West Coast Trip

The team here at OMGreds would like to welcome our newest addition - West Coast Correspondent, Mike.

Our good friend Mike is out in LA these days, listening or watching the Reds every night, just as any displaced, die-hard Reds fan would do. He's also a bigger Reds Killer than the Bill Hall. We'll have to confirm his record while attending Reds games out west, but we do know it ain't pretty. Mike did redeem himself this year by attending a few games in Arizona when the Reds swept the Diamondbacks early in the season. So, things are looking up.

Mike will be throwin' down all three Reds games in Los Angeles this week and will be taking the helm here at OMGreds. We have no clue what he's going to post... just the way we like it.

Updated: Diamondbacks' Reds-killers

1. (Former Red) Felipe Lopez. .389 in 72 at-bats. And his .463 OBP against the Reds is his best against any opponent.

2. Doug Davis. 6-3, 3.46 ERA in 96 1/3 innings. The Reds are the only team Davis has pitched two complete games against.

3. Brandon Webb. 6-2, 2.52 ERA in 71 1/3 innings. Only 2 home runs surrendered. One complete game shutout.

Also, in a smaller sample ...

4. Justin Upton. .381 in 21 at-bats.

5. (Former Red) Scott Schoeneweis. 1-0, 1.42 ERA in 12 2/3 innings.

Really not bad at all, especially compared with the Cardinals. No All-Reds killers candidates here. In fact, several Diamondbacks are anti-Redskillers.

Chris Snyder - .190 in 58 at-bats
Chad Tracy - .190 in 84 at-bats
Eric Byrnes - .173 in 75 at-bats
Stephen Drew - .171 in 41 at-bats
Dan Haren - 5.49 ERA and 5 homers allowed in 19 2/3 innings
Jon Rauch - 0-2, 6.92 ERA in 13 innings
Tom Gordon - 0-3, 5.94 ERA in 16 2/3 innings

Update: Cardinals' Reds-killers

1. Pujols. .367, 35, 102. .367 is his third best average against a National League opponent. Reds are one of just three teams Pujols has 100+ RBIs against. Pujols has scored more runs (114) against the Reds than any other team.

2. Chris Duncan. .355 with 7 homers. The 33 hits he has collected against the Reds are five more than he has against any other team (Cubs, Brewers). His OBP in 103 at-bats against the Reds is .417. His slugging percentage is .613.

3. Ryan Ludwick. .344 with 9 homers and 26 RBIs in 93 at-bats. .344 is 79 points higher than his average against any other team he has 100+ plate appearances against. 9 is most HR vs. any opponent and 26 is 6 more RBIs than he has against any other team. His slugging percentage against the Reds: .753. OPS: 1.155.

And to a lesser extent ...

4. Joel Pineiro. 3-0, 2.22 ERA in 4 starts. 19 Ks, 7 BBs.

5. Chris Carpenter (who's on the DL). 3-3. 2.47 ERA in 9 starts. .883 WHIP. 8.9 Ks/9.

6. Ryan Franklin. 2.18 ERA in 20 2/3 innings.

7. Blaine Boyer. 0.00 ERA in 7 1/3 innings.

On a more positive note, Skip Schumaker only hits .233 against us. And former Red Jason LaRue is only 3-for-24 (.125) against Cincinnati.

N'est-il pas mignon?

OMGreds.com west coast correspondent mike_r whipped up this bad-boy after Marty and Thom discussed how good Mr. Brantley must look in a beret. I missed that action on the radio... but I can only imagine it was some good stuff.

mike_r is also single-handedly the Reds' west coast Reds Killer. He has personally attended... I think... 9 Reds losses to teams on the other side of the country. Zero wins. He even got to take in 14 of 18 innings of that last game in San Diego. Ouch. Regardless, he's got some photos and commentary for your enjoyment. Sorry we didn't post sooner. I guess it was tonight's loss to the Buc-Ohs and Mr. Dumatrait that inspired us.

Two for Tuesday

Didn't get to post the Padres' Reds Killers, so here they are as well as the Pirates' ...

