John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez

Well I am sitting here listening to John Smoltz tell the world that he is having season ending surgery. Yes it's the shoulder. John is saying he hasn't slept well in months. He had stated before if he ever needed surgery again he would retire first. This afternoon he is singing a different tune. He is now saying he does want to again make a come back after he heals from this surgery.

If you own Smoltz and are not in a keeper league it's time to drop this future member of The Hall of Fame and find someone to fill his spot.

If Pedro Martinez is available in your league that might be a good place to start looking. Martinez did get the win last night giving up 3 runs and 7 hits to go with his 3 K's in six innings. After being out for over two months this is a fair start for Pedro.

All Star Game Notes

All right it's time to do your "Baseball Duties".....It's time to spend ten minutes to vote for your favorite all stars. I don't think it's any secret that we are Reds fans here and I want to make a case for you to get Griffey Jr. another shot at starting in another all star game. Jr is currently in third place among NL outfielders which would make him a starter again. He is about to become the sixth member of the 600 home run club and deserves this honor one more time.

I know this is a reach here but I also want you guys that feel it to give a little love to the young phenom Jay Bruce as a write in. I know he hasn't got a chance to get in but at least he will feel a little love for his awesome start.

Go to www.monster.com and vote Griffey in this all star game. You will also be registered to win tickets to the big game along with airfare and hotel and cash.
Don't forget to forward this info to everyone in your address book!!!!!!!!

VOTE VOTE VOTE

Homer Bailey

OK the four letter network is saying that the Cincinnati Reds will call up Homer Bailey from AAA Louisville on Thursday to face the Phillie's. Not the greatest assignment for Bailey but hey you gotta face the big bats sometime. The Phillies are just knocking the cover off the ball so again Bailey will have his work cut out for him. Homer didn't have a great May at Louisville but the potential is definitely there and well worth a spot in Nl leagues right now and also some deep mixed leagues. At least keep him on your watch list if he has a fair game against the Phillies, who knows.....I do know this the Reds are hoping they find magic in the bottle again after the week "Babe" Bruce uh I mean Jay Bruce just had.

If you haven't heard about Bruce as of yet....well just turn in your fantasy card and go back to watching the soaps again. After the week Bruce just had I think the biggest stat that jumped out at me was the K/W ratio. Bruce drew six walks while only striking out one time.......that shows maturity way beyond his experience. I have heard comparisons of him to Larry Walker in his hey day as a Rockie....not bad for just six games played.....

If you are a real Reds fan like the guys that write this blog then you know there hasn't been this much buss about the Reds in over twenty years. This might be a rather bold statement but I think this road trip the Reds embark on starting tonight is the biggest road trip sense their last World Series win in 1990. Yes with the way they are playing it's time to let the world know this team does have some life left in it......if they can take five of the next eight games from the Phillies and the Marlins it will be a giant step for them.

Injuries everywhere this week

Injuries are mounting up:

*Travis Hafner-Went on the 15 day DL this week.

*Big Papi-Heard a pop in his hand last night. MRI today.

*Eric Byrnes-MRI revealed two torn hamstrings. I'm guessing he'll be out past the all-star break.

*Jake Peavy-Elbow strain on the 15 day DL.

*Dice K Matsuzaka-went on the DL this week with a rotator cuff injury.

*Faustino Carmona-DL with a hip strain.

*Matt Holiday and Brad Hawpe-Rockies have tons on the DL. Both of these guys have hamstring problems.

*Gary Sheffield-he's getting old. Roids have ravaged his body.

*Andruw Jones-Can't hit anyway. Knee surgery will have him out for a while.

*Posada and Smoltz are due to come off the DL this week. Looks like Smoltz will be a reliever again.

Player of the Week Jay Bruce

Well, the Cincy management finally woke up and unleashed Jay Bruce on Major League Baseball. Bruce made the most of this first week be terrorizing the Pirates and Braves pitching staffs including a walk offf bomb yesterday. I recieved two phone calls in about 2 minutes after the blast. One isn't even a big baseball fan but he was pumped up. My father-n-law says that there hasn't been this much excitement around the Reds in 20 years. We've been saying it all year, this dude is the real deal. It's about time he's been let loose. First week totals going into today: .579, a game winning homer, 4 RBI, 8 runs, 5 walks, and a single K. Dare I say, Rookie of the Year and future MVP.

Jay Bruce is headed to Cincy!

Finally, the Reds management has awaken and Jay Bruce is heading from Loserville to meet up with the Reds Tuesday night. Luckily for me, I picked him up last week! Bruce finished up his AAA career batting around .380 this season for the Louisville Bats.

Who Not To Pick Up

I know this is a site to help you make some good fantasy decisions and maybe not picking up someone could be help as well.....or maybe I just love to vent.

