Kuzul

Everyone has perfect 20/20 hindsight. I know I do.

Some think the sweep job the Cards did was in retaliation to Brandon Phillips’ name calling and some are in agreement that he should have kept his mouth shut.

If he is attempting to become public enemy No. 1, he took the correct fork in the road. After his “hulkish” posturing after leveling Nationals catcher Will Nieves, he drew the ire of Pudge Rodriguez and many Washington fans.

What are the real problems facing the Reds since the beginning of the series with the Cards?

1. Brandon Phillips to start with. Calling the team a “bunch of bitches” right after getting it handed to you is as lame as it gets. Why stir up a hornets nest after they have already hit you with a good shot in the forehead?

2. Why was Travis Wood sent to Louisville prior to the series? He has been the most effective starter we have had recently. Do the brass know something we don’t? Well, it doesn’t look like it.

I know somebody had to vacate a spot so we could trade Chris Dickerson (who was still on the DL) for Jim Edmonds, which is a trade that I applaud. Why wasn’t Edmonds used against Adam Wainwright?

3. Wainwright is the best starting pitcher in baseball, or at least in the National League. The man is a picture of consistency.

4. The Cards showed they can both pitch and hit in the same game. The Reds couldn’t do either during any of the games.

5. Scott Rolen showed his maturity by acting as peacemaker and then his loyalty for going after Chris Carpenter for talking about Dusty Baker.

6. The Cardinals won three games going away in the Reds yard, and they do not have a winning record on the road. That is distressing. The Reds end their play with the Cards in St. Louis during Labor Day weekend.

7. The Reds quickly went from the hottest team in the league to the coldest.

8. The Cardinals are this good with only two starters (position players) from their 2008 squad—Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols, and that was just two years ago.

9. Johnny Cueto was suspended for seven games. Dusty Baker and Tony LaRussa were both suspended for two games. Scott Rolen and Chris Carpenter were fined but not suspended and Reds reliever Russ Springer was also fined.

Should we panic? No, I don’t think so.

Some changes need to be made or it won’t get any better. I would like to see more of Edmonds as he could be a big factor down the stretch.

I don’t think Jay Bruce is going to be effective wherever he is put in the lineup. His strikeout ratio is way too high. We need more production from him if he is to continue starting.

The comment about strikeouts can be cut and pasted to Drew Stubbs’ account as well, in spades!

The Reds are facing one of the best pitchers in the league on Friday in Josh Johnson. I don’t want to see another two-hit shutout. Do you?

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The doctors call it a UCLR (ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction). Baseball players and fans call it Tommy John surgery—named after the pitcher who was the first to have the surgery in 1974. Fans of the Cardinals call it the surgery that saved former left-handed reliever Ken Dayley’s career, and also gave him spotlight from the way he recovered from it. Dayley recovered in an astonishing seven months where most pitchers take up to 14 months recovering from the operation. 

Ken Dayley was a left-handed reliever who used a snappy curve and fastball to become the Cardinals’ top left-handed reliever during his tenure with the team. He recovered from Tommy John surgery in 1986 to win a personal-best nine games in ’87.

In 1989, he set career highs with 71 appearances and 12 saves. He was particularly effective in the postseason, tossing 10 scoreless innings in two League Championship Series and allowing just one run in 10 2/3 World Series innings, including a relief win in Game 2 of the 1985 Fall Classic.

In short, Dayley was key cog in the Cardinals’ bullpen during his stint with the team.

Dayley is also the only known player to recover so quickly from the operation, but he shares the secret to his success in this article. 

As Dayley puts it in a New York Times article from 1989, “Dr. Frank Jobe told me to do what my arm would allow me to do, and I was proceeding at that pace (in reference to a 12-month recovery).

“But then on Dec. 19, 1986, the Cardinals told me they weren’t going to offer me a contract. Probably out of personal pride, which I shouldn’t have let get in the way, I said I’m going to do what I have to do.

“Without a contract, I was free to do what I wanted to do. I had been playing racquetball right-handed and I started playing left-handed. I started throwing before I was supposed to. If I was going to get a contract from somebody, I had to show I could pitch again.”

