Mark Sheldon takes a look at the Dusty Baker vs. Kirk Gibson pre-season old-man cage match.
ken, writer of such great Red Reporter classics as "All of Them," mentioned this in a previous thread he authored. It appears it was nothing more than a game of chicken that Dusty ostensibly (and, apparently, obstinately) lost, and he was not too happy about it.
Eh. I think the bigger story is that it sounds as if Choo should be healthy enough to return to playing both offense and defense today. Either way, I find it hilarious that even after the Reds acquired a prototypical leadoff hitter, Dusty still has problems filling out his lineup card.
Danny Knobler examines the current state of Reds' camp.
A quick glance at this will leave you convinced that Knobler's pretty well sold on the Reds as a quality team with a great chance of doing great things in 2013. However, tucked in at the very bottom of his piece (where 17 year old me would've never seen it) is this juicy nugget: "But those fans should know that some Reds officials are now worried about third base, because they're not convinced Frazier can repeat what he did last year."
That's a spicy juicy nugget there, Mr. Knobler. Or is it?
You'd be hard pressed to find even a measly Red Reporter blogger who would honestly admit to expecting more out of Todd Frazier in 2013. I don't. Bill James, Steamer, ZiPs, and Oliver don't, either. So, I just linked you to a non-story. ken will not be pleased.
Wil Myers is already making quite the impression on his new Rays teammates.
I link to this because, in many ways, Myers' progression and performance at this age reminds me a lot of where Jay Bruce was circa 2008. It's not a perfect comparison, of course, but their minor league stats, their engaging personalities, and the stories of their youthful exploits do line up pretty similarly.
It also makes me extra, extra impressed with the Rays front office when I read about Myers and follow that up with examining the Shields trade vs. the Reds' trade for Mat Latos. Well done, Andrew Friedman. Well done.
Someone should sit the Ricketts family down and explain to them this: until you actually win at baseball, nobody there will treat you and your stadium as more than a glorified bar. Good luck with that, though.
Red Reporter unofficially officially invades Arizona in just three days.
I'm excited. They're excited. Hell, Weezy has been running in circles singing "99 bottles of beer in my belly, 99 bottles of beer..." since last Thursday. We've got a few ideas in mind for entertaining (and informing...but mainly entertaining) you fine folks, but if you've got any other suggestions for what you might like to see, let us know in the comments section. We're all ears.