Brawl fallout
CINCINNATI — Minor league baseball officials have fined and suspended 15 players and two managers for their roles in a massive bench-clearing brawl.
The Midwest League did not identify the players suspended Friday as a result off the July 24 melee between the Class A Peoria Chiefs and the Dayton Dragons.
League President George Spelius said it would be up to the clubs to identify the players.
Suspensions ranged from three games for most players, to 60 days for one. Dayton manager Donnie Scott was fined and suspended for three games, and the Chiefs' interim manager Carmelo Martinez was fined and suspended for 20 days.
Spelius said fines were assessed against all players on both rosters.
The Dragons are affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds, while the Chiefs are affiliated with the Chicago Cubs.

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Sad news on a former Cyclone
Former Cincinnati Cyclones forward Jason Baird is in stable condition at the Akron (Ohio) Burn Center after he was seriously burned on July 24 when the lawn mower he was riding exploded.
Baird, who suffered burns over 60-65 percent of his body, is expected to remain at the Akron Burn Center for 60-90 days for multiple surgeries.
The 27 year old, who is the father of three, played for the Cyclones as a rookie in 2001-02 and had 39 points (18g-21a) and 160 penalty minutes in 67 regular season games and eight penalty minutes in three Kelly Cup Playoff games.
His wife, Bethany, is providing updates on his condition at CaringBridge.org/visit/JasonBaird.
There will be a charity hockey game for Baird at the Chevy Centre in Youngstown, Ohio on Aug. 24. The game will have Mike Rupp of the New Jersey Devils and Kevin Kaminski, who coached Baird in 2007-08, as well as former teammates of Baird.
Donations to help Baird and his family defray medical and other expenses while he is hospitalized and unable to work can send it to:
Baird Family Fund
P.O. Box 264
Perry, OH 44081

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Weird

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What a difference a month makes
Adam Dunn
Month..... AVG.... SLG... OPS... HR..... RBI... W... K
June .......161.... . 425 ..... 767... 6..... ..12.... 22... 39
July .........310...... 762......1.143.. 12... 26.. 10.. 19

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Things noticed
Lakota West product Matt Klinker outdueled Dontrelle Willis last night as the Sarasota Reds beat Lakeland 1-0. Klinker was making his High-A debut. He allowed 6 hits, 2 walks, 5 k's and no runs in 6.2 innings.

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Nationals release Felipe Lopez
Washington Post
"We're going to turn the page," General Manager Jim Bowden said. "We're going to get younger for the last two months and we're going to continue to develop young players. We want players here that are going to hustle and play the game hard and play the game right. We just feel at this point we need to give younger players an opportunity and we're going to do that."

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The Reds with and without Jr
From Mark Wagner, official statistician of my show

 

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Nice touch by the Reds this morning
I'm told they have a few more things planned to honor Junior before the team returns on Monday...

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Brush with Greatness
I've gotten a lot of emails in the last 24-hours from listeners that met Jr. at some point.
I love hearing stories of your impression of an athlete after you meet them.
We haven't rolled out Brush With Greatness since March of '07....might be time to do it again today. Who did you meet? Where and how did you meet them? What were your impressions?
If you could, tell your story in your head and then cut the length of it in half when you call.
We tend to run into time issues with this topic:)

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Georgia tops coaches' preseason Top 25 poll
USA Today
OSU 3, UC 37, UK 42, UL 51

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Friday show
Guests
Joe Sheehan, Baseball Prospectus
Mary Wineberg, US Olympian
Topics
Reds: Jr reaction. I'm guessing you heard from everyone Thursday. What do you think?
Bengals
Autograph Tips: 10 tips for autographs at Georgetown
Vacation Horror Stories: We never did this prior to my vacation. We will tie it in with the 25-year anniversary of "Vacation" this week. Got a story of a vacation gone horribly wrong?

Friday Bengals show
We will have a new location this year: Buffalo Wings and Rings in Tri-County.
Details to follow.

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Casey update
Casey is home after eye surgery Thursday afternoon.
Doctors say things went well and without complications.
Surgery was about 90-minutes and he was out for a total of 3 hours.
He was telling doctors and nurses about the Jr trade all morning.
I think we were much more nervous than he was about the surgery.
His doctor asked everyone if there were any questions before they began, Casey
asked, "Will I be able to hit a baseball better after this?" Everyone cracked
up. He had a lucky buckeye in his pocket from Buckeye Mike.
He was excited to push the line with the anaesthesia to put himself to sleep.
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.
He goes back for a follow-up Friday morning.
I can't thank Mo Egger enough for covering my show. I heard he did Rome's show as well. Wow!

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Jr reaction
Jr traded....and I'm not on the air. Figures.
I'm happy Jr gets a shot to play in the postseason. If he wants to leave I'm fine with that because he had to agree to the trade. I'll root for him in Chicago. I'm sad his stay here did not work out. I wish him the best. My family will be forever grateful for his kind gesture for Casey six years ago.
I've talked about the Exit Strategy in this for the last couple of weeks. I think it changed for the Reds. This was a "move on" deal. The Reds wanted to turn the page to the future, they found a taker, didn't have to wait til the offseason, and jumped at it.
Part of me wishes he could have finished the season, had a Jr Appreciaton Night on Saturday, Sept 20, and retired a Red.
His time here can be summed up as disappointing and frustrating....for all involved. He will go down as one of Cincinnati's greatest What If's?. It just didn't work out. It left everyone wanting more. There are a variety of reasons it did not work....the lies of previous ownership to increase the payroll when he got here, the injuries, the age, the unfair expectations, the rabbit ears...etc.
In the end, if 5 or 6 Reds don't have a career year in 1999, the Reds don't change their "plan" and he probably never comes here.
As for Dunn....I don't know what to think. I don't think he wants to return. I don't think most in the organization want him back. But I wonder how/if Jr's departure changes Dunn....and if the Reds will wait to see that? Privately the organization has talked about changing the culture of the clubhouse for a while, it begins changing Friday.

