Hi, Hello and Welcome: Part Twelve (A Reminder)

Other stuffs that annoy me about George Grande:

1. According to Grande, every ball not hit on the ground is either (a.) blooped, or (b.) hit pretty good.

2. Grande has said "get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in" roughly 65 times per game for the last fifteen years. This makes him a strategist of sorts.

3. When was the last time he went an inning without describing someone as "special?"

4. Enough with the Ponderosa jokes already.

5. Stop mentioning (FSN producer) Jesse Jackson's name and laughing. If you're not going to incorporate his voice into the broadcast, we won't think it's funny (not that it would be funny anyway). You can't just say, "Jesse, you'll be there, right? Ha Ha Ha!" That isn't funny. Nor will it ever be.

--I will cease piling on George Grande until Monday. Probably.--

Two Quick Reds Thoughts, using the letters A and B...

a. Does Joey Votto know how to throw overhand? The Reds corner infielders give me a heart attack every time they touch the ball.

b. With David Weathers proving--with each outing--to be the (below) average pitcher we knew he was last year--doesn't it bother you that he wasn't moved at the '07 trade deadline, when his value was at or near an all-time high?

And before you say, "Yeah, but they wouldn't have received anything in return for him," consider the following transactions that took place in my lifetime:

August, 1990: Astros send 37-year-old reliever Larry Andersen to the Red Sox for prospect Jeff Bagwell. One year later, Bagwell was named NL ROY.

November, 1998: Indians acquire lefty "specialist" Ricardo Rincon from the Pirates in exchange for surefire stud Brian Giles. Giles averaged well over 100 RBI over the next five seasons in Pittsburgh.

First, let me say that Weathers in '07 was not as good as Andersen in 1990 (although their WHIPs were nearly identical). And he's ten years older than Rincon was in '98. So, I'm not suggesting the Reds would have received something in return for Weathers as valuable as Bagwell or Giles. Then again, you never know. Okay, I do know. But there's a chance they could have picked up a young arm ranked somewhere ahead of Matt Maloney and behind Daryl Thompson. I ask you: Would you rather have Old Man Weathers scaring the hell out of you in inning No. 8 for another year, or would you rather have a 21-year-old flamethrower to monitor while he shoots up the farm system?

Wayne Krivsky screwed the pooch.

-Brad Spieser (Brad@TwinKilling.com)
5/30/08