First things first, the latest Broo View Podcast is now up and posted on the front page of my web site, www.kenbroo.com. If you're in a hurry, you can download it here. My guest this week is former Reds general manager, Wayne Krivsky. He has some good stuff on whether or not the Reds can morph in to a 'pitching, speed and defense' team this season.

I have to admit, I'm a bit suprised that Adam Dunn will get a two year $20 million deal from the Washington Nationals. Si.com's Tom Verducci has the details.

That's less money than Dunn received over the course of the past two seasons. But it's good money in this economy. Consider that Pat Burrell signed a two year, $16 million deal with the Rays. But then again, Dunn will have to play for the Nats, who are in no danger of going anywhere this season. And it makes you wonder what the market will be for Dunn in a couple of years. Now, all Nationals GM Jim Bowden has to do is sign Griffey, Jr and he'll reunite the Reds outfield of 2002. Of course, that's exactly what the Reds are running away from right?

Bobby Abreu has signed with the Angels. He'll take a major league 'haircut'. Here's the story from the LA Times. Abreu will make about $9 million less this year than last. And it's a big comedown from what he'd been looking for after filing last fall. No way Abreu would have come to Cincinnati. He wants a ring. The Reds are nowhere near winning anything, let along a World Series Championship.

I guess Garrett Anderson is available now, just in case Bob Castellini comes to his senses and falls out of love with Jonny Gomes.

My pal, Mike Florio at sportingnews.com has an intereting take on what the Bengals might do with their franchise tag. Mike of course, operates the wildly popular profootballtalk.com web site.

How about the Bengals tagging no one? In this economy, is a slam dunk that TJ Houshmandzadeh will get the kind of bonus money that's been thrown around in year's past? Aren't there some hard lessons in economics out there for a lot of baseball players this winter?
If the Bengals 'tag' TJ, that's roughly $10 million for this coming season. He's 32, or will be in September. Is TJ worth it? Sure, but it's not my money so I'll spend it for Mike Brown. But Brown, and a lot of other owners who may face declining ticket sales and other revenue this season might be prone to second thoughts this winter.

Ken Griffey Junior's agent, Brian Goldberg, tells me Jr. will have a place to play baseball this coming season and a deal will be announced next week. Goldberg, who'll be one of my guests this Sunday morning on 700 WLW, says four teams are interested in Griffey, Jr. But Goldberg admits that Junior is a 'fallback' plan for teams that don't get Manny, Abreu or Dunn.

My money's on Seattle.

Sugar Ray Leonard...I mean, Brett Favre retired...again. Favre might as well be an aging boxer, he retires so much.

You're building an NFL team from scratch and you want to build your team around one player. Who is your pick? Let me know, send a comment. I might use this as a topic for my radio show.

Just how old is Chinese gold medal winning Olympic gymnast, He Kexin? The Chinese government insists she's 16, the minimum age to compete in the Olympics. But now, according to this International Times report, the USA has filed an official protest and a computer programming has provided the USA with the evidence.

Out in the desert, it seems as though they value Adam Dunn a lot more than we do around here.
According to the paper out there.

More on Dunn in the desert, from Yahoo Sports!

I still maintain, the Reds will rue the day they let Dunn walk. They've now sent a letter to their ticket holders telling them to be 'patient'. Isn't that what they've been, since about, oh, 1991?

Our friend Mike Florio is checking in with his preview of the NFC South.

I've got Tampa Bay in the South. If it's Atlanta, you've got the all time upset of this coming season. For the record, I'll take Dallas in the NFC East, Detroit in the North and Seattle in the West. In the AFC, I'll go with New England in the East, Indianapolis in the South, San Diego in the West and Pittsburgh in the North. Wild Card teams will be: Cleveland and Jacksonville in the AFC, Giants and Saints in the NFC. What do you think? Hit the comment icon.

Good Morning!

If you’ve read this blog over the last eight or nine months, you’ve heard me say this at least a hundred times. The reds need to keep Adam Dunn. I haven’t wavered in that. I looked at his age, his durability, his ability to hit for power, work the count, get on base, drive runs in. I tempered all of that with his fielding deficiencies and his infuriating amount of strike outs.