Former Cardinals reliever Rick Horton stated in a recent Cardinals telecast, “He was incredible. He came back in seven months and threw harder with more control, which is almost unheard of after seven months. Usually pitchers take close to two years to regain solid control of their pitches, but Dayley had better break and control after a short time, which is almost unheard of.”

Dayley’s speedy recovery has provoked major league ball players to question if they can return in such a short time, but doctors have advised not to rush the process. 

Rick Horton added, “The doctors made him sound as if he were a medical miracle.”

It would be something to marvel at if players such as Chris Carpenter, Billy Wagner, A.J. Burnett, Brian Wilson, and others to had comeback from their injuries in such a short time like Daly, but due to their situations they did not.

Perhaps Dayley is the medical miracle that he was made out to be, and he is an interesting story to revisit during a new era of products of the Tommy John surgery.

Maybe in the future a player will recover quickly like Dayley out of the same necessity, but until then, Ken Dayley is still the only Tommy John-produced medical miracle.  

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The Reds and Cards are in one of the longest running one and two pennant races in history. Neither team can really put substantial distance between themselves and the other.

Both squads have strong talent and deep rosters.

Let’s take a look at the way the teams stack up against each other, position by position.

CATCHER

Yadier Molina is one of the best defensive catchers in the game. His average has dropped this season to .243 and his run production has dropped as well.

The Reds do not have a “true” starting catcher. They rotate (not platoon) Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan, and with the production they get from the duo places them high on the list in both leagues.

Advantage: REDS

FIRST BASE

Albert Pujols is arguably the best player in the game today, and has been for a few years. He is a rare bird indeed, blending excellent power with a high average.

Prince Albert is currently batting .305 and is second in the NL in home runs and RBI. He is also second in the league in OBP.

His counterpart Joey Votto is only in his third full year in the majors. He has a legitimate chance at winning the Triple Crown this year, and is having an MVP-type season himself.

He leads the league with a .324 average and OBP at .423. He is currently tied for second with Pujols in home runs with 27 and is fifth in RBI.

Advantage: EVEN

SECOND BASE

Skip Schumaker ranks near the bottom in almost all offensive categories for second basemen. A natural outfielder, he was relegated to the middle infield position last season.

The Reds Brandon Phillips made the All-Star team for the first team this year and leads the league in runs scored and is second in total hits. Many people see him as the best defensive second baseman in the National League.

Advantage: REDS

THIRD BASE

Cardinal rookie David Freese was having an exceptional season until injuries forced him to the DL. He re-injured himself in a rehab game and it is unknown how long he will be out. Journeyman, Felipe Lopez is taking his place at the hot corner in the interim.

Scott Rolen has won seven Gold Glove Awards and is enjoying his best season since 2006 when he was still with St. Louis. He is hitting .299 with 18 HR and 62 RBI.

Advantage: REDS

SHORTSTOP

Brendan Ryan has played the majority of the season at shortstop for the Cards. He is batting .223 with two HR and 21 RBI.

Reds shortstop Orlando Cabrera came to the Reds just prior to Spring Training and has been a welcome addition. He is the missing link which makes the Reds the best infield in the National League.

He is batting .260 with three HR and 37 RBI, and has been a decent hitter in the clutch.

Advantage: REDS

LEFT FIELD

Matt Holiday has been on fire lately. Since July 18, he has hit 15 HR and driven in 40 while batting ,318.with an OBP of .393.

Prior to the All-Star break Gomes was batting near .300 and was in the top five in RBI in the NL. He has since slid downward to the .275 range with 66 RBI.

Advantage: CARDINALS

CENTER FIELD

Rookie Colby Rasmus is batting .276 with 18 HR and 47 RBI.
Reds rookie Drew Stubbs is batting only .226 with 13 HR but leads Rasmus in RBI with 49.

Advantage: CARDINALS

RIGHT FIELD

John Jay has taken over the reigns in right field after Ryan Ludwick was traded in July. In only 123 AB Jay is batting .366

Reds under-achiever Jay Bruce is batting .254 with 10 HR and 41 RBI.

