Tom Archdeacon: Freel upset with Reds' 'do-nothing' homestand

[CincyRedsFan30]

Tom Archdeacon: Freel upset with Reds' 'do-nothing' homestand

By Tom Archdeacon

Staff Writer

Thursday, September 07, 2006

CINCINNATI — "There's no excuse. Absolutely, no excuse."

Those were Ryan Freel's words.

The more you listened, the more you realized the Reds' human grass stain handles postgame assessment the same way he plays the field, the same way he steals bases.

He dives right in — head first.

The Cincinnati Reds had just frittered away another one — their 10th loss in the last 12 games — this time falling 3-2 to a San Francisco Giants B-team that was minus Barry Bonds, but throwing a kid making his first major-league start at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds treated Jonathan Sanchez — the 23-year-old Ohio Dominican product — like he was Nolan Ryan, and that ate at Freel.

"The guy threw hard, but they were fastballs. ... Everybody hits fastballs. ... But we're just not getting big hits in big situations.

"We're back home in a small park. On the road, we hit some balls that would have been home runs (here) but didn't get out. Now we're home and do nothing."

Two weeks ago, the Reds were tied with St. Louis for the National League Central lead and owned the wild-card race. Now they've faded so far back that the most optimistic thing you heard about their playoff chances Wednesday came from Adam Dunn: "Hopefully we can get on a little roll and sneak in."

Granted this is the first time the Reds have had a September pulse in seven years, but the way they're losing is tough to swallow.

And this isn't about Brandon Phillips' sudden 1-for-24 swoon, Dunn's too-frequent strikeouts, the way recently promoted Chris Denorfia is struggling as a big-league hitter or past pitching woes, to which Freel said, "They went out and got all these pitchers, and they've been phenomenal lately."

The question is why wasn't Rich Aurilia made to bunt the tying run over to third base in his eighth-inning, no-out at-bat?

And why did the Reds choose to pitch to Bonds in the eighth inning Monday? Why not walk him or bring in a left-hander? Instead Bonds' two-run homer tied the game, and the Giants won in 10.

Manager Jerry Narron took exception to any suggestion he should have had Aurilia — whose harmless pop to short was followed by two more outs — bunt.

Narron claimed Aurilia was his hottest bat, but Wednesday he'd already popped out, grounded out and struck out. With such prelude, it was time for sound baseball.

Asked what's happening here, 36-year-old first baseman Scott Hatteberg — who has playoff experience — took a stab:

"Whatever it is, it's contagious. Maybe it's pressure, but I know for sure it's frustration. It's right here at our fingertips and it's beginning to slip away, and the frustration's showing."

The other day Hatteberg questioned if the Reds — who haven't had to play for anything in recent Septembers — still have guys who think they don't have to show up every day.

Is resolve giving way to resignation?

Dunn shrugged at the questions: "I have no idea. We're just playing bad at the wrong time. There's nothing we can do. I guess we could take extra batting practice, but that's not really going to do anything ..."

But as he left the clubhouse, the big outfielder showed he was going to get some swings in.

He picked up the golf bag by his locker, slung it over his shoulder and, with clubs rattling, headed for the door.

Might as well start working on the game he'll be playing when the postseason starts.

[missionhockey21]

Has a successful cloning machine been invented yet? If so, I'd like 8 Ryan Freels please.

And jeez, talk radio is going to have a field day with that last thing on Dunn.

[CincyRedsFan30]

Sure their Run Differential and talent level wasn't the best to begin with, but they really have seemed to not even have fire lately either.

That comment from and the one about Dunn aren't very good to see either, although some are going to go overboard with it.

[NFLman2033]

Has a successful cloning machine been invented yet? If so, I'd like 8 Ryan Freels please.

And jeez, talk radio is going to have a field day with that last thing on Dunn.

yeah there you go.. would you rather have 8 Ryan Freels on your team, or 8 Adam Dunn's?

that is the question of the day

[redsrbetter]

I would honestly rather have 8 Freels.

You guys think Dunn is as good as gone this offseason?

[McKain]

Send him to Washington. Soriano's gone and Kearns needs to break out of his depression over losing his best friend. We'll give ya Saul Rivera and Cristian Guzman.

[love_that_reefer]

I would take 8 Freels' everyday of the week instead of 8 Dunn's. 8 Dunn's= 6 SO's, 1 BB and 1 HR.

[missionhockey21]

I would honestly rather have 8 Freels.

You guys think Dunn is as good as gone this offseason?

The Reds would be retarded to do so. Do we really want this offense in any more shambles? You can't count on Aurilia and Hatteberg to match performance next season, let alone longterm. Ross, is he a fluke? Griffey, can he stay healthy? The only guys I consider to be sure bets are Ed E, Freel and Phillips. The Reds cannot make up the run production they will lose with Dunn, and any trade we see we will not even get close to seeing equal value back. Three years of 40 homers-100 walks-100 RBI's, in a row.... we're not going to find that in the system for awhile, and on the FA market do you know what that will cost us? The fact is Dunn is not the team leader, rah-rah team type of guy everyone wants. He does his job of producing runs and if the Reds allow him to have 1st, the defense complaints will go down. Let's face it, he's not exactly a standout personality and at times, he's a bit dopey. He was upset with the play, and said something he should of kept to his mind than to his mouth. The guy hits a homer and gets a walk the next day, so it's obvious he hasn't given up. Leave Dunn in the number two hole and he will succeed, he's not a 4th or 5th hitter, let him get on base and everyone will be happy outside of the errors.

And reefer, 169 SO's to 99 BB's wouldn't exactly translate to those numbers (I realize it was likely an exaggeration, but still.)

[CincyRedsFan30]

I would take eight players who play LIKE Freel.

If we're talking actual production, I would take eight Dunn's. Freel fills the role of getting on base well and plays great defense, but a team full of Dunn's would mean over 300 HR for that particular team. It would mean a lot of Runs.

[missionhockey21]

I would take eight players who play LIKE Freel.

That's what I meant as well, his fight and his spirit is terrific.