Somebody help me. Not literally, I’m on vacation starting tomorrow, the only help I’ll be needing for a week is getting sunscreen on my back. But remembering. I need help remembering the last time the Reds played a big, meaningful, series like the four-gamer they start Thursday night in Milwaukee. It has been years.
I don’t count the weird two games in Atlanta last October, or the piddling 31-29 record The Club compiled to qualify for the empty, little postseason tournament that concluded a season that was as satisfying as rice cakes for breakfast.
So . . . when? 2013? The Reds finished that year on a six-game losing streak, counting their wild-card appearance in Pittsburgh, where they were summarily CuetoCueto-ed.
The seven straight games they’ll play v. the Brewers won’t be definitive, but they might be tone setting. It’s not that the Reds lack for confidence. They’re 17-11 v Brewers/Cubs/Cards. But they’re 2-12 v. two of the NL’s three best teams, San Diego and the Giants. There’s still some proving to do.
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The Reds will throw Mahle-Miley-Guitierrez-Castillo. The Brewers offer Adrian Houser, Eric Lauer, Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff. The latter pair are All-Stars. Interestingly, the Reds have been very lucky in dodging very good pitchers this year.
They won’t get Corbin Burnes, again. They’ll see Woodruff for the first time. They’re 1-6 against San Diego even as they’ve missed Yu Darvish completely. They haven’t played the Mets, so no DeGrom. They have faced SF’s Kevin Gausman twice, and lost each time.
Very likely, these next seven games will serve as an intriguing prelude to what should be a compelling September. We won’t be drawing many conclusions a week from Sunday, when the seven games conclude. No Central team is good enough to dominate.
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But we might start to see more clearly where the Reds have an edge and where they lack. Edge: Offense. Lack: Bullpen. Top-end starting pitching? Defense?
Regardless, they have our full attention the next four games. Looking forward to exciting, meaningful baseball? What a nice change.
Now, then . . .
FIND DEAD HORSE. BEAT HIM. REPEAT. The Brewers are proactive and it has helped. NYTimes on their acquisition of SS Willy Adames:
Since joining the Brewers on May 22, after a trade the day before, Adames had helped Milwaukee to a major-league-best 31-13 record following a split of a doubleheader against the Mets on Wednesday at Citi Field.
Entering Wednesday’s games, Adames, who was acquired with reliever Trevor Richards for relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen, had led the Brewers in batting (.298), on-base plus slugging (.930), hits (45) and total bases (83) since the trade, which shifted Luis Urias — who had developed throwing problems at shortstop — to third.
It is a lesson in the benefits of acting swiftly. The Brewers got a 10-week jump on the trade market with the Adames deal, which helped them pull off another move on Tuesday, when they traded Richards and a minor leaguer to the Toronto Blue Jays for first baseman Rowdy Tellez.
General Manager David Stearns said, “In general we’re not a sit-back-and-wait type of operation.”
THANK YOU, MISTER DAUGHTERY . . . The Enquirer’s B. Nightengale did a story the other day on the proper pronunciation of OF Tyler Naquin’s name.
That’s easy, Doc. It’s Tie-ler.
We’ve American-ized it to Nay-Quinn. If you wanted to Latin-ize it, it’d be Nah-Keen. What it’s supposed to be is Knock-Ann. That’s French. Enquirer:
The last time that Naquin remembers somebody pronouncing his last name correctly, without him bringing it up first, was about four years ago. His agent told him about Fairchild Sports Performance, a facility in Houston, where players like George Springer, Cavan Biggio, Jed Lowrie and others train in the offseason.
That’s where Naquin met the owner, Ben Fairchild.
“When I went down there, Ben said, ‘Man, you’re not a na-quinn, you’re a knock-ann,’” Naquin said. “I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He was like, ‘Dude, my whole family is in Louisiana.’ I said, ‘Well, half of my family was in Lafayette.’ That was probably the very last time that someone without me having to tell them. It was fun. Every day I work out there in the offseason now, he calls me knock-ann.”
I hear him. At various times, I’ve heard my name pole-axed as Daughtery, Dogg-erty, Door-ty and incomprehensibly, Daw-furry.
I’ve actually checked into hotels and had this happen:
Me: “Checking in. Last name Dock-erty.’’
Clerk: “Welcome, Mister Daughtery.’’
Me: “Cool, I never knew how to pronounce my own name. Thanks for correcting me.’’
More:People have mispronounced Tyler Naquin's name throughout his entire career
THE TM COLUMN ON JOEY VOTTO contains this compelling admission: “I’ve never really had a ton of fun in my career.’’
I’ve said it a million times. Here’s a million and one: In my 33 years here, I’ve never dealt with another athlete quite like Votto. From the moment he discussed straight-up candidly his feelings after his father passed until I spoke with him on Tuesday, Votto has remained my most compelling interview subject ever.
Smart, self-aware, interested and interesting. Others in the media here know him better. Jim Day is expert at bringing out Votto’s playful side, other writers are good at getting him to discuss hitting, about which he long ago earned his PhD.
Thing is, lots of players can talk about what they do. They’re less engaging talking about who they are. That’s what separates Votto from everyone else.
I’ll miss him when he’s gone.
THE ALL STAR GAME IS TUESDAY. Baseball has its issues. We’ve talked about them ad nauseum. What we haven’t talked much about is this sudden explosion of incredible young talent. Every season has its bloomers. Occasionally, overarching superstars emerge. Come on down, Mike Trout.
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Not often is the game graced with so much young, thrilling talent. Tatis Jr., Vlad Jr., Acuna, DeGrom and of course, Ohtani doing his Babe Ruth impersonation. That’s five guys I’d pay to see and never leave my seat when their names were called. It wasn’t long ago, I’d have said that about two guys, Trout and Bonds.
AND NOW. . .
FunMaster Brien discovers the Monuments Men.
While on the warpath of world domination, the Nazi regime looted and plundered every village, town, and city it conquered. Countless European works of art were shipped back to Germany to be part of the Third Reich’s grand collection, or were to be destroyed. The Allies put together a group of soldiers, historians, and museum curators to go on missions in order to intercept these masterpieces. This was depicted in the enjoyable film, The Monuments Men.
This story is the subject of the latest special exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum, “Paintings, Politics, and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America,” which “focuses on the fate of 200 of the finest European paintings… [and] delves into the complex role of artworks in a time of social upheaval and war.” Specific focus is on Cincinnatian Walter Farmer, who drafted the Wiesbaden Manifesto, which dealt with the logistics of returning the recovered art to their respective countries of origin.
I have always been interested in this story of World War II and this exhibit should provide a nice opportunity to reflect on the importance of preservation within our culture. This exhibition runs July 9-October 3. To purchase tickets, please visit www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org.
TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . A little blues stroll for ya, delivered by some very fine practitioners of the art, my Bethesda homeboys the Nighthawks.
See you on the 19th.
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