Advantage: REDS (slightly)

STARTING PITCHERS

Adam Wainwright, Cris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, newly acquired Jake Westbrook, and Jeff Suppan is certainly one of the most formidable rotations in the Major League. The Cards ERA for their starters leads the league at 3.32. They are 45-32 and have held the opposition to a BA of .260. Wainwright has the lone shutout for the Cards this year.

The Reds have had many different starters this season. Their current rotation of Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake, Travis Wood, and Edinson Volquez could almost be called Bronson and the Babies.

The starters stats for the Reds are as follows: 41-28 with an ERA of 4.07 with an opposing BA of only .256. Homer Bailey and Cueto have the only two shutouts for the Reds this year, ironically back-to-back.

Advantage: CARDINALS (slightly)

BULLPEN

The Cardinal bullpen has not been their strong suit this season. Kyle McClellan, Blake Hawksworth, Mike MacDougal, Dennis Reyes, and Trever Miller are all front men for closer Ryan Franklin.

Their bullpen is only credited with 23 saves in 31 opportunites with an ERA of 3.71 with an OBA of .252

The Reds bullpen has been toyed with all season with men being sent back and forth to Triple-A Louisville. It is currently stocked by Sir Arthur Rhodes, Nick Massett, Logan Ondrusek, Bill Bray, and Jordan Smith with Francisco Cordero in charge of heart attacks and strokes.

They are credited with 31 saves in 42 chances and have posted an ERA of 3.99 while holding the opposition to a .251 BA.

Advantage: EVEN

BENCH

The Reds have a stronger bench by far. Chris Heisey, Layne Nix, Miguel Cairo, Paul Janish, Juan Francisco, and either Hernandez or Hanigan make choices alot easier for Manager Dusty Baker.

The Cards bench is lead by Randy Winn, Jason LaRue, Aaron Miles, and Aaron Craig.

Advantage: REDS

You may draw your own conclusions, but any way you dissect it, the teams matchup very well. It should be a nail-biting finish to a wonderful season.

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Last Thursday, LeBron James decided to leave the Midwest for the sunshine in Miami, and with that, changed the entire landscape of professional sports in Ohio.

The Cavaliers, or more importantly James, had become the heart of the professional state. They had reached the 2007 Finals, had the best regular season record two straight seasons and the best player in the respective sport.

For Cincinnati, basketball has not been as relevant since the days of Oscar Robertson and the Cincinnati Royals. Therefore, I write this view not from a basketball perspective, but a whole “sport-state” perspective.

The state currently has seven professional sports teams that include:

Cincinnati Bengals, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Columbus Crew (MLS).

With LeBron now gone from the picture, there are truly only two franchises that can currently take claim at this time to being the Kings of Ohio: the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Browns.

An argument could be made for the Cincinnati Bengals, but their past season of success, a divisional title is not enough force to make up for their lean history of success.

Now, for those of you who want to argue for Ohio State, this is only an argument at the professional level, so Ohio State Football is not valid within these walls of argument. That is for a collegiate debate.

In this article, I will speak on the strength of reason the Cincinnati Reds should be considered the Kings of Ohio.

Right now as we lay at the All-Star break, the Reds lead the Central Division (49-41) by a game over the perennial division champ St. Loius Cardinals. The trio of Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips, and National League home run leader (22) Joey Votto have all helped in creating the division lead. The Reds look as strong as they have since the 1995 Playoff season where they battled the Braves. That is just a jumping point to start off the discussion.

The Reds are the last team in the state of Ohio to win a pro championship. Cleveland has been high and dry, but the Reds were able to take home the title in a suprise at the time by dismantling the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series.

If I mention the name Chris Sabo, I’m sure it will put a smile on a few faces who have forgotten him. There is always Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, the mean bullpen trio which included Norm Charlton and the dominant Jose Rijo. They brought luster to a team which had not seen it in the 80’s. However, the 70’s were not so bad for the Red Stockings either.