Obviously you listened to me. The Reds obviously did not.

There were a lot of you who would never consider the positives that Dunn brought to the game. And that’s fine. But you have to consider this.
You’re losing who holds 4th place all time in Reds home run hitting history
You’re losing a guy who hit a home run in less than every 14 at bats, who three times produced 100 rbi, 100 walks and 100 run scored seasons. Only one other Reds player has done that. Thanks to the Enquirer’s John Erardi for that. He’ll be joining us in a little bit.

Who does Adam Dunn compare to, statistically at this point in his career? How about Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, how about Barry Bonds? Not my opinion. That’s straight out of Baseball Reference.

And the Reds let him go. They got three players for Dunn, two we know about, one we think we know. One is a 23 year old pitcher in Single-A, coming off Tommy John surgery. The other is a 24 year old catcher who was stuck in triple-A when the Reds got him. We think pitcher Micah Owings is headed here. His arm trouble right now actually had some baseball experts suggesting the Reds may try converting him to an everyday player. For a guy who compares favorably to Reggie Jackson.

I’ve heard this a lot since the deal when down on Monday: well, the Reds couldn’t afford to pay Dunn the dollars he’ll be looking for this winter. I’ve never heard Bob Castellini says that. But if it’s true, then the Reds are playing a fool’s game. You want the numbers that Adam Dunn puts up, you want to run with the big dogs, it’s going to cost you.

If you were in the Dump Dunn camp, I’ll ask you the same question I ask every week, and never seem to get an answer: where are you going to get those 100-rbi he’s taking with him to Arizona?
Opening remarks pp.2

Where is the bat in the Reds line-up that will make the opposing pitcher work the count as well as Adam Dunn did? What bat in that Reds line-up strikes fear into any opposing pitcher’s heart?

It’s never been about Dunn. It’s always been about where the numbers come from. You think they’re in the Reds minor league system? Go look.

You think they Reds will be able to trade for those numbers this off season?
Who do they trade for that? You may get 100-rbi, but it’ll cost you Jay Bruce, or Joey Votto or Brandon Phillips or a combination there of. You can always ask Texas if they’ll send Josh Hamilton back. But my guess is the asking price begins with Edinson Volquez. You think they’ll find 100-rbi on the free agent market this year? Really?

And the last time they did that was when?

Here are the top two free agent outfielders this winter: Pat Burrell now with the Phillies and, Adam Dunn.

The Reds probably have a plan to address all of this. But I couldn’t tell you what it is right now. In the last seven months, they’ve dismissed a man who could win the American League MVP, paid the White Sox four million dollars to take Junior off their hands and they’re sending another four million to the Diamondbacks to be rid of Adam Dunn.

All the while, an entire generation of Reds fans bave grown up knowing nothing but losing.

The business of baseball is more than OPS, OBP, average with two out and runners in scoring position. It’s about selling tickets. Winning sells a lot of tickets. So do star players. Please tell me today, when does the winning begin, and where exactly are the star players.

The first week of the Olympics have offered us a boatload of highlights. Michael Phelps has been nothing short of sensational. But the highlight for me? This Olympic moment with Bela Karolyi, guesting as an analyst for NBC,

Karolyi has been a breath of fresh air, openly taking on the Chinese for allowing, what appear to be, under age kids competing for gymnastic medals.

In the aftermath of the Adam Dunn trade, foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal doesn't offer a lot of hope for Reds fans in his latest post.

And as for Dunn, according to si.com Jon Heyman says he shouldn't buy that yacht just yet.

Sunday morning on 700 WLW, my guests will be Chick Ludwig of the Dayton Daily News.

We'll talk about the Bengals who tee it up that night against the Lions.

Chick is a little suspicious of this new found connection between Chad Johnson and the Ravens' Ray Lewis. Check the up to date Ludwig At Large.

And we'll also converse with Tim Dierkes, from mlbtraderumors.com. We're on from 9am-Noon, and available on XM channel 173.

Have a great weekend!

I'm sure we'll be talking about this a lot when I settle in for my regular Sunday Morning Sports Talk show on Cincinnati's 700 WLW. But if you're in the 'goodbye Adam Dunn and good riddance camp, you need to read this posting by the savvy John Erardi, in his blog on cincinnati.com.

