A New Season is Upon Us.....

Well, here we go again. It's the time of year where every baseball fan is optimistic about the season. We're all tied for first right now. The Reds made some moves I liked and didn't make some moves that all us Reds fans expected.

Willy Taveras...what can I say about him......well, he's fast...and he swings a little league bat. I see him as another "project" like Corey Patterson was last year. He cannot hit good enough to deserve starting, much less be the leadoff man. His career .331 OBP says that for him to say in the majors, he needs to contribute in other ways, like HR or RBI...which he does neither. I agree with the pundits who say that we would be better off with bringing up Drew Stubbs, former 1st round pick, and have him bat leadoff. He might have a lower batting average than Taveras, but he more than likely would get on base more often and play Gold Glove caliber CF. If they don't feel comfortable with that, then start Dickerson and Hairston Jr in CF, and Gomes in left.

My problem with the team, besides Willy, is the promise to get that All-Star caliber 3 hole power hitter. We needed to do what we did 10 years ago, sign a guy like Greg Vaughn, a clutch power-hitter who will knock in 100+ runs. Instead, we have to rely on Votto getting better, Bruce getting better, and Dickerson living up to the promise he showed last year. We are better defensively this year, and that will help, and we are loaded in pitching. We have 6 guys that should be in our rotation, but one has got to go, and it is likely Bailey will go down to AAA, while Micah Owings holds down the #5 slot.

NFL draft coming up soon. This is my favorite month, a new baseball season, the Masters, and the NFL draft all rolled up together. It would not surprise me at all to see Chad Ochocinco get traded on or around draft day. Houshmandzadeh left us, Ochocinco doesn't look like he wants to be here anymore, so we'll see. We have Coles in now to take Chad's place, Caldwell to take Housh's place, and then we couldn't rule out picking a WR in the 1st round, between Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin. I'll try to break all this down as we get closer to then. What the Bengals need more than anything is a football person to he hired as GM and be allowed to make decisions for the franchise.

I've been really busy with school, so I haven't taken time at all to write on this blog. This time I've spent has gotten me much closer to graduation, which looks to be this December.

Read Ted Dekker, he is an amazing writer. Patrick Rothfuss, amazing writer and hilarious blogger. C Trent Rosecrans, the best blogger alive.

Maltzy

Long time............

So.......hows that new format working out, my wife says when she checks my blog. Been what, a month and a half? For my very few readers........I apologize.

I've been very busy with summer school, cars messing up, and getting everything done (like going to the lake). One thing has changed.

The Reds have gotten worse. It looks like the team has given up. I am not upset with trading Griffey, and I hope he gets to win the World Series. At least we got a bullpen guy out of him.

Here we go........

#1- Keith Rivers- Finally! He made it to camp very late, but I'm glad he's finally on the field. Hopefully he can work his way up the depth chart during the preseason and back into a starting role. With him in the fold, I feel that much better about our defense. Zimmer appears to have made the d more aggressive and at the level they've been at the past few seasons, they have no place to go but up.

#2- Patterson- Why is he still on the team????? How much does he have to do to get released? He is the worst major league baseball player I have ever witnessed. No instincts, no skill, and no passion. Watching the games make me wonder what the other players think of him. Are they friends with him? He must go.

#3- Trading deadline- How anti-climactic was that? Couldn't we have gotten rid of a reliever or two? Dunn, I'm ok with keeping, if he stays here longer than this year. I don't want the team built around him, but he can be a piece of a puzzle. We've got a lot of free agents at the end of this year, and what I'm hearing is that this off season is gonna completely reconfigure our team in the way Jocketty wants it to be. I wouldn't mind replacing Dusty, but no way will they get rid of him this soon. I felt better about Dave Miley and others more than I do Dusty. Dusty plays favoritism way too much and does so many things that people who know baseball question. He also needs to make a MUCH bigger priority of fundamentals. Did anyone else see Corey Patterson turn a single into a triple tonight? In the first inning? That kills a pitcher's psyche. Then he tends to overcompensate. We still can't hit, play defense, and then our pitching leaves us too. HOW DO WE GET SWEPT BY THE NATIONALS??

#4- Kenny Irons- I feel really bad for him. Never got to play a real down for the Bengals. Hopefully he can heal and play next year for somebody. He was a good kid and if he stayed healthy, he would have been a star in Cincy. He has an infectious personality. It is a shame for the Bengals to lose two young guys the caliber of Kenny Irons and David Pollack. Those guys being gone really magnifies the mistakes that have been made with players lately.

#5- Find someone to love and love them with everything you have. I've married the woman I dreamed about my entire life, and every day she makes me a better person.

I love you sweetheart.

Here's to the "magic" of an 82-80 season Dusty and Walt dream about.


Maltzy

Im baaaaaaack

Wow. The last week was a whirlwind and now I'm finally back in town. I spent the last week in Cincinnati with my wife and we had a wonderful time. We drove up last Friday and caught both Friday and Saturday's Reds games, and they were some of the best I have ever witnessed. Friday night, after a long day of driving, we sat in the 9th row in left field stands at GABP and had to deal with some loud Braves fans, but I had fun calling Chipper Jones "Larry" all night, because he's known to hate that. The Larry chant got loud when BP's grounder went between Larry's legs to let in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th. Volquez is the real deal. He is as good a pitcher right now as the Reds have ever had.



Saturday was a different story all together. The wife and I had 9th row seats, this time in the section next to the Reds dugout, great seats. Before the game, Jay Bruce stayed out signing autographs for as long as Dusty allowed him. He was very gracious and nice to everyone. Of course, the minute his name was spoken over the loudspeaker, the now familiar chant "Bruuuuuuuuuucccee" rang out loudly throughout the stadium. No matter what Bruce does, he will get that chant for a loooong time in Cincinnati (and Philly too, if you listened closely to the telecasts against the Phillies).



In the first inning, we were treated to Griffey's 599th home run. Everybody in the stadium knew it was gone. My wife got a great picture of Griffey finishing his swing and dropping his bat. I'll be sure to post some pics from the game over the weekend. Bruce looked like a future superstar all game and Fogg looked like the below average pitcher he is. The crowd was electric and the 9th inning and finish were outstanding. Dunn walked in the bottom of the ninth, Reds down 7 to 6. Freel pinch runs for him, and eventually works his way over to 3rd base with one out. David Ross comes up, and hits a squibber back towards the pitcher. As soon as the ball is released in the direction of first base, Ryan Freel breaks for home and gets in just under the tag of Brian McCann to score the tying run. The throw beat him to the plate, but Freel had a great slide and made it under the tag.

All this led up the the best part of the game. I, for the record, was wearing a Jay Bruce Tshirt that I had purchased earlier that day to the game, and the game ended in the 10th inning, with one swing of the bat by Jay Bruce. Is there nothing this kid can't do???? His first major league home run is a walk-off home run against the braves??? Is he that good???

So much stuff happened on the trip, but the baseball games made the week start off great. That and the Skyline cheese coneys. I'll tell more later.

In the draft, the Reds picked the best bat available, Yonder Alfonso. He's a great all around hitter who, with the major league contract he's expected to sign, may contribute sometime next year.

I'll break it down more later, but I just wanted to get back and say a couple of things.

Maltzy

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

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

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