Lil Red Machine

When I think of Cincinnati Reds teams from this decade, what comes to mind is that they have been mostly a free swinging bunch. Lots of homeruns, but not very good situational hitting, and lots of strikeouts.
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It’s truly the greatest feeling in the world. There’s something about spring time that offers a promise of hope, and as of this time, every team (expect the Pirates–they are already 8 games back) have something to look forward to. The “experts” have spoken, the predictions have been made, but games aren’t won and lost according to prognostications. Opening day is about opportunity. That’s the message they sell. Some may not buy into it, but I eat it all up.
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There were plenty of reasons to be nervous heading into this game against San Antonio.  The Cavs were coming off a huge thumping courtesy of the Orlando Magic.  The night before that, they got beat by the lottery bound Wizards.  In addition to that, another key frontcourt member was out, as Anderson Varejao sat this one out due to a wrist injury.
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Men who appear in these old school baseball cards cannot be of any positive benefit to a baseball team in 2009.  I have this old set, and few of the players still are active.  Most have long ago retired.  It would behoove Sheffield to do the same.  He offers precious little to anyone these days.  His body is breaking down.  Maybe if he didn’t have such a bad attitude, he could be a useful backup outfielder for someone, but I can’t see him being happy in that role.

He’s also becoming increasingly delusional.  In his own words, he was the most athletic player on the Tigers.  Keep in mind, he’s 40 years old.

The Reds have made a committment to get younger and more athletic.  Signing Sheffield would be a step in the wrong direction, for the reasons listed.  There is need for power off the bench, but they should go out and get a Geoff Jenkins, not this team cancer and injury prone drama queen.

There are rumors that Jason Kidd wouldn’t mind teaming up with LBJ and the gang after the season

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/03/cavaliers_insider_no_kidding_a.html

Please, PLEASE don’t do this.  Jason Kidd is how old?  He would probably want too much money.  They could sign him to the mid-level exemption without going over the luxury tax, but the bottom line is, they have more pressing issues to attend to.  Cleveland has an aging frontcourt, and it has to decide what to do with Wally Szczerbiak and Anderson Varejao coming off the books.  Keep them, or let them go?

Perhaps Kidd could be to the Cavs what Gary Payton was to the Miami Heat when they won their title in 2006, but that’s a base case scenerio.  He’s actually been a pretty decent 3-point shooter this season, contrary to the popular belief of those who say he can’t shoot, but I think once Gibson is fully healthy next season (he’s been playing with a bum foot all year), he’ll be able to capably fill that backup poing guard spot–and is much younger.  Besides, Kidd’s specialty is having the ball in his hands, and the Cavs already have a guy who specializes in that.  You have have heard of him.  His name is LeBron James.

So, I’m hoping the Cavs don’t “Kidd around” and sign this aging liability.

The NL central, as a whole, is one of the weakest division in baseball.  You have the Cubs, you have a few teams that might push .500, and then you have dreck such as the Pirates.  I would be shocked if the wildcard were to come from this divsion.  Without further ado, here are my thought and predictions for the NL central *drumroll please*

1.  Cubs–They are the team to beat.  Everyone knows it, and I’m not going to try to pick someone else and be “trendy.”  They have a quality lineup with good veterans, they got another bat in the form of Milton Bradley, and their pitching staff is lead by a true horse in Carlos Zambrano, and they have the arms behind him that can handle the rigors of a 162 game season.  I remember a few years ago when they went out in free agency and spent a lot of money.  People thought that they were crazy, but that spending, plus the overall talent of the team, has kept them right in the thick of things.  They made good investments.  I guess my only concerns are that the lineup has some age issues (Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano) and they have an unproven closer in Carlos Marmol.  Also, there is talk of Zambrano showing some chinks in the armor.  In this division, though, those blemishes will be easy to overcome.  As for October, though………..

2.  Cardinals–I can never go against a team led by Tony LaRussa, and features the greatest player in the game by a country mile in the form of Albert Pujols.  With that said, this team could go either way.  Their older vets may have another run left in them, or they could age rapidly.  I’m not liking the middle of the infield pairing of Adam Kennedy and Khalil Greene.  The rotation is also very questionable.  Will Chris Carpenter be able to recover from recent injuries?  Kyle Lohse and Branden Looper are good enough to be major league starters, but I’m thinking that the Cardinals will be asking too much out of these guys.  I list all these concerns, but I pick them so high because they are always one swing away from winning a ballgame with the mighty bat of Pujols

3.  Reds–My team got younger, cheaper, and faster.  All the talk in spring training is that the group is showing an energy that prior Reds teams haven’t shown.  They need another power bat, and the organization needs to start emphasizing OBP more.  A lot of free swingers on here.  You guys already know my thought about them (read my Reds preview).  I just think that they are a year away, once some of those young guys mature and get better.

