Reds have the best record in baseball
What a month this has been so far. The Reds achieve the best record in baseball by defeating their long time master, Roy Oswalt. It may not get any better than this in '06. But I sure hope it does.
Reds likely to stay in Sarasota
As a Reds fan in Arizona, I was bummed to see this in the Post, though I won't argue that it's probably in the best interests of the team:
The Reds' desire to upgrade their spring training facilities got a boost Tuesday when the Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to help provide funding for such projects. In a 117-0 vote, the House signed off on a measure that would provide about $15 million in tax rebates over a 30-year span to the spring homes of five teams, including Sarasota and the Reds.::sigh:: I was really getting excited about the rumors that the Reds might move their spring training to the Cactus league.
Reds starting to get some notice
Ben Jacobs has a decent little article at The Hardball Times investigating the surprisingly good play of the Astros and Reds this season. Jacobs was among the many who picked the Reds to finish last in the division prior to this season, but he's beginning to re-examine his decision:
Of course, they could do that and still finish below .500 if they allow around 900 runs as well. Despite that possibility, an offense that could have as many as seven quality hitters (Dunn, Griffey, Kearns, Encarnacion, Lopez, Phillips and Jason LaRue) gives the Reds a definite shot at being significantly better than I gave them credit for at the beginning of the season.He makes the point in his article that while the Reds' offense is overperforming, our hitters are so good that most aren't overperforming by as large a margin as one might initially expect. Reds fans won't really be surprised by any of this. Our offense is going to hit. The only question is whether our pitching can get up toward league-average levels, allowing our offense to carry us to the playoffs. But it's nice to see some acknowledgement of the Reds' talents among some of their harshest critics. This sure has been a fun month to be a Reds fan.
About Delmon Young: Unless there's another Zapruder film waiting to be discovered, the video that is already out there is all that we're likely to see. It shows Young passing out of frame a split second before the bat comes flying back.
ReplyDeleteOn your behalf, sorry that Sarasota seems to be keeping the Reds - it might have been neat to see spring training and maybe the rookie league affiliate out west.
Yeah, that was basically my thoughts on the Young video too--can't see much. I would really have liked to see one of his actual motion. Looking at it a few more times, it does look a little bit like he spun around at the edge of the screen before throwing the bat. If that's the case, it's hard to argue that it wasn't at least his attention to throw it in the direction of the umpire. And if that's the case, they should throw the book at him. I've seen about 5 different versions of the events reported by witnesses...I suppose I'll just have to wait for the conclusions of the investigation.
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