Did I just call Dave Williams’ mediorce pitching performance?
"Not hard!" you say? I agree, but a post or two ago I specifically asked Williams for 5 innings and no more than 4 runs…

Dave Williams tonight: 5+IP, 4ER, 0K, 1BB (Yes, kids, he got the win.)

Sometimes I frighten myself.

• Milton pitched 6 2/3 innings of good baseball yesterday. A couple of walks, but 5Ks… 2 ER, one off of a homer.
• Griffey got the day off due to the stiffness in his right knee… he is day-to-day, which makes me wonder if he’ll start tonight or not. I’m sure it’s Junior’s call, but Narron might take into consideration the fact that Junior doesn’t hit too well off of Chris Carpenter, the Cards’ starter for tonight’s opener.
• It’s the Redlegs’ first visit to the New Busch Stadium – here’s to hoping that they start things off right by hitting some balls into the seats in the outfield!
• Harang is starting his third game of the season tonight, and hopefully he can continue to get progressively better as he did from his Opening Day start to his start last Saturday against the Pirates. At the very least, let’s lower the nearly-8-and-a-half ERA a tad.
• A couple of consecutive scoreless innings from the ‘pen!? Let’s keep it going!

…Everyone watching or listening to the game tonight: Enjoy! …I have to work.

Go Redlegs!

I couldn’t let this slip by without saying something…

Brandon Phillips on his new life as a Cincinnati Red:

"It was kind of frustrating, just being without a team. Now I’m here. I’m loving Cincinnati," Phillips said. "The clubhouse is nice. The food is nice. All the coaches and players, they seem real laid back and cool. I think I’m going to have fun."
(Mark Sheldon, mlb.com)

Translation: "I love the food! I love the city! …oh, yeah, the guys are good, too."

Brandon Phillips’ priorities in life:

1. A nice place to hang out and change clothes before the game.
2. Good food
Last, but hopefully not least…
3. "Laid back and cool" coaches and teammates.

I can’t give him too much of a ribbing, though: He got a hit in his first Reds AB yesterday! Best of luck, #4!

Why I love Ryan Freel, Reason # 495:

Freel, talking about the Reds acquisition of Brandon Phillips and the possibility that GM Wayne Krivsky is aligning players for a trade…

"It looks like that could be the road [Krivsky] goes down," Freel said. "With me and Tony switching and playing second base and Richie swinging the bat well, there are a lot of different things they could do. I don’t like to think they’ll make a trade. I hope to God they don’t trade me. I want to end my career here as a Cincinnati Red, but I have no control over that."
(Mark Sheldon / MLB.com)

Yeah, that’s the kind of stuff fans like to hear.

I have been looking for the appropriate opportunity to get back into the swing of things here, and it looks as if there is no better time than the present.

The unofficial team captain is headed east. Sean Casey is a Red no more. Put it how you want, no matter how you say it, it’s a shock to the system.

I can’t remember the exact details, but one of my first memories of Casey involves an absolutely unbelievable play where he caught a foul pop/fly over his shoulder down the first base line (obviously, I guess), and turned and fired the ball to the plate in time to gun down the runner who had tagged at third, and if I’m not mistaken, would have been the winning run had Casey’s throw been off line at all. I think it was an interleague game… against the Tigers, maybe? …Since that day, I’ve been a fan of Casey, and no matter where that guy goes, I will continue to be a fan.

It makes sense: Casey would be making over $8 next year, and we got a left-handed pitcher in return who makes far less annually. The move frees up first for Dunn, which effectively solves the outfield traffic jam, and allows the Reds to keep a young player with a valuable bat. Not that Casey’s wasn’t valuable, of course.

Still, if the whole goal is to become a contending team, we need pitching. The stats on Dave Williams aren’t spectacular, not to mention the fact that he was injured, had surgery, and missed an entire season. But, he’s young, and I guess that counts for something.

I hate change, but I hate to see this team floundering in mediocrity. If this is Step One in a new direction, I am behind Dan O’Brien 100%… and I’m patiently waiting for steps two, three, four…

As ever, Go Reds!

Something I was randomly thinking about earlier: If Austin Kearns got a hold of a WMP bobblehead last night, what would he do with it?

A. Rip off the head and run it over, repeatedly, with his car
B. Two words: Voodoo Doll
C. Have a three-hour stare-down
D. Put it on top of his television and cry, knowing that Pena at least takes a swing at the 3rd strike instead of watching it go down the middle of the plate

I say ‘Voodoo Doll.’

I swore to myself that I would not even think about baseball today. No watching any games, no viewings of ‘SportsCenter’ or ‘Baseball Tonight,’  and no visits to reds.com. Well, that didn’t happen, and in fact, I decided that I was going to have to post in response to whatever is about to be said about the Reds on ‘Baseball Tonight.’
"Due up on Baseball Tonight, Trade Possibilities for the Cincinnati Reds" (or was it ‘recommendations’?)
Yeah, either way, that gets my attention.
I know what will be suggested: An outfielder/Randa/Aurilia for pitching. Anything for pitching.
Uh oh… here goes…
Kruk says trade Griffey. Build around the three remaining outfielders.
Kurkjian says trade Pena, he’s got the most value.
Reynolds says trade Griffey.

Huh. Well, apparently they were only concerned with the outfield. ::shrug::
I cannot count how many times I’ve read that Dan O’Brien has no plans to trade any of the outfielders… how long can he keep this stance up? I am of the opinion that Dunn and Kearns need to be signed to long term contracts. I’d like to see Pena here for a while to come as well, and so where does that leave Junior? I wrote about this earlier, and I said that I’d like to see him stay here in Cincinnati. Well, now maybe this team really does need to focus on the future, and give Junior the chance to play for a winner.

Here’s the bottom line: We’ve got a relatively young club here in Cincinnati.
Ryan Freel, Felipe Lopez, Aaron Harang, and Ryan Wagner are the future.
I am a fan of Sean Casey, and although he’s not your ideal power-hitting 1st baseman, he hits for average and bats runners in, not to mention his presence as a veteran clubhouse leader.
Eric Milton is here for another two years, and I think this will prove to be a good thing – I think he will get a handle on pitching in Great American, and I think it will happen before the end of this year. Don’t count Wilson out either.
I would sign Dunn to a long term contract, but what is the likelihood of this happening? I don’t think the Reds want to pony up the money for him, and I don’t think Adam Dunn necessarily wants to be a Red anymore. Perhaps I am wrong, but the business with his beloved chair and then being sat in Colorado – no matter the reason – seems to have left a bad taste in his mouth. (All of this is a sad, sad business: From what I’ve seen at GABP, Dunn is easily the most popular player on this team, judging by the number of people walking around with #44 on their backs. Losing him now would be a nightmare.) So that leaves me building around Kearns and Pena. I think Kearns is a safe bet to be a Red for a while – his value is not high due to past injuries and recent under-performance. I can practically see teams salivating over Pena, but unless O’Brien gets some sort of monster offer, he won’t let Wily Modesto go.
Edwin Encarnacion will be here soon…
Bergolla has shown us his defense, now if he could only hit at the Major League level…
Belisle, Ramirez, and Claussen look promising. As do Hudson and Hancock if they ever make it back.

Looking at this roster… I just don’t understand why this team can’t win.
I know why the Reds haven’t won – bad pitching, a sleeping offense – and that is precisely what makes no sense.
My head is turning toward the coaching staff. (Yes, that’s the first time I’ve admitted that.)
If not Miley & Co., maybe it really is this **** calendar I have hanging on my wall.