I am a grown man of 28 years. But I am not ashamed to say that I cried today.

I feel betrayed. I've been let down.

Today the Cincinnati Reds traded away my boyhood hero, The Kid, the 10-time Gold Glover, for sure 1st ballot Hall Of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr.

I'm sad because I still have a lot of faith in his ability to play the game and 100% believe he is still a great player. Others disagree, obviously.

I wish I could have been home to visit this season to personally have seen one of his last game in a Reds uniform. At least I can say I watched The Greatest play the Greatest Game.

I can only hope that it turns out well for Griffey.

I love the Reds, but this shows me they've thrown in the towel this year, and have sold their loyalties.

I hope Ken gets hot and finishes up batting at least .270, with about 35 HR's, and 100+ RBI. I hope he stays healthy and plays CF every day from here on out for the White Sox. I hope they win the World Series...and I hope Ken Griffey Jr. is the World Series MVP.

It's a good thing I have my subscription to MLB.tv, that way I can still watch Jr. play every day.

All in all, this tops the bonehead moves for the Reds, and it doesn't matter if the paperwork was signed by Krivsky or Jocketty.

A sad day for any TRUE Cincinnati Reds fan.

Thanks to Dunn & Dunner (dunnanddunner.com) for the heads up on this atrocity...

According to the New York Post this evening, Brandon Webb will be starting for the Nat'l League...

I'm actually stunned, well, I was for a half a second or so. And then I realized how this works again. And until the All Star Game "elections" are based on true merit and not popularity, nothing will change. While I think that Edinson is higher up on the totem pole than Webb, I have to admit that Lincecum has been the man of the first half for the Nat'l League.

.........and then I woke up and realized that I'm not in San Francisco anymore......

Volquez is being robbed...

i'm going to post their stats, this is unbelievable. Have a look for yourselves. The asterisk denotes who is ahead in the given category:

G

Volquez 18

Webb 18

IP

Volquez 104.2

Webb 118 *

ERA

Volquez 2.24 *

Webb 3.43

W

Volquez 10

Webb 12 *

L

Volquez 3 *

Webb 4

K/9

Volquez 9.72 *

Webb 7.63

SO

Volquez 113 *

Webb 100

OPP AVG

Volquez .210 *

Webb .238

H ALLOWED

Volquez 79 *

Webb 106

EARNED RUNS ALLOWED

Volquez 26 *

Webb 45

HR ALLOWED

Volquez 4 *

Webb 8

TB ALLOWED

Volquez 110 *

Webb 152

RBI ALLOWED

Volquez 30 *

Webb 50

Does anyone with a sane mind really believe that Webb is deserving of starting?

If you're a baseball card guy, or gal, I've got some for sale on eBay. Have a look-see.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZjdm2180

Disgusted? Let me tell you about disgusted. I am in the Army. I spent all of last season in Iraq. I got to watch a total of two games last season. This season, I'm not in Iraq, but am stationed in Hawaii. I HAVE TO PAY FOR A SUBSCRIPTION on MLB.TV to watch the Reds games!!! That's disgust boys and girls. To race home from work to catch the last three innings, see a lead, only to watch that disgusting David Weathers throw each and every outing. Or see Dusty play his pal from his Chicago days Patterson who couldn't hit a softball off a tee.

That is disgust.

Dunn is not the problem. Yes, the guy strikes out a lot, but he gets on base and DOES drive in runs. National League: He is 13th in OPS at .900, tied for 4th with 21 home runs, is easily on pace to knock in over 100 RBI, has led more walks than anyone else at 67, has the 13th highest OBP at .389, top 20 with a slugging % of .516, and on a sidenote: His fielding percentage is .967.

I repeat, Dunn is not the problem.

As for Junior. How can you people turn on him like you have? The guy is much more valuable than anyone is admitting. Everyone knows, if not for the injuries, we have the best baseball player in the history of the game. And the injuries only affect the stats. We all know that he was, is, and always will be the best. And even if you don't agree, you have him in the top ten OF ALL TIME. Have we forgotten what that means for a young ball club, to have an EXTRA SEASONED veteran, if not the best, one of the best, just for advice, instruction, encouragement? We need him. He is still hungry. He is worth more than we can put a price tag on. And when we take our kids to the park, we can show them the best while he is still playing. Griffey IS NOT THE PROBLEM EITHER.