Corey Patterson is just so bad...how can you go 0-for-8 in one game. Yes it was the first time in over twenty years that a Red looked that bad in a span of one game. Hell he has sucked so bad all year, after a modest first week or two he has made me scream and cuss Dusty Baker so much. Dusty can't seem to admit he made a mistake by getting the Reds to sign him and leave Jay Bruce in AAA Louisville. Patterson couldn't even draw a walk yesterday and has a grand total of one walk for the month of May, but let's not forget that he does have .183 batting average for May and oh yeah he also has one extra base hit. I am not sure who sucks more Dusty Baker as manager or Patterson at the plate. Patterson souldn't be anything but a defensive replacment in the ninth inning, hoping he don't have to bat.

FOR GOD'S SAKE BRING UP JAY BRUCE ALREADY......

Yesterday was probably the worse lineup I have seen this year for the Reds. Joey Votto was sitting while our third string catcher Javier Valentine played first.

Will someone in the front office tell me why we put lineups like this on the field and lose our ass while we have Al-stars in AAA and sitting on the bench. Don't tell me a young man like Votto needs rest already when they have today off!!!!!!

Ben Francisco-Pick him up!

I've been watching Ben Francisco closely since the beginning of the season, and I think it's time to pick him up. In limited action, Franscico is batting .365 with 2 homers and 10 doubles with over a .400 on-base percentage. Tonight, he was hitting clean up behind Mr. Travis Hafner. Before tonight, in the past 7 days, he was batting .391 with a homer and 4 doubles.

Rookie Catcher Comparison

In the spring, there was big talk of two young catchers: J.R. Towles of the Astros and Geovanny Soto of the Cubbies. So far, things have gone really well for one and not so well for the other.

*J.R. Towles-I got to see him in his first spring training at bat in lovely Winter Haven and he looked like he couldn't hit a beach ball. Right now, Towles is batting an ugly .155 with 4 homers and 12 RBI in 37 games for the Astros.

*Geovanny Soto-Soto has gotten off to a terrific start at .309/9/34 and 15 doubles. He's looking like the NL All-Star catcher right now. Soto might help the Cubs smash the curse in 2008. I'm sure the Cubs will find a way to blow it.

Continued Fantasy Disappointments

There's a couple guys I drafted this year that are really starting to get to me. Luckily I didn't draft them both in the same league. I'd love to punch them in the mouth right now. Maybe I could knock some pop into their bats.

*Nick Markakis-Luckily Markakis isn't playing tonight. At least he can't get me anymore negative points. He's sitting at -5.00 for the week in Fox Fantasy Baseball. Markakis is stinkin it up at .253/8/22 with 47 strikeouts. I think he's trying to out-suck Alex Rios. Markakis is coming off two up and coming years. In 2007, he went .300/23/112. He better start getting hot soon. I know the O's are brutally bad, but Tejada didn't give him that much protection in the lineup did he?

*Alex Rios-Alex, please strikeout again. Right now, Rios is sitting at .258/3/19 and 48 strikeouts. He's on his way to 150. Rios is coming off of a really good 2007 campaign in which he batting .297 with 24 dingers and 85 RBI to go along with 43 doubles and 17 steals.

A Great Day To Be A Reds Fan

After round one of the Buckeye Battle I wrote about on Friday night I was very happy to say the least. The Reds had just won their season high fourth straight game. I kinda slacked off yesterday as the Reds won the middle game of this three game set, beating the Indians 4-2. Aaron Harang was, well Aaron Harang which has been very good this year but the Reds just don't seem to score runs for him. Harang worked seven innings allowing only one run and left the game with the scored tied at one. Fausto Carmona got one out in the eighth before he also left the game with it tied, turning it over to the bullpen.

The Indians got a run in the eighth from Ben Franciso as he went yard for the first time this season. It stayed this way until the bottom of the ninth when Adam Dunn, after failing to get a sacrifice bunt down, hits a monster walk off home run to win it for "MY REDS"

This win sent the Reds home kind of cocky and looking for the sweep of the series if they could pull off another win on Sunday.

Sundays match up was one for the ages. I am sure the NL and AL ERA leaders have squared off before in the regular season, but I just can't remember it. Anyway Edinson Volquez went up against the Indians Cliff Lee for the much anticipated match up. Needless to say that Volquez got the best of this match up going six innings and just giving up two runs as the Reds hit Lee pretty good getting to him for ten hits and six runs to sweep the series and extend the Reds current winning streak to six games.

