Opening Dud…I mean, Day, Review

 

Opening Day in baseball is one of my favorite days of the year, and lucky for me, I live in Cincinnati where Opening Day is done right, and more importantly, done every year. Since 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings have been hosting Opening Day baseball. And, like many have since the 1890, I descended upon the Queen City to take in the Opening Day festivities, celebrate with my fellow Cincinnatians on the Reds Unofficial holiday, and spread some of my prospective…12oz’s at a time! 

The festivities were exciting. The game, not so much. As fans (especially Cincinnati fans), we are a doom and gloom bunch, however, I am here to be your voice of reason.

The Good: 

-          I know it is cliché, but it was just 1 game. 1 game with 161 to go. And 1 game against a very good Angels team.

-          The Angels likely have the most potent offense in the majors and were playing in one of the most offense friendly parks and the Reds held them to 1 run for 12 innings and 3 in 13. That is good.

-          The Ryan Ludwick injury is not catastrophic. Sure it hurts, but his WAR was 1.7. That means Ludwick is worth 1.7 more wins over an average replacement over the course of a 162 game season. Chris Heisey and Xavier Paul are pretty decent options. So while it hurts, it is not catastrophic.

-          Choo Choo Baby! My man Choo got 2 hits in the leadoff spot. That did not happen much the past few years.

-          Cueto and the bullpen looked good.

-          There are 161 more games left.

-          By the time this hits the stands, there are only 160 games left and the Reds are tied for 1^st.

The Bad:

-          Situational hitting. Seems like every year, different players, same problem. It is frustrating to watch this team try and play fundamental baseball. I have never seen a team struggle so bad at scoring a man from third with less than 2 outs. Monday was no different, and even Votto failed. Hopefully this is more the exception rather than the norm this year.

-          Jay Bruce’s inability to hit a breaking ball low and away. 0-5 with 4 K’s….didn’t take him long to get his first Golden Sombrero of the year! For this team to reach its’ potential, Bruce has to reach his - meaning he can’t continue being the worst hitter in baseball for 4 months  of the year and  the best hitter in baseball for 2 months every year.

-          Strikeouts. Sure it went 13 innings, but 13 strikeouts is too many strikeouts. BTW, Cueto batted twice and did not account for any of those strikeouts. Just sayin.

-          Joe Torre throwing out the first pitch for the most historical Opening Day in the Majors? Rule for Opening Day First Pitch Throwers: Has to be a huge name or a historical tie to the organization. By my calculation, Torre fits neither. A team that regularly has Presidents of the  United States (and past Presidents) throw out first pitches went with a guy with…Joe Torre? Former manager of the Yankees and Dodgers? Well, at least his wife is from Cincinnati.