The payroll slashing Cincinnati Reds aren’t inspiring much optimism for 2022
Random notes:
▪ If the Cincinnati Reds are not holding a fire sale, there sure is a lot of smoke. Gone is catcher Tucker Barnhart, traded to the Detroit Tigers. Gone is pitcher Wade Miley, claimed on waivers by the Chicago Cubs. Almost certainly gone is Nick Castellanos, who opted out of the final year of his two-year deal.
Barnhart and Miley were to be replaced. Tyler Stephenson will be the Reds’ everyday catcher in 2022. Former first-round draft picks Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene will surely make their MLB mound debuts next season.
But reports that Cincinnati has put starting pitcher Luis Castillo on the market gives the vibe that owner Bob Castellini wants a serious cut in payroll.
▪ Forget basketball, Kentucky is a women’s volleyball state. As we know, Craig Skinner’s Wildcats won the NCAA championship last season. This year, just this week, undefeated Louisville moved into the No. 1 spot in the AVCA rankings. The Cardinals are 23-0. Kentucky is ranked No. 7. The Cats are 17-4. Western Kentucky (24-1) is ranked No. 18.
▪ Dan Mullen sacrificed defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevsey to try and save his job at Florida. Mullen’s problem has been on the recruiting trail, where Georgia’s Kirby Smart has been cleaning up. That’s showing on the field.
▪ You know it’s not your year when your starting quarterback injures himself dancing at the team hotel. That’s what happened to the Gators’ Anthony Richardson before Florida’s embarrassing 40-17 loss at South Carolina.
▪ What a mess at last week’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. During Friday’s Juvenile Turf Sprint, the No. 2 horse, Albahar, flipped in the starting gate and was scratched. The No. 1 horse, Modern Games, was also scratched after hitting the back of the gate. Because of a communication error with the stewards, Modern Games, was allowed to run. And he won. His owners got the purse money. But those who had bet on the horse only got their money back. They were not happy.
▪ Don’t look now but Billy Donovan has the NBA’s Chicago Bulls off to a 7-3 start after Monday’s 118-95 takedown of the Brooklyn Nets. The Bulls have not enjoyed a winning season since 2015-16. Billy D can still coach.
▪ Kentucky football ran a school-record 99 offensive plays for 612 yards last Saturday and still lost to Tennessee 45-42. The last time UK gained over 600 yards of total offense and lost? That was Nov. 12, 2016, when Mark Stoops’ team lost 49-36 at — you guessed it — Tennessee.
▪ This time last month, Mark Stoops looked to be leader for SEC Coach of the Year honors. Now, with three weeks to go, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel and Arkansas’ Sam Pittman are probably the front-runners. Or, considering his team is ranked No. 1 in the nation, Georgia’s Kirby Smart should be the favorite.
▪ My college football top four: Georgia, Oklahoma, Cincinnati and Alabama. Georgia, Oklahoma and Cincinnati are all unbeaten. To me, Alabama is still the best of the one-loss teams.
▪ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his Substack column on Aaron Rodgers: “Rodgers’ ignorance regarding the science of immunology brings back to life the old stereotype of the big dumb jock.”
▪ By the way, Rodgers reportedly is unhappy with the reaction to his explanation for not being vaccinated. Is this guy ever happy?
▪ Love the NFL, but the league can’t do anything without overdoing it. All you had to do was watch the end of Monday night’s Chicago-Pittsburgh game to know officials have carried the new taunting rule way too far.
▪ Give it up for Purdue Coach Jeff Brohm. The former Louisville quarterback and Western Kentucky coach has guided the Boilermakers to upsets of No. 2 Iowa and No. 3 Michigan State this year. Purdue is 6-3. (A UK-Purdue bowl matchup would be fun.)
▪ One more reason why, for me, a little Mike Leach goes a long way. After his kickers missed three field goals in Mississippi State’s 31-28 loss at Arkansas, Leach said he would hold an open tryout for kickers. Monday, he mocked kickers in general, saying, “Approach the ball and kick it. Simple as that.”
Maybe it’s as simple as Leach has done a bad job of coaching his kickers.
