I'll have some comments on the retirement of Ken Griffey Junior later today. Right now, here's my latest Broo View Podcast. My guests are USA Today's national baseball writer, Bob Nightengale and from BetUS.com, Damon Durante, to talk about the wagering on World Cup Soccer games. You can find this podcast, as well as a nice inventory of past show, on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com. You can also download the latest Broo View Podcast here.

Random thoughts for a random Thursday....

As the Reds keep on winning (now a full game up on the Cardinals after Wednesday night) the two pressing questions outside of the bullpen are: How much longer can they afford to play Drew Stubbs and should Chris Heisey get at bats at Stubbs' expense? The answers are simple: you play Stubbs for as long as it takes for him to his major league 'act' together and, no. Stubbs is a young gifted player who has struck out far too much so far this season. But he has speed, plays good defense and has tremendous upside. So long as the team wins with Stubbs struggling, he should stay in the line-up. Heisey presents a different kind of dilemna. Like Stubbs, he's gifted and young. And Heisey was generally considered to be the second best prospect in the organization, right behind Todd Frazier. The problem for Dusty Baker is that the team is winning, and his platoon in left field of Jonny Gomes and Laynce Nix is working well. With Jay Bruce emerging as a more patient and effective hitter (and with his cannon of an arm) Heisey is caught up in the proverbial numbers game. Getting him enough at bats (he homered again Wednesday night, his third home run in just 25 big league at bats) will be tricky for the Reds manager.....

All of a sudden, these NBA playoff series are competitive again. I'd be more worried if I'm the Celtics, rather than the Lakers. Remember, as bad as Orlando played in the first three games of this semi final series, the Magic was that good in every series before.......

I'm still betting on Lebron being anywhere but Cleveland next year....

The Chicago Blackhawks Duncan Keith takes a puck to the mouth and loses seven teeth and still keeps playing? And he won't have oral surgery until after the finals? As the Hanson Brothers would say "old school hockey,eh? Toe Blake...".........

Despite the Supreme Court ruling this week that prevented the NFL from gaining anti-trust law exemption status, I still think the NFL owners will try to lock the players out before the 2011 season. This ruling this week will embolden the players union. And that could be trouble....

Got a pretty good topic already for my Sunday Morning Sportstalk show, 9am-Noon EDT on 700 WLW. BetUS.com has odds out for the upcoming World Cup on which match should offer the most fights. You can listen on line at 700wlw.com....

Having spent 18 years of my life in the state, I'm happy for New Jersey that the 2014 Super Bowl will be played there. And I don't think anyone who gets a ticket to the game will complain about the cold weather. You know it'll be cold, you'll dress accordingly. But I hope the NFL doesn't try to make a cold weather climate a part of its Super Bowl rotation. You want optimum conditions to play the biggest game of the year. Players should have the ability to excel in the best climate. Putting the game in the New York City area is great, because the city isn't fully recovered from 9/11 and because there's a lot to do in the Tri-State area. But dome teams and warm weather teams will be at a decided disadvantage. 13 NFL teams play in either warm-moderate climates or a domed stadium....

Chad Ochocinco is the smartest athlete working in Cincinnati. He's preparing himself for life after football with shrew marketing maneuvering. But you have to wonder if his head is in the game for this 2010 season. He hurt himself Tuesday lifting weights, trying to squat 420 pounds without warming up. He missed the finale of Dancing With The Stars because of that. Now, he's about to embark on his latest venture, hosting a reality TV show about his dating exploits. Don't be surprised if Chad shows up for mini-camp in the middle of June unable to participate because of his weight lifting injury. Don't be surprised if all of these television appearances will force Ochocinco to play catch up to his team mates who've been working up a sweat while he's been out dancing. Don't be surprised if this season is his last season in Cincinnati....

On the other hand, two ballroom dance instructors have taken the time to email me to let me know that the training Ochocinco had for DWTS will make him a better athlete. Apparently the muscles Ochocinco had to develope to dance this Spring are different muscles than what he uses as a wide receiver BUT will enhance his quckness on the field.....

I dunno. I don't even play a dancer on TV....

See you tonight at 6 & 11pm on Cincinnati's channel 5

A reminder this blog may not be reproduced or retransmitted, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of Ken Broo Check out Ken's web site: www.kenbroo.com.

Just posted to my web site www.kenbroo.com is the latest Broo View Podcast. Pete Rose joins me to talk baseball, and whether or not it's more difficult to hit a 102 mile and hour fast ball, like Aroldis Chapman throws or to hit a pitcher who tops out at 86 mph. You can find the latest Broo View Podcast on the front page of my site. But if you'd like to listen while reading my blog, just click here.

