This Week in JPEGs – Back Again and Wack, My Friend

After a pretty long layoff, TWIJPEGs is once again going to be a thing here at Red Reporter. In case you don’t remember, or perhaps you are relatively new, TWIJPEGs was a weekly feature during the regular season from the beginning of the 1985 season to the middle of 2014. It was a labor of love for yours truly, as drawing crude pictures of baseball certainly has never been a viable avenue for the pursuit of money.

The explosive popularity of the feature proved a blessing and a curse for yours truly. Warm receptions and a broader reading audience were readily welcomed, but all that drew the attention of bloodless capitalists looking to turn a profit off of my art. I fought vigorously for my artistic freedom and my insistence that my work not be turned into plush dolls and bumper stickers and coloring books and desk calendars, but that sentiment was sadly not shared by many here at Red Reporter.

I don’t wanna name names because I have finally put this whole drama behind me, but the story demands accurate portrayals of those involved. Basically, the administration wanted more out of me than I could reasonably give, and so we fought. In the end, I (and the art form I so dearly love) won out. But the fight left me exhausted and inspirationless.

But now, after nearly two years sitting on the bench and mentally rehabilitating, I’m ready to get back out there. So here goes.

Sweet Lou Leads the Parade

The Findlay Market Opening Day Parade is one of the most unique and treasured ceremonies in all of baseball. This year’s parade was marshaled by the one-and-only Sweet Lou Piniella. Sweet Lou led the 1990 Reds to the franchise’s most recent World Series title and it was good to see the old fella back in the Queen City. Most chuckle that his nickname “Sweet” Lou is a bit ironic, considering his fiery temper and near-constant scowl. But I dunno, it seemed to me he was having a good time.

Sweet Lou Throws Out the First Pitch

Along with leading the parade, Sweet Lou threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Current Reds’ third-base coach and star outfielder on the ’90 squad Billy Hatcher squatted behind home play to receive the pitch.

Eugenio Suarez Does His Best Todd Frazier Impression

Thursday’s afternoon tilt with the Phillies turned into a showcase for the Reds’ new third baseman, Eugenio Suarez. He went 2-5 with a big a loud grand slam that punctuated an eight-run burst for the Reds in the fourth inning. A lot of folks were really sad to see Todd Frazier traded to the White Sox over the winter, including yours truly. But Suarez is looking ready and willing to step up and fill those big shoes.