Cincinnati Reds Minor League Affiliation Changes:

• AA: From the Chattanooga Lookouts to the Carolina Mudcats.

            - Current agreement: 2 Years
            - Location changes from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Zebulon,
              North Carolina (Outside of Raleigh, NC)

Cleveland Indians Minor League Affiliation Changes:

• AAA: From the Buffalo Bisons to the Columbus Clippers.

            - Current agreement: 4 Years
            - Location changes from Buffalo, New York to Columbus, Ohio

• Unconfirmed - Rookie League: GCL (Gulf Coast League) Indians transition to the Arizona League Indians.

            - Location changes from Winter Haven, Florida to Goodyear, Arizona

Former Reds and Indians Affiliates from the 2008 season:

• The Buffalo Bisons are now the AAA minor league affiliate for the New York Mets.

• The Chattanooga Lookouts are now the AA minor league affiliate for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On Sunday June 1, 2008 the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings vintage base ball team travels to Mansfield, Ohio to play against the Mansfield Independents vintage base ball club. The game starts at 2:00 p.m. at the Mansfield Senior High School baseball diamond at Arlin Field. Mansfield, Ohio was the first stop, outside the Greater Cincinnati Area, for the first ever all professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings (now the Cincinnati Reds). The original game took place on June 1, 1869 when the Cincinnati Red Stockings won 48 to 14, at Davey Field in Mansfield, Ohio. While the Cincinnati Red Stockings were a professional baseball team, the Mansfield Independents comprised mostly (if not entirely) of amateur players.

I am attending the Davey Field Classic this year. I was born in Mansfield, Ohio and grew up there. I moved to the Greater Cincinnati area over ten years ago. With family in both Northern and Southern Ohio, I grew up following both the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, and still follow both teams to this day. Despite growing up and playing youth baseball in Mansfield, I only learned of Mansfield's place in baseball and sports history several years ago. Until recently, there were few people in Richland county aware of the historical game played at Davey Field in 1869. The city of Mansfield is celebrating their bicentennial this year, causing many to refocus on the history of the region, which prompted a remake of the Mansfield Independents team and a rematch between them and the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

I've walked over the roadway bridge on West Fourth Street in Mansfield, Ohio above the original Davey Field location many times. I've been to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum and seen the plaque showing the teams the Cincinnati Red Stockings played in their first year as a professional baseball team in 1869, and smiled upon seeing Mansfield as one of the earliest professional baseball games ever played. I've attended a couple of 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings vintage base ball games, and always hoped that a vintage style rematch would take place some day. Tomorrow, my wish becomes reality as Mansfield begins celebrating their bicentennial, with the Davey Field Classic. For the first time ever, I find myself compelled to root against a Cincinnati Reds team, but please don't flame me for that. After all, when you come from a small town, how can you root against your home town team?

For details on attending the game, please see my post:

http://www.thelotd.com/ohiobaseball/blog/2008/05/31/2008_davey_field_classic__vintage_base_ball_game

2008 Davey Field Classic - Vintage Base Ball Game

The 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings vs. the Mansfield Independents

Where:

Arlin Field (Mansfield Senior High School - Baseball Diamond)
West 4th Street
Mansfield, Ohio 44901

When:

Sunday June 1, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.

Details:

This event is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets for seating, concessions will be available. In addition to the game, tours will be given of the original Davey Field, home to one of the first professional baseball games ever played.

Websites:

http://www.mansfieldohio2008.com/calendar.html
http://www.1869reds.com/
http://www.wmfd.com/newsboard/singlesports.asp?Story=31934

The Cincinnati Reds Matt-metrics Rating Score as of 05/19/2008:

1487

(Previous rating, on 05/16/2008: 1434, change +53)

The Cincinnati Reds Matt-metrics score went up as the Cincinnati Reds swept the Cleveland Indians and ensured themselves at least a share of the Ohio Cup trophy. More importantly, the Reds climbed out of last place and have a .500 team winning percentage within reach. The Reds winning percentage is up from .439 to .477, after the series against the Indians. The Reds added 5 additional home runs bringing their season total to 51, and the Reds added 14 RBIs bringing that season total to 184.

The Reds Team ERA dropped from 4.71 to 4.59, which is a positive trend in pitching. Francisco Cordero successfully closed out two games in the series, bringing his save total to 9 on the year. Closer, Fracisco Cordero is 9 out of 10 in save opportunities so far this season.

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The Cleveland Indians Matt-metrics Rating Score as of 05/19/2008:

1560

(Previous rating, on 05/16/2008: 1570, change -10)

The Cleveland Indians Matt-metrics score went down as the Indians lost all three games against the Cincinnati Reds and dropped to a .500 winning percentage on the year. The Cleveland Indians batters struggled at the plate against Cincinnati Reds pitching, going 3 for 27, with runners in scoring position. The Indians offense is not typically potent enough to come back from a deficit, and the Reds got off to early leads in games 1 and 3 in the series. The Indians added 4 stolen bases and 5 home runs in the series, but those came in three straight losing efforts.

Despite Cliff Lee surrendering more runs in one game than all season, Indians pitching kept them in all three games. Travis Hafner made few appearances in the series.The Indians need more runs from players like Hafner to get back to winning baseball.

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The Matt-metrics rating scale:

For more information on the Matt-metrics scale and rating system, please visit the Matt-metrics information page at:

http://mattscheurer.googlepages.com/matt-metrics.html

The Cincinnati Reds Matt-metrics Rating Score as of 05/16/2008:

1434

(Previous rating, on 04/27/2008: 1421, change +13)

The Reds showed recent improvement, especially earlier this week, but they have a long way to go if they hope to contend in the NL Central division. While the Reds winning percentage looks better (.439) than it did half a month ago (.423), the run deficit versus opponents increased from -17 runs to -25 runs. Interestingly enough, the team on base plus slugging percentage is nearly identical to where it was at the time of my last post, but a noticeable increase in stolen bases, home runs, and RBIs demonstrates the Reds are making better use of their offensive opportunities. Defensively, the Reds are still committing well under one error per game.

The alarming numbers for the Reds revolve around pitching. The team ERA jumped from 4.41, since my last update, to 4.71. The team WHIP went from 1.28 to 1.43, during the same time frame. Opponent batting average increased from .325 to .355. Better team pitching is clearly needed to get the Reds out of last place in the division.

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The Cleveland Indians Matt-metrics Rating Score as of 04/27/2008:

1570

(Previous rating, on 04/27/2008: 1532, change +38)

The Cleveland Indians Matt-metrics score went up as the Indians climbed into first place, putting them into the driver seat of the AL Central division. With a .537 winning percentage, the Indians look poised to live up to the pre-season hype. The Indians outscored their opponents by 31 runs about a fourth of the way through the 2008 MLB season. Surprisingly the offensive numbers went down for the Indians, since my last post. Their OPS went from .707 down to .679, while the Indians batting average slipped from .247 to .236, after my last Matt-metrics update.

While the bats cooled for the Indians, the pitching heated up. In little more than half a month, the Indians team pitching ERA went from 4.12 to 3.26. Their WHIP dropped from 1.41 to 1.27 and opponents batting average dropped from .355 to .339. If the Indians batting comes around then look out, and expect the Indians to strongly contend in the post-season.

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The Matt-metrics rating scale:

For more information on the Matt-metrics scale and rating system, please visit the Matt-metrics information page at:

http://mattscheurer.googlepages.com/matt-metrics.html