Just posted on the front page of my web site www.kenbroo.com is the latest Broo View Podcast. I've got some thoughts about whether or not it would be wise for the Reds to add a player or two before the trading deadline AND an in depth interview with Darren Everson from the Wall Street Journal about the importance of 'glue guys' on a major league baseball team. On the fly? You can download the podcast here.

Outscored 32-2 in their last two ballgames. You can look at that stat and say the Reds starting pitching has failed them. And, you'd be right. But the way I choose to look at it is this way: the Reds can't score runs. And it's that lack of offense that's been the chronic problem this season. We've gone over this, ad nauseum: the Reds failed to replace the offense that Adam Dunn took with him when he was traded away last August.


Some have mistaken my criticism of their lack of offense with some sort of man crush on Dunn. Not true. I could care less where they found the 100 runs and 100 rbi that Dunn consistently produced while a Cincinnati Red (he's ahead of that pace this season, incidentally). They simply needed to find someone(s) who could replicate it. Remember, this team was offensively challenge even with Dunn last season. Instead, the Reds pursued Willy Tavares, throwing $6.8 million of Bob Castellini's money at a player they might've been able to sign for the major league minimum, had they waited a week or two. Tavares, as expected, has been a huge disappointment. Instead, the Reds put a $10 million scoreboard in left field, rather than a $10 million dollar player in left field. Bobby Abreu signed with the Angels for $6 million. He probably figured he had a good chance of getting a World Series ring in LA. But if the Reds had offered him $8 million, would he have signed here? We'll never know.


And why did the Reds spend $10 million on a new scoreboard, when the old one was just six years old? Because, apparently, they couldn't find parts needed to repair it. Here's a question: why would you buy a scoreboard from a company that can't supply replacement parts, just six years after sale? Worse, the graphics on the scoreboard appear to have been done by a third grader, using an ancient Apple III computer. And there aren't enough replays. But those are stories for another day.


All the Reds needed to do was find a free agent outfielder who could bridge the gap between now and when Drew Stubbs is ready for the majors. Stubbs is in AAA now, and probably a Cincinnati Red within a year. This is a classic example of a missed opportunity.


We keep hearing the Reds big year will be 2010, not 2009. Really? Says who? Are you sure your core players will have the kind of season they'll need to have in 2010? Are you sure your key players won't experience injuries that will keep them shelved for part of 2010? The future is promised to no one, not even baseball teams.


The best line about all of this was uttered last weekend. I don't know by whom, because I heard it second hand. Here it is: a team doesn't pick when it will contend. When it will contend, is picked for it. In sports, you must seize the moment. The Reds didn't. And had they, 2009 might have been the first playoff year since 1995. Sadly, it doesn't look like it will be.

Good Monday Morning!

We were talking about this the other night, down at channel 5, watching Albert Puljos round the bases after his grand slam that crushed the Reds: the phrase in baseball called “by the book”. This compilation of strategy or codes or whatever it is that fuels managers and drives fans crazy sometime. “By the book”, is there a book? When was it written? Who wrote it? Can you find it at Barnes and Noble or do you have to order through Amazon?

Stacking your line-up with left handed bats when the other guy is throwing a right handed pitcher. Why? Alternating lefties with righties in your batting order. Says who? If the other guy sends up a left-handed batter late in the game, why do you have to go to your bullpen to bring in a left handed pitcher? Where is that written? Did Moses bring down from the mountain an eleventh commandment?

I get the feeling that most major league managers go ‘by the book’, and the numbers. Numbers dictate everything in baseball. You walk into Dusty Baker’s office, or Tony LaRussa’s office, even the great Joe Torre’s office and he’s got every stat imaginable at his finger tips. How does Albert Puljos hit right handed pitching. Answer: great. How does he hit left handed pitching: answer, great. How well does Rick Ankiel hit Bronson Arroyo, Nick Massett, Francisco Cordero. It’s all there. Numbers. How well do right handers hit off Arthur Rhodes. If Rhodes is in the game and LaRussa sends Khalil Greene up to pinch hit, does Baker bring in a righty to face him? Or does Rhodes have a decent track record when facing Greene?
This is what living in the intel Pentium processor age has given us.

Makes you wonder what Casey Stengel, or Sparky or Billy Martin would have done with this. My guess is, throw it out the window. But that’s only a guess.

I was working in Tamp years ago and met up with Sparky at the 1984 World Series. His Tigers were in the process of beating the Padres in that particular series. I told him, I had just run the numbers into a computer that we had at the television station, his 1984 Tigers against the 1975 Reds. Six game series, I told Sparky, your Tigers win in six. He told me to get a new computer. Actually, what he said was, ‘no computer ever won a baseball game’.

Which gets me back to this thing we were talking about the other night at channel 5, me Vogel, one of our directors and whoever else happened to walk by. Puljos had just hit that grand slam home run, and I raised this question: why not just walk the guy? Ok, the bases were loaded. You’re conceding a run. But you’re up three with one out in the eighth. There’s not another bat in that Cardinals line-up that could beat you. Walk Puljos and take your chances.

