Here’s the reality:  the Reds bought low and sold high on Hamilton.  They needed pitching after the 2008 season.  Period.  Joey Votto had already arrived and Jay Bruce and Drew Stubbs weren’t far behind them.   Adam Dunn was consistently hitting 40 home runs and driving in over 100 runs a season.   Ken Griffey, Jr. was untradeable.   I think this team was well stocked with outfield talent.   The catchers on the roster were pedestrian.  The infield had Brandon Phillips and Aaron Boone.   That’s it.  And is it really necessary to get into what made Hamilton available to the Reds in the first place?

Pitching?  It was Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo and a lot of guys named Kirk Sarloos.

Here’s a headline, breaking news:  You need pitching to win in Major League Baseball.  Hamilton was the only real piece that could be dealt to bring in a decent starting pitcher, which, I might add, Edinson Volquez was for his first season here.  He was an All Star, remember?

This is what happens when you don’t develop your own starting pitching.  You have to make trades that, far too often, don’t happen.  The cause of all of this was former Reds General Manager, Jim Bowden and his crew’s inability to develop pitching.  Period.  Their strategy was apparently to draft any sore arm gasoline can they could find and then watch the Tommy John surgeries begin.  Ty Howington, Richie Gardner, Ryan Wagner, shall I go on?   They even drafted a pitcher they knew full well they couldn’t get the money to sign (Jeremy Sowers) and selected him anyway.  THAT’s why the Reds had to make a deal in 2007 to unload Hamilton for pitching.

And it simply worked out better for the other guy, the Texas Rangers, than it did for the Reds.   The moral of this story is NEVER put yourself in a position to have to trade for pitching.  You draft wisely and develop pitching and, if you must, trade for everyday players.

Don’t know about you, but I think Mike Leake needs to show a pulse tonight…

Next person who tell you “the Reds CAN’T put Aroldis Chapman in the starting rotation because the Reds bullpen is sooooo good”, ask them this:  Is Chapman one of their top five pitchers?  Is he one of their top two pitchers?

Chapman can’t start a game now.  He has to build up the arm strength to start (which ironically he had done all through spring training until they sent him to the bullpen).  But he could be ready inside of three weeks.  You wouldn’t have to take him out of the ‘pen to get that done.   All you need to do is pitch him gradually longer each time out for the next three weeks.

And when somebody tells you “the Reds CAN’T take Chapman out of the bullpen because they have lost Bill Bray indefinitely”, ask them this:  How tough do you think it is to find a left handed reliever?   You may not find one as electrifying as Chapman, nor as effective.  But you can find a quality major league bullpen arm, left or right, just about anywhere.  And do you mean to tell me the Reds ‘smart guys’ got all the way to the end of spring training without a contingency plan, not involving Chapman,  in the event that Bray wasn’t ready?  He was in danger of missing significant time in early March when I was in Arizona.   Where were the ‘smart guys’ all winter long?

And when somebody tells you “the Reds CAN’T take Chapman out of the bullpen and make him a starting pitcher NOW because he’ll surpass his 150 inning team imposed limit in August”, ask them this:  What happens if you ride with Leake and a shaky Homer Bailey until then?  The Reds could be out of it by August.  Here’s an idea:  you worry about August when you get to August.

Or as Stevie Wonder would sing….

RIP Chuck Brown, the genius behind the funk “Go Go” music genre.  He died today at the age of 75 from complications from pneumonia.  When I lived in DC, Brown was big, huge.   He influenced an entire generation of musicians and you could trace the origins of ‘hip hop’ right to Brown’s doorstep.   No doubt, heaven is “Bustin’ Loose” tonight.  But it was far too early for that celebration to begin.

The one rookie I really want to see this weekend wasn’t drafted.  Vontaze Burfict was projected to be a first round pick, maybe as high as tenth overall.  But he ran up a lot of personal foul penalties at Arizona State and then had an awful Combine, where he ran a 40 yard dash in excess of five seconds, plodding for a linebacker.   But he connected at the Arizona State workout day with Marvin Lewis (I can see your eyes rolling now) and apparently said or did the right things there for the Bengals to take a flyer on him.   Check him out

Whether or not any of this translates into what it takes to be a great NFL player will be determined over the next year or so.  But the Bengals are out nothing, only a few more guffaws if one of their “projects” fails to pan out.

