Week ahead
Reds in Houston and Colorado have me on at night:
Monday: 6:05, Sports Talk, 700 WLW..........7:05 Inside Pitch
Tuesday: 6:05, Sports Talk, 700 WLW..........7:05 Inside Pitch
Wednesday: 6:05, Sports Talk, 700 WLW..........7:05 Inside Pitch
Thursday: 6:05, Sports Talk, 700 WLW
Friday: 6:05, Sports Talk, 700 WLW.........7:35 Inside Pitch
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LIVE Chat: Monday Lunchtime Sports Talk/Noon
The live chat returns Monday at noon. We can recap the weekend for the Reds and the Hall of Fame.
Join the chat HERE
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(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Dropping this in the Reds suggestion box
I'm calling my shot. The Reds need to have a Barry Larkin mini Hall of Fame plaque giveaway. How cool did his plaque look? I'm guessing fans would go nuts for a mini plaque to take home and put on their wall. Heck, the Reds could do a line of mini Hall of Fame plaque giveaways: Bench, Morgan, Perez, Anderson, Robinson, Roush, Rixey, McKechnie, Lombardi. What do you think?
Did you miss Barry Larkin's speech?:
What Ken Griffey Jr said about Larkin
Hall of Fame Sunday
Sunday's Hall of Fame induction ceremonies were spectacular. What a scene with the living Hall of Famers introduced as they walked onto the stage. I noted on Twitter that the players should have walked out of a cornfield onto the stage like Field of Dreams. Bob Gibson still looked like a guy that you would not want to dig in on at the plate. I believe Hall of Famers should never age and always appear as they do on our favorite baseball cards. I wish they could have gotten all the Hall of Famers together on Doubleday Field for a game afterwards. I would have pulled out my baseball cards and APBA cards.
Vicki Santos' speech was excellent. It could have been sad with husband Ron not being alive for the honor. She instead made the message inspirational and uplifting.
Barry Larkin looked and sounded sharp. He covered all the bases and made it more about those that helped him get to Cooperstown than about himself. Loved the tribute to Pete Rose. Great seeing Dave Parker with Eric Davis. Nice job by Davis introducing Larkin. I think my favorite story was Larkin being told to smell the grass at Dodger Stadium by Buddy Bell.
MLB missing the boat
I continue to believe MLB is missing a golden opportunity to further expose and celebrate the Hall of Fame inductions. The scene of the living Hall of Famers being introduced and walking onto the stage, and the speeches should be on a grander stage. There is simply no reason for a goosebumps event like yesterday to happen at the same time as ML games are going on. Heck, how many people even get MLB Network? There has got to be a better way to present the day. My personal choice is to make it a stand alone event without games. Possible options:
1. Move the ceremony to Saturday night and put the ceremonies on Fox nationally. Make it the red carpet star studded event it should be. Play the entire MLB schedule during that afternoon. Does Cooperstown have lights? If not, roll them in
2. Move the ceremonies to 10am Sunday. Make it Breakfast at Cooperstown. Have the event lead into a full schedule of games.
3. Move the ceremonies to Sunday night on Fox nationally. Play the schedule of day games and turn things over to HOF that night. The downside is travel issues for those that leave to drive home Sunday after inductions to work on Monday.
4. Start the All-Star break on Sunday and hold inductions that afternoon without games. The downside is working around the scheduling of series without a Sunday date and giving up Sunday gates at 15 MLB cities.
5. Hold inductions on Thursday night of All- Star week. There are already no games scheduled. Have HR derby Monday, All-Star game Tuesday, Futures Game Wednesday in host city. Then go from the future stars to past greatness in Cooperstown on Thursday night. What a way to kickoff the 2nd half of the season!
Aren't any of those options better than what MLB currently does?
ESPN colleagues salute analyst, Reds great Larkin on HOF induction
Larkin so close to being a Dodger in '99 he was given a uniform
Pitching is now Reds' backbone
Bill Rabinowitz, Columbus Dispatch
CINCINNATI — The transformation is hardly discussed in the Cincinnati Reds’ clubhouse, even as the proof becomes more evident on the field almost daily.
The Reds are being carried by — prepare to gasp — pitching. (Pitching?!)
It’s practically blasphemous for this franchise.
Think of the Big Red Machine and you don’t think of its (underrated) pitching, unless it’s the image of Sparky Anderson in full Captain Hook mode yanking a starting pitcher.
Braun reaches 1,000 hits faster than Rose
Wainright says Cards should be 20 over .500
Rose think new ballot may juice his Hall of Fame case
NY Post
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Still on the outside looking in, Pete Rose wants to get one thing straight.
“There’s one thing I didn’t do: I didn’t cheat the game,’’ baseball’s all-time hits leader said yesterday as he sat at the back of a memorabilia shop along Main Street here and signed autographs.
