Yeah, let's trade Adam Dunn now. Grand slam HR and 5 RBI vs the Padres today now give Dunn the HR lead in the National League with 29 and he now has 68 rbi. Please tell me how you build a championship team, a World Series contender, by chasing off a 28 year old who consistently plays 155 games a season and drives in an average of 100 rbi per season? What team, in the history of baseball has done that?

But when I get behind the microphone this Sunday morning on 700 WLW (XM channel 173 or http://www.700wlw.com/) I'm sure there will be someone who'll phone in to talk up getting rid of Dunn. Bad defense, doesn't hustle, strikes out too much, yada yada yada. Great, deal him or don't re-sign him after this season. Who are you going to get to replace him? Checked the Reds minor league system lately? Any player who's got a shot at playing in the majors is at least two years away. Outfielders? You really going to tell me Chris Dickerson is going to deliver 100 rbi? Ha!

The only 'fans' who don't want Dunn on this team fall into two categories: vintage fans who believe the true mark of a great player is someone whose feet fly around the field like Fred Flinstone's and get his uniform dirty. (Sorry, there was only one Pete Rose.) Or....fans who live in their parents' basement and bang away on a computer about sabermetrics.

There, I said it.

If Bob Castellini and his rear gunner Walt Jocketty want to trade Dunn, they'll spend the $14-15 million they'll save by doing that, trying to replace his numbers.

What say you?

Today, a special treat. You get to have breakfast with me in my backyard, as I wax eloquently about the trials and tribulations of the Cincinnati Reds. I'll explain the shirt at a later date.

One of the sincerest forms of flattery is to mimic or borrow something from a contemporary and use it as part of your act. Rip off is another way of putting it. But I prefer the word borrow.

Lance McAllister has his “I believe” bit…good stuff, puts a lot of work into it. Most of the time, what he says makes sense. Look forward to it each week on his show.

Peter King, the terrifically talented writer for Sports Illustrated and a commentator on NBC’s Football Night In America has a weekly column that he posts on si.com called “10 Things I Think”. Writes and posts it every Monday. Love it. One of the first things I read every Monday. King has a long and storied history in print journalism. Really began his career here in Cincinnati with the Enquirer over 20 years ago.

So with all that in mind, here are some things I think might happen around here in the next few months. I was out of town on Thursday and Friday doing some work for channel 5’s Olympic coverage, traveling around the country. So I’ve had some time to think. Always a dangerous prospect with me, but anyway not I Believe or 10 Things I Think but perhaps, the rantings of a sports lunatic…..or what I do when I’m sitting at home and the TV is broken.

Off the top of my head, but here goes….

Jerry Hairston, Junior is this year’s Jeff Keppinger. Like Keppinger last year, Hairston is hitting everything in sight. Fastballs look like beach balls to Hairston. But the question I have is…can Hairston do the same thing in 2009? And are the Reds convinced he can, convinced enough to give him the everyday short stop role from here on out. And how badly was he hurt Sunday in Milwaukee?

And if so, do you part with Keppinger or Encarnacion this winter?

I don’t think another starting pitcher, or cheaper outfielder is the number one target for the Reds this winter. It’s a catcher. There is no major league ready catcher in the farm system or on the horizon. Of the every day eight, it’s the weakest position on this team right now.

I think the second most important thing for this team this winter is to find better bench players. This is barely a Triple-A bench the Reds have this season.

I think the Reds have a real shot at making a run at the wild card this season.
The key in these final 65 games won’t Volquez, Junior or Phillips. The key will be how well Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo pitch. Volquez could win 20. But after him, Cueto is a 500 pitcher. Harang and Arroyo will need to put up nine wins each in their final 13 starts. Tall order? Yep. Do-able, Yep.

I think Sunday was a showcase event for Homer Bailey. I don’t think he’s in their long range plans. They’ll say otherwise. But if Bailey can win a couple or three before the trade deadline, he’s gone.

I think the Reds might be nipping at the heels of the Cubs right now, if they had drafted Tim Lincecum in the first round of the 2006 draft instead of Drew Stubbs. Stubbs has wheezed his way up to Double-A. Lincecum iis battling Edinson Volquez for the National League strike out lead. Could you imagine a Reds rotation of Volquez, Lincedum, Cueto, Harang and Arroyo?

Would the Reds have traded away Josh Hamilton if they had drafted Lincecum in 2006?

I don’t think the Reds are going to trade Adam Dunn or Ken Griffey, Junior. I think they re-sign Dunn and I think Junior takes it to the ranch after this year.

