2010 Reds Season Preview - Outfielders

Today, Cintucky Zone takes a look at the Reds messy outfield situation heading into the 2010 season.

As set in stone (until Rolen gets hurt) as the Reds starting infield is, the outfield is the complete opposite. For as mature and veteran as the infield is, to say the outfield is unproven is an understatement. The good news with the outfield is that they should be very solid defensively. Lets get into it:

Projected starting outfield:
RF. Jay Bruce - last year: 101 games, .223 avg, 22 HR, 58 RBI, .303 OBP, .470 SLG, 11 outfield assists
Point blank it's time for Bruce to show why he was regarded as one of the top outfield prospects in baseball. After returning from a broken wrist at the end of last season Bruce started showing signs of life, hitting .326 with 4 HRs & 17 RBIs in 18 games. Even with that final offensive push, he still only raised his season average to .223. Granted Jay is still only 22 years old, and he may have been called up a bit too early, but he will be going into his 3rd full year and should play a large roll in the success or disappointment of the Red's offense. I remember when Bruce was first called up in 2008 and started out with 11 hits in his first 19 at bats. He was like superman. While obviously an above .500 average is unrealistic, he did hit .308 through his entire time in the minor leagues. Bruce needs to improve his pitch selection and I think you'll see that average be closer to .300 than it is to .200. Regardless of Bruce's up and down offense, his defense has been outstanding so far. He only committed 2 errors last year and had 11 assists, tied for third among right fielders, and everyone else had 60 more games than him.


CF. Drew Stubbs - last year: 42 games, .267 avg, 8 HR, 17 RBI, .323 OBP, .429 SLG, 4 outfield assists
All signs point to Stubbs being the opening day center fielder for the Reds. Seeing that he wasn't on the opening day roster last year, he is yet another question mark trying to prove his initial success last year was not a fluke. Stubbs, the Reds first round pick in 2006, was called up from triple-A when Willy Taveras went down with injury in August. At that point, the Reds were well out of any playoff race and I'm sure the situation resulted in low amounts of pressure on Stubbs. Starting Opening Day in center field will certainly be A LOT more pressure. He wasn't really known for his power in the minor leagues, so the 8 HR's surprised a few people. He also had 10 stolen bases in the six weeks he was up in the majors last year and did a better job getting on base than Willy Taveras. I haven't heard/seen/read that the Reds will be changing leadoff hitters so I assume Stubbs is still the guy. This is yet another question mark for the Reds offense. Hopefully Stubbs can up the on-base percentage a little higher and keep stealing bases. Like Bruce, Stubbs is very good in the outfield and can cover a lot of ground. He had 4 assists in his small amount of playing time and did not commit an error.


And if you all thought RF and CF were a little iffy.. now we get to left field:

LF. Jonny Gomes - last year: 98 games, .267 avg, 20 HR, 51 RBI, .338 OBP, .541 SLG, 5 outfield assists
I can only assume that Jonny Gomes will be the opening day left fielder as good ole Dusty hasn't shown us his hand yet. Gomes was recently resigned and if you listened to other local sports writers/talk show hosts you would think Jonny Gomes was Matt Holiday. Yes the Reds need a power hitter from the right side, but if Jonny Gomes is the answer then we've got problems. I'm not really sure what the fascination is with Gomes, he struck out 85 times in 98 games and is slower than an ox out in left field. I guess he will have to do until another power right handed bat comes along. Hopefully Rolen can help fill that void a bit.


Other Options for left field:
LF/CF. Chris Dickerson - last year: 97 games, .275 avg, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .370 OBP, .373 SLG, 5 outfield assists
Dickerson recently came out saying he was disappointed no one was considering him for the center field job, since that is what he came up in the minors as being. However, at 28 compared to Stubb's 25, and after battling injury after injury, Dickerson finds himself on the outside looking in for starting outfield positions. He certainly was expected to have more power than 2 HR in 97 games last year. I'm sure we'll see a fair amount of him this year, but he too will have some things to prove if he wants to earn an everyday spot on the roster.

LF. Laynce Nix - last year: 116 games, .239 avg, 15 HR, 46 RBIs, .291 OBP, .476 SLG
There was a time early last year that Laynce Nix seemed like he was going to be a huge addition to the Reds. It was at that time that the fans started calling for him to be an everyday player. It was also at that time that his average starting going down the toilet. Nix will no doubt get his share of at bats this year as I'm guessing left field will be split between Gomes, Dickerson, and Nix.

One of the guys we haven't mentioned yet to keep an eye on is Juan Francisco. Last year he played in 14 games for the Reds and hit .429. He has primarily been a third basemen but there has been talk about moving him to left field to fill the void out there. Juan appears to have a bright future with the Reds and I would expect to see him up with the team consistently at some point this year. Most likely when Rolen goes down with an injury and now that Adam Rosales is no longer with the team.

Overall, the Reds outfield is filled with young talent with a lot to prove. Like I mentioned in my Infield preview, if the veteran infielders can stay healthy and produce offensively, that should take SOME of the pressure off the young outfield. But of all the outfielders above, I would say Jay Bruce still has the most pressure on him and the most to prove.

4 days until the first spring training game, 37 days until Opening Day!!

Greg "no more Willy Taveras" R.

2010 Reds Season Preview - Starting Pitchers

On a small market team you have to get used to a few things: Crappy gimmicks to get fans to the stadium (hello free Reds magnet night), missing out on top free agents, and as a result trying to build a successful team out of solid veterans and young talent. When you look at the starting rotation for the Reds this season that is what you see, solid veterans and young talent.

