Jay Bruce Is Finally Coming To Town! (Exclamation Point)

Since learning of Jay Bruce's call-up to Cincinnati, I've been procrastinating like never before. "What exactly should I write about this watershed moment?" I asked myself. Six hours later, it hit me: Nothing. There is nothing I can add to this. Jay Bruce is coming to Cincinnati, I'm horny, end of story. I'll be able to put this monumental occasion in perspective after game one.

I suppose the two things I'm most interested in seeing--aside from Bruce's awesomeness--is the affect he has on attendance and where he bats in the lineup. And I guess I want to see if he comes across as nervous, or if he seems like the coolest guy in the stadium. (Note: I probably put way too much stock into body language.)

Other things (because I don't want to make another post)...

You may have seen Reds pitching prospect Daryl Thompson promoted from AA Chattanooga to AAA Louisville. My not-so-wild prediction: Thompson gets called up to the bigs before Homer Bailey. Regardless, I expect to see both in a Reds uniform before September.

For more on Thompson, here's a fairly lengthy Q & A he did with Baseball America two weeks ago. Count how many times he uses the word "stuff." Not just referring to his pitching repertoire (fastball, curveball, etc.), but as a crutch phrase ("A lot of guys that do all their shoulder stuff, (but) stuff still happens to them. I was doing shoulder stuff, but I wasn't doing enough at the time. So that's why that stuff happened."). Perhaps stuff is the knew you know...

--End of Reds talk--

Two important things learned Monday...

1. Jason Maxiell's hobby is building model cars. Nerd.

2. Andruw Jones' Baseball-Reference.com page lists his weight at 170 lbs. (Have you seen this fatty lately? He hasn't seen 170 lbs. since the eighth grade.)

(UPDATE: I just thought of something: Jay Bruce = Rex Manning, which, I guess, makes me Liv Tyler. You know at the start of Empire Records, when the young employees are hyped up because an aging pop star (Manning) is coming to the store for an autograph session? That's like my current anticipation level for the Jay Bruce Experience, multiplied by 85,000.)

-Brad Spieser (Brad@TwinKilling.com)
5/27/08