Reds 5 at 5: Pete with Larry King, More ASGs in Cincy, More

First off, apologies for no 5 at 5 yesterday. This Ohio weather kicked my hind end over the past 48 hours and needed a bit of recovery time. I’m guessing I’m not the only one.

So for today, we’ll look in on Pete Rose (twice) and read about a writer for MLB.com that thinks the Reds deserve the All-Star Game on a scheduled basis. I am not making that up either as you will see.

1. Rose talks with Larry King

So you thought once Larry King departed from CNN that he would simply vanish, didn’t you? Couldn’t be further from the truth as King still chats with people. On Ora.tv, King hosts “Larry King Now” and the Hit King joined him a little over a week ago. From YouTube, we have this from King’s conversation with Pete.

The complete interview can been seen on the website or you can head over to Hulu to catch it. If you go to the website, you will have the chance to watch clips from King’s upcoming interview with Chad Johnson.

2. Former commish on latest PED “scandal”

You may have read my post about the newest PED news that shook the baseball world. Well, if you ask former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent, you get one strike…and that’s it. You’re done. Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY brings us this quote from Vincent:

"“All these denials remind me of Pete Rose and Lance Armstrong,” former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent told USA TODAY Sports. “They lie and lie, then the truth comes out.“It makes every athlete’s denial worthless.”Vincent, who as deputy commissioner led baseball’s 1989 investigation that resulted in Rose’s lifetime ban for gambling on baseball, said Major League Baseball should enforce the same policy for players who test positive for performance-enhancing drugs.“I would throw anybody out of the game after a failed test,” Vincent said, MLB commissioner in 1989-1992. “That’s why we did it with Rose. People knew that if we can throw out a guy like Rose, who acted so arrogant, we can do it to anybody who gambles. So why not for steroids? Why give them three bites of that apple?”"

I’ll tell you why, Mr. Vincent. The players union will never agree to it.

And while we’re at it, why throw Pete under the bus here?

July 9, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Imagine if a collection of baseball’s biggest stars were to invade Cincinnati every five years. (Scott Rovak/USA TODAY Sports via USA TODAY Sports)

3. What if the Reds hosted the All-Star Game every five years?

That’s what MLB.com’s Terence Moore thinks. Well, maybe not every five years, but on a regular basis. Five years was thrown out there (by Moore) because the NCAA has implemented that Indianapolis host the Final Four every five years. Indy does sit in the middle of the hoops hotbed known as Indiana (although, as Moore admits, folks in the Bluegrass State may state otherwise). Cincinnati stands for baseball history and tradition.

With MLB alternating between American and Nationals league playing host, it would have to be an even number of years.

You think Cincinnati could do this? Not even a question, is it? Silly question as we know the Reds organization and the city of Cincinnati would be up for this.

And on a side note to which Moore mentions: “Then after the Commissioner does that (names CIncinnati as hosting the ASG ever five years), he could go back to the future by declaring Cincinnati always will have exclusivity on Opening Day.

I’m up for that, too.

4. A Reds guide for fantasy baseball

Personally, I’m not a player of fantasy baseball on any level; however, I know that we have readers that do elect to play. CBSSports.com has something you might be looking for as you gear up for the 2013 season. To be completely honest, you might not obtain a ton of information from the post itself, but the page does produce a top 10 ranking for each position. This is located off to the right hand side of the article.

5. Heisey and Simon in the fold

No arbitration hearings will be necessary for Chris Heisey and Alfredo Simon. Both agreed to deal per Mark Sheldon. Heisey’s deal is for one year and worth $1.325MM. Terms for Simon? None releasead, but Simon had filed for a littel over $1MM while the Reds had countered with $750,000.

That leaves four Reds remaining in the process: Homer Bailey, Mat Latos, Mike Leake and Shin-Soo Choo. There’s a fair amount of dough with those four.