Wow! Could The Weekend Have Been Worse?

...Not for the Cincinnati Reds. Friday the Reds give up small-ball and lose a game while allowing just three hits. Saturday Votto goes on the disabled list. Saturday night Harang does nothing to ease the pain. Sunday the Reds leave 11 men on base while scoring just two runs. The result, three losses and panic-time in Redsland.
I thought they could go 4-3 on the trip because the pitching would win the day. But I wasn't banking on Votto leaving the lineup, and taking with him the timely hitting that has made this team an efficient machine. Now, I just hope they can keep the amount of wins within five or so of the amount of losses while Votto is out of the lineup.
I was glad to hear Brandon Phillips pop off some after Sunday's game. He was right about the Reds not doing the little things right in Milwaukee. We'll see if this was just a hiccup as the team tries to steady itself after getting walloped with the news that their best hitter is on the disabled list.
We will never know if Harang's outing Saturday night had anything to do with staying in last Monday's game after a two hour rain-delay. We will never know if the outcome would have been different Friday night if the Reds had tried to bunt in the eighth inning Friday night. But I do know both of those decisions were very unnecessary risks. I like a lot of things about Dusty and his managing style. Contrary to popular local belief, or at least popular local belief before he managed the Reds, Dusty does a nice job handing young players. I think he's a good manager when it comes to setting an air of confidence for a team. I think he keeps things very positive. But the two aforementioned decisions have given me a major headache. Here's hoping the team, and more importantly the manager, learned something from it.