We were split, 50-50- on that. One side thought I was nuts (which I might point out is confirmed at channel 5 on a daily basis) the other half thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Seems to me, years ago, Jack McKeon did something similar with Mark McGwire, not with the bases loaded, but intentionally walking McGwire, and putting the go ahead run in scoring position.

So what’s wrong with taking the bat out of Puljos’ hands and playing the percentages. In fact, I looked it up. In modern day baseball, 20th century and up until now, only three batters have been intentionally walked with the bases loaded: Nap Lajoie, of the old Philadelphia A’s (Hall of Famer, I might add), former Chicago Cub Bill Nicholson and Barry Bonds. Bonds got a bases loaded free pass in 1998. The Diamondbacks had a 8-6 lead on the Giants in the ninth. Arizona manager, Buck Showalter ordered his pitcher to intentionally walk Bonds with the bases loaded. It made the score 8-6. Took the bat out of Bond’ hands. Next up was Brent Mayne. Line out, game over. I kind of wish Chris Spier, the Reds’ bench coach had that information, so he could’ve whispered it to Dusty Baker. A little refresher course for Dusty, who was managing the Giants at the time.

Am I wrong in suggesting that it might have been something for Baker to consider? Does it really fly in the face of what your supposed to do as a manager? In football, the first thing a defensive coordinator does when he begins to game plan for an opponent, is figure out how to neutralize the other team’s best offensive player. Is baseball that different? Rule number one, in any team sports is don’t let the other guy’s best player beat you.

Am I wrong in thinking this way? Please, tell me. If you were Baker, would you have intentionally walked Puljos? I don’t think he was wrong for not doing it, because that’s what ‘the book’ says. And in this day of replays, sportscenter, columnists, blogs and yes, sports talk radio, a manager takes his professional life in his hands by going against ‘the book’.

Stats and tendencies, match-ups and advantages drive baseball managers in this day and age. But sometimes, like any job in life you have to go with what your ‘gut’ tells you. My gut tells me walking Albert Puljos Friday night was the way to go. I had no skin in the game, so it makes my position a lot less important than the way Baker played it. Dusty went by the book. I’ll bet if you asked him today, just you and him, no cameras, microphones or anyone else within earshot, bet you if you asked him ‘should you have walked Puljos in that situation’ and become only the 4th manager since 1900 to do something like that, I’ll bet his answer today would be, not a bad idea.

If ever there was a case for the Reds to add a legitimate 'bat', you saw it Tuesday night. Johnny Cueto pitched another strong ballgame. He went six, allowed only one hit and whiffed eight. He wound up getting the win, a dicey 1-0 decision over the Arizona Diamondbacks. But how many games do you win with only one run? How many times have we seen the Reds score only one run this season.

If they Reds had done what they needed to do this off season, add a productive hitting outfielder who could fill the 4th or 5th spot in the batting order, it's my guess that this team would be in first place in the NL Central, by a comfortable margin. Go back and look at the number of times the Reds lost ballgames simply because they couldn't get a base hit when needed (situational hitting). Look at how they did when Joey Votto was away getting his head straight (8-14). Now, what would have happened if the Reds had made that deal with the White Sox for Jermaine Dye, or if they had made a run at Bobby Abreu? We'll never know.

Instead, they dropped $6.8 million on Willy Tavares, a player they might've been able to sign for close to the major league minimum had they waited a few weeks. Instead, they elected to sign the far too injured Edwin Encarnacion to a two year deal (two years???). Instead, they bottom fed for players like Laynce Nix and Jonny Gomes. Instead, they spent $10 million on a scoreboard in left field, rather than spending $10 million on a left fielder. Abreu signed with the Angles for $6 mil. He might not have come here for that, but would he have signed for $8 million? Again, we'll never know.

Reds owner, Bob Castellini, who probably took a large bath last summer when the tomato scare hit the USA, watched the economy go into the dumper in September, looked at his season ticket sales and put his checkbook back in his pocket. Dye would have cost $11 mil, Abreu less than that, but not much. So instead of the bluster we got from the Produce King in 2006, the stuff about winning championships now, we got a lot of 'building for the future'.

I like Castellini, a lot. But excuse me, we've been hearing about the future ever since Davey Johnson was run out of town by Marge Schott in 1995.

Here's the thing about professional sports: there is no future. You, me, Castellini, no one can predict what 2010 or 2011 will bring. Did anyone see Edinson Volquez being a shadow this year, of what he was in 2008? Anybody predict that Votto would go through what he did this season? It's why when you're close, you give yourself the best shot to win in the here-now. The Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox and Cubs do it every year. But smaller market teams play that game too. What did Milwaukee do last year when it got close? It went out and got pitcher CC Sabathia. The Brewers didn't win the World Series. But they made the playoffs. And though they had to trade one of their best prospects to the Indians to get CC, it certainly hasn't hurt that team's ability to contend this year, has it?

