Boy, did that hurt. The Cincinnati Reds were five runs ahead in the eighth inning when the Los Angeles Dodgers scored five runs to tie the game. The Dodgers eventually won the game 11-8. There have been worse games where I've seen the Cincinnati Reds blow big leads. Remember last year's blown eight run lead with a walk-off grand slam by the Atlanta Braves? The team is resilient so hold Reds Nation. But this is the time to go over things the Reds must do to stay competitive.
1. Read the riot act to Edinson Volquez. With Homer Bailey down and Bronson Arroyo's inconsistencies, it looks like the Reds will bring back immature Edinson Volquez. Now's the time to read this guy the riot act and tell him to straighten up. Throw strikes. Quit moping around the mound. Apologize to his teammates for the stupid line about needing to score more runs. We want the 2008 Volquez not juvenile we saw at the beginning of the year. And if he doesn't behave? Remind him it's his contract year if he wants to make the big money. Can't do that if you're in the minor leagues.
2. Rest Scott Rolen A Lot. Injuries and age have caught up with third baseman Scott Rolen. He's not driving the ball. His last home run was April 7Rest Rolen a lot, maybe even seventy games. Who would be his replacement? Bring up Juan Francisco. You can get the same production from Francisco but with more power. He's the future. Have Rolen groom him now. But if you bring up Francisco, who do you send down?
3. Designate for assignment, Jonny Gomes. He's regressing back to some of his bad years in the majors. He's never hit consistently. And right now, every pitcher is throwing to the outside corner because they know he'll try to pull it. That leads to a lot of strikeouts. Look, nobody is going to pick him up. He'll probably accept the assignment since he wants his paycheck.
4. Start Chris Heisey in left field. At one point Chris Heisey was at the top of the depth chart for outfielders outside of Jay Bruce. He's a better fielder than Gomes and can hit for power. He also makes better contact than Gomes.
5. Talk to Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo may have won the last game against the Dodgers but his previous two games he was throwing batting practice.
Mononucleosis may have weakened him. If he needs to go on the DL then do it. The Reds are better with somebody from the minors than somebody who can't last three innings.
6. Trade It's clear that shortstop Paul Janish can't hit or at least hit .250. So do you trade for a shortstop, say Jose Reyes of the New York Mets? Well, it all depends. It's too early at this time to contemplate where the Reds needs are now. I mean the Reds could use a starting pitcher down the road. Who knows? But I do know, I wouldn't give away the farm for a player like Reyes in the last year of his contract that you may not be able to sign. If the Mets want catching prospect Yasmani Grandal with Janish, then I make the deal. If they want too much, then no deal.
Reds Nation, you need to hang on. If they make changes like I have outlined this team can win the National League Central.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Anthony Weiner's Weiner
Okay, here in the basement, we try to be fair and balanced. And if you read this blog, you know I lean to the left. I like New York congressman Anthony Weiner. I like his views and the fact that he fights for the working man. So, it pains me to do this story.
I'm sure you've heard that Weiner claims his Twitter account got hacked. A photograph of a man's penis was sent to a young woman through Twitter. Now the photo is not as bad as you think. It's covered by underwear. In fact, you have to look pretty hard to make it out as a penis. I mean it could be a woman with a stack of quarters in her underwear. Anyway, the young woman who got the photo denies any improper relationship between her and Weiner. And Weiner denies sending the photo. So what's the problem? Well, Weiner went through a bunch of interviews and could not deny that the penis was his. Just say no, Anthony. Unless the penis is yours? Wait a minute, you got junk shots on your computer. Oy vey.
Here's Stephen Colbert's take.
Friend John Stewart of the Daily Show can't figure out what to do with the story.
I'm sure you've heard that Weiner claims his Twitter account got hacked. A photograph of a man's penis was sent to a young woman through Twitter. Now the photo is not as bad as you think. It's covered by underwear. In fact, you have to look pretty hard to make it out as a penis. I mean it could be a woman with a stack of quarters in her underwear. Anyway, the young woman who got the photo denies any improper relationship between her and Weiner. And Weiner denies sending the photo. So what's the problem? Well, Weiner went through a bunch of interviews and could not deny that the penis was his. Just say no, Anthony. Unless the penis is yours? Wait a minute, you got junk shots on your computer. Oy vey.
Here's Stephen Colbert's take.
Friend John Stewart of the Daily Show can't figure out what to do with the story.
