Bye, bye, Farney

It's been fun, except when you were running into walls and getting concussions and ripping your body to shreds. You really did make some heckuva plays. And who can forget Ryan Freel Dirty Shirt Night at GAB(p)?

Anytime you lose one of your longtime players, you have to reflect a bit. Below are some posts I wrote about Farney. I seldom wrote about Freel.

Farney's Immigration to America

Interview with a Leprechaun

I am ok with this deal, as we need a catcher (as long as Hanigan gets first shot) and Freel is a walking time bomb. Still, there's always a glimmer of a tear dripping from my heart when a Cincinnati Red leaves for other pastures.

May we finally put the era of losing behind us.

UPDATE: We also lost Justin Turner and Brandon Waring in the deal. I sure hope Walt knows what he's doing. I guess winning two World Series should give him the benefit of the doubt...
___

Super Sub!

In this day and age of Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs getting virtually all of the national media coverage, every time I see a Reds player get a photo on MLB.com, it is exciting, and I feel like a puppy whose abusive owners have just given me a lap of water after my dish has been dry for days. Today's article on super-subs gives the spotlight to Ryan Freel, the ultimate super-sub.

It actually is not uncommon for these super-subs to earn an everyday position, a feat Craig Counsell accomplished in Arizona, Freel has done with the Reds and the same for Carroll with the Rockies...Freel figures to get the nod in right field or center field for Cincinnati, depending on the status of Ken Griffey Jr. But even when Freel was changing from second to third to right field on an almost daily basis, he was never viewed as a part-time player.

"He is a starter, but he doesn't always start in the same spot," said Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron of Freel.

"It's always been, 'He's going to play, but where's he going to play?' " Freel added. "I'd come into spring, and every position has got that spot filled by somebody that's a prospect or a big name. But there's been more of a crack [in the] door for me a little bit this year than there has ever been in previous years."

"That 'super-sub' tag got me to the big leagues," Freel added. "It helped me stay here in the big leagues. It's given me an opportunity to play more. I take it with great pride."

Happy Birthday, Ryan Freel

Sunshine is a wonderful thing. After a day of bad weather or spending your time in the bleak of an office, or simply walking down a street smiles abound on the faces you meet when the day is full of sunshine.

I spend a lot of time outdoors when the weather gets warm, especially in the spring before the mercury moves into hot. I'm not one of those outdoorsy types, though. I hate camping. I don't like the thought of wild animals, either. I do appreciate hiking or cycling or rollerblading, but I'm not overly active in those areas, either. One thing, though, that I really like to do is sit outside and listen to (or watch) baseball, thanks to the wonderful gift of WiFi.

Those days are just around the corner, but for now, I will settle for listening to Ryan Freel play on his 31st birthday over that same WiFi. I do it from the bleakness and suffocation of an office with thoughts of sunshine on my face and dreams of baseball in my mind.

You know?

"and where the offense is, let the great axe fall." ~ Hamlet Prince of Denmark (King at IV, v)

Oh, thank you Lord, for I will never feel the need for a heroin addiction. I have Reds baseball to give me my highs and lows. And thine prophet Ryan Freel deserves to take a place beside Your son's throne, for he is the savior of baseball games and possibly seasons. There have been few plays in the history of this beautiful game that have been such miracles that have defied the laws of physics, the kind of play where you watch over and over and over and over and over and still don't understand how the catch was made. The only explanation is that Edmonds' karma finally caught up with the Cardinals.

"Which, if not victory, is yet revenge." John Milton, Paradise Lost

Caleb proves that Reds fans are highly educated bums who can inject Milton (John), Updike, and god knows who else into a comment thread.

The post I had drafted about Grandeisms has been put on hold for now. Winning against the Deadbirds, defeating them mightily after such a handily defeat, is revenge so sweet. Series tied, here we go.

p.s. I love this game.