Keep up to date with the latest from GSI! Follow us on...

College Football, College Hoops, Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Football, MLB, NBA, NFL getsportsinfo.com, facebook, twitter, social media, sports on facebook, sports on twitter

The Reds' offense was non-existent versus the Cardinals as the team got swept out of first place. However, as Lance McAlister points out on his blog the slump goes on much longer than that for many of the players in the lineup:

Jonny Gomes
Since June 12: .231 BA/.281 OBP/ .621 OPS, 4 HR, 19 RBI in 50 games
Since July 19 and career HR #99: .206 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI in 19 games

Scott Rolen
Last 9 games: 0 HR, 0 RBI, .188 BA/.235 OBP
Last 23 games: 1 HR, 9 RBI

Jay Bruce
Since HR June 30 to beat Phils: .203 BA/.261 OBP/.521 OPS, 0 HR, 7 RBI in 123 AB's/35 games

Brandon Phillips
Since July 1: .219 BA/.263 OBP in 34 games

If the Reds are going to contend the pitching can only take them so far. These regulars will need to contribute at the plate.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB cincinnati reds, scott rolen, jonny gomes, jay bruce, brandon phillips, reds struggling

The Cincinnati Reds moved to shore up its outfield by trading for veteran Jim Edmonds on Monday. The team sent outfielder Chris Dickerson, who was nearing a return from rehab following a stay on the 60-day DL, to Milwaukee in exchange for the 40-year old outfielder.

Edmonds was batting .286 with 5 HR and 20 RBI in 240 at bats in 73 games.  He also boasts a .350 on-base percentage and .493 slugging percentage.

Dickerson, 28, has never materialized and apparently did not fit into the Reds’ long-term plans.

To clear a roster spot for Edmonds (Dickerson was not on roster) the team optioned right-handed starter Travis Wood to Triple A Louisville. After just pitching Sunday and with two off days in the next 10 days the Reds will not need a fifth starter until then. Expect Wood to be back in the mix soon.

“He gives us another experienced guy. I think he can really help us over the last six, seven weeks of the season — in a lot of different ways,” general manager Walt Jocketty said to reporters in a press conference Monday afternoon.

“I looked at signing him this winter. I regretted not doing that after he signed with Milwaukee.

“I think Dusty (Baker) will use him some in center field, some in right field. He can give Joey (Votto) a day off at first if we need that. He also gives us another good pinch-hitter.”

Fantasy Baseball, MLB cincinnati reds, milwaukee brewers, jim edmonds, chris dickerson, walt jocketty

The black jack game is intriguing and exiting. It is one of Ace’s favorites. Another game Ace likes to play is Texas Hold’em. Check out the free online texas hold em information on AceHoyle.com. You will not find a better place for gambling information out there

****

Pitching on eight days rest Reds’ rookie Mike Leake struggled on Tuesday night against the Pirates, yielding seven runs – six earned – in just five innings.

The team has been watching his innings count and it has started to cause some disruption to his rhythm.

The numbers (from Lance McAlister) tell the tale:

First 11 Starts: 5-0 2.22 ERA...10 of 11 Quality Starts
Last 9 Starts: 2-3 6.11 era....2 of 9 Quality Starts
Leake on normal rest (4 or 5 days): 17 starts, 6-2 3.45 era
Leake on extra rest (6+ days): 3 starts 1-1 7.31 era

It is definitely a situation worth watching. With the depth of the staff and the potential of a return from Aaron Harang and Homer Bailey, the Reds may be better off simply letting him go and then shutting him down or moving to bullpen once he approaches their predetermined inning count.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB cincinnati reds, mike leake, aaron harang, homer bailey

Here's a quick recap Trade Deadline players in the N.L with links to details of the trade...

