I'm a Covington Catholic grad so, certainly, I was rooting hard for CCH's Steve Flesch this weekend. Unfortunately, Steve couldn't keep up with Trevor Immelman on the last day. But, what's more impressive, is the way the Union, Kentucky resident handled himself afterward.
All weekend long, he handled the media like he was a man with nothing to lose, saying, he would enjoy the moment no matter what happened and he didn't disappoint.
Flesch just kept hanging around...that name on the leaderboard bridging the leaders and the lurking Tiger Woods. Flesch eventually made some mistakes that cost him a shot at the green jacket, but even on Sunday at Augusta with microphones in his face and the memories of "what could've been" still fresh, Flesch handled himself the same way he did on Thursday with an "aw shucks" smile and class. He said it didn't really matter what happened, he'd have fun. Heck, this was Augusta and he was in contention.
Good for you, Steve. How many of us would like a top-5 Masters finish on our resumes?
- Joe D.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
"LOB" Me an Answer
I left the Dodgers/Padres box score on my home laptop screen Friday night before going to bed. So, my wife gets up to use the computer the next morning to check her e-mail and find out who's dating who in Hollywood and comes across my idle screen. Her question: "what does LOB mean?" She actually pronounced it "lob", like lobbing a pass. Anyway, it took me a second to figure out what she was talking about until I put two-and-two together and realized she meant "L-O-B", as in "left on base."
I bring the story up because it's the story so far in Pittsburgh for the Reds. 14 hits Saturday and only 3 runs. The kind of stuff that will drive a baseball team mad.
The biggest culprit is Edwin Encarnacion. He left 7 runners on base Friday night and three more Saturday. Dusty has his hands full with the Reds' third basemen. He has two of the team's biggest hits so far this season, but not much else. He's hitting below the Mendoza line and committed his third and fourth errors of the young season on Saturday.
If you're Dusty, what do you do? Do you let him play every day to work his way through it? Send him to Louisville to fix the problem like last year? When Alex Gonzalez is ready, do you move Keppinger to third? Play manager and send me what you think.
- Joe D.
I bring the story up because it's the story so far in Pittsburgh for the Reds. 14 hits Saturday and only 3 runs. The kind of stuff that will drive a baseball team mad.
The biggest culprit is Edwin Encarnacion. He left 7 runners on base Friday night and three more Saturday. Dusty has his hands full with the Reds' third basemen. He has two of the team's biggest hits so far this season, but not much else. He's hitting below the Mendoza line and committed his third and fourth errors of the young season on Saturday.
If you're Dusty, what do you do? Do you let him play every day to work his way through it? Send him to Louisville to fix the problem like last year? When Alex Gonzalez is ready, do you move Keppinger to third? Play manager and send me what you think.
- Joe D.
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Big Frease
This weekend is the annual Ohio/Kenutcky "Battle at the Border" High School All-Star event. Both squads are packed with talent. However, when we (as sports reporters) look at the rosters, we look for stories and there's no bigger story in this event for our broad audience than Xavier recruit Kenny Frease.
Friday was the ALl-Star skills competition. Much like what you see in the NBA on All-Star weekend. 3-point contest, dunk competition, plus a little 3-on-3. Anyway, Fox19 photographer Dan Wood and I set up at NKU early so we could interview Kenny before the festivities started. I've never met Kenny, nor has Dan, so it was funny when Dan asked me, "how will we recognize him?" I said, "just look for the biggest person to walk through the door."
Sure enough, Kenny was the biggest person in the building. At 6'11", Frease is a monster. He looks much older than a high school senior from a distance until you talk to him. Once you start a conversation, his facial expressions make him look his age.
His favorite word is "sweet". Xavier's program is "sweet". Xavier's run to the Elite 8 was "sweet". Being a big-time recruit was, you guessed it, "sweet". He seemed to really enjoy being interviewed and talking about the recruiting process. He's glad his mind is made up and he'll be playing at X, but he also said he enjoyed "the process" and wishes more kids would take time to enjoy being recruited instead of feeling like it's a job.
I didn't get to seem him play. He didn't compete in any of the skills competitions, but will play in Saturday's All-Star game. The buzz around the NKU gym was a combination of Josh Duncan and OSU's Kosta Koufus. Not bad, eh.
Keep it locked on Fox19 the next couple of weekends for more on Kenny, including highlights from Satuday's game and excerpts from my interview with him. He's a great kid (calls himself a people person) who says his favorite part of basketball is passing. Plus, you won't want to miss why Sean Miller wants Kenny to call himself the "Greg Oden of Xavier".
- Joe D.