By the way….I’m going with the over on draft picks…..

Who’s the most vulnerable in the Reds starting five man rotation?   If you did want to take one pitcher out and insert Aroldis Chapman, whom would it be and why do I keep hearing Homer Bailey’s name almost all of the time?   Until his clunker of a start in Milwaukee, Bailey has pitched reasonably well, certainly well enough to be the ‘fifth starter’.

Bailey’s 4.93 ERA is exactly the same as Mat Latos and better than Mike Leake’s.  He’s walked the exact same amount of batters are Latos (13) and allowed the exact number of earned runs as both Leake and Latos (19).  So why does Bailey get brought up first when the conversation turns to which pitcher should go?   Is it because he’s been here the longest and we’re simply tired of him?   Discuss….

Will Ferrell hosts Saturday Night Live this week on WLWT Channel 5.   Here’s the song/bit that Ferrell did years ago that still holds up.

Critics call him a ‘one trick pony’ in that his characters all tend to be the same (kind of doofy) and his movies all tend to have the same plot line (which I never gave any credence to.  How can anyone say that Talladega Nights is the same as Anchorman), but he never fails to make me laugh.   Jackie Moon?  Come on!   And the guy has made a ton of money for himself.

Here’s some breaking news:  Tiger Woods is unraveling before our eyes.  Could we be witnessing a career collapse that was self inflicted.   And as he stood before those cameras in the spring of 2010 to apologize to everyone under the sun, who would have envisioned the monument collapse his career has suffered?  Woods will win a tournament again, maybe several.  But he’ll never again be what he was before that fateful Thanksgiving night in 2009 and he won’t beat Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors.  You can make book on that…..

Reading a book right now on the history of the World Hockey Association called “Renegade League”.   It makes me wonder if the NHL would have made it in Cincinnati.  History lesson:  the NHL announced it was going to expand in the early 70′s by two teams.  The cities in play where whittled down to three:  Kansas City, Washington DC, Cincinnati.   The other two towns got the team.  Cincinnati got the….well, promise that the next round of expansion would include us.  But Riverfront Coliseum was already built and looking for a tenant.  The money men chasing the NHL, Bill DeWitt, Jr and Brian Heekin, along with Bob Castellini opted for immediacy and took a franchise in the WHA.   When that league “merged” (the NHL called it that to avoid using the word expansion) DeWitt-Heekin-Castellini were offered a chance to join or take a cash settlement.   The group staged a season ticket push that fell short of their goal, the Stingers folded and the group took the money and ran.   Would the NHL have worked here, along with the NFL and MLB?  Maybe initially it would have.  But I wonder if, long term, the franchise would have survived, knowing the amount of business that’s left the greater Cincinnati area since 1979….

Meantime, a little nostalgia…

Old Time Hockey, eh?  Eddie Shore…..

Monday, the Reds made the right call and did the right thing.

There was no scenario that made sense in the return of Miguel Cairo from his disabled list that involved Todd Frazier being sent to the minors.  Frazier has been a reliable bat and a surprisingly good glove since he was called up from AAA two weeks ago.  He’s had seven hits in 18 at bats, hitting .389.   More impressive, four of those hits came in five pinch hit appearances, with Frazier walking in another pinch hit at bat.   No one with those numbers should have been asked to ‘take the fall’ for a player who was three for 35 at bats.  And that’s exactly what Willie Harris was hitting.   Monday, the Reds sent Harris to the minors, outrighted him directly to AAA Louisville to make room for Cairo.   And Frazier got to stay.

I’m sure Willie Harris can play for some Major League Baseball team.  But he had no business being on the one in Cincinnati.  The Reds elected to keep Frazier on the roster at the end of spring training, opting to send Frazier to AAA.   Frazier had been the Reds best hitter in Arizona this past Spring.  Harris was about what he was in his 35 big league at bats:  not good.  The only reason why Harris made the club coming out of Spring was because he was a left handed hitter.  And the Reds, through their own doing, had no other option hitting from that side of the plate than Harris.  It should never have been the tie breaker in the decision whether or not to keep Frazier.   If having a left handed bat was that important, than Walt Jocketty should have found a better player than Harris this past winter.  If it was that important, Dusty Baker should have sent Frazier up to hit left handed (he’s a natural righty, because Frazier batting left handed was better than anything Harris offered.

