How many saves does Cordero have to blow before he's replaced?

Seriously Dusty. Have you seen a pattern developing here?

Maybe find another arm to close.

If only they had a fireballer in their bullpen...

Oh wait.

Francisco Cordero ruined a great night

Dusty Baker, I told you to put Aroldis Chapman in the closer role LAST YEAR!.
Hell, I said it THIS WEEK!

But no. You keep dragging Francisco Cordero out there. And now look at what is happening.

Cordero was trusted with a 2 run lead in the 9th. He had the lead with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th.

And Mark Kotsay won it for the Brewers.

What would have happened if the REDS had won?
Oh not much, except a three way tie at the top of the Division!

The Pirates, Cardinals and Brewers would have been all tied with two games before the All Star break.

And the Reds would have been only 3 games back.

It would be beautiful chaos.
And instead it is just Milwaukee with a one game lead.

Seriously Dusty... time for a new closer.

Career Save #1 for Aroldis Chapman...

I've been saying since last year that Aroldis Chapman should be the closer for the Reds. Having a guy chucking 100MPH out of the pen to close the game out is an unlikely weapon. And yeah, he's been up and down this year, but who else has a bullet like this in their gun?

Now of course it took a total Reds bullpen meltdown to put him in the closer role tonight. It took the Reds blowing an 8-0 lead.

But watching him in the 13th inning, even with the hit in the middle of the inning, he just looked like a guy who overwhelmed the St. Louis bats.

The last pitch was 101 MPH!

The Reds are not out of this race, but if they drop many more games with Francisco Cordero blowing leads.

Keep him in the closer role, Dusty.

There goes the "Instant Replay Slows Down The Game" argument

Another day... and once again any argument against instant replay becomes more and more moot.

After Chase Utley was put on base as the tying run in the 7th inning after he WASN'T hit by a pitch, there was a bang bang play at second base.

The runner was called safe, prompting Dusty Baker to come out and argue... and slow down the game. An argument that would never have happened if a replay official would be able to look at the tape and say conclusively "Safe" or "Out."

Yeah, the game was broken open with the sloppy play.
But Utley should never have been on base and there should have never been need for an argument at second.

Instead the game is delayed because of no replay.

And of course this is the focus over the solid pitching we've seen so far.

Let's keep sending in those "logical reasons to NOT have instant replay."
Haven't read one yet.

Why won't the Reds use Aroldis Chapman as their closer?

I remember when I saw the movie Amistad, I was frustrated that Steven Spielberg didn't use his cast effectively.

He gave several of the movies biggest and most emotional moments to Matthew McConaughey... and as I wrote before, McConaughey is good at SOME things, but he was out of his element delivering the big moments.

Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman was in the cast and given virtually nothing to do. Now I am going to go out on a limb and say that an actor of Morgan Freeman's talents were better suited for dramatic speeches than Wooderson from Dazed and Confused.

Well there is a similar waste of talent going on in Cincinnati.

Francisco Cordero is awful. AWFUL and they have a fire baller in Aroldis Chapman just sitting in the bullpen.

The guy hasn't let up a run yet and chances are any NL opponent won't have much of a scouting report on him come playoff time.

Think K-Rod in 2002... think Adam Wainwright in 2006... think David Price shutting down the Red Sox inevitable comeback in 2008.

Each of those teams had a steady veteran who had more experience... and each of those managers went with the young kid and bang... each played in the World Series.

And two of them are Cy Young contenders this year. (OK, the other beat up an elderly man, but that's not important.)

Use the talents properly.

Don't make the mistake Spielberg made.

Why won't the Reds use Aroldis Chapman as their closer?

I remember when I saw the movie Amistad, I was frustrated that Steven Spielberg didn't use his cast effectively.

He gave several of the movies biggest and most emotional moments to Matthew McConaughey... and as I wrote before, McConaughey is good at SOME things, but he was out of his element delivering the big moments.

Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman was in the cast and given virtually nothing to do. Now I am going to go out on a limb and say that an actor of Morgan Freeman's talents were better suited for dramatic speeches than Wooderson from Dazed and Confused.