The "ace" of the staff is Aaron Harang. The 6'7 260 pound hoss of a pitcher has had multiple 15+ win seasons in his career despite a lack of offense behind him. From '05 through '07 Harang posted 3 straight seasons of sub-4 ERA. Harang's consistency and ability to stare down opposing teams best pitchers will be key to the Reds' success.


The other veteran leader on the staff comes in the form of half pitcher half rock star Bronson Arroyo. Last year Arroyo had his best season since signing with Cincy in 2006 posting an ERA of 3.84 and winning 15 games. At this point I would like to thank the Red Sox for giving us a consistent starter and general good guy in exchange for Willy Mo-Bacon-Please Pena. With 3 complete games and 2 shutouts last season Arroyo showed he can be an excellent number 2.

Now we look at the "young talent" section of the starting rotation. Or as they call it the joven sección de talento. Johnny Cueto posted an 11-11 record with a 4.41 ERA in his second season with the Reds. What Cueto possesses in a live arm he lacks in a steady motion. Much like many other Dominican pitchers, Cueto can absolutely bring it when he wants to. Mix in that speed with plenty of action on his other pitches and the skills and talent are there to be an ace. The real question is not whether he can do it, but rather how often and consistently he can. If Queto can become a pitcher rather than a thrower than the Reds have a serious gem in the middle of their rotation.

Okay now reread the previous paragraph but substitute "Johnny" with "Edinson" and "Cueto" with "Volquez." Unfortunately for the Reds I'd guess that about half a season is all they will get out of Volquez as he isn't expected to return until around the All-Star break at best. After undergoing Tommy John surgery last August, Volquez has been rehabbing and trying to treat what has officially been called "elbow inflammation." Anyone who knows baseball knows that Tommy John surgery is a serious procedure. While more pitchers have undergone it than you can count, many of them have never returned to their previous form. In the case of Volquez that form was a 17-6 season with a 3.21 ERA in 2008. Consider him pitcher 1a when healthy.

I am not posting a picture of Homer Bailey because I do not like him. So there. I've been hearing about him being "the next big thing" for what has to be the better part of a decade and frankly I don't care anymore. This is the season for Bailey to either put up or shut up. Bailey did show the potential everyone has been seeing for years toward the end of last season. Starting on August 18th he pitched 9 games in a row where he improved his ERA each outing taking it from a 7.53 down to a 4.53. If he can put those type of performances together for an entire season he will earn a picture in a Cintucky Blog.

As for the rest of the staff, you've already heard about recent addition Aroldis Chapman who I think will pitch in the majors sometime this season, just not anytime soon. Other options for the 5th starting spot until Volquez returns are 32 year old journey man Justin Lehr, or lefty Matt Maloney who in 7 starts with the Reds last year posted a 2-4 record with a 4.87 ERA.

I expect Maloney to be the 5th starter when the season begins and that does worry me a bit, but looking at the rest of the rotation it is easy to see the ability is there. If everyone pitches to their potential this staff can lead the team to the playoffs. With Harang and Arroyo out in front, and the young guns improving as they should the Reds appear to have a pitching staff that could and should be the backbone of the 2010 team.

Stay tuned for a look into the Reds outfielders....

Brian "not even going to acknowledge the ridiculousness of trading Harang" Reinhart

2010 Reds Infield Preview

Per the schedule that the Almighty Reinhart has set, today Cintucky Zone is looking at the Cincinnati Reds Infield for 2010. I for one think that any team heading into the season without Edwin Encarnacion and David Weathers has a serious shot to contend for a Pennant.

Following the recent acquisition of SS Orlando Cabrera, the Reds have a VERY strong infield, both offensively and defensively. Lets take a closer look:

1B. Joey Votto - Last season: .322 avg, 25 HR, 84 RBI, .414 OBP, .567 SLG.
First off just let me say that I would volunteer to have Joey Votto's baby if he wanted. It can be considered a man crush. I know there are a ton of top notch first basemen in the National League but Votto should have a very good shot at making the All Star team this year. A winning first half of the season for the Reds would help that cause. It has been reported that Votto has gotten past his issues with depression and anxiety that took him out of 21 games last year. There were times last year when Votto was the only thing that resembled an offense for the Reds. He single handedly won multiple games. I am excited to see what this year has in store for him. His batting average dropped toward the end of last year but hey its hard to maintain a .370 average. I would expect to see an increase in RBI's this year because I think more runners will be on base for him. Defensively, he is a well above average first baseman with only 10 errors last year. He is currently the only member of the Reds infield (excluding catcher) without a gold glove.

2B. Brandon Phillips - Last season: .276 avg, 20 HR, 98 RBI, .329 OBP, .447 SLG.
Brandon is probably my second favorite Red. And not just because I ran into him at Steak & Shake at 1:30am the same night he played in a Red's game I was at and I was completely slammed at the time. And not just because we absolutely R*PED Cleveland in that trade and I still am giddy about making fun of Cleveland people every time Phillips does something else awesome. Phillips is my second favorite Red because he has been so consistent the last 4 years on both offense and defense. And because he is a funny thug. Phillips was forced to hit in the cleanup spot last year simply because the Reds had nobody that could. Ideally Phillips would not be in the 4-hole but I'm not sure they have found a cleanup hitter this year. Unless Jay Bruce learns how to hit a curve ball, or any ball really. Defensively, Phillips is a natural. He had 9 errors last year which was a tad bit high from him. He'll be looking to return to gold glove form of 2008. It will be fun to watch Phillips and Cabrera turn double plays this year.

