Some people have compared this upcoming game against the Browns as being very similar to the game in Cleveland in 2007 in which Derek Anderson got his first start after Charlie Frye was benched and then traded after getting blown out by the Steelers.  The Bengals were coming off a season-opening win over the Ravens on Monday Night Football.  The Browns proceeded to beat the Bengals the following week 51-45 on the strength of 5 Derek Anderson touchdown passes, 216 Jamal Lewis rushing yards, and 194 Josh Cribbs return yards.
 
I think, for the Bengals to win this game, it should go more like their game in Cleveland in 2008.  In said game, the Browns rolled out Ken Dorsey to battle the Bengal's Ryan Fitzpatrick.  (Dorsey! Fitzpatrick! it's the NFL on CBS!)  Fitzpatrick went 5/9 for 55 yds and a touchdown.  The Bengals ran the ball 46 times for 191 yards (4.2 per carry).  They intercepted Dorsey three times and Gradkowski once.  
 
ESPN Game Recap
 
I don't think with Carson Palmer under center that we should only throw the ball 9 times, but I think it would be nice to see the Bengals get an early lead and control time of possession by pounding the ball. 
 
This should be a win for the Bengals.  Huber needs to punt effectively and keep the ball out of Cribbs's hands.  The defense needs to continue to get pressure from their front four.  The offense needs to do what they do and not turn the ball over. 
 
Get it on.
 
Who Dey.

While perusing some stats on Baseball-Reference.com, I noticed that Volquez is currently leading the NL in Adjusted ERA+ at 304.  Now I’m vaguely familiar with this statistic, and while I don’t totally understand how it’s calculated, I think I have a pretty good grasp of what it means.

Adjusted ERA+, as I understand it, is used to compare ERAs from a given season to ERAs from any other season.  It compares an individual’s ERA to the average for that season.  The adjusted part comes in when Ballpark factors are included.  For instance, an ERA of 1.50 in GABP would be more impressive than the same ERA in Petco Park.  Beyond that, 100 is the average and you go from there.  Higher is better.

Now, it’s June 2nd, and we’re roughly 1/3 of the way through the season.  With that in mind, if Edinson could keep this Adjusted ERA+ close to where it is, he could be headed for a historic season.  The following is a list of the greatest Adjusted ERA+ seasons since 1920.

1. Pedro Martinez (28) 291 2000 R

2. Greg Maddux (28) 271 1994 R

3. Greg Maddux (29) 262 1995 R

4. Bob Gibson+ (32) 258 1968 R

5. Pedro Martinez (27) 243 1999 R

6. Dwight Gooden (20) 228 1985 R

7. Roger Clemens (42) 226 2005 R

8. Roger Clemens (34) 221 1997 R

9. Lefty Grove+* (31) 219 1931 L

10.  Pedro Martinez (25) 219 1997 R

We’ve discussed before whether or not Volquez can keep up this pace (Probably not, IMO), but even if he starts to slip, he could finish with one of the most impressive seasons of all time. 

If anyone has corrections, or more to add, feel free to help me out.

Lost in the shuffle during last night's win over the Cubs was a monumental moment in Adam Dunn history.  When Dunn hit career home run number 243 last night, he moved out of a five-way tie with Dusty Baker, Sal Bando, Wally Berger, and Roy Campanella (talk about veteran presence!) and now sits all alone at #199 all-time . 

If Dunn ends up with his standard 40 home runs this year, he'll finish the year with 278 career homers.  This will put him around 150 on the all-time home run list depending on how other active players do this year.  He'll pass Bret Boone, Kirk Gibson, Joe Morgan, and Roger Maris (among others).

How many do you think Dunn will hit this year?  Where will he rank when his career is over?

In the latest Uni-Watch on Espn.com it is mentioned that the Reds will be wearing a Camoflauged uniform similar to the one the Padres wear occasionally on July 5th against the Nationals.  No Idea what these will look like.  I assume they'll be green like the Pads' but who knows.

What kind of uni-related promotions would you like to see?  I'd like to see the Reds throwback to the mid-70s era uniforms a few times a year.  Any idea if there are plans for this when we play the Red Sox on that Saturday Fox game?

I picked up MLB08 the show for PS2 yesterday.  Nothing too impressive to report.  The Reds are ranked 17th overall in the game.  Ran a smiulation of an entire season, and the Reds finished 83-79.  5 games out of first in the central (Cubs), and 2 games out of the wild card (Braves).  The engine had Joey Votto running away with the rookie of the year, as the sole Reds all-star, and batting in the mid .350s.  I know these don't mean much, but yet another projection.  I chose this game over MLB2K8 because it has the Minor League Baseball endorsement stamped on the cover.  

Unfortunately, the game does not include Jay Bruce.  It did have several other Reds minor leaguers, and you can play games with the Bats or Lookouts.  This was dissapointing, but should Jay make the Big League Squad, the rosters are updatable online.  

Just thought I'd give this update to anyone considering purchasing the game.  The actual gameplay is fun, but it's going to take me a while to get used to since the last game I played regularly was MVP baseball 05 for gamecube.  If anyone has any other questions about this game let me know.  I won't bore you with my walk-off single by Freel on opening day after I blew a save with Cordero.

According to this article:

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-071203cubs,1,1498288.story?coll=cs-h ome-headlines

The Reds may be interested in trading Hamilton to the Cubs for Sean Marshall.  Marshall has a decent Grounball/Flyball number 1.55 last year, but other than that his stats don't blow me away.  Doesn't seem like a fair deal unless another piece is thrown in.