Stuff

Reds

How about this headline? I think my pacemaker fired

Reds to reveal new manager Friday
ESPN.com

Dusty keeps on winning
ESPN.com
Dusty's a solid manager for a certain kind of team, one that's already a contender and needs a manager that can simply keep the team together rather than one in a position, like the Tampa Bay Rays, that requires a little more creativity and fondness for youngsters to keep going. What makes Baker such an easy target is that when he does something groan-inducing, it's usually loud and obvious, like his curious attachments to players like Neifi Perez and Corey Patterson, or his occasional reluctance to work his teams' best prospects into the lineup.

Are the Reds really due to hit better?
John Fay, Enquirer
One of the mantras of the Reds this year has been: We’re going to hit.
As in, we’re going to hit a lot better than we are currently. Currently, the Reds team slash line is .241/.306/.406. They are 14th in the National League in average and on-base percentage. They are fifth in slugging percentage.
So can you expect things to improve drastically? The answer lies largely with the rookies and the bench players.
Why?

***

May
Reds 17-11
Cards 13-16
Reds began the month 3 games back of Cardinals
Reds end the month with a 1.5 game lead over Cardinals



Hitting
Reds-opponents
BA .242/.246
OBP .306/.302
Runs 114/94
K 229/226

Votto .335
Hanigan .327
Heisey .321
Phillips .283
Frazier .246
Bruce .229
Stubbs .225
Ludwick .224
Cozart .208
Cairo .167
Rolen .136
Mesoraco .135
Valdez .100
Costanzo .067

Pitching
17-11 3.29
Chapman 0.00
Simon 0.82
Hoover 0.90
Arredondo 2.25
LeCure 2.79
Marshall 3.00
Latos 3.26
Cueto 3.49
Bailey 3.82
Arroyo 4.25
Leake 4.55
Ondrusek 5.23

***

Congrats

Cincinnati Christian High School junior, SS/SP, Ryan Arington was named the Division 4 Player of the Year in the state of Ohio for baseball. Ryan hit .511 this season with 42 RBI, 9 HR, 8 2B, 10 3B, 46 runs and 25/25 stolen bases. On the mound, he went 6-0 with a .46 ERA and struck out 73 batters over the course of 46 innings. Ryan helped lead the team to a school record, 23-6 season and a sectional and district championship. Ryan has verbally committed to play baseball at Western Carolina University. He was also an all-state performer in basketball this season, surpassing the 1,000 point mark for his career and is looking forward to his senior year in both basketball and baseball.

***

MLB

The Chicago White Sox are on a roll in May. The team has 2 days off in the next 5 days. Manager Robin Ventura stuck with his regular lineup yesterday. The Sox won and made it 8 straight wins. Congrats to Pendleton County High School and NKU pitcher Nate Jones. He picked up the win and is 3-0 on the season.

***

Show preview
6:05, Sports Talk, 700 WLW

Rest of the week
Friday: 3:05, ESPN 1530, 6:05 Inside Pitch, 700 WLW

***

Bearcats Legend Jack Twyman Dies
CINCINNATI – Former University of Cincinnati legend, six-time NBA all-star and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Jack Twyman died Wednesday at the age of 78 in Cincinnati.
UC’s second All-American, Twyman led the Bearcats in scoring his sophomore through senior seasons (1952-55), finishing his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer (1,598) and rebounder (1,242). He was named an All-American in 1955 after averaging 24.6 points and 16.5 rebounds.  His career scoring total currently ranks ninth while his rebounding numbers rank second at UC.  Twyman is one of three former Bearcats to have their jersey number retired. His jersey No. 27 hangs at Fifth Third Arena.
“The Bearcat family lost one of our legends yesterday with the passing of Jack Twyman,” said director of athletics Whit Babcock. “He was a true gentleman, a great man who loved UC.  He will be missed.  He supported his alma mater in every facet.  He was an icon.  The name “Jack Twyman” will forever be associated with our University and a golden era of UC Athletics.”
The Pittsburgh, Pa., native was selected by the Rochester Royals with the eighth pick in the 1955 NBA Draft. The organization moved to Cincinnati two years later. Twyman was named an NBA all-star in six of his 11 seasons, including 1960 when he led the league in scoring, averaging 31.2 points. He was named Second Team All-NBA in 1960 and 1962.
Twyman was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Twyman was also known for his compassion for others. He became the legal guardian of Maurice Stokes to help with medical expenses after his Royals teammate was paralyzed due to the aftereffect of a head injury sustained during a game in 1958. Twyman organized an NBA memorial basketball  game to raise money for Stokes and other needy former players.
“Jack Twyman was the first former player to greet me six years ago when I returned to Cincinnati,” UC head coach Mick Cronin said. “I enjoyed our lunches together and the wisdom he spoke with so kindly. He was a first-class man and obviously, one of the greatest to ever put on the Bearcats jersey.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. We will miss him greatly.”
Twyman later worked as a television analyst in the late 1960s and early 1970s for the The NBA on ABC.
Inducted into the James P. Kelly UC Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976, Twyman was serving as a member of its selection committee prior to his passing.