I think the Bengals can win the AFC North, with an 8-8 record. I don’t think any team in the North will be any better than 9-7. You’ve seen the schedule, right?

I don’t think the Bengals have upgraded their defense all that much.

But I think Keith Rivers is going to be a good player for a long time in the NFL

The biggest problem for the Bengals this season isn’t going to be Chad Johnson. It’s going to be running the ball. And the biggest problem is going to be an offensive line that has protected Carson Palmer well the last two years, but hasn’t shown lately that it can run block.

I think anyone who believes Marvin Lewis is on the ‘hot seat’ is delusional.

I think the Cleveland Browns will have one of the best offensive lines in football this season. And I don’t think they’ll make the playoffs.

I think the Colts will get caught by the Jags in the AFC South this season, I think the Patriots reign in the AFC is over. Watch out for the Titans. I don’t think the Ravens will suck.

I think Brett Favre will be the starting quarterback, of the Minnesota Vikings.

I don’t think Sean Miller has a chance to be the best coach in the history of Xavier. I think he already is.

Nothing will be easy for Brian Kelly and UC football this year. The Bearcats may be better than last year, but have a worse record.

I think Ohio State better take it easy on my Bobcats in week two of this season or I’m going to stop being a Jim Tressel fan.

I think Cincinnati would’ve been a helluva NHL town. The guys who owned the Stingers back in the day should’ve never taken the money and run. They should’ve given it a shot.

I think the Cyclones deserve another crowd of 12-thousand on opening night this fall.

I think the tennis tournament that comes to Mason every summer is a Cincinnati treasure. But I think unless you’re a hard core tennis fan, you’re not interested unless it’s Federer, Roddick or Nadal.

I think it’s a crime we don’t have a PGA tournament stop in greater Cincinnati.

I think I’m thinking too much. And if it’s giving me a headache, it’s probably giving you one too.

I've seen worse performances by a starting pitcher than what Bronson Arroyo turned in last night. But I can't remember when. Oh, wait a minute, yes I can: May 4th Arroyo vs the Braves. 1.1 innings pitched, seven earned runs, seven hits. Oh wait a minute, that wasn't as bad as last night: 1+ innings pitched, ten earned runs, eleven hits.


From June 24, 2007 through June 24, 2008 (last night) no major league pitcher has allowed more home runs than Arroyo (66). How ya likin' that $22.5 million that the Reds have tied up in
the remainder of Arroyo's contract now?

I still think Ken Griffey, Jr, retires at the end of this season or works out some sort of deal to remain with the Reds. For those of you who still think Seattle is a destination, remember the Mariners have fired their manager and GM. And now comes this from si.com's John Heyman.

The Adam Dunn-JP Ricciardi saga took another little twist last night when Ricciardi says he called and apologized to Dunn for the disparaging remarks he made about the Reds slugger last week. News to me, says Dunn. I talked with no one named Ricciardi. Ricciardi is adamant that he spoke with Dunn, but offered that he'd be disappointed if he actually talked with someone posing as #44. Ricciardi says he deleted the number he called off his cell phone.

Ricciardi would have more credibility, if he hadn't admitted to falsifying injury reports about players in the past.

As for Dunn's cell phone number, I've got it, if JP wants to call.

I hope you were watching News 5 tonight when we ran this story on Chris Henry. The man is a walking, living disaster.

More to come....let me know what you think. Leave comments, I'll answer every one of them.

It should be an interesting study these next three days. The Reds are in Toronto, home of the 'foot and mouth' general manager, JP Ricciardi. You'll recall last week, Ricciardi opened his yap on a Toronto radio show and said, among other things, that Adam Dunn has no passion for the game of baseball. Dunn fired back, calling Ricciardi a 'clown'.

Now comes foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal who has this 'take' on the Dunn-Ricciardi flap.

Odd that there's been little, in fact nothing, from the Reds front office on the dust up last week or on Dunn's future for that matter. It appears that if they can't trade Dunn, the Reds may be willing to let him walk at the end of the season, and take draft picks for compensation.

I hope you join us every Sunday night at 11:35 on Cincinnati's channel 5 for "Sports Rock!" It's hard driven, sports opinion and only on WLWT. Now check out some "Sports Rock Behind The Scenes". It's a typical Sunday evening in the channel 5 "Sports Rock" nerve center.

