No crimminal charges will be filed against Dez Wells
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters joined Bill Cunningham on 700 WLW Tuesday afternoon. Deters indicated that after looking into sexual assault allegations against former XU basketball player Dez Wells, a grand jury decided not to charge Wells. Here are some of my tweets from the interview:
From Joe Deters
"We would never take anything like this to court"
"I think Xavier put in place a system, with a gun to their head, by Dept of Education, that is fundamentally unfair. Period"
"The level of proof they (XU) had should never have gotten to point his reputation is ruined"
"What Xavier does is fundamentally unfair"
"This is a young man with no record who this allegation was leveled against. In our opinion grand jury came to the right conclusion"
"They need to set up a procedure to protect their students. Dez Wells is a student. He should be afforded protection as well"--Deters
"I know Father Graham, he's wonderful person. I would hope they would revisit this thing"
"It wasn't even close to what was said happened"
Willie: They sat in front of XU council, without lawyers and without 5th amendment protection. The panel recommended expulsion.
Willie: "Should Wells be reinstated?"
Deters: "It’s up to that private institution. I just believe in this particular case that we would never take anything like this to court. It just would not happen."
Later, the attorney for Wells told Cunningham that Wells is conflicted about returning to XU. He said Wells is disappointed and hurt.
***
Reds
Dusty reaches 400
Dusty Baker recorded his 400th win as Reds manager last night.
He's the 7th manager in franchise history to win at least 400 games.
The last Reds manager to win 400 games for the Reds was Pete Rose ('84-'89).
Most wins:
863-586 Sparky Anderson
744-631 Bill McKechnie
469-450 Jack Hendricks
443-373 Fred Hutchinson
425-329 Patrick Moran
412-373 Pete Rose
400-378 Dusty Baker
Best winning percentage (50 game min.)
.596 Sparky Anderson
.563 Dick Sisler
.564 Patrick Moran
.545 Joe Kelley
.544 Fred Hutchinson
.543 Davey Johnson
.541 Bill McKechnie
.533 John McNamara
.529 Dave Bristol
.529 Jack McKeon
.525 Lou Piniella
.525 Pete Rose
.514 Dusty Baker
.513 Pete Mackanin
.510 Birdie Tebbets
.510 Jack Hendricks
Post season appearances
5 Sparky Anderson
2 Bill McKechnie
1 Dusty Baker, Davey Johnson, Lou Pienella, John McNamara, Fred Hutchinson, Pat Moran.
Follow Joey Votto tonight
We will listen in to Joey Votto's at-bats tonight in his rehab assignment with the Dayton Dragons.
***
Reds
The Billy Hamilton factor
Simple question: Who could have more of an impact on the postseason for the Reds, a 12th pitcher, Miguel Cairo or Billy Hamilton?
The Hamilton debates seems to center on calling him up when rosters expand September 1. If that happens, Hamilton can play in September, but he won't be eligible for the playoff roster. Why not call him up by midnight Friday (Aug. 31) and make him eligible for the playoffs?
He's the fastest player in baseball and a dynamic, game changing force. Consider what he could mean as a pinch-runner and base stealer. The playoffs are supposed to be about pitching and close, low scoring games. Run figure to be at a premium. Hamilton is a valuable asset.
The upside:
*He's an automatic runner in scoring position.
*He becomes a disruptive force late in games as a pinch-runner, stealing bases, going first to third, scoring from second on a hit.
*He's more valuable than Miguel Cairo, who is hitting .168 in 125 at-bats. With Votto, Frazier and Rolen back, Cairo is a duplicate part.
*The Reds won't need a 12th pitcher in the postseason. If they do, the game is out of hand and over already.
The downside:
*He's just 21 years old and at Double-A.
*He's a raw base stealer who has been caught stealing 36 times in 190 attempts.
*He's a one dimensional player right now. It is unlikely the Reds could/would ask him to hit or play the field.
*He would have to be placed on the 40-man roster, forcing Reds to remove a player.
Otherwise, the Reds don't have to place him on 40-man until the end of 2013.
*He would have to be added to 25-man roster, replacing someone currently on the roster.
*Can Walt Jocketty remove a member of a "team", who has been with the Reds all season, for a player from Double-A? What does it to do the "chemistry?"
*Hamilton's arbitration clock would start.
In the end, isn't Hamilton's skill set more valuable than Miguel Cairo's as a pinch-hitter or a 12th pitcher? I appreciate the experience of Cairo and the example he sets. Yet, he's been miserable this season, he's 4 for 21 (.190) as a pinch-hitter this year and his last postseason hit was 2004. What do you think?
Billy Hamilton=Herb Washington for playoffs?
In 1974 the Oakland A's signed world class sprinter Herb Washington to be an all-time pinch-runner. Washington was a four-time All-American at Michigan St, winning one NCAA title and seven Big Ten titles. Washington had played high school baseball, but did not play in college or in the minor leagues. He did play football for the Spartans, as a wide receiver in 1971 and 1972. He caught just one pass for 41 yards. The Baltimore Colts drafted Washington in the 12th round of the 1973 draft. Washington, however, never pursued a career in pro football.
He appeared in 105 ML games during the 1974 and 1975 seasons. He stole 31 bases and scored 33 runs in his ML career. He was caught stealing 16 times.
He never had a ML at-bat. He never appeared in the field. He was strictly a pinch-runner. He was a member of the A's World Championship team in 1974. He appeared in five postseason games. He was 0 for 2 in steal attempts in the ALCS vs Balitmore. In the World Series he was picked off first base, as the potential tying run, in the 9th inning of Game 2. The A's won the series four games to one. Washington was released one month into the 1975 season.