In professional sports, there is only one thing that counts: winning. If the Reds really want to win, if Castellini really wants to be taken seriously by the fans of his team, he'll 'green light' his general manager to make a move, a big move that will separate the Reds from the pretenders.

We're waiting. But then again, we have been since '95, haven't we?

You been working for the weekend.....now it's here!

The Bengals opened their annual rookie mini camp today. Basically, it's a weekend of teaching terminology and eyeballing the players they drafted. Nothing more, nothing less. One interesting side-light to the weekend are the 'walk on' players. Years past, the term 'walk on' was reserved for college and high school kids who weren't good enough to earn scholarships or playing time. Now, the NFL has embraced the concept. Several local players will get a chance to work out with the Bengals rookies this weekend and try to catch the eye of the coaches. One fairly big name is in the group: former Ohio State quarterback, Todd Boeckman.

The Reds are in Pittsburgh for the weekend. Obviously, this team is playing better on the road than at home, as evidenced by its 7-3 road swing in April. But consistency against teams in its division is the key for the Reds this season. And they have to beat the 'preteners' if they want to compete for a division title or wild card. Good idea if it starts in Pittsburgh this weekend.

The Cardinals Albert Puljos may be the best player in the National League. But if you're starting a team from scratch and have to build around on player, would it be Puljos? I heard an ESPN talking head on the radio this week touting Puljos as the player to build around. And while still a young man, would you not want someone just a bit younger who could give you more years? Would the Mets David Wright or the Red Sox Dustin Pedroia be better choices? Just askin'.

The Flying Pig Marathon is this weekend in downtown Cincinnati. I'm not running, just helping to cover it for WLWT. I have enormous respect for anyone who can run the 26 miles-plus. But having worked the finish line for the past several years interviewing the winners, I've seen far too many 'weekend warriors' collapse in exhaustion and have to be aided by the medical personnel for me to be ever enticed to try and run in a marathon. I've actually seen particpants hauled sway on stretchers and wheel chairs. One man collapses in a heap behind our broadcast platform a few years back and suffered a heart attack. Not for me. I get tired driving 26 miles.

But good luck to all involved.

Sean Miller seems to be losing a lot of the players he inheited at Arizona. Wonder what's going on out there.

Our guest on Sports Rock! this Sunday night on WLWT 5 in Cincinnati will be Bengals second round pick, Rey Maualuga. 11:35p is the airtime!

Posted this on my web site http://www.kenbroo.com/. But if you haven't been over there, here's a behind the scenes look at one of my radio shows on 700 WLW.

Not on this Sunday. WLWT's George Vogel will fill in for me 9am-Noon EDT. I'll be back, like Arnold, on May 10.

Great dunk last night by the Bulls Joakim Noah to help Chicago stay alive in its series against the Celtics.

But the Celtics win this in seven.

OK, saved my Kentucky Derby pick until the end. I'm tempted by General Quarters and the way he ran in the Blue Grass. Great story about his trainer, Tom McCarthy, a former high school principal in Louisville. I'm still a fan of West Side Bernie, despite his horrid showing at the Lane's End Stakes at Turfway a month ago. With a first in the Wood and a first in the Gotham Stakes, the New York noise, I Want Revenge will probably win The Derby. But my pick is Musket Man. He's got three firsts and a third so far in 2009, including a win at the Tampa Bay Derby. Musket Man carries the early line of 20-1 and comes out of the second chute.

If he wins, keep the money and just send along a thanks.

Have a great weekend!

Good Monday Morning!

Amazingly, the Reds won again Sunday. I say amazingly, because for the first two weeks of the season, the Reds offensive hasn't just been anemic, it's gone missing.

If you can’t score, you can’t win. Pick the sport, any sport. No team has ever won without a run, point, goal or birdie. Plain, simple, end of story.

The Reds can’t score, at least they can’t score when they need to score. We saw it again last night. We almost saw it Friday night. But Ramon Hernandez saved the night with his two run home run. Saturday night, the Reds got a grand total of two hits. They would have each had to have been grand slam homer for the the Reds to win. They lost, 7-0. Harang wasn’t sharp. The Astros got lucky with a couple of early “seeing eye” singles and Jared Burton was smacked around again.

Here’s the problem. And it’s been the problem ever since the Reds took a pass on adding a free agent bat this off season: the starting pitching has be lights out every game for this team to have a chance to win. OK, sure, we’ve seen games where the Reds have put six, eight runs up. But look at the run production through ten games. In six of those ten games, the Reds have put up three or fewer runs. And if it wasn’t for Joey Votto, it’d be a lot worse. Votto has driven in ten of the 38-runs the Reds have scored so far this season.

