Tuesday, July 13, 2004
(Insert Your Own Exasperated Headline Here)/Pull-Holtz?
Here we go again. Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water. Why me? Why us? What is the deal? Is the man made of glass? Whatever you want to say about Ken Griffey, to say he's had bad luck is an obvious waste of time and breath. During Saturday's affair with the Crew, Griff yet again found himself coming off the field after an injury and it looks like he'll be off the diamond for a while. The Dayton Daily News reports that the current outlook seems to be that he'll miss 2-4 weeks, and the Reds are leaning more toward the 4 number. Of course, it mainly depends how bad the tear is in that hamstring is. Right now? It could be as early as August 1 or as late as September 1. You've gotta feel for him. He is one of the greatest cases of tragic luck in sports.
Who'll Be the Green Kangaroo?
The one in the middle of Dunn and whoever plays RF will most likely be Ryan Freel on a daily basis now that Junior's out. That, of course, opens up an amalgam of Pena/Cruz/Vander Wal to play RF while Kearns also heals on the DL. Freel, due to the Reds bad fortune, continues to have the door opened for him for more PT. He most likely would've found his way into the lineup anyway with the way he's been hitting. He didn't make the trip to Milwaukee after sliding knee-first into the wall in right field in St. Louis trying to catch a foul ball. Word from the team's web site states that he's improving and will most likely be ready to go on Thursday. Back to Kearns--to make room for Vander Wal, he was transferred to the 60-day DL. He can be reactivated on August 1, but most likely won't be ready then.
The Mayor Will Be Back in Office
Sean Casey fully expects to be in the lineup Thursday and with Griffey now gone, they're gonna need him. Keep an eye on Casey's leg to see if he really is fully healthy. Most likely he will be, but as I wrote before, those owners who are risk adverse will probably want to deal him just in case. If you want fuel to your indecisive fire about trading Casey, he did hit .266 in June. His AVG, SLG, and OPS have declined each month from April to June, but then when you hit .414, slug .667, and have an OPS of 1.125 in April, there's a long way to fall before you're not really producing anymore. For those of you who like Sean, he's still walked more than he's fanned, and with the lowest G/F ratio of his career, it's a good bet that 25 HR as a career high won't stand past September.
Moments of Truth
The schedule was set up this year in a way that fans will most likely know by the end of this month whether or not the Reds will hang in the playoff chase, whether it be division or wild card, for the remainder of the season. Their first 17 games outta the break are against NL Central foes: 7 against St. Louis, 3 against Pittsburgh and Houston, and 2 against Chicago and Milwaukee. Tough stretch Griffey, but the time is upon the Reds to play or fade. Will they have any help from the front office? Don’t bet on it. GM Dan O'Brien is intent on rebuilding the minor league system and unless the deal is just too finger lickin' good, he'll pass. This isn't good in the short term, but you've gotta take your hits sometime. Let's all just hope O'Brien knows how to build the farm clubs.
Pull-Holtz?
I've held off on this as long as I could. The Reds have played the Cardinals 6 times in the last 3 1/2 weeks and I've watched just about every one on Fox Sports Net Ohio. I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the TV crew who do the Cincinnati games for that affiliate, but George Grande and Chris Welsh are the commentators and are normally decent, I suppose. Bland and sometimes uninformed, they leave a lot to be desired, but I'm willing to forgive that because we all have different tastes. What I'm not willing to forgive is Grande's (and now Welsh's by cognitive association, I suppose) mispronunciation of Albert Pujol's name. It's NOT Pull-Holtz. It's POO-holes. Think elementary school and the kind you didn't like, okay, George?
I realize people have accents and different speech patterns, but that's not what this is. I say FLAH-rid-uh when referring to where the Marlins are from, and I thought that was the only word I knowingly mispronounced. It turns out that the dictionary identifies that as an acceptable pronunciation. So now, I can stand unashamed on my pedestal of perfect enunciation and tell George that he needs to do his job and learn how to say Albert's name. That's right, it's his job. He's getting paid rather handsomely to fill a position that many Reds fans (and other broadcasters) would absolutely love to have. I can deal with it when someone just isn't as good as Joe Buck, Mike Shannon, Harry Kalas, or Vin Scully, but when a broadcaster just isn't doing his homework, that's not okay with me. Active fans expect more.