SS. Orlando Cabrera - Last season: .284 avg, 9 HR, 77 RBI, .316 OBP, .389 SLG, 13 SB.

No doubt Paul Janish was devastated with the recent acquisition of Cabrera. Janish figured since they didn't acquire a SS late last year or throughout the entire off season that he would be given a chance to show what he can do starting everyday. Unfortunately for him, this team needs more than defense. The lack of offense last year forced the Reds to improve in positions they were weak in, and they chose to do so at the SS position. I think an under appreciated key aspect of signing Cabrera is his ability to speak Spanish. With the number of Hispanic pitchers the Reds have been stocking up on, it is good to have another Spanish speaking member of the infield besides the catcher. Cabrera had a down year last year defensively, notching 25 errors. However he is only 2 years removed from winning a gold glove. He played half the season last year on turf so hopefully that contributed to his poor fielding performance. Offensively, Cabrera gives the Reds something they haven't had at the SS position since Felipe Lopez had a breakout year and then was traded away. His OBP isn't that great but he is known to be more of a contact hitter that plays small ball moving over runners and such. I know he'll be better than Alex Gonzalez.

3B. Scott Rolen - Last season (with Blue Jays and Reds): .305 avg, 11 HR, 67 RBI.
First off call me crazy but Scott Rolen and Russell Crowe have to be twins separated at birth. Seriously look at this. And I haven't found one other person to agree with me yet.

Secondly, you know it was bad last year when Edwin started off with like 4 walks in his first 6 at bats and everyone was saying how he was a different hitter and more patient and more mature. Rolen is definitely the wild card out of this whole infield. If he stays healthy (big if) and produces this team could seriously contend. If he doesn't produce, the pressure builds for the young corps of outfielders to fill the offensive void. Regardless of his offense, and regardless of whether he is in a wheelchair or not, he will still be better defensively than Edwin. Seven gold gloves back me up.

C. Ramon Hernandez & Ryan Hanigan - I'm not sure when the days of teams only have 1 catcher switched over to having two split equal time but I tend to like the two Reds catchers. Last year, both showed abilities on offense and defense. Lets compare the two and where they rank in the league:

Hernandez: 81 games - .258 avg, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 0 passed balls, 1 error, 18 caught stealing in 33 attempts
Hanigan: 90 games - .263 avg, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 3 passed balls, 1 error, 21 caught stealing in 28 attempts

Obviously you would expect to see Hernandez working more with Cueto, Chapman, and Volquez when he returns and putting Hanigan with Arroyo, Harang, and Bailey, but I do feel comfortable with either guy behind the plate. Very glad to see the Reds have moved beyond the days of Jason LaRue, Corky Miller, and Paul Bako.

All in all I give the Reds infield an A- grade. I'll be breaking down the Red's outfield in a few days but to give you a preview: the outfield is by far the biggest question the Reds have in my mind. Luckily, for as young as the outfield is, the infield is filled with veterans who should be able to take some pressure off of those youngsters in the outfield.

Stay tuned throughout the next week for more Red's 2010 preview!

Cincinnati Reds Season Preview... Part 1

(I may be coming around on the whole baseball cheerleaders idea.)

With the first spring training game less than 10 days away the CintuckyZone has decided to put together our first look at this season's Reds team. Throughout the next week, Greg and myself will break down the team position by position giving our thoughts on the possible starters, our expectations, and predictions.

Since we haven't covered the Reds very much in this blog yet due to the time that it was started I'm going to attempt to explain my relationship with this team. As it's been stated, I grew up in Northern Kentucky less than 15 minutes from Riverfront (ahhh feels good to remember that place) stadium. I can honestly say without exaggeration that I watched at least 150 baseball games at Riverfront Stadium before it was demolished on December 29, 2002.

I first fell in love with the Reds during their 1990 World Series Championship run. I was 5. Yes, I remember it. Chris Sabo's "Rec Specs," The Nasty Boys, Eric Davis, Paul O'Neal, Joe Oliver, and of course my 2nd favorite player of all time (behind Ken Griffey Jr.) Barry "Larry Barkin" Larkin. Credit for that extremely witty nickname goes to my dad, Bruce Reinhart, without whom my fascination with this team wouldn't be borderline sick.

I remember the 1995 playoff run where the Reds swept the Los Angeles Dodgers. I was in attendance at the 2000 one game playoff that the Reds lost to the Mets when Al "Mother F*cking" Leiter threw a complete game 2 hit shutout. I still see his delivery in my nightmares sometimes. I was at the last game at Riverfront Stadium (I will always REFUSE to call it Cinergy Field) when the Reds brought back the all time greats for a softball game. I have the autographed Pete Rose bobble head doll/program from that night to prove it.

To say I love the Reds is a gross understatement. My obsession with UK basketball has crossed the line into scary, and we've all seen what the Bengals do to my heart and mind, but my first and longest love has and always will be the Cincinnati Reds.

Unfortunately for all Reds fans, the last even arguable "successful" season was that 2000 season. Since then it has been a revolving door of cheap owners, incompetent general managers, underachieving managers, and under performing players.

The franchise is FINALLY beginning to show that they want to live up to their great history. With the off season acquisition of the number 1 pitching free agent, the progression of young guns Bailey, Queto, Bruce, and Votto, a healthy return for Volquez, and a rotation anchored by veterans Arroyo and Harang, fans really have something to look forward to. I find myself getting excited just typing that long, possibly a run-on sentence.