Hopefully this isn't like watching sausage get made. Hope to see you this Sunday night. And if you don't live in the greater Cincinnati area, we always post "Sports Rock" the internet only edition every Monday on wlwt.com. Check out my web site: www.kenbroo.com

It’s a tricky thing in the world of professional sports. Sometimes when it appears that you’re on the verge of figuring it out, putting it all together, you’re really on the edge of a cliff. The Reds were there. Remember 1999? The day after losing that one game playoff to the Mets, the prevailing opinion was: add another big bat, find just one more starting pitcher and this team is there. No way it doesn’t contend if we could get one more bat and maybe one more decent arm.

The Reds added more than that. They got Junior and Dante Bichette. And Joey Hamilton wasn’t far behind. That was nine years ago. How did all of that work out?

Sometimes, you just know you’re on the verge of figuring it out, putting it all together. Of course, the opposite of that is true. Sometimes, you just know things are in total disrepair. The future seems hopeless and the present need to be torched. I’ll bet you think that’s where the Reds are today. It’s not a tough opinion to form. They have a line-up right now that appears to have four automatic outs. Their ‘ace’ is 3-10 and Bronson Arroyo’s best work this year appears to be JTM commercials. And as bad as those are, that’s not saying a whole lot. Until three months ago, the franchise hasn’t developed a decent starting pitcher since Tom Browning. The Reds minor league system hasn’t produced a decent catcher since Joe Oliver and there appears to be no major league ready outfielders within three years of patrolling Great American Ball Park.

It would appear that the the present is in need of torching.

And yet, anyone who’s watched this team play the last two nights knows it might be a good idea to put down the matches. I’m a big believer and have said here on this radio station numerous times, I don’t think you should ever trade a player who can win a game for you every night, for one who can win a game for you every five days. I don’t believe you should ever trade an everyday player for a pitcher. But I would do the Hamilton for Volquez deal again in a heartbeat. Volquez was simply electrifying on Friday night. Aaron Harang may be the ‘ace’ of this staff. But the crown sits on his head, precariously. Edinson Volquez has the uncanny ability to pitch well under the glare of big city lights, and behave as if he’s tossing a game of backyard whiffle ball. He’s that unaffected.

Darryl Thompson threw too many pitches for five innings of work Saturday. But the Yankees still haven’t hit many of them. In his big league debut, in that same big city glare, Thompson was terrific. In a trade that was brutal for both teams, turns out that deal with the Nationals may be a win for the Reds. Thompson was a throw in, which again proves the point that Jim Bowden wouldn’t know good pitching, even it hit him in his leather pants.

And today, Johnny Cueto gets his turn against the Yankees. Yep, he’s been erratic. His fastball can go flat at times and his breaking ball doesn’t always break. But his ‘stuff’, the catch all baseball term for pitching repertoire, his stuff is big league. Volquez, Thompson, Cueto.

Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips. Jeff Keppinger for that matter too. I heard Chris Welch say this Saturday: In his 17 years in and around Reds baseball, this is best group of young talent he’s seen.

Here’s my point: the best deals are often the ones a general manager never makes. And when I heard this week that a New York newspaper was reporting that Walt Jocketty was on the verge of a fire sale, I cringed, then laughed.

Most of the names that were mentioned, for one reason or another, are untradeable. The numbers may suggest otherwise, but I don’t think this team needs a housecleaning.

The Reds are seven games under ‘500’. They’re 13-and a half games out of first place. They aren’t going to the playoffs this season and they may not deliver to us a winning record. But as we sit and talk here today, we should be thinking like we did in the fall of ’99.

What if the Reds find another arm to go with Harang and the three young guns? What if they can find another good bat, right handed even better, for that line-up…best case scenario a right handed hitting catcher? What else would they need besides ‘that’?

My guess is, there won’t be much of a house-cleaning. Jocketty will be tempted, all general managers are. Maybe Junior leaves, maybe he retires. Maybe they let Dunn walk. Maybe not.

Team owners, GM’s and manager like to say ‘we’re only one or two players away from being a contender’. And the punch line, of course is, yeah and those two players are Lance Berkman and Chipper Jones.

But the feeling I have today is this team is a lot closer than we think to being pretty good, maybe good enough to be something really special next season.

I haven’t felt this way in awhile about our Reds. But that’s what the last couple of games have made me believe. At least I think they have. It’s either that….or last night’s dinner coming back on me.

Where are you on all of this?

Let me now raise the names of Dunn, Junior and Johnson.

It occurred to me this week that most of us in this town have a problem with at least one of the big three. Some of us, with issues, have problems with all three. What got me thinking about this, was the conspiracy theory that was floating around our town that the real reason why Junior was out of the starting line up three games our of four in Philadelphia, was that he really wanted to hit his 600th home run in Florida, where his family would be in attendance. The fact that he pinch hit in those three games, drew walks and swung away mightily and missed in the fourth game should be enough to debunk that theory. Mix in the fact that Junior has been nursing a sore knee for the last month and that it had really flamed up in the last week would be more evidence. So too should the knowledge that below the waste, Junior doesn’t have a body part that hasn’t been rebuilt at least twice.

