New format

I am currently in summer school, so I haven't been posting as often as I would like lately. With that, I'm gonna start a new idea.

I'm gonna give 5 things everyday I can that catch my attention. Hopefully this will allow me to contribute more every day.

With that......

#1- Reds young pitchers- Anyone else impressed? The 3 game series with the Yankees over the weekend had to make every Reds fan feel a little better. Having three guys at the ages of 24, 22, and 22 throw that way against that lineup was impressive. Many of the Yankees themselves were impressed. We all know how good Volquez is, as he's got a good chance to start the all-star game this year, and we know what Johnny Cueto is capable of, showing his brilliant potential every couple of starts. And then, Daryl Thompson looks every bit as good? I know, you can't predict a career off of one start, but at least he showed me the fortitude to stare down a rough couple of innings and bear down to get out of them unscathed. Maybe one day Homer Bailey will notice he's been passed 3 times and fall in line with the other guys.

#2- Chad Johnson comes crawling back- Once more, good for Marvin to be one of the very few to stand up to Drew Rosenhaus and turn him away. Chad came to camp, while Shockey and some other of Drew's athletes hold out. I believe that come this fall, nobody will be thinking about the offseason last year and CJ and the rest of the team will come ready to play and play well.

#3- Great baseball read- This book is several years old, but I still love it. It is called Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball by Bob Costas. If you aren't a big fan of big market teams like the Yankees or Bud Selig (which describes me), then you'll love it. Costas is a smart baseball fan and points out a lot of the weaknesses in the game and what could be done to bring baseball back to what it used to be. He also notes that Bud Selig shouldn't be the commisioner based on his very obvious conflict of interest. He "used" to own the Milwaulkee Brewers, "letting go" of the team when he got into office. His family still owns it. So.....an owner is the comish. Shouldn't that be a problem? One of the first things he did in office was move his own team to another league, making the leagues uneven, 16 to 14. The whole all-star game counting fiasco. I can't wait until we have a real commish.

#4- Corey Patterson will always suck- I can't believe he is still on the team. Everybody else associated with Major League Baseball is laughing at us. How many times has he come up in the last two weeks in the last couple of innings of a ball game with a chance to put the Reds ahead or tie the game, only to swing at the first pitch and make an out EVERY TIME? Walt needs to show he's running the show, cause Dusty Patterson can't start his kid if he's not on the team. If Dusty says he'll walk, good. Bring back McKanin.

#5- Trades- Jocketty is known as a trader and there have been many rumors surrounding Grif, Dunners, Votto, and our new draft pick, Yonder Alonso. Something will happen before the trading deadline and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. We need to get a young catcher, and maybe a young outfielder, as its looking more and more likely that Bruce will be the only outfielder returning next year. Stay Tuned..

Maltzy