Topics
Reds:
Is Shin-Soo Choo the most important piece to the 2013 puzzle for the Reds?
The Choo domino effect.
BP to 2nd spot in order?
(Thanks listener Luke Piper)
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Choo effect
As a left-handed hitter, Shin-Soo Choo owned RHP last year.
Compare Choo to Drew Stubbs vs RHP last year:
Choo: .327-.403-.523-.926
Stubbs: .186-.259-.282-.541.
Consider what Choo's success vs RHP could mean for the Reds.
The Reds struggled with RHP more than vs LHP in 2012.
2012 Reds/ML rank
vs RHP in 4,033 AB
.246 BA (21st)
.311 OBP (24th)
.399 SLG (17th)
.710 OPS (23rd)
Record: 65-47 (.533)
vs LHP in 1,444 AB
.266 BA (8th)
.327 OBP (10th)
.443 SLG (6th)
.770 OPS (7th)
Record: 32-18 (.627)
To be fair, Drew Stubbs was pretty good vs LHP last year, while Choo really struggled:
2012 vs LHP
Stubbs: .283-.324-.464-.788.
Choo: .199-.318-.286-.605
The CF option to replace Choo vs LHP would be Chris Heisey.
But Heisey has reverse splits, better vs RHP than LHP for his career:
vs RHP .277-.332-.462-.794 (593 AB)
vs LHP .214-.272-.376-.648 (234 AB)
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College basketball
Odds to win the 2012-2013 Men's NCAA Basketball Championship
Bovada,Twitter: @BovadaLV).
Florida 5/1
Indiana 11/2
Miami FL 11/2
Michigan 15/2
Duke 9/1
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Others
Louisville 12/1
Ohio State 30/1
Butler 40/1
Cincinnati 50/1
Kentucky 100/1
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UC
Dehner Jr.: Parker channeling offensive spark
College basketball
Jerry Palm's latest bracket:
1 Indiana
3 Butler, Louisville
7 Cincinnati, Ohio State
Sporting News tournament bracket
Big East near new TV deals
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Baseball/Reds
Josh Hamilton says Dallas is a football town, not a baseball town.
Remember him?: Micah Owings is attempting to become a position player
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
After health scare, Baker taking care of self
AP
Owner Bob Castellini awarded Baker a two-year contract extension at the end of last season, giving the manager a chance to try for his third division title with the Reds.
“I appreciate Mr. Castellini giving me an extension when he didn’t have to,” Baker said. “I appreciate my team. I appreciated how they reacted and responded.”
Baker said he doesn’t worry about his health.
“There isn’t much that scares me,” Baker said. “I’m really not scared of dying. I am scared of leaving my son and my wife.”
2013 Redleg Annual
Order HERE
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Bengals/NFL
Bengals face dilemma with franchise tag
Watch out Wonderlic, there's a new combine test in town
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College basketball
West Virginia has lost 10 straight men's basketball games against ranked teams and is 0-5 in such games this season.
(@ESPNStatsInfo)
Seriously, how cool would Selection Sunday be if teams had to hand-pick their opponents? I'd watch that like a million times.
Andy Glockner, SI college basketball, (@AndyGlockner)
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Stuff
Could the Cubs part ways with WGN TV?
How about a python hunt?
ABC News: The Florida Python Challenge ended on this weekend with the round up of a mere 68 snakes. Officials held the snake hunt because the pythons have multiplied into the thousands in the Everglades and have become a threat to native species.
Socks
How about a collection of men's NBA legend socks?
Boxing: Is Adrien Broner the future/savior of boxing?
Music
Eagles fly high in new Showtime documentary
Boston Globe
The first part of the doc — chock full of excellent archival footage — chronicles their rise in an LA scene that included friends and collaborators like Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne, their wild “third encore” bacchanals (with lines on mirrors and terminally pretty companions), the making of the classic “Hotel California” album, and their eventual implosion in 1980 after a fight that simmered onstage boiled over and off of it.
Hockey
From Kevin, in Bloomington: Here are some photos from my visit to the Hockey City Classic. Proud Miami alum – 2008! Tickets in the end zone were $40. This would be unreal at GABP.
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