And yet, there are people in our town that don’t buy it, don’t buy him and would sell him to any major league baseball team right now, Japan if they were interested. And you know who you are.

Adam Dunn has been consistent in his stats over the last four seasons. 40 home runs and 100 rbi. He’s on his way to the same kind of season this year. He plays, on the average, over 150 games per season. He rarely gets hurt. His defense isn’t the greatest. But statistics and a pair of eyeballs tell us that he’s playing better in the field this year that any. Yet I hear constantly, a lot on these Sundays, that Dunn isn’t worth the 14 million he’s making this season. Like it’s their money. Someone called in last weekend and suggested the Reds dump Dunn in this off season, let him walk, and pursue Pat Burrell, a potential free agent who could leave the Phillies.

Forgetting for a moment that the Phils are always in a dog fight with the Mets and Braves for the NL East division title and would be fools to let Burrell walk, why would the Reds play that game? If you look at the numbers, Dunn and Burrell are about as similar as hitters get. And if you look at the numbers, Dunn, at his age, compares favorably to Harmon Killebrew and Reggie Jackson, who just happen to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Dunn’s in no danger of getting to Cooperstown anytime soon. But at 28, to give up on that kind of talent is something that championship teams don’t do.

Chad Johnson is allegedly coming back to town this week to participate in the Bengals annual mini camp. He missed voluntary workouts because he’s in a snit with the Bengals front office. First, they didn’t have his back when some un named Bengals personnel were anonymously bad mouthing Chad to the media. Then it was because the Bengals didn’t get enough…quote here from Ocho No show…difference makers on defense in this off season. The hot rumor is that he’s broke, too many lawsuits, too big a traveling posse or he has a new agent that wants a new deal so the agent can get paid. That’s the trouble with things like this: in the absence of information, anything can be true.

I mention all of that, because there are people in this town, some who work on this radio station, who think the best thing for the Bengals to do is give Johnson what he wants and trade him to another team. Maybe not now, but certainly before the draft this past April.

No.

Like Junior who’s one of the 50 greatest baseball players of all time, like Dunn who gives you 40 and 100 every year, you don’t let a wide receiver who gives you 1400 yards a season take a hike.

All of this got me thinking this week about a topic I raised here back in the winter. It seems to me, in Cincinnati, we embrace the team, but are wary of the superstar, wary at best. In the bigger markets, LA, New York, Chicago, they manage to love both. In LA, it’s the Lakers and Kobe, New York it’s any franchise and pick a star. In Chicago, the Bulls and Mike, the Cubs and Zambrano. Here, it seems like we can’t wait to run the stars of our teams out of town.

Admit it, we were over Boomer long before he was dealt away to the Jets. Before Cory Dillon threatened to ‘flip burgers’ a lot of the fans around here were done with him. Junior and Dunn both could have slinked away in the night three years ago, and a boat load of fans would’ve been happy. I know, I here the calls, I get your emails. My guess is, another 7-9 season, and a lot of fans will be plenty happy to says adios to TJ and Rudi.

Maybe it’s not so surprising. Maybe it’s the fallout from neither the Reds nor the Bengals being legitimate contenders since 1990. My guess is, if the Lakers went 18 years without a title, Kobe would be getting rung up like Dunn, Junior and Johnson are around here. Maybe that’s the logical answer.

But don’t tell me the barometer you’re using is 1975 and the Big Red Machine, or the 1980 Bengals super bowl team. And please don’t tell me it’s the ‘dirty uniform syndrome’, that you know a player is hustling because his uniform is dirty. That was one player, at one time and there haven’t been a Pete Rose since..

If you’re going to run a player out of town, have a legitimate reason for it. But here’s a better idea. When you embrace the team, embrace the players who make up the team. You don’t have one, without the other,

It's tough to say what Reds fans are more excited about: Jay Bruce's opening night or Corey Patterson getting demoted to the minors. Bruce's arrival has been eagerly anticipated. Patterson's awful play has been eagerly denounced, almost universally, by Reds fans.

To call Bruce's major league debut good, would be like calling a steak from the Precinct satisfying. Great is the operative word for both.

