On the recent Why is Cincinnati So Racist post, the subject was raised of Pete Rose having closer friendships with the black and hispanic players than with the white players in the 60's.

It's true that he did. The following comes from the book Crosley Field by Rhodes and Erardi.

Rose loved (Frank) Robinson and his buddy, Vada Pinson, because the black fielders befriended him when the white players wouldn't; they were upset that Rose had taken (Don) Blasingame's job. Rose splashed on their brand of cologne, wore his baseball pants long and tight like them, warmed up with them on the field before the game. The Reds' front office told Rose to stop hanging around the blacks. "It's bad for your image," he was told. Rose ignored the advice, just as he ignored it when manager Fred Hutchinson passed along the same message from above. Johnny Temple said Hutchinson told him in 1964 to make sure of two things: that Rose didn't hang around with the black players and that Rose learned how to use a knife and fork when he ate.

Oil hit another record high today, as did gasoline. Lately, it seems like it's news when crude oil doesn't set a new record high. It's about $125/barrel now. Only three or four years ago, OPEC was claiming their "target range" was about $25/barrel. They're a little off. Like, about $100 off.

Man, it looks like it's going exponential there. Makes you wonder if peak oil is here.

Whether we're at peak oil or not, it seems clear that we are now in an era of permanently higher oil prices. Which also increases the cost of food and other goods, since it takes energy to produce and transport them. Some experts are predicting gas will be $7 a gallon by the end of this year.

But if you think your fuel bill is bad...what about sports teams, that have to travel all over the state, even all over the country? USA Today has a special report on gas prices today, including an article on how it's affecting sports, from high school to the Hall of Fame.

Bill Papierniak, general manager of the Daytona Cubs of the Class A Florida State League, says the average round trip for his team is 200 miles. Teams may have to attract more fans to offset fuel costs, he says.

The Buffalo Bisons take $2 off the price of tickets for fans who take the Metro Rail train to the ballpark. The number of fans taking the offer is up 10% this season.

"It's the cost of gas," Bisons general manager Mike Buczkowski says. "It's also the rising costs of everything making people look for discounts."

The Bisons, who also play in the International League, take buses to Rochester, N.Y., and Syracuse, N.Y. They fly to Durham, N.C., and Richmond. Buczkowski says the cost of travel is up 15% from last season, which was up 15% from 2006.

"It's a concern," Buczkowski says. "We try not to pass that on to the customer because in the minors we are all about value."

Ticket prices already are set for the season, Richmond assistant GM Bill Blackwell says, "but of course in the supermarket green beans can go up every day."

Says Baldwin: "Everything we do is oil-based. The giveaways at the ballpark are plastic and that's oil-based. Hats aren't, but I have to put them on a boat, airplane or truck. So there's some derivative of an oil byproduct in everything."

(Actually, hats probably are oil-based. The ones they give away are likely at least partly synthetics, which are petroleum products.)

Some people actually think we'll have to relocalize sports. I doubt it will come to that, at least any time soon, but teams could have a lot of trouble offsetting higher fuel costs by attracting more fans, when the fans are also struggling with higher prices. People are already buying smaller cars and trying to unload their SUVs. They're moving closer to work. And when all else fails, they're paying the higher fuel and food costs by running up their credit card debt. Food banks are running out of food, because more people are asking for help while fewer people are donating food.

You're doing fine, you say? Great! Then you can help others less fortunate. Tomorrow, Saturday, May 10th, is Stamp Out Hunger Day. Postal workers will be collecting food for food banks all across the U.S.A. Gather up a few non-perishable food items (no glass containers, please), put them in a bag, and leave it out for your letter carrier. You can hang the bag from the mailbox or put it on the ground beside it. They'll pick it up and deliver it to a local food bank.

We don't have Reds and Mets but we've got BubbaFan offering Lullville Bats updates and we need a new thread for our discussion on race in Cincinnati sports scene and what the hell, race in America altogether.

Also, the Cardinals are playing the Brewers, the Lakers are playing the Jazz and there's prolly a hockey game or two going on out there somewhere.

And howabout a little SIS action?  What's your favorite animated movie from the past ten or fifteen years? Or from whenever it was that "The Little Mermaid" began the supposed renaissance of the medium...1990?  ...I still haven't seen Ratatouille.  What am I missing?

I have always liked them---I went to the same school with Todd Benzinger in New Richmond, Ohio---his dad taught  at New Richmond Middle School

I thought it was really cool when Todd got the world series ball  WOW!

I have an autographed baseball with serveral of the reds--like benzinger, o'neil,reed etc. about 15 names on it ----I have had since late 80's

I am considering to sell the ball

First of all, don't come into this thread if you want to watch Jeopardy tonight without knowing what happens.  Seriously, people will be talking about andromache's match tonight in this thread, and if you want to watch it fresh, don't read on.

