Why is Brandon Claussen being referenced in this post? Because Brandon Claussen is the only Reds pitcher to beat Roy Oswalt:
Brandon Claussen didn’t even know. He called me from his truck because his wife had told him I was trying to reach him. He had no idea why. “Man, is that right?’’ Claussen asked. “Musta been a short outing for me. I mean, most of ‘em were.’’
Actually, Claussen started and went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits. It was his fifth start of the year, April 28, 2006, and it lowered his ERA to 6.04.
The 5-4 win gave Cincinnati a 16-7 record. Not since June 10 of that season have the Reds been at least nine games over .500. You go, Jerry Narron.
Players come and go like the sun, which makes Oswalt’s mastery even more remarkable. Of the nine Reds starters that night, only Brandon Phillips remains on the club. Of the nine, three are out of baseball (Rich Aurilia, Scott Hatteberg, Claussen) and a fourth is walking the smallest of ledges. Ryan Freel is playing for the Somerset (N.J.) Patriots of the independent Atlantic League.
“That’s baseball, man,’’ says Brandon Claussen. “Great life, while it lasts. What most people don’t understand is, for most of us it doesn’t last very long. There aren’t a whole lot of Brandon Phillipses out there."
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
