Am I the only one watching this game?  

Matsuzaka is struggling.  He has thrown 60 pitches threw 2 innings and loaded the bases twice.  Blanton is pretty much crusing.  I guess Doc was right.  Steve Phillips is bruttle to listen to.  By looking in Matsuzaka's eyes he could tell he was ready to compete.  I would like to see a game in the Tokoyo Dome.  I do think this game is bullshit. My roomate was pissed that I woke up at 5:50AM.  It puts Oakland and Boston at a disadvantage, and these count as 2 of Oaklands home games, giving them only 79 home games.

He only pitched 2/3 of an inning.  Does this erase everything he has done so far? He gave up 3 hits, 5 walks, didn't strike anyone out, and 5 runs.  He threw 41 pitches.  Does this mean at the very least Homer Bailey is back in the running?  There is enough time for both Bailey and Cueto to get one more start.  I am guessing if Cueto pitches well enough in his next start, he will still be in the rotation.  Maybe he is in his "dead arm" period.  If Bailey puts up a big game his next start and Cueto sucks again, they could trade places.

The bullpen has become a little bit clearer.  The Reds cut Coutlangus and Majewski.  Coutlangus hasn't had a terrible spring, he did have a slow start.  He has only walked one and struck out 5 in 6.2 innings.  I am guessing we will see him at some point.  I wouldn't be surprsied if we never see Majewski in a Reds uniform again.  

According to the Fay Belisle is "out of the picture" because of a sore forearm.  That pretty much means we will be "Fogged in" unless Homer Bailey dazzeles in his last appearance of the Spring.  It also says that it takes Bailey a long time to warm up.  Should that be a warning of arm problems to come?  If he has trouble getting loose* could that be the sign of an arm problem, or could that cause problems for him pitching in cold weather?  

http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/redsinsider/2008/03/rotation-its-set.asp#comments

Could we take bets on the day Wood goes on the DL. With Pinella at the helm he will more than likely be injured.  It is interesting they replaced Dusty who was blamed for ruining Prior and Wood, with Lou, who isn't much easier on young arms.  Well I still need a few more characters to make this a diary.

I say May 27th.

Norris Hopper CF
Jeff Keppinger SS
Ken Griffey Jr. RF
Brandon Phillips 2B
Adam Dunn LF
Edwin Encarnacion 3B
Scott Hatteberg 1B
Javier Valentin C
Jay Bruce DH

P Jeremy Affeldt vs. Buddy Carlisle. Also pitching: Mike Lincoln, Justin Lehr, Tom Shearn, Gary Majewski and Jon Coutlangus. Also available: Tyler Pelland, Marcus McBeth, Ramon Ramirez. Josh Roenicke and Daryl Thompson.

Via Fay.

Who do you think will make the opening day roster, what do you think the starting rotation will look like, and the opening day lineup?

Continue reading this post »

Ridiculous - JD

It isn't official until 2:00PM but the Reds PR hasn't gotten a heads up.  They received advanced notice when Marty was voted into the HoF.  This is a little ridiculous.  I realize that he wasn't the best announcer, but he was Cincinnati fans favorite announcer.  Announcers are there for the fans, and it is obvious by the votes he received that he was incredibly popular.  What criteria do announcers have to meet?  It seems to me that the most important part of being an announcer is being popular amongst your listeners/viewers.  Harry Caray wasn't a great announcer in his play by play or color abilities, but he was loved by the fans of every team he worked for.  I am angry. It is official now. Dave Niehaus, a Seattle announcer won the Frick Award.

Camp Dusty is set to open Saturday.  Every spring training there are a couple of surprises.  What do you think will be the biggest surprise this spring?

I'll go first because I created this diary.

Kent Mercker's velocity is around 91 MPH and he makes the team.  He takes Stanton's spot as "old left handed guy in the bullpen who may or may not have used H.G.H.", but Mercker is much funnier, and more of a pleasure to be around.  Plus Mercker had brain surgery and that is always cool.  Stanton is DFA'ed.  Stanton is also DFA'ed to cut down on the price of charter flights, as Delta begins to charge Cincinnati by the the pound.

In a related move the Reds force Todd Coffey to have his stomach stapled.  

Remember how he kept saying he was going to retire, well that was a lie.  I am not sure how I feel about Selig.  He has whored the sport out to ESPN and Fox, and that has effected the playoffs.  The steroids scandal took place under his watch.  Oh yeah the players strike, and a close call in 2002.  But the industry is also booming right now.  

PS rotoworld has it listed under Milwaukie.  I found that incredibly amusing considering his conflict of interest.  Isn't it time to send the Brewers back to the AL?