Fixing the Reds

    While personnel changes (cough cough, Jose Reyes) may need to be made before the trade deadline, there is a way to fix the Reds offense with the players currently on roster.  First, Stubbs needs to spend at least a week in Louisville.  He looks absolutely lost at the plate, watching strikes and swinging at balls.  He has no confidence and needs to get his mind right in AAA.  Heisey can very adequately handle CF in the meantime.  Secondly, Scott Rolen is NOT a cleanup hitter.  But, he's great defensively and a decent guy to have in the 5 or 6-hole.  Finally, I would move Phillips back into that cleanup spot.  He spent several weeks there in Rolen's absence early in the year and hit very well.  I also think it would add a base-stealing threat lower in the lineup, which in my opinion has hindered the team's ability to manufacture runs.  So after Stubbs gets back up, this should be the everyday lineup.

Stubbs
Heisey/Lewis
Votto
Phillips
Bruce
Rolen
Hernandez/Hanigan
Janish (not Renteria!)
SP

The Problem with Nick Masset

I have a problem when people begin to jump on a player, especially a pitcher, for having a slow April.  There are guys like Nick Masset all around the league: guys who throw like a developmental league player in April (and maybe May) and an All-Star the rest of the year.  Granted, Nick Masset, in one way or another, can be blamed for three of the Reds' four losses this year.  That's one more than Francisco Cordero has in the last 91 games.  But, let's not send him to Louisville just yet (but even if we wanted to, his contract disallows it).  Think about it.  Relievers sometimes don't get very many innings in the spring, especially in the last 10-15 exhibition games when the starters are beginning to go six or seven inning.  There are only so many innings available for fifteen relievers trying to make a roster spot.  Here are some month-by-month trends for Masset.

               April 2010: 10.1 innings, 17 hits, 13 ER, 11.32 ERA, .379 BA
               April 2011: 6.1 innings, 12 hits, 7 ER, 9.95 ERA, .400 BA
              May-October 2010: 66.1 innings, 47 hits, 16 ER, 2.17 ERA, .198 BA

Don't speak so soon.

Why College Football Needs a Playoff

     In a country filled with a wide array of amateur athletics, football is king.  Football draws the most excitement, the most fans, and the most money.  So, you'd think that everything would be done to ensure that those three things were guaranteed for the betterment of the sport.  Or so you'd think.
     According to its website, the BCS, or Bowl Championship Series, is "designed to ensure that the two top-rated teams in the country meet in the national championship game, and to create exciting and competitive matchups among eight other highly regarded teams in four other bowl games."  Sounds great, right?  Just one problem; the BCS utilizes the judgment of a computerized formula to determine the top two teams.
     I'm not saying that Auburn and Oregon didn't deserve to be in Glendale on Monday, because they did.  Both teams had phenomenal seasons.  However, they are not giving excellent non-AQ schools a chance.  TCU, for example, finished the season undefeated.  They beat three ranked opponents and became the first team from a non-AQ conference to win the Rose Bowl since the BCS began in 1998.  Yet, a computer can't predict what TCU would have done if they played either Auburn or Oregon. 
     Division I-A football is the only NCAA sport to not determine a true champion.  Even the college football subdivisions utilize a playoff system.  What holds the BCS back?
     First of all, the BCS addresses the prospect of a playoff.  "The NCAA membership has not voted for the creation of a playoff.  Given that context, the conferences created the BCS in order to match the two top teams in a bowl game while maintaining the importance of the regular season and preserving the bowl system."
     Now, if so much value is placed in the regular season, how did Boise St. fall two places in the BCS standings after beating Hawaii 42-7 in November?  It doesn't appear that regular season wins mean so much after all. 
      Secondly, and most importantly, money and power.  The BCS bowls generate a ridiculous amount of money.  The CEO of the Sugar Bowl, Paul Hoolahan, made $607,500 in 2007...all for putting on one game.  Hoolahan isn't the only one getting rich.  That same 2007 Sugar Bowl turned in an $11.6 Million profit.  Funny thing is, the participating schools aren't as fortunate.
     According to the NCAA budget report released last year, 106 of the 120 athletic departments that play I-A football lost money in 2009.  Ironically, making a bowl usually causes a school to LOSE money.  When a team makes a bowl game, depending on the size of the venue, the school is required to purchase a certain amount of tickets to then re-sell to it's fans.  But lately, these schools have struggled to sell their allotment.  For the 2009 Orange Bowl, Virginia Tech agreed to purchase 17,500 tickets at $125 per seat.  According to university documents, they were only able to sell 3,342, thus costing the university $1.77 Million.
     Now, if that didn't spark your attention, maybe this will.  In 2010, Ohio State earned $18.5 Million for making the Rose Bowl.  That money was then divided into 12 shares, one for each team in the Big Ten and one for the league office.  That left the Buckeyes with a little over $2 Million.  After travel costs, unsold tickets, and transportation and lodging for players, coaches, cheerleaders, and the band, the Buckeyes left Pasadena with a Rose Bowl victory and a $79,597 pay cut.
     All that money lost by the university is gained by BCS officials.  The problem with a playoff, from their eyes, is that a minor dissolving of the current system would release some of the power held by some of the BCS commissioners.  I'm not proposing a complete depletion of the BCS, but any change would cost those figureheads money and power; something they are not willing to relinquish.
     My solution...a 12-team playoff.  This is how it works.  Keep the same regular season, the same polling, and the same computer ranking system.  The top 12 teams make the playoff, thus maintaining the importance of regular season wins.  The top 4 teams receive a first-round bye and the other eight play.  You can even keep the bowl system.  Simply designate each quarterfinal and semifinal matchup a different major bowl.  The minor bowls can still exist as a type of consolation for those teams who don't make the playoff bracket.  The money still comes.  The excitement is heightened.  Think about it; NCAA March Madness...in football!
     In 2005, while speaking to Congress, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said that "an NFL-style football playoff would generate three or four times more than the current system does."  If that's true, we're talking $700 Million to $800 Million annually to be distributed among the I-A conferences.  It all makes sense; except to those BCS figureheads.  Get them to relinquish power, and the college football experience would explode.  Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that that will happen any time soon.  If it does, football fans would be in virtual fan euphoria.  But for now, we are forced to settle with an imperfect and inexact measurement of a champion. 
    
