Tha Bruce is Loose!!!!!

Finally. Jay Bruce, as of Tuesday, will be a Cincinnati Red, #32. Reds fans have been counting the days until this came, and it is here. Bruce was blistering AAA pitching, hitting over .360, with 10 hrs. Barring a trade of Griffey or Dunn (highly unlikely right now), Bruce is here to play center field. This sounds like a 2 for 1 deal. Anything that causes Corey Patterson to not bat or play in the field is an immediate improvement.

This was the right time for me in particular. This friday, the wife and I will be heading to Cincinnati, and we currently have tickets for Friday and Saturday's games. Volquez is scheduled to pitch Friday and Belisle on Saturday. I believe that if Homer Bailey was having even a decent season at AAA, then he would already be up, but the best AAA starter was sent to Korea earlier this week. Getting to see Volquez and Bruce play will be well worth the trip.

I'll get as many pictures as possible and post many of them here.

My car may be finally giving out. It had trouble last summer, and the wife and I have already spent over $3000 to keep it running. It runs fine now, as long as the air conditioner isn't running. If the AC is on, the power will be sapped from the engine and no matter how hard I push the gas, the car won't go faster than 5 mph. I would love to be able to get a Volkswagen Jetta, but with me in school, that's highly unlikely.

Anybody else watch Andromeda Strain tonight?? I love Michael Crichton, and this is based off one of his earliest stories. The movie, a two parter, is so far outstanding. I plan on watching the rest tomorrow and going back to reread the book.

Read Ted Dekker, you won't regret it.

Maltzy

Kim Harrison and other stuff

I work at Hastings in Cordova and this weekend author Kim Harrison came to visit our store and sign some books. She was very nice. She's a horror romance author and NY times bestseller. She was nice enough to post this on her website http://www.kimharrison.net/ . That's me on the left, Mrs. Harrison next to me, and my book manager Michelle and other book employee Cassandra. They are fun to work with and we all enjoyed getting to meet Mrs. Harrison.

Next week, the wife and I will set out for Cincinnati and I cannot wait. We're hoping to catch 2 Reds-Braves games, and I hope to get to see the Reds win at least one of them, if not both. Cincinnati.com's Reds blogger has a hunch that Jay Bruce will finally be brought up when the Reds return home from this road trip.

Why can't the Reds win in LA? I've never understood it, but it obviously isn't going to end anytime soon. We are a better team than the Dodgers (in my opinion), yet the guys lack a sense of urgency. Maybe it's the fact that they stay in a swank hotel a ways from the ballpark and have a little too much fun instead of focusing on the task at hand.

If you've never heard of C.Trent Rosecrans, you are missing out. I've got his link on here, but he is hands down one of the funniest bloggers out there. He used to work for Cincinnati.com, but now he is a Clear Channel employee and he's got great takes on the Bengals, Reds, and his own Georgia Bulldogs. Check him out.

If you are looking for a new author, I'd like to recommend Ted Dekker. He's been my favorite for a while now. All his books are action packed and linked together usually by a character or t shirt or something. Great Read.

Maltzy

On my soapbox.......

If you ever get the chance, visit the Louisville Slugger museum. It is a lot of fun, and you get to take batting practice for only a buck, using major league caliber lumber. I'm swinging the C271, Ken Griffey's model. I'm still a line drive hitter.

What do these numbers tell you about a pitcher?

W-L 16-21

Era5.00

IP331.1

Avg.301

These are the career numbers of tonight's pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Matt Belisle. The fact that he is starting tonight, heck, that he's even in the majors is a mystery to me. I saw the game that he pitched either last year or the year before, his complete game shutout. I've also seen what he is consistent at doing. A .301 average?? If a pitcher gives up one hit an inning (about average), then that would equal a .250 batting average against. His ERA this year, as of the moment I am writing this, is 7.45. Al he has is a decent fastball. He can't throw anything else consistently for strikes. He could throw 105 and with nothing else, he'd get rocked. He will likely get a few more starts, but I believe he'll NEVER be an acceptable starter in the major leagues. He'll never be consistent enough.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Bruce is still in AAA, even though he's the hottest hitter in the entire organization. Apparently, if the Reds wait till July, then he gets another year of arbitration. That means we can pay him less for one more year. Making decisions based on factors like that show a lack of baseball knowledge. It shows a team that isn't really as concerned with winning as they profess to be.

A fan can watch the Reds and notice what they are missing and why we don't win. We have some good pieces but we haven't had a good TEAM in a while.