Friday was the ALl-Star skills competition. Much like what you see in the NBA on All-Star weekend. 3-point contest, dunk competition, plus a little 3-on-3. Anyway, Fox19 photographer Dan Wood and I set up at NKU early so we could interview Kenny before the festivities started. I've never met Kenny, nor has Dan, so it was funny when Dan asked me, "how will we recognize him?" I said, "just look for the biggest person to walk through the door."
Sure enough, Kenny was the biggest person in the building. At 6'11", Frease is a monster. He looks much older than a high school senior from a distance until you talk to him. Once you start a conversation, his facial expressions make him look his age.
His favorite word is "sweet". Xavier's program is "sweet". Xavier's run to the Elite 8 was "sweet". Being a big-time recruit was, you guessed it, "sweet". He seemed to really enjoy being interviewed and talking about the recruiting process. He's glad his mind is made up and he'll be playing at X, but he also said he enjoyed "the process" and wishes more kids would take time to enjoy being recruited instead of feeling like it's a job.
I didn't get to seem him play. He didn't compete in any of the skills competitions, but will play in Saturday's All-Star game. The buzz around the NKU gym was a combination of Josh Duncan and OSU's Kosta Koufus. Not bad, eh.
Keep it locked on Fox19 the next couple of weekends for more on Kenny, including highlights from Satuday's game and excerpts from my interview with him. He's a great kid (calls himself a people person) who says his favorite part of basketball is passing. Plus, you won't want to miss why Sean Miller wants Kenny to call himself the "Greg Oden of Xavier".
- Joe D.
Bottoms Up
Pick your storyline from the Reds' win Thursday. Aaron Harang dominates for 8 innings. Francisco Cordero returns to Milwaukee and goes 1-2-3 in the 9th in 8 pitches. But, take a closer look at the box score. The top of Cincinnati's order (1-4) went a combined 0-16 and the Reds still won.
How? Because the bottom four in the line-up had a great day. The bats of Encarnacion, Hatteberg, Bako and even Harang went a combined 7-11 with 2 doubles, a home run and all 4 RBI. Most surprising, might be Paul Bako. The journeyman catcher hit less than .210 the last two seasons, but is hitting a team best .364 so far. He might be the biggest surpise in the majors at catcher this side of Jason Kendall.
Cincinnati's stars will hit, but if the bottom of the line-up can give Dusty Baker consistent production, the Reds will be that much tougher to beat.
- Joe D.
How? Because the bottom four in the line-up had a great day. The bats of Encarnacion, Hatteberg, Bako and even Harang went a combined 7-11 with 2 doubles, a home run and all 4 RBI. Most surprising, might be Paul Bako. The journeyman catcher hit less than .210 the last two seasons, but is hitting a team best .364 so far. He might be the biggest surpise in the majors at catcher this side of Jason Kendall.
Cincinnati's stars will hit, but if the bottom of the line-up can give Dusty Baker consistent production, the Reds will be that much tougher to beat.
- Joe D.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Lead-Off Down Patt
Of all the major off-season and early season storylines, the play of Corey Patterson in the lead-off spot is going under the radar.
Francisco Cordero and Goodyear, Arizona stole the off-season headlines. Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez are the talkers since opening day. But, what about the play of the Reds new center fielder?
The former 3rd overall pick in the 1998 MLB Draft isn't going to hit for a high average and isn't a prototypical lead-off hitter. But, he's off to a great start and while the Reds sluggers are slumping, Patterson is coming up big in big situations.
I picked out who I thought are MLB's best lead-off hitters to compare Patterson's (very) early season numbers...take a look:
Patterson's three home runs and 6 RBI are more than players like Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Brian Roberts, Ichiro, Alfonso Soriano, Grady Sizemore and Jimmy Rollins.
Patterson's 6 runs scored are also second best of that same group. Only Hanley Ramirez (7 runs) has scored more.
Sure, it's early, very early. But, Patterson could be a big part of Cincinnati's team. He says he's not a home run hitter and wants to hit more line drives. However, two game-tying home runs in the late innings just one week into the season is big time stuff.
- Joe D.
Francisco Cordero and Goodyear, Arizona stole the off-season headlines. Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez are the talkers since opening day. But, what about the play of the Reds new center fielder?
The former 3rd overall pick in the 1998 MLB Draft isn't going to hit for a high average and isn't a prototypical lead-off hitter. But, he's off to a great start and while the Reds sluggers are slumping, Patterson is coming up big in big situations.
I picked out who I thought are MLB's best lead-off hitters to compare Patterson's (very) early season numbers...take a look:
Patterson's three home runs and 6 RBI are more than players like Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Brian Roberts, Ichiro, Alfonso Soriano, Grady Sizemore and Jimmy Rollins.
Patterson's 6 runs scored are also second best of that same group. Only Hanley Ramirez (7 runs) has scored more.