   

Irrelevance

      Sunday was the first Bengals game in 54 weeks not to sell out.  Fans around the tri-state were forced to listen on the radio or, like many I'm sure, completely disregard the game matching two teams with a combined 3-15 record.  And ironically, if you weren't a Bengals fan, it was the most exciting NFL game of the weekend.
      I was one of the poor souls who found somewhere to watch the game online.  Bad decision.  Cincinnati sprinted out to a 28-7 lead.  It looked like they would finally beat a team with far less talent (which is usually the case).  It looked like I would, for the first time in seven weeks, be able to proudly wear my Carson Palmer jersey to class Monday morning.  Not quite.
      The Bills outscored the Bengals 42-3 in the final 32 minutes.  Ryan Fitzpatrick picked apart the Bengals secondary like they were a poor high school defense.  Carson Palmer's efficient first-half performance turned into an all-too familiar two interception day.  A Cedric Benson fumble (yet again) was returned for a touchdown.  They continued to find new ways to lose.  Everyone is looking for a reason.  With this many weapons, how are they this bad?
      First, the passing game.  Terrell Owens, while being an experienced and productive asset, has proved to be a problem.  And no, it's not the usual team chemistry problem we're used to.  His presence, in my opinion, is the main reason for the struggles of Palmer.  Owens has gotten twice as many targets as Chad Ochocinco, a Pro-Bowler last year.  Chad is open.  I still think he has some of the quickest feet in the league.  Owens past success and demand for the ball has completely concentrated Palmer's focus.  He never equally spreads the ball.  He looks for one receiver over and over again, then switches targets.  Therefore, there is no overall rhythm.  And for the defense, I only have one piece of information.  Yesterday, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, dealing with several injuries, walked to the other end of the Bengals' sideline and informed Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby that they may be used at cornerback.  Enough said.
      At first, there was hope that they'd do better.  Then, there was confusion as to how a team this "good" could lose this many games.  Now, their is acceptance, anger, and embarrassment.  Terrell Owens' press conference after the game sums it up perfectly.  "Let me look you in the eyes and emphasize -- we are terrible...Maybe I'm bad luck.  But at this point, its just unthinkable.  Unbelievable."

Young Wildcats Travel West

     As John Calipari takes his young Kentucky basketball team on a four-game road trip, he has his doubts as to their maturity and focus.
     "We are on our way to Hawaii to play three teams that are better than us," Calipari said.  "This is going to be a learning situation for us.  We have to figure out what we do and how hard we have to play."
     Kentucky begins their trip on Friday at Portland, the hometown of freshman forward Terrence Jones, before flying to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational.
     "The trip will mean a lot," Jones said.  "It's always good to have a chance to play in front of my mom and grandma and show them how much I've improved since high school."
     In Maui, the Wildcats will play Oklahoma on Monday, then face either Virginia or Washington Tuesday.  The trip will tell Cats fans a lot about the cohesiveness of their young team, who will face their first legitimate Division 1 opponent.
     Portland has won each of their first three games, winning each by at least 14 points.  The game will be televised on ESPNU at 10:30 ET.

