Our own much loved, and revered, Willie Taveras is nearing the lead in a category of Major League leaders.

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For those expecting a Drew Stubbs appearance, don’t. Won’t happen. They just need a body for one game Sunday before the All-Star break. They’ll wait until they see how bad Bruce is before they make a post-All-Star break decision.

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I went ahead and set up our Tourney Pickem on Yahoo yesterday. Feel free to sign up and play. I know several already have but there is always room for more. The league ID is 84625 and the password is jaybruce.

The prizes will be the same as last year...

Just the never ending glory of being able to declare your self champion on the web for all eternity, or until AL Gore can figure out something better!

I had not heard this story until today when I saw Bryant Gumbel's report on the shooting by the police of Robby Tolan so if this has been discussed previously I apoligize. Robby is the 23 year old son of former Red Bobby Tolan and was shot by the Bellaire Texas Police Department in his own driveway. It certainly sounds, from the initial reports, that the police officer involved made a series of mistakes ending with the shooting. If you get a chance watch the report do so, or read this link, or this one, and come to your own conclusions. The final investigation of this shooting has not been released yet but is expected in the next few weeks.

My initial response is I am appalled at the treatment of this young man by this police department, the city of which they live, and pay taxes in.

Adam Dunn joined Tean USA for the WBC. Nationals first baseman/outfielder Adam Dunn will represent Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Dunn is replacing Rockies outfielder Brad Hawpe, who received four stitches after being accidentally spiked on a play at second base during Friday's game vs. the Angels. The news was announced after Dunn went 1-for-2 with a walk against the Orioles on Sunday afternoon at Space Coast Stadium. He is expected to join Team USA in Clearwater, Fla., on Sunday night.

Dunn was approached about joining the team Saturday, when he received a text message from former teammate and Team USA assistant coach Barry Larkin. Manager Davey Johnson then called Dunn, who accepted the invitation after having a conversation with Nationals manager Manny Acta.

"You get to play for your country," Dunn said."It's a good thing to get in serious games and break up the monotony of spring. I would assume your concentration level [is at an all-time high]. I would kind of compare it to the playoffs. All the games are a must-win."

Dunn is in his first season with the Nationals after signing a two-year, $20 million contract last month.

During the 2009 season the candidates for the 2010 class of the Reds Hall of Fame will be announced. I'm not sure exactly how they arrive at the names to be included on the ballot other than what I found on the Reds.com site "Fan balloting for the Reds Hall of Fame Class of 2010 will be conducted during the 2009 season." 

The qualifications are pretty simple to meet:

Players must have played for the Reds for a minimum of three seasons and have been retired for three seasons. The fan ballot is open to players who retired after 1985. Players who retired before 1985 will be evaluated and selected by the Veterans Committee.

With all that being said I want to try to make the case for one David Gene Parker. I am not making an argument for Cooperstown, just Great American Ball Park.  He signed as a free agent with the Reds on December 7, 1983, after spending eleven seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and seeing his promising career quickly heading downhill because of his involvement with drugs. In a much involved case in Pittsburgh Parker was one of several players, including one of our favorite know it all announcers Keith Hernandez, to receive mandatory testing for the rest of the careers. Parker was drafted by the Pirates in the 14th round of the 1970 draft.  Without getting into the whole "what if" draft discussion I will say that while the Pirates were taking Parker in the 14th round from Cincinnati's Courter Tech High School the Reds, in the 13th round, took outfielder Christopher Jones from Asuza Pacific University. Exactly.

The Cobra played with the Reds for four seasons spanning the 1984-1987 seasons and saw his form return. During those years the Reds finished 5th, 2nd, 2nd and 2nd. Parker led the Reds in both Home Runs and RBI for three straight seasons, 1984-1986, becoming only the fifth Red to accomplish that feat. He joined Frank McCormick, Ted Kluszewski, Frank Robinson, and George Foster. Eric Davis and Adam Dunn have since joined the list. His line as a Red was 107 home runs, 432 RBI, 327 runs scored, 694 hits in 631 games. That averages out to 26 HR, 108 RBI, 81 Runs, 173 hits and 157 games per season.

He won the Silver Slugger award in 1985 & 1986 while making the All Star team in both seasons. He finished second in the MVP balloting in 1985 (behind Willie McGee) and fifth in 1986 (behind Mike Schmidt, Glenn Davis, Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez).