I don't think Bruce will single-handidly make a difference to whatever the Reds do this season. But he will provide a lift, and quite possibly a key hit that the Reds weren't getting with Patterson in the line up. If he keeps the Reds in the race, it will quell some of the trade talks that are beginning to simmer. Check out what Ken Rosenthal writes today at foxsports.com.

My money is still on Dunn re-upping with the Reds. Griffey may simply play out the season, take the $4 million buyout he has coming and retire.

But I could be wrong....

Vince Young contemplated retirement, after one season? Really? My pal Mike Florio from profootballtalk.com has a 'take' on this. Watch...


Shut up and play....

Good Morning!

My friend Eddie gave me a call the other day. I've known him all my life but don't see him much. Works in the oil industry down in Texas, started as a roughneck, now just about runs the company. Anyhow, Eddie and I grew up together. He's a huge sports fan, like me. And we spent a good part of our formative years getting under each other's skin, arguing about sports. He liked Mays. I liked Mantle. He thought Clyde Frazier was the greatest thing ever in sneakers. I was a Big O guy.

So when the Reds were stinking it up last week, Eddie phoned me up. He just came from a bar where he heard a friend of a friend of a big time sportswriter in Houston who says the Reds are about to deal Adam Dunn to the Astros. We were apparently going to get a couple of minor league suspects and a broken down Brad Ausmus in this deal. I could tell Eddie had been drinking, because he was actually believing this stuff. Sober, he's not go gullable.

I listened for about three minutes and then reminded him he's always been a moron. That's the way every one of our sports arguments ended back in the day.

For openers, I told him, Dunn or anyone of any significance isn't going anywhere yet. No deals get done this early in a season. Two, I said, Walt Jocketty was born at night, but he wasn't born last night. He's not going to send a 40-home run, 100-RBI guy to a team he has to face 12 times every season. And I told him the last time I checked, the guy in charge at Great American Ball Park seems to have a man crush on Dunn. So my guess is, it's going to take more than a couple of minor league pitchers named Fred and Mendoza line native Brad Ausmus to pry Dunn away from the Reds. Eddie and I laughed about a couple of other things and then he hung up and went back to work, bilking you and me out of our life savings, which is now going into our gas tanks.

But it made me realize that we are now approaching baseball's silly season. And it seems to come sooner year after year. You know what baseball's silly season is, right? The trading game. Stand by, it's about to hit us square in the jaw.
The Reds aren't out of the chase for the National League Central title. They're 6 out as we speak and arguably, playing their best baseball of the season. In this joke of a division, any win total in the low 80's can win you a title. But log onto just about any web site today, and you'll find half of this Reds roster traded to a lot of unsuspecting teams. On espn.com, baseball expert Steve Phillips, (that's what they call him anyway. Maybe he looks in the mirror and calls himself the same thing too. I dunno) But Phillips, who incidentally GM'd his way out of a good gig with the Mets, has ten things the Reds can do right now to fix the team. Seven of the ten involves trading anyone not named Volquez. He actually think the Yankees would part with Phil Hughes for Jeremy Affeldt and Jared Burton. They might, if Phillips were the Yankees GM.

It's not just him. it's just about everyone who writes baseball for a living. Ken Rosenthal is one of the best baseball insiders. He's floating this week, that the Rockies are willing to trade Matt Holliday. You know, because you own a fantasy baseball team, that Matt Holliday is one of the best pure hitters in the game. Well, then why would the Rockies want to get rid of him? Money? Really? Less than a year after getting to the World Series?

Here's what the last week has taught us. Teams that are in first place today, won't necessarily be there on October first. Teams that are within eight games of the lead today, aren't out of it yet. Teams get hot, players get hurt, pitching gets better.

But when I hung up with Eddie, it made me think. Would the Reds trade Adam Dunn this season? Sure. If they're out of it, they'd be crazy not to. Would they trade Junior? If they're out of it, absolutely. That's four million to Castellini's bottom line.

But is it going to happen? I don't know, Neither do you or anyone else at this point. It's way too early to be wrapped up in this game. But I do know this: if the Reds play the rest of this season like they've played this past week, they've got a legit chance to make a run at this thing. And if they do, what's going on in this silly season will be all moot. And then, we'll have to talk about some really dumb stuff: like Chad Johnson's state of mind.

Breaking news from the Reds today. Bob Castellini went shopping and dropped about $15 million in payroll for next season. Today, the Reds picked up the option years on Adam Dunn, Scott Hatteberg and Javier Valentin. They took a 'pass' on the $3 million the Reds would've owed Eddie Guardado, although 'Everyday Eddie' is on the radar screen for a new deal at less money.