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On this date: 1978
Pete Rose's National League‚record 44-consecutive-game hitting streak, which he shares with Willie Keeler, ended when Larry McWilliams and Gene Garber of the Atlanta Braves blanked him in five plate appearances at Fulton County Stadium as the Braves routed the Cincinnati Reds, 16-4.

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Congrats to the Cincinnati Steam
Regular season champs

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Cornhole: The Movie
Here is the trailer. We had the crew in studio about a year ago

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Bengals: On the run
CBS Sports
So let's try this again: How do you sell the new approach to Chad Johnson?

TJ not flashy but is "solid as hell"
CBS Sports
He makes more catches. He scores more touchdowns. And he's infinitely more reliable -- on and off the field.

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Top 10 players not in football Hall of Fame
Four Pro Bowls, the 1981 MVP award and the first Super Bowl appearance in team history were not enough to get this Bengals legend into the Hall.

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Things I'm told
"I'm surprised the Reds could get that much for Junior"
-MLB agent

"He can't play CF....he won't be able to cover the ground at Cellular Field or in that division in KC, Detroit, Minnesota, Cleveland"
-NL executive

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What they are saying in Chicago
Piniella believes in Jr
Jr gives Sox options
Making final run for ring
Sr. told son it was time to move on
Jr is a Sox uniform? I'm stoked

"Swisher said he would surrender his No. 30 jersey to Griffey and already taped Griffey's name over the back of one of his jerseys. "It's right here," Swisher said. "It's all him.
"-Chicago Tribune

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If you wonder what "culture of the clubhouse means"
Griffey's sense of entitlement was shared by younger, impressionable Reds, who hadn't earned what Griffey owned. There was (and is) no player leadership to counteract it. That's a big reason Griffey isn't a Red today. Too many young players, too easily led.
-Paul Daugherty, Enquirer

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Jr batting 3rd not a charm in Chicago
"What they're looking for is some stability in center, some power in the No. 6 hole and a way to demote Paul Konerko, whose mysterious demise no longer is tolerable"
-Jay Mariotti, Sun Times

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Clip and save for Dunn's future
"We're going to call Jerry Hairston Jr. back early from rehab (Friday) and he'll play center field. We'll move Jay Bruce to right and have Dunn in left," said Jocketty. "My best answer is this gives us an opportunity to look at what the future might be."

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Former Bearcat will miss preseason
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Just about halfway through their tranquil and carefree training camp, the Browns received some bad news Thursday.

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Power move
Just wondering...has there every been a single day in MLB history where as many career HR's were traded?: 1,261
Jr 608
Manny 510
Bay 140
LaRoche 3

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Congrats to Josh K
Josh Katzowitz, former beat writer for the Cincinnati Post, joins the GoBEARCATS.com team as a daily blogger, covering all 18 varsity sports at the University of Cincinnati. The Katz on the Cats blog will kick off on Aug. 1, coinciding with the opening of the 2008 football practice schedule.
"I'm excited about bringing my reporting and writing skills to GoBEARCATS.com and introducing a blog Bearcats fans clearly need and want," Katzowitz said. "I've been covering this program for various newspapers and web sites for the past 18 months, and I feel like I've gotten to know the ins and outs of UC and have developed strong relationships within the department of athletics. I'll bring my objectivity and my analyzing skills to GoBEARCATS.com, so fans can get insight and breaking news from the web site they should be visiting first every day. I'm pumped to get started."
"Adding Josh to our family of writers will only enhance our original content on GoBEARCATS.com," said UC Senior Associate Director of Athletics Mike Waddell. "Josh knows the UC beat, has a great network of contacts in college sport, and will stretch the boundries of coverage in a fresh direction. One of our top priorities over the coming years is to establish GoBEARCATS.com as a newsbreaking entity in the local media and this move is a great first step.

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Griffey helps, but won't put Sox over the top
Jay Mariotti, Sun Times
Please understand this: The White Sox are not getting the first-ballot Hall of Famer, the Ken Griffey Jr. once endorsed by Nike for president, the phenom who leaped over fences and blasted home runs in flurries and defined the essence of the five-tool stud. Please realize they're getting Griffey in his 38-year-old twilight, the Griffey who hasn't played center field regularly since 2006, the Griffey who has gained weight, the Griffey who wasn't coveted by anyone by Ken Williams.

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Things heard
I just went back and watched ESPN's Trade Deadline show. They were discussing the lack of interest in Dunn....his flaws, not knowing where he really fits in the order, the money involved...etc. Buster Olney said, "I talked to one GM today that said he wouldn't give Dunn more than a one or two year deal at 5-million a year when he becomes a free agent this offseason."

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Maxim Hometown Hottie
Careful opening
We may have a new leader in the clubhouse