****

Twyman played for UC from 1951-1955
He led the Bearcats in scoring and rebounding in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. His senior season he earned All-American honors while averaging 24.6 points and 16.5 rebounds.
He concluded his career as UC's all-time leading scorer and rebounder
His number was retired by UC
He was a 2nd round pick of the Rochester Royals in 1995
The Royals moved to Cincinnati before the 1957-58 season
Twyman spent 11 seasons in the NBA, scoring 15,840 points and averaging 19.2 points per game.
He averaged 31.2 points per game in the 1959-60 season.
6-time NBA All-Star
Inducted into National Basketball Hall of Fame 1982
His number was retired by the Sacramento Kings

He was probably best know for becoming legal guardian of Cincinnati Royals teammate Maurice Stokes. Stokes was paralyzed due to a head injury suffered during the final game of the 1958 regular season. Twyman assisted in providing for Stokes' care throughout the rest of his life. The relationship was the subject of the 1973 movie, "Maurie."

Stokes/Twyman: A tale of tragedy and friendship

Hall of Fame induction

****

Video flashback

***

Bengals

How often have I talked about teams finding their price point?
The Bengals finally have. Fans wouldn't pay $60+ to sit in upper level corners at PBS.
They will pay $40.

From Joe Reedy, Enquirer: “We’ve been successful the first five months,” ticket manager Andrew Brown said. “The $40 seats, those are seats we had a tough time selling. They’ve gone over well and we’re pleased with that.”

***

Register Now for the Subway® Redlegs Run
Saturday, June 2 - Great American Ball Park

CINCINNATI (May 31, 2012) – It’s not too late to register for 11th annual Subway® Redlegs Run on Saturday, June 2, 2012.
Runners and walkers can still sign up at the following packet pickup dates:
• Today: 10 am to 6 pm outside the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum
• Friday: 12 pm to 4 pm outside the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum
• Race Day: Starting at 6 am inside GABP Gate 3 on Pete Rose Way

Runners, walkers and families have many options to participate:
• 5K: Chip-timed 3.1-mile course finishing near home plate
• 10K: Chip-timed 6.2-mile course finishing near home plate
• One Mile Family Run/Walk: One mile course finishing near home plate
• Gapper’s Kids Fun Run: Kids run along warning track of the ballpark.

Registration fees:
• 10K: $50
• 5K: $40
• One Mile Family Run: $25
• Gapper’s Kids Fun Run for kids 10 and under: $15

All participants receive a race t-shirt (technical shirt for 10K participants), post-race party and awards ceremony in the Fan Zone and one View Level ticket voucher for the June 7 (7:10pm) Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game.
For more information visit www.reds.com/run.

***

Stuff


Really?: Wife of Brewers catcher target of hate messages after she drops suitecase on his hand.

Koch: Still no decision by UC recruit Obepka

Simply amazing performance: Rajon Rondo had 44 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds in 53-minutes for the Celtics in their Game 2 loss to Heat.

NBA's problematic ownership of Hornets opens to door to talk of rigged lottery
Yahoo
MIAMI – This was the fitting end to one of the darkest, most unseemly episodes in the history of the NBA, the perfect punctuation on the commissioner's manipulation of the sale and salvation of a lost franchise.

***

MLB

Not even a close call, MLB needs more replay
Chicago Tribune
Umpires dislike video replay because it shows they made the wrong call. I get that. Nobody wants to be shown up. Umpires are human and humans make mistakes.
Thing is, baseball is run by humans with the capacity to correct mistakes.
Baseball’s greatest revenue streams come from its broadcast partners --- the same broadcast partners who are showing up baseball with all of their camera angles and video replays. What’s wrong with this picture?
Not using available pictures, is what’s wrong.

***

Reds

Pirates 2 Reds 1

Benched
.152 Cairo 5 for 33, 0 HR, 2 RBI
.086 Constanzo 1 for 15, 0 HR, 2 RBI
.206 Ludwick 22 for 107, 5 HR, 20 RBI
.174 Valdez 8 for 46, 0 HR, 2 RBI
.086 Harris 3 for 35, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Total
.152 (39 for 236), 5 HR, 34 RBI