The bottom of the batting order is non existant. Gonzalez, Hernandez and the pitcher, all stuck below the Mendoza line. Gonzalez has exactly three hits in eight games. Jay Bruce has been to bat 34 times, he has six hits. Everybody I talk to says ‘he’ll come around’. Really? Have you seen the numbers Bruce has put up since his first two weeks in the majors? They’re pretty horrid. He’s hitting .226, just 19 home runs in just under 400 at bats and he’s whiffed over 100 times…once every four at bats, actually.

I told you last week, don’t make any hard evaluations until the season is six weeks old. By the sixth week, you’ll know exactly what this team is going to do the rest of this season. You’re smart, you follow the game. You’ll know.
But the first ten games have given us warning signs. Starting pitching has to be lights out every night for this team to have a chance at winning. Bullpen can’t afford too many Burton like performances. The base running and the defense have to be beyond good. Have we seen any of that so far this season?

As a guy I once worked for said, “There’s no calvary coming over the hill”. What you got is what you got. Maybe you platoon Janish at short with Gonzalez and hope you find offense there. Maybe Hanigan plays a little more until Hernandez hits his way out of it. Dickerson is hitting .263, Hairston .167. Do you keep running that tandem out there? Jonny Gomes is hitting .192 in Louisville.

Who didn’t see this coming?

Look, I like the $10 million scoreboard in left field. I would’ve loved a $10 million player in left field.

So here’s the question today: should the Reds now do what they didn’t do this winter, shop for a bat? Geoff Jenkins is sitting at home. It’ll cost the Reds about $400 grand to get him. Luis Gonzalez is sitting at home. Dollar figure on Gonzalez is about the same. Jim Edmonds is mowing his lawn today. What did he do to Walt Jocketty when they were both with the Cardinals? Shoe polish Walt’s car door handle?

My point is, it’s not too late and this division is not that great. If you’re proactive now, you might be able to save the strengths of this team, and save a season in the process. A baseball roster is a fluid thing, most seasons. Injuries, demotions trades and releases happen even on championship teams. They’re about ready for all of that in the land of the Yankees today.

Don’t make Harang and Arroyo sweat every pitch that they throw. Don’t yank Volquez and Cueto early, because you’re afraid leaving them in a game will result in a run or two you know you won’t be able to match. I hope some smart guy in Redsland is thinking about this, thinking that this season may only be a couple of weeks old but the warning signs are there. I hope somebody is sending a scout out to the batting cages or high school fields where an out of work major leaguer is staying in shape.

A lot of people got on Wayne Krivsky three years ago when he made that deal with the Nationals for relief pitching. It didn’t turn out so hot, but at least he tried. It was later in that season than it is now. But it’s later than you think.

I've got a new Broo View Podcast posted on my web site: www.kenbroo.com. This episode has an indepth interview with Sports Illustrated's John Donovan, who's one of the national baseball writers for that magazine and web site. John and I discuss how the bad economy, and the new tax plan President-Elect Obama wants to implement, may affect free agent signings. If you're in a hurry, you can download the show here. But you'll find the entire archive of Broo View Podcasts on my web site, as well as the latest Bengals Report Podcast.

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.

WOW, did you catch this brawl Thursday night between the Dayton Dragons (Reds "A" affiliate) and the team from Peoria? Held up the game for and hour, multiple ejections and a fan had to be taken to the hospital

I don't know why the Peoria manager wanted to mess with Dayton manager, Donnie Scott. That's one tough hombre.

Good Morning!

So, Ken Griffey, Junior thinks the Reds may try to trade him this summer. Junior shouldn’t feel special. Just about everyone of his team mates could say the same thing. It reminds me of the old line the Pittsburgh Pirates delivered to a young Ralph Kiner, holding out for more money. We finished in last place with you, the line went, we can finish in last place without you.

Junior made his comments to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, a terrific baseball writer, who’ll join us on the show later today. What Junior said to Nightengale isn’t new. It’s just fresh copy on an old story. I can tell you personally, every spring for the last three, Griffey has answered my question to him this same way: I don’t know, he’d say when asked if he expected to be in Cincinnati the entire season. It’s not up to me.

I don’t know if its insecurity on his part, failure to feel love from you, me Bob Castellini or the guy who sells Junior his lottery tickets. Maybe it’s all of us. But I do know this, trading Ken Griffey, Junior or letting him ‘walk’ at the end of this season won’t fix this team. I’m happy they won two of three from the Cubs this week. I loved the way they played last night in New York. But this Reds team needs more than just launching one or two big contracts to get healthy again.