NL EAST

Braves
--RP Kyle Farnsworth
--OF Rick Ankiel
--OF Wilkin Ramirez

Marlins
--RP Will Ohman

NL CENTRAL

Cardinals
--SP Jake Westbrook

Cubs
--IF Blake DeWitt

Pirates
--C Chris Snyder

NL WEST

Padres
--OF Ryan Ludwick
--SS/3B Miguel Tejada

Dodgers
--OF Scott Podsednik
--SP Ted Lilly
--IF Ryan Theriot
--RP Octavio Dotel

Giants
--RP Javier Lopez
--RP Ramon Ramirez

Fantasy Baseball, MLB 2010 mlb trade deadline, nl trade deadline recap, nl trades

Here's a quick recap Trade Deadline players in the A.L with links to details of the trade...

AL EAST

Yankees
--1B Lance Berkman
--OF Austin Kearns
--RP Kerry Wood

Rays
--RP Chad Qualls

Red Sox
--C Jarrod Saltalamacchia

AL CENTRAL

White Sox
--SP Edwin Jackson

Twins
--RP Matt Capps

Tigers
--IF Jhonny Peralta

AL WEST

Rangers
--SP Cliff Lee
--IF Jorge Cantu
--IF Cristian Guzman

Angels
--SP Dan Haren

Fantasy Baseball, MLB 2010 mlb trade deadline, al trade deadline recap, al trades

On Monday night right hander Matt Garza tossed the fifth no hitter of this MLB season, and the first-ever no-no in Tampa Bay history.

The Rays, who boast one of the league’s most exciting offenses, have been no hit three times in the last 12 months.

It also marked the first time there have five no hitters in a season since 1991 when Nolan Ryan tossed one of his seven gems. That doesn’t even take into account Jim Joyce blowing Armando Gallaraga’s perfect game.

So what is the reason for the resurgent dominance of pitching?

Maybe it’s related to baseball newly implemented drug testing. Perhaps MLB has doctored the baseballs.

QUICK FACTS
--Now that the Rays have a no-hitter only the Mets and Padres are without one in the history of their teams.

-- It marks the first time in 37 years that two no-hitters have occurred in the same AL ballpark during the same season. After going 1,006 games without one at Tropicana Field, two have been tossed in the last 11 games at the hitter-friendly dome.

--Garza becomes the first pitcher with the first name Matt ever to throw a no-hitter.

COMPLETE LIST OF NO HITTERS

Fantasy Baseball, MLB tampa bay rays, matt garza, no hiiters, mlb history, five no hitters

The MLB All-Star game always features great players, but doesn’t always reward the top statistical performers with that in mind let’s take a look at GSI.com’s 2010 Fantasy Baseball All-Stars:

1B MIGUEL CABRERA (DET)  - .346 BA, 22 HR, 77 RBI, 64 runs
Honorable Mentions:  Albert Pujols (STL), Joey Votto (CIN)

2B ROBINSON CANO (NYY) - .336 BA, 16 HR, 58 RBI, 61 runs
Honorable Mentions:  Martin Prado (ATL), Brandon Phillips (CIN)

3B EVAN LONGORIA (TB) - .300 BA, 13 HR, 61 RBI, 54 runs, 13 SB
Honorable Mentions:  Michael Young (TEX), David Wright (NYM)

SS HANLEY RAMIREZ (FLA) – .300 BA, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 50 runs, 18 SB
Honorable Mentions: Derek Jeter (NYY), Jose Reyes (NYM)

OF JOSH HAMILTON (TEX) -.346 BA, 22 HR, 64 RBI, 59 runs, 7 SB
OF CARL CRAWFORD (TB) - .321 BA, 11 HR, 50 RBI, 70 runs, 31 SB
OF MATT HOLLIDAY (STL) - .300 BA, 16 HR, 51 RBI, 52 runs, 6 SB
Honorable Mentions:  Alex Rios (CHW), Corey Hart (MIL), Carlos Gonzalez (COL)

C JOE MAUER (MIN) - .293 BA, 4 HR, 35 RBI, 47 runs
Honorable Mentions: Victor Martinez (BOS), Brian McCann (ATL)