Rose, 71, has been banned from the game and, thus, ineligible to be on the Hall of Fame ballot since 1991 for betting on baseball while managing the Reds.
While Rose films a reality series for TLC scheduled to air in the fall, he is keeping a close eye on the Hall of Fame class of 2013 because several players connected to steroids — Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa among them — will be on the ballot for the first time.
If any of them is elected to the Hall, Rose, baseball’s all-time leader with 4,256 hits, figures it can’t do anything but help his cause.
Soft-sided cooler night!
We have a great time Saturday night at GABP. Thanks to Michael Anderson and the Reds for inviting us to help hand out soft-side coolers to the first 20,000 fans. Thanks so much to everyone that stopped by and said hello! The only issue was Casey debating whether he should give a cooler to anyone wearing Brewers gear.
The Soft-Side Cooler Family!
Ready for the gates to open
Here come the fans
Here ya go
1-800-Got-Junk: The official junk removal service of the Cincinnati Reds and the McAlister family!
On this date in Reds history
Sunday afternoon, July 22, 2001
Cincinnati Reds at Florida Marlins
"Frankie Rodríguez K's Four in Seventh Inning of Reds Loss"
From Steven Sharp
While the Reds lost, 11-7, to the Florida Marlins, Reds relief pitcher Frankie Rodríguez added his name to the list of MLB pitchers who accomplished the unusual feat of recording four strikeouts in one inning. Rodríguez entered the game in relief for the Reds in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Rodríguez struck out C Charles Johnson, struck out SS Dave Berg, and struck out PH Ryan Thompson. Strike three to Thompson was a wild pitch, and Thompson reached first base, extending the inning. The Marlins took advantage of the extra out to pad their lead, as 2B Luis Castillo followed with a single and CF (and former Red) Eric Owens added a two-run double. Rodríguez issued an intentional walk to 1B Cliff Floyd (for the second time in two consecutive innings) and finally ended the inning by striking out 3B Mike Lowell.
Even more unique for Rodríguez was that this was his final MLB appearance and final MLB inning pitched. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the top of the eighth inning. Two days after this game, the Reds outrighted Rodríguez to AAA Louisville, when they called up righthanded RP Scott MacRae. Rodríguez never returned to pitch in the majors, so his final inning of MLB work featured the unusual feat of four strikeouts.
Rodríguez became the fourth (and most recent) pitcher in Reds/Redlegs history to record four strikeouts in one inning, joining SP Joe Nuxhall (top of the sixth inning in Game 1 of DH on August 11, 1959), SP Mario Soto (top of the third inning on May 17, 1984), and RP Tim Birtsas (bottom of the seventh inning on June 4, 1990).
The sixth annual Reds Community Fund Summer Wiffle Classic
Saturday, July 28, 2012 | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Mason Sports Park - Mason, OH
Don't miss out! The sixth annual Reds Community Fund Summer Wiffle® Classic is back! This is the premier Wiffle® tournament in the Midwest. Teams from all over the region (and the country) will converge in Mason, Ohio to compete for a championship, while qualifying for the Redsfest tournament in December. Does YOUR team have what it takes?
Register HERE
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Down on the Farm
Billy Hamilton was 3 for 4 Sunday at Double-A Pensacola. He was thrown out stealing for the fourth time in 10 games since his promotion. He's now hitting .333 at Double-A and sits at 112 stolen bases for the season.
Reds minor league LHP Tony Cingrani is tearing it up this season.
He's made 18 combined starts at High-A Bakersfield and Double-A Pensacola.
His combined stats: 10-2 1.19 ERA, 105.2 innings, 69 H, 30 BB, 123 K, .186 BAA.
I noticed he has not pitched since July 13. I'm told he is simply getting skipped a turn in the rotation to give him a little extra rest. He's fine. It's just precautionary more than anything.
Tony is a 2011 2nd round pick from Rice. Last season he pitched 51.1 innings in his debut at Billings. He's already more than doubled that load this season with 105.2 innings.
Reds 2011 first round pick Robert Stephenson was clocked at 100 mph Saturday night at Billings.
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Stuff
Paterno statue comes down
Rick Pitino backs Jay Bilas for Big East commish
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Join us next Sunday night
Join my family for a Florence Freedom game next Sunday night.
The Freedom play a day/night double header.
Sunday, July 29 • 1:05 PM •Ballpark Brunch
Florence Freedom vs. Evansville Otters
My family will be at the 6:05 nightcap
AT THE 6:05 PM GAME ONLY! Presented by Schulz and Son Jewelers, the Fear the Brow bobblehead will be given away to the first 1,500 fans.
Please note: 1 bobblehead voucher will be given per two tickets. The bobblehead voucher will then be redeemed at the Schulz and Sons Jewelers concourse booth at the top of the 4th inning for the bobblehead. Get tickets HERE.
Sunday Weekly
Every Sunday the kids can run the bases post game followed by a private autograph session with the players.
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Event for a cause
