The Night Ivan Nova & the Yankees had their way with the Reds in the Queen City

[Box Score]

[Cincinnati.com] [New York Times] [NY Daily News]

My workout is finished for the night, so now I have the opportunity to tell you about my miserable experience last night watching the Reds.

The great part of it is I was able to have a nice night with my fiance (a Yankees fan) and our two good friends Caity and Jimmy (both Yankees fans). The weather held up. I was in the bleachers up in left field for just the second time at Great American Ball Park.

But the way the Reds played yesterday–it just makes me sick and it’s really hard to write about them or enjoy the baseball season when they’re putting up performances like that. No matter how hard I try to be patient, when they’re getting into early holes and not scoring runs or hitting many balls hard; I just want to turn away from them and focus my energies on other things.

The rain-out tonight was a good thing.

The Reds were down 4-0 before I was even in my seat, thanks to my fiance making me hunt down some LaRosa’s pizza for her. This put me in an especially foul mood and I was cursing Travis Wood under my breath. Wood settled in and had a really nice outing–if you decide not to count the 1st inning at all. It was bad enough to get the Reds beat. Especially this Reds team that has had as feeble of an offense as I can remember in any stretch in the recent past.

I’ve seen Alex Rodriguez play live just once before. He did what a Hall of Fame type talent does; showed up into the strange town that he’s not used to playing in and collected a couple of knocks, scored a run and drove in a run. He’s got a biting shoulder. But he’s still hitting .292 on the season.

It is what it is. He’s committed some pretty brutal things that he can never take back. He’s baseball’s Tiger Woods. But I’m happy that I’ve gotten to see A-Rod play a couple of times in my life live and in the flesh, just as a baseball fan.

Here’s Jay Bruce before the game with Reds GM Walt Jocketty, accepting his NL Player of the Month Award for the month of May. You know, it’s great and Bruce’s month of May was something out of a storybook. But is it a stretch to say that his month of June has been something out of a toilet bowl?

It’s frustrating to watch the inconsistency, still. He needed one decent but not superb month this month to cement himself as a National League All-Star. He’s been really poor in the middle of the Reds lineup. Not even average, which is tolerable and which you can with with; but bad. One home run on the first day of the month, and four RBI.

And yes, he went 0 for 4 politely last night against the Yankees. Someone sent him a telegram that we were coming to the park. And he rarely does anything when we’re present. Last night was no different. We should probably just stay away.

Curtis Granderson didn’t hit any bombs last night in going 0 for 3 but it was worth taking a picture of him during this dream season he’s having when he’s sitting on 21 home runs.

Game was on ESPN last night–at least in some areas.

Here’s Joey Votto against Ivan Nova. I predicted and felt in my heart that the Reds would score 8 to 10 runs last night off Nova. I really felt he was due to get lit up.

Instead, he was dominant. And I mean really, really good. He went 8 innings, allowed four hits, one earned run and struck out seven. If you were waiting for him to walk someone you would still be waiting. I just sat around all game waiting for him to work himself into trouble and he didn’t do it. It’s worth noting that the Reds have walked only twice on this homestand so far. Their lack of patience is really hurting them as they continue to slump.

I hope tomorrow when they take the field twice in a HUGE double-header against the Bombers that they exercise patience all day long win or lose and attack those hittable mistakes. Work counts deep.

Mariano Rivera, the legend warming up.

The Reds got a little rally going, Boone Logan nailed Joey Votto with a pitch; and the Yankees brought Mariano in and I told my friends the fun was over. And it wasn’t long after that we were headed for our parking garage and back to Columbus for the late night drive.

Bruce had a really nice at-bat against Mariano Rivera but bounced out to first base for the fourth time in the game.

In the end, a decent night at the park. I’m glad to have gotten to see the Yankees play for the second time in Cincinnati and for the time spent with my friends and my girl on a Monday night. But the Reds are killing me right now night by night with their mediocrity.