Only two more days to vote!!!

Vote Griffey!!! Write in Brandon Phillips!!! Write in David Ross!!!

DON'T VOTE FOR JASON BAY, CARLOS BELTRAN, OR ALFONSO SORIANO if you want Griffey to get in. There will be many more people voting for those three who don't vote for Griffey, so you're pretty much negating your Griffey vote with a vote for these three. Hey, Jason Bay and Soriano are very much deserving of an All-Star spot, and they'll make the team without your votes, so don't fret about not voting for them!

You can vote 25 times with each email address you have! Heck, you can even make up email addresses! Addresses never stopped Ann Coulter from voting! (Burn! Ha, ha!)

VOTE HERE! VOTE NOW! VOTE FOR REDS!

Another loss to an awful team

It's not too early to trade for a reliever or four. I mean, Milton was bad enough, but then Yan (Krivsky's mystery) and Coffey made sure eight runs wasn't enough to win the game. I hate this bullpen.

I am embarrassed as a Reds fan that we lost to this team. The players should be embarrassed, too, especially the pitchers. Then again, they continue to suck when they should be embarrassed after every performance. I'm beginning to think they just don't care.

Um...the Brewers are only two and a half games behind the Reds now. Oops.

*Don't forget to vote!*

Some Deadbird love

Voodoo Albert gets pounded by Chief Wahoo. Go Tribe!

All the king's men couldn't put KC together again

At 24-50, the Kansas City Royals are the worst team in baseball (although the Pirates aren't far behind.) Their pitching is atrocious, and their offense isn't much better. I feel sorry for Royals fans, as Kansas City has a rich baseball tradition and it's a shame the franchise has fallen into such a sorry state. Still, here's to Milton, Harang, and Arroyo mowing them down. (Too bad we have to waste Harang and Arroyo on this team - they'd be much better suited for the Cleveland series.) Now, the Royals still are a Major League team, so I hope the Reds don't go in thinking they're going to run over them and blow it. They're only 1.5 games behind St. Louis, who suffered their 7th loss in a row last night. (HA HA.) It's time to retake first place, and the Royals are the perfect prescription for that.

And yes, the Burger King is creepy, no matter what hat he's wearing.

**Don't forget to vote before Thursday night!**

Vote, vote, vote!!!

Griffey is currently fourth in the All-Star balloting, and the Reds are campaigning to get everyone to vote for him and vault him into a starting slot. Vote here. You can vote 25 times per email address you use! I'm doing it now using every email address I've ever had.

Don't forget to write in Brandon Phillips!

I've also voted for Felipe Lopez, Austin Kearns, and Adam Dunn on the Reds and Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman on the Nats.

Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote!

Week Eleven Wrapup: Shea and Yankee Stadium Edition

I was in NYC this week to see the Reds play the Mets and the Marlins play the Yankees.

I watched the Reds game on Monday in an Irish pub somewhere in Chelsea, as we were looking for a place to eat and the Reds-Mets game was advertised on the sandwich board outside the place. The bar was empty, and no Mets fans bothered us. It was nice to see a win.

On Tuesday, we decided around 6pm to go to the game (though we had tickets for Wednesday.) Since we were late, we bought tix off a scalper that did not work when we got to the gate, so we had to buy more tickets and didn't get into the stadium until the second inning. Little did we know that the new tickets we had were in a "no alcohol consumption" area. Never heard of one of those. In response to these wretched conditions, we moved, and when I sat down in a new seat, it broke. I think the seats were designed for skeletons, because there is absolutely no room to move when you're sitting in them. The rails all over the place in between the seats don't help, either. They are supposed to be there to give the feel of "box" seats, but they really just prevent a group of three or four from sitting together. As if that weren't enough, the Reds offense decided not to show up, but unfortunately, the Reds bullpen did, and what was a manageable deficit before Stormy Weathers came in became out of reach after he finished. The game ended 9-2, and Mets fans were quite nice to us in our Reds gear.

They weren't so nice the next day, when Billy Wagner blew the save and Brandon Phillips got the game winning hit that scored two. "Go back to Cincinnati" was heard on a couple of occasions. But that was all at the end. Prior to the game, we watched the Reds take batting practice behind their dugout. I hadn't done that in years, so it was nice to be close to the players. That's also where I ran into Zack, the baseball collector who has gotten over 2000 balls at games. He's a Mets fan, but he wears the caps of other teams to get balls. My mother told him Mr. Stowe's name, which he promptly called out and got a ball. She made his blog.