We can win while keeping Junior. Trading him is not the answer. It is not the answer. Yeah, he's only batting .240, yeah, he's only hit 10 HR, yes, he's only driven in 36 RBI, yes, he's only got an OPS of .745, yes, he's only drew 46 BB...but compare that to Derek Jeter. Aside from Jeter's .279 AVG, Griffey is ahead of him in every category. You don't see the Yankees demanding his trade. Chicago's Fukodome is batting .290, and is just slightly ahead of Junior in OPS, but Junior betters him in every other category. and the Cubbies are in 1st place. Arizona's Justin Upton's stats are almost identical to Junior's. And guess what. They are winning and in 1st place.

My point. WE CAN WIN WITH JUNIOR. GRIFF IS NOT THE PROBLEM.

So I've given my two cents on what the problem ISN'T. So here's my two cents on what the problem IS.

#1 - Pitching - The declining quality of decision-making on the mound from Harang, Arroyo, and Cueto. While we can and SHOULD expect Cueto to make bad decisions while on the mound, he's a rookie, we should not see the same mistakes out of our two veteran hurlers. But this does not fall solely on them, it is a combination of the catchers and the pitching coaches not taking control when needed. The majority of the time it comes down to either a bad pitch, or a bad scouting report.

#2 - Pitching - The absence of a 5th spot on the rotation. Belisle was given too many opportunities to turn it around and should have been converted to a bullpen pitcher much sooner. Dusty hit the nail on the head. He's okay until he's facing batters for the 2nd and 3rd time. Homer Bailey is turning into a certified dud, and Daryl Thompson just isn't ready.

#3 - Pitching/Managerial - DAVID WEATHERS. The guy is a bum who has pulled the shades over lots of peoples' eyes for 18 years too long. Reds fans have consistently watched him give wins away all season long. The guy will never save 33 games again. He'll never save 33 out of 39 opportunities again. He is a waste and a downer for the team. Why hasn't he been released or traded? Why is he being paid $3.3 MIL? To keep the team in the cellar?

#4 - Patterson/Managerial - Bronson Arroyo has a higher OBP than Corey Patterson. He's hitting .188, the same as Jannish, which we expect from a rookie. Not from a guy who's been playing for 8 years. Since June 5th, after being recalled from AAA where he was sent to "find" his swing, he's 7 for 46. That's .152, and he's only accounted for 5 runs. Is that $3 MIL production? Is that what a MLB player is paid to do? CUT HIM.

Bottom line:

REDS

11th in NL scoring with 367. Which is descent, but could be much better. They're not hitting with RISP. For example, in the June 10th - June 19th homestand, they were 6-for-57 (.105) with runners in scoring position. They were 2 and 7 in that homestand and could have very easily won 3 of those games if not for choking with runners on the bags. And it's the same story of late, losing to the horrid Pirates now two straight. But, that also goes back to the pitching, since they gave up a total of 48 runs in those 7 games. But that's no excuse for hitting .105 with RISP. Those were games that could have been won.

5th in NL HR with 92. Out of the 4 teams who hit more: Florida, 1.5 games out of 1st place - Philadelphia, 1st place - Milwaulkee, 8.5 ahead of the Reds, and 4.5 out of 1st - and Chicago, 1st place. hmmm...

Defense - 5th in NL in Errors committed with 58. But the Diamondbacks have committed one more and are in 1st place, so this can be overcome.

So, in short. It's not because of Dunn or Junior. Trading them is not the answer. The answer is not just one statement, and it is not simple. But for starters, they can stop giving the ball to Weathers, take the bat out of Patterson's hands, strike fear in the heart of Dick Pole if his boys Arroyo and Harang aren't brought under control, maybe even look for a trade for one of them, if not both. With the offensive numbers put up by the team, if Arroyo and Harang can get their acts together, and Weathers (and Patterson) are cut/traded/assassinated, then the team can have a great second half and get within striking distance of the playoffs. But it has to start soon, and it has to begin with the pitching.

Wow, I can't believe how little I post on this thing. It would seem that I'm on the internet at least a few minutes a day, but never find the time to post on here. It really is like a real blog, haha.

Well, I'll have to try more I guess.

Go Redlegs! We took 2 outta 3 from the Yankees over the weekend. Not Too Shabby !

wow. we just plain got hammered today. all the way around.

sadly, i don't think homer's gonna make it...