4.  Brewers–Losing C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets is a killer, but it’s hard to say that they will be THIS bad.  When the Twins lost Johan Santana, everyone expected doom and gloom, but the organizational depth that those guys have kept them relevant.  Maybe the same is true for the Brewers, but I think that losing quality arms like that will really hurt them.  They have some legit stars in Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, but guys like Ricke Weeks, and Bill Hall are question marks.  Getting Trevor Hoffman is a temporary bandaid, even though he’s not what he used to be.  This team is hard to pinpoint.  Will be be the NL version of the Twins, or completely disband like the Marlins?

5.  Astros–These guys got extremely lucky last year.  They pulled a rare trick in having a winning record, but getting outscored by the opposition.  This team just isn’t very good, and not only that, but the lineup is old, and outside of Roy Oswalt, the rotation is in shambles.  They need to rebuild in the worst way, but owner Drayton McClane keeps putting that off.  Arguably noone in the starting lineup is still in their prime, perhaps Lance Berkman being the exception.  Either that, or there are guys who just aren’t that good to begin with.  It’s gonna be a long year for Houston-and yes, you DO have a problem

5.  Pirates–Awful, awful team.  Their best players in the starting lineup (Nate McClouth and Ryan Doumit) would be complimentary players on just about any other team.  That’s not a knock on them.  They are fine players, but if they are your feature guys, you are in trouble.  Outside of Adam LaRoche, the entire starting infield is awful (and even LaRoche isn’t that great).  Same with the other outfielders that flank McClouth.  Reinforcements for the lineup are down in the minors and on their way, but they won’t take care of the present problem.  The pitching staff, outside of Paul Maholm, is terrible, and the bullpen is passable, but doesnt’ scare anyone.  This is probably the worst team in major league baseball.

The names listed below have all performed a very specific duty at one point or another for the Reds since their last winning campaign in 2000:

-Chris Dickerson, Jerry Hairston Jr, Corey Patterson, Jay Bruce, Jolbert Cabrera, Danny Richar, Joey Votto, Ryan Freel, Jeff Keppinger, Scott Hatteberg, Josh Hamilton, Brandon Phillips, Quinton McCracken, Felipe Lopez, Chris Denorfia, Royce Clayton, Dewayne Wise, D’Angelo Jimenez, Jermaine Clark, Eric Valent, Ray Olmedo, Barry Larkin, Sean Casey, Aaron Boone, Reggie Taylor, Juan Castro, Todd Walker, Brady Clark, Juan Encarnacion, Wilton Guerrero, Donnie Sadler, Pokey Reese, Deion Sanders, Alex Ochoa, and Michael Tucker

Give up on what it is they did?

These men have had their various turns batting leadoff for the Reds during the current streak of eight consecutive losing seasons.  You have some Reds legends in here (Barry Larkin), some very good current players (Votto, Bruce, and Phillips), and others who  are/were servicable/moderately good players (Keppinger, Boone, Casey, Freel, Hatteberg, etc).  A lot of those guys on the list were fringe players, though.  And to think, they were being positioned in the most important spot in the batting lineup.

Even the guys whom I gave props to, though, how many of them make you think “man, this guy is a prototypical leadoff hitter”?  Outside of Larkin, none of them (and he had trouble staying healthy in his latter years).  Some good cleanup hitters, or bottom of the lineup guys certainly, but the ugly truth is that the Reds haven’t had a good, consistent leadoff hitter in almost a decade to set the table for these guys.  Too many players were being misused, or just had no business being on a big league roster in the first place.

Willy Tavares, come on down!  You’re the next contestant to be a Reds leadoff hitter!  There are a few things about this guy that remind me of Corey Patterson: He has been used primarily as a leadoff hitter, and plays a speedy centerfield (which is a bit of an overrated thing in the bandbox known as Great American Ballpark), but does NOT get on base.  Only reached at a .306 clip last year.  Tavares says he wants to steal over 100 bases, but unless he finds a way to steal first, perhaps he ought to think of how to improve his batting eye before anything else.