It was cool to be at Shea and to watch two Reds games there, but I'm already looking forward to visiting the new field in 2009, which will be built next to Shea. I have to say, I loved the planes going over, as I remember as a kid watching the Reds play the Mets there and always thought of the planes as a quirky Mets thing.

Yankee Stadium, however, is a different story. It is like an exalted castle, a venerable temple to the gods of baseball, full of the ghosts in pinstripes. The stadium is in great condition and has nothing of the feel of neglect that Shea has, which makes me hope something can be done to save the place. Steinbrenner is the worst thing to ever happen to baseball.

Yankees fans were different than I expected. They were quiet, like they are so used to winning they can't even have fun any more. The Yankees fans I have always encountered in the past, including last weekend against the Nats here in DC, were obnoxious and ever so loud, but these ones barely cheered. It was shocking, really. It was a Friday night, so it wasn't like the place wasn't packed.

All in all, it was a great week in NYC. I'll be posting some photos later this week. And now, on to the week:

Reds (41-35, 2nd place, 2.0 behind St. Louis, WC leader)

After last week's mess, this week's 4-3 mark was much better. The bullpen was horrendous again, but at least White was DFA'd.

After Sunday's game, Griffey passed Schmidt for 11th on the all time home run list.

Homer Bailey did well in his first game since being promoted to Chattanooga.

Joe Mays did a much better job than Brandon Claussen would have on Wednesday.

Brandon Phillips makes up a new word - crunked.

Aaron Harang has 105 strikeouts, good for third in the Majors. He's tied for fourth in the NL in wins and has a very decent 3.59 ERA. Bronson is an All-Star, yes, but I think Harang deserves it as well. This guy is the most underrated pitcher in the Majors; I'm sure of it.

Don't forget to start rooting against the entire NL West since the Reds are competing with them for the Wild Card.

Up next: the worst team in baseball (even worse than the Pirates,) the Kansas City Royals, though the Royals had a good week, sweeping the Pirates and taking two of three from the Brewers after taking two of three from the Asstros the weekend before. Let's sweep and root for the Indians to win the series against the Deadbirds so we can move back into first place.

Reds Saint of the Week: Ryan Freel. Freel went 15-31 including a 5-5 performance on Friday night. Yes, his walks are down, but that is because he is hitting all the time! Freel made ESPN's All-Run-Through-A-Wall Team:

We weren't sure what position to put the King of the Kamikazes in because Freel does everything for the Reds except wear shin guards and do the P.A. announcing. But he had to be on this team. And we were overloaded with outfielders. So we're sticking him at the spot he has played more than anyplace except center field.

Freel has impaled himself on so many different parts of the ballpark, he "looks like he just got done sparring," Donnelly says. "He always looks like his face just got chopped up. He's got marks all over himself from some kind of collision."

But he first came to our attention in 2004, when he launched himself over the right-field fence in Dodger Stadium and landed in the lap of a woman in the third row. She went to the hospital. He stayed in the game. Naturally.

Afterward, Freel's then-teammate Danny Graves told us: "Ryan Freel is out of control. ... Sometimes, when he's playing right field, he wants to catch foul balls behind the plate. We have to give him a shot or something to calm him down. Maybe Valium. Or a sleeping pill."

Nats (33-44, 4th place, 15 games behind the Mets)

Swept by the Bosox, lost two of three from the O's in Baltimore. I once thought the team would start playing to its potential and make a run for the WC in September. I no longer believe that. Armas is on the DL, Livan isn't pitching well, and do we think O'Connor and Hill can do well all year? The bullpen is atrocious, Frank sleeps through the games, and when Soriano is gone, half of the offense goes with him. Remember when they had played well enough to get to four games under .500? It's all just a memory.

At least they're above the hated Braves.

Nats Saint of the Week: Royce Clayton. Yeah, Clayton. He's really the only one who did anything all week, going 9 for 22 with 4 RBI and 5 runs scored.