All of it makes sense. Dunn is a cornerstone of this team, despite a hefty $13 million he's now due in 2008. The Reds have several options here. They could try to sign Dunn to a long term deal. After their lunch, Castellini came away a big Dunn fan. They can't trade Dunn now, per his contract, until mid-June and only then to about ten teams of his choosing. Hatteberg is a bargain at just over a million for next year and could be used as trade bait. Valentin, due $1.5 mil in 2008 now, is a solid left handed bat off the bench, and wound up as the everyday catcher after Jerry Narron was fired.


Just posted on my web site, http://www.kenbroo.com/ is the latest 'Bengals Report Podcast". It's right on the front page for easy downloading. Marc Hardin and I break down the loss to the Steelers. Look for another "Broo View Podcast" at the same address later tonight.


Speaking of our Bengals Rudi Johnson was back at practice today. But it appears to be another week without RT Willie Anderson and middle linebacker, Ahmad Brooks. Both are officially 'out' for Sunday's game at Buffalo.


And check out this piece of work from foxsports.com on our Bengals. Ouch.


Among other things, we're tracking with great interest tonight's tipoff to the UC basketball season. The Bearcats have an exhibition game scheduled against Northern Kentucky University. Mick Cronin's team suffered mightily last season, from defections and a late start on recruiting. The players he's brought in since, seem to fit more of his up tempo style. I'll have highlights of that game, and exhibition games at UK and Ohio State tonight at 11p, on Cincinnati's channel 5.


And to close it out, an update from our good friend Pete Rose, again courtesy of foxnews.com.
This could be revisionist thinking on Rose's part, who probably is beginning to wonder if he'll ever be welcomed back by major league baseball before he dies.

I don't think he will, frankly.

So it's Dusty Baker. Good. I'm glad the Reds owner, Bob Castellini, settled on a manager with a healthy resume. All due respect to Jerry Narron, Pete Mackanin, Dave Miley and any other bargain contender, hiring a manager with proven big league experience means the Reds can't go cheap, when it comes to players. The Reds will now have to spend money to keep players, and attract better ones.

Why else would Baker or any other proven manager want to take a job managing a big league club?

A lawyer of some note (OK I my kid) sent me a list of Mark Prior's 2003 appearances, while pitching for Baker in Chicago. 17 times, Baker allowed Prior to throw 115 or more pitches in a ballgame. Six of those appearances, Prior threw 124 or more, topping out at 133 twice.

A lot of fans around here want to point to that and say Baker ruined Prior. Kerry Wood gets thrown into the discussion as well. Wood apparently had some medical issues long before Baker arrived on the scene in Chicago. But the Prior situation is disturbing. Baker said today, that he learned some lessons in Chicago about handling pitchers. But he also pointed to his time in San Francisco, where his staffs pitched well and relatively injury free.

Honestly, the biggest news coming out of today's news conference was Castellini's declaration that he'd like to keep Adam Dunn on the team. It sounds as though the team is trying to work out a long term deal with Dunn, who shares the same agent with Baker.

Baker is one of the top hitting instructors in the history of the game. Not allowing him to work with Dunn would be foolish now for the Reds. If Baker can harness Dunn's free swinging, while allowing him to keep his power, would be a terrific 'value added' to whatever gravitas Baker brings to the Reds dugout.

The latest "Broo View Podcast" should be up and running by Tuesday morning. You'll be able to find it on my web site: www.kenbroo.com

1-0 in the AFC North, the Bengals have an excellent chance to make it 2-0. The Browns stink. After watching their game against the Steelers last Sunday, that is absolute fact. I'm still in awe of a team managing to draw four separate penalties on one play. The Browns not only managed that, they ran their starting quarterback out of town after only one game.



Charlie Frye is gone. Derek Anderson is next. And he's only renting. Eventually, this will be Brady Quinn's mess. And regardless of whatever talent and ability he has, Quinn seems doomed to the same fate of the nine other starting quarterbacks the Browns have had since rejoining the league in 1999.



You wonder if the team's ownership group wants to allow Quinn to play under the present coaching staff, which seems destined to be launched any day now. You think Bill Cowher would know what to do with Brady Quinn?



The Bengals enter Cleveland about a 6.5 point favorite. That looks like easy money: take the Bengals lay the points. But Cleveland probably isn't as bad as it played last week, or as bad as I have them in paragraph one of this post. And the game is in Cleveland. The Browns defense simply ran out of gas from being on the field too much last week. But I don't see that changing this week.



More on the Bengals on my web site: http://www.kenbroo.com/. On the front page is the latest Bengals Report "The Podcast". Marc Hardin and I recap the Bengals Monday night win over the Ravens.

