Blake Haley's Cincinnati Reds fan blog

The Reds are off to a decent start having won three straight and going for a sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee. Cincinnati's future is bright with a solid core of young pitchers and position players throughout the organization. 

I might be in the minority when I say I like Dusty Baker as a manager and think he is doing a solid job. There is only one beef I have with Baker and the lineups he trots out on a day-to-day basis: Dusty please play Chris Dickerson.

The coaching staff has said that Dickerson is going to be the left-handed platoon guy in left field and will split time with righty Jerry Hairston Jr. But, my point is, if the Reds think Jay Bruce is the so-called future and will be the everyday right-fielder, why can't Dickerson be the future in left-field and get to play everyday? Dickerson hits left-handed pitchers way better than Bruce, has much more speed than Bruce and is a better outfielder. I am not saying that Bruce will not be a good player in time to come, but I just don't understand why Bruce plays everyday, no matter who is pitching, yet Dickerson is strictly a platoon guy.

Continue reading "Chris Dickerson should be playing everyday"

LeBron James has talent that his him on the fast-track to being the greatest basketball player of all time. His physical skills and charisma is unprecedented.

However, here is a little advice for King James: Just shut up and win something.

LeBron needs to quit all the dancing, quit all the picture taking in pre-game introductions and quit all the muscle flexing every time he dunks the basketball. For the guy that is supposed to be the next Michael Jordan, LeBron acts nothing like M.J.

All the unnecessary antics that LeBron and his teammates continue to do on a nightly basis is doing nothing but putting a big bulls-eye on the Cavaliers' chest as the playoffs begin. Cleveland is having its best season in franchise history and LeBron is hands-down the MVP. But, all of that means nothing if the Cavs don't win in the playoffs and anything short of an NBA championship will be a failure.

Continue reading "LeBron James just shut up and play"

So last year Chad Ocho Cinco demanded a trade by appearing on every talk show under the sun and explicitly demanding a trade from the Cincinnati Bengals. This year Ocho Cinco is going about it in a different manner — he is ignoring the Bengals all together.

Ocho Cinco is refusing to return calls from the coaching staff and teammates, including Carson Palmer, in hopes to get his point across that he wants out of Cincinnati. Well, it's time for Mike Brown and the front office to finally grant Ocho Cinco his wish.

The market for a wide receiver in his 30s that lacks break away speed, is coming off an injury-plagued season, has questionable hands and is a cancer in the locker room is virtually non-existent. The teams that would take Ocho Cinco will only dwindle after the draft when all those teams address their receiving needs from the college ranks.

Continue reading "Bengals must trade Ocho Cinco now"