REDS KILLERS

Kevin Kouzmanoff .441 (15-for-34), 4 HRs, 10 RBIs
Jim Edmonds .280 (105-for-375), 31 HRs, 84 RBIs (most against any team)
Brian Giles .307 (110-for-358), 26 HRs, 73 RBIs
Greg Maddux 24-16, 3.43 ERA in 361 2/3 innings, 8 complete games, 3 shutouts
Randy Wolf 7-2, 3.20 ERA in 84 1/3 innings
Jake Peavy 5-0, 2.08 ERA in 56 1/3 innings
Shawn Estes 7-2, 3.63 ERA in 86 2/3 innings

ANTI-REDS KILLERS

Scott Hairston .224 (11-for-49), 13 Ks
Luke Carlin .143 (2-for-14), 8 Ks
Wil Ledezma 0-1, 13.50 ERA in 5 1/3 innings
Glendon Rusch 1-6, 5.78 ERA in 71 2/3 innings


REDS KILLERS

Jason Bay .363 (94-for-259), 20 HRs, 66 RBIs, 94 runs (all most against any team)
Freddy Sanchez .358 (68-for-190)
Xavier Nady .333 (44-for-132)
Jack Wilson .294 (121-for-411), 40 RBIs, 53 runs (both most against any team)

ANTI-REDS KILLERS

Adam LaRoche .219 (28-for-128)
Nate McLouth .209 (18-for-86), 20 Ks
Jose Bautista .195 (22-for-113)
Luis Rivas .167 (3-for-18)
Ian Snell 5.18 ERA in 48 2/3 innings
Matt Capps 6.50 ERA in 18 innings

Tribe Reds Killers

Doesn't look like there are any all-Reds Killer candidates here, and no one really stands out head and shoulders. I've got four position players and five pitchers ...

REDS KILLER

Victor Martinez .313 (25-for-80), 16 RBIs
Grady Sizemore .316 (25-for-79), 4 HRs, 16 runs
Travis Hafner .333 (20-for-60), 3 HRs, 14 RBIs
Jason Michaels .340 (16-for-47)

Paul Byrd 4-1, 3.04 ERA in 50 1/3 innings
C.C. Sabathia 2-0, 2.68 ERA, 44 Ks in 43 2/3 innings
Rafael Betancourt 1-0, 3.27 ERA, 13 Ks in 11 innings
Jake Westbrook 1-1, 3.05 ERA in 20 2/3 innings
Joe Borowski 2.35 ERA, 35 Ks in 30 2/3 innings

ANTI

Casey Blake .219 (16-for-73)
David Dellucci .187 (20-for-107), 24 Ks
Cliff Lee 5.60 ERA, 6 HRs in 27 1/3 innings
Jeremy Sowers 0-2, 9.60 ERA, 6 HRs in 15 innings

Marlins' Reds Killers

Reds Killers

1. Hanley Ramirez .410 (25-for-61), 6 HRs, 14 RBI
2. Dan Uggla .397 (25-for-63), 7 HRs, 17 RBI
3. Wes Helms .358 (59-for-165), 7 HRs, 30 RBI, 23 runs

Anti-Reds Killers

1. Cody Ross .174 (4-for-23)
2. Mike Jacobs .214 (9-for-42), 10 Ks
3. Mark Hendrickson 0-1, 8.84 ERA, 31 hits, 6 HRs in 18 1/3 innings

Mets' Reds Killers

Tough to pinpoint one. I'd probably give it to Moises Alou, only because his 31 HRs are his most against any team. Although he's also struck out more times (78) against the Reds than anyone else.

Alou .311 (164-for-528), 31 HRs, 98 RBI, 92 runs

Former Red Brady Clark also tears us up ... .352 (63-for-179) ... 16 doubles and 38 runs, both most against any opponent.

And Pedro's numbers against the Reds (7-2, 2.11 ERA, 106 Ks in 93 2/3 innings and 1 of 3 career saves) are pretty impressive.

Honorable mention:

Luis Castillo .338 (80-for-237), 42 runs
David Wright .338 (24-for-71), 5 HRs
Raul Casanova .342 (13-for-38)
Billy Wagner 2-3, 39 saves, 2.19 ERA, 88 Ks in 65 2/3 innings

And to a lesser extent:

Oliver Perez 8-3, 107 Ks in 88 2/3 innings
Jorge Sosa 2-0, 3.33 ERA, 24 Ks in 24 1/3 innings
Scott Schoeneweis 1-0, 1.93 ERA in 9 1/3 innings

ANTI REDS KILLERS

John Maine 0-2, 10.00 ERA, 15 hits, 3 HRs, 6 BBs in 9 innings
Johan Santana 6.14 ERA, 9 hits in 7 1/3 innings
Nelson Figueroa 5.29 ERA in 17 innings
Aaron Heilman 5.60 ERA in 17 2/3 innings
Duaner Sanchez 0-1, 9.00 ERA in 8 innings
Marlon Anderson .235 (32-for-136)
Damion Easley .210 (13-for-62)

Cubs' Reds Killers

Sorry for the delay ... wanted to give Zambrano a chance to pad his stats a little. This was a fun one. If you thought the Braves' starters had great Reds Killer numbers, check these out ...