The wrong thing to do would have been opting to keep Harris (they’re paying him a big league salary) and let money trump reason.  Teams that don’t know how to win, or don’t want to win would choose that road.   The Reds didn’t.  More than keeping a player who deserved to remain in the Majors, the fact that the Reds chose wisely is the most encouraging thing.

I have no doubt the Reds will eventually hit better than they did in April. But the fear has to be that when that happens, there will be issues with pitching. Last year, that seemed to be the case more often than not. Both facets of the game were rarely clicking at the same time. In 2010, it was just the opposite. The difference between winning and losing in baseball is avoiding prolonged slumps and, in turn, losing streaks. That happens when pitching and hitting click at the same time….

If I’m Dusty Baker, I never bat Drew Stubbs lead off again, as in ever. It hasn’t work and there’s no indication it will work as well as it will with Stubbs hitting either second or seventh. The obvious choice to lead off is Brandon Phillips. But the lack of a pure clean up hitter precludes that. Until and if the Reds come up with that, Zack Cozart is the stop gap answer….

By the way, given the Reds hitting troubles and the fact that their starting pitching past Johnny Cueto and Bronson Arroyo has been shaky, it’s amazing they’re a .500 club and just three and a half games behind the Cardinals….

Tough luck for Paul Janish, who’s out for at least six weeks now after breaking his wrist in a Triple A game this past weekend. Janish was hitting well. And his defense was never an issue. He might have been a better middle infield option for the Reds at some point this season than what they have now. But that option is on hold, until at least July 4th….

The most amazing story inside the Reds organization this spring has been the play of speedy Billy Hamilton. Now with the Reds High A ball club in Bakersfield, California, Hamilton has 28 stolen bases in 25 games and is hitting .398. At this rate, he’ll be at Double A Pensacola by mid June….

Before you get all geeked about the Bengals recent draft, remember the NFL path is littered with draft picks touted as ‘can’t miss’ who did. Prospects are suspects until proven otherwise…

That said, I think second round pick, defensive tackle Devin Still from Penn State, was an absolute steal. And I believe that Kevin Zeitler will be a perfect fit at guard for a long time, as will David DeCastro be with the Steelers. For all intents and purposes, the Bengals passed on DeCastro, arguably the best offensive lineman in the draft, trading down and picking up an extra third round pick…..

If the story about Mark Lyons departure from Xavier is true (the grad student to be had one more year of eligibility remaining when Chris Mack told him to hit the trail), then bravo to Mack. Rumors have Lyons openly shopping himself to other Division I programs, after assuring Mack he’d return for one more year at Xavier. Here’s my prediction: Lyons winds up with Kentucky next season, a team that needs a guard who can come in and play immediately.

But John Calipari wouldn’t take a player who’d be around for just one season, would he?

Take what si.com’s Don Banks had to say:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/don_banks/04/28/nfl.draft.day3/index.htmlSI’s Don Banks On Bengals

Meantime, long time Bengals believer, Pete Prisco had this in his cbssports.com column

Pete Prisco On Bengals Draft

But the truth is, nobody knows how this draft will pan out for at least three years. Remember the 2005 Bengals draft? Round one: David Pollack, Round two: Odell Thurman, Round three: Chris Henry. What looked so promising on draft day, and later that year when the Bengals dominated their division, became a complete bust four years later. It’s the nature of the game. Nothing counts, until they starting counting points. Everyone who was drafted this past weekend was drafted on what they did in college and how they project as pros.

Now then, to the Bengals most controversial move of draft day weekend. It wouldn’t be the Bengals without at least one of those. Vontraze Burfict was projected to be a top 5 pick last fall. But that was before he started accumulating personal foul penalties, ran a 5.05 40 yard dash at the Combine, and allegedly flunked a drug test in Indianapolis. Suddenly the can’t miss middle linebacker was a ‘can’t find’ on draft weekend. Undrafted, Burfict fell completely out of the draft. But the Bengals wasted little time in signing him as a free agent. Apparently Marvin Lewis had a long talk with Burfict at Arizona State’s pro workout day. Marvin must have like what he heard from Burfict. Personal troubles aside (and he seems to have more than a few) Burfict can play football, as evidence in this piece of video will attest.

Vontaze Burfict Highlights

If the Bengals can straighten Burfict out emotionally and mentally, Rey Mauluaga’s life just got a little more complicated.