Stay tuned all week as we bring you up to speed with everything you need to know about the Cincinnati Reds heading into the 2010 season. A tentative schedule will be as follows:

Thursday: Infielders
Friday: Starting Pitchers
Sunday: Outfielders
Monday: Relief Pitchers

... so be sure to stop by often and get ready for your 2010 Cincinnati Reds Season!!!!!!!!!!

Tiger Tiger Tiger

As College Basketball season is heating up, Tiger Woods' loins are attempting to cool down. Today Tiger came out from hiding and issued a public statement. You can read the text here or watch the video here:




Now I'm sure the perception of the words he said will depend upon whether you are a male or female. But really anyone who doesn't think he was sincere or is still living a lie or whatever really isn't thinking about the whole situation. The simple fact that Tiger made a statement offering an apology shows exactly the path he wants to go forward on. If he didn't want to be married, if he wanted to continue hooking up with porn stars and whoever else, then he could have. Elin, his wife, was all but gone, ready to sign the divorce papers. Money is certainly not a concern either. So just his act of doing what he did today should shut everyone up. I would insert the video of Stephen A. Smith ripping Tiger's speech and calling it "weak" and "pathetic" but then I remembered that Stephen A Smith is the biggest bigot alive and himself represents the epitome of the word "failure" (exactly what is he calling his job now? writer? no.. TV show host? no...blogger? YES! wait I blog too...hmm). If Tiger didn't mean what he said, then he wouldn't have said it. Because he has no reason to lie.

There were three large questions leading into the statement:
1) Why is he doing it Friday? Is it to screw over Accenture, his first sponsor to drop him, who was hosting a golf tournament that day?
2) Why is he controlling it so much and not letting the free insane media ask questions?
3) Will he really mean what he says?

He did not avoid these three questions and instead addressed them head on. He gave the speech on Friday because that is the day that fit into his rehab schedule. He is headed back to rehab immediately. He controlled the media the way he did because he was not ready for open questions and he knew the media would ask too personal of questions that he wants to remain private. Now if he really meant what he said - he was speaking about Elin when he said this but I think it can be applied to all of us - He said that his words are just words and the only way we will be able to judge if he is really sorry is by his actions down the road.He was not asking for forgiveness from us now, he was asking us to start the process of thinking about looking up to him again.

Now for those who are bashing him over reading off a script. What did you expect? You think he's gonna come out there and ad-lib his apology? Get real. I'm sure he had help writing his words but like I said, he wouldn't have said anything he didn't want to say because he had no reason to lie.

Tiger's speech used the word "golf" only twice. I think it's pretty clear that golf is not at the forefront of his mind right now. He's been away from the game for 3 months now. A lot of people would have gone to rehab for a month, taken another month off, declared themselves ready to return, and then done so. Tiger said he does not know when he will be back to the game and that it might not be this year. Really all I care about is when he will be coming back. It's highly doubtful that I will watch a non-major tournament without Tiger, and I'll watch much less of a Major without him also.

Like I said, I'm sure your reaction to his statement depends on whether you are male or female. Like Tiger said, no one will be able to trust him until he proves with his actions that he is trying to change. For now, in my opinion, it seems like he has taken a good first step.

Greg

Two Games, Three Overtimes

Kentucky basketball has been very busy as of late. And I'm not just talking about the Cats, but the state as a whole. One night after UK went to Trashville USA and pulled out an OT thriller over Mississippi State, the Cards went into double OT to win an extremely hard fought battle over the Notre Dame Fighting White Guys!!

UK needed double doubles out of Cousins (19, 14) and Patterson (19, 10), and a near triple double from John Wall (18, 10, 8 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks) to fend off the hard nosed Bulldogs. Give Coach Stansbury and his team credit. They were without their leading scorer who was suspended for the always vague "conduct detrimental to the team." They also only had use of NCAA Defensive Player of the Year Jarvis Varnado for 23 minutes due to foul trouble. Guard Dee Bost stepped up in their absence going for 22 and continually making plays at crucial times. In the end, though, like almost all UK games, UK's talent was just too much and the 'Dogs ran out of gas. A lot of "experts" had this one marked as a loss for the Cats. It always feels good to prove doubters and haters wrong. Fun Fact from the game: MSU is #1 in the nation in blocked shots, UK is #2... MSU had 2 blocks, UK had 12.

To address the MSU fans who were calling and texting DeMarcus Cousins with racial and personal attacks before the game... well you got what you deserved. Stay classy you guys. Way to prove everyone saying you were uneducated backwood j*rkoffs wrong by throwing bottles on the court after the game. You showed us.

Fast Forward 20 hours to tonight's game at Freedom Hall between the Cards and Irish. I just so happened to be in attendance for my annual UL game and did I ever pick a good one to go to. This game was an all out slugfest with UL's Samardo Samuels standing toe to toe with any big man ND could throw at him and coming out on top. It should be noted that ND All-American Luke Harangody didn't play due to injury, but with the mission Samuels was on tonight I'm not so sure it would have mattered.

No one has called SamSam soft more than me. I have used the words gentle giant, snuggie, and huge p*ssy when describing Samuels on more than one occasion, but tonight he was far from any of those things. He shot 19 free throws, making 16, and finished with 36 points. He also fouled out ND's entire frontline (4 players in all). Edgar Sosa did his best to give the game back to ND with errant shots and poor decision making, causing Pitino to pull him in favor of freshman Peyton Siva for the last few minutes of regulation and a lot of the overtime periods. However, even Sosa couldn't give this one away. The rest of the Cards wanted it too bad, and got the win they deserved. Fun Fact from the game: Notre Dame's Joey Brooks played 2 minutes without recording any statistics what so ever posting the ever rare 2 trillion! (For those who don't know a trillion is when a player plays 1 minute recording zero's in 9 stat categories: FG, FT, 3's, Pts, Reb, Ast, St, Blk, TO so that their box score looks like 1,000,000,000. The 2 trillion is even rarer. Credit for this goes stat phenomenon to Ohio State bench warmer and blogger extraordinaire Mark Titus.)