Here’s your starting line up.
Junior
Adam Dunn
David Ross
Javy Valentin
Paul Bako
Scott Hatteberg
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Corey Patterson
David Weathers
Jeremy Affeldt
Kent Mercker
Mike Lincoln
Josh Fogg

They all have something in common. They’re all free agents after this season. It’s the most free agents on any major league roster.

Together, those players tie up $43 million dollars of salary this season, much more if they all re-sign for 2009. Who off that list do you keep? Paul Bako? Who else?

The good news for the Reds latest in a long line of short term general managers…that’d be Walt Jocketty, is that dealing with everyone on that list, other than Junior and Dunn, will be real easy.

He’ll probably let ‘em all walk. That is, if he can’t dump them on some other team.

Remember the line: we finished last with you, we can finish last without you.

More than just trying to unload big dollar contracts, this team needs a culture change. Too many players have been around too much losing. There’s a comfort zone athletes fall into when losing become habitual. It’s a lot harder to change that culture in baseball than say football, where players exist on year to year deals. In baseball, there is guaranteed money. The Reds have to dole out over 46-million on guaranteed money next season…to just six of their players.

Look, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think they’re out of it yet. The Reds play in the worst division in baseball. Dunn hasn’t started to hit yet, but he will. The light didn’t go on for Arroyo until last night and Harang, Cueto and Volquez all appear to be the real deals. Chicago’s pitching is in shambles. St. Louis is playing way over its head. It could still happen. And if it does, and the Reds are contending in late July, then all of this is moot.

But if it doesn’t, Jocketty has an opportunity that neither of his immediate predecessors had: a chance to change the culture

People have asked me all week, ‘well, what do you think? Do they trade Junior. What about the White Sox, they wanted him a couple of years ago. Would he got to the Yankees Remember, Steinbrenner mistreated Griffey, Senior. What about the Mariners, they want to bring Junior home.

You know what? I don’t know. And if anyone in the media tells you today that they know, don’t believe them. Bob Castellini doesn’t know. Jocketty can’t pull the trigger right now. No deal involving the contracts the size of Dunn and Griffey gets done at this time of the year. The only thing Dusty Baker knows is that he likes veteran ballplayers. That’s why Jay Bruce is in Louisville and Corey Patterson and his ‘200’ batting average is here.

I don’t know what the Reds are going to do. But here’s what I’d do.

I’d keep Griffey. I know that runs counter to what a lot of people in my profession are saying. But I’d keep him and try to figure out a way to extend his deal, without having to pay him 16-million next season.

I don’t know how many tickets Griffey sells. Maybe a lot. Maybe not so many. But I know this. Our economy is in the dumper and gasoline will be five bucks a gallon a year from now and people aren’t going to be going to see a ballgame so quick, unless there’s a reason to go. Winning would be a reason. This team has had one winning season in the last eight plus. Are you really betting on that for 2009. You want to go young? Great. Young teams don’t win all that often. So you’ll need box office appeal. Griffey fits that. I’d sign him…and move him to first base.

I’d trade Dunn. I know that’d be a tough pill for Castellini to swallow. He genuinely likes the guy. But here’s how Jocketty sells it: Mister Castelllini, Bob…you’re off the hook for 60-million. Because that’s the kind of pay day Dunn is looking at after this season, about 60-mil over four years. My guess is, Castellini swallows that like Graeters.

With Dunn gone, move Joey Votto to left field. Jay Bruce, despite the ruse that we were handed in March about him being a corner outfielder…he’s not, he’s playing center in triple-a….despite that, Bruce is my center fielder. Right field? Bring up Chris Dickerson. You’re paying Patterson three and a half million for roughly the same numbers that Dickerson will probably put up. Put him in right field.

Homer Baily got smacked around Saturday night in Triple-A. But I'd bring him up. New season, new GM, fresh start. Bailey in the rotation, Matt Belisle out. Sorry Matt, we’ve seen it several times over the last three years. It’s not working.

Harang, Cueto, Volquez, Bailey…you can shop Arroyo. But unless he starts stringing together five or six nights like last night, I’m not sure you’ll get what you want from him.

That’s my idea of how it might go. You might think I’m out of my mind, that’s OK. You’re not the first. There’s a long line out the door on me.

But here’s what I absolutely flat out know: talking about the Reds, and how they should fix this, or change that, or make this better is a topic that we seem to discuss earlier and earlier every season. And I know I’m getting real tired doing that.

Another week goes by without the Reds taking the interim manager tag off Pete Mackanin. In fact, they’re only paying Mackanin through the end of October….and…at the rate of pay he was making as a scout….before taking over the team in July.

Mackanin isn’t getting this job unless four or five other contenders turn it down.

Joe Girardi, Bob Brenly and Dusty Baker have been rumored to be candidates. Here’s why you want a “big name guy” to get this gig. The only way one of them will take the Reds’ job, is if they get a commitment from the owner, Bob Castellini, to aggressively pursue pitching help. That means, increasing the payroll from the $69 million spent this year to the $85 million range. Even in a pitching poor free agent pool, there are a few guys who can help. The Indians Paul Byrd and the Twins Carlos Silva come to mind.

