Do the Reds have TOO many young arms?

    Last week Aroldis Chapman made his first relief appearance for the Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds AAA affiliate.  In what was previously stated to be unlikely, it appears that Reds general manager, Walt Jocketty, will find a place in the bullpen for young Chapman. "We may look at that," Jocketty said.  "if Volquez comes back and [Homer] Bailey isn't far away, the best opportunity [for Chapman] will be out of the bullpen."  However, if you look closely at that quote, something doesn't add up.  Let's fast-forward to late July.  The Reds are still hovering around first place and the dog days of summer are kicking in.  Edinson Volquez is back in the majors, Chapman is in the Reds' bullpen, and Bailey is nearly through rehab and ready to start again.  That gives the Reds 6 starters: Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Edinson Volquez, and Homer Bailey.  That's not mentioning Sam LeCure, who has a 4.86 ERA in the majors this year, and Travis Wood and Matt Maloney, who have 3.12 and 3.60 ERAs, respectively, in Louisville.  Besides Harang and Arroyo, the oldest of the other 6 is 26 years old.  And let's not forget about Chapman.  There's no way that he remains in the bullpen for more than 6 months.  The goal is for him to be front-end starter for years to come.  Putting Chapman in the bullpen will only be to gain experience.  So what will the front office do with the over-abundance?  A likely solution is to make a move at the trade deadline for another offensive weapon.  Jocketty has previously said that this would be likely if the club was still in a pennant race come that time.  Either way, the situation can only turn out well.  The Reds look great for the next several years.  They have loads of talented players who are only getting better and more experienced.  The future looks bright for this fiery team.   

Historic Rivalry Renewed

The Los Angeles Lakers will host the Boston Celtics tonight in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.  This storied matchup began to take flight in the mid 1980's, as Magic Johnson's Lakers clashed with Larry Bird's Celtics several times in memorable playoff games.  Those series' were especially memorable due to the fact that 8 world championships in the 1980's were won by either Los Angeles or Boston.  This series is a rematch of the 2008 finals, when the Celtics beat the Lakers in 6 games.  Now, after the Lakers won a title last season, the previous two champions meet.  Kobe Bryant, arguably the greatest Laker player of all time, is in pursuit of his 5th championship ring, which would be one shy of the legend, Michael Jordan.  A key factor to this series could be the play of Boston point guard, Rajon Rondo.  Rondo, a former University of Kentucky guard, has propelled his game to a new level in leading this mediocre regular season team to a finals appearance.  He will be a tough defensive matchup for the Lakers whose starting point guard, Derek Fisher, is a 35-year old veteran who will struggle to combat Rondo's quickness.  If the Lakers can contain Rondo, I think they win the series going away.

Prediction:  Kobe proves to be too much.  Lakers in 7