I know there's some pressing issues on our minds right now. Johnny Cueto has a big start tomorrow night. His success or lack thereof in his final two outings will shape how we feel about him starting in Game One of the NLDS, and subsequently, a potential final, series-deciding tilt.
If Johnny is right, he's the guy we want on the hill when the playoffs begin. If he isn't, the choice becomes Mat Latos. His final regular season start is scheduled for October 2nd. If Cueto is still struggling (his final start is September 30th), they skip Latos, and get him prepped to pitch the first game of the playoffs, regardless of opponent.
My man Lance has done a pretty thorough job of breaking down how each Reds starter has done against the Giants while also comparing home/road splits. But the Reds are just a game behind DC for the top spot in the National League, meaning the Reds might not not know who and where they're playing until two days before the Division Series begins.
So given the uncertainty about whom their round one opponent is, I'll make this simple...
If Johnny gets things worked out these next two starts, we go Cueto, Arroyo, Latos, and Bailey. Yes, I'd prefer that Homer pitch away from home, but that's a deeper concern given how Bronson's propensity for dishing up gopher balls, and I'd like to have him in reserve on three days rest if needed at some point in a fifth game.
If Johnny continues to struggle and our faith in him continues to quiver, we go Latos, Arroyo, Cueto, Bailey. I know, I know, Latos is fourth among the four likely starters in quality starts, and I know some have questioned if his mental makeup should take him out of the game five equation, but he's had two truly bad starts since the All-Star break, he's pitched very well against the Giants, he's thrown well this season against the Braves, Pirates, Phillies, and Brewers, and while his numbers against St. Louis aren't very good (ERA of 9.77), Bailey wasn't great against the Cardinals either, and as much as I like Bronson Arroyo (frankly, probably my favorite Reds if I'm allowed to have one at age 34), I don't want him starting twice in a five-game series.
I just don't think this is worth over-thinking. Bailey has been much better recently, and he was very good last night. Arroyo has been so solid for so long that we almost take him for granted. Both will probably have to deliver at some point in October if the Reds are going to go as far as we want them.
But this comes down to which pitcher we trust the most to get the job done twice, if needed. Cueto is still that guy right now, and if isn't in two weeks, Mat Latos is next in line.
But that's not the most pressing issue right now.
-Neither is what the Bengals do about their defense. I know we worry about how they're going to fix the problems we've seen for two weeks, and I think some slight improvement is possible. Carlos Dunlap's return can't hurt. Neither can making some changes among the linebackers. And I still give members of the secondary enough benefit of the doubt to assume that they'll make some needed corrections and improve at least a bit.
But this isn't a top ten defense.
Problem is, they don't have a top ten offense either.
The offense played well Sunday, but as you assess what they have, who they'll be playing, and the defense they'll probably be asked to bail out a few times this season, do you see a unit capable of winning shootouts? Can they put up big number when a big number is needed?
Against Cleveland, yes. Against most of the teams on their schedule, probably not.
But that's not the most pressing issue right now.
-Neither are what the Bearcats do to refocus after a bad offensive effort against Delaware State, what's next for the Big Ten in what's been a disappointing year through three weeks, or whether Joker Phillips will put his house on the market before October. Those are pressing issues, but neither of the most pressing right now.
-A Xavier recruit's father is suing the NCAA. At the heart of the matter is the consistent inconsistency of the NCAA. It's a pressing issue, especially for XU fans, but it's not the most pressing issue right.
The most pressing issue right now is this film...
You just watched the theatrical trailer for Trouble With The Curve. If you've watched any SportsCenter episodes or MLB Network shows the last few weeks, you've undoubtedly seen a shorter version of it, which aired four times during last night's midnight SportsCenter alone. You've also seen the ad behind homeplate at a few MLB stadiums. It comes out this Friday and it's being hyped as a baseball movie. From the film's Wikipedia page...
An aging Atlanta Braves baseball scout named Gus Lobel (Eastwood) is given one last assignment to prove his worth to the organization, who sees him as unable to adapt to changes in the business.
It might be a fine piece of movie-making. Clint Eastwood, recent antics aside, is a fine actor. Justin Timberlake has some legit acting chops, and Amy Adams is easy on the eyes.
But guys, this ain't a baseball movie.
What this is is Hollywood's latest attempt to sucker you and in with the false premise of a film about sports or something guy-friendly, only to hoodwink you into seeing a chick-flick.
It's the 2012 version of Jerry McGuire. Remember this?
You do. You remember going, "Hey look a movie about football!" You saw the ESPN and Arizona Cardinals logo, got the premise that he was a sports agent, knew you had to put up with an obligatory love interest (even if she was average-looking) and token cute kid factor, but you saw that trailer and thought "this is a sports movie."
Then you heard about the athlete cameos. 12 NFL players were gonna appear, including Troy Aikman, Drew Bledsoe, and on one leg, Ki-Jana Carter! The Monday Night Football crew would be in it! Katarina Witt would make an appearance! They even got Springsteen to play on the soundtrack! And Kelly Preston, rumor had it, was gonna appear half-naked.
This was going to be an awesome sports movie, with just enough residual sappiness to get your girlfriend to agree to see it.
Then you saw it. And it was anything but an awesome sports movie.
Instead of sports, we had "you complete me" and gross Bonnie Hunt's man-hating. We had the annoying kid who wasn't as cute as the producers made him out to be. The athlete cameos came and went pretty early in the film, the few sports sequences seemed forced, Glenn Frey was not passable as a football GM, Jerry McGuire himself came off as pathetic, Kelly Preston faded after the first ten minutes, Rene Zelleweger looked horribly average and the storyline dragged to the point where any man who saw it in a theater considered finding something to choke themselves with.
And the Springsteen tune? This...
I can't believe I've acknowledged that Secret Garden even happened.
It's hard for me to loathe a movie, but I loathe Jerry McGuire, but the man and the movie about him.
This phenomenon is not related to "sports movies." I present to you the trailer for Pearl Harbor....
Being a war-movie lover and a bit of a history buff, I was psyched for Pearl Harbor. If you saw it, you know that this movie was less about how the US ended up entering WWII and more about Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale awkwardly staring at each other.
Oh, and it lasted three hours long.
There are other examples, years ago Bill Simmons did a review of Fever Pitch which covers this phenomenon, Top Gun is most definitely on the list, as is Keeping The Faith, and if I'm ever in a room where Varsity Blues is playing, please find me some poison and syringes.
Trouble With The Curve is the latest to make it.
Last night on ESPN, they showed scene from the film that's supposed to draw parallels between the current debate over newer methods of evaluating baseball players and the old-school methods favored by older scouts such as the one played by Eastwood's character in the movie. The scene was meant to suck you as a baseball fan into seeing the movie. See it if you will, but if Trouble With The Curve ends up throwing you one, don't say that history didn't warn you.
