GABP Dance Party!

Our boy Mr. Redlegs busted out with some sweet dance moves before Friday night's game. Here he's doing the Running Man. Take notes, kids, this is poetry in motion.

Clearly these dance moves gave the Reds the inspiration they needed to sweep the weekend series from the Giants.

Note to the San Francisco Giants: YOU GOT SERVED!

Dunn to the Dbacks

According to ESPN, KTAR in Phoenix is reporting that Dunn has been traded to the Diamondbacks for three prospects, one of which is minor league pitcher Dallas Buck.

From ESPN:

In exchange for Dunn, Cincinnati will receive minor league pitcher Dallas Burk and two other players to be named later.

Buck was drafted by Arizona in the third round of the 2005 draft. Once a top-notch prospect, Buck's draft status fell after had an elbow injury revealed on the eve of the '05 draft that bumped him out of a likely first-round slot. He had Tommy John surgery last summer and had begun pitching in Single-A this summer.

Sweep!

Suck it, Atlanta!

Mariah vs. Mallory

It's a showdown of epic proportions. Who's ceremonial first pitch was worse: pop-sensation Mariah Carey or Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory?

Mariah was in Japan this week throwing out the first pitch at the Tokyo Dome. She must have gotten her heels caught in the dirt during the delivery. Or maybe that jacket was a little too snug and she couldn't get the full range of motion she needed in her arm.



Here's the "crafty right-hander" Mark Mallory delivering the first pickoff attempt of a runner at first base pitch before the Reds Opening Day game in 2007. Take notice of the umpire making the gesture as if he's thrown Mallory out of the game. Also, Eric Davis' reaction after the pitch is priceless. He seems genuinely amazed that the ball was so far off target.


Worst ceremonial first pitch: Mariah or Mallory? OMGReds decides.

Who threw out the worst first pitch?
	Mariah
	Mallory
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The future begins...Tuesday.

The Reds brass must have read Dave's Corey Patterson post last week, because they've finally decided to call up Jay Bruce.

From Mark Sheldon:

Bruce, considered the consensus top prospect in all of professional baseball, will be promoted to the Reds from Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday and make his Major League debut in Cincinnati against the Pirates.

In 49 games with Louisville this season, Bruce led the International League with a .364 batting average and 67 hits. The outfielder also had 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.023.

Not sure what happens to Patterson (the Reds are on the hook for $3 mil) or who takes over the leadoff spot (whoever they put there can't possibly do any worse than Patterson's .242 OBP, including his 0-8 performance on Sunday).

Needless to say, OMGReds is pretty excited about this announcement.

Reds win, celebrate by kicking Bako in the face

The Reds finally win the first game of a series tonight, beating the Cardinals 4-3. Edwin made a nice catch to end the game, then kicked Bako in the face.

Rumor has it that the Reds are going to continue this new post game ritual of kicking each other in the face until they lose again (remember the "Bash Brothers" forearm bump in the late 80s/early 90s? It's kind of like that, only with kicking, and faces).

He did it again

Reds lose 2-1 are tied 2-2 in the 10th lose 3-2 tonight in Milwaukee. The Reds wasted a great start by Cueto by scoring only one run while he was on the mound and made Jeff Suppan look like Cy Young. Cueto gave up a homerun to Bill Hall in the 7th which proved once again that he absolutely kills the Reds. We need to trade for that dude, if for no other reason that to be able to beat the Brewers.

Some of Bill Hall's numbers:
- He's a .264 career hitter. Against the Reds, he's hitting .314.
- He has a career .468 SLG. Against the Reds, his SLG is .623
- Of his 83 84 career homeruns, 15 16 have come against the Reds (probably all game-winners)
- 48 or his 301 career runs have come against the Reds.

And just when I was ready to publish this post, Patterson goes and his a homerun to tie it up! Suck it, Bill Hall, you got nothin' on us!

What happened to Eric Gagne? That dude has been a disaster. Terrible last year with Boston, and continues to give up bombs and lose games for the Brewers this year. Was his name on the Mitchell Report?

One other thing...how about the Reds bullpen this year? Overall, I've been really impressed with their ability to either hold the lead or not make the deficit much worse. I think they've done an outstanding job so far this year - a welcome improvement from last year. And great to see guys like Coffey, pitching well again, as well as newcomers like Affeldt, Lincoln and Mercker (sort of) pitching effectively.

Ok, last thing...what's up with the Reds leaving runners on base? It seems like so far this year they've stranded a lot of runners (10 so far tonight). Cueto deserves better than that (and so does Harang).

They're Together Again!

With Bronson Arroyo on the mound today, I thought I'd mention the two new JTM (a.k.a. Jesus, That's Meat?) commercials that he and broadcaster Chris Welsh star in.

Bronson really seems to be getting into it while rockin' out on his guitar and singing about fake meat. Both spots are pretty funny, but they'll be impossible to watch in about 7 minutes because FSN airs them constantly.