That’s what a “big name guy” will demand.

Why else would any established manager want the job? To go through the same frustration that Jerry Narron, Dave Miley, Bob Boone and Jack McKeon did? I don’t think so.



Look for the latest "Broo View Podcast" tomorrow morning on my web site: http://www.kenbroo.com/. I'll have some comments from Cincinnati Bengals players and a look at some of the more horrific injuries in the NFL from this past Sunday.



Wednesday, it's the Broo-meisters with "The Ultimate NFL Cyber Show". You can find that on http://www.theflypod.com/.



Blog alert! If you're into hockey, particularly the NHL, a good buddy of mine has a must read:

Ted's Take. The owner of the Washington Capitals, Ted Leonsis is blogging daily about his team and professional hockey. Now, if we could just get Mike Brown and Bob Castellini cyber current....

Here's what I want to see when the Bengals take the field Friday night to finish up the pre-season. I want to see Carson Palmer and that first team offense play one series. In that series, I want to see Palmer toss the ball to each of his wide receivers and let Rudi rip off a long run. I want to see Tab Perry step up and catch a touchdown pass. I want a long drive where the Bengals can show all the doubters that their offense is one of the top three in the NFL.

On defense, I want to see the first teamers hold the Colts to three and out, in Indy's first drive. I want to see the first teamers take the ball away, the second time the Colts get the ball.

Then, I want to see every one of the 22 first teamers on the bench. That would be the perfect way to end the pre season.

What do you think the chances are of that happening?

The Bengals are banged up. Willie Anderson is back practicing. But we'll be lucky to see him on the field by opening night. Anderson's foot injury isn't getting better. He'll need corrective surgery when his career is done. Now, it's just a matter of dealing with pain.

Just posted, the latest Bengals Report Podcast. It's on my web site, www.kenbroo.com. I've made it easy for you. It's sitting on the front page, ready for downloading.

The Reds are back to seven games out. I want to believe. But here's what's keeping me from doing that. No pitcher on the roster you can count on who's not named Aaron Harang. Even the Reds #2 starter, Bronson Arroyo is now an iffy proposition. He left after throwing only 80 pitches in Pittsburgh Monday night, claiming fatigue. Arroyo was wheezing after the second inning, by his own admission. Mark Belisle, Tom Shearn (who?) and whomever else the Reds can round up to fill out the rotation aren't good enough for this team to be seriously taken as a contender.

I may be wrong. I hope I am.

Here's your chance to play Reds owner. You are now free to spend Bob Castellini's money, without retribution. Whom would you like for your new manager?

Would you go to the Yankees and try to pry Joe Girardi from the broadcast booth? Or to Chicago and do the same with current Cubs broadcaster, Bob Brenly. Do you wait until the end of the season and hope the Yankees part ways with Joe Torre? Maybe the Cardinals will do the same with Tony LaRussa. You know that Castellini covets anyone with that St. Louis franchise.

Any one of those candidates will cost you between $2-5 million dollars. You might get Girardi for less, it might cost you more for LaRussa.

My choice? It'd be Bob Brenly. OK, enough with the Ohio University stuff. I'd like this guy managing the Reds even if he wasn't a fellow Bobcat. I think he's patient (he stuck with Tony Womack as his lead off hitter for three years in Arizona even though Womack's OBP was bad) and he's a winner. The Diamondbacks contended every year he was there and won it all in 2001. And, Brenly is from Ohio. He even lived in Cincinnati for a year, before taking the manager's gig in Phoenix.

Torre would be nice, in the fact that he brings a pedigree second to none. And, his wife's family lives in Cincinnati, another nice connection. I seriously doubt LaRussa would leave the Cardinals. They'd be nuts to let him walk. And as for Girardi, he'd be the tough no nonsense guy a lot of these current Reds need. But despite winning the NL manager of the year award with the Marlins, he had a celebrated blow up with his owner that ultimately cost him his job. But still, he's a winner.

This short list is impressive. But I'm still touting Brenly. I know he's interested. I hope the Reds are too.

Almost from the start of this season, Jerry Narron was doomed. His 'every day 8' was chock full of free swingers who could not hit for aveage, his number two starter was slow out of the gate and slower as the season began and his bullpen was atrocious.

And worse, expectations were high. The Reds finished just three and a half games behind the Cardinals last season, carrying the pennant race into the final two weeks of the season. As the Reds GM, Wayne Krivsky, told me today there was no one in the organization who saw the 'bummer of '07 coming. Narron certainly didn't. After losing his job late Sunday night, he'll have a long time to reflect on what might have been this season.