#1- This team lacks a leader. Anybody remember 1999? That year, the Reds made one of the best FA signings in their history, Greg Vaughn. With a one year contract, and at the age of 33, Vaughn hit .245, 45 homers, and 118 RBIs. That year, the reds won 95 games and lost a one game playoff to go to the playoffs. You could compare stats and defensive talent to our current left fielder, Adam Dunn. Their stats are almost identical, but Dunn just goes out and plays, while Vaughn held the team accountable and willed them to several wins.

#2- Defense, defense, defense. Chris Speier was apparently brought in by Dusty straighten out our defense, Encarnacion in particular. While Edwin has looked better, I still don't trust him. And you would think Speier possesses the talent to teach Votto how to play 1st base. Votto has talent and he gives 100%, but he looks on some plays like he doesn't know the fundamentals to play there. And anybody who has read me before ( all 3 of you), knows that I am not a big fan of Patterson. He shows no knowledge of fundamentals. The team needs to get better.

#3-Waste of roster space. Is there any reason why the Reds have 3 catchers (one who doesn't catch), a backup 1st baseman who doesn't play (Hatteberg), and Patterson, Freel, and Hairston all doing the same job? Patterson cannot even do what most high school baseball players are able to do, bunt. The bunt he did last night was an embarrassment. I was an average high school baseball player, and I know I could get a bunt down on a fast ball and not hit it 30 feet in the air. He can't bunt, can't hit .250, and can't play defense. Why is he still on the team? What does he have on Dusty?

#4 base running skill??? How many times has a Red been picked off? How many times do players overrun bases? How many times have two Reds ended up on the same base at the same time? How hard is this stuff to learn?

And

#5 We can't consistently hit. We should be able to score runs without hitting a home run.

The loss of Keppinger hurts mostly because he was one of the very few contact hitters that works a count and hits with RISP. Votto is good, he actually chokes up with two strikes, what a novel idea. EE, Dunn, Patterson, Griffey, and even Phillips all swing for the fences, no matter the count. Whatever happened to just trying to knock a guy in with a single?

I can't wait to get to Cincy on the 31st.

Maltzy

This and that

One of the things you hate to see happen is when a young player finally gets a chance to prove his worth, and comes through.......only to go down to injury. Jeff Keppinger is an example of one of the many good things that Wayne Krivsky did for the Reds. We traded for him for a minor league pitcher who will likely never step foot on a major league field. This season, Jeff proved that last year wasn't a fluke by hitting .320 over the first month and a half and making all the plays at short. He was even starting to look like a possible all star, although likely not because he's a Red. As a result, the Reds lost their best hitter with RISP (seems like the only hitter with RISP) and an excellent clutch hitter.

But with our first two SS's out with knee injuries, the Reds decided to bring up Paul Janish (pronounced YA-NISH). I've known who he was since he was drafted by the Reds several years ago. He has always been known as a stud defensive SS, but just average with the bat. He's never been a power hitter, and until this year, about a .250 career batter. When he was brought up, he was hitting .293, and had a decent RBI count. All he did in his major league debut last night, was show that he needs to be paid attention to. He came up clutch in his first major league at bat with RISP, after flying out to deep left field in the 8th. He's brought a novel concept to the club. With 2 strikes, its ok to just try to make decent contact.

His talent mixed with his enthusiasm might just infuse the Reds with some energy for a while. I hope he gets a chance to start some games in the next 6 weeks, because this may be his only opportunity to make an impression with Jocketty, as the Reds have several young, good hitting SS's coming through the system, at least one of which should stay at Short. I'm rooting for Janish to do well.

One sign that the Reds bullpen is much improved (besides the fact that Coffey is in AAA), is the fact that not only was last night the Reds 1st blown save, but even with that, the Reds have not lost a game in which they lead at the end of 6 innings. The last 4 to 5 years, that wouldn't have been possible. All we need now is for Belisle to be sent down. I'm not gonna scream for Homer Bailey to be brought up, but anybody is better than Belisle. He's gotten a full chance, and has proved that he is not a good major league starting pitcher.

Bruce deserves to be up though. Trade Griffey, release Patterson, or both, then bring Bruce up. He's hitting .350 and tearing the cover off the ball. He's ready.

