[This view from the old recliner was written by Warren Leeman, who comments here under the name Shchi Cossack.] With the Reds in the midst of a successful month of June, coming off a split against the Rangers (arguably the best team in the AL) and heading into PeteRose-apalooza weekend, I found myself leaning back … Continue reading
Yesterday marked the summer solstice. As the first day of summer, it’s also the longest day of the year in terms of sunshine. In cruel irony, Major League Baseball’s schedule-makers gave the Reds and their fans an off day, leaving us way too much daylight with nothing to do but contemplate the first half of … Continue reading
The human shoulder is primarily a ball-in-socket joint. The head of your upper arm bone fits loosely into a rounded socket in your shoulder blade. A patchwork of muscles and tendons called the rotator cuff keeps your arm bone centered in the socket. Throwing a ball overhead places extreme stress on the shoulder to remain … Continue reading
For the rest of the summer, I will be spending my time in Europe, which thankfully limits my exposure to the Reds bullpen. However, by nature of the transitive property, my exposure to my other true love–college baseball, specifically Vanderbilt college baseball–is also greatly diminished. But this column is not meant to bemoan my personal hardships. … Continue reading
This is an exercise, not a forecast or a prescription. It follows my post from Friday that raised the idea that the Reds consider extending Jay Bruce for three years at $43 million. A common and understandable objection to a new contract for Bruce relates to the payroll implications. It’s an easy point to make. You … Continue reading
Baseball players have never quite had the reputation of “athletes.” Sure, everyone knows baseball is a sport and superhumans like Bo Jackson and Mike Trout play it, but when Bartolo Colon can jack a dinger at 42 years of age, the overall degree of difficulty just doesn’t seem that high. Instead, baseball is the thinking … Continue reading
A couple nights ago I watched David Gelb’s documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. In it, Gelb details the life and legacy of Jiro Ono, a Japanese sushi chef who is the oldest chef and first sushi chef to win three Michelin stars. Jiro strives for perfection in his work and will not retire until he has hit that mark (nowadays, … Continue reading
