Indians Take First Three in Ohio Cup

The first three games of the Ohio Cup go the way of the Cleveland Indians. Two close games (both where the Reds could not hold leads)and a not-so-close affair also makes it 5 consecutive games the Reds have dropped. And it’s not getting any easier with 4 in Philly and 3 in Atlanta.

The worst part of today’s loss was the performance of Edinson Volquez. Coming into today, the Reds were 6-3 in games where Volquez actually pitched. Add the fact that they have been behind in every game gave Red fans a small chance of a comeback from an early 4-1 deficit. And that was after the first inning. Yes, once again EV faced his first inning demons.

But that wasn’t the infuriating part of EV’s outing today.

To me it was apparent that Volquez could have cared less if he was out on the mound or not. I had tweeted this and a few moments later, Chris Welsh practically said the same thing. Yes, it really was that obvious. As I have stated here for the last couple of rants I’ve had about EV, it’s between his ears. Any further talk of Volquez and “ace” in the same sentence must now be considered as strictly pure insanity. He is simply not getting it done. With today marking his 10th start of the season, he has produced 2 quality starts. Not an ace. Not even close.

I understand that EV has a delivery which contains a lot of “moving parts” and that getting those parts to work together are essential to pitching well. He was briefly sent down last season to work out those kinks. I repeat, I believe it’s gotten mental with Volquez.

Another lackluster showing will undoubtedly produce talk of finding another starter over Volquez for the rotation.

And the Reds offense did not really show up in this series. Ten runs over the three games. In two of those games, a pitch here and there made the difference. Some will say the Reds could have won the first two games of this series despite the low number of runs. That was a distinct possibility, but the Reds offense has been a little on the quiet side over the last week. And giving up a dozen runs in the finale just makes it all look a little more ugly.

But you have to tip your cap to the Indians. They protected their home turf very well. Two late game wins and a blow out. Reds fans may have also witnessed the coming out party of Asdrubal Cabrera as well. Did he ever have a game today (5-for-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI). Okay, he did make a couple of errors, but his bat could not be quieted. It really doesn’t get much sweeter than that. Reds fans know that feeling like after the recent sweep of the Cards. Wait. Where did all that momentum go?

And I’ve read it in a couple of places about Jordan Smith and wondering in Cincinnati a better option. Not at this point. This is where I believe the Reds were really counting on the return of Jared Burton for 2011. Me, too. That’s really your best option, but that’s only a dream and will not be a reality.

Aroldis Chapman starts his rehab assignment in Louisville tomorrow. It could be a foretelling of more than just one player’s future on the roster.

I will say this…it will be interesting to see the starting lineup for tomorrow night’s game in Philly.