So while the games may have made for long evenings that lead to miserable work days, it has absolutely been worth it. UL takes a BIG step towards getting their tourney invite, and UK keeps on trucking towards a number 1 seed. Now thats Kentucky (the state) basketball!!

Brian "Samuels still only had 6 boards" Reinhart

College Basketball Round Up

First things first: A big Cintucky apology to the readers of the site for the lack of content lately. The Bengals sucked a lot of life out of the CintuckyZone writers and this one in particular has been battling a case of bloggers block. That was then, though, and this is now, and there is no better time to be a college basketball fan than late February through the first week of April.

To bring you up to speed on the Cintucky teams we're going to first start in Louisville: The Cards (RPI: 31), after getting embarrassed at St. Johns last Thursday came back on Sunday with a HUGE win over the then number 2 team in the nation, Syracuse. Pitino's Bombinos are currently an 11 or 12 seed depending whose Bracketology you look at. Either way, most experts agree as long as they win the games they are supposed to and put up respectable performances against Georgetown and Syracuse, they should make the tournament. A win or two in the Big East tournament wouldn't hurt things either. Fun Fact: UL shot 30 3's against Syracuse. Gotta love Pitinoball.

Heading north to Cincinnati, the Bearcats (RPI: 49) are planted firmly on the tourney bubble. If the tournament were tomorrow the Bearcats would be out. Luckily for them they have plenty of time left to impress. Their final three games are @ WVU, vs. Villanova and @ Georgetown. Just one of those games mixed with a win in the Big East tournament would be a huge resume booster for the Bearcats. Tonight's game against USF is a must win.

Staying in Cincinnati, the Xavier Musketeers (RPI: 20) are looking good to make the tournament. The recent 12 point victory at Florida will look good on the tournament resume alongside wins over Dayton and UC. If they can pull out the W against Richmond (20-6) at home on Feb. 28th, they can start to look toward a higher seed than the 10-12 range. The thought of a team like this earning an 8 or 9 seed and facing UK in the 2nd round scares the hell out of me.

The Dayton Flyers (RPI: 32) didn't do themselves any favors with the 68-65 OT loss against St. Louis last weekend. The problem for Dayton is there are a lot of teams in the RPI 30-40 range from big conferences, which usually means bigger wins, and flashier tournament resumes. Games at Temple and at Richmond will probably be the key to Dayton's tournament hopes. Win both of those and take care of business against the rest and they are a lock. Another slip up like this weekend? Greg will have to be strapped down.

The Kentucky Wildcats (RPI: 4) have regained their swagger after the upset loss to the South Carolina Oh My God It Went In's. They have won all of their last 5 games by double digits, but will face a very tough opponent tonight in Mississippi State. The match up everyone (especially the 20 something NBA scouts in attendance) will be focusing on is MSU big man Jarvis "Swat Twat" Varnado vs. Demarcus "Boogie Monster" Cousins. Either way the back court of Kentucky should be more than enough to control the game for UK, and if Patrick Patterson shows any signs of a pulse the Cats will be okay. Check back tomorrow for a game recap.

So that is where we stand with a little over two weeks left until the conference tournaments. Out of the Cintucky teams 1 team is defiantly in (UK), 2 should be in (XU, UL), and the other 2 (UD, UC) still have an excellent shot to make it. Going 5-5 would be an amazing task for the Cintucky teams.

In an attempt to show remorse for the lack of posts recently I will treat you with the following. What it has to do with college basketball, I have no idea:












Brian "Go Cats, Musketeers, Flyers, Cards, and Cats again!!!" Reinhart

The NFL Season Might Be Over...

So I was debating whether to write about either the Bengals, Reds, or College Basketball. I decided I just can't let the NFL go yet, but with regards to the Reds: pitchers and catchers report Feb 17th and position players on Feb 22nd. The burning question for the Reds heading into spring training is who is going to be the Reds 5th starter? With Volquez out until at least the All Star Break and Harang, Arroyo, Cueto, and Bailey firmly secured as the top 4 (speaking of that who is going to be Opening Day starter?) many options arrive for the 5th spot. Owings, Lehr, Maloney, maybe even newcomer Aroldis Chapman are all fighting for the 5th spot. Tell you what, it sure is nice to have quality options for the 5th starter for once.

As for College BBall, a couple weeks ago Cintucky Zone gave our mid season report cards. I predicted that all 5 of the Cintucky teams (UC, UD, XU, UL, UK) would make it to the big dance in March. As we sit here today, 3 of those teams are directly on the bubble.

UC has given us deja vu of last year and completely fallen off the table. The Bearcats currently sit 10th in the Big East with games remaining against UConn, Marquette, #4 West Virginia, #5 Villanova, and #8 Georgetown. I see little chance of them making it to the NCAA tournament.
UL has continued it's season of unpredictability with their latest loss coming at the hands of St. John's. Their schedule is not any easier than UC's with two games against #3 Syracuse, plus #8 Georgetown, not to mention Notre Dame and Marquette. UL has A LOT of work left to do to make it to the NCAA tournament.
And finally my alma mater, UD. Unlike UC & UL, the Flyers have been more than impressive lately. After back to back 1 point conference losses, the Flyers have rebounded by beating Xavier by 30 and Charlotte (was #1 in A10) by 28. Both very impressive wins for a team that has struggled to put together offense in the last 100 years. A win over #17 Temple later this month would all but secure a bid for the Big Dance.