Geovany Soto .371 (13-for-35), 7 RBI
Derrek Lee .285 (107-for-375), 29 HRs, 77 RBI (29 HRs are 9 more than he's got against any other team)
Mark DeRosa .433 (45-for-104), 24 RBIs
Aramis Ramirez .326 (143-for-439), 23 HRs, 87 RBI
Ryan Theriot .359 (37-for-103), 3 HRs, 14 RBIs (both most vs. any team)
Alfonso Soriano .314 (38-for-121)

Carlos Zambrano 12-9, 3.19 ERA in 166.1 innings
Kerry Wood 13-4, 2.88 ERA, 180 Ks in 144 innings

Other than Zambrano and Wood, Cubs pitchers are pretty average against us. Bobby Howry (2.00 ERA in 27 innings) and Carlos Marmol (2.70 ERA, 18 Ks in 16 2/3 innings) have been tough against the Reds.

Anti Reds Killers? The only thing going for us is Fukudome is only hitting .211 against us so far. Mike Fontenot hits .119 against us. And Michael Wuertz has given up 5 dongs in 22 2/3 innings against the Reds.

Braves' Reds Killers

I know Mike_R is going to hate me, but I just want to point out that of the Braves' regular starting lineup, Mark Kotsay (.280) has the LOWEST career batting average against the Reds.

Brian McCann .362 (25-for-69), 6 HR, 16 RBI, 14 runs
Mark Teixeira .296 (8-for-27), 7 BBs, 4 HR, 10 RBIs
Kelly Johnson .356 (16-for-45), 10 BBs, 9 runs, 10 RBIs
Larry Jones .303 (115-for-380), 19 HRs, 66 RBIs
Yunel Escobar .417 (10-for-24)
Matt Diaz .355 (11-for-31)
Mark Kotsay .280 (45-for-161)
Jeff Francoeur .292 (26-for-89), 5 HRs, 18 RBI

REDS KILLERS

John Smoltz 19-11, 2.97 ERA, 8 CGs, 3 shutouts
Tom Glavine 27-12, 3.34 ERA

ANTI-REDS KILLER

Buddy Carlyle 9.00 ERA in 10 innings

Pujols and other Cardinals' Reds Killers

Wow, that's all against us?

Albert Pujols .369 (160-for-434), 29 HRs, 91 RBIs, 105 runs

Pretty tough against us

Yadier Molina .299 (47-for-157), 21 RBI
Ron Villone 5-0, 2.84 ERA in 50 2/3 innings
Randy Flores 4-0, 3.20 ERA, 20 Ks in 19 2/3 innings
Ryan Franklin 1.12 ERA in 16 innings

So far so good (Reds Killers in training)

Chris Duncan .380 (30-for-79), 7 HRs
Rick Ankiel .294 (10-for-34), 3 HRs, 10 RBI
Brendan Ryan .381 (8-for-21)

Anti-Reds Killers

Adam Kennedy .220 (11-for-50), 0 HRs
Troy Glaus .147 (5-for-34), 12 Ks
Cesar Izturis .209 (31-for-148)
Skip Schumaker .179 (5-for-28)
Anthony Reyes 1-2, 7.90 ERA, 7 HRs in 13 2/3


Looking forward to Jason LaRue's first AB against the Reds. He'll probably go 4-for-5 tonight.

Giants' Reds Killers

No pitchers really stand out. I don't really want to count Jack Taschner (18.00 ERA in 4 innings) or Merkin Valdez (27.00 ERA in 1 1/3 innings) because we really haven't seen them much.

