my bloody valentine is playing together again.

i had doubts.

and finally there's a video with decent sound quality.  wow.

just... freakin... wow.

now i have to figure out which coast i am going to have to fly to so i can check these guys out.

www.coreypattersonsucks.com

after that game this past tuesday, i just couldn't help myself.

i am going for a 1995-ish design aesthetic.  because that's the last time the reds made the playoffs.

well, how's that trade looking now?

the nats are granting f-lop an unconditional release.

i'm telling you... the reds might not have got what they thought they were in majewski, but they gave up nothing.

i still think it was a neutral to good trade.

and if you wipe that off the k-dawg's books... his good moves outnumbered his bad ones even more than they did before.

1) encarnacion and griffey are killing this team on defense.  shortstop is a problem, too. 

2) 15 hits in less than 5 innings?  seriously?

3) jorge de la rosa just isn't that good.  honestly.

made it through the 5th, gave up and came home.  waste of an evening, really, except for a chance to boo e5e5 and griffey.

so, even though i nearly missed my flight in montreal this morning because i got held up in customs (took over an hour... in all the times i've flown out of dorval it's never taken more than 10 minutes) and then, once i did manage to run through the jetway and on to the plane as they were shutting the door,  we sat on the tarmac for 1 1/2 hours waiting for a freakishly long thunderstorm to pass... well, let's just say i was lucky to get back in time.  but i did, and i'm glad.  some thoughts/observations:

1) went throught the reds hall of fame to see the new exhibits.  the nuxy tribute is really great, and everyone should make an effort to go see it.  also, i can still throw strikes as long as i keep it under 50 mph.  that's just sad.

2) marty brennaman was nice enough to take time for a picture with my wife.  she was very happy.  she's worried that the grin is too cheesy because she was so excited to get the picture taken.

http://www.thelotd.com/rpa/gallery/view_gallery.one?gal_id=270226

3) also in attendance we had walt jocketty, cesar geronimo, joey jay, jeff keppinger and jerry hairston jr.  for some reason, i couldn't think of anything to say to any of them except for joey jay, so i didn't even walk up for the obligatory handshake... but was happy to shake hands with joey jay and tell him it was an honor.  i think people forget how great he was for this team for a couple of years in the early 60s.

4) joey jay looks pretty good for a guy who is 72 years old.

5) walt jocketty is about 10-20x more forthcoming with info than wayne krivsky was.  and it's not really a matter of him actually revaling anything more than krivsky did, it's just a matter of not treating the job of running a baseball team like it's a matter of national security.  for instance, when asked "how are you going to make ths into a winning ballclub", he answered "well, i want good defense up the middle... catcher, 2nd base, shortstop, centerfield.  i like speed.  good defense helps your pitching be better, good speed helps your offense be better".  that's a paraphrase but you get the idea.  nothing specific.  but it helps me (as a fan) think the team has a future if i feel like the gm at least has some plan in mind.  jocketty also admitted that it sure would be nice to have a right handed slugger to put in the middle of the lineup.  not exactly an earth shattering revelation, but something i think krivsky would have been hesitant to agree with if asked.

6) jocketty said it's too early to even think about specifics for free agency, like about whether or not dunn and/or griffey would be back... and i agree.  i don't think that means he hasn't been thinking hard about the dunn situation, though.  but he also mentioned these two weeks leading up to the trading deadline are a busy time...

7) jocketty said so far the responsible scout (name isn't coming to me right now) is the only one talking to yonder alonso's agent, but he might get involved now.  he made a comment that would be dangerously close to collusion if we were talking about already-established major leaguers... something to the effect that "all major league clubs are trying to keep the bonus money for these draft picks in check" and that the money given to these guys was getting ridiculous.

7a) also... alonso is represented by the same agent as adam dunn.

8) jocketty mentioned burton's strained lat, and that he was treated over the break and just threw in the last 24 hours or so and things looked good for a reasonably quick comeback.  mentioned they asked the broadcast team not to mention the injury in milwaukee... and that when weathers came in for the second day in a row, the brewers gm, sitting next to jocketty, made a comment "weathers instead of burton?  interesting."  jocketty said he just didn't say anything.

9) jerry hairston jr. seems to enjoy talking.  he's also a bit shorter than i would have guessed but his forearms seem abnormally large for someone his size.

10) hairston related a pretty funny prank he pulled on gerald laird when he was with the rangers.  apparently had him in tears.

11) j-kepp is a quiet guy.  deferred to hairston on most questions the audience had for the current reds.

12) i couldn't tell if j-kepp was wearing high socks.

13) j-kepp did say that when he first came back from the injury his quad in that leg was very weak but now he's back to 100%.

14) did i mention hairston likes to talk?

15) jocketty said that freel's rehab isn't going well and that surgery may be the result... should know more in a week or two.

16) didn't win any raffle prize tickets, but everyone who didn't got a nice gift - a little soft-sided reds cooler and some stickers and magnets.

and that's about it.  the reds put on a good show for this thing... if you're a season ticket holder and haven't been to one, it's fun and you should take the opportunity... it was well done and a much better way to spend two hours than working (which is what i was supposed to be doing...)