Ok now onto what I really wanted to discuss/rant about. I'm sorry anyone who was expecting something different. But it's the same thing I've been complaining about since this website was created. The Bengals.

It's kind of funny how sad this organization has become in regards to player personnel decisions. Everyone in Cintucky jokes when another team releases one of those "slightly-over-the-hill-had-a-year-of-injury-not-the-best-locker-room-guy-but-had-at-least-one-good-year-in-the-league-or-at-least-showed-potential" guys that Mike "the Redeemer" Brown would hop all over (both literally and figuratively). When I started thinking about writing about this, it was last week when the Ocho was vying for Terrell Owens to join the Bengals. It hit me like a ton of bricks that this was a serious possibility for the Bengals. Today, when Marvin Lewis was asked about Terrell Owens and his potential of becoming a Bengal, Marvin responded by calling Owens, "a hell of a player." Oh boy. This wasn't the end of it though. Donte Stallworth was reinstated into the NFL last week after a year of being suspended for a DUI that killed someone. My first thought when I heard this on the radio: "ha oh man how long till the Bengals work him out?". Sadly enough it was about 1 day. As reported here, the Bengals are taking interest in him. Now, just tonight, as I pulled up Cincinnati.com, a headline caught my eye: "Bengals interested in ex-Jags WR". When I first read this I quickly remember, "The Jags recently parted ways with Torry Holt, hmm yea hes old." And then I saw the rest of the story. They weren't interested in Holt, they were interested in MATT JONES. According to Joe Reedy, the Bengals have offered Matt Jones a contract along with the Tennessee Titans. Jones was a first round pick a few years back, but never achieved even a quarter of his potential. And then was arrested for flunking a drug test. Sounds like a perfect guy for the Bengals. So the list of pathetic, cheap, "i have no scouting department so i'll let other teams do my scouting for me" decisions by Bengals management will continue to grow. My next prediction: Antonio Pierce. He was released by the Giants today. Has been to the Pro Bowl, won a Super Bowl, and was with Plaxico Burress when Burress shot himself in the leg. If that doesn't sound like a Bengal, then I don't know who does.

Matt Jones is not the receiving answer the Bengals need for 2010. TO is not either. A 2010 draft pick is not either, if we're talking about winning in the 2010-2011 season. My answer to the offensive woes (beyond firing Bob Bratkowski which we've covered enough) is to acquire Brandon Marshall. Yes, he hasn't been the super best teammate, but that hasn't stopped the Bengals before. And yes he would be worth a pretty penny. A first and third round pick since he will become a restricted free agent and the Broncos are sure to make the maximum offer for him. However, the Bengals will be tendered an additional 3rd round pick this draft due to TJ Houshmanzadeh leaving in free agency last year. Furthermore, the Bengals have shown zero ability to draft quality wide receivers, combined with the fact that the best one, Dez Bryant, would most likely be gone by the time the Bengals 21st pick comes around. Throw in that rookie receivers typically don't do much, and in Marshall you would be getting an incredibly proven, humongous wide receiver who can catch 15 balls a game. I can't think of anything the Bengals need more than Brandon Marshall on their team next year. Obviously they would have to (and need to) get rid of Laveranues Coles before signing Marshall. But there is not a receiver in the draft this year that can make the impact Marshall can for the Bengals next year. Carson is not getting any younger and it's doubtful he has the years left to let another highly drafted wide receiver not pan out (hello Jerome Simpson).

In other Bengals news, today was the first day that NFL teams could tender the Franchise Tag on their players. Let's hope they are smarter than last year and don't give a gajillion dollars to another kicker who cannot kick under pressure. Let's hope they don't offer it to anyone this year, because really there is no one on this team worthy of it.

We've got 70 days until the NFL draft. There is a lot that can and will happen between now and then. Lots of former and future criminals can make their way into Bengal stripes by then. Stay tuned!

Greg "please get Marshall" R.

Congrats to the Saints..

... on your very first SuperBowl!!!

Brees played like the balla he is completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and 2 TD's, winning SuperBowl MVP. Manning choked in the clutch which despite his past, surprised everyone. He is now 9-9 in playoff games. The incredible part is that during the game the "If Manning wins this one is he the best ever?" conversation came up and almost everyone agreed he would be. Call it getting caught in the moment, the hype or whatever, but even the talking heads were crowning him before the game. Then before you could pick up your jaw, the best haircut in SuperBowl history had a game clinching pick-6. Now Brees will be dubbed the best QB in the game today, people will wonder if Manning has lost it, Caldwell's coaching will be questioned, and Sean Payton will be named head coach of the world. All from one errant pass. Personally.. I'd still take Manning.

A few other notes from the most watched three hours of the year....

As predicted the special teams, defense, and coaching were all advantages for the Saints. The onside kick was risky but since it paid off we can call it gutsy and courageous instead of ridiculously stupid. The 52 yard field goal attempt by Indy was unexplainable. That had about a 1 in 5 shot of going in and allowed the Saints to take over with great field position. Sure enough a NO TD followed.

The Who are old. Those songs sound much better on my Ipod. Yes, I have the Who on my IPod.. shut it.

I would personally like to thank my roommate Volz for screwing up our internet before kickoff. As I watched Peyton throw the game away, a sigh of relief came over me knowing that I was unable to pick the Colts to cover. I was however fairly upset that I didn't get the chance to take the under on the number of Kim Kardashian shots. Its a win/win either way.