Sarah Palin Messes Up The Paul Revere Ride
Somewhere Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is spinning in his grave. You see Longfellow made famous the ride of Paul Revere to warn fellow patriots that the British were marching on the towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. His poem is one that every school child has heard and remembers the first famous lines, "Listen my children and you shall hear; Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere." Yeah, it's not totally accurate history but still the poem burned into every school child, the story of Paul Revere. Unless you happen to be Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin was touring Boston on her family vacation, paid for by her PAC. Okay she says she's trying to "educate" Americans of our founding principles. At least she says that in the dialogue box asking for money on her PAC site. Anyway, when asked about Paul Revere's ride, Sarah Palin tried to "educate" the public about Revere by saying she was warning the British that they couldn't take away our arms and was ringing bells. What the ... ? Just check out the video of her below. Note to the Daily Show, this video doesn't need any jokes.
Sarah Palin was touring Boston on her family vacation, paid for by her PAC. Okay she says she's trying to "educate" Americans of our founding principles. At least she says that in the dialogue box asking for money on her PAC site. Anyway, when asked about Paul Revere's ride, Sarah Palin tried to "educate" the public about Revere by saying she was warning the British that they couldn't take away our arms and was ringing bells. What the ... ? Just check out the video of her below. Note to the Daily Show, this video doesn't need any jokes.
Friday, June 3, 2011
X-Men: First Class Review
I was concerned when I first heard about X-Men: First Class (XM:FC) because it was gong to be a reboot about the formation of Dr. Charles Xavier's school for mutants. I thought here we go again, another Hollywood attempt to get younger for the sake of a teenage demographic. Yes, some of the mutants are teenagers but I was pleased to see my concerns about XM:FC allayed. You see this is a mature story about the beginnings of the comic book superheroes.
The story starts out the same way the first X-Men (2000) film started out. We start out in Poland, 1944 where a young Erik Lensherr's parents are being taken away to a concentration camp. Only this time, we see what happens right after Erik is captured. A Nazi scientist by the name of Dr. Schmidt (Kevin Bacon) attempts to train Erik on how to use his power to manipulate metal. Dr. Schmidt surmises that it takes intense emotions such as rage for Erik to use his power. He brings Erik's mother in his office. He asks Erik to manipulate a coin. He can't. So Dr. Schmidt kills Erik's mother thus causing Erik to use his power.
We then flash forward to 1962, where Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) is hunting Dr. Schmidt. At the same time, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is an Oxford University student completing his doctorate. His thesis? Human mutation. This younger Xavier is a bit of a playboy using his powers to pick up women. Meanwhile, CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) in Las Vegas stumbles upon a plot to encourage the United States to put missiles in Turkey. She spots her first mutants. She enlists the help of Xavier to help her. They are led to Dr. Schmidt's yacht, only now he is known as Sebastian Shaw. Erik attempts to kill Shaw but escapes with the help of mutant Emma Frost. (January Jones) Erik agrees to join Xavier and other mutants to help the CIA to figure out Shaw's plans. They discover the plan is to start World War III by planting Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba aka in real life as the Cuban Missile crisis. What is Shaw's motive? To unleash world wide radiation to create a mutant race.
The use of the Cuban Missile crisis is a clever plot point. It also gives this movie a mature tone. This is one serious but fascinating film. Credit must be given to the writers of the screenplay, Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn with a story by Sheldon Turner and Bryan Singer. Director Matthew Vaughn (KIck-Ass) keeps the action crisp and sharp. He gets great emotional reactions from the cast. There is a thankful lack of camp. My only complaint is that the bad mutants have motivation for their actions while it's hard to see why the good mutants will stay good.
Michael Fassbender is great as the tormented Erik. The same holds true for James McAvoy, first as playboy Charles then he becomes the mature teacher, Dr. Xavier. January Jones exudes a sixties sexuality. She comes off as a Playboy Playmate from the period.
You'll forget this movie is based on a comic book because it's one sophisticated tale. X-Men: First Class is one of the best superhero movies ever made. The grade is A.
The story starts out the same way the first X-Men (2000) film started out. We start out in Poland, 1944 where a young Erik Lensherr's parents are being taken away to a concentration camp. Only this time, we see what happens right after Erik is captured. A Nazi scientist by the name of Dr. Schmidt (Kevin Bacon) attempts to train Erik on how to use his power to manipulate metal. Dr. Schmidt surmises that it takes intense emotions such as rage for Erik to use his power. He brings Erik's mother in his office. He asks Erik to manipulate a coin. He can't. So Dr. Schmidt kills Erik's mother thus causing Erik to use his power.
We then flash forward to 1962, where Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) is hunting Dr. Schmidt. At the same time, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is an Oxford University student completing his doctorate. His thesis? Human mutation. This younger Xavier is a bit of a playboy using his powers to pick up women. Meanwhile, CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) in Las Vegas stumbles upon a plot to encourage the United States to put missiles in Turkey. She spots her first mutants. She enlists the help of Xavier to help her. They are led to Dr. Schmidt's yacht, only now he is known as Sebastian Shaw. Erik attempts to kill Shaw but escapes with the help of mutant Emma Frost. (January Jones) Erik agrees to join Xavier and other mutants to help the CIA to figure out Shaw's plans. They discover the plan is to start World War III by planting Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba aka in real life as the Cuban Missile crisis. What is Shaw's motive? To unleash world wide radiation to create a mutant race.
