Amazingly short on time today. Here goes....
Topics
If Bengals ticket prices go up $14 to pay for the stadium, you done?
Why the ESPN tell-all is no big deal.
Wrapping up Reds/Pirates
What's the most memorable home run in Reds history (see below)
Are we jealous of the Cardinals?
Interleague play, yay or nay?
And a guy from Cincinnati Magazine who's taking the pulse of Reds fans.
Join me today at 3:04 on ESPN1530.
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Cool list. Interesting debate. Here's a look at the ten most memorable homers in each Major League team's history. I'd give the nod to Bench's homer in the '72 NLCS just ahead of Eric Davis in Game One of the 1990 World Series.
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WITH HAIR LIKE THAT, DID GLEN BUJNOCH REALLY NEED A HELMET?
This video comes from 1981. It's the unveiling of both the Bengals' new uniforms and of Denny Janson's mustache.
(Thanks to the always awesome Uniwatch and occasionally outstanding Web Guy James)
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THE JOEY VOTTO WORKOUT.
He, and his training regimen, are featured in Men's Fitness Magazine. Still waiting for them to feature the David Weathers workout.
(Photo courtesy of Men's Fitness)
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ONE MO THING, 5/19/11 EDITION
-Programming Note: My suspension is temporarily lifted today. I will be on starting at 3:04 on ESPN1530.
-Some games are worth analysis, where we delve into the minor details, thoroughly examine each and every decision, and put nearly every play under the proverbial microscope.
Last night's match was not one of those games.
Last night's Reds/Pirates tilt was played as if both teams had a keg party to get to. Charlie Morton was good. The Reds were not.
There. I'm a regular Bill James, aren't I?
-St. Louis still has Cincinnati on the brain. From Bernie Miklasz...
Are the Cardinals the most disliked team in Cincinnati? Absolutely. The favorite sport in the Queen City is pro football. The second-favorite sport there is hating on the Cardinals. The first-place Reds were averaging only 23,368 per home game before drawing another pathetic crowd (16,543) for Wednesday's 5-0 loss to visiting Pittsburgh.
If the Cardinals rank high on the list of most disliked teams, it's for a simple reason: jealousy.
Cincinnati won the NL Central last season — congratulations — but between 1996 and 2009 the Reds ranked 13th in the NL in winning percentage. The Cardinals were No. 2. The Cardinals won 39 postseason games during that time; the Reds won none. The resentment makes sense.
Now this little diatribe is sandwiched between some pretty decent points...the whining after the rain delayed game in St. Louis a month ago was overboard, he acknowledges that the Cardinals can be "smug and arrogant," there's no denying that we work up a little more bile for the most successful teams and the Cardinals have long been the standard-setter in the NL Central...
But I've never gotten the idea that anyone here resents their success...I think most would agree the Cardinals have a pretty damn good organization and I think we respect that.
It's not the winning. It's the sore losing.
It's John Smoltz bitching about the baseballs. It's Dave Duncan all but accusing Bronson Arroyo of cheating. It's Chris Carpenter griping last Opening Day. It's Brendan Ryan griping about playing with a wet glove. It's Gerald Laird attempting to justify his existence in a Major League uniform by creating a stink on Sunday.
But the Cardinal chirping isn't limited to their losses to the Reds.
It's Albert Pujols being a poor sport about not being the MVP in '06.
It's Adam Wainwright blaming white towels in the '09 playoffs.
It's LaRussa complaining about the Cubs.
It's LaRussa complaining about fair punishments for his pitchers.
It's Pujols pissing and moaning about not playing the All-Star Game.
I could probably go on and on.
It's not that simply that we're jealous that the Cardinals win. What drives us nuts is how they behave when they dont.
-Here's some good news from the scam artists that run the county....
We've gotta pony up even more to help pay for the stadiums!
From Cincinnati.com....
A Hamilton County commissioner wants voters to approve a new ticket tax this fall - and he's willing to gather the signatures himself to put it on the ballot.........Portune said he's not sure yet how big the tax would be, or whether it would be only on Reds and Bengals tickets or all events at the two stadiums. Enquirer calculations suggest the tax could add $14 to the price of a Bengals ticket and 44 cents to the price of a Reds ticket.
Delightful.
So the pigs have already gone to the trough to the tune of nearly a billion dollars, as you and I have funded stadiums that have yet to house a winning Cincinnati playoff game, or have anything close to the economic impact we were promised they would make.
And now if this bozo gets his way, you'll have to pay even more to walk into them.
When does it end?
It didn't last year. Our property taxes went up to help keep the stadium fund solvent. And if Portune gets his way, and if the Reds and Bengals approve, we'll pay even more.
He has support....
Republican Commissioner Chris Monzel said he, too, needs to see the proposal before commenting, but added, "I'm not a big fan of taxes, but I do believe the people who utilize the stadiums should pay for them."
Actually no, the people who profit from the stadiums should pay for them, but that ain't happening.
Math that doesn't make sense....
Estimated stadium-operation expense for the Reds in 2011 is $905,000; for the Bengals, $8.5 million, according to the county. The Bengals' lease calls for the county to pay for virtually all maintenance and operations; the Reds' lease calls for the team to pick up some of those costs.
OK, I'm no expert on how to run a stadium, but how does a stadium which houses ten football games plus an extra two or three events per year cost more than $7.5 million to operate than a baseball stadium that hosts 81 games a season?
Wouldn't you like to see the books? I wouldn't hold my breath.
But back to the taxes, which I'm guessing will make the ballot, what gets taxed next? Will there be some sort of "hot dog" tax, where 75 cents are added to the cost of each hot dog you buy at a game? Will beer vendor tips be taxed too? I mean, they're "utilizing the stadium" aren't they? When will coin slots be installed on stadium urinals to help collect a "pee tax?"
It's insane. The stadiums only pay off if people go to them. People stop going to them if you make it more unaffordable. Last I checked, attendance at games played in both stadiums has been a pretty big topic recently, namely because not enough people are going. This idea just makes it more unlikely that they will.
It also makes is painfully clear: publicly-funded stadiums do not work.
And way down the road, when the pigs come back to the trough, I hope we remember that.
I hope we remember that when these morons are back on the ballot themselves.
-Scary moment for former Red Chris Dickerson last night. He was plunked in the head by Mike Gonzalez. The pitch cracked his helmet. Hopefully, Chris is ok.
-Bad news for the Cardinals. Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman were pulled from last night's win over Houston with injuries. I'm sure both were someone else's fault.
-Both the Heat and Bulls already look drained. It's only game two. Fortunately for them, game three isn't until Sunday, which is insane. We're not thar far removed from when teams would, on occasion, play each other on back to back nights in the playoffs. Now we have three days between games in a conference finals. Dumb.
-If the NFL season is canceled, maybe we can turn our attention to whatever the hell this is.
-Beadle v. Andrews needs to happen. In public. Soon.
-Here are the six girls you'll date in college. I never dated any of these girls in college. I never dated any girls in college.
-More later. Catch me at 3:04 on ESPN1530. Follow me on Twitter. And discuss with your coworkers whether these kids should be taken from their parents and put into better homes.
(Photo courtesy of the AP)
