Kuzul

All Cincinnati Reds fans love Jay Bruce. In fact, most of us tend to view the young man with rose-colored glasses. I know I do. When I watch the powerful left-hander walk completely out of the batter’s circle after every pitch, I know that the next pitch will be delivered into the right field seats. Of course, as you know, that doesn’t happen as frequently as we would like. Some people called him a young Mickey Mantle. Don’t laugh, but it is stretching it a bit. Mantle was as fast as a deer and played like he thought he would die at 40, which is what he really did fear. Neither men put fear into the catcher’s heart as far as swiping bases is concerned. Mantle won one Gold Glove in 1962 and Bruce will win his first this year (2012). What does ...

With the winter taking a heavy toll on the farm system, I thought it would be prudent to take a look at what the Reds still have at the minor league level.Some names people are familiar with include Billy Hamilton, Yorman Rodriguez, Kris Negron, Henry Rodriguez, Neftali Soto and Denis Phipps.Of course, there are several who are putting up decent numbers and getting very little recognition.The first player that I want to spotlight is outfielder Bill Rhinehart. If the name rings a bell, but doesn't seem to complete the circuit of instant recall, he came to the Reds in the deal that sent Jonny Gomes to the Washington Nationals for himself and pitcher Christopher Manno.Rhinehart is no spring chicken as far as minor league prospects are concerned. He is a 27-year-old power hitting outfielder who was drafted in the 11th round by the Nationals in ...

One of the "minor league players" in the Travis Wood and Sean Marshall exchange turns out to be young outfielder Dave Sappelt, according to John Fay. This puts the trade in a new light, in my view.Sending Travis Wood to the Chicago Cubs was an understandable trade. The Cubs needed a starter and the Cincinnati Reds needed a reliever. Good deal, right?I don't think so. Sappelt played 38 games for the Reds last season. That was after a tremendous run at spring training and a very good season with Triple-A Louisville. It is my understanding he was still in the running for the left-field position.The Reds' young outfield corps of the Reds is being depleted. They waived Jeremy Hermida earlier in the year and then let Fred Lewis go.The farther we get into negotiations, the more it seems the Reds are focusing on Chris Heisey as the everyday left-fielder. They ...

I am sickened over the recent trade that will bring Mat Latos to the Cincinnati Reds while sending a former All-Star and three of the best prospects to the San Diego Padres.This one may go down harder than Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas. My God, what was Walt Jocketty thinking?Latos for Yonder Alonso would have been a good deal; Latos for Alonso and Edinson Volquez would be too much. Having the other two (Yasmani Grandal and Brad Boxberger) thrown in for good measure is just ridiculous.The Oakland Athletics only wanted Alonso, Grandal and another player for All-Star pitcher Gio Gonzalez. Who among you would not rather see the southpaw at GABP than Latos?Gonzalez has a GB ratio of about 48 percent, while Latos throws about 42 percent grounders.Alonso was one of the best trading pawns in all of baseball and Grandal was not that far behind. All that sacrificed for ...

At the time of this writing the Reds are nine games out of first place, pending what the Milwaukee Brewers do later. They have just lost the series to the upstart Chicago Cubs and try (I hope) to avoid a sweep tomorrow afternoon. When your ace blows up you know it is not your day. That is what happened today to Johnny Cueto. After looking like one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, he was shelled for seven hits and five earned runs in less than four innings. The Cubs who are on a seven-game win streak looked anything but doormats for the rest of the NL Central Division. Carlos Zambrano, (9-6) picked up the win and belted a home run in the 11-4 trouncing of the defending Divisional Champions. The only bright spot I saw in the game was the continued hot heating of Yonder Alonso who ...

This is now the seventh franchise I have compiled an 'All-Time' team for.  I began this endeavor in July of 2009 and have worked on many different lists and composite articles since then. At this rate perhaps I will have it done by the end of the decade, if the Lord tarries. The Braves are a storied franchise to be sure. They began as the Boston Red Stockings in 1876 and changed their name to the Beeneaters, Doves and Rustlers before settling on the Braves in 1912. For the most part they have just been known as the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves. They are represented by 11 players in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. Only one player played in the all three cities the Braves called home professionally. Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews played in Boston, and Milwaukee before becoming the only Brave in ...

The MLB All-Star game also known as The Mid-Summer Classic is designed for the fans, right?I mean, we are the ones who ultimately pay at the gate, buy the drinks and dogs, which pays the wages of the men we come to see. You may call Cincinnati a small market city, but let’s call Mr. Peabody and have him fire up the Wayback Machine to 1957.The National League was replete with major stars, some established and some still in the making. Stan Musial, who would go on to set a record for All-Star appearances, was 15 years into his illustrious career. Hank Aaron, in most circles considered one of the best players to ever spit on the grass, was in his fourth year and in what would be his first MVP year. The list goes on and on with Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, Eddie Matthews and others. So ...

The current crop of center fielders in the National League, actually the entire MLB, is fairly weak. At least that is what my findings reveal to me. Weak may be a strong term—but with the statistics they are producing right now—let's just call them below average.A quick gander at the stats supports my claim. As a set, they are batting .269/.341/.423 with 6 HR and 24 RBI. I just don't think that this is enough production, as we are nearing the midway point of the season.The top four finishers in my formulated analysis separate themselves from the rest.I compared their averages in OBP, SLG, OPS+, HR, RBI, SB. Pwr/Spd, Fld %. Each player's stats are listed on a table at the end of this show.Begin Slideshow

It is well-documented how the Cincinnati Reds starting pitching has been a grave, I said grave disappointment. And when I say grave I am talking about sending them to the basement grave. It’ll sink you like a stone, son. That is the way Foghorn Leghorn would report it. With all the injuries, lack of an ace and inexperience, the Reds are looking up from three floors down right now. In the humble opinion of this writer, it is time to lure someone’s ace away from them. Lord knows we have young talent that would commence most GMs salivating. Southpaw ace Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox would attract my attention. According to MLB Trade Rumors he will be freed up after this season. Not yet considered old, but certainly experienced at 32, he could be just what the doctor ordered. He is currently being paid $14M for the Southside ...

I always despised when a baseball announcer used the words, “future Hall of Famer.” Were they attempting prognostication or trying to be a modern day Nostradamus? The times that phrase was uttered about baseball great Pete Rose is incalculable. Of course, as everyone now knows, Rose shot himself in the foot by gambling on baseball games. That action proved to fail the litmus test for all those Cooperstown prophets. Yet, here I am asking you if Cincinnati Reds third baseman Scott Rolen will someday be enshrined with the baseball legends of days gone by. He is in his 16th year and still going strong(er). I must admit, even though I am a self-proclaimed baseball purist, it is titillating to engage in conversation about marginal players. As a purist (and not a homer), I would give you a quick two-thumbs down on Rolen. He has nowhere near 3,000 hits. He isn’t ...