Cincinnati’s channel 12 news station has an interesting gig they do on fridays if there’s no traffic incidents to report.  Instead of cutting the segment short, they turn the studio into a dance party.  It’s weird, i know.  It gets even more weird when the Reds female mascot joins in on the party.  God I’m glad Bob Herzog isn’t butchering the news in my city.

If you haven’t heard; Bronson Arroyo can play the guitar. He also is a commercial star in the Cincinnati area as well. Arroyo starred in a commercial when he arrived in Cincy and just got done filming his second spot for an angus burger provider. Enjoy!

Kudos to Right Field Bleachers on the find.

Hosts: Sonny, Ryan and Rich: This episode focused entirely on the National League Central. With Kosuke Fukudome now in Chicago, can the North Siders make it two division titles in a row? Or will the Milwaukee Brewers’ youth movement come to fruition with a division crown? Also, what can we expect from the talented youngsters in Cincinnati? Can they challenge for the crown this year? Or will Tony La Russa and Albert Pujols get back to the forefront of the division. All of this and more on the Sportable Spot.

Note: We’ve recorded our podcasts for the AL Central and AL East. They will be posted in a few days after we complete the NL West team previews.

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Big Red Machine ready to wear out cliche’ name and National League foes. A quick gaze into many pundit’s season previews reveals the Reds are a favorite to be the dark horse in the National League. Seems to me that if most people are picking them to be a dark horse, the Reds wouldn’t be much of a dark horse at all. Rather, it sounds like a case of the Mondays overzealousness to find a gem before every season starts. But fear not, Reds fans, for there is renewed hope for this franchise. Dusty Baker has brought his bag of high pitch counts, inevitable arm surgeries for pitching prospects, and discrimination against young talent to the Reds, a team in dire need of strong leadership. He should be able to build a winner with this talent-laden roster provided he doesn’t choke on the toothpick he always seems to be macking on.

Bats. Lost among the big, shiny, attention grabbing lineups of divisional rivals such as the Cubs and Brewers is a Reds lineup that is, in my opinion, the best in the division. The first aspect of this lineup that jumps out is the abundance of power. Adam Dunn is a man-child. While it’s admittedly futile for me to try and hide my affection for the corn fed who plays no defense and has minimal speed, I will boast about his power. Dunn is as reliable for 40 home runs a season as babies are to crap in diapers. His batting average, while never spectacular, rose to a respectable .264 last season. Furthermore while many Dunn critics are quick to point out his large number of strike outs (165 last season), I’d like to point out that he also drew over 100 walks last season. He’s not just a free swinger, he’s a free swinger with purpose. Making the move to right field will be my favorite player of all time, Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey Son, no longer the agile venus fly trap in center, makes the move to right for defensive reasons and longevity. Don’t sleep on Junior because, if healthy, he’s still got the sweetest swing in baseball and knows what to do with a meat pitch. Junior hit 30 home runs last season and I fail to see why he can’t duplicate those numbers this year barring him shredding his hamstring….again. Rounding out the outfield is Ryan Freel, the super utility douchebag that you love to hate because he’s the guy who comes into a three game series against your favorite team, steals a few bases, drives in a few pivotal runs, and makes a silly catch that you’d thought you would only see on a video game. Expect Freel to relenquish his duties in center as the year progresses because Jay Bruce, the Reds top prospect, will undobutedly get a shot to steal the starting job. Read the rest of this entry »

If you grew up in the 1990s, your favorite player was probably Ken Griffey Jr., the kid who could do it all. He hit homers, made great plays in the fie, and most of all, loved baseball. Since being traded to Cincinnati, Griffey’s mystique has gone from “greatest ever” to “what if?” But this weekend, in his first return to Seattle, we all got a glimpse of the past. Griffey hit two homers yesterday (#583 and #584) and was greeted to standing ovations all weekend.

“It was more than I expected. A lot more than I expected,” Griffey said. “Awesome. If you had to put it in one word. It was something. To have that many people for that long cheering was pretty unbelievable.”

Most active players that return to a former team may get some nice cheers. Some may get booed. But Griffey? He received a three-day tribute. Is it possible to be the face of a franchise nearly ten years after you’ve been traded from that team? In the case of Griffey, it’s likely. After all, without him, baseball probably wouldn’t even exist in Seattle. That’s why he received a plaque that declared Safeco Field “The House that Griffey Built.”

The backwards hat, the sweet swing, and the likable personality. That’s why everybody fell in love with Griffey. In his first trip back to Seattle, The Kid even hinted that he may like to finish his career in Seattle. I’m all for that happening. I’m also all for Griffey being traded to a championship contender this year. He may be the best player to never appear in a World Series. I’d love to see that changed this year.

Yesterday marked the first game Ken Griffey Jr played in Seattle since his trade from the Mariners to the Reds in 2000.? Despite years of injury plagued seasons and struggles in Cincinnati, the Mariners faithful gave him a warm reception and welcoming before gametime.

Lost among this heart warming story is the beat down laid on the Mariners by the Reds in the game.? The score was 16-1.? David Ross and Brandon Phillips each went deep twice and Aaron Harang continued to be the most underrated pitcher in the National League, throwing eight innings without allowing an earned run.? Harang improved to 8-2 on the season, which is pretty remarkable considering how piss poor that Reds team is.

Growing up I was one of those who followed Griffey religiously.? It wasn’t so much that I liked the Mariners as a team (though Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez were both sick at the dish as well) but more that I was an enormous Griffey fan.? When he was traded to the Reds I thought the Mariners organization was making a huge mistake and essentially back stabbing their foundation.? Well, the Mariners have been pure shit since that trade, with the exception of 2001 when they had about as fluke of a year as you can have, and for the most part haven’t had a steady everyday center fielder.? Mike Cameron spent some time there as did Randy Winn but neither of them stuck.

While the Reds competing this season is about as likely as money growing on trees, it was nice to see them play well in Griffey’s return to Seattle.? You may not know it but he’s having a Ken Griffey Jr type season again and it’s wonderful to watch.? Say what you will about other players swings, it’s still Griffey that has the sweetest one of them all.