Sure, it's early, very early. But, Patterson could be a big part of Cincinnati's team. He says he's not a home run hitter and wants to hit more line drives. However, two game-tying home runs in the late innings just one week into the season is big time stuff.
- Joe D.
Monday, April 7, 2008
You Never Know Who's Listening
Hall of Fame RB Gale Sayers was an honorary captain for the Reds on Monday at Great American Ball Park, and stopped to talk to Joe Danneman and I about disgruntled Bengals WR Chad Johnson.
It really didn't matter which national microphone was in front of him this offseason. Ocho was willing to talk, and it turns out Sayers, a standout back with the Chicago Bears in the 60s and 70s, was listening.
And not having any of it.
"I think the players on the teams that I played on would say, 'Hey, get the hell outta here. We don't need this. We don't need this.'"
Sayers remembers making $25,000 a year and playing for the love of it. "Today," Sayers says, "the players are playing I believe for just the money. Championship? They don't even care about winning a Super Bowl. They wanna say I'm the highest paid Wide Receiver."
Sayers owns his own business in the Chicago area, a venture he undertook in 1984. He says athletes like Chad, unhappy while in the midst of a $35 million dollar contract, are "sad", and should remember that athletes of the past paved the way for today's stars to flourish under the bright lights.
"They're standing on somebody else's shoulders. You know, players that played 5, 10, 15 years ago, they made this game what it is today. And a lot of players today think they made the game. No they did not."
It really didn't matter which national microphone was in front of him this offseason. Ocho was willing to talk, and it turns out Sayers, a standout back with the Chicago Bears in the 60s and 70s, was listening.
And not having any of it.
"I think the players on the teams that I played on would say, 'Hey, get the hell outta here. We don't need this. We don't need this.'"
Sayers remembers making $25,000 a year and playing for the love of it. "Today," Sayers says, "the players are playing I believe for just the money. Championship? They don't even care about winning a Super Bowl. They wanna say I'm the highest paid Wide Receiver."
Sayers owns his own business in the Chicago area, a venture he undertook in 1984. He says athletes like Chad, unhappy while in the midst of a $35 million dollar contract, are "sad", and should remember that athletes of the past paved the way for today's stars to flourish under the bright lights.
"They're standing on somebody else's shoulders. You know, players that played 5, 10, 15 years ago, they made this game what it is today. And a lot of players today think they made the game. No they did not."
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Finding Perspective
Winning or losing finds its proper perspective when tragedy strikes on Opening Day. The Reds lost to Arizona 4-2, on a day that UK Head Basketball Coach Billy Gillispie called "one of the saddest days of his life", for reasons that had nothing to do with the scoreboard.
The equipment manager for the UK Basketball Team, Bill Keightley, was on a trip to Great American Ballpark to watch his favorite team. His biography on the Wildcats website bills the 81-year-old as an "avid" Reds fan. But yesterday Keightley suffered a fall. Evidently he started bleeding internally from an undiagnosed tumor on his spine. The same guy who made sure guys like Dan Issel, Jack Givens, Kenny Walker, Rex Chapman and Ron Mercer had all the equipment they needed...died at University Hospital last night. On a day that was supposed to be so much fun, Coach Gillispie drove up to Cincinnati to say goodbye to a man he called one of his best friends.
I can't even imagine dedicating my life to a university, and to a particular job, like Keightley did. Nicknamed "Mr. Wildcat", Keightley had been on the sidelines for nearly fifty years, dating back to the Adolph Rupp years in Lexington. Through National Championships, and leaner years, you could always see the guy in the blue sportcoat with the gray hair, sitting in the first seat on the bench. The stories he had would have made for fantastic conversations over a beer or two.
The equipment manager for the UK Basketball Team, Bill Keightley, was on a trip to Great American Ballpark to watch his favorite team. His biography on the Wildcats website bills the 81-year-old as an "avid" Reds fan. But yesterday Keightley suffered a fall. Evidently he started bleeding internally from an undiagnosed tumor on his spine. The same guy who made sure guys like Dan Issel, Jack Givens, Kenny Walker, Rex Chapman and Ron Mercer had all the equipment they needed...died at University Hospital last night. On a day that was supposed to be so much fun, Coach Gillispie drove up to Cincinnati to say goodbye to a man he called one of his best friends.
I can't even imagine dedicating my life to a university, and to a particular job, like Keightley did. Nicknamed "Mr. Wildcat", Keightley had been on the sidelines for nearly fifty years, dating back to the Adolph Rupp years in Lexington. Through National Championships, and leaner years, you could always see the guy in the blue sportcoat with the gray hair, sitting in the first seat on the bench. The stories he had would have made for fantastic conversations over a beer or two.
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