SP UBABLDO JIMENEZ (COL) - 15-1, 2.20 ERA, 113 K, 1.047 WHIP, 3 CG
SP ROY HALLADAY (PHI) - 10-7, 2.19 ERA, 128 K, 1.054 WHIP, 7 CG
SP ADAM WAINWRIGHT (STL) 13-5, 2.12 ERA, 127 K, 1.005 WHIP, 4 CG
SP JOSH JOHNSON (FLA) - 9-3, 1.70 ERA, 123 K, 0.959 WHIP, 1 CG
SP JON LESTER (BOS) - 11-3, 2.78 ERA, 124 K, 1.092 WHIP, 2 CG
Honorable Mentions: Felix Hernandez (SEA), C.C. Sabathia (NYY), David Price (TB)

RP BILLY WAGNER (ATL) - 20 SV, 5-0, 1.21 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 56 K
RP HEATH BELL (SD) - 24 SV, 4-0, 1.88 ERA, 1.330 WHIP, 50 K
Honorable Mentions: Brian Wilson (SF), Rafael Soriano (TB)

Fantasy Baseball 2010 fantasy baseball all-stars, fantasy rankings, fantasy advice

The Cincinnati Reds placed starting pitcher Aaron Harang on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday due to stiffness in his back retroactive to June 30. The veteran right hander will be eligible to come off on July 16.

In Harang’s place, the Reds turned to lefty Matt Maloney on Tuesday night against the Mets. The youngster hung in during his first start in the majors this season but was no match for Johan Santana. who fired a three-hit shutout. Maloney picked up the loss as he gave three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings of work.

The Reds are expected to activate Edinson Volquez sometime in the near future and will likely get Harang back shortly after the break.  The depth of starting pitching in the organization is definitely an asset and something this franchise hasn’t seen in sometime.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB cincinnati reds, aaron harang, matt maloney, edinson volquez

The voting for the MLB All-Star game ends today and once again it appears as if no player from the Reds will be voted in by fans.

That leaves it up to Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel to determine which players are worthy.

There are four players that certainly deserve the honor, but chances are only one or two of them will get the nod:

1B JOEY VOTTO - .313, 17 HR, 54 RBI

2B BRANDON PHILLIPS - .312, 9 HR, 25 RBI, 60 R, 10 SB

3B SCOTT ROLEN - .301, 17 HR, 53 RBI, 41 R

RP ARTHUR RHODES – 2-2, 1.13 ERA, 0.9375 WHIP, 30  K, 32 IP

WHO GETS THE NOD?
Phillips, because of the lack of depth at the position, has the best chance to make the roster. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him be joined by Rolen. Votto will lose out to the much-higher profiled players at first base while Rhodes will be overlooked as he’s not a starter or a closer, the two pitching roles that most often get picked in All-Star roster decisions.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB cincinnati reds, 2010 mlb all star game, joey votto, scott rolen, brandon phillips, arthur rhodes

The black jack game is intriguing and exiting. It is one of Ace’s favorites. Another game Ace likes to play is Texas Hold’em. Check out the free online texas hold em information on AceHoyle.com. You will not find a better place for gambling information out there!

Even if you already saw it, Carlos Zambrano's meltdown is worth watching again:

CUBS HAVEN'T HEARD SINCE ZAMBRANO SINCE FRIDAY (Chicago Sun-Times)

Fantasy Baseball, MLB chicago cubs, carlos zambrano

C Trent Rosecrans writes about Reds' pitcher Aroldis Chapman on his blog at CBSSports:

The Reds expect to bring up left-hander Aroldis Chapman to pitch out of the bullpen sometime this season general manager Walt Jocketty told reporters on Friday. The Reds want to see how Chapman adjusts to pitching out of the bullpen in the next three weeks and then possibly call him up.

Jocketty said the team still considers Chapman's future to be that of a starter, but he could help the team more as a reliever this season. The Reds entered Friday's game against the Indians a half-game out of first place in the National League Central. The Reds, 40-33, haven't had a winning season since 2000 and have made the playoffs since 1995.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

Fantasy Baseball, MLB cincinnati reds, aroldis chapman

Brandon Phillips had four more hits on Thursday and now has seven over the past two games to help the Reds win the final two games of their series versus the Giants and extend their lead over St. Louis to 1.5 games in the N.L. Central.

He now has extended his hitting streak to a team-high 13 in a row (26-for-59 for .441)

After struggling in earlier in the season, Phillips has batted .345 over his last 39 games (57-for-165).

