Thrice is Nice

1. Billy Billy Billy. What a game by Billy Hamilton: two infield singles, stolen base and a home run! Oh, don't forget that he also made a great diving catch in center field. Hamilton has quietly lifted his batting average to nearly .250 with a .281 OBP, or 8 points higher than Brandon Phillips. If Hamilton can maintain a .250 average and raise the the OBP to around .300 then he is doing enough to maintain the lead off spot. Adding in plus defense and the speed on the basepaths and Hamilton could be the trigger to turn around this Reds season.

2. The difference between a single and a walk. Joey Votto appears to be forever caught in the middle of the debate over which is more important: hits or getting on base. It certainly seems like the most important aspect of any baseball player is their ability to not make outs. The game is very simple, if you team makes outs less frequently than the other team then you will win most games. Votto has established himself as the best player in baseball at not making outs. People who argue and say that he should swing at pitches out of the strike zone in an attempt to hit more doubles and drive in more runs were most likely the same people that got made that Wily Mo Pena struck out so often. If you don't make an out, you get on base, if you get on base you are more likely to score and the more you the score the more likely you are to win. Give me 9 guys who get on base at a .420 clip and I'll give you a World Championship.

3. Rick Renteria has the rain delays to thank for his ejection last night. Renteria was ejected after yelling, "That's an F'in good pitch" multiple times to the umpire. Had there been more than 1000 people remaining in the stadium the home plate umpire would most likely had heard Renteria but allowed him to continue yelling, but because it was so audible due to the lack of outside noise, he was forced to eject him. The words of Renteria are no worse than any other argument you will hear from a manager directed at an umpire, the key difference is that everyone in the stadium was able to hear it.