Speaking of ridiculously gorgeous women overshadowing the NFL's biggest night. How perfect was Cintucky favorite Carrie Underwood belting the National Anthem? Lets put it this way.. as much as Queen Latifa sucked singing God Bless America.. thats how awesome Carrie was. And thats a whole lot of suck. The white pants were an obvious plus as well.

My thoughts on the commercials: The Doritos' commercials were pretty amusing. Tim Tebow is still a tool. I want to live in the Bud Light house.

So what now? Well college basketball is still heating up with a lot of our teams currently sitting on the bubble,and every game counting more than the previous one. The NFL Draft is only a couple months away. Spring training is just around the corner as well, and if you think the Bengals get under the Cintucky skin.. wait for Reds season.

Brian "I already miss the pain of the NFL" Reinhart

On A Side Note...

If this happens, please somebody kill me.

Super Bowl Weekend!!!!

We've written our Super Bowl picks separately, so without further ado, here you go:

Richter:

For the 21st straight year, Super Bowl weekend has arrived without the Cincinnati Bengals participating in the game. As sad as that is, the matchup that we have for us Sunday is better than most recent years. It doesn't include the Steelers, Patriots, or a New York team and actually does include an NFC team that I would love to see win. I have been hanging out with fewer Colts fans than I have in past years, thus I don't mind them as much as I did a couple years ago when they won the SB. And you really can't hate Peyton Manning and the way he plays the game. I like to think that if I were an NFL QB I would put in the time and energy to be able to read defenses like him. But then again I would probably just end up playing Madden for 4 hours straight and claim that running cover 2 defenses always lead to an interception.

As much as I like Peyton, I tend to root for underdogs and teams that haven't won it in a while. Unless it was my team that was building a dynasty but lets be honest, I'll see California become an island before a Cincinnati teams builds a dynasty. I'll be rooting for the Saints, and I think they can pull it out (that's what she said). And no, not because I think its fate, or destiny, or whatever for them to win the Super Bowl. That has nothing to do with it. I have heard that word 17398750,8270374075,88,0 times throughout the playoffs and it really started to annoy me. They didn't get this far because of fate. They got this far because they absolutely destroyed a good Cardinals team. They got this far because Brett Favre did exactly what everyone in the country could have predicted he would do with one final throw. The Saints deserved to be here.

Breaking down the teams (let me fire up Madden here), I think the Saints have a by far more complete team. The defense has been a big play defense all year, and have learned the art of secretly putting Vasoline on the ball in between plays. How else can you explain Adrian Peterson fumbling three times in a game? Oh fate, that's right. The Viking's O-line is pretty solid, and they got eaten alive by the Saints pass-rush. The Colt's O-line is also in the upper echelon of the NFL, but look here's the recipe for beating the Colts: be able to get pressure on the QB from your front 4. When you start bringing extra linebackers, they might as well just be running straight off the field because Manning will eat them alive. But the Saints have shown they have the ability to hit the QB hard without blitzing. This is why the Bengals had ZERO chance of beating the Colts had they played. Hell the Bengals can bring all 11 guys and still find a way to get blocked before the QB.

There really is no key to the game for the Colts. Just do what they've done for the last 10 years straight. Make sure #18 is behind center and let him run the team. This Superbowl could be the most lopsided run-pass ratio we've ever seen. I expect the first 5 plays from both offenses will be passes. It should be really fun to watch.

Here's to hoping we get to see Kim Kardashian flashing around on Bourbon Street! Get your cameras ready!

Saints 41, Colts 37
MVP: Drew Brees





Reinhart

With kick off less than 2 days away I am starting to sweat this pick. This is the problem with the week off in between Conference Championship Week and the SuperBowl. Too much time to debate and get in my own head. I started off saying I was picking the Colts no matter what the spread was and that was that. Afterall, they have Peyton Manning. No QB has done more with less in the roughly 15 years that I've been watching the NFL. Sure Wayne and Clark are two of the best at their positions in the league, but the way he has made Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie into legitimate receivers is unbelievable. Seriously.. don't believe me? I'll prove it. Take a second to look at your fantasy football draft from 6 or 7 months ago. If anyone can honestly say that Garcon or Collie got drafted in their league I will buy you a keg for your SuperBowl party. Now? They are both automatic picks. Throw in the fact that the Colts have an average rushing attack, defense, and special teams at best, it really shows how incredible Manning has been.

The Saints, on the other hand, have quickly become America's sweethearts. How can you honestly root against a team that is a symbol for the rebuilt city of New Orleans. Cast off turned into super-duper-how-am-I-still-under-rated-star Drew Brees has been MVP 1b this season. Add in a surprisingly affective and aggressive defense and the big play or two that they will get from Reggie Bush, it is hard to just pick the Colts and move on.

A few other notes heading into the game:
- Dwight Freeny will not have an impact on this game. Book it. If you are letting the Freeny ankle weigh into your gambling or predicting decisions, don't. He'll play, realize how bad he's hurt, and watch from the sidelines.
- At the time of writing this the Saints are getting 4.5 points. I thought they were about 6 point underdogs so this seems kind of low.
- The coaching favor goes to the Saints and should be worth about 3 points at some point throughout the game. Jim Caldwell isn't bad; Sean Peyton is just that good.
- The Colts have been there before. A lot of players on the roster were on their previous championship team, and they know how to handle the elements. Things like the ridiculous amount of media, the extra long halftime, the incessant camera flashes can't be duplicated during the regular season.

