MannyWood Strikes Again

One pitch confirmed everything you needed to know.

One pitch showed the difference between a small market team and a big market club.

One pitch showed why one man continues to amaze and can silent even the harshest of critics. Manny Ramirez was not in the Dodgers’ lineup (sore hand) on Wednesday night, but the lure of his bobblehead drew a full house of 56,000. And the place went into a frenzy when he was announced as a pinch-hitter in the sixth with the bases loaded, one out and the score tied, 2-2.

Bronson Arroyo and Chad Billingsley each pitched five innings of two run baseball. The Reds had lost their last 11 games at Dodgers Stadium and this was the first game of the series that looked winnable after two hefty losses in the previous two days.

Arroyo ran into some trouble in the sixth. He was denied the chance to pitch to his old Red Sox teammate. Sinkerball specialist RHP Nick Masset was called upon to try and throw inside to Manny and get a double play ball.

But on that first pitch Ramirez saw… a sinker that didn’t really sink proceeded to get blasted. It actually landed in a section in the left field seats called Mannywood, and it was his 21st grand slam, two behind all-time leader Lou Gehrig.

The Dodgers completed a three-game sweep Wednesday night and have beaten the Reds 12 straight times over four years in LA. It’s absurd. It’s yet another reason the Dodgers will go deep into the play-offs.

The L.A. line-up featured three leadoff hitters with SS Rafael Furcal and 2B Orlando Hudson at the top and OF Juan Pierre hitting in the 9th position. All three are worthy of top of the leadoff man.

Then there is the Reds. While solid pitching carried them for the first few month of the season, it has imploded recently. They are a season-high six games under .500 at 44-50. Some how they are only 5 ½ games out of first in a mediocre NL central.

But this team looks far from contending. Brandon Phillips didn’t hustle on a dropped fly ball on Monday night and was ripped by both the media and his coach. He was benched on Tuesday. Not good for a player trying to be a leader for this young team.

Arroyo, Aaron Harrang, Arthur Rhoades and David Weathers have been the players that scouts have been looking at over the past week. There were 12 different team scouts on hand at Great American Ballpark last week.

The surgeries just keep piling up for the Reds. The latest is infielder Danny Richar, who will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a torn labrum. He is the fifth Reds player to need surgery this year, joining SS Alex Gonzalez (left elbow surgery), C Ramon Hernandez (left knee), RHP Mike Lincoln (disc replacement) and INF Wilkin Castillo (labrum surgery). Not to mention 1B Joey Votto’s extended absence, and 2008 All-Star RHP Edinson Volquez hasn’t pitched since June 1st.

The Reds simply don’t have the depth to handle the massive amounts of injuries that have plagued this club. Meanwhile the Dodgers don’t miss a beat with OF Juan Pierre filling in just fine for Manny while he served his 50 game suspension. That’s why the Dodgers (61-34) are 9 ½ games ahead of the 2nd place Rockies.

On one pitch Manny confirmed his greatness and also denied the chance of another team to simply be average. And that’s big market vs. small market baseball.