April: .236
May: .316
June: .367

He's leading the team in runs, hits and doubles and now has his average up to .301 and is on pace for career high  in doubles, walks, OBP and OPS

The Reds second baseman has taken off since being moved from the clean-up spot to the #2 spot in the order, but hit in the leadoff spot on Thursday with Orlando Cabrera getting the day off.
The Reds are 20-11 since the move.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB cincinnati reds, brandon phillips

The National League is loaded with talented rookies that are making big impacts. That should make this year’s N.L. Rookie of the Year race as exciting as ever.

Jason Heyward – The Braves’ outfielder is the odd-on-favorite to take home the hardware.  He already has 10 homeruns and has drawn the attention of many. At 20 years of old the sky is the limit. Heyward will need to cut down on strikeouts and improve a bit on his .273 batting average though to hold off the talented group of pitchers.

Mike Leake – Leake jumped right from the college ranks to the majors without ever throwing a pitch in the minors. The Reds’ first-round pick a year ago, the right hander has posted 5-0 with a 2.22 ERA and has yielded just two earned runs in a 26.1 inning stretch.  The only thing that could keep him out of the contention for the ROY consideration could be an inning count as he’s never thrown for than 165 innings and with a deep rotation the Reds will likely play it safe with the youngster.

Jaime Garcia – The 23-year old lefty enters Sunday night’s start versus the Brewers with five victories and 51 strikeouts. He is holding left-handed hitters to a .103 average and has not allowed more than two earned runs in all 10 of his starts for the Cardinals this year.

John Ely – The Dodgers’ rookie pitcher saw his string of six quality starts come to an end Sunday against the Braves. However, his ERA still sits at 3.00 and his pinpoint control to this point of the season can’t go unnoticed. If he can keep his walks down his final numbers will leave as a contender.

Buster Posey – Posey is an elite hitting prospect and has taken the league by storm since being called on May 29th picking up 12 hits in 27 at bats (.444).  He should’ve started the season in the Majors, but the Giants wanted develop him as catcher. With their offense struggling they couldn’t wait and have put him at first base.  If he continues to hit well he’ll be a factor in the race.

David Freese – Freese has been rock solid for the Cardinals all year long. He’s batting .316 with 4 HR and 32 RBI while playing solid defense at the hot corner. If he can keep it up the third baseman could prove to be a real sleeper in race.

Jhoulys Chacin – Consistency could cost the Rockies’ rookie a shot at staying in the race. Still, after nine strikeouts in Saturday’s win over the Diamondbacks the righty still has 45 K’s in just 43 innings.

Starlin Castro – After a mild slump the Cubs’ rookie has his average back up .289. While he’s a long shot to win the award, Castro appears to be set to take over at shortstop for years to come in Chicago.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB 2010 nl rookies, nl rookie of year candidates

With it being June 1 it is time to look at some players that have proven to be nice steals for fantasy owners to this point of the baseball season:

SP Ubaldo Jimenez (COL) – Jimenez is reaching epic ground. Following Sunday’s four-hit shutout of the Giants, the 26-year old is now 10-1 with a 0.78 ERA and is the early favorite for the Cy Young award.

OF Alex Rios (CHW) – It’s hard to believe that the Blue Jays flat out released Rios midway through last season. Now, he’s making them regret it. The White Sox outfielder batting .312 and appears to be a lock for a 20/20 season.

OF Jose Bautista (TOR) – One reason the Blue Jays aren’t missing Rios has been the play of Bautista, who went undrafted in many leagues.  He now leads the AL with 16 homeruns and is fourth with 41 RBI.

1B Billy Butler (KC) – The 24-year old may lack the big power numbers many owners seek at first base, but the fact he has the fourth-best batting average in the majors (.342) will make them forget real quick.

IF Martin Prado (ATL) – Not only is Prado eligible at three infield positions, but he is a hitting machine. He’s on pace for 222 hits and 120 runs to go along with 82 RBI.

Fantasy Baseball fantasy advice, ubaldo jimenez, alex rios, jose bautista, billy butler, martin prado