These were times when the roster included players such as: Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, George Foster, Dave Concepcion, Gary Nolan and the original Ken Griffey—a finely tuned bunch who won back-to-back titles in 1975 and 1976.

The titles are what people remember, and unfortunately, it has been two decades since they last took home the title, but the history remains. The fact that they have been around since 1882 (or 1869 depending on which Red Stockings team you recognize), shows the immense amount of time they have been able to hold a place in professional sports.

They have the Hall of Fame players such as Pete Rose, and the moments such as his all-time hits mark set in Cincinnati. You could make an all-time Reds roster that could compete with any other one in the league. They might not beat the Yankees all-time or Dodgers all-time team, but they would sure give them one tough game or tough series.

The Reds have an illustrious past to go from and a bright future ahead of them as we watch this season unfold and those to come. If the young men can continue to develop and the minor league players can continue to grow into productive players at the professional ranks, this could be a championship caliber team. 

Just the thing worth noting in a team to be considered the Kings of Ohio.

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The Cincinnati Reds brought their style of play to Anaheim, and the results paid off as the National League defeated the American League 3-1 in the 81st annual All-Star Game.

A pitcher’s duel for most of the night, Scott Rolen started a seventh-inning rally with a single off Phil Hughes. He then went first to third on a Matt Holliday single, hustling the entire way and sliding to safety.

All-Star teammate Brandon Phillips was miked up for the game and could be heard chanting:

“Yeah yeah. That’s what we do in Cincinnati. We go first to third.”

Ah yes, they do. They currently lead the majors in that category. The play didn’t win the game for the NL, but it altered the way Matt Thornton pitched to Marlon Byrd—who eventually earned a walk.

It also set a tone for the rest of the NL squad. The game does matter and Rolen is going all-out to win it.

One batter later with the bases loaded, Atlanta’s Brian McCann delivered big with a bases-clearing double. It marked the first time in All-Star Game history that a player knocked in three with the bases loaded (hard to believe isn’t it?). McCann was named MVP of the game.

Matt Capps of the Washington Nationals earned the win to become the first pitcher from a team based in Washington to win an All-Star Game since Dutch Leonard (1943 Senators).

While Phillips didn’t collect a hit, he made a dandy of a play in the field, tagging out Texas’ Elvis Andrus, who was trying to swipe second and slid past the bag.

Joey Votto was also hitless after earning over 14 million votes to be the last player selected to the team. But it was a great experience for the always level-headed Votto:

“I’m starting to learn you have to take a moment to say, ‘I’ve done pretty good. I’m an All-Star.’ I’ve given myself the next few days to pat myself on the back. I’ve never done that before, but I’m learning to. Not in an arrogant way. In the past, I’ve never said, ‘You know, that was pretty good.'”

From the seventh inning on, the NL infield was colored Red as 1B Votto, 2B Phillips, and 3B Rolen all finished the victory.

Unfortunately, the ageless Arthur Rhodes didn’t make an appearance. While I’m sure he needed the well-deserved rest, it would have been nice to see the 40-year-old at least pitch to one batter. 

All in all, it was a great experience for the Reds’ All-Stars. Phillips was all grins the entire game and looked to have really soaked up the entire experience.

Votto was able to realize he is an elite player and Rolen showed the world how the Cincinnati Reds are playing baseball in 2010.

The American League lost the All-Star Game for the first time since 1996, and now the National League will own home-field advantage in the World Series.

Nobody is crazy enough to say Game 7 will be at Great American Ballpark, but it sure is convenient to have home-field advantage for the first time in years—when the Reds are in first place for the first time in years.

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When a 22-year-old third baseman named Scott Rolen burst onto the scene in 1997 by winning the NL Rookie of the Year award, he won over the fans who followed the Phillies during some of the franchise’s darkest days.

For the next four years, the youngster with such promise was compared to one man and one man only:

Michael Jack Schmidt, the best third baseman in baseball history and the greatest player ever to wear a Phillies uniform.