The use of the Cuban Missile crisis is a clever plot point. It also gives this movie a mature tone. This is one serious but fascinating film. Credit must be given to the writers of the screenplay, Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn with a story by Sheldon Turner and Bryan Singer. Director Matthew Vaughn (KIck-Ass) keeps the action crisp and sharp. He gets great emotional reactions from the cast. There is a thankful lack of camp. My only complaint is that the bad mutants have motivation for their actions while it's hard to see why the good mutants will stay good.
Michael Fassbender is great as the tormented Erik. The same holds true for James McAvoy, first as playboy Charles then he becomes the mature teacher, Dr. Xavier. January Jones exudes a sixties sexuality. She comes off as a Playboy Playmate from the period.
You'll forget this movie is based on a comic book because it's one sophisticated tale. X-Men: First Class is one of the best superhero movies ever made. The grade is A.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Sarah Palin Gets It All Wrong In New York
Sarah Palin, presidential tease, was in New York. To all of those who gave her PAC money, you got buyers remorse yet? I mean she's using your money for her family vacation. And as expected she gets it wrong about topics of history and even, real New York pizza.
While visiting the Stature of Liberty, Sarah Palin said this and please forgive me for repeating her English, "It is of course the symbol for Americans to be reminded of other countries, cause, this was given to us, of course by the French, other countries warning us to never make the mistakes that some of them have made." (Hardball with Chris Matthews, video below.) What the? First she sounds like Miss Teen South Carolina. Second, that stuff about warning us not to make the mistakes they have made is absolutely nonsense. No, Sarah you get a F for history. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom, specifically it is the depiction of the Roman goddess for freedom, Libertas.
She also had lunch with another presidential tease, super rich guy Donald Trump. He takes her to Famous Famiglia which is an Albanian pizza chain with restaurants all over the nation. She later says they had real New York pizza. This of course caused groans by New Yorkers. Wrong again Sarah. It caused Jon Stewart of the Daily Show to go all out Italian. Check out his funny piece below.
While visiting the Stature of Liberty, Sarah Palin said this and please forgive me for repeating her English, "It is of course the symbol for Americans to be reminded of other countries, cause, this was given to us, of course by the French, other countries warning us to never make the mistakes that some of them have made." (Hardball with Chris Matthews, video below.) What the? First she sounds like Miss Teen South Carolina. Second, that stuff about warning us not to make the mistakes they have made is absolutely nonsense. No, Sarah you get a F for history. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom, specifically it is the depiction of the Roman goddess for freedom, Libertas.
She also had lunch with another presidential tease, super rich guy Donald Trump. He takes her to Famous Famiglia which is an Albanian pizza chain with restaurants all over the nation. She later says they had real New York pizza. This of course caused groans by New Yorkers. Wrong again Sarah. It caused Jon Stewart of the Daily Show to go all out Italian. Check out his funny piece below.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Reds Rebound
After six innings of last night's game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers with the Brewers taking a 3-0 lead, I was ready to write about another Reds loss. And after the previous 2-8 road trip, I was going to write about the dire situation the Reds were in. And no question, the Reds need players to pick it up. But this is baseball and as Yogi Berra would say, "It ain't over till it's over."
Starting Reds pitcher Mike Leake kept the the team in the game. Reds outfielder Jay Bruce in the seventh inning launched a two run homer. Then in the eighth, Reds first baseman Joey Votto blasted another two run homer. Closer Francisco Cordero closed the game for his 300th career save. The Reds stay above the five hundred mark. I'm going to talk about some changes the Reds need to do to stay in the Central Division race in the future. But for now, it's time to smile and enjoy the win. Here's the story with video.
Starting Reds pitcher Mike Leake kept the the team in the game. Reds outfielder Jay Bruce in the seventh inning launched a two run homer. Then in the eighth, Reds first baseman Joey Votto blasted another two run homer. Closer Francisco Cordero closed the game for his 300th career save. The Reds stay above the five hundred mark. I'm going to talk about some changes the Reds need to do to stay in the Central Division race in the future. But for now, it's time to smile and enjoy the win. Here's the story with video.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Stephen Colbert Takes On Sarah Palin's Bus Tour
Stephen Colbert did a piece on Sarah Palin's Bus Tour and notes it's done with her PAC money. There's something really wrong about using PAC money for a family vacation. I know she says its' about America but frankly I want my history from somebody who knows something about history. Anyway here's Stephen's funny take.
Colbert wants to know how his proposed PAC can pay for his family vacation.
Colbert wants to know how his proposed PAC can pay for his family vacation.
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