Giants (37-38, 4th place, 3 games behind the Dodgers)

The team swept Anaheim but lost two of three to Oakland this week, but 4-2 is a good week. Unfortunately, the Dodgers have been winning and have vaulted into first place. Arizona has fallen to last for now, the rightful place for this team that should have never been a team.

Bonds left Sunday's game early with a knee injury. I think someone made a voodoo Barry.

The team takes on Texass for three games this week before battling San Diego on the weekend.

Giant's Saint of the Week: Matt Cain. Cain took a no hitter into the 8th inning on Wednesday and ended up giving up only one hit in his eight innings pitched. Ok, so he gave up 6 runs in Sunday's game, but the Giants had no one really stand out this week, and Cain's performance on Wednesday, in which he also had 10 Ks, was outstanding enough to warrant Saint of the Week.

Around the Horn

Albert "I am the Cardinals" Pujols and Derrek "I am the Cubs' offense" Lee have both returned to their teams from injuries. Given the way the NL Central has been playing of late, this can only improve offense in the division.

The Deadbirds lost six games this week, getting swept by the White Sox and the Tigers thanks to their bullpen, which has pitched like Rick White of late. Here's to hoping it continues.

Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose Reyes hit for the cycle on Wednesday night.

The Tigers have won 51 games already. The Sox, though, are right on their heels with 49 wins. Go Tigers. Jim Leyland is a magician.

Demon of the Week

Ozzie Guillen. This guy needs to shut his mouth. I'm starting to wonder if he isn't a closet case and that's why he feels the need to make these slurs all the time. I hope he doesn't go to the sensitivity training (which is stupid, anyway. If you're a jerk, one workshop is not going to make you a nice guy,) because I want to see him suspended. He would be if he were using the big N word. And who's to say that he won't - he's used all sorts of different ethnic slurs...

Wagner is a wanted man in NYC

So I'm sitting there in Shea Stadium, right, and the Mets fans are all loud and cocky since they have Billy Wagner throwing and the game is done, right? And then, there was a Red on, and then another, and another, and then the Reds are down to their final strike when "crack!" Brandon Phillips sends two runners home. The Mets fans are stunned and visibly deflated. Many of them leave to go home. Some of them tell us to go home (when just last night they were acting all nice since they won.)

NYC is great, Shea's a dump, and I'll write a full description of the two games I attended soon!

Ha ha ha ha ha hahahahahahahhaahaha

Yanks blow 7 run lead, Nats win. Bang zoom go the fireworks.

Reds get some love

From YankeesSuck.com:

After the Cardinals, one team controls the future of the NL Central: the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have played some fantastic baseball this year, due in large part to the efforts of Bronson Arroyo and Adam Dunn, and are only 2.5 games behind St Louis for a share of the NL Central division crown. I'm not saying Cincinnati can go all the way this year, but let's face it, the team has some talent! After a few years of injuries, bad luck and sitting near the cellar, it is about time for the Big Red Machine to clear off the moth-balls and bring on the pain. Why am I so confident in the Reds? For one thing, they play in the epitomy of a hitter's park and their offense if highly potent (Ken Griffey, Adam Dunn and Rich Aurilia are a frightening trio with numerous talents). But one thing that shocks me as an under rated part of the Cincinnati repertoire is the Reds' pitching staff...

He goes on to praise Harangatang and the Lizard like no outsider I've seen yet. It's nice to see the team getting some respect. Now, if we want to keep that respect, we need to take the next two from the Chisox and get a stud reliever in the next couple of weeks.

On Yankees "fans"

Tonight the Evil Empire came to DC to take on the Washington "just got swept in a four game series verses the Rockies" Nationals. Officials at RFK are expecting a series sellout. I was there tonight, with all the Yankees "fans," you know, those sheeple who root for a team because it wins a lot, those who have never set foot in Yankee Stadium.

Tonight's was a good game, with the sole exceptions of Gary "last year was a fluke" Majewski and Frank "I don't want to hurt his feelings" Robinson, the latter choosing to lift Jon "I struck out both Yankees I faced" Rauch for Majewski, who promptly gave up a bunch of hits and walked in the tying run. Sure, Chief Cordero gave up a bomb to lose the game, but the real damage was all Majewski's doing.

