Local 12 Sports - Brad's Blog

Brad's Blog May 21

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:52:15 -0400

Pitching wins championships and the Reds look like a championship team right now. Starting pitching has been so outstanding that Bronson Arroyo owns the highest ERA among them at 3.28. That's rather remarkable. Mat Latos has lost a total of 4 games since the Reds acquired him. Wednesday, he takes his unbeaten record against the unbeaten phenom Matt Harvey for the sweep in Citi Field. Mike Leake was supposedly a candidate to be sent down when Johnny Cueto got healthy. He pitched 7 scoreless Tuesday, allowing 3 hits while striking out 4. He's 4-2. The bullpen was as perfect on Tuesday as it was on Monday. Sam LeCure hasn't allowed a run in his last 6 appearances and owns an ERA of 1.35. The only two losses for the Reds on this road trip came on Aroldis Chapman blown saves in the 9th. I'll bet that won't happen too many more times. Oh yeah, Cueto's back and he won clearly without his best stuff on Monday. Can this staff really keep this up? If so, a championship may be waiting.

Andre Smith has rarely been on time since joining the Bengals. He missed the first bengals OTA workout Tuesday to take care of "stuff." Marvin Lewis says it wasn't related to conditioning and when he was finished he'd join the team. Lots of guys were out-- OL Clint Boling, then Travelle Wharton and Andrew Whitworth both with knee issues, Dennis Roland and Trevor Robinson. CB Dre Kirkpatrick is still healing, and RB Cedric Peerman, S Robert Sands, and DE Jamal Anderson all sat out. Leon Hall worked out in some drills, but not in 11-on-11 due to a torn thumb ligament reportedly from lifting. Did we see what we'll see as starting linebackers on for the season opener : James Harrison at SAM, Rey Maualuga in the middle and Vontaze Burfict at WILL? Tyler Eifert catches everything, and Giovani Bernard is a great receiver out of the backfield. Andy Dalton spent plenty of time looking long to AJ Green. I would expect all of those are signs of things to come.

Brad's Blog May 20

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:59:19 -0400

It wasn't long ago I wrote about the need for the middle of the Reds to start hitting. They knew it more than we knew it. They're hitting. Brandon Phillips has been the most consistent driving in runs and continues to do so on this road trip, driving in two more in New York Monday to lead the team with 38. Brandon now has an 8-game hitting streak and those on either side of him are joining the party. Joey Votto won the NL Player of the Week award going 14-for-24 last week with an on-base-percentage of .655. He now has a 9-game hit streak. Jay Bruce has found his power, hitting his 5th homer on his 11-game hitting streak to give the Reds the 4-3 game winner. After starting the year 1-8 on the road, they are 5-2 on this trip with two left in New York. They should be 6-1, but even Aroldis is human. They are supposed to beat these teams. Right now they are. If you do what you're supposed to do most of the time, good things happen. Dusty's guys are now 27-18.

Three Indy drivers made their annual trek to Cincinnati to meet the media Monday at The Holy Grail. Pole-sitter Ed Carpenter was thrilled to talk about growing up in Indianapolis and now realizing a dream to own the pole with hopes of winning it all. Tony Kaanan has 5-top five finishes at the Brickyard and will start 12th, and Justin Wilson from Sheffield, England will start 14th. We don't cover much Indy racing so I'm curious: how many of you will actually watch any of the Indy 500 Sunday? How long will you watch? Comment below or tweet me @bradjohansen.

Brad's Blog May 15

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:55:20 -0400

At 24-16, the Reds now have their best start since 2002. So I ask again, who do the Reds send down on Monday when Johnny Cueto returns to the rotation? Mike Leake got the vote of confidence from manager Dusty Baker, after finishing 6 2/3 innings of shutout baseball in Miami. He allowed 9 hits and struck out 6. The righty is 3-2 with a 3.72 ERA. That's even more impressive considering the lack of run support-- just 12 in his last five starts. Tony Cingrani is 2-0 since being called up to take Cueto's spot. His ERA is 2.89. Dusty said he adjusted the rotation this week because Cingrani had some soreness in his shoulder. On Wednesday, Tony said his shoulder was fine. So do you send him back for safety and keep Leake for the experience? Or do you keep the lefty who has shown the stage isn't too big for him?

I'm not one to look to far into the future, but this Big League Choo situation has to have Walt Jocketty thinking, "Who can I afford to lose from the payroll so I can figure out a way to keep Shin-Soo Choo past this year?" I love Billy Hamilton as much as the next guy, but Billy ain't no Choo. Shin-Soo had four hits Tuesday night, two of them home runs (8,9), his second multi-homer game of the month. The Reds desperately needed a leadoff hitter so Walt got Choo as a one-year stop-gap until Billy learns to play center field. Choo is so much more than a stop-gap guy that the wheels have to be turning. Choo's making $7.38 million dollars this year and will become a very wealthy free agent. How can the Reds possibly afford to keep him after paying Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, and Brandon Phillips? You think Walt's wheels are turning already in mid-May?

Brad's Blog May 14

Tue, 14 May 2013 22:43:20 -0400

Every so often we say it about an athlete: "This guy's a freak." James Harrison is a freak. But, he's not the typical freak. Most of the athlete's I say that about are ridiculously gifted with a body from God. James Harrison is 35 years old. He's just 6 feet tall. He weighs 242 pounds. He doesn't run particularly fast. He's an undrafted linebacker who played at Kent State. He wasn't supposed to be a freak. He made himself that way. I met him for the first time today. He's intense. He's focused. He likes his body. No, he loves his body. He told reporters today he spends between $400,000 and $600,000 each year on his body. He says he has "about" six body specialists with him all the time. A homeopathic doctor, trainer, acupuncturist, and several massage therapists. That's in addition to the hyperbaric chamber in which he sleeps. Are you with me? He says his body is what makes him money so he has to invest in it. The former defensive players of the year says he feels better than he has since 2008, the year he won the award. That's good for the Bengals. Bad for the Steelers. He told me he'd be lying if he didn't say that being let go by Pittsburgh won't add motivation for him. He doesn't believe he plays angry, or invent scenarios to make himself play harder. He plays violent in a violent sport. He focuses. He's a freak. Now seriously Bengals fans, aren't you happy this freak is on your team?

Looks like Johnny Cueto is ready to start Monday in New York. No official word, but he certainly looked the part in Dayton. The righty went 5 innings (58 pitches/39 strikes), allowed 3 hits, no walks and struck out 4. He felt so good he threw another 23 pitches in the bullpen after he exited and declared "Yeah, I'm feeling ready." Good news for the Reds and Johnny. So, who gets the bad news? Who would you take out of the rotation: Mike Leake or Tony Cingrani?

Homer Bailey looks pretty solid. He pitched his 4th career complete game against Miami (the first against any other team than the Pirates) with a career-high 125 pitches. Bailey tied a career-high with 10 K's, allowing 6 hits and 2 runs. Reds have won 4 straight.

Andrew Wiggins chose Kansas. Come on Big Blue Nation... can't you get a top player?