BTW, I'm heading to Cincinnati at the end of this month, to catch a Reds Braves game, but the wife and I will be in town for 5 nights or so. If anybody has any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

Maltzy

Happy Mother's Day

I just had to tell my mom, Happy Mother's Day. I miss you and I hope the day is going wonderful. Teresa Maltsberger is one of the best mothers in the world. She was always there for me and attended every game I ever played growing up. I remember speeding through Ohio trying to follow the rest of the baseball team to get to games. My mother gave up a lot for me and for that I am eternally grateful. She rarely did things for herself, instead choosing to sacrifice things for her children. It never went unappreciated. Thank you for taking me to the doctor every time I busted my foot trying to climb the refrigerator, or making every lunch for school for years and years. Each one of them were delicious.

Mom, I can never say thank you enough. You have always meant so much to me and have helped me become the man I am today. Thank you for being a wonderful mother.

Maltzy

One game was good......

Watching the Reds play Wednesday afternoon made me feel like I had finally seen what they are capable of. Volquez, is a flat out stud. There were a lot of people upset over losing Josh Hamilton over the winter, but not much complaining now. About the only problem Volquez has is control issues. If he wasn't so dominant, he would have an ERA higher than Arroyo does right now. In 42 innings, he has 52 strikeouts and 28 walks. And a 1.06 ERA, 2nd in the majors. First time a Reds starter has allowed no more than 1 run in his first seven starts. That is amazing for a guy to be pitching in Great American Small Park and be that good.



I heard last week that one night when Volquez was pitching, Greg Maddux happened to catch the Reds game on tv. He had no idea who Volquez was but immediately stated that he loved the way Volquez pitches and that he has a bright future. That, coming from Greg Maddux, possibly the smartest pitcher of our generation, means a lot to me. It is the combination of speed, movement, and a GREAT changeup that makes him so dangerous. It looks good for the Reds future rotation to have Volquez, Harang, Bailey, and Cueto toeing the rubber.



I'm still not excited about the rest of the season so far. We still have Griffey stressing and Dunner guessing, and as a team we freeze up with RISP. And Patterson, is still a Red. He needs to be gone, and quickly. No reason why that guy should be playing anywhere in the majors.



I'll be heading up to Cincinnati at the end of May, beginning of June, and I'm hoping to catch at least one of the Reds-Braves games. I'm also gonna see the Reds Hall of Fame for the first time. The wife and I are gonna take in the aquarium, the Zoo, and some other stuff, but if anyone has any cool ideas, just post 'em. I've only been back to Cincy once since I moved away in 1994, so I'm not sure exactly what I may be missing out on.



And one more thing. I just wanted to say hi to my mom and sister out in Waco, we love you guys and miss you. And hi to my dad and Rhonda out in Midland, I miss you guys too.



Maltzy

Brooks, Griffey..........

Ahmad Brooks has always been a very talented football player. What concerns me is what lies directly in between his ears. I don't care if he is the most gifted athlete to ever walk the face of the earth. He has been accused of punching a woman in the face. If he did this, my hope is that he would be off the team so fast it would make his head spin. Any man who has ever hit a woman is a coward. There has NEVER been a reason for a man to lay his hands on a woman for ANY reason. I hope this never happened, but rest assured, Bengals will know soon enough.

The Keith Rivers drafting makes me feel a whole lot better about the team.

Ken Griffey Jr. When I was 12 years old, I still lived in Cincinnati. My father had season tickets to the Reds at the time, and I was lucky enough to attend Game 1 of the 1990 World Series. To this day, it is still the most amazing thing I have ever been a part of with sports. I have always been a Reds fan, and always a Ken Griffey Jr fan. The only reason I could see a person not being a fan of Jr, was if they were a fierce rival. He was the best player in baseball in the 90's. One of the greatest centerfielders to ever step foot on the field. And he was one of the few superstars to never be linked to steroids.

Fast forward to Feb 10, 2000.

One of my all time favorite players traded to my team, in the prime of his career. He has a solid year in 2000, with 40 homers and 100+ rbis. Injury after injury for the next 6 years. He is now a shell of his former self athletically. But he still has the same swing. And, if you watched the game yesterday, he still has the talent to take away an extra base hit from someone else every now and then.

And now, he wants to be on a contender. He wants what his dad has. He wants what he grew up seeing in Cincy as a young kid. He wants to win a championship. He would love for it to be in the Queen City. He also knows that this is likely his last year as a Red. If the Reds don't turn around this season in the next couple of weeks, he deserves a chance to win a championship. It certainly doesn't appear to be happening in Cincy. We've got a passionate owner, who wants the Reds to win just as bad as we do. So he hires the best guys he knows of, in Dusty Baker and Walt Jocketty.