I actually heard a rather knowledgable baseball fan say the other day that he didn't care if Dunn left, that it hadn't worked with him and let's see if it worked without him. Frustration, I guess, is what brought that on, frustration over an under achieving team. It was completely misguided.

You want to sign a free agent this off season to replace him? You know who the top two free agent outfielders are in 2008? Pat Burrell and Adam Dunn. They will both command the same free agent money and Dunn is younger and has never been hurt.

You want to bring someone up from the minors to replace Dunn? Good, who? Chris Dickerson will get a shot, but he's an older AAA player. And you need two corner outfielders, right? If Jay Bruce moves to center, you'll need that. If he stays in right field, you'll need a center fielder. Please, don't get into Ryan Freel and Norris Hopper. Exactly where have they been this season?

You want to trade for an existing outfielder who hits for power? Great, who are you going to trade. Do you actually think you'll get any player of any value for anyone on the current Reds roster besides Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Bruce, Edinson Volquez or Aaron Harang? Do you want to trade any one of them?

Despite the blather you'll hear from the front office and ownership, this team is a long way from competing. Check back with me in 2010.

So let's see, in the last seven months the Reds have traded an odds on favorite to win the American League MVP award winner, one of the 50 greatest players of all time, the current MLB home run leader (and consistent 100 RBI a year man) and they've paid the White Sox and Diamondbacks a grand total of $6 million. Sounds like a plan to me.

And Bob Castellini now says that his team can win next year. After he fired general manager Wayne Krivsky in April Castellini said "We're just not going to lose anymore". As late as ten days ago, he told one of his TV announcers "We're not out of it". When he bought the team in 2006, he proclaimed that the Reds would contend for a championship. I don't doubt the man's sincerity. But the time for talking about things is over. It's long past the time for accomplishing things.

2009? They've got no shot.

Look, I had nothing against trading Dunn.....except the fact that he's taking 100 rbi a year with him. Look at the current Reds roster, then look in the minors, and tell me what player will deliver 100 next season. To get even close to that, you'll have to trade any one of these players, maybe a combination: Brandon Phillips, Edinson Volquez, Joey Votto or Jay Bruce. They're exactly the kind of players you need to win. You could always go the free agent route. Guess who's one of the top two free agent to be outfielders. You got it, Dunn. The other is Pat Burrell, who is Dunn from the other side of the plate and two years older.

2009? They got no shot.

The biggest problem the Reds have isn't personnel. The biggest problem they have is 'lack of buzz', in other words, no hype, no 'gotta see'. For the rest of this season, like most lately, they're reduced to an after thought in the sports world. Hello Bengals, see ya Reds. If a generation is defined as 25 years, then almost an entire generation of Cincinnati sports fans have grown up knowing nothing but losing baseball. You think that's not a big deal? Ask Mike Brown.

2009? They got no shot.

The Dunn deal is taking more shape tonight. It appears Arizona pitcher, Micah Owings is one of the 'players to be named later'. It'll be later than sooner, as the Arizona Republic is reporting.
Owings started the year 6-1, then developed arm trouble and has since been sent to AAA. He's also a very good pinch hitter. With the current Reds rotation, he'd be a 5th starter and maybe challenge for a 4th spot. He's better than Homer Bailey, period.

Out in Arizona, they seem happy to have Dunn, if only for another six weeks or so.

As for our Bengals, well not bad, not good in their exhibition opener. There will be plenty for the coaches to work on this week. Apparently, Chad Johnson has some things he's working on....like changing his name, according this in profootballtalk.com.

It's almost time for the nightly Phelps fix...gotta go. See you on News 5 tonight at 6p and after the Olympics.

24 hours ago from right now (full disclosure, I'm a night owl and don't sleep much) I was tracking down trade rumors about Adam Dunn. Several national reports and a number of my local sources were telling me that Dunn had a good chance of getting traded before Thursday's 4pm trading deadline.

My sources told me Dunn would be a 'fall back' option for the Tampa Bay Rays if the three way deal they were involved in with the Red Sox and Marlins fell through. Tampa was due to get Pirates outfielder, Jason Bay, in that scenario.