With two more home runs Tuesday night, can the Reds not pick up Adam Dunn's option for 2008? How can they honestly tell their fans they're intent on winning a pennant or a World Series when they allow a consistent 40-home run a year, 100-rbi a year threat, to take a walk?

The issue for Bob Castellini isn't picking up Dunn's contract. It's buying some pitching. Dumping Dunn's $13 million salary and buying pitching are not mutual exclusive. If they are, he needs to sell the team and find another line of work. You either want to play the game to win, or you don't. Past ownership didn't play to win. Castellini says he wants to. This winter, it's put up or shut up time.

I talk sports every Sunday morning from 9am-Noon Eastern time on 700 WLW in Cincinnati. It's streamed on line and you can also catch the show on XM Satellite radio, channel 173.

And right after the Bengals-Browns game Sunday, I'll take your calls on 1530 Homer's "Bengals Feedback" from 5:30p-8:00p Eastern.

And right after that, you can catch me on "Sports Rock", the last best word on the Bengals every Sunday night. It's on Cincinnati's NBC affiliate, channel 5, after Sunday night football.

Looks like Sunday is going to be a busy day.

Just some random thoughts on this Tuesday night....

The top 50 mens tennis players in the world are in Cincinnati this week. It's been that way for more than a generation. Amazing, isn't it, that we host a tournament of that magnitude in a town the size of Cincinnati? I got to talk with Roger Federer tonight, the number one player in the world. He's down to earth, self deprecating and very funny. Maybe he's that way, because he grew up in the game of tennis not only playing, but serving as a ball boy at at number of events....

Federer is great. But Andy Roddick plays with the kind of passion that Jimmy Connors brought to the game. Gee, wonder who Roddick's coach is?

If the Reds pick up Adam Dunn's $13 million dollar option, it's really a $12.5 million dollar deal. To let him walk after this season, it'll cost the Reds a half-million. In this day and age in pro baseball, if you can't afford a 40-45 home run, 100-110 RBI player at $12.5 mil, you should get out of the business...

Of course, it's not my money....

I want to believe the Bengals will be better this season, but why should I? The offense has lost its third wide receiver for the first eight games and it's back up running back. The defense has a number one draft pick in its secondary this year. But should we expect Leon Hall to play anything but like a rookie?

I'm saying 9-7, but that could win the division....

The Ravens will not have the kind of season they had in '06. They're playing a first place schedule this season, not the 6-10 schedule they played in last season....

Why do I think Barry Bonds will have a lot of company in the soon to be finished steroid investigation Major League Baseball is conducting?

I'll give you Bill Bray and David Weathers. Name me one other current pitcher in that Reds bullpen who you think will be back in '08.......

The more I watch Pete Mackanin, the more I'd like him to return as manager in 2008. But I don't think it'll happen. He suffers from the Miley-Narron syndrome: minor league, interim managers who were eventually hired full time and did not work out.

I'm talking sports every Sunday morning on Cincinnati 700 WLW from 9am-Noon. The electrifying Gregg Doyel of cbssportsline.com fame is with me. If you don't live in and around the Tri-State, you can catch us on line at www.700wlw.com and on XM channel 173.

Later this week on my web site www.kenbroo.com, you'll hear my latest Broo View Podcast, as well as the latest edition of the Bengals Report Podcast. Check in late Wednesday for both.

My guess is, the Reds keep Adam Dunn for the rest of this season. If they trade him, they'll do that after exercising his $13 million dollar option for 2008. And even at that, $13 million for a power hitting, if strike out challenged, outfielder will be a bargain.

I could be wrong. My sense is Reds owner, Bob Castellini doesn't want to blow up his current team and subject his city to another rebuilding plan. Whichever way it goes, we saw something Sunday why sluggers like Dunn don't come around these parts often.

Sunday, against the Mets, Dunn hit one of the longest and most damaging home runs in Shea Stadium history. His 5th inning blast hit about 40 feet up on the scoreboard in right centerfield, hitting the board so hard, he knocked out a half dozen lights. It was reminiscent of the scene in the movie "The Natural", when Roy Hobbs hit a ball that blasted apart part of a light tower. Art imitating life.

Those are the kinds of things that sell tickets. And fielding the team with the second worst record in Major League Baseball, Castellini needs to sell ticket. I know, it's always easy to spend someone else's money. But why would the Reds' owner want to deal away a box office attraction for a couple of players who may never get a whiff of Great American Ball Park. Because with the way Dunn's contract is structured, that would surely be all Castellini would get.

