‘That’s what we do in Cincinnati’
Witnessing the injury prone, soon-to-be 36-year-old star third baseman motor from first to third in an exhibition game was a little bit nerve-wracking, but Phillips' show of solidarity for his teammate was a nice moment from last night's All Star Game.
Red Hot Mama takes note of Votto's "uncharacteristic sass" vis a vis Da Cubs
It's open for debate as to whether and to what degree Votto is joking here:
"I don’t like the Cubs," Votto said. "And I’m not going to pat anybody with a Cubs uniform on the back. But because he made that really cool play, it turned out to be a really cool experience. I’m really glad we got the win today."
Even if he wasn't clearly yukking it up, I take Votto for a guy who could deal in deadpan humor. And regardless of authorial intent, Reds fans should thrill to this. Taken with the BP's quote about the nature of Cincinnati-style Baseball, there seems to be a pretty coherent team spirit at work, at least among the All Star Reds. It's also refreshing to hear players break from the standard diplomatic boilerplate and become more fan-like. At the very least, the players are giving lip-service to the fact that their team represents Cincinnati and its Cub-invasion-resenting fanbase.
Rotographs takes a look at the Travis Wood and Matt Maloney call-ups
Like this writer, I too am a sucker for fastball lefties.
Another puffy, but pleasant piece about Rhodes' All Star berth
There was a delicious prank which preceded Dusty telling Arthur the big news. More evidence of team-building and old-fashioned whimsicality to be smug about. Rhodes didn't get in the fight last night, but this is best seen as a positive for those who value his health and innings in a Reds uniform.
SeatGeekBlog gauges the turnstile profiteering for National League Central teams at the break
I haven't any idea what all the confounding factors are here, but it seems bizarre that the Pirates tickets resell for an average of 116% of face value, to the Reds 113% markup. Alongside attendance figures, we can probably conclude that Cincinnati fans are at least one of the following: (1) feeling the effects of the recession, (2) still tentative about the sustainability of the Reds' success after a decade of futility, (3) cheap, (4) cool as hell.
Seamheads.com offers up a draft chapter on All-Time Cincinnati Reds
How does it compare to the prodigious work of our own Riverfront76? Could it ever? Is Seamheads close enough to an innuendo for me to laugh?
Reds release RHP Jon Adkins
"According to right-handed pitcher Jon Adkins' official Twitter account, he says, Wanted to let all my tweeps know that Sun after the gm, the Reds released me."
Fangraphs gives its take on Why the Pirates "Stink"
"Stink" is just so milquetoast.. Go "suck" or go home. Fun facts like this one really crystallize the Bucco's 17 years of irrelevance: "Between 1993 and 2000, the Pirates most successful prospect was probably Kris Benson." But for the grace of God and good farm system development, go the Reds.