Down on the Farm
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick tweets that LHP Jeff Francis has used his June 1 "opt out" from his contract. Francis becomes a free agent.
Season: 3-6 3.72, 77.1 IN, 84 H, 18 BB, 65 K
Sunday he pitched a complete game, 7-hit shutout vs Durham
Update: Rockies interested in Francis
Joey Gathright, (LH) CF: 9 games, 13 for 34 .382 BA, .437 OBP.
He was 3 for 4 Sunday. He has hit in all 9 games since being assigned to Louisville.
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Bronson's breaking point?
Bronson threw 6 innings of 6 H, 3 R baseball yesterday.
I'd take that every 5th day....and hand the rest to the pen.
But Dusty tends to play with 7th inning fire with Arroyo and he sent him back out for the 7th. After retiring the first batter Arroyo allowed a line drive single off the wall. The next batter blasted a 2-R HR. The Reds went from trailing 3-2 to trailing 5-2. They lost 5-3. Dusty was hoping to get Arroyo thru 7. The bullpen had been taxed Saturday by just 3.1 innings by Mat Latos. But today is an off day for the pen.
This season:
Opponents hit .348 vs Arrroyo in 7th inning (his highest BAA).
9.00 ERA for Arroyo in 7th inning this year (his highest ERA).
Arroyo threw 106 pitches Sunday. He entered the 7th having thrown 95 pitches.
This season on pitches beyond 100 pitches opponents are:
6 for 8, 2B, 2HR
7th inning of 2011:
Opponents hit .345...20 for 58, 6 HR (His highest BAA)
8.79 ERA (his highest)
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Cool story
From listener Bryan
"With all the prima donnas and athletes with their entourages, it was cool to see how down to earth and normal some of them (pro athletes) are.
Last Thursday I was a chaperone for my son’s 8th grade class at Kings Island. We were playing some of the games over by the Beast. I turned around and saw this huge man coming over to play next to where a couple of the boys were playing. It was Josh Harrelson from UK and the NY Knicks. He played a few games and was interacting with our boys. When our boys were out of money, he started paying for them to play so they could try to win a large prize. He told the boys that as long as they were having fun…so was he. We thanked him, got a few pictures, and went about the rest of our day. Later on, the kids ran into him again. He asked if they had won any more prizes. They told him that had not played any more because they didn’t have any more money. He promptly handed them a $20 bill and told them to go have some more fun. I just wanted to pass that along to show a more positive view of pro athletes."
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Stay connected to the show
Follow me on Twitter for show and guest updates and my random thoughts:
@lance mcalister
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Video flashback of the day
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Happy Birthday
Kurt Stillwell is 47 years old today (2nd pick '83 draft)
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Reds/NL Central
Pulling away
On April 18 the Reds were 4-8 and trailed Cards by 5 games.
The Reds have gone 26-15 since and gained 8.5 games on Cards to lead by 3.5.
The Cardinals have lost 5 games in a row.
They were no-hit Friday night. They scored one run in a three game weekend series vs the Mets. The Cardinals have lost 8 of 10 and 16 of 23.
Since starting the season 9-3 they have gone 18-24.
They stand 27-27 on the season and in 3rd place in NL Central.
The Pirates have taken over 2nd place, 3 games back of Reds.
This week's Top 10:
Buster Olney, ESPN @Buster_ESPN
1. Texas.
2. Tampa Bay.
3. LAD
4. Cincinnati
5. Washington
6. CWS
7. MIA
8. NYY
9. LAA
10.Mets
And on Sunday they finally lost: Reds are 8-1 on Sunday this year
Glass half _______?
Reds took 2 of 3 from Astros. Reds started trip losing 2 of 3 to Pirates.
Reds wind up 3-3 on trip.
How about Joey Votto?
10 game hitting streak: 19 for 33 (.576)
His batting average has climbed to .346
His on-base percentage is .476
He has more walks (45) than strikeouts (41)
On pace for: 67 2B, 28 HR, 101 RBI and 138 BB
Votto: H+BB=107........Cozart/Stubbs: H+BB=125
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Mat Latos
Latos has allowed 5+ earned runs in three starts this season.
He allowed 5+ earned runs just once in 31 starts last season.
He has alloweed 5+ earned runs just four times in his previous 62 starts.