I hope the Reds get the ball rolling soon. If we don't improve this month, Griffey and Dunn may be gone. And while I like Jocketty, Krivsky was an amazing young talent evaluator. Reds fans will always thank him for getting us players like Brandon Phillips and Edison Volquez. I'd probably be a little more comfortable with upcoming trades if Krivsky were still here.

Hopefully we can land a young stud catcher and a young shortstop that could start in Cincy within a couple of years between trades and the draft. We need to get better up the middle. And we need to figure out what is wrong with Arroyo.

If you want to read a really good blog, click my link to C.Trent Rosecrans blog. He's a very funny, talented writer.

Maltzy

Rounding out the Draft

Marvin knows he took a chance with Shirley in the 5th. He went the opposite direction in the 6th.

I know fans in Ohio remember a great day last fall when Michigan fell to a Division 2 team, AT HOME, with a top 5 ranking. It was a fun game to watch happen. If you got to watch the game, you noticed there were a couple of play makers who made that upset possible. One of them was safety Corey Lynch, a local legend at Appalachian State, who not only got a huge shot on the Michigan qb, but blocked a kick to win the game and almost returning it for a TD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMtV5oaKznI

This guy picked off 24 passes in college and blocked 6 kicks in his career. At worst, this guy will be our special teams MVP, although I see him contributing on the defense a lot like Kevin Kaesviharn did for a few years here. Maybe he can locker next to Shirley, Thurman, and Joseph, and bring his wife's grandfather, the Billy Graham, to speak with those guys. He will be a great influence for the team, both in the locker room and on the field. I love this pick.

Matt Sherry was a tight end out of Villanova. He's got excellent size at 6'4", 255 lbs, and the distinction of being the first TE drafted by Marvin Lewis. While there is no guarantee he makes the team, he's got talent and I believe he makes the team with Utecht and Kelly. He runs 4.6 in the 40 yard dash and good hands to go along.

Angelo Craig, from here in Cincinnati, has got a pretty good chance to make the team. Behind starters Geathers and Odom, there isn't a lot of DE depth. Frostee Rucker has yet to show why he got drafted, and may not make the team. Craig was a decent DE at UC, but he needs to put on 30 to 40 pounds likely to really make an impact. Of course, the history of DE's out of UC, has shown that he could contribute this year with a couple of sacks. Don't count this guy out.

Mario Urrutia, a 6'5" wr out of Louisville didn't have a good year last year, but showed a lot in previous years to be a presence in the Red zone. With Chris Henry gone, and a bunch of guys already on the team with a lot to prove, there could be a huge turnover at wr. With 10 draft picks, there is a chance that they all make the team.

We got what we needed and got some steals. Simpson has a chance to be a star for us and Rivers looks to be the defensive leader we have lacked for years. If those two do that, we've had a great draft and everything else is gravy.

Maltzy

Bengals Draft Part3

In the 4th round, the Bengals got what is likely the long term replacement for Willie Anderson. Anthony Collins, a Tackle out of the University of Kansas, was projected by many to go at the end of the 1st round, 2nd round at the latest. He has excellent size at 6'6", 310 lbs, but he was always seen as a guy who would be much better suited to be a right tackle than a left tackle. This year, there was a lot of depth at the Tackle position, so it was wise to take advantage of a surplus. I think this pick will be turn out to be a great steal a couple of years down the road. Let him sit a year or two as a backup, and we'll be set when "Highway 71-Big Willie" calls it quits.

The Fifth round was a different story altogether. With all Bengals fans have gone through, the city of Cincinnati has gone through, we just HAD to take a guy with a DUI and crash into an apartment building on his resume.......and he is STILL awaiting trial? Why??? My only guess is that Marvin looked at Pat Sims and thought that he would need at least a year to become a guy who can affect a game, just to get into shape enough to contribute. Marvin has to believe that Jason Shirley, a Defensive Tackle out of Iowa State, can keep his nose clean long enough to at least help this year. Shirley is huge, 6'5" 340 lbs. That is perfect nose tackle material. 3 years ago, nobody bats an eye at a pick like this. Now, everybody in the league is gonna have their eye on this guy, because he looks like the next Bengal troublemaker. We can only hold our breath with him. He's got the talent to be a stud, but only if he stays out of trouble. I personally hope that this guy has exactly ONE shot. Any trouble, he's gone. We can't afford anything less. We actually can't afford anybody doing anything.

Finish out the draft next time.

Maltzy