Here's a thread to discuss andromache's certain domination of tonight's Jeopardy match.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, looky here.  According to her bio, andromache is the one in the Michigan State sweatshirt.  I'm disappointed that she didn't demand to wear a Red Reporter shirt.  Or at least show off her Red Reporter tattoo.  You all have one of those, right?

Anyway, check your local listings for when it's on.  And even though it has already happened, it's new to you!  And no matter what school you chose or didn't choose, tonight, we are all Spartans!

http://www.thelotd.com/ctrent/blog/2008/05/09/mercker_to_dl_bray_up

Wasn't there a rumor yesterday that someone was DL bound? I have to admit I didn't even consider Mercker...

It's good to have Bray back, though. While Mercker wasn't bad by any stretch, I'm a little more comfortable with Bray on the mound in a crucial situation.

Let's see if he can give us something serviceable from a trade made in 06... to help the team in 06... only 2 years late.

Sorry for sending this to everyone; I couldn't figure out how to send it directly to Verka.  That being said, I'd love to hear anyone else's input on this.

Verka, I don't understand exactly what you are doing, but I think it's enough to say that you are working for social justice -- that is, a kind of equality -- for disadvantaged folks in the Latin Caribbean.  First off: Good for you, and thanks!

Now, my question.  I've often wondered whether the much-discussed inequality of income is as important as the absolute level of income.  That is, which is better: to have everyone get nearly equal income, or to have a bigger spread, but have the median be higher?

Of course, you have to define what "better" is.  But for these purposes, I think something like "satisfaction," "economic stress-level," or "contentment" might be the right definition.

I can answer this question for myself.  I'm doing reasonably well --don't have to worry about what I'm going to eat, don't have to worry too much about paying the mortgage.  It doesn't bother me a bit that Griffey's option year alone would bring him over 100x my income.  Because I'm content with what I've got, I don't care what he gets.

This makes me wonder if we shouldn't focus on raising "the bottom," and not worry about the disparity, except secondarily insofar as the megaincomes actively screw the poor.  If we could raise the standard of living of the 5th percentile in income in each country -- get it up to the point that the 5th percentile lives a decent life, maybe it doesn't matter what the 99th percentile is making.

So, Verka -- in your experience, which would make people more content?  Reducing the disparity, even if that means everyone is poor, or boosting the 5th percentile, even if some people are making 100x or 1000x that amount?

Has Aaron Harang ever had higher value than he has right now?  What about Brandon Phillips?  Harang has pitched over 230 innings each of the past two years and is averaging 7 innings per start this year.  Phillips provides gold-glover caliber defense, power, and speed while playing at a traditionally weak offensive position.  Both are signed to reasonable long-term deals.  They are the perfect players to build a team around.  So why even consider trading them?

Let's look at the team as a whole.  The Reds have 4 solid young pitchers including Harang and  if Bailey is included in the group.  They have a core of young position players including Phillips, Votto, Bruce, EdE, and Kepp who could be the start to a good team.  But there are major issues with this team.

The way the Reds are going, you have to assume we'll see the mid-summer fire sale of Dunn, Griffey, Weathers, Hatteburg, Bako, and maybe others.  I'd guess those players as a whole will net 2-3 servicable players and a couple low-level, low-rated prospects.  So we're left with holes in the outfield, at catcher, and at a starter.  Could Phillips be turned into a decent outfielder and a starter?  Could Harang be turned into a ML-ready starter, a young prospect, and a couple decent position prospects? 

I don't think the Reds have the guts to make that type of move, but it's time to at least explore the possibilities.  This is a team that needs to chart a course and stick to it, or we'll just keep going in circles.

Junior tells USA Today he expects to be traded, agent backpedals for him:

Agent explains Jr. comments

Link to USA Today article

Junior obviously controls his own destiny being a 10-and-5 guy, but in the article it sounds as though Seattle would be a perfect match from both sides. I truly doubt we're getting Clement under any circumstances, though.

On a different note, David Weathers takes up for his teammates:

Brantley's on-air comments prompt Weathers response

This is what I like to see out of someone (especially a vet) on the team. Considering the article mentions that Weathers & Brantley are friends, hopefully Stormy's words sink in to Brantley.

Thoughts on the matters at hand? Concerns? What can we realistically get for Griffey? Potato salad?

PS: I hate the FanPost editor, it angries up me blood.

I know the big league club has not performed well during the first 20% of season, but I feel like every time I drop in to read discussions on RR this season, the front page is taken up with Minor League reports.

I admire Rick House's work at getting all the minor league recaps posted to RR daily, but if I want to find out how many hits Brandon Menchaca had in the Dayton-Quad Cities game, there are many sites I can find that information on besides RR.

Now I know lots of the RR crew love all the Farm System news, but wouldn't a weekly summary post be better?  I miss out on Cincinnati news and discussion posts on the main page because they get drowned out and knocked off by the Minor League reports. 

That's just my opinion, anyone else agree?