Reds odds & ends

Lancaster at the Cincy Post does some work. The big talk is what of the rotation? Homer Bailey or no? The guy's first name is HOMER and he's a pitcher, which is funny I suppose, but he's dang good. I've made the case to not rush him, so that's what Cincy brass will do. Harang & Arroyo will do well. Milton I don't care for and he will give me plenty of reasons why in this upcoming year. Lohse was suprisingly solid for a while, but probably won't be that good. I hope he becomes a pleasant surprise. I like El Lizard for a spot, though he tanked late last year. Victor Santos, 5-9 with a 5.40 ERA for Pittsburgh last year, is also in the mix. I don't know about that one. He's a proven pitcher, but he loses games and the Reds roughed him up. But he could be alright.

They're also talked to the season-enders on the DL - Mercker, Wilson, and Gordo. Mercker is solid, but expendable now. Gordo would be great to have back, as he could anchor the 9th inning like he did for a little bit last summer. Paul Wilson?? Does anyone remember his Opening Day 2004?? Because that was a joke. And he hasn't been good since. I want this guy outta here.

That's probably it.

If you live in Sark, are you a Sarkisian?

A lot of articles out there about Steve Sarkisian, USC QB Coach and Former Oakland Raiders QB Coach. One article was funny, talking about how he left USC to be with the Raiders and then started to miss winning games, so he went back to USC. YEAH SHUT UP!!!! Alright.

This guy intrigues me more than before. And there was a good take by somebody saying that people should prefer Sarkisian over Ryan, because what Rob Ryan does is defense and he does it dang well and he should be able to focus on just that instead of everything else that goes with head coaching. A valid point. Sarkisian is clearly the front-runner, but that's simply because he's the only prominent name that's interviewed thus far. But he seems like a better choice than before, which is fun.

A future post - the thing nobody wants to talk about, but I will. What if the defense....................?

Article: Prudential paying $105.3M for naming rights on Devils arena

That name is cool with me. I like Continental Airlines Arena, but that's just because I'm comfortable with it. The problem with stadiums, as has been the case since maybe the mid-90's or so, is that more and more until almost all of them are taken over entirely by corporations and so the stadium name changes. So instead of having a fun stadium name, it's named after a company. Thankfully there are still Fenway & Wrigley out there and a couple others. But "The Prudential Center" is a pretty good name. It's obviously named after Prudential, Inc. which has the rock. Which is cool because they mention calling it "The Rock" in the article as does Tom Lycan at his blog. But Tom was well ahead of the curve, doing it back on December 21. I dig it.

Link