QTR
Your Quarterly Ticker Reports for the Reds players are up at the Red Letters (theredletters.blogspot.com). Check it out if you own any Reds and see what you need to do when them down the fantasy stretch. In a new feature at RLS, I'll be awarding the Mr. Red Head to the Reds most productive fantasy player of the week, month, and year. I'll be looking back to the stats to award Mr. Reds for April, May, and June, but the weekly awards will just start this week. First one goes to Aaron Harang. His line last week: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 10 K. Yeah, it was only one start, but it was a good one. . .I hope all of you really enjoy the All-Star Game. It really is one of the year's great sporting events. I'm Matt Allen, and this one belongs to the Red Letters.
Who'll Be the Green Kangaroo?
The one in the middle of Dunn and whoever plays RF will most likely be Ryan Freel on a daily basis now that Junior's out. That, of course, opens up an amalgam of Pena/Cruz/Vander Wal to play RF while Kearns also heals on the DL. Freel, due to the Reds bad fortune, continues to have the door opened for him for more PT. He most likely would've found his way into the lineup anyway with the way he's been hitting. He didn't make the trip to Milwaukee after sliding knee-first into the wall in right field in St. Louis trying to catch a foul ball. Word from the team's web site states that he's improving and will most likely be ready to go on Thursday. Back to Kearns--to make room for Vander Wal, he was transferred to the 60-day DL. He can be reactivated on August 1, but most likely won't be ready then.
The Mayor Will Be Back in Office
Sean Casey fully expects to be in the lineup Thursday and with Griffey now gone, they're gonna need him. Keep an eye on Casey's leg to see if he really is fully healthy. Most likely he will be, but as I wrote before, those owners who are risk adverse will probably want to deal him just in case. If you want fuel to your indecisive fire about trading Casey, he did hit .266 in June. His AVG, SLG, and OPS have declined each month from April to June, but then when you hit .414, slug .667, and have an OPS of 1.125 in April, there's a long way to fall before you're not really producing anymore. For those of you who like Sean, he's still walked more than he's fanned, and with the lowest G/F ratio of his career, it's a good bet that 25 HR as a career high won't stand past September.
Moments of Truth
The schedule was set up this year in a way that fans will most likely know by the end of this month whether or not the Reds will hang in the playoff chase, whether it be division or wild card, for the remainder of the season. Their first 17 games outta the break are against NL Central foes: 7 against St. Louis, 3 against Pittsburgh and Houston, and 2 against Chicago and Milwaukee. Tough stretch Griffey, but the time is upon the Reds to play or fade. Will they have any help from the front office? Don’t bet on it. GM Dan O'Brien is intent on rebuilding the minor league system and unless the deal is just too finger lickin' good, he'll pass. This isn't good in the short term, but you've gotta take your hits sometime. Let's all just hope O'Brien knows how to build the farm clubs.
Pull-Holtz?
I've held off on this as long as I could. The Reds have played the Cardinals 6 times in the last 3 1/2 weeks and I've watched just about every one on Fox Sports Net Ohio. I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the TV crew who do the Cincinnati games for that affiliate, but George Grande and Chris Welsh are the commentators and are normally decent, I suppose. Bland and sometimes uninformed, they leave a lot to be desired, but I'm willing to forgive that because we all have different tastes. What I'm not willing to forgive is Grande's (and now Welsh's by cognitive association, I suppose) mispronunciation of Albert Pujol's name. It's NOT Pull-Holtz. It's POO-holes. Think elementary school and the kind you didn't like, okay, George?
I realize people have accents and different speech patterns, but that's not what this is. I say FLAH-rid-uh when referring to where the Marlins are from, and I thought that was the only word I knowingly mispronounced. It turns out that the dictionary identifies that as an acceptable pronunciation. So now, I can stand unashamed on my pedestal of perfect enunciation and tell George that he needs to do his job and learn how to say Albert's name. That's right, it's his job. He's getting paid rather handsomely to fill a position that many Reds fans (and other broadcasters) would absolutely love to have. I can deal with it when someone just isn't as good as Joe Buck, Mike Shannon, Harry Kalas, or Vin Scully, but when a broadcaster just isn't doing his homework, that's not okay with me. Active fans expect more.
QTR
Your Quarterly Ticker Reports for the Reds players are up at the Red Letters (theredletters.blogspot.com). Check it out if you own any Reds and see what you need to do when them down the fantasy stretch. In a new feature at RLS, I'll be awarding the Mr. Red Head to the Reds most productive fantasy player of the week, month, and year. I'll be looking back to the stats to award Mr. Reds for April, May, and June, but the weekly awards will just start this week. First one goes to Aaron Harang. His line last week: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 10 K. Yeah, it was only one start, but it was a good one. . .I hope all of you really enjoy the All-Star Game. It really is one of the year's great sporting events. I'm Matt Allen, and this one belongs to the Red Letters.
