If you are of a certain age – i.e., a bit ancient like yours truly – you will recall a hit song from 1971 from a one-hit wonder Canadian rock group that called themselves the Five Man Electrical Band. For those of you not familiar with the song, it was called “Signs” and it was a protest song, something that occurred with regularity back in those days. The song reached No. 3 in the United States, and topped the charts in Australia.
This came to mind recently as I was traveling around our fair city, and seeing an overabundance of political signs dotting the landscape. The preponderance of folks begging for your vote in an election that is still three and a half weeks away is rather annoying. It makes one wonder if the motto has now become, “he or she with the most signs wins.” Many signs have been standing since February and the red, white and blue colors are fading away. Another aspect of the newer signs is that many candidates have their photos prominently displayed, as if that matters. Perhaps it does matter to some voters, but it just seems a bit much to this observer.
I sincerely hope this little rant hasn’t offended any of our slew of local candidates, but I think if I found someone without a single sign on display, that is most assuredly someone who would get my vote.
Reds celebrate new HOF class this weekend
If you’ve read any of my blabberings over the years, you already know how I feel about the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. is globally recognized to be the most historic of its kind, and is a must-see for any baseball fan, especially those interested in the history of the game.
In my humble opinion, the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is a close second in that regard. The folks that work there are always cordial and helpful, and the museum is jampacked with items that would interest not only Reds fan, but all baseball fans.
This weekend, the Reds HOF will honor its most recent class, which includes a quartet of deserving inductees. One of the most popular Reds during their long history, Brandon Phillips, arguably heads up the class. Phillips, a four-time Gold Glove winner during his 11 seasons as the team’s second baseman, is entering the hallowed hall as a Red, due to a ceremonial contract he signed with the club earlier this week.
The three other inductees include manager Lou Piniella, pitcher Aaron Harang and outfielder Reggie Sanders. Piniella led the 1990 Reds to its most recent world championship in wire-to-wire fashion, and is remembered as a fiery, no-nonsense, but beloved leader. Harang won 69 games on some admittedly forgettable Reds teams from 2004-2010, including back-to-back 16-win seasons in 2006 and 2007. He was known as a workhorse, seldom missing a start and always giving all he had each and every time he took the mound.
Sanders broke in with the Reds late in the 1993 season, and became a starter the next season, where he patrolled left field through the 1998 season. His best year in Cincinnati came in 1995, when he hit 28 home runs, drove in 99 runs, swiped 36 bases, and finished with a .306 batting average.
Reds look to stay hot on homestand
In addition to HOF Induction Weekend, the Reds will be playing host to one of the best young teams in the American League with the Detroit Tigers coming to Great American Ball Park. The Motor City nine enters the three-game set with a 14-12 record and tied for first place in the AL
Central with Cleveland. The Reds began the series 16-9, tied for the NL Central lead with the surging Chicago Cubs, winners of nine of their last 10 games.
The Tigers, like the Reds, have enjoyed outstanding pitching to begin the season, coming in 10th in ERA in the majors at 3.65, just two spots behind the Reds at 3.58. The home team did get a break however with the way the rotation lined up for the series. The Reds will not have to face either of Detroit’s top pitchers, CY Yong Award winner Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. Friday night’s game (played after this blurb was written) featured a pair of lefthanders, the Reds’ Andrew Abbott and the Tigers’ Framber Valdez.
Abbott has struggled since an impressive Opening Day start, and entered the game looking for his first win, and sporting a bloated 5.84 ERA. The Reds are hoping to see the Virginia native regain some of his All-Star form from a year ago. Valdez, who came over after a six-year stint with Houston, began the game 2-1 with a 3.30 ERA.
The Saturday evening game features a pair of veteran (although still relatively young) righthanders, with the Reds sending Brady Singer to the hill, and the Tigers countering with Jack Flaherty. Singer has also been battling inconsistency to begin the season; he’s 1-1 with an inflated 5.32 ERA, while Flaherty is 0-1 with a 3.47 ERA. The Sunday afternoon pitching matchup will also be a battle of young righties, with Rhett Lowder (3-1, 3.10 ERA) taking the ball for Cincy, and Detroit sending Keider Montero (1-2, 3.68 ERA) beginning the game.
Offensively, the Reds are looking to get some help in the lineup for Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz, who have been carrying the bulk of the load in the team’s first 25 games. Just one statistical example of the early season prowess of the team’s third and fourth hitters in the lineup: The Reds have scored just 97 runs this season, and Stewart has either scored or driven in 34% of them. De La Cruz has produced 32%, and the pair rank first and second in MLB in that stat.
If the Reds cannot start getting more consistent at-bats from other players in the lineup, pitching will have to remain the team’s identity, and the pressure for Sal and Elly to produce will only increase. You can bet that opposing pitchers will also be even more careful on the location of pitches they’re serving up when dealing with the current big boppers in the Cincinnati lineup.
The current homestand concludes with three against the NL West cellar-dwelling Colorado Rockies (10-16), before a critical seven-game road trip that takes the Redlegs to face off against a pair of divisional rivals. It begins with three at Pittsburgh May next weekend, followed by a four-game series in Wrigley Field against the Cubbies May 4-7.
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“When politics enters into municipal government, nothing resulting therefrom in the way of crimes and infamies is then incredible. It actually enables one to accept and believe the impossible.” – Mark Twain
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