Check out my web site www.kenbroo.com. I've got a lot of cool audio to listen to and tomorrow, Tuesday, I'll have the latest edition of The Broo View Podcast posted.

Just hours away from July 1, you wonder how long it will be before the Reds fire sale begins. It's no secret, for the right price, you can have anyone on the roster, with the exception of Homer Bailey and Aaron Harang. Here are my odds for who goes first:

Scott Hatteberg 1-2
Jeff Conine 2-1
David Weathers 3-1
Adam Dunn 8-1
Bronson Arroyo 10-1
Ken Griffey, Jr 15-1

I think Hatteberg is the right price, is hitting as well as he's ever hit in his career and is a left hander who hits for average. The Yankees are interested, I'm hearing. Conine fits the same suit, from the right handed side of the plate.

Weathers would be a perfect set up guy for the Yankees, Mets and Phillies. Dunn's salary and the fact he can terminate his option year of $13 million in 2008 makes trading him problematic. But the Reds may so inclined to deal him, to get out from under that deal. Arroyo is throwing better than he did in May. But he appears to have a 'tired arm'. Still, I'm told at least one contending team inquired about Arroyo right around opening day this year. The Reds weren't interested in dealing him then. They would be now.

As for Griffey, Jr, I'm hearing he's close to being untouchable. The Reds are said to be less interested in dealing him, as Junior is a local guy, chasing a milestone (600 career HR's) and is a box office attraction. As the Reds aren't expected to be good in 2008, Junior can be counted on to sell tickets.

The big question in all of this, is what can the Reds legitimately expect in return for any of their players. The answer, as you'd expect at this time of the year, is not much. You normally get prospects for 'stars' in mid season. That's what the Reds got from their fire sale in 2003. Eventually, like Harang in '03, you'll get a nice payoff for a mid season sale. But it's a payday that's years away.

Here's the problem with dealing Adam Dunn. The best the Reds will get for Dunn is a couple of prospects, probably prospects still a couple of years away from playing in the majors. Is it worth it for the Reds to unload their best power hitter for that?

It's a question that has to be making the rounds of the Reds front office. Dunn is infuriating with his ability to hit for power, tempered with his inability to field and his propensity for striking out. He'll also be making $13 million dollars next year, if the Reds hold onto him. If they don't, if he's traded, Dunn can void the final year of his deal. He'd be a free agent after this season. So that's why he won't bring the kind of payback he would have even a year ago. A "rental", which is what Dunn would be, usually only brings minor leaguers, low level minor leaguers.

And here's the other question the Reds brass has to be asking itself: where do you find offensive numbers that Dunn puts up and at what price? An established outfielder who can approach 30 home runs and drive in 90 (numbers under Dunn's yearly average) would cost between $5-6 million. That's if you can find one on the open market. So in reality, the Reds would be saving $7-8 million in dumping Dunn, regardless of what players come to Cincinnati in the deal. And they'd have to go find an outfielder, as the best outfield prospect in the Reds system is "A" star, Jay Bruce, still years away from the majors.

So it's not quite so simple as merely unloading Dunn and believing that the Reds will get immediate help at the major league level. Dunn may be going. But what comes in may not be what you think.

Now five days and counting until opening day. Both Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo have one more shot to get it right in spring training. Harang will toss on Wednesday, Arroyo will throw on Thursday.

Spring numbers mean nothing. That’s why you can’t get too worked up over Harang struggling this spring and Arroyo lighting it up.

Hitting is the same deal too. Adam Dunn is at .383, but has struck out every four at bats this spring. Josh Hamilton, the modern day Roy Hobbs is hitting .403, Brandon Philips is picking up where he left off last season, hitting .350.

The biggest concern is Ken Griffey, Junior, who didn’t get into a game this spring until last Sunday. Junior has three hits in his first ten at bat, including a sweet bunt down the third base line Tuesday night against that shift a lot of teams like to throw at him. I’d love to see that a lot more in 2007.

And, with just days to go before the start of the baseball season…my picks?
American League, Yanks in the East, Tigers in the Central and Oakland in the West. National League? Philies, Cards and Dodgers. Wild Cards, Mets in the NL, White Sox in the AL.

Now, check out my web site: www.kenbroo.com. The latest Broo v. Broo is up and running and the boy and I have some hard core opinions on a lot of what's going on in sports. Also up there, the latest "Broo View Podcast". I've got an indepth interview with Reds outfielder Adam Dunn. Later this week, I'll have an indepth interview with Ken Griffey, Junior. Check them out, in the "Podcasts and More" section at www.kenbroo.com.