Fantasy Note: If you didn't have Adam Dunn in your lineup it might be time to get him in. He has only hit a home run in the last four games, he just might be heating up like I predicted on Friday night. He will get his 40 HR's, 100 RBI's and 100 walks.....you might have to eat a few K's but year after year he is a top ten scorer of the fantasy outfielders.

YES IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A REDS FAN.......KEEP THE ROLL GOING AS YOU HEAD OUT WEST GUYS AND LET'S GET BACK IN THIS RACE

On Fire-Ryan Ludwick

Ryan Ludwick is officially on fire. For the season, he's batting .336/11/29 and slugging .739. He has to improve his SO/BB ratio which is at 35/17 right now. He's batting .397 vs right handed pitching. In the last two weeks, he's batting .400 with 6 homers,13 RBI, and slugging an outrageous .925 going into today. Guess what? He homered yet again today. Yep, I picked the Cards to finish dead last in the NL Central. Ludwick continues to help them swim well above .500.

The Battle of Ohio.....Round 1

The eyes of major league baseball are defintely on the Buckeye state this weekend as the suddenly hot Cincinnati Reds take on the white hot pitching staff of the Cleveland Indians. The Reds come into this series with a modest three game winning streak and Cleveland comes into this fresh off a six game home winning streak where their starters ERA was less than 1.00, yes I said less than 1.00

The marquee match up for the weekend includes both the NL and Al league leaders in ERA squaring off on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. Edinson Volquez, with a 6-1 record and an ERA of 1.12 with 57 K's will battle Cliff Lee, the most suprising pitcher in baseball so far. Lee's stats are also off the charts with a 6-0 record, along with 44 K's and the aformentioned ERA of 0.67
If you own either of these guys in your league you gotta be in the money right now.

Friday night, (round 1) went to the good guys with the Reds winning 4-3. The game was as exciting a game as I have watched this season. Johnny Cueto started for the Reds and struck out the side in the fifth ininng to keep his no hitter intact. After Brandon Phillips hit a two run shot against his former team to give my Reds a 2-0 lead, Adam Dunn added a solo shot in the bottom of the second inning to make it 3-0 after two. The game stayed this way until the the top of the sixth when the Indians got their only three hits off of Cueto, he also had 7 K's. The bad thing about it was all three hits were home runs and that tied it 3-3 and it stayed that way until Adam Dunn walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning, sending it to the ninth where Francisco Cordero finished the Indians off by striking out the side to earn his eighth save of the year. The bullpen was one of the weak spots in the Reds armor this time last year but I do believe they have a top five closer in Cordero and as a fan you feel so much better seeing the game in the bullpens hand with a late inning lead. The Reds still are having problems scoring runs with runners in scoring position with less than two outs. But I think Dunn and Jr. Griffey will heat up as the tempature does, so if you have either keep the faith. Dunn still has time to hit his 40 home runs and get his 100 RBI's, Griffey needs to get his 600th HR soon so he can stop thinking about it and get his game where it should be.

On Saturday afternoon on Fox Round 2 kicks off with a match up close to what we might expect on Sunday. Aaron Harang, the most under rated pitcher in the NL with an unwarranted 2-5 record to go with his very nice 3.32 ERA will go for the Reds. Harang has had no run support at all this season and his ERA proves his record should be better. Don't even consider trading this guy because he will win!!!!
The Indians will counter with Fausto Carmona and his 4-2 record to go with an ERA of 2.40, I love this guy and just hope he isn't on his game on Saturday.

With round 1 in the books and the Reds now with a four game winning streak, it's shaping up as a great weekend to be a Reds fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fantasy Bums-wk 7 update

*Gary Matthews Jr. (Angels) .227/5/24 and 37 strikeouts

*Ryan Howard (Phils) .185/9/22 and 58 strikeouts

*Robinson Cano (Yanks) .207/4/12 zero steals and 3 CS

*Gary Sheffield (Tigers) .196/2/8 and slugging .314

Indian's Starting Pitching!

The Tribe's starting pitching continues a torrid streak of mowing people down. Aaron Laffey continued the dominance tonight getting a W over the As going 7 strong and zero earned runs. Tonight's game lowered Laffey's ERA to 1.35 for the season. The Indian's starting pitching just ran their streak of unearned runs to 51 1/3 after tonight. That is re-cock-ulous. Last night, big fat C.C. Sabathia pitched an 11 strikeout complete game shutout. That's a fantasy owner's best friend for sure. I'm not sure what's going on with Cliff Lee, but he's down right unhittable right now. I saw him in spring training and he was brutally bad. I didn't even think he would make the roster at that point. All of the sudden, he's 6-0 with a .067 ERA and the Cy Young winner if the season ended today. Of the Tribe's rotation, Sabathia is the only one with an ERA above 3.61 and he's starting to really heat up. Unbelievable.