Yay.......Summer school

Haven't blogged in a while and probably won't again for a while. I only have about 2 readers so not too many to disappoint...

So the wife and I were driving in town and she sees this car and immediately pulled out the camera. I love the color, orange looks tough on a car like that. For those not in the know..it is a Lamborghini and a beautiful one at that. I love supercars as much as anyone else, but I still wonder why anyone would spend a few hundred thousand on a car...ever. I know this car can go over 200 mph and that alone makes it unbelievably cool, but that is a lot of money that could be waisted by some person texting on their cell phone or changing a cd...if I had one (I'd sell it, but that's not the point) I wouldn't want to take it out on Memphis streets ever...too many bad drivers.

I would drive a Porsche 911 though..I'll very likely never come close to owning one so it doesn't matter, but I've always loved fine German engineering...so I would settle for a Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Diesel... Porsche owhs over half of Volkswagen so it's kind of the same, right?

One more thing....

Wednesday June 10 is my 3 year anniversary and I can't imagine how there could be a more wonderful and amazing wife than the woman I am married to. Thank you for 3 wonderful years and I love you so much. Here's to 80 more years together.

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

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

Happy Father's Day

Father's day is the day we honor our fathers, the men who cared for the family, set examples, and protect his family. My own father did all those things for me growing up. My dad always worked more and more to leave our family financially secure while I was living there. We never starved. He made us be responsible for ourselves. My father made sure we were in church, Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesday evenings. When we (my sister and I) were old enough to drive, he got us a car to drive. And in my case, many more cars....

Whenever I think of my own father, these are the things that come to my mind.

I've always looked up to my father. I remember living in Memphis, as a kid. Having lots of snow on the ground for the first time I remember getting to play in it. My dad would spend hours pulling me on the sled and pushing me down hills. We both laughed as I ran into backyard fences and over the little cliff into the garden. He built us a pool. He moved us to Cincinnati. The year after we moved there, my dad took me to about 10 Reds games, where I immediately loved the game of baseball and the Reds. At the end of that season, my dad took me to a postseason game. It was in October and together we saw Jose Rijo, Eric Davis, and the rest of the Reds begin their domination over the Oakland Athletics on their way to the 1990 World Series title. I yelled so much, I lost my voice for the next 6 weeks. It is still one of the greatest 5 days of my life.

He took me to Bengals games. When I started playing games myself, he made sure I had new cleats, gloves, batting gloves, bats, whatever I needed. He pitched to me (and i payed him back by hitting him in the forehead more than once with the tennis balls). I still remember my dad and I sneaking out of the end of church to head downtown and catch the Reds' game.

I will never forget the time I got called out of class in 6th or 7th grade where I got called to the principle's office and was told to bring my books. When I got to the office, my dad was waiting there, looking somber. He told the school we had a family matter to deal with. Walking out to the car, I didn't know what to expect.

When I got to the car, I noticed my dad had packed our clothes and fishing poles and he started to chuckle. He was taking me out of school for 2 and a half days to go fishing in central Kentucky.

I remember getting my first car, a 1983 Ford Ranger 4x4 V6. It was black, and it had a manual transmission. One of the things my dad wanted for us was to be able to drive a stick. I remember making that truck hop and jump around like a giant bullfrog, all the while my dad is laughing so hard he can hardly breathe. I remember my dad being at the game in high school where I almost threw a no-hitter up in Hamilton, OH.

I remember going to Rangers' games, Mavericks games, stuff my dad always made sure we got to do. There was even a year after I moved out where my dad got the three of us (Mom, Dad, and I) tickets to see the Cincinnati Reds play in Texas vs. the Rangers.

I don't think I'll ever be able to repay my dad for all the things he did for me, mentioned and unmentioned. There's not a thing he could do that I wouldn't forgive him for. He's my dad, and always will be. Allowing me to write sports stories for the newspaper he still owns.

Thank you dad, for everything. For the things I know you did for me and the many things you did that I still don't know you did them for me. Thanks for being my dad.

I love you Dad.

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