More HERE on Washington's career. Carer stats HERE.
**
Johnny's been good vs Arizona
Career vs Diamondbacks:
4-0 1.45 ERA in 5 starts.........just 14 hits and 5 ER in 31 innings.
Quality
Listener Ken, from Mason, points out Reds have 78 quality starts and 78 wins.
The Reds are tied for 5th in MLB with 78 quality starts:
81 Washington
80 LA Dodgers
80 NY Mets
79 St Louis
78 Cincinnati
78 San Francisco
----
67 ML average
The Reds had 90 quality starts in 2011.
QS
Cueto 19
Bailey 16
Arroyo 16
Leake 14
Latos 13
Reds 58-20 (.743) in quality starts
Note of note
From Reds gamenotes
The Reds are the only team in the Major Leagues to use a RHP to start every game...according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Cincinnati has started a LHP in at least one game every season since at least 1893, when the roster included ambidextrous Reds Hall of Famer Tony Mullane.
Mullane often would throw lefthanded and righthanded in the same game, though it isn't clear if he actually started a game in 1893 while pitching lefthanded.
Most wins MLB
Reds 78-52 (.600)
Nationals 77-50 (.606)
Yankees 74-54 .578
Braves 73-56 (.566)
Bronson rolling
He's 4-0 2.86 in last four starts.
7-1 3.44 in last eight starts
Good luck charm?
The Reds are now 22-9 when Wilson Valdez starts
Drew does what Drew does
After getting Sunday off, Drew Stubbs was back in the lineup, and back to striking out. He struck out twice Monday night. That is 8 strikeouts in last 10 AB and 16 in his last 28 AB. In the last 6 games he has strikeout games of 2, 4, 3, 1, 3, 3.
Last 20 games: 13 for 79, .164/.214, with 33 K.
Sheldon: Arroyo HR leads Reds over Diamondbacks
Sheldon: Hanigan a threat to opposing basestealers
Fay: New twist on Opening Day for Reds-AL foe?
***
Down on the Farm
(Michael Chang/Getty Images)
Billy Hamilton swipes four, reaches 154
Milb.com
Since breaking the stolen-base record Aug. 21, Hamilton has shown no signs of slowing down, swiping seven bases in six games. He currently leads both the Southern League and the California League in steals and is 154-for-190 in attempts this season.
For perspective, Huntsville's Josh Prince is second on Hamilton's current circuit with 41 stolen bases despite playing 87 more games. Hamilton has had 13 games in which he's stolen multiple bases for the Blue Wahoos, including two games of four stolen bases.
***
Bengals
Reedy: Cook injury could be worse than thought, Bengals bringing in Faine
****
UC football
USA Today ranks Nippert Stadium as best stadium in Big East
Hoard: A big...make that very big additio for Bearcats
****
Thanks
Thanks to everyone that stopped by River Downs on Sunday for Family Day.
Peyton did it again. She won the first race she picked. She took You Is What You Is in the 5th race. Her $2 bet paid $20.40. Casey Picked the winner of the 6th race, Elroy, and won $4.40. Thanks to John Englehardt for the tour and hospitality.
We got to watch track announcer Pete Aiello call the final race of the day.
Reminder: With the traditional Labor Day close of live racing for the season, the live schedule will push forward by one day. This week River Downs will race live, Thursday through Monday, Labor Day. Post time will be 1:30 p.m. every day except Friday when it will host its popular 3:00 p.m. post time. While there will be no live racing this Wednesday, River Downs will be open for simulcasting every day of the week with doors opening at 11:30 a.m. Parking and admission is free at River Downs for live and simulcast racing.
It was great meeeting River Downs track announcer Pete Aiello Sunday.
We got to watch track Pete call the final race of the day. Pete was recently featured in Thoroughbred Times in their "It's My Life" segment.
***
Events for a cause
On Sunday, September 9th, 2012, Dickmann’s Sports Café in Fort Wright Kentucky will host a charity event to select Greater Cincinnati’s “Best Bengal Ride”. Guest host, Kenny Anderson has invited his team-mates to support this event and they will be available for autographs.
This event is the pre-party for the “Bengals Kick-Off 2012” party on the Square, a much larger event to be held on Fountain Square on Monday, September 10th. Both events will raise money to develop a work-Life community for individuals with autism in the Greater Cincinnati Region.
The “Pimp My Pride” Event at Dickmann’s will begin at 10am. Entries in this contest must be a motorized vehicle with an orange and black color scheme. These vehicles are typical at tailgate festivities at Bengals home football games. Pre-Registration is encouraged and can be done so at Dickmann’s, 479 Orphanage Road in Fort Wright Kentucky. Registration can also happen the day of the event but parking spaces are limited. There is a registration fee of a minimum donation of $25 to Impact Autism.
Vehicles are encouraged to bring their grills to compete in the Bluegrass Quality Meats Cookoff. The meat and buns will be provided; you just grill them, add your favorite toppings and sell them to patrons for donations. The “Tailgater” that raises the most money will win the Bluegrass quality Meat Cookoff.
This event will also conduct split the pot raffles as well as very unique silent auction items. The event will begin at 10am, the contest will be over at 1pm, the fun and football continues all day long and $1 from the sale of every Miller Lite will be donated to Impact Autism, thanks to Dickmann’s and Miller Lite.
Dust off your Bengal ride and get ready for the 2012 Season,
while supporting a better life for those individuals with autism.
Do you think that your Tailgate Vehicle is the “Best in Cincy”?
Prove it!