REDS KILLERS

Ray Durham .331 (43-for-130), 9 HRs
Jose Castillo .331 (42-for-127)
Aaron Rowand .357 (15-for-42)

ANTI-REDS KILLERS

Bengie Molina .192 (5-for-26)
Rajai Davis .067 (1-for-15)

Astros' Reds Killers

BIG-TIME REDS KILLERS (who I'm sure will end up making our Top 10 once we get through every team)

Roy Oswalt 19-1, 2.46 ERA, 134 Ks, 36 BBs in 157 innings
Lance Berkman .332 (132-for-398), 41 HRs, 116 RBI, 99 runs

And to a lesser extent ...

Miguel Tejada .435 (10-for-23)
Tomas Perez .333 (15-for-45), 11 RBI
Brandon Backe 3-0, 3.16 ERA, 1 HR in 31 1/3 innings
Doug Brocail 3-2, 1.74 ERA, 1 HR, 16 Ks, 4 BBs in 20 2/3 innings

ANTI-REDS KILLERS

Brad Ausmus .259 (121-for-468), 1 HR, 20 GIDP
Ty Wigginton .220 (22-for-100), 20 Ks
Jose Cruz .206 (7-for-34), 0 HR
Humberto Quintero .143 (2-for-14), 6 Ks
David Newhan .000 (0-for-15)
Shawn Chacon 6.35 ERA in 28 1/3 innings
Geoff Geary 6.75 ERA in 10 2/3 innings
Brian Moehler 0-4, 6.82 ERA in 34 1/3 innings

Dodgers' Reds Killers

I'm starting a new feature. Lots of players are considered "Reds Killers" - Bill Hall and Lance Berkman come to mind - but who are the true Reds Killers for each team? And who do the Reds actually own (anti-Reds Killer)? I'll roll out new teams' Reds Killers as the Reds play them.

The Dodgers have quite a few Killers. Even Delwyn Young in five ABs.

REDS KILLERS

Russell Martin .396 (19-for-48)
Jeff Kent .312 (159-for-510), 23 HR, 103 RBI, 98 runs
Rafael Furcal .324 (68-for-210), 11 HRs, 47 runs
Andruw Jones .298 (97-for-326), 31 HRs
Nomar .329 (28-for-85)
Delwyn Young 1.000 (5-for-5)
Brad Penny 7-2, 3.00 ERA, 59 Ks in 69 innings (which is good for him)
Jonathan Broxton 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 11 Ks in 9 innings
Takashi Saito 4 saves in 4 games finished, 0.00 ERA in 6 1/3 innings, 8 Ks

ANTI-REDS KILLERS

Mark Sweeney .224 (15-for-67), 14 Ks
Joe Beimel 5.46 ERA, 5 HRs in 28 innings
Esteban Loaiza 1-5, 5.06 ERA in 9 starts

Beautiful Day

But Bill Hall went and done killed us again. Nice to see Cueto with another pretty good outing, but the offense needs to give our young arms some support.

Today was fleece blanket day - but I got there too late to get one. Ah well... it looked pretty nice, too.

He did it again

Reds lose 2-1 are tied 2-2 in the 10th lose 3-2 tonight in Milwaukee. The Reds wasted a great start by Cueto by scoring only one run while he was on the mound and made Jeff Suppan look like Cy Young. Cueto gave up a homerun to Bill Hall in the 7th which proved once again that he absolutely kills the Reds. We need to trade for that dude, if for no other reason that to be able to beat the Brewers.

Some of Bill Hall's numbers:
- He's a .264 career hitter. Against the Reds, he's hitting .314.
- He has a career .468 SLG. Against the Reds, his SLG is .623
- Of his 83 84 career homeruns, 15 16 have come against the Reds (probably all game-winners)
- 48 or his 301 career runs have come against the Reds.

And just when I was ready to publish this post, Patterson goes and his a homerun to tie it up! Suck it, Bill Hall, you got nothin' on us!

What happened to Eric Gagne? That dude has been a disaster. Terrible last year with Boston, and continues to give up bombs and lose games for the Brewers this year. Was his name on the Mitchell Report?

One other thing...how about the Reds bullpen this year? Overall, I've been really impressed with their ability to either hold the lead or not make the deficit much worse. I think they've done an outstanding job so far this year - a welcome improvement from last year. And great to see guys like Coffey, pitching well again, as well as newcomers like Affeldt, Lincoln and Mercker (sort of) pitching effectively.

Ok, last thing...what's up with the Reds leaving runners on base? It seems like so far this year they've stranded a lot of runners (10 so far tonight). Cueto deserves better than that (and so does Harang).