Question: Will Bronson play this song during one of his concerts?

Sure is windy there!

Bronson give the camera a pretty fierce look at the end of this one, look out!

Cueto's Debut = OMG!

You'll have to forgive me as this might be a little bit premature to say, but Johnny Cueto is a total stud.

In his Major League debut this afternoon, Cueto took the Diamondbacks to school. He went 7 innings, gave up one hit, one run, and had 10 Ks and 0 walks (his control was amamzing, 68 of his 92 pitches were strikes). You gotta love a guy who goes after hitters like Cueto does.

Cueto left after 7 and ol' Stormy Weathers came in and promptly got on his knees in an attempt to blow the game. Three walks later, Lincoln came in and after a sac fly that made the score 3-2 Reds, got Chris Young to strike out for the fourth time today.

The Reds new closer Francisco Cordero came in to nail down the 9th.

Reds are now 2-1 and stay at home this weekend for a four game series with the Phillies that starts Friday.

Spring Training, Part 2

I'm down in Florida this weekend to catch a few Reds games. Too bad Jay Bruce didn't stick around with the big club for a few more days, I would have liked to watch him play. I'm sure I'll get the chance in CIncinnati later this year, though.

Here's my agenda: golfing today in Jacksonville, then heading to Kissimmee to watch the Reds/Astros on Saturday. Sunday in Sarasota for the Reds/Rays. Hope to see Cueto pitch one of those games, keeping my fingers crossed.

I'll try to update with some photos on the OMGReds photoblog. But a word of warning, my cameraphone sucks.

Reds sign Patterson, Hairston

C Trent is reporting that the Reds have signed OF Corey Patterson and IF Jerry Hairston Jr. to minor league contracts.

From C. Trent:

Both players played for Dusty Baker with the Cubs. Patterson from 2003-05 and Hairston in 2005-06.

Patterson was traded by the Cubs to the Orioles prior to the 2006 season, Hairston was traded from the Cubs to the Rangers in the 2006 season.

Last season Patterson had an OBP of .304, and his career OBP is .298. Ryan Freel had a career-worst OBP of .308 last season and for his career his OBP is .358.

Not sure I fully understand Krivsky's thinking in signing a guy like Patterson. You have two guys (Freel and Hopper) who can both hit leadoff and play CF (And as C. Trent noted, Freel has a much higher OBP than Patterson. You also have "The Next Big Thing" vying for the starting CF job.

I guess competition is good and it's only a minor league contract, but it's one more guy who Baker will have to find playing time for this spring. I would have liked to see Bruce get the majority of playing time in CF to see if he's ready (though maybe him tweaking his quad changed some plans), but it kind of sounds like the Reds are planning on having him start the year in Louisville. I see Patterson maybe making the team as an extra outfielder if Bruce is in AAA and I see Hairston joining Bruce in AAA.

Ol' Leatherpants is Crazy! (and stockpiling former Reds)

Photo by Peter Lockley / The Washington Times

I think we all know that former Reds GM Jim Bowden (aka Leatherpants) is crazy. The latest example is the above photo of him rollin' at Spring Training on a Segway (Thanks to Deadspin). Nice wheels, dude. Whatever.

Bowden has "his guys" (read 5-tool players and injury prone pitchers) and tried to collect as many of them as possible while in Cincinnati (which translated to years of mediocre teams). So it should be no surprise that Bowden has managed to bring some of these guys over to Washington's crapfest of a team.

Here's a list of former Reds that are currently on the Nationals 40-man roster or at least in camp with them this spring:

P Ryan Wagner
P Rob Bell
C Chad Moeller (although he doesn't really count since he was with the Reds under Krivsky)
1B Dmitri Young
IF Aaron Boone
IF Bret Boone (came out of retirement!)
IF William Bergolla
SS Felipe Lopez
OF Austin Kearns
OF Wily Mo Pena

P Brandon Claussen was also with the Nats for a while last year while rehabbing, but never played.

Um, yeah, good luck with those guys, Leatherpants. My guess is that Bret Boone, Bergolla, Bell and Moeller don't have a shot at making the club. I am actually a big fan of both Kearns and Wily Mo, and hope they both have big years. I'm curious to see how those two do in the Nats new park.

Where are they now?

Since the Reds signed Jeremy Affeldt and Josh Fogg, I've started to wonder what happened to some of the pitchers who were in spring training last year fighting for a job with the club. Here's a rundown of some of the guys from 2007 who are no longer with the Reds.



Phil Dumatrait
I had high hopes for Dumatrait last year. He didn't make the club out of spring training, but was a mid-season call up. He put up solid minor league numbers in Louisville (10-6, 3.53 ERA), but fared, um...not so good with the Reds. In 6 starts, he went 0-4 with a 15.00 ERA.

