The hot stove is really heating up now.  Yankees 2B Cano signed a 10-year mega-money deal with Seattle.  The Yanks also signed Beltran to the 3-year deal.  They also signed Ellsbury to a mega-deal.  That leaves the Yanks with six outfielders on their roster: Wells, Ellsbury, Soriano, Beltran, Suzuki & Gardner (in descending salary order).

 

So the Yanks have an opening at 2B?  And a glut of outfielders?  If the Reds were serious about trading Phillips, might they call up Cashman with an offer?  Say Brandon Phillips for Brett Gardner?

It will be interesting to see if they do anything with Homer Bailey also. Either way, Jocketty still needs an offensive upgrade.

So the Yanks have an opening at 2B?  And a glut of outfielders?  If the Reds were serious about trading Phillips, might they call up Cashman with an offer?  Say Brandon Phillips for Brett Gardner?

 

The Yanks turned down a Phillips for Gardner trade:  http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/10123847/new-york-yankees-turn-offer-brandon-phillips-brett-gardner

It will be interesting to see if they do anything with Homer Bailey also. Either way, Jocketty still needs an offensive upgrade.

 

So, apparently Matt Kemp (and his $20 million/year contract which runs thru 2019) might be available from the Dodgers.  And LA could use a veteran 2B.  But Kemp's contract and injury history are scary.

It will be interesting to see if they do anything with Homer Bailey also. Either way, Jocketty still needs an offensive upgrade.

 

So, apparently Matt Kemp (and his $20 million/year contract which runs thru 2019) might be available from the Dodgers.  And LA could use a veteran 2B.  But Kemp's contract and injury history are scary.

 

Dodgers apparently shot that one down as well. Story is near bottom of page. Seems like they can't find anyone willing to take Phillips.

 

http://nypost.com/2013/12/12/texas-rangers-insist-adding-russell-wilson-not-a-publicity-stunt/

Reds sign Homer Bailey to a 6 year, 105 million dollar deal.  Should have been more like 85 million IMO. 

 

 

I think that is about right. He has gotten better every year with no run support.

Yay baseball time.

Last night Aroldis Chapman was hit by a line drive in the sixth inning. His 99 mph fastball came off the bat of Salvador Perez and got him near his left eye. No word yet on the extent of his injuries.

 

The game ended 6-3 Royals in the sixth inning. Both managers agreed to call the game after the 10 minute break from play and injury. Chapman was carted off the field and sent to the hospital.

 

Here's a video of the pitch: http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v31593793/cinkc-chapman-struck-by-liner-leaves-on-stretcher

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/redsblog/2014/03/19/031914aroldischapman/6637865/

The curse of Cincinnati sports continues.

 

I hope he does not lose his eye.

Chapman is having surgery today to have a plate inserted in his head where he has some facial fractures. His eye is fine, but he suffered a mild concussion. He will be able to play this season for sure. No idea how long he could be out. Will be in the hospital until about Saturday.

 

EDIT: Chapman will not pitch until at least May

Reds Craft Beer Opening Day Starting Lineup via Queen City Fresh

 

For craft beer lovers, their is a varied selection of breweries and styles to chose from including offering from hometown breweries Blank Slate, Christian Moerlein, Fifty West, MadTree, Listermann, Mt. Carmel, Rhinegeist and Rivertown. Let’s hope the addition of Wire to Wire Wheat, a new offering from Fifty West Brewing Co., is an omen for things to come this season at Great American Beer Ball Park.

For some reason, I can't seem to get excited about this baseball season.  I think the pounding the Reds took in the one game playoff in Pittsburgh combined with the dismal Bengals playoff loss just have me pretty dismissive of Cincinnati sports.

I'm really excited about the Reds season. More concerned about injuries than past performances. The big milestone we need to cross is advancing in the postseason. I'm hopeful this is the year.

For some reason, I can't seem to get excited about this baseball season.  I think the pounding the Reds took in the one game playoff in Pittsburgh combined with the dismal Bengals playoff loss just have me pretty dismissive of Cincinnati sports.

 

Plus injuries, plus the UC loss to underdog Harvard. And I feel like the line-up is weaker than last year, due to injuries and losing Choo.

 

The only thing I'm really excited for regarding the Reds is watching Billy Hamilton hopefully live up to the hype.

The Reds didn't have a great outing yesterday for Opening Day. 0-1 loss to the Cardinals. Our pitching looked great for the whole game (minus the lone home run) we just couldn't get that run in with no outs and a man on third. Disappointing loss, but it's a long season.

No offense. Picking up right where they left off last year...

One game is no indication of how the team will perform all season. There are 161 more games.

There goes the season. Oh well, there's always next year :)

 

One game is no indication of how the team will perform all season. There are 161 more games.

No BUT the writing is on the wall from what we have seen the past 3 or so years. How do you expect to win a world series if you can't beat world series pitching???????

One game is no indication of how the team will perform all season. There are 161 more games.

No BUT the writing is on the wall from what we have seen the past 3 or so years. How do you expect to win a world series if you can't beat world series pitching???????

 

Basically you are saying: "No, but yes!"

It was time to celebrate. The real season starts Wednesday.

 

 

@Reds

This is a great photo - 1st and 3rd no outs in the 8th was a killer, but the Reds should have decent attendance this year and will hopefully bounce back.  Interestingly, although there was concern of the Findlay Market parade route change to Elm due to streetcar construction there was a very large crowd yesterday.  Many have said they had the largest attendance they could remember (I know many kids were on Spring Break but still good news).

I actually like the parade going down Elm because of the ability to use the Music Hall/Memorial Hall frontage as sort of stadium seating for the parade. IMO they should keep the parade on Elm.