I honestly think the Colts will win. Maybe I'm still bitter at the Saints for failing to cover against the Vikings, or maybe I just have a mancrush on Manning. Either way as much as my heart wants to go with the Saints, my head won't let me do it.

Colts 31, Saints 24.




Oh and one more thing everybody:

NCAA Football Signing Day!!!

While the Cintucky news has been rather slow of late, today was a very huge day toward future happiness. Today was signing day for the NCAA Football programs which means that for the most part the 2010 freshman classes are set.

I've said for years that it is very hard for schools like UK and UL to recruit high talent players due to their location. The Big Ten is right above them and the SEC is right below, meaning that unfortunately, any players in the region that aren't right in our backyard (read: Lorenzen, Bush, Brohm) are most likely heading elsewhere. So although there were no Cintucky schools in the top 25 recruiting classes there are some things to look forward to. Lets dive into the numbers. Player star rankings have been taken from espn.com.

University of Kentucky
Number Signed: 26
4 star players: 1
3 star players: 15
Thoughts: The prize of this class is RB Brandon Gainer out of.. wait for it.. shocker.. Florida. Gainer surprisingly chose the cats over UCF, USF, and FSU. He has top level speed, and with a little time in the weight room should be able to contribute very quickly for the Cats. Also look for 3 star TE Alex Smith from Ohio to have an immediate impact.

University of Louisville
Number Signed: 23
4 star players: 3
3 star players: 11
Thoughts: All three 4 star players were taken from... wait for it.. shocker.. Florida (apparently people in Florida are good at football.. who knew). Credit all three of them to Charlie Strong. The credibility he brought with him to Louisville has already attracted some very impressive talent, and all three 4 stars: DE B.J. Butler, LB Deon Rogers, and WR Michaelee Harris (sweet spelling bro!) will have the chance to start as true freshmen.

University of Cincinnati
Number Signed: 22
4 star players: 1
3 star players: 7
Thoughts: This class lacks the depth of the UK and UL class, but the top is just as solid. New coach Butch Jones did an excellent job of holding onto the instate talent that Kelly got in good with. 8 of UC's top 11 recruits are out of Ohio. Jones will have to pick it up to stay competetive in the Big East and on a national level like Kelly did, but staying strong in his home state is an excellent start.

University of Dayton
Number Signed: 0
4 star players: 0
3 star players: 0
Thoughts: Yeah incase ya didn't know, co-blogger Greg Richter's old stomping grounds don't have a football team. I hear the quick recall team is ranked very highly this season though.

Other recruiting notes:
- Ohio State had the 16th best recruiting class. While not the end of the world, it certainly looks like Mr. Tressel is losing his touch.
- The SEC had their always strong showing with 7 SEC classes in the top 25 including #1 Florida, #3 Alabama, and #4 Auburn.
- The Big East had 0 classes in the top 25.

Overall it was about average for the Cintucky teams. UL's class has the most potential and if forced to pick one I would take theirs, but relax UK fans, UK's isn't far behind. UC's was a bit of a disappointment, but fans need to give Butch Jones time to get his system in place. Now comes the hard part... waiting 8 months until we get to watch them.

Brian "Next post: Hot Women In Sports.. tell your friends" Reinhart

Cintucky News

Some quick notes regarding Cintucky sports happenings:

-Reds are being very "active" lately. I write active in " " because you can only consider it so active when you continue to bring in free agents that are 35 years old. First the Reds sign 35 year old SS Orlando Cabrera and now they just traded for 33 year old utility infielder Aaron Miles. They already are counting on 35 year old 3B Scott Rolen. Now granted, I like the Cabrera signing, it is a huge offensive upgrade over Paul Janish, and we all remember the offensive struggles last year. Cabrera had a bad year fielding last year, but is not far removed from winning a gold glove. In the Miles trade they got rid of Adam Rosales and Willy Taveras (the A's then designated Taveras for assignment so I guess the Reds could get him back if they wanted?). Miles only batted .185 last year but has a career .282 average and only 2 years ago hit .317. Hopefully all the old guys can hold up this year. I think it's an upgrade in general, maybe get a couple more wins because of it, but the fate of this team still lies in who will show up in the first half of this year pitching-wise.

-The most positive-but-glossed-over fact from the above article: Willie Taveras is gone!!!! wohoooo!!!! no more 5 million dollar contract!! this probably correlates into +5 wins.

-Former UC WR Mardy Gilyard gained over 100 yards in the Senior Bowl this past weekend. He had a rough week up to that point with multiple drops and poor routes ran throughout the week of practice. His performance in the game should help his draft stock. Before the game he was looking at a mid second round pick. He's already expressed his desire to play for the Bengals, and I was worried that the Bengals would fear he wouldn't be there in the second round and reach for him in the first. My hope was that he would suck in the Senior Bowl and have his draft stock fall to the 3rd round and the Bengals could get him then. Guess we'll see what happens.

Check out this story about the Bengals "offering to help" Hamilton County through its budget deficit relating to Paul Brown Stadium. Then check out this article by county commissioner Todd Portune. In no way can this possibly be Mike Brown trying to do something nice. Please county board, don't fall into his trap. Anybody remember what happened when the Bengals were negotiating with then county commissioner Joe Beddinghaus? Soon after Beddinghaus gave the Bengals a sweet deal (and after the voters got rid of him), Beddinghaus became an employee of the Bengals. Seem fishy to anyone else????????????

-And finally, for anyone who missed Cintucky Zone cheerleader last night at the Grammy's:



-Greg "You're Welcome" R.