Well, we lost a heartbreaker today. At least it was for me. Encarnacion hit that bottom of the ninth 2-out 2-strike homer to stave off the BoSox and force extra innings, only to watch the Sycamore High School native (Cincy) Youkilis and Coco bash the ball out to go up and eventually win by two.

Yeah, the game presented opportunities for BOTH teams to end it in regulation 9, but BOTH failed. The two biggest blunders were definitely Cincinnati's though. Phillips stole second only to try to stretch it to third and got caught...only to watch Adam Dunn crush the ball 429 feet on the next pitch. (The Reds would have been up one instead of tied, which proved to be a grave mistake on Phillips' part.) And then with men on 1st and 2nd with one out, two innings later, Junior swung at a 3-0 pitch, only to hit into the HUGE shift that EVERY team puts on for him, grounding into a double play.

And then came THE BUM. (That worthless waste-of-space, oxygen-thief, and LOSER David Weathers) TODAY WAS NO DIFFERENT. He gave up a double to start the top of the 8th, then a single and a run. Then he gave up another double to Youkalis and Bruce and Jannish teamed up for an awesome relay to save his butt and stop Mike Lowell from scoring. (Weathers was lucky since Lowell NEVER should have been sent home in the first place.) TODAY WAS ANOTHER SUPERB REASON TO CUT HIM.....IMMEDIATELY.

Then there is the final reason we lost today. WHERE IN THE HELL WAS CORDERO? WHY WAS HE NOT BROUGHT IN TO PITCH. THIS IS THE SITUATIONS THAT WE HAVE HIM FOR.

I'm done. I'm too angry to keep posting tonight.

Boo Dusty. Bad Dusty. Bad decision.

Well, as of right now, it's not looking too good today. Top 7, and it's 7 to nothing... Yikes...

That's where we're at Reds fans. We are day to day with our pitching for the most part, and it seems that bad bug has caught Cueto as of today. I won't say I'm really worried about him, I think today will be a rarity in his career, especially this season. We won't see it happen too many more times.

As for Harang, Arroyo, and what seems to be that TBD fifth spot in the rotation, well...that's what has cost us so far all season long. I can't say that I really ever expected much more than a 10-10 season out of Arroyo, but wow am I astonished by Harang this year. What is wrong with him? Is there some injury no one is speaking about? Is he having a mental breakdown out there on the mound? Given, some of those games have just been nonexistent for the offensive side of the game, so I give credit where it is due, and the same goes for Arroyo.

I also give credit to our bullpen. They've come in some tough situations this year and have pitched exceptionally well...with he exception of Weathers. How many times do I have to say it...OR SCREAM IT...before they cut his arse?

So the past couple of days the bats haven't been swinging the best... (No big surprise in the Patterson column, huh) And the injuries...oh the injuries... Now we've lost Hairston for a few weeks to a month. Why can't we catch a break? Gotta give props to Edwin though, looks like he might start hitting like we know he can.

Anybody got any suggestions on how the season can be turned around? (and I'm not talking about turning it around to .500, I'm talking about playoffs.) I've already suggested some things that have caught on...somewhat. (Belisle-minors/relief, Patterson-CUT, Weathers-CUT)

Let the ideas flow...

Peace,

tHE dEG

Wow. I am still amazed at the 11 for 19 start for Jay. That kid is the real deal. I'm more recently amazed at that big rocket he sent to space to win the game today. Wow.

I'm also glad Dusty finally took a piece of my advice...okay, maybe just parts of my advice.

Patterson was sent to the minors.

Belisle is moving into a relief role.

Now if he could just give up his man-crush on Weathers and cut the bum.

Go Reds !

Did you know that the Reds are paying David Weathers $3.3 MIL to throw games?

Jeeze, I wish they'd give me the opportunity to make even half that. I'm sure I could do no worse.

And speaking of doing no worse... Corey Patterson. That bum is sucking up Jay Bruce's air. And for what? A .200 avg ? Come on Walt, you're killing our season.

Bottom line, a few moves to improve the team, but they're simple. Cut Dusty's pal from the Cubby days Patterson, and call Bruce up. Two, get rid of that waste-of-space Weathers. He is WORTHLESS. And three, trade Bailey and Belisle to at least get a 6-inning starter that can win as many as he loses.

That's just my take. Yeah, I'm just an Army man and not a ball player, but it's not rocket science.