THE MORNING LINE
Doc's Morning Line: It's not their fault, but the Reds chose a bad time to try to get good
Paul Daugherty
The Reds first bit of offseason housecleaning involved releasing Archie Bradley, which is a little strange given Bradley was arguably the best reliever on their roster in September. He can close and he's in his prime and his arbitration number was expected to be something near $5 million.
The Club's bullpen was OK last year. Raisel Iglesias, anointed closer, was sometimes erratic. Michael Lorenzen will compete for a rotation job. Do you want to go to war with Lucas Sims and Amir Garrett, both good pitchers, neither a closer?
The team has replacements for two other players they didn't tender: Tyler Stephenson for Curt Casali, Somebody for Brian Goodwin. R.J. Alaniz is a 29-year-old pitcher with 15 big league innings. Bye, now.
But Bradley?
His release suggests the '21 Reds will not be All In. And if they really are pondering dealing Sonny Gray – No. 2 starter, team-friendly deal – '21 could represent a step back. Here's why we're talking about this:
The Reds took it in the financial shorts last summer. All teams did.
Estimates of Baseball's losses thanks to the plague vary widely, and clubs guard their books as if they were Hope Diamonds. I've heard the Reds lost something close to $100 million last year. The Cubs reportedly lost $140 mil.
Worse, no one can predict better days this year. Will Baseball play 162 games? If not, how many? Will fans be allowed in? When and how many?
Added to that is the CBA, expiring after the season. Labor talks in baseball are always messy and annoying. These talks, with last year and this year as a backdrop, will be messier and annoying-er. Owners will not be in a conciliatory mood. The players never are.
The Reds chose a bad time to try to get good. Hard to blame them for that.
It should also be noted that crying for owners is strictly optional. Their profit is on the back end and it is huge. Despite MLB's problems, the cost of a baseball franchise continues to skyrocket. The Reds are worth an estimated $1.075 billion, and that's 4th-lowest in MLB, according to Forbes magazine. Not bad for a $270 million purchase made in January 2006.
Now, then. . .
XU-UC SUNDAY AT 3. . . Where is your level of interest?
I say this every year, but it's never been truer around here than this year:
Now through February is a dress rehearsal. In quasi-am hoops, all that matters is what you look like in March. Xavier and Cincinnati are on shakedown cruises. Shakedowns? They're circumnavigating the globe.
I listened to the radio broadcast of UC's opener last night. Props to Mo Egger and Terry Nelson for getting all the names right. (Well, almost all. "Rapolas Ivanauskas'' the grad transfer from Colgate, didn't quite roll off T-Nel's tongue.) Chris Vogt, I know. Keith Williams, Mika Adams-Woods. Half a recollection for Jeremiah Davenport. The rest? Um, ah, no.
Up I-71 I was less confused. Good on ya, Freemantle, Carter, Tandy and Scruggs.
The challenge for Travis Steele and John Brannen is to find roles and rotations that work among these groups of Who's (Trying to Be) Who. Who's The Man? Who's the Glue Guy? Who can take over a game, who can take the last shot? Will everybody be OK with all of it?
With these two clubs, it's like a chef being asked to bake a 6-layer wedding cake with a pile of water, sugar and flour. It's gonna be a fascinating winter. And for now, very messy.
AND NOW. . .FunMaster Brien gets natural for the holidays:
Now that Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, it is time to get into the Christmas spirit. The Cincinnati Nature Center (4949 Tealtown Road, Milford) has a brand new winter tradition called Light in the Forest. This event opens tonight and runs until January 3rd – Thursdays through Sundays.
There are few things as tranquil as a night hike in winter. This wonderful experience will be enhanced with gentle lights "reflecting a theme of peace and inspiration." The paths and trees will be softly illuminated, plus there will be three major installations by OBLSK – a participant in the Cincinnati BLINK events of years past. OBLSK, based out of Columbus, specializes in large-scale projection mapping and interactive electronic engineering. They do pretty impressive work.
There will be live music, bonfires, holiday shopping, and the lodge and cabin on site will be festooned with period decorations. This is a great opportunity to get out into the woods with the family or to go on a festive holiday date. Standard pandemic rules apply.
Please note: many of the time slots are starting to sell out, so head over to cincynature.org and reserve your spot before it is too late. See you on the trails!
Imbiber Dave finds a friend in Elijah Craig. . .
Love me some Elijah. J. Thinwallet digs the price. The taste is even better. A really good value, IMO, up there with a few of the Old Forester bottles.
Bourbons, ranked for me, knowing I will never pay for Pappy and only rarely for, say, Woodford Double-Oaked. And I don't like the ryes:
EH Taylor
Maker's 101
TUNE O' THE DAY. . . It's Christmas, or it oughta be. This is the first time I'll play this, but it won't be the last. Makes me happy. Every time. By the way, dig Jerry Springer doppelanger on the bells.