Red Reposter - Dinner Time Edition

If you weren't paying attention, you might not have notice that yesterday was February 10th. I'm sure this is a date that sticks out to many Reds fans. The Enquirer revisits the Reds history with the date, most notably the day that brought Ken Griffey Jr. to the Queen City. Also from February 10th: George Foster is traded to the Mets in 1982, and many years earlier, Johnny Vander Meer is sold to the Chicago Cubs. Our friends at the Enquirer note the date as "infamous," but I know a lot of us here can still tell the story of where they were when they heard that Junior was coming home. I was still a few years away from becoming a die-hard Reds fan, but I'll admit that that moment put the Reds in the back of my 11 year-old mind. Junior was, and still is, one of my favorites. Maybe it didn't work out optimally, or even well, for our favorite team. But, for a lot Reds fans, it's a day that can be looked on fondly... you know, before reality got in the way.

So, if that story didn't make you groan, let me point out Jonah Keri's list of Worst Contracts in Baseball. Wanna guess who makes "Dishonorable Mention?" Reds first baseman Joey Votto. Sad face. Although, Keri himself provides some caveats. In fact, he says that he's agonized in previous seasons about whether or not to put Joe Dan on his BEST contracts list. This year, however, after another basically lost season for Votto, Keri chose to address the contract. It's not so much that Keri is calling it a bad contract, but rather concerning. This isn't breaking new ground for anyone, but while everyone could probably see this money concern coming before the ink was dry on the contract, I think most were hoping to save these conversations for, say, 2018, rather than 2014.

Hopefully we'll all be able to forget about it for a few years after Votto wins the MVP this year. Peruse the rest of the list and Keri's thoughts on the worst-of-the-worst contracts in baseball. I, for one, completely agree with him about Alex Rodriguez, and I'll be rooting on the villain this season, because it's physically impossible to feel sympathy for the Yankees.

In "Wow, adults kinda suck" news, it was announced today that Little League baseball team Jackie Robinson West has been stripped of it's U.S. Championship. Apparently, the administration of the team gerrymandered the boundaries in order to include the best-of-the-best on the Chicago based team. This whole thing just... ugh. I know you can't take the memories of this championship run away from the kids who participated on the team, who did nothing but show up and play baseball with their friends, but the whole thing is just really unfortunate. And now they have a bunch of stupid adults telling them that it didn't count. Shame on everyone above the age of 12 in this story. It's Little League baseball, you creeps.

In actual Reds news, the team announced they signed Chris Dominguez to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League camp. The former Giants farmhand slashed .274/.307/.460 last season for AAA Fresno, with 21 home runs and 85 RBIs. So, a guy with some power who doesn't really like to take a walk. Shrug. Dominguez could provide some corner infield depth at the minor leagues at least, on the Major League bench at best. We'll see. But don't let me tell you about it, let friend of the blog Chris Welsh tell you about it.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>U Louisville Coach Dan McDonnell calls Chris Dominguez &quot;best UL hitter ever.&quot; Reds ink him to minor deal w big lg invite. Big time power.</p>&mdash; chris welsh (@thinkpitch) <a href="https://twitter.com/thinkpitch/status/565574890401447936">February 11, 2015</a></blockquote>

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Hey, if Chris is for it, I'm for it.