BengalszoneBilly Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Now I think this list is a bit skwered due to the fact it was by the home town rag. How else do you explain the Reds being ranked #8!! I want some of what they're smokin!! I can't tell if they're serious or they're joking. Anyway, here they are:Sunday, February 15, 2004 Preseason power rankings The Cincinnati Enquirer 1. Boston Red Sox No A-Rod, but Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke cement the Pedro Martinez-led staff. 2. Chicago Cubs Young pitching matures. Note the "time-to-beat the curses" theme. 3. Anaheim Angels Add Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon to a solid nucleus, then dig the rally monkey out of the closet. 4. Houston Astros Can Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte help Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggo reach elusive postseason success? 5. Philadelphia Phillies A big payroll boost thanks to a new ballpark rebuilds the bullpen, with Billy Wagner at the end. 6. New York Yankees Were they worried about the Red Sox? Guess so - to the tune of, oh, $150 million or so for Alex Rodriguez. 7. Florida Marlins Defending champs lose catcher-of-fortune Ivan Rodriguez, but so what? It's about the young arms. 8. Cincinnati Reds OK. We confess. Just checking to see if you were paying attention. 9. San Francisco Giants Can they really remake this team, again? Two words: Barry Bonds. 10. Atlanta Braves Where were you in 1990, the last time they didn't finish first? 11. Oakland Athletics Shortstop Miguel Tejada's gone, but Hudson-Mulder-Zito made up for loss of Jason Giambi, too. 12. Seattle Mariners Until proven otherwise. Randy Johnson, Junior Griffey and A-Rod leave, but winning doesn't. 13. Minnesota Twins Shannon Stewart and the Baggy stay; Eddie Guardado and LaTroy Hawkins go. 14. Kansas City Royals Funny how this small-market team can come up with cash for players (Juan Gonzalez). 15. Chicago White Sox Enough talent to join Twins, Royals in AL Central slugfest. 16. Los Angeles Dodgers New owner might yet spend money. Get a lead, hand the ball to Eric Gagne. 17. San Diego Padres Another new ballpark, another team putting its money where its hopes are. 18. Montreal Expos No Vlad, but never underestimate manager Frank Robinson's magic. 19. St. Louis Cardinals Pitching staff suspect, but Albert Pujols just might be the next Bonds. 20. Toronto Blue Jays Added Pat Hentgen and Miguel Batista, presumably to help overcome loss of Cory Lidle. 21. Baltimore Orioles Javy Lopez, Tejada, Rafael Palmeiro and Sidney Ponson mean one thing: another fourth-place finish. 22. Arizona Diamondbacks Getting old, but there are some live young arms behind the Big Unit. We'll miss you, Mark Grace. 23. New York Mets Typical. Yankees add Godzilla Matsui, Mets add pip-squeak shortstop Matsui. 24. Colorado Rockies Todd Helton putting up Lou Gehrig numbers, Coors Field or not. 25. Cleveland Indians Battle of Ohio. Who can rebuild with youngsters more quickly, the Tribe or the Reds? 26. Milwaukee Brewers Richie Sexson is gone; the Selig family is soon to follow. 27. Tampa Bay Devil Rays Don Zimmer is Lou Piniella's senior baseball adviser. Can't wait for the first co-tantrum. 28. Detroit Tigers Nice move, Pudge. Sure, it's not about the money. 29. Pittsburgh Pirates Quick, name three players not named Jason Kendall. 30. Texas Rangers Alex Rodriguez leaving AL West cellar, but you can bet he'll keep his wine cellar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Either two things; they are joking or they are absolutely so diluted in thinking the Reds are #8. I vote for joking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted February 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 I vote for joking... Well then the no wonder the author of it didn't have the gumtion to sign his name to it. What a waste of print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 I vote for joking...Well then the no wonder the author of it didn't have the gumtion to sign his name to it. What a waste of print. The Cincy Enquirer does that crap a lot. I really don't read their junk about sports unless its about a signing or interview with a player. Their opinions on the paper are rather boring and conflict a lot with my own interests; which include quality reporting and research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted February 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Okay, so the Enquirers crap aside, where do you put the Reds in the rankings? I say they can't be any higher than the Cardinals at #19. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 I'd rank them between 25-30. I really don't think, even if everyone has career years, we won't finish in the top three of the NL Central. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted February 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 I'd have to agree. Hook me up with the Enquirers dealer would ya. That must be some damn good s**t! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Contact Pete Rose, I'm sure he has enough connections still to hook you up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted February 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 This was on the Official Reds website. Have we been given back the honors of the opening day game!?! It looks like it versus the Cubbies! Anyway here's a snippet:The club broke its previous sellout record of 26 minutes in 2002, the final Opening Day at Cinergy Field, by selling out Opening Day 2004 in just 16 minutes. "Cincinnati's a baseball town and I think people are pretty excited. The start of the new year always brings a new promise, and I think people see that we're headed in the right direction. They're excited about the new regime coming to town. That's a big deal." -- Chris Reitsma "That's amazing," said manager Dave Miley. "That's just awesome." Although he'll be calling the shots for the first time in a big-league opener when the Reds take the field against the Chicago Cubs on April 5 at Great American Ball Park, Miley has been in the organization for more than two decades and understands the tradition that goes along with Opening Day in Cincinnati, where the Reds became baseball's first professional team in 1869. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsfan2 Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 This was on the Official Reds website. Have we been given back the honors of the opening day game!?! It looks like it versus the Cubbies! Anyway here's a snippet:The club broke its previous sellout record of 26 minutes in 2002, the final Opening Day at Cinergy Field, by selling out Opening Day 2004 in just 16 minutes. "Cincinnati's a baseball town and I think people are pretty excited. The start of the new year always brings a new promise, and I think people see that we're headed in the right direction. They're excited about the new regime coming to town. That's a big deal." -- Chris Reitsma "That's amazing," said manager Dave Miley. "That's just awesome." Although he'll be calling the shots for the first time in a big-league opener when the Reds take the field against the Chicago Cubs on April 5 at Great American Ball Park, Miley has been in the organization for more than two decades and understands the tradition that goes along with Opening Day in Cincinnati, where the Reds became baseball's first professional team in 1869.That will be fantastic if it's true. It'll be great to see the bunting hung out and know that the Reds are the first game of the season again. As much doubt as I've got about O'Brien, I'm that optimistic about Miley. He's got the team working on basics, he's got a hitting coach that won't be interfered with, and he actually has a plan of action concerning the pitching staff ....... complete with alternatives. That is such a refreshing change compared to Baboones theory of " We're just going to put them all out there and see what happens." And yeah that was a direct quote. It was right up there with having Dunn hitting in the lead off position. BUT.As big a fan as I am .... and as much as I'm looking forward to the season ..... it'll be a miracle if we don't finish dead last. Based on what happened last year and the lame excuses that were trotted out trying to justify it, I look for the salary purge to continue. If Griffey does well he's gone. Same with anyone else that gets shown an interest by another club. They will be replaced by triple A guys who will be rushed into positions they aren't ready for. Miley will take the blame for it of course, and his contract won't be renewed. That way they'll be able to get another guy in there for a 1 year stint at bargain basement money. If you think I'm being overly pessimistic, the club has already said in the off season that they will entertain trade talks for any player on the team with no exceptions, and that money saved from the fire sale last season ( that was finally stopped by the commissioner ) was going to be used to offset less than expected revenue from lower ticket sales and would not be used to acquire free agents. Still ... people buy out the house in 16 minutes. Fans that good deserve way better from the owner. Owners have to realize that its their team in name only. The teams really belong to the fans and the people of the city, and they are merely stewards of the team until it passes to the next generation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted February 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 Still ... people buy out the house in 16 minutes. Fans that good deserve way better from the owner. Owners have to realize that its their team in name only. The teams really belong to the fans and the people of the city, and they are merely stewards of the team until it passes to the next generation. No truer words on this subject ever spoken! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted April 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 You know what? I think the Enquirer isn't as far fetched as it seemed at the time! If you look at the standings now, and what they projected then...Pretty damn good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jditty47 Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 they are ranked 30 out of 30 on mvp baseball 2004. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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