Yankees fans are the most obnoxious on the planet. I have now seen the team play three times, including once at Fenway and once in Oakland. At Fenway they had to delay the game because of a huge brawl in the rightfield stands. At the Oakland game I watched security escort some Yankees fans out of the ballpark. Had RFK been anywhere else, the obnoxious group in the section next to us would have been escorted out, too. One guy thought it cool to continuously flip off Nats fans throughout the game. He and his drunken girlfriend did not look old enough to drink, yet they had beers stuck to their hands the entire night. And what is it about Yankees fans that makes them think they should take off their Jeter/Rodriguez shirts and wave them around? They've done the shirt thing in all three of the games I've seen them.

It was a beautiful site to see a full stadium, the biggest crowd ever to see the Nats play at RFK, but half of them had on New York garb. I had forgotten how much fun it is to be in a packed ballpark, a park with nearly 45K screaming, clapping, chanting, stomping people rumbling the place, sometimes so loudly that you can't hear the person next to you. It was fun to boo A-Rod, Giambi, and Traitor Johnny every time they came to the plate, and it was fun to chant "Yankees suck" as it thundered through the stadium. All in all, I hadn't had that much fun at a baseball game in a long time.

Every time I go to a Nats game (I've been to 12 this year so far), my eyes constantly wander over to the MLB.com scoreboard to check on the Reds. I was horrified to see today's score. When is Pickle going to be dropped from the rotation?

This is the first of my four stadiums in ten days tour. I will be in NYC next week to see the Reds play the Mets at Shea, followed by a game to see the Evil Empire at the house that Ruth built, and stopping in Camden Yards to see the Nats take on the O's on my way back. Posting will be light starting Monday. And with that, I leave you with Dinger taking his stabs at Voodoo Albert in a dark alley.

A prayer

Here is a photo of me* before a game praying with our studs in the outfield.

And with that, let us say today's prayer:

Eternal baseball gods, I humbly adore Thee, and thank Thee for having created the Reds in your images. I thank Thee most sincerely for having made me a baseball fan, by giving me the true faith, and by occasionally giving me tickets to ballparks in other cities, so that I may see the Reds win. I thank Thee for having preserved them from so many collapses, of which I would have been depressed if Thou hadst not intervened. But the Deadbirds still continue, and will continue till October, to combat against us, and to endeavor to make us second place. If Thou dost not constantly guard and succor us with thy aid, I, a miserable creature, shall return to sorrow, and the Reds shall certainly lose the division. I beseech Thee, then, for the love of baseball, to grant the Reds holy perseverance unto October. Through the merits, then, of the baseball gods, I beg, for myself and for all the just Reds fans, victory never again to be separated from the scoreboard, but to win forever, in time and eternity. Amen.


*not really me

Dunn defeats the sausages; technology's like pork

Ok, so you're watching the Reds game at work on one of four days in the quarter when you are crunched and really need to get work done, yet you can't force yourself to focus on anything but the game. You're starting to get ticked off because the offense has decided once again to pretend like it's the Royals offense or worse, and Dunn is the most exasperating thing to watch as he Ks again and again. You'd think he'd come out of it, right? But no, you don't feel it. So the Reds waste another good pitching performance by the Lizard, though this one is more than good; it's great, it's brilliant, it's the best of his career. The 9th turns into the 10th turns into the 11th, and you roll your eyes at the inability to hit with RISPs, 0-25, in fact. Still the 11th comes, and Junior gets on, then Rich gets on, and you think something just might happen; it just feels right. Suddenly, you find yourself not even pretending you are working on that document open on your desktop; your full attention is turned to the game and Adam K. Dunn. He runs the count to 2-2. Will he strike out again? Your heart races, your fingers tap the desk, when STOP! MLB.TV freezes up, then your web browser crashes. By the time you are able to reconnect, the score is 3-0, game's over, and the small crowd is celebrating in Cincinnati. The losing streak is dunn in dramatic fashion, and you missed the most important, most thrilling, most glorious part of the game. But hey, what do you care...this one belongs to the Reds!

Oh, and more sweetness - the Bucs defeated the Deadbirds.

Pitcher hits a flybird

Watch the video here.

Week Ten Wrapup: It's hard coming down

Reds (2nd place, 36-27)

After an eight game win streak and a temporary vault into first place, the Reds crashed against the Cubs, losing the last three of a four game series. To the CUBS. Ick. Of course, they shouldn't have lost some of those games. When you have some never was reliever giving up grand slams after a well pitched game by your worst pitcher, or you again don't score enough runs for your hard luck rookie pitcher, you're going to lose.

