Archive for July, 2011

The recently completed 10-game homestand saw the good guys go 5-5. Can’t make up a lot of ground playing .500 ball, but considering the whole “process”, we’ll take it. And with that produces a reflection of what has been a sticking point in the “What’s wrong with the Reds” questions: starting pitching. I know, I know. The offense has been inconsistent and deserves to shoulder some of the blame. Some, yes. Most, no? All you have to do is look over the lines from the starting pitchers from the three series and it makes some sense on why the Reds [...]

Another non-waiver trade deadline passes and the Reds do not make a deal to improve the big league team. The only move Cincinnati made was sending Jonny Gomes to Washington for a couple of minor leaguers. If you want to catch a sneak peek on Bill Rhinehart and Chris Manno, head over to Seedlings to Stars. Nathaniel Stoltz has the skinny on those guys. For me, this trade deadline was a little different from those in the past. I was not a pseudo Twitter junkie as I am now. It was interesting to see one of my timelines go absolutely [...]

Yesterday, I took a peek at some of the deals that the Reds were rumored to be in on, but the string wasn’t pulled. Just for a little bit of fun, I thought I would review a couple of the players the Reds didn’t get and what the Reds may have been looking to go the other way. While I didn’t not go into the names attached to the rumors, I decided to go with the draft selection of the players involved. You’ll see what I mean. The biggest of the names was that of Ubaldo Jimenez who is currently [...]

So, here we are. Once again the Bats trail Columbus (Indians) in the division by a substantial margin on the final day of July. Last year it was 8.5 games. This year it’s 9.5 games. They trail Pawtucket by 3.5 games for the wild card. Considering all the movement that’s been going on lately and the number of guys playing positions they’re not used to, that’s not bad. The Bats will be in Pawtucket (Red Sox) for 3 more games (3-2 win last night) with a chance to close the gap in the wild card, then it’s on to Scranton [...]

This past week has been one filled with hope and disappointment. After taking the series against the Atlanta Braves, there was a revived sense of hope surrounding this year’s Reds. A four-game sweep at the hands of the New York Mets brought a substantial part of that hope to a screeching halt. While some have chosen to shelve all thoughts of a repeat for this season, others remain optimistic. I’m starting think those of the latter train of thought might be sadistic, but that’s how fandom works. The three “big names” our beloved Reds were rumored to be attached to [...]

It is not an easy job being an umpire.  Long stretches of just standing around punctuated by intense moments of blinding fast action.  The job is simple till its impossible.  Every umpire makes mistakes.  The best of them acknowledge their mistakes and move forward.  The best example is still the almost perfect, perfect game last year where Jim Joyce missed a call costing Armando Galarraga a chance at finishing a perfect game.  He looked at the replay later and admitted the mistake gracefully and made amends with Galarraga. This week Jerry Meals also made a mistake that cost the Pittsburgh [...]

So many things to write about this week while suffering through the rumors, suggestions, and threats inherent as a fan before the trade deadline; but also the utter torment of watching the Reds accomplish something without precedent.  Getting swept by the Mets.  Instead of discussing subjects that are, and will continue to be, beaten to death, I decided to go back to a time when all was right with the world.  40 years ago. The beginning of the Big Red Machine. I was quite young in 1971.  I can say without any fear of exaggeration that I remember nothing of [...]

No, not with this blogging thing (though maybe some of you might like that?, no no…happier thoughts) but with the hopes of a 2011 Reds postseason. Just as Steve gave a good layout of the reasons why yesterday, I am going to act on them and rant and rave a little while to boot.

Why has 2011 been so damn hard?

Jonny Gomes and Yonder Alonso, bad D and Nick Masset. What a collection!

Nothing really new today on the trade front… Except for this little tidbit from Troy Renck of the Denver Post (hat tip to Ronnie Kohrt for the alert on this): Clipped from: twitter.com (share this clip)   If you go to DenverPost.com and check out Renck’s column from today, you will see what’s been a bit of a buzz on Twitter today…

It has been an exciting week for the Dayton Dragons.  Saturday, July 23 marked the formal celebration of the Dragons consecutive sellout streak.  As part of the festivities, co-owners Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Archie Griffin, and Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber thanked the crowd for the consistent support over the past 12 years.  The fans ate this up but were in for a special surprise.  Dropped off by helicopter fresh from Saturday nights scintillating 11-2 victory over the Braves; Dragons alumni Drew Stubbs, Chris Heisey, and Logan Ondrusek joined in on the party offering their heartfelt thanks to the crowd. Just [...]