Well what do you know, that deal fell through. But by the time Manny Ramirez went to the Dodgers, the Pittsburgh Pirates wound up with prospects (suspects?) and Bay wound up in Boston, Dunn was off the market. Walt Jocketty wasn't satisfied with what Tampa was dangling in exchange for Dunn. And besides, down deep, I'm told, Reds owner Bob Castellini wants to exhaust all avenues between now and November in an attempt to sign Dunn to a long term deal. Many in the Reds front office don't want that, but have given their driven owner a concession: they'll wait to see how well Dunn reacts to Griffey, Junior's departure and whether or not Dunn can continue the torrid hitting streak he's been on.

My best guess, Dunn stays. I say this for two reasons. One, the departure of Junior (and Sean Casey, Aaron Boone, Austin Kearns and others) now has transformed Dunn into an elder statesman in the clubhouse. Crazy as that sounds for a not yet 29 year old, that's exactly what Adam Dunn is right now. For a team desperate for clubhouse leadership ever since the departure of Greg Vaughn nine years ago, Dunn has a chance to show he's got something in his game besides mammoth home runs and strike outs. Two, Dunn is a guy who gets comfortable in a hurry. He doesn't like change. Remember his little rant this spring about how bad it would be for the Reds to leave their Sarasota spring training headquarters. Dunn went on and on about how easy it was to navigate through that town, how he knew where everything was and didn't have to learn new streets, restaurants and things like that. It was a little window into the psyche of a guy who like predictability. Staying with the Reds is predictable. Mind you, the Reds will have to be competitive with the open market. But if the dollars come down to a three year deal worth $50 million in Cincinnati versus a four year deal worth $60 million, my guess is Dunn stays here.

But, his future status with the Cincinnati Reds is clearly on him now.

As for the Junior trade, I'd be lying if I said I saw it coming. To me, with his age and medical history, he seemed untradeable. But the White Sox are 'renting' him for about $4 million for the final two months of this season, cheap for that team if it leads to a pennant. They won't pick up Junior's 2009 $16.5 million option and they gave the Reds little in returnn (while making the Reds pay $4 million of their own money just to get ride of him) but it's a low risk move for that team. I'd be shocked if he becomes the everyday centerfielder. Griffey doesn't have that kind of range anymore. But I do think he'll contribute.

Reaction from around the country now, starting with espn.com. There's also some video linked with this story.

Meantime, cbssports.com columnist, Denny Knobler broke the story on what exactly the Reds were getting the the Junior trade (two mid 20's players, one of whom would have to buy a ticket to get into a MLB game), and now has this story on the trade deadline winners and losers.

And this is a terrific story from si.com's Steve Aschburner, who lays out a time line of just how a MLB trade is put together, leading up to the July 31 deadline. Good journalism.

In a way, Thursday defied the recent baseball paradigm: most big, blockbuster deals don't get done until the winter time. But the three way deal between Pittsburgh, Boston and the Dodgers brought some life back to the mid summer swap meet. And of course locally, so did the Griffey, Junior deal.

For the record, I will miss him. Like most of the members of the local Cincinnati media, he gave me a hard time, played me to use the vernacular. But it never lasted more than 10-15 seconds. Though a lot of fans in my town have a tough time understanding this, Junior is a good guy, who does a lot of terrific off the field work away from the cameras. He's a human being who makes mistakes, like the recent 'throat slash' gesture at broadcaster Jeff Brantley. But when you look at his whole body of work, Junior has done just fine. It just didn't work out here, too many injuries and not enough good players on Reds teams while he was in Cincinnati.

I wish him luck.

Finally, you have to see this. At the "X" Games, boarder Danny Way gave us a great, if inadvertent highlight.

Apparently, he was OK. Way came back for another three rounds and finished second in his event.

Now less than 24 hours until MLB trade deadline, and 'dead' would seem to be the activity expected from your Cincinnati Reds. Check out this entry today from the Newark (NJ) Star Ledger, in the "Mets Buzz" section.

Sounds like Adam Dunn will be around here at least until the leaves 'turn' this fall.