I personally think that they didn’t correctly judge the free agent market.  They are paying him $6.25 million for the next 2 years.  The market really dried out towards the end of the year, and guys like Bobby Abreu, and Pat Burrell were getting contracts that the Reds could’ve easily affored had they not already jumped on Tavares early on in the game.  I think that they could’ve moved Dickerson to centerfield, and opened up left field for one of these big name sluggers.  They didn’t, though.  Tavares will get over 500 plate appearances, and if he doesn’t boost that OBP, then he may become just another name in a long list of name to lead off games for Cincinnati.

4 games up, 13 to go.  Also, 1.5 games up on the Lakers for the best record in the NBA.

This may be the greatest Cleveland sports team of all time.  LeBron James, without a doubt, has passed Kobe Bryant as being the best player in the NBA, and deserves his 1st MVP trophy, but I would trade that opportunity for a championship for the city of Cleveland.

The only concern–and it’s a legitimate one, is that Cleveland has struggled this year vs. elite competition.  They were swept by the Lakers in the two showdowns this year, and still cannot figure how to win in Boston.  Here’s a history lesson, though.  When the Cavs beat the Pistons in 2007 to reach their first ever finals, they couldn’t BUY a win in Detroit that season, and struggled against them as a whole.  Insert in a 2-0 deficit, and many people were saying that the Detroit had Cleveland’s number.  Well, we all see what happened in the end.

Ward delivers knockout blow to Rivers

Whenever I see this hit, there is one thing that comes to mind that noone else seems to talk about: Where was the retaliation from Rivers’ teammates?  I don’t think that they should’ve have a rock ‘em, sock ‘em affair aka Bob Barker vs. Adam Sandler from Happy Gilmore, but still.  Where’s the pride?  Hines drew first blood, and the Bengals ran away, and didn’t challenge him in any sort of respectable football fashion.

OK, with that out of the way, lets focus on the issue that the national media is still talking about.  The hit on Rivers was clean.  Sorry, folks.  Football is a mean, angry, aggressive sport.  If you don’t like it, get out.  It pains me to say that in light of this hit, because I hate the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it’s too bad the Bengals don’t have ANYONE–let alone a wideout, who would do something like this.

If they eliminate blind side hits to the head (which this isn’t–he led with his shoulder, from what I can tell), then that’s further proof that the NFL is becoming a pansy league.  I understand that they have to protect the players, but everyone who plays football knows the risk involved.  In addition to that, football players are taught from a young age to lead with their head.

Go to youtube and type in Ronnie Lott.  Watch some of his hits.  They were amazing, and created a lasting legacy, but a lot of those hits would lead to fines, as Lott would be broke in this modern era.

I don’t advocate going out there and doing whatever it takes to hurt someone, but I DO think that there is nothing wrong with a good, clean, hard hit, which is what Ward delivered to Rivers.

I keep having all of these random thoughts about the bigger picture while I’m watching Cavaliers games in the present.  Obviously, the ultimate goal at this point is a championship, and anything short of that is a major disappointment.  With that said, coming from somone who has spent most of my life following just AWFUL sports teams, it’s an absolute joy to watch this team, and to have the confidence that no matter what, on most nights, they WILL find a way to win, no matter the circumstances.

Speaking of said circumstances, they were rough going into last night’s game against the Trail Blazers.  More bad news, as key reserve Wally Szczerbiak found out that he will miss up to three weeks with a knee injury.  Also, they were going against a young and hungry team fully immersed in a western conference fight till the bitter end.  Young teams that run like Portland does give the Cavs fit, as Cleveland isn’t a very good transition defense team.

The first half was brutal.  Absolutely brutal.  36-34 Portland at the half?  That’s right.  Not a 1st quarter score, but a HALFTIME score.  However, in the second half, LeBron showed off some excellent post moves, scoring from a position on the court where his critics said he didn’t score enough from.  Clutch shooting, and committing only two turnovers is a good recipie for victory.

One thing I have to say is, it’s a crying shame that Brandon Roy of Portland doesn’t get more pub than what he gets.  He is a fantastic player that hit big shots last night to help send the game into OT, but playing in the pacific northwest for a small market team is what keeps him largely out of the public eye.  Assuming they make the playoffs, rest assured, he will make a household name for himself.  Him, and the team as a whole, is a complete 180 removed from the “Jail Blazers” teams from the early part of the decade.  They are young, athletic, and have good heads on their shoulders.