"King Felix" Gets his Crown

     Seattle Mariner's pitcher, Felix Hernandez, was awarded the 2010 AL Cy Young Award on Thursday.  Hernandez posted a 13-12 record with a 2.27 ERA.  He led the league in innings (249.2) and was second in strikeouts (232).
     His 13 wins was the lowest total for a Cy Young winner ever.  The voters appeared to overlook the Mariner's lackluster offense, which provided Hernandez with one run or less in 10 of his starts.
    "This confirms the Cy Young is an award not only for the pitcher with the most wins, but the most dominant," Hernandez said while celebrating with his family in his native Venezuela.
     The National League Cy Young award was unanimously given to Roy Halladay.  Halladay's regular season perfect game and NLDS no-hitter led to his 2nd career Cy Young award and first in the National League. 
      

Once Teammates, Always 'Brothers'

As students at St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Victor Anderson and Daniel Passafiume were friends on and off the football field.  They made big plays on Friday nights and were inseparable during the week.  At least, once they got used to each other.

"He was a bully to me at first," Passafiume laughed.  "I was just nice to him and eventually he realized I was his friend."

They became the best of friends, actually.  As they led St. X to two consecutive state championship appearances, Daniel and Victor constantly pushed each other to become better players and better people.  "I saw potential in him," Anderson said.  "I would always try to toughen him up.  I still do to this day."

They also both showed promise of being phenomenal football players.  However, few could have expected they would achieve such success in their young careers.

Anderson was a highly touted running back coming out of high school, recruited by several major Division 1 programs, including UK and U of L.

After choosing to be a Cardinal, he was redshirted under a deep core of tailbacks.  Then in 2008, Anderson exploded for 1047 yards and 8 touchdowns, becoming the first Louisville player to receive Big East Rookie of the Year honors.

A nagging shoulder injury has bothered Anderson for the past year and a half, but he was cleared to play this weekend when Louisville traveled to Syracuse.

Passafiume, a wide receiver in high school, endured a much more roundabout path to his success.  He also enrolled at Louisville after turning down an offer to walk on at West Virginia.

A year of studying away from football made Passafiume realize that he missed the game too much.  That's when he visited Hanover College, where he instantly clicked with Head Coach Joe Austin and his pass-happy offense.

"Vic definitely helped me when I wanted to come back," Passafiume said.  "I respected him and his game so much.  He gave me confidence."

Daniel has thrived at Hanover.  In just 23 games, he has 233 receptions and 25 touchdowns.  Last November, he broke Jerry Rice's collegiate record for most catches in a game, hauling in 25 balls in a loss to Franklin College.

Despite being at different schools, they continue to spend time with each other.  "We talk at least once a week," Passafiume said.  "I see him when I'm back in Louisville.  He's always over at the house."

And even though they aren't in the same huddle anymore, they are still able to push each other on Saturdays.  "I think that there is a sense of competitive greatness that exists between Daniel and Victor," Daniel's father, Paul Passafiume said.  "They are very much alike.  They both feed off each other and support each other's achievements."

"Whether it's an injury or a bad game, we help each other overcome adversity," Anderson said.  "We always talk about how we can better ourselves.  That's my brother."

Memorable Season Comes to an End

     The city was energized.  The stadium was electric.  45,999 fans packed Great American Ballpark to see their Reds play in October.  And even for just one night, Cincinnati got a taste of playoff fever.
     The Reds lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0 Sunday night, ending their remarkable season in lackluster fashion.  Phillies starting pitcher, Cole Hamels, threw a complete game, 5-hit shutout to close the door on the series.  Brandon Phillips led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, but Joey Votto grounded into a double play and Scott Rolen struck out to end the threat.  The Reds, who led the National League in batting average, home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage, looked like they were over-swinging against the Philadelphia aces.  They were only able to amount four runs in the series (all in the first five innings of Game 2).
     For the life of me, I cannot curse or abandon this team.  This was not supposed to be the year.  We could say what we wanted in March, but we all wondered if this club was ready for the pressures of a pennant race, let alone a playoff series.  But, the Reds exceeded expectations.  They overcame massive obstacles again and again: the brutal meltdown in Atlanta in June, the sweep at the hands of the Cardinals in July, etc.  However, they did what good, experienced teams do: they beat the teams they were supposed to.
     Cincinnati fans will be saying "what if" all winter.  We will ponder the Game 2 debacle, the constant struggles of Rolen, and the defensive woes that showed up out of nowhere in the playoffs.  But when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in February, Reds fan should be reassured that they will be watching a playoff baseball team.  And this was no fluke.  This team will be back.  They are young, talented, deep, and now experienced.  For the first time ever I can say, without any doubt, that I am confident in this team.  See you on March 31st; this team is here to stay.