Fall into the GAB

The ball is flying out of the yard today in Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark (GAB). Well, for the Reds anyway. Through 7 innings they've slugged 7 of them, with 3 of them by Joey Votto.

The Reds smacked 4 in the 2nd inning alone. Votto and Adam Dunn went back-to-back to start the inning. Edwin Encarnacion made an out, but Paul Bako then went deep. With 2 outs and a man on, Jerry Hairston Jr. made it a quartet with a 2-run shot off of a shell shocked Jon Lieber.

Brandon Phillips and Votto hit back-to-back shots to start the 5th. One inning later it was Votto again with a 2-run homer. And Votto made a little like Reggie Jackson. 3 home runs off of 3 different pitchers.

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Wang Takes One on the Chien

There's a smell emanating from Ed Smith Field in Sarasota, FL. No, the garbage men aren't on strike. It's just the stink of Chien-Ming Wang's 1st and only inning of work. Actually, make that partial inning, as The Wanger threw 32 pitches and got hammered for 6 runs on 6 hits and a walk, and was pulled before the inning was over. On the bright side, the Yankees can get a good look at Scott Patterson who replaced him.

We went from being upset that there was no TV/radio coverage to being ecstatic that there was no TV/radio coverage.

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Yankees vs. Reds - March 6

The Yankees travel to Sarasota (not Bradenton, as previously reported) today to take on the Cincinnati Reds at 1:05 pm. Chien-Ming Wang will make his 2nd start of the Grapefruit League. He's expected to be followed by Darrell Rasner, Kyle Farnsworth, Sean Henn, Dan Giese, and Billy Traber.

Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, and Bobby Abreu are the only regulars on the trip. Aaron Harang will be getting the start for Cincy.

The Reds recently added Jerry Hairston Jr., who was named in the Mitchell Report, and Corey Patterson to their major league camp. How long will it be before Ken Griffey Jr. trade rumors surface?

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Rangers Acquire Josh Hamilton

The Rangers have picked up outfielder Josh Hamilton from the Reds in exchange for pitchers Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera.

Hamilton enjoyed a successful comeback season, after many years of disappointment brought on my drug and alcohol addictions. He was taken in the Rule V draft prior to the '07 season and finally showed the promise that made him a 1st round pick in 1999. Hamilton hit .292-19-47 in just 90 games.

Volquez was 14-6 with 166 strikeouts at 3 minor league levels. The left-handed throwing Herrera struck out 64 in 52 1/3 innings at Double-A.

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Dust in the Cincy Wind

Dusty Baker waited 1 season before returning to the managerial ranks. Yesterday, he agreed to a 3 year deal to take over as skipper of the Cincinnati Reds. You wonder why Baker didn't wait longer to see if other openings arose, considering the Reds current state and the ownership's lack of interest in putting a competitive team out there.

Glad to see Dusty managing for a couple of reasons. Always liked him, even as a player- the only player on the dreaded Dodgers that I really liked when the team was filled with a-holes like Garvey. He's also a class act. Maybe the most important thing is we will no longer have to hear him kiss Barroid's ass on BBTN.

Good luck Dusty!

photo courtesy of Cincy Enquirer

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