Funny how those three losses pretty much erased the euphoria of sweeping the Deadbirds at the beginning of the week.

Griffey is trying his best to shut up the center field naysayers. Question is, is he just having to dive because for those balls he's slower in getting to those balls, are are they really spectacular plays? Poor guy will never get the benefit of the doubt, will he? There's a reason he's moved up to second in the All-Star voting.

Sometimes, the Twilight Zone descends upon us, as the offense has been bad and the starting pitching brilliant. As of Sunday, the Reds starters had the third best ERA in the National League. Yeah, I know it's hard to believe, but it's true!

Felipe needs to be sent to college to get some intelligence. He makes far too many bonehead plays. Or should I say, his bonehead thoughts don't make the plays.

That play Brandon Phillips made on Sunday, the one that was the ESPN number 1 webgem, was one of the greatest plays I've ever seen. I still can't figure out how he managed to pull that one off.

Speaking of Krivsky, I heart David Ross.

I love Rich Aurlia, too. He hits it when it counts, not like some other Reds we know, the ones who only hit with no one on base. Yeah, 20 roundtrippers are nice when they make you win, but geez, we're going to have to nickname the unnamed "rallykiller."

Is anyone sad that Stormy is hurt? Bueller? Bueller?

Nats (3rd place, 30-34)

It was a great week, with the Nats taking 3 of 4 phrom Philly and 2 of 3 from the hated Braves.

Four games under .500. Wow. The Nats have the best record in baseball since May 18th. After that horrendous Kansas City Royals like start, it really is something. Of course, they can't make up any ground because those Mets keep winning, too. But with the way this team is playing, it's going to be a shame when it's dismantled next month.

The winning is pretty perplexing, actually. The Nats have no outfielders, only a guy in leftfield who is hitting like Bonds in his glory days. I didn't miss, nor will I miss Jose Guillen. I'm hoping he brings some decent prospects next month.

I hate RFK.

I heart Ryan "Brooks" Zimmerman.

Tony Armas Jr is so much more than we could have ever hoped for. The guy is 6-3 (should have more Ws) with a 3.48 ERA.

I am still pissed about closing concessions in the middle of the fourth inning after the rain delay on Friday. It's like they were trying to prove that yes, the fan experience can always get worse. I don't think I'm going to be complaining about people not showing up to games anymore. I understand now.

Giants (3rd, 32-31)

This should sum up the week: The Giants lost 3 of 4 to Pitifulsburg. At least they took 2 of 3 to the AAA Fish. It's a shame they couldn't take advantage of the D'backs 7 game losing streak.

Bonds has a "hurt side muscle" and didn't play much this week. He has a .473 OBP with 8 homers, but it smells very much of the end.

This team is too old.

Morris and Lowry both pitched well against the Bucs. Too bad it was wasted.

I still believe this team will come around. They're only 3 games out.

Around the horn

Jason Grimsley is the devil. He gets what he gives. Pete is banned for life, yet Grimsley only gets 50 games? What's wrong with these people who make these decisions?

Roger. Best. Pitcher. Ever.

Congrats to Reggie Sanders, who became only the fifth player in MLB history to hit 300 homers and get 300 stolen bases. He's in the company of some guys named Bonds and Mays.

Congrats to Chipper for surpassing Dale Murphy on the Braves all time RBI list.

Lastings Milledge has the coolest name in baseball.

Ole, ole ole ole...USA! USA! USA! deflate...

Demon of the week

Jason Grimsley. I hope he never pitches in a Major League game again. It's a shame that he isn't getting the same amount of hate as Barry. Grimsley's far worse, because he was going to take down as many players with him as he could. That is the most despicable trait a person can have, one of them, anyway. Oh, and he's a big fat CHEATER, too.

Congrats to Chipper

One of my least favorite players on my second least favorite team, but he just passed Dale Murphy to set Atlanta's RBI record. Congrats, Chipper.

I love this game. But why are the players I grew up with reaching so many milestones? I still have a 2 in front of my age! For another half a year from today, anyway. Oh my, it's my half birthday!