Reds have allowed 9+ runs in 3 of 52 games this years:
11-1 loss April 18 vs Cards
9-4 loss May 17 vs Mets
12-9 win June 2 vs Astros
Mat Latos started all three games.
Reds allowed 29 runs in those three games....Latos 18 of them/15 earned
Bowden: 1992 Reds/Yankees/Jeter
We were talking about the 1992 MLB draft on the Inside Pitch Friday night.
I was wondering who the Reds General Manger was twent years ago when the Reds selected Chad Mottola #5 and the Yankees took Derek Jeter #6. Best I could remember it was Bob Quinn, who was fired in October of 1992. Jim Bowden then replaced Quinn. And that is correct. Jim Bowden tweeted me Friday night and said: "That is correct. Julian Mock was the Scouting Director making the decision on behalf of Quinn. Super scout Gene Bennett wanted Jeter me 2."
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Down on the Farm
Billy Hamilton: 2 for 5, SB #62, how batting .330
Tony Cingrani: 1st Double-A start 6.2 IN, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K,
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Redlegs Run 5K
Over 3,200 runners help raise over $165,000 at Subway® Redlegs Run
CINCINNATI (June 2, 2012) — Over 3,200 runners and walkers turned out this morning for the 11th annual Subway® Redlegs Run at Great American Ball Park which generated over $165,000 for the Reds Community Fund.
All proceeds from the race directly benefit the Reds Community Fund and its outreach programs that include youth baseball funding, field renovations and inner-city youth baseball initiatives.
· The overall top 5K male finisher was Brian Denny of Cincinnati with a time of 16:07.
· The overall top 5K female finisher was Becky Clark of Cincinnati with a time of 17:53.
· The overall top 10K male finisher was Stephan Ragg of Athens, Ohio with a time of 32:38.
· The overall top 10K female finisher was Kerry Lee of Cincinnati with a time of 38:27.
The top male and female finishers are invited to throw out ceremonial pitches prior to Thursday’s Reds vs. Pirates game.
Race photos can be found at www.facebook.com/RedsCommunityFund.
Complete race results will be posted soon at www.reds.com/run.
Race sponsors include Subway®, Cintas, United Healthcare, 700WLW, WCPO-TV Channel 9, Trophy Awards, Fleet Feet Sports, LaRosa’s, UDF, Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water, Queen City Sausage, Kroger Co., Nike and Castellini Group of Companies.
We had a great time Saturday at the 11th annual Subway Redlegs Fun Run.
I ran the 5K with Peyton. We ran an official time of 33:02, which beat our Flying Pig time by 1-minute 35-seconds (34:37). I'm very proud of Peyton. She has been battling a sore knee and had not run a 5K in training since the Flying Pig. She wanted to give it a try Saturday. We did about a 10-minute first mile, 12-minute second mile and finished strong with an 11-minute third mile. Our average pace was 10:40.
It was great seeing the likes of Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com and his wife and Kathrine Nero of WCPO Channel 9.
Nice job done by Charley Frank and the Reds Community Fund and the entire organization. The event was well organized and well run. There was plenty of food and drinks after the race with live music. We are back next year! Great day all around.
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Stuff
This is so St Louis
Maxim interrogates the makers and stars of The Wire
Maxim
Ten years ago this month, The Wire premiered on HBO and… almost nobody cared. The Baltimore saga of cops and dealers, junkies and politicians, poverty and hope, polarized critics, was ignored by the Emmys, constantly struggled for ratings and faced cancellation more than once. But it also inspired a future President, created a bona fide American folk hero, and helped launch the current “Golden Age” of television. Now for the first time ever, the creators, writers, cast and crew recall the making of an American classic.
Congrats to Moeller baseball: State champs again!
Richard Dawson dead at 79
TMZ
Dawson hosted "Feud" from 1976-1985, and then from 1994-1995. He was also famous for being a regular on "The Match Game" and for appearing in the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger action film "The Running Man." One of his biggest roles -- Dawson played Capt. Peter Newkirk on "Hogan's Heros," a wildly popular show in the 60's.
SI swimsuit: Say hello to Nina Agdal
Harper has Rose's hustle and Griffey's enthusiasm
Washington Examiner
Reynolds: He runs out every ground ball, he makes singles into doubles and he does not have an off switch. Just like Pete, he loves baseball and because at 19 he actually makes other players on the Nationals better because his enthusiasm is very infectious. He makes everyone in that dugout play as hard as he does and that is a good thing for the team."
