represents the city. In Philly we went to Pat's Cheese Steak -- which I really liked -- and in Milwaukee we cooked brats in the parking lot. Baked ravioli in St. Louis and deep dish in Chicago. Pittsburgh was a challenge but they were all excited about a local beer. Anchor, maybe? I'm not sure. I get Diet Pepsi. In Detroit, we just got the hell out of there before something bad happened.

cooby Jul 21 2008 08:07 PM

That looks horrible.

Frayed Knot Jul 21 2008 08:31 PM

I remember reading the chili section of some cookbook which was talking about the evolution of chili and how this version branched off from and differed from that version, etc. It then added a note that somehow this chili train jumped off the tracks and some rogue element wound up in Cincinnati with no record of how it got there or why it ended up so oddly different from all other recipes.