Flash forward to 2010: Rolen returned to town this weekend as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, and Phillie fans welcomed him back home in the exact same way they have since 2002.

Scott Rolen was one of the finest players in Phillies history. Too bad he’ll never be remembered like that.

For Rolen, where did it all go so wrong?

After all, Rolen was a fan favorite during most of his time here, the late 1990’s. You know, back in the days of Nintendo 64, back when middle-school dance functions first played Britney Spears and ‘N Sync, and back when Monica Lewinski’s mug appeared on the cover of every magazine in America.

Back then, Rolen was the Phillies’ Chase Utley.

In Philadelphia today, it’s probably baseball blasphemy to mention Scott Rolen and Chase Utley in the same sentence. But, the two players actually have, and had, a lot in common.

For years, Utley has been the best all-around player on a Phillies team loaded with talent. Similarly, Rolen was the best all-around player on his Phillies teams that simply weren’t very good.

Remember what it was like to have Desi Relaford instead of Jimmy Rollins? Matt Beech instead of Cole Hamels? Mickey Morandini instead of Chase Utley?

Utley was, and still is, the absolute right guy at the absolute right time. Scott Rolen, on the other hand, was the absolute right guy at the absolute wrong time. Still, the similarities between the two run deeper than that.

1. Five-Tool Ability

They could both hit for average, hit for power, run, field, and throw. When Utley’s at his best, there’s nothing on the field he can’t do. The same could be said of Rolen during his tenure in Philly.

2. Gamers

Everyone knows Utley has tremendous on-field tenacity and intelligence. But anyone who watched the Phillies during the lean years knows that Rolen’s style was very similar. Both men played the game as hard as anyone. Scott was a smart base runner who went from first-to-third on a single whenever possible and broke up double plays with hard slides. His hot-corner defense was pretty good too….

3. Never a quote machine

Scott wasn’t a talker. Intel about his non-baseball activities was always confidential. Scott never seemed like a vocal clubhouse leader. Then again, neither has Chase Utley. Chase lets his play on the field do the talking. Rolen did the same. Has Utley ever given a real passionate quote over the years? Well, there was one….’08 World Series parade?

4. Chick Magnet

Yep. They flocked for the Scott Rolen jersey long before Pat Burrell, Jayson Werth, or Cole Hamels appeared on the radar. The babes who at one point held up “Scotty’s a Hottie” signs at the Vet eventually converted to “Burrell’s Girls” a few years later.

Of course, Chase is pretty popular with the women, too. But Rolen’s female fanbase was even more impressive since a Phillies game during the late ‘90s wasn’t exactly considered the unparalleled social hotspot that it is today for people 15 to 25.

What’s Done Is Done. But It’s Still Sad.

Of course, the Phillies did their best to re-sign Rolen in March 2002, but Scott had feuded with management in the past year and was desperate to leave his losing team in favor of a serious contender.

Phillie fans didn’t like that.

Rolen turned down the Phils long-term contract offer. Through the entire first half of the 2002 season, the Philadelphia fanbase booed him before every at-bat and after every out he made.

The man who had been the Phillies most beloved player for six seasons was suddenly their most hated.

Think the fans were hard on Donovan McNabb? He had it easy by comparison.

When Rolen was traded to the Cardinals at the ’02 deadline, he spoke of St. Louis as “Baseball Heaven” and criticized the Philly fanbase. Considering the way he was treated over his final four months in town, could you really fault Rolen for saying what he said?

In Philadelphia today, Rolen is known as a malcontented mercenary who hated everything about the fans and the city.

Will Philadelphia ever welcome back Scott Rolen? Ever? Probably not.

Just don’t forget that during Bill Clinton’s second term in office there were pretty much only two reasons to watch a Phillies game. 1) To hear the great Harry Kalas. 2) To watch Philadelphia’s young third baseman do his thing….

A lot has changed in Philadelphia over the years, but one thing hasn’t. To this day, Scott Rolen is still compared to one man and one man only. But it isn’t Chase Utley, and it sure as hell ain’t Michael Jack Schmidt anymore:

It’s J.D. Drew.