From listener Chris
In 2011, the Reds LF hit .227
To address this, the Reds added Ryan Ludwick, a career .259 hitter.  The Reds LF are hitting .234 this year.
In 2011, the Reds CF hit .250, raised primarily by Heisey's .322 average from the position.
To address this, the Reds did nothing, and are hitting .230 from CF this year, mostly because Heisey never plays CF.
In 2011, the SS hit .238.  This year, it's .227.  Zach Cozart hit .270 over 5 seasons in the minors.
The Reds spent the offseason resting on their laurels, trading away future talent for a pitcher who may be great and signing Ryan Ludwick.  If Mike Brown had led the Bengals through such an offseason, we'd be skewering him.  Instead, we take it out on Dusty (whom I don't care for) because of who he chooses to play, even though it doesn't seem to make much difference.  The Reds are in first place thanks to a great bullpen, some very good starting pitching and the willpower of Joey Votto (and occasionally Brandon Phillips).  Is this a team built to last, built for playoff success?  Not in my eyes, unless they make some serious upgrades, or Drew Stubbs, Ryan Ludwick and company go through a Captain America type upgrade!

Loss to end May follows pattern for Cards
St Louis Post Dispatch
No longer able to mask his growing frustration, manager Mike Matheny described what he has recently witnessed as "unacceptable," a point driven home with pitching coach Derek Lilliquist in two meetings after the game.
The Cardinals are expected to use today’s off day in New York to re-order the bullpen. Matheny made clear that he also expects a change in approach.
"When things don’t go right you start breaking it down and seeing what adjustments can be made," Matheny said. "You’ve got to do something different. That’s all there is to it. They all know that. We all do."

Garcia to miss start with sore elbow



How about this?
We talked earlier in the week about potential changes to GABP to cut down on the number of home runs. This from listener Brian Beam.

"I took a GABP Left field Picture into Photoshop and made this picture. Don't you think this works great in left field? You would have the wall, but still have seats out there. Make everything behind the wall suites, therefore you are not losing a lot of seating! PERFECT!"

***

Down on the Farm


Listener Quan was in Bakersfield last night to watch Billy Hamilton.
Here is a photo gallery.

Hamilton was 1 for 5 last night with SB #55 and caught stealing #12

Tomko (0-6) does it all, but effort not enough to save Bats

****

Bengals


Hoard: Michael Johnson hopes bigger is better

The 'Bungles' no more
Comcast Sportsnet
This is no longer the “Bungles” team that has been a laughingstock under owner/general manager Mike Brown. The Bengals fleeced the Raiders in the Carson Palmer trade, which not only opened the door for Dalton to emerge, but also stocked the cupboard with more high draft picks.

***

Stuff

1954 Milan team to gather June 2
Milan Museum
More than a dozen of those tied to the 1954 Milan Indians basketball team that won Indiana's state Basketball Championship will be in Milan Saturday, June 2 to sign autographs, fieldquestions from the audience, and meet fans at a
wine tasting event. Maris Valainis, who playedJimmy Chitwood in the movie "Hoosiers" is also scheduled to attend. The movie was written by Hoosier Angelo Pizzo after being inspired by the 1954 team, and first hit the screen in 1986.

Video: The final shot in Hoosiers

***

Stuff

Former St X LB Kuechly toting heavier load at Panthers camp

Here is the letter from IU AD Fred Glass to UK AD Mitch Barnhart

Statement from UK AD Mitch Barnhart

UK, IU talked but couldn't reach compromise

***

Northern High School Senior Cup Soccer Match
Dixie Heights HS will be hosting the annual Senior Cup soccer match featuring this year's top graduating seniors from 6 counties within Northern Kentucky onTuesday, June 5th @ 7:00.  The West squad will be led by first year Dixie Heights Coach Denny McCaughey.  Coach McCaughey enthusiastically stated, "I'm new to the area and am thrilled for this opportunity to host the Senior Cup at Dixie Heights and to coach these seniors as a final salute to their high school soccer careers. We plan to make this a bigger event every year to reward the area's top players."
Schools & players include (incomplete roster):  Boone County-Black, Ordu, Roof; Conner-Johnan, Siekman, Stacy; Cooper-Hollifield, Kippler, Molen; Covington Catholic-Cooney, Talkers; Dixie Heights-Crone, Feltner, Schmidt; Gallatin County-Chase Hartke, Collin Hartke, Morris; Pendleton County-Brinkman; Ryle-Froschauer, Poehlman, Willoughby; Scott-Hillman, Marshall, Mettens, Schneider, Wagner; St. Henry-Svec; Simon Kenton-Cagle, Dalton; Villa Madonna-Kurzendorfer, Weickgenannt; Walton Verona-Hargett, Lussi
Game time:  7:00 PM
Where:  Dixie Heights High School
When:  Tuesday, June 5th
Admission:  $5 (adults) $3 (students)
Dixie Heights will also be hosting this year's Soccerama on August 3rd-5th.  Soccerama is the annual kick-off to the soccer season and will feature over 20 high school men's teams from Northern Kentucky.