There's a good chance that by the time this blog is posted, your weekend will have started. Pardon me for the lateness (and likely, the brevity), but after a week's worth of early AM duty for the World Wide Leader, your boy decided to sleep in today.
Then, I hosted Cincy 3:60, which you can hear here.
Then, I decided to spend a little time, and money, here.
Yesterday, Jesse Winker capped off what's been an interesting eight days for both him and the Reds with a two-out, walk off homer that capped a stirring comeback which helped the Reds beat the Rockies and avoid a three-game sweep.
Winker's long one was the highlight of a 3 for 3 afternoon for the Reds rookie, and it's worth pointing out that his heroics came in a game that he didn't start since, you know, him starting or not starting has been a thing recently.
In an eight day stretch, we've done the thing where we lose our mind because Jesse won't start to wondering why Jim Riggleman has had a change of heart, now starting him regularly. We've seen Jesse's lack of speed catch up to him both on the bases and in the field. We've watched him make a nice diving play in left. We've seen him hit. And we've yelled at each other about how good he might be, whether or not he should be starting, if he's worth keeping around, and even if it might make sense to send him to the minors.
I've yet to hear one compelling argument against Jesse Winker playing every day.
The Reds are terrible, and it's about time we stop avoiding using that kind of verbiage by defaulting to the dreaded "rebuild" word that's become such a big part of our ever day vernacular. The Reds are bad, perhaps historically bad given that they're on pace to lose well over 100 games. Their starting pitching is stuck in the mud, and even though there's plenty that plagues this team, little of it matters more than the fact that their starters are just not (yet) very good.
So what's the harm in playing Jesse Winker? Every. Single. Day. If he starts all three games this weekend against the Cardinals and goes 0 for 15 with 15 strikeouts and drops ten balls in the outfield, are the Reds worse off for it? Will it cost them a pennant? Be your last straw as a Red fan?
I'm not telling you that Jesse Winker will be a star, or even more than anything other than a singles-hitter who's lack of speed and pop make him miscast as a corner outfielder. I am telling you that playing him regularly and allowing him to learn on the job while supplying the Reds' decision-makers will as much information on him as possible comes with absolutely zero downside. We know what Adam Duvall is. We know what Billy Hamilton is. Both, both good and bad. More important, the chances of either being any different than they are three years from now while still playing for the Reds are slim.
I can't say that about Jesse Winker, which means I want to see him play until I can say something definitive about him, and that won't be for a while.
Here's some stuff...
The only intrigue left in the NBA Finals...
A) Will tonight be LeBron James' final game as a Cavalier, and what will it look like if the series ends in Cleveland with everyone knowing that this could be it?
B) Who's the MVP? Right now, it should be Durant. I could be Steph. It can be LeBron, which is different than saying it should be LeBron?
C) Do the Warriors want to win this in four? Whether or not this goes five is almost solely dependent on whether Golden State is locked in enough to close this out this evening. Last year, the Warriors laid down after a 49-point Cleveland first quarter in game four, content to go ahead and win it in Oakland, which they did. If they handle the inevitable Cavaliers onslaught in the first 12 minutes, the Warriors win. If not, we get one more NBA game this season on Sunday.
FC Cincinnati drew less than 15,000 fans on Wednesday, which was a little eye-opening. It was their first home game since the big MLS announcement, and they played an MLS side.
So what does this say?
It says nothing, not in the broad sense. For now, at least.
And honestly, I don't feel like devoting much time to soccer attendance today. I want to go back outside. So I will.
Here's some other stuff...
I'm going to leave you with just one link today. Bill Simmons interviewing Charles Oakley. You won't be sorry. God, I love Oak.