A FEW MO' THINGS, 7/24/12
Bud Selig recently went on a Chicago radio show, where he talked about replay. He says that he gets letters from fans, but that none of them are calling for the sport to expand its replay system. Bud also said that he answers every piece of mail that he gets. I decided to test this out, while also chiming in on a few other things I think the commissioner could help fix. Here's my letter to Bud...
I'm excited to hear back from him.
-I'm also excited for another ESPN1530 Reds Watch Party tonight at Dave and Buster's Tri-County. We'll have giveaways, some tickets, plus Dave and Buster's new menu and their new bar selection. They've totally re-done the place so check it out. We'll see you tonight.
-The Houston Astros are one of the worst teams I've ever seen. Big deal.
Step back from the trade speculation to appreciate what this team is doing. Without Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips is 18 for his last 47, with three more hits last night. Todd Frazier continues to look the part of a seasoned vet, with three more hits of his own, and Ryan Ludwick had three more knocks, two of them doubles, and should be in the lineup every day at this point.
Four more quality innings from the bullpen (minus Sam LeCure), two-hit games from Stubbs and Heisey, and even a sharp RBI single from a struggling Jay Bruce, and Reds had one of their most complete wins of the season last night.
With the next nine games coming against totally craptastic teams, these are the kinds of games the Reds should be winning while fattening up numbers and gaining confidence.
The Reds are rolling right now and while there's a lot of different things happening around the team - trade talks, Votto speculation, and scoreboard watching to name a few - sometimes it's fun to sit back and simply enjoy watching a good team crank out wins.
-My man Lance is leading the Todd Frazier/Rookie of the Year bandwagon....
Todd Frazier, Reds, INF:
.285-.347-.542-.890, 214 AB, 15 2B, 5 3B, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 1 SB
Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals:
.272-.343-.449-.791, 294 AB, 15 2B, 5 3B, 9 HR, 28 RBI, 13 SB
Sports Illustrated is onboard as well.
If you follow me on Twitter, or have listened to the show, you know I'm a huge Todd Frazier fan. But the question becomes, if it were to come down to these two players and their numbers are similar, do you give the nod to the 19 year-old putting up comparable numbers to a 26 year-old? Was Anthony Davis' remarkable season all the more impressive because he was a freshman? Yes. And did that sway some voters his way in Player of the Year balloting? I'd think so. So how much does Harper's age cause voters to lean toward him if there's not much separation statistically?
I'd give the nod to Frazier right now, mainly because what he's done in fewer plate appearances, but if I was voting, I'd have to contextualize the numbers by using age and professional experience.
Hopefully, the numbers by the end of the season are dramatically skewed toward Todd and this discussion is moot, but it's fair to look at the numbers now and give more credit to Harper because of his age.
-The NCAA did Penn State players a favor.
How many college athletes get virtual free agency? How many players get free educations with almost no obligation in return? PSU players who don't want to continue playing football (and as hard as this is to believe, there are some D1 athletes who by the time they reach their junior and senior years would rather just be students), can continue their academic careers on the school's dime. Had the school waited to hand down sanctions until later this year, or until after the season, this year's team would've played out this season with the program's uncertain future hanging in the balance. That won't be the case in 2012. The sanctions will clearly affect the season, but the possibility of sanctions won't hover over it. It's not ideal, but it's not as bad as you think.
-I do agree with something that Mike DeCourcey wrote yesterday...let's give the schools that add Penn State players extra scholarships.
-Mike Brown says he's keeping the blackout threshold at 100%. I hate this, but I get it. Kinda. I loathe the NFL's blackout rule, and I think they did the right thing by allowing teams to drop the capacity at which they have to fill the stadium to get the blackout lifted at 100%. And I think dropping the threshold would've been a nice way to reach out to a fanbase that the team has alienated. But I can also see why he wouldn't want to incentivize not going, particularly if ticket sales are going well. If the Bengals are close to selling some games out, and given a tougher schedule, some marquee opponents, and some lower ticket prices, that potential exists, would they really want do so something encouraging people to stay home?
-I see Springsteen in Philly on back-to-back nights this Labor Day weekend. This lengthy piece from The New Yorker, which isn't 100% on point by the way, has successfully whetted my appetite to see The Boss.
-Great piece on SI.com profiling Billy Hamilton. There's this story from DeLino DeShields....
The most unbelievable thing DeShields saw Billy do happened last year during spring training. "There was a ball hit to deep to leftfield, and the leftfielder throws his hands up because he's lost the ball in the sun," says DeShields. "I'm watching the ball, and thinking, This is trouble, and out of nowhere, I see this white flash, and I see that it's Billy, and he's running full speed. He ends up diving, laying out completely, and makes the catch at the warning track in leftfield. It was ridiculous. There isn't a player out there who would have caught that ball."
-Radio show at 3:04 today on ESPN1530. Live chat tomorrow at 9am. More blogging later. Sometimes when I really miss Riverfront Stadium. When I find game opens from the 80s on YouTube, is usually that time.