Dumatrait was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh in October.


Kirk Saarloos
Saarloos went back and forth between the Reds and the minors last year. With the Reds he was 1-5 with a robust 7.17 ERA. Not exactly the numbers the Reds had in mind when they signed him. He was a colossal disappointment and finally elected free agency rather than another trip to Louisville.

Saarloos is back with Oakland this spring as a non-roster invitee.


Kyle Lohse
What I remember from Kyle Lohse last year was a handful of great starts, including an 8 inning, 4 hit, 0 run, 12 strikeout performance against the Cubs in April. What I remember more were his awful starts, and there were many of those. The question was often asked, "Is 'Good Kyle' or 'Bad Kyle' starting tonight?" The answer was usually Bad Kyle. He was 6-12 with a 4.58 ERA for the Reds before being traded to the Phillies late in the season for prospect P Matt Moloney.

Lohse is currently a free agent.


Elizardo Ramirez
EZ was another guy who got used to the trip down I-71 between Cincinnati and Louisville. Spent the majority of the year dealing with arm injuries. In just 4 games with the Reds, he was 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA.

Ramirez is with Texas this spring as a non-roster invitee.



Rheal Cormier
Cormier was the first casualty of the failure of the Reds bullpen last year. He wasn't as bad as his stats appear (6 games, 3.0 IP, 3ER) but blew a game in late April and was DFAed shortly thereafter.

Cormier is currently a free agent.


Victor Santos
Santos was a surprise in Spring Training and made the club to begin the season. He was less impressive as the season began. He made 32 appearances for the Reds before being sold to Baltimore.

Santos is with San Francisco this spring as a non-roster invitee.


Michael Gosling
Gosling was in the running for the 5th starter spot during Spring Training. He didn't get it, but made it up to the bigs in June as an innings eater when the Reds were getting blown out. In 23 appearances (all in relief) he was 2-0 with a 4.91 ERA.

Gosling was claimed off waivers by Toronto.


Eddie Guardado
"Everyday Eddie" played in only a handful of games at the end of last season after battling back from surgery on his arm in the offseason. The Reds certainly missed him filling the closer's role, and instead used the ill-fated "Closer by Committee" method. That did not work out well for the Reds.

Guardado was signed by Texas in the offseason.


A couple other guys worth noting:
Bobby Livingston is rehabbing from off season surgery and is not expected back until 2009.
Tom Shearn is in camp with the Reds as a non-roster invitee.

Outfielder Buck Coats was traded to Toronto for a player to be named later. (Insert porn star joke here)

Music to my ears...

Pitchers and catchers report. It's the four words we've been longing to hear since the end of the Reds regular season.


And this is a a nice sight, Homer Bailey and Jay Bruce working out on what looks to be a beautiful day in Sarasota. Hopefully we see a lot more of these two this year up here in Cincinnati. Photos by Jeff Swinger/Cincinnati Enquirer.

The Mayor to Boston

Former Red and Cincinnati favorite Sean Casey reached a preliminary agreement on a 1 year/$700,000 deal with the Red Sox, according to ESPN's Peter Gammons. He'll back up another player with Cincinnati ties, former Sycamore and UC star Kevin Youkilis.

Casey's numbers last year with Detroit: 143 games, .296 BA with 4 HR, 30 doubles and 54 RBIs.

Santana to the Mets?

The word around baseball is that the Twins have agreed to send superstar pitcher Johan Santana to the Mets for some prospects, including outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey. I really thought it was going to be the Red Sox or the Yankees who would snag Santana, but somehow the Mets got it done.

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Red Sox offered left handed pitcher Jon Lester and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, arguably the Red Sox top prospects, and both with some major league experience. The Mets offer, according to Rosenthal, is maybe not so good for the Twins:

"The quality of the Mets' package, though, is certain to be debated. Gomez, a speedy, athletic wonder, needs to prove that he can hit major-league pitching. Mulvey and Humber might only become back-of-the-rotation starters. Guerra has yet to pitch above Class A."

So what does this all mean? Probably that the Twins will maybe suck for about two years, until more of their minor league talent matures and they make the playoffs in 2010 with a tiny payroll, and the Mets will have an even bigger payroll, another stud pitcher, and lots of disappointed fans when they once again can't win the World Series, let alone the NL East.

Reds sign Affeldt

Reports are that the Reds have come to a preliminary agreement with FA pitcher Jeremy Affeldt on a one year, $3M deal.

From Ken Rosenthal:

"Affeldt, 28, will compete for a spot in the Reds' rotation after spending all of last season as a reliever with the Rockies. He has started in the past and the Reds' far greater need is in the rotation, where they are unsettled beyond right-handers Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo.

Affeldt enjoyed a long-awaited breakthrough with the Rockies last season, going 4-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 59 innings. He is 25-27 with a 4.74 ERA in 286 career appearances, including 42 starts."