Major Power Outage: Three Possible Back-up Generators

A couple of weeks ago, the lights flickered in California. Joey Votto jogged slowly out of the batter’s box and into the dugout for the remainder of the game with the Giants. Missed a series in Los Angeles, but the power stayed on.

After last evening’s news, the storm that hit near the end of June seems kinda’ pedestrian. Duke Energy couldn’t touch this power outage with a ten foot lift. Walt Jocketty says the power will be back on in anywhere from 3-4 weeks. Might be sooner. Could always be longer.

Medicine.Net, a trusted physician for people wandering the cyber plains, says “Most patients do well after surgery. The prognosis for return to normal activity is good but depends upon the motivation of the patient to work hard with their physical therapist and to continue that work after formal therapy has been completed.”

If it’s about work ethic, then I expect Votto will return sooner than three weeks. But it doesn’t answer the question of what to do now. After sweeping a three games series with their heated rivals in front of a national audience, the Reds find themselves without power and desperately scrambling for a backup generator.

They don’t sell generators of this magnitude at Lowes.

A couple possible options to help The Club stay cool during the heat:

Henry Rodriguez – Rodriguez is a switch hitting utility infielder who stands at a whopping 5’10, 150 lbs. He doesn’t hit for power. But he does hit. Six minor league seasons and the guy has a cumulative .310 batting average, a .359 OBP and a .442 SLG. But what’s really going to confuse Reds fans is his propensity to not strike out. 2025 minor league plate appearances. 245 strike outs. Unheard of in these parts.

Mark Kotsay – This is a name that is being tossed around by the bloggingverse and has even reached the audio of your TV speakers. Kotsay is about as serviceable as they some. He’d be an ideal left-handed addition to a team that employs one able-bodied southpaw at the moment. He plays the corners in the outfield and infield for a horrid San Diego Padres team that could be looking to deal the vet before the deadline. CBS Sports seems to think it’s a real possibility.

I see the name Bryan LaHair tossed around a lot. He and his left handed batting average of .282 would be welcomed. He’s making just under 500k. It’s doable. But dealing with Theo is no walk in the park. Not sure who they’d want, but don’t think they’re going to just give this guy away. He’s second in homeruns and third in RBIs for the Cubs.

One thing to keep in mind here, while we’re discussing solutions to solve the power outage – the Reds don’t win games based on the offense. The Reds have the arms and the defense to endure, and the schedule does seem to favor them during this stretch without their MVP.

But there’s no pretty way to paint this. The Reds will be without baseball’s best hitter for what could be a month. What team Joey Votto returns to rests squarely on the shoulders of Five Guys – the pitchers, not the burgers.

Duke Energy often turns to outside assistance for colossal power outages to help restore power in a timely fashion. Have to wonder if Walt will do the same.