Dodgers, Phils, D-Backs head list of teams with early interest in Youkilis
CBS Sports
Although one Red Sox person called talks "very preliminary'' to this point, others familiar with their thinking say the Red Sox envision an eventual need to trade him, barring more injuries.
Red Sox people are telling others they'd require something of value back for Youkilis, but word is their demands would lessen if an acquiring team is willing to pay the $9-million plus remaining on his contract that pays $12 million this year and carries a $1-million buyout on his $13-million 2013 option.
Fair weather/bandwagon or sign of the times for all fans?
Kravitz: Colts season ticket holders will regret giving up
Bob Kravitz, Indy Star
Even though the Indianapolis Colts season ticket renewal numbers are reasonably good by NFL standards, it still shocks me the waiting list is gone and they're still out selling a few thousand tickets.
We are a fair-weather city.
We're not a football town or a basketball town; we're a winners town. More specifically, a Peyton Manning town. You win, people show. You lose, people go to the movies instead.
Colts tickets: Team gets help for rare situation, still unsold seats
Indy Star
The Colts have sold out 113 of their past 114 regular-season and playoff games, including 79 in succession since a Sept. 21, 2004, game with Jacksonville.
After a 2-14 season and the March 7 release of iconic quarterback Peyton Manning, Colts season-ticket renewals slipped to 87 percent, their first dip below 90 percent in a decade and a decline the team anticipated, Ward said.
Former Butler coach to be next coach at Marian University?
MLB needs to expand replay for its own health
Dan Wolken, The Daily
NEW YORK — Everything in baseball happens slowly, which is supposed to be part of its charm. But what’s happening this season isn’t charming. What’s happening is a crisis, bringing a new threat to the sport’s credibility on almost a daily basis.
And as Bud Selig rejects the push for expanded instant replay, despite a mountain of evidence suggesting it’s never been more necessary, a generation of sports fans are beginning to ask a simple question: Why can’t baseball just get the damn calls right?
UC football
Did you miss Butch Jones Friday night? Click HERE to listen. He joined me at 6:35.
What a Friday night of baseball:
Kent State beat Kentucky in 21 innings in the NCAA regional
Johan Santana tossed the first no-hitter in the history of the NY Mets.
It was game number 8,020 in franchise history. What a gutty performance.
Santana missed all of 2011 with shoulder surgery. He was facing a 115 pitch limit.
An emotional manager Terry Collins said he left the decision to go back out for the 9th inning up to Santana. Collins had to weigh the health of Santana vs Santana's pursuit of history vs the team and rest of the season.
"I just couldn't take him out," Collins said. "I just couldn't do it."
"You don't want to ruin the organization," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, but saying it all. "But it was going to be his call. All the way."
Santana wound up throwing a career high 134 pitches.
Santana was traded by the Twins to the Mets in 2008. One of the players he was traded for was Phillip Humber. Humber now pitches for the White Sox and he tossed a perfect game earlier this season. Have pitchers traded for each other ever each tossed a no-hitters or a perfect game?
Santana got a break in the 6th when a ball hit by Carlos Beltran was called foul. Replay showed it hit the third base line.
Consider some of the former Mets pitcher that never threw a no-hitter with the Mets:
Tom Seaver
Nolan Ryan
Dwight Gooden
Jerry Koosman
Frank Viola
David Cone
Sid Fernandez
Ron Darling
Al Leiter
Pedro Martinez
Chapman update
Police: Inconsistencies cloud hotel probe
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Mr. Chapman told police that Ms. Manrique "wasn't acting like herself" when she asked him if he could book her an earlier flight home. He went to the game Tuesday and returned to find his belongings gone.
One thing not taken was a Louis Vuitton bag containing more than $200,000 worth of Mr. Chapman's jewelry. Ms. Manrique said her attacker held her at gunpoint and demanded the bag of jewelry several times, ransacking the room when she refused to relinquish it. But, police reports note, she could not explain how the man knew the bag of jewelry was in the room in the first place.
When detectives confronted her about discrepancies in her story, she began to cry. A polygraph test showed she was not being truthful about the robbery, according to the report.
Youkilis too good to give away
Youkilis rumors: Red Sox haven't initiated trade talks
Youkilis unfazed by swirling trade rumors
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Meijer Game of the Week: Wins tickets to Reds
Register HERE
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