Miley to Manage AAA ASG

You've probably been too busy voting for Junior to start the MLB All-Star game to notice that the AAA All-Star Game is happening just down the river from us in Louisville, KY.

OMGreds.com will be making the trek to "The L" to partake in the festivities for the "not yet ready for prime time players". While we're there, we'll say hi to an old homeboy of ours - Dave Miley. After getting the boot from the Reds back in '05, Dave has been with the Yankees organization the past three years as manager of the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees. Miley has been chosen to manage the International League team at the AAA All-Star Game this year. The Yankees have gone 50-37 under Miley's direction this season, good for 2nd place in the IL North Division. Bats Manager Rick Sweet will help him with the coaching at the game.

Louisville Bats' catcher Ryan Hanigan (.296) and closer Jon Adkins (14 saves) have been named to the International League All-Star team. Sweet!

Inoa

Damn. Oakland got Inoa.

Don't know who that is? See previous post.

Good stuff

If you guys haven't read CBS SportsLine's 24 New Rules of Baseball, I'd recommend it. It's right on the money and you'll get some good laughs from it. And those who know how I defended my actions after catching the Ryan Church home run ball last year know I especially agree with Rule No. 3.

Proving a 'Black Sox' Ball is Real

Local Reds fan Tom Winstel has had a baseball from the 1919 World Series passed down from him by Father and Grandfather. The 'Black Sox' scandal world series ball is the subject of this article on the Wall Street Journal Online. Though Winstel has no desire to sell the ball, it's approximate value is in question due to lack of provence - or hard proof that it was actually used in play during the 1919 World Series. Experts deem the story likely given it's markings, but no solid proof actually exists. Not long, but an interesting read from the collectors side of things.

The latest

The Dunn/Ricciardi thing just gets better by the day ... here's the latest ...

Dunn/Ricciardi

The timing of the Reds' trip to Toronto couldn't be better after Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi's comments about Adam Dunn last week.

I hope it gets awkward. Ricciardi was way out of line.

Here are the latest columns about the feud: One from Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal and the other by John Fay.

Here was the story with the comments in case you missed them.

Source: Reds in bidding war for Inoa

A source told ESPNdeportes.com that the Rangers and Reds have joined Oakland in a bidding feud for the services of Dominican pitching prospect Michael Inoa, the crown jewel of the pool of Latin American players who will be available to be signed July 2.

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound right-hander has a 93-mph fastball, a change-up and a curveball. Oh, and he's 16 years old.

But rumor has it he's going to demand a signing bonus of $5-6 million, which is almost what they're going to have to shell out for Yonder Alonso.

Doin' Cincy proud

The Reds have decided to take it up a few notches this weekend and give hell to the New York Yankees. I'll be at the ballgame on Sunday to watch it all fall apart. OK, hopefully not. I have faith.

I have to say though, Reds fans are comin' through this weekend! I've seen a ton of folks out on the streets of NYC sporting their Reds gear. Unfortunately, we have a few folks like the man above. Dude is rockin' the J-Bench throwback smartly tucked into his white jeans complete with a red belt. SMOOOOOOOOOOTH.

We certainly aren't going to win on the fashion tip in NYC, but at least we will win the series on the field.

Look for fuzzy photos tomorrow.

OMGnyc

OMGreds is off to the Big Apple this weekend to watch the Reds battle the Yankees. It will be the last year of historic Yankee Stadium, so we figured we would make the trip. We'll be heading to the game on Sunday where Johnny Cueto and Andy Pettitte are scheduled to duke it out. We've got seats in the non-alcoholic section out in left, so no craziness from us. But, I'll be able to strike up a conversation with David Weathers since we'll be sitting just above the visitor's bullpen.

Of course, we'll be bringing you all the fuzzy-photo action over on the OMGreds.com photo blog. Make sure to check it out if you're bored this weekend.

Junior night

I have to say, the Griffey banner at GABP is pretty nice. It's DAMN big. It's also great to have a Reds player bring portrayed bigger than life at the stadium. You can see the damn thing all the way across downtown! Say what you will about his career here in Cincinnati, but he has been a great asset to the game from day one.

Congrats to Griffey... he deserves it.

More photos from Griffey night are up on the photo blog.

Click on the photo to the left for a larger view. Food from that nights game is up on OMG Helmet Sundae for all you ballpark foodies out there.

The Glorious 1989 Upper Deck Rookie Card

Oh my how I loved my 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck Rookie card as a kid (along with every other kid on the planet) and still do to this day. I can still remember getting the card in my pack and immediately putting in its plastic case where it lives today. Anyways, I came across this article on the card covering its popularity to the decision in making the card the first card in their series. Topps didn't even include him in their set. Quite interesting.

Youk among several homecomings

As the Red Sox visit Cincinnati for the first time since 1975, the series has special meaning for several individuals on Boston's roster.

Infielder Kevin Youkilis grew up here, starred at Sycamore High School and the University of Cincinnati and still has a lot of family here. He faced the Reds at Fenway three years ago (when the Red Sox swept the Reds), but this is his first trip to GABP as a big-league ballplayer.

First baseman Sean Casey, who played for the Reds from 1998-2005, will get the start on Friday (according to MLB.com), and will receive a nice ovation (according to me).

Right-handed pitcher Justin Masterson, Boston's starter Friday night against Aaron Harang, grew up in Beavercreek (though he was born in Jamaica). He went to Beavercreek High School and still lives there.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona played for the 1987 Reds. Francona also managed many times here when he was with the Phillies. But I heard a soundbite and he said he's looking forward to his first visit to Great American Ball Park.

Bronson Arroyo probably would have enjoyed facing his former team but it's not going to happen.

J.D. Drew hit his first career home run at Riverfront September 9, 1998. I only remember that because I was there. He got booed as he rounded the bases and the fan threw the ball back (before fans did that with more frequency like they do now, which is annoying). OK, now we're getting obscure.