Well there is a similar waste of talent going on in Cincinnati.

Francisco Cordero is awful. AWFUL and they have a fire baller in Aroldis Chapman just sitting in the bullpen.

The guy hasn't let up a run yet and chances are any NL opponent won't have much of a scouting report on him come playoff time.

Think K-Rod in 2002... think Adam Wainwright in 2006... think David Price shutting down the Red Sox inevitable comeback in 2008.

Each of those teams had a steady veteran who had more experience... and each of those managers went with the young kid and bang... each played in the World Series.

And two of them are Cy Young contenders this year. (OK, the other beat up an elderly man, but that's not important.)

Use the talents properly.

Don't make the mistake Spielberg made.

Dusty... you've got to do something about the closer role

I was listening to the Pirates broadcast of the Reds/Pirates game (forgive me, I don't know their names) and one of them said about Francisco Cordero "This does NOT look like a premier closer."

He's right.

All closers blow games from time to time. Hell, the great Mariano Rivera spit the bit last night.

But Cordero imploded against the Pirates today and allowed Andrew McCutchen to clear the bases with 2 outs in the 9th and give the Pirates a 3-1 win.

I know going into this game Cordero had a 5.40 ERA in September. This couldn't have helped.

And this after Nick Masset got bombarded the other night.

Your team is going to the playoffs... and you have a few weeks to line up the rotation. And you also have a few weeks to fix the closer spot.

Don't talk to me about loyalty. Loyalty comes up with managers say "I HAD to stick with my guy" after Mitch Williams or Armando Benitez or Byeun Yung Kim coughed it up.

Trust me, you stay with Cordero, you will be mumbling in a post game press conference this October "He's the one who got us here."

There have been times when injuries or ineffectiveness put a new closer into the playoff spot. Remember Todd Worrell for the 1985 Cardinals? Bobby Jenks with the 2005 White Sox? Adam Wainwright with the 2006 Cardinals?

All had the chance to clinch the World Series and 2 did (Worrell had the Denkinger call against him.)

So take a veteran like Arthur Rhodes, a starter who won't make a playoff start like Travis Wood or Homer Bailey or just mix and match for match ups.

Or take the mystery kid Aroldis Chapman and hope he pulls a K-Rod in the 2002 playoffs and nobody can hit him.

You just can't go to Cordero anymore... or you'll look like THIS more often.

Dusty... you've got to do something about the closer role

I was listening to the Pirates broadcast of the Reds/Pirates game (forgive me, I don't know their names) and one of them said about Francisco Cordero "This does NOT look like a premier closer."

He's right.

All closers blow games from time to time. Hell, the great Mariano Rivera spit the bit last night.

But Cordero imploded against the Pirates today and allowed Andrew McCutchen to clear the bases with 2 outs in the 9th and give the Pirates a 3-1 win.

I know going into this game Cordero had a 5.40 ERA in September. This couldn't have helped.

And this after Nick Masset got bombarded the other night.

Your team is going to the playoffs... and you have a few weeks to line up the rotation. And you also have a few weeks to fix the closer spot.

Don't talk to me about loyalty. Loyalty comes up with managers say "I HAD to stick with my guy" after Mitch Williams or Armando Benitez or Byeun Yung Kim coughed it up.

Trust me, you stay with Cordero, you will be mumbling in a post game press conference this October "He's the one who got us here."

There have been times when injuries or ineffectiveness put a new closer into the playoff spot. Remember Todd Worrell for the 1985 Cardinals? Bobby Jenks with the 2005 White Sox? Adam Wainwright with the 2006 Cardinals?

All had the chance to clinch the World Series and 2 did (Worrell had the Denkinger call against him.)

So take a veteran like Arthur Rhodes, a starter who won't make a playoff start like Travis Wood or Homer Bailey or just mix and match for match ups.

Or take the mystery kid Aroldis Chapman and hope he pulls a K-Rod in the 2002 playoffs and nobody can hit him.

You just can't go to Cordero anymore... or you'll look like THIS more often.