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Each year, one question rises to the surface following the announcement of the American and National League rosters for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game: who got snubbed by the All-Star managers?

Today, I take a look at the other side of the coin. Since 2000, a number of players have been selected by their own managers as All-Star managers, despite the fact that they were having less-than-spectacular seasons.

Here are 10 All Stars Who Owe their Managers One.

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For some time, I’ve wanted to analyze the Hall of Fame; specifically, who today is going in? I’ve tried it once before, but the result never felt satisfying.

But then, it hit me.

Instead of writing three sentences each about fifty-odd guys and splitting it over two articles, write a more focused bit on smaller groups at a time.

I am starting with my favorite group, the third basemen.

Third is an extra interesting group, because the baseball writers committee, as a whole, seem to have absolutely no idea how to treat the position.

Shortstops and second basemen get special considerations for their offense, as the positions are defensively difficult. However, they completely ignore defense at third. Consequently, the position is under-represented.

Let me phrase this a different way: name every third baseman in the Hall of Fame. Not Veteran Committee/Negro Leagues/etc., JUST those elected through the standard process. Keep track of how many you name.

Did you get past five? If you did, you have named every third baseman in the Hall. The hot corner has a mere SIX representatives in Cooperstown: Pie Traynor, Eddie Mathews, Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, and Wade Boggs.

Think about it this way: of the six Hall of Fame third basemen, one was elected before the Korean War, and half were inducted in Bryce Harper’s lifetime.

Despite this bizarre condition, I have confidence that the current group manning the position can reverse this trend.

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Hot hitting has been the reason for the Reds’ success to this point. It may astonish you to know that four of the top 11 batters in the National League wear Cincinnati uniforms.

That is correct. Scott Rolen is currently fifth in the league at .309, Brandon Phillips is ninth at .304, while Jonny Gomes and Joey Votto are tied at 10th, both batting .301.

I haven’t researched it but I bet it has been a good while since four Reds have been in the Top 10 in batting this far into the season.

Since June 1, Rolen is batting .425, with 3 HR, and 12 RBI, with an OBP of .455.

Votto is batting .316 since May 15. He also has hit 3 HR with 14 RBI, and an OBP of .419.

Since June 4, Phillips is batting .444 with a .474 OBP.

Going all the way back to May 5, Gomes is batting .364 with  5 HR and 29 RBI. His OBP during that stretch is .434. 

With runners in scoring position, Gomes is batting .435 with 36 RBI. With two outs and runners in scoring position, his average jumps to .500 with 13 RBI in only 16 AB.

Rolen is second in the league with 14 HR, and is fourth in RBI with 44.

Gomes is tied for 10th in RBI with 41. He leads all NL left fielders in average and RBI, including Ryan Braun, Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Carlos Lee and Alfonso Soriano.

Cincinnati leads the league in batting at a .280 clip, in runs, hits, RBI, in SLG and in OPS. They are second to the Milwaukee Brewers in HR, and second to the Atlanta Braves in OBP.

They were getting quality starts seemingly every outing until this past week. The starters have been getting roughed up, the middle relief corps has been spotty, and the closing department has sucked.

However, as Dusty Baker said, and I paraphrase, Don’t count us out as long as we have a bat in our hand.

It is so true, I have come to expect good things at the plate in the last inning. Last night, I couldn’t believe it when Rolen lined out to end the game.

As long as the guys are hitting, we will have a chance to win, 7-6, 14-13 or whatever. The starters will get back into the groove and hopefully the closer, formerly known as Moon Man, will get his act together on a consistent basis.

As much as I hate to admit it, great hitting trumps great pitching every time. Face it, you have never heard anyone say they got beat 0-0.

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It was definitely a big week for the league’s corner infielders. The names of Youkilis, Glaus, Konerko, Rolen, Kouzmanoff, and Cabrera were on the tops of all the statistics. The guardians of the baselines spoke with their bats, and ruled the diamond.

Martinez, Gardner, Rasmus and Suzuki spent last week blasting the hardball. Injuries and rest days couldn’t put out their fire.

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