A FEW MO' THINGS, 8/8/12
Ouch.

Programming Notes: I've got six consecutive hours today and tonight. We start at 3:04 on ESPN1530, we continue at 6:05 on 700WLW, and we go until 9:00.  I'm really not sure who "we" is.

Pete Prisco, Butch Jones, and Don Treadwell are among our guests today. 

Promotional Notes:  Ever wanted to call a horse race?  Think you'd be better than me? (You would be)  Come to River Downs on Sunday for ESPN1530/VIP Announcer Day.  I'll call a race, which could be mildly entertaining, and we'll pick one winner and let them call one.  Plus, other prizes.  We're there from 3:00 until 5:00.  Be there.

-Are there still people who think the Reds are better off without Joey Votto?

In their last five games, the Reds have scored 14 runs.  They've hit .199. They've hit .240 with runners in scoring position.

Sounds to me like a team that could use, you know, a guy who, leads the league in OPS and doubles, right?

Should Joey Votto come back today?  Tomorrow?  The day after? Anytime on this road trip?  I have no idea.  I haven't examined his knee, have no idea what goes into rehabbing a bum joint, and understand the need to exercise caution on a guy who's of slight importance to both the short-term and long-term health of the franchise.

But if the guy is 100%, and he says he feels 100%, there's no need to use extreme caution.  There's no need to wait until next Tuesday if he feels absolutely zero discomfort.  There's no need to wait 'til the next homestand if the medical folks give him the okay to play.  There might not be a massive sense of urgency given the Reds position atop the NL Central standings, but this team looks gassed right now, and an already flawed offense could use a big bat in the middle.

The return of their best player could give them both a much-needed infusion of energy and a guy capable of helping to produce a few runs.

-The next #RedsTweetup is a week from tomorrow.  This time it's gonna be awesome, because we're sitting in the Moon Deck.

If you have yet to sit in the Moon Deck, you're life is incomplete.  Join us on August 16th.  $25 gets you a ticket and this Jay Bruce #RedsTweetup shirt....

Decent deal, no? Find information and order tickets here. 

-We need to make a deal.

Barry Larkin was inducted into the Hall of Fame a few weeks ago.  I talked about this on the radio often.

When I did, someone would call to talk about Pete Rose and his exclusion from both baseball and the Hall of Fame.

Yesterday the Reds announced that they are retiring Barry's number 11.

I read the press release on 700WLW.

I immediately got a phone call about Pete Rose.

I listened to Extra Innings after the game last night.  Seg Dennison mentioned Larkin's number being retired.  Subsequently, he fielded a phone call about Pete Rose.

Please.  Stop.

I like Pete Rose.  He deserves to be in the Hall, and I desperately want that to happen, far more for what it would mean to the city that what it would mean to Pete.  And I really hope that if it ever happens, that Pete is alive for the induction.

But the fact that Pete Rose isn't in the Hall of Fame is one man's fault, and that man is not Barry Larkin.  I'm sorry the Hit King isn't in Cooperstown, and I'm sorry his banishment from baseball is keeping a number 14 from joining the other retired numbers, but the fact that Pete's digits aren't going up shouldn't keep us from celebrating what Barry did here.

The two men are mutually exclusive, and while Barry's numbers and accomplishments might pale in comparison to Rose's, they were still Hall-worthy, and clearly merited the number 11 being displayed at GABP.  Stop allowing the angst and anger of what's happened to one Cincinnati icon keep you from celebrating the career of another.

Barry is one of the best 10-15 players to ever wear a Reds uniform.  A celebration of his career should pause the griping about Pete, not ignite it.  Barry earned induction in Cooperstown and he deserves to have his number retired.  He also deserves to have these things talked about without having to revisit one of the franchise' sadder sagas.

If Pete Rose ever gets reinstated, and if he ever gets his moment at the Hall of Fame, I won't spend a second thinking about Barry Larkin.  As we celebrate the career of Barry Larkin, let's temporarily forget Pete Rose.

-I never thought I'd say this, but here goes...

I can't wait for the preseason opener Friday night.

Not so much because I like fake football, but because this team hasn't given me much to talk about yet.

That's a good thing.

-It's not enough to get me to buy a program, but the cover design for this week is pretty cool....

-Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com joins our show today at 3:33.  He doesn't think Andy Dalton will suffer through a sophomore slump....

There is a sentiment making its way through the NFL that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton had a nice rookie season in 2011, but don't count on much more going forward.

That's absurd.

No, he isn't a big, strong-armed passer who makes your jaw drop when you watch him work, but he is accurate and, more importantly, he knows where to go with the football.

Dalton will be even better in 2012.

-Springsteen isn't coming to Cincinnati, which sucks.  An awesome Bruce tribute band however, is playing at the Our Lady of Victory Convocation Center a week from Saturday, benefitting the Our Lady of Victory Athletic Association.  I will be there, so should you....

-Gregg Doyel is on the Aroldis Chapman For Cy Young bandwagon.  Welcome aboard, Gregg.

-The debut of Hard Knocks was, as expected, outstanding.  Chad Johnson, as expected, was featured prominently.  But more interesting was Joe Philbin's approach to practice.  The Dolphins Head Coach has essentially four units going live at once...the ones against the ones one one side of the field, then at the end of the play, he has the twos go against the twos.  In an age of less practice time, it's a pretty inventive approach.

Here's the full episode if you wanna watch....

-More later, including two radio shows.  We'll have a blog previewing it.  For now, here's some faces of the shotput...