CINCINNATI FANS… THE REDS' MAGIC NUMBER IS 125

That’s right… we are in Mid May and the Reds have passed the Cardinals. The Cincinnati Reds are in first! I don’t want people to be blasé about this along the banks of the Ohio River.

One of the great baseball cities of all time has a team in first place… and they got there with some complete games, some clutch hitting and some home grown players with kick ass names like Joey Botto, Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake.

I picked the Reds to win the pennant last year and while I was WAY off, I didn’t pick that team out of a hat. I felt their young talent could blossom into an exciting young team that Reds fans can call their own.

That could be what is happening now.

I am not expecting every game at Great American Ballpark to be standing room only… but you fans aren’t Rays fans, a fan base that is being treated to one of the most exciting young teams the game has seen in years who could possibly outplay the Yankees and Red Sox for the second time in three years… and can’t fill half their stadium.

The Rays play in a crappy ballpark that is hard to get to and the fan base has no tradition in baseball.

The Reds are just the opposite. They have a great park that is easy to get to and one of the richest traditions in all of baseball. Don’t believe me? Read up!

Time to put some fannys in the seats. School will be out soon and the kids in Ohio and Northern Kentucky are going to be treated to a team that is in contention. By midseason they might even be inserting Aroldis Chapman into their rotation to give them an even bigger boost.

You hear how New York, Boston and St. Louis fans are the most passionate about baseball. Time to punch your entry into the discussion Reds fans.

I know the 2000s were rough for the Reds as they were part of the “less than magnificent seven” teams that went from 2000 to 2009 without a playoff appearance.

I know young fans might be apathetic.

No excuse now… you’ve got a contender on your hands. And any combination of Reds wins and Cardinals losses that equal 125 will send the Reds back to the playoffs.

It’s never too early to count down!

Chapman escapes Communism… is still a Red!

I think the Reds signing of Aroldis Chapman is great for baseball… even if my spellcheck will never accept the spelling of Aroldis.

I’ve never seen him pitch. He is Cuban… ergo mysterious and probably overhyped.

But I and the rest of the staff at Sully Baseball think this is a step in the right direction for the Reds.

Now granted, I drank the Kool-Aid big time at the beginning of the season and made the Reds my out-of-nowhere pick to win the NL Central (and the pennant.) That was wishful thinking.

But Cincinnati should be a big baseball city.

I’ve been to Cincinnati. Granted it was 17 years ago, but

It has a rich baseball tradition, passionate fans and should be one of the few metropolitan areas where the baseball team has a stronger following than the football team.

There was no “Big Bengal Machine.”

But alas The Great American Ballpark is empty most nights and the Reds haven’t been relevant in years.

They are one of the “Less than Magnificent Seven”… the seven franchises that missed post season play all together from 2000 to 2009.

Which makes this signing all the more encouraging. The Reds made the big bid… not the Red Sox or Yankees.

Sure other members of the “Less than Magnificent Seven” have been signing players too. But mainly they have been stock piling live bodies.

Does anyone think the Royals are significantly improved by bringing in the Scott Podsedniks and Jason Kendalls of the world?

It’s nice to see the likes of Pudge Rodriguez, Matt Capps and Jason Marquis in Washington uniforms… but by the time the Nats are even mediocre, they’ll all be long gone.

But the Reds are taking a shot at a potential young ace in a division without a true powerhouse.

They are trying to kick start their playoff hopes on Chapman joining Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey this year and Edinson Volquez in 2011 to possibly create a terrific rotation. And maybe by then Jay Bruce and Joey Votto will have blossomed into stars.

It may not work but it makes a hell of a lot more sense than just signing players for the sake of signing them!

They spent $30 million hoping to put a winner on the field in the long run.

They could have spent $33.5 million on Brad Penny ($7.5 million one year), Fernando Rodney ($11 million two years) and Brandon Lyon ($15 million three years) and say “Hey! We’re spending!”

Instead they seem to have a plan…

And I am sure Reds fans will love Chapman if he does what his fellow countrymen Livan Hernandez, El Duque Hernandez and Jose Contreras all did:

Come up big in the playoffs and help deliver a World Series title.

Then the sleeping giant known as Reds mania would be awakened.