What if his bullpen had featured a legitimate closer in Eddie Guardado? The lefty arrived from Seattle with a bad arm that needed surgery late last summer. But in the off season, the Reds did nothing to address the most key component of any bullpen. You build a pen from the back. Without a legit closer, set up pitchers like David Weathers and Mike Stanton had to close. And while Weathers did well in that role, it left his normal spot, set up, to middle relievers. Long relievers had to middle relieve. In essence, every pitcher was out of position in the bullpen. And with Gary Majewski still sore-armed from last summer and Billy Bray hurt in spring training, the Reds bullpen became a real liability, losing more games than any pen in major league baseball this season.

Bronson Arroyo was the 'steal' of 2006. When Krivsky swung a deal to get Arroyo here for Wily Mo Pena, and when Arroyo performed like a stud, the Reds suspect rotation became, over night, strong. But Arroyo was slow out of the gate and, in back to back games, tossed in excess of 120-pitches. Narron was forced to keep Arroyo in close games longer than he'd like, because his bullpen was abysmal. Arroyo paid the price with a tired arm.

Which brings us to the free swingers. The Reds 'every day 8' never saw a pitch they didn't think they could jack out of the park. 2-1 counts, 3-0, 0-2, 2-2, it didn't matter. The Reds would swing for the fences. They led the National League in home runs when Narron was fired Sunday. But hits with runners in scoring position, advancing the base runner, bunting and sacrifice flies were as rare in Cincinnati as low humidity in July.

It all caught up with Narron on Sunday. And a very good and decent baseball man is out of work. Don't cry for Narron. His contract runs through the 200 season and he'll collect evey nickel of the approximately $750,000 he has coming.

But the franchise he leaves behind remains in shambles, covered with the finger prints of three general managers, two owners and now four fired managers in less than seven seasons. The Reds farm system has yet to recover from the atrophy it fell into under owner Marge Schott, who held scouts in disdain. It's yet to recover from her general manager, Jim Bowden, who never met an over age free agent he didn't fall in love with. It's yet to recover from general manager, Dan O'Brien who understood how important rebuilding the minor league system was, but did it at the expense of making prudent major league roster adjustments.

Jerry Narron was fired Sunday. But he may be the lucky one in this equation. He doesn't have to clean up the mess he was handed.

I laugh a lot when I hear fans call for a manager's head. We hear it a lot here in Cincinnati and we're hearing it a lot this season. A lot of fans want Jerry Narron gone. Like last week.

Criticism of Narron ranges from his inability to manage his bullpen to being too placid inside the dugout. He caught a lot of heat a few weeks back when he didn't bolt from the dugout and corral an umpire for a bad call on a third strike. The fact that the game was over and that the next manager to win a 'ball strike' argument will be the first manager to do so didn't matter. They wanted Narron to bust a vein.

I laugh a lot, because I've heard it all before in Cincinnati. It was the same criticism that Bob Boone attracted, Dave Miley too. When things go badly, first blame the manager. Team broadcasters, stand by, you're next.

The facts about our Cincinnati Reds are this: they can't hit with runners in scoring position, they have the worst bullpen in the National League and their defense is anywhere from passable to atrocious.

Narron has control over the third of those problems. Why he hasn't demanded daily infield practice, which was a major league staple for all teams up until about ten years ago, is beyond me. But you can't hold him responsible for his roster. He only has imput, but not the final say.
That rests with his general manager.

The Reds are where they are by no accident. The new owner hasn't been in charge long enough and the owner before him wasn't interested in spending money for players, after signing Griffey, Jr, to a greatly discounted deal in 2000. The owner in the late 80's through the late '90's did her best to dismantle a once prideful minor league system. And her GM failed to sign and develope a starting pitcher of major league quality in eleven years on the job.

But if you fire Jerry Narron, it'll fix all of that right?

Somebody who'll remain nameless, wrote a less than flattering email to me today, questioning why I'm so 'hard' on the Reds and the Bengals. Negative, was his implication.

The fact that teams are what they are, and reporters merely report, is often lost on some alleged fans. They want cheerleaders, not journalists. But my guess is, these kind of fans would howl bloody murder if the team slighted them, say by its players not signing autographs or jacking up ticket prices.

I explained to my critic that rather than being upset with something someone on TV or in print says, be upset at the team; the Bengals for all of their player arrests, the Reds for now having the worst record in all of major league baseball.

You pay for the players' salaries with inflated ticket prices (or by investing your time watching the games on TV if you're too cheap to buy a ticket.) Think of the team as a stock. If the investment doesn't return what you believe it should, hold it accountable. Don't get upset with the folks who report what's going on.

Eventually, the Bengals will keep their players out of jail and the Reds will win again. But along the way, understand the role of the journalist. He or she is there to represent you, ask the questions you want answered and report on the team you live and die with.

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.