First there is this article in Sports Illustrated: In Cincinnati, Opening Day is always a cause for celebration

 

Also, after a long rain delay it was great to see the Reds pull through with a walk-off hit in the 9th inning last night. Pitching looked outstanding again and while our bats weren't hot, we got just enough to get the 1-0 victory.

 

Next game is today at 12:35 assuming no rain delays.

The schedule for April and May is killer. If they can make it out of the first two months with a .500 record, I'll be happy.

Is it me or is Cingrani going to be a star?

^Maybe. He has done well for since he came up. However Leake was the same way. Then hitters started to dial in.

 

Without a closer this team is .500 at best.

Cingrani had a rough outing in St. Louis today.

 

And why the hell was Brandon Phillips bunting with no outs and Hamilton on 2nd!?

Never heard Votto talk so much.

 

You need to see Billy Hamilton's score on a sav fly just beyond the infield.

All his running yesterday was awesome. 

Hopefully he can manage to get on base more often as the season goes on. He basically has a free ticket halfway around the bases if he gets on.

Another loss. The Reds have had awesome pitching and have all gone to waste. The injuries are on the pitching side as well. So when everyone is back health. The offense will still be the same. What an expensive shame.

 

Bailey, Votto, Phillips and Bruce are way overrated.

So far the Reds have won 1 of 3 games in every series. Hopefully they can win 2 or 3 against the Pirates and gain a little ground. The team looked really good yesterday. Heisey's grand slam was icing on the cake after a great outing by the team.

 

The talent is there, we just need to consistently hit to win the low scoring games.

Their wins have almost all come as the final game of a series, which makes me wonder if it is a change in opponents' pitching line-ups (i.e. to second-string starters) making Reds hitting possible.

That was the best baseball game I've ever been to.

 

A combined 10 home runs for the Pirates and Reds. Broke the GABP record for home runs in a game. One home run shy of tying the National League record. Two home runs shy of tying the MLB record. And it's only in the top of the 7th inning.

After a disappointing start, the reds are now 8-10. After going 0-12 with 6 strikeouts, Hamilton has batted .273 with a .304 OBP.

 

This team has won 4 of the last 6 games. Unfortunately they couldn't pull off sweep of the Cubs or Pirates to have a .500 record.

 

Next series is Monday-Wednesday in Pittsburgh. All night games.

 

Here is a story about Billy Hamilton's recent performance.

With the Reds win today they took 3/4 in Pittsburgh and improved to a .500 record. Only one game back from the Cardinals (Brewers are still leaps and bounds ahead of everyone). The Reds head off to Atlanta tonight for a three game series before returning home for 7 games in 7 days.

 

Once they are done hosting the Cubs and Brewers at home they will have played 17 games in 17 days. The two off days surrounding the trip to Boston will be pretty important for the players to rest.

This stretch in their schedule is plain silly. In 18 days they have 13 home games, 3 days off (back to back Mondays), with two games in the middle @Boston.

After a sweep by the Braves the Reds are trying to bounce back and sweep the Cubs to return to .500 before facing the Brewers (best in baseball right now).

 

The game was delayed at the start. Then again for 15 minutes during a heavy downpour. The game-tying run coming off the bat of Billy Hamilton in a solo home run (his first career). Cozart showed up with a triple, scoring the game-winning run off of Heisey's pinch hit with two outs just before another rain delay. This rain delay lasted over an hour and with the Reds ahead in the sixth inning, calling the game would have ended it with a Reds win. They continued, and the score stayed the same. 3-2 win for the Reds.

Very Cool!

 

 

Rare footage of 1919 World Series released

David Brown

 

 

The commissioner of baseball found that eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to fix the World Series in 1919 in exchange for cash bribes. The "Black Sox" scandal that forced "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's squad into banishment from the game is the most infamous black eye in Major League Baseball history. It's not the only time something like that happened in baseball, but it's the event we know the most about.

 

That's why the discovery of 4 1/2 minutes of footage from the '19 Series is such an important find. The silent footage from British Canadian Pathé News doesn't necessarily inform us much about the scandal itself, but it certainly gives us a time-capsule glimpse into what baseball looked like nearly 100 years ago. While the edges of the film are degraded, the center of the frames is astonishingly clear and sharp. Most of all, it's just neat.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/rare-footage-of-1919-world-series-released-172137125.html

The Reds looks to be back on track. But Milwaukee keeps winning too.

It was the first 4 game sweep in San Francisco for the Reds since 1972. It was the first time ever the Giants has been sweep in a 4 game series at AT&T park.  That's been open since 2000.

At the All Star Break the Reds are 0.5 games back from the Cardinals and 1.5 games back from the Brewers. We are 1.0 game back in the Wild Card race.

 

We are definitely within striking distance if we can keep our remaining players healthy. There was a game against the Cubs where we had 5 starters out of the lineup due mostly to injury. There have been jokes that the Reds have called up the entire Louisville AAA team to play. It's not too far from the truth. The All Star Break came at the perfect time for us, though. Hopefully we can steal a few games from the Yankees and Brewers while on the road after the break.

Well, this start after the break has been a catastrophe. 

We need another bat but I don't see it happening.

Yeah, you can't win games if you don't get on base more than a couple of times a game. 

Reds' owners' son, daughter-in-law arrested

 

The son and daughter-in-law of Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini were arrested Sunday.

 

Robert S. Castellini, 46, and his wife, Deanna, were charged with domestic violence for getting into a fight with each other in front of their children.

 

Both cases were in court Monday. Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Melissa Powers released each on their signatures.

 

Cont

^Cached page

 

Discussion on the Enquirer taking down this article can be found here: Cincinnati Enquirer