Parker re-energized his career while with the Reds and was one of their most consistent players during those four seasons. He hit behing Eric Davis in the line up for most of the 87 season allowing E.D. to post one of his greatest seasons with the Reds.  During his tenure with the Reds he regained the form that had made him one the best hitters in the National League during the 70's and early 80's.  In the National League during the seasons he was a Red  these are Parker's rankings:

Games Played - 2nd

Home Runs - 5th

RBI - 1st

Hits - 6th

Batting Average (Minimum 600 games) - 8th

OBP - 9th

OPS - 7th

OPS+ - 7th

Slg Pct - 4th

Runs Created  - 8th

Pretty impressive numbers for his time in Cincinnati. Enough so that he should be enshrined in the Reds Hall of Fame.

Currently there are four right fielders in the Reds Hall of Fame. They are, with the year inducted, Sam Crawford (68), Ival Goodman (59), Ken Griffey Sr.(04), and Wally Post (65).  All pretty good players, all from different eras.

Sam Crawford

Crawford played four seasons for the Reds (1899 - 1902) and then jumped from the Reds to the Tigers before the 1903 season. He played 15 more seasons with Detroit and ended up in Cooperstown.

Ival Goodman

Goodman played eight seasons for the Reds (1935 - 1942) including two World Series teams. He made the All Star team in 1938 and 1939. His contract was sold to the Cubs in November '42, played two more seasons and then retired.

Wally Post

Post played in parts of 12 seasons for the Reds ( 1949-1957, 1960-63) including the World Series team of 1961. He never made an All Star team but probably should have in 1955 but was left off the team in favor of Mueller, Snider, and Ennis. The backup outfielders on that team were some guys named Mays, Aaron and Thomas.

Ken Griffey Sr.

Sr. played parts of 12 seasons with the Reds, including the Big Red Machine World Champs of 75-76. He was a three time All-Star with the Reds, played 19 seasons in the majors and is the proud father of former Red, and future Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr.

The Reds should jump on this. Two Cuban players are in the process of defecting in an attempt to get into MLB. The Reds had plenty of success in the 50's and 60's signing Cuban players and would really benefit getting into this market again, especially since restrictions are likely to be relaxed signifigantly in the coming years.

Here is a portion of the article from Espndeportes.com and you can read the rest of it here:

Right-hander Yadel Marti, Cuba's best pitcher in the first World Baseball Classic in 2006, and outfielder Yasser Gomez left the island and are in an unknown location before attempting to reach the Dominican Republic to seek an MLB career, sources told ESPNdeportes.com.

Players' relatives and friends in Cuba confirmed their departure, without disclosing details of the planned route. Marti and Gomez, members of the popular team Industriales de la Habana, were kicked off the team's payroll for the current National Series tournament "for having committed a serious [infraction]," according to the Cuban baseball authorities. Sources informed ESPNdeportes.com last month that Marti and Gomez were punished and banned from Cuban baseball after being caught with others while trying to board a boat to leave the country illegally. A talent scout who has seen Marti and Gomez playing at international events told ESPNdeportes.com that both are ready to play in the majors.

The Reds lineup might look something like this:

CF Dickerson

2B Phillips

RF Bruce

1B Votto

3B Encarnacion

SS Gonzalez

LF Hopper

C Hernandez

We need to see improvement in the leadoff spot. I know Dusty would be comfortable using a CF there but I'm not sure Quickerson is ready yet.  We have 3 outfielders on the roster, no viable backup if Votto gets hurt.  Only about 40 days until the players report so the Braintrust needs to get moving.

I took the liberty of setting up a Bowl Game Pick em for us on Yahoo

The Group Name is Red Reporter

The ID# is 22674

Password is UC Bearcats

Congrats to the UC Bearcats for getting a BCS game. They will be playing Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Other area teams going to bowls include Ohio State, Kentucky, Ball State, Notre Dame.

Oklahoma and Florida will be playing for the National Championship in Miami. The Bucks will be playing a really pissed off Texas team in the Fiesta Bowl. I think that is enough words now.

Ellis has apparently agreed to resign in the form of a multi year deal with the A's. He is currently recovering from season ending arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage on his right, shoulder in September he is expected to be ready to roll for spring training. Looks like we need a plan B for the up the middle part of the defense. Come on Walt show us a little something and improve our Reds.