Before the football guesses, two things...
1) This completely encapsulated my thoughts on the Tanner Roark trade....
For all the fraz and bluster the last few months about getting the pitching and such, Roark is maybe not the most thrilling guy, at first glance. I mean, we’ve been talking about Corey Kluber and Dallas Keuchel and all, and Tanner Roark isn’t one of them. But you really should not be disappointed here. In fact, I think this is one of the smartest moves the Reds have made in a while.
While Roark may not be an ace, he is definitely good. He has thrown 180 or more innings for three years running and has posted a respectable 3.89 ERA in that span. He’s the kind of pitcher that gets strikeouts, limits walks, and induces weak contact. How many guys have the Reds had like that over the last few seasons?
And here’s the best part: the price was way cheap. He will make a hair under $10 million this season before being eligible for free agency. And the pitcher the Reds sent to the Nats, Tanner Rainey, is an acceptable loss. He has all the talent in the world, but he has always struggled to find the plate. It’s possible that he turns into one of the very best bullpen arms in the world, but that possibility is remote. He is a lottery ticket.
I’m low-key psyched as all hell about this trade. It isn’t the big flashy top-of-the-rotation ace we’ve all been clamoring for, but he isn’t so far from it. And the cost is way reasonable. This is a really smart move.
Thank you, Red Reporter, for doing the work for me.
Tanner Roark is better than what they've had, but not as good as what they'll eventually need. Taken on its own merit, it's hard to get that worked up about this trade. If it ends up being part of a series of moves that push the Reds closer to relevance, I'm all-in.
2) The nice kids at Barstool Cincinnati had me on their podcast last night. A good time was had. Go here for more.
The football season charges on, or in Cincinnati, it trudges toward its conclusion. The final three games of the Bengals season aren't nearly as interesting as what happens once they're played.
Will Marvin be back? My somewhat-but-not-totally-uneducated guess is, no.
Will Hue be his replacement? Moving him into the head coach's office would be more insulting to our intelligence than keeping Marvin around, but frankly, I have no idea.
And if he gets blown out in Minnesota, I'll take a pass on Mike Zimmer too. If we're moving on from Marvin, let's totally move on from Marvin. I'm not interested in loose branches off of Marvin Lewis' coaching tree.
I also won't be able to stomach the "who else ya gonna get" yelps that will emit from Bengals apologists if either Marvin or Hue is the guy in 2019.
Keeping what you have because you're unsure of what might be better is either a decision made based on fear, or one made based on being unprepared.
Neither are forgivable.
Bengals v. Raiders.
No one is going to be there, and frankly, the makeup of the crowd and why people will attend (I will be there) is more interesting to me than this game.
Unless, of course, AJ McCarron gets a chance to play. Then, I'm in.
This season can't end soon enough.
Bengals 23 Raiders 17 (Cincinnati -3)
There are other games...
Kansas City (-3) over the Chargers. Sometimes, it's okay to admit that you don't know everything.
Houston (-6.5) over the Jets. I always like it when I remember that for those final few weeks, they're staging NFL games on Saturdays. They're never good games, but since when have we cared whether football is actually, good?
Denver (-3) over Cleveland. If the Bengals lost to Oakland, then announced that they're shit-canning Marvin, and having Hue coach the team for the final two weeks, he'd get to make his debut in Cleveland against the Browns, which would be fun.
Minnesota (-7) over Miami. Understand that "overrated" doesn't = "bad." I think Mike Zimmer is overrated.
Tampa Bay (+8) over Baltimore. Joe Flacco is an adult, and also, not a very good quarterback.
Indianapolis (-3) over Dallas. "Frank Reich" would be the answer to last January's "who else ya gonna get" screams into the night.
Detroit (+2.5) over Buffalo. Sometimes, the jokes just write themselves.
Chicago (-6) over Green Bay. Oh, hey! "Matt Nagy," also could've been an answer to "who else ya gonna get!"
Giants (-2) over Tennessee. Wouldn't it be fun if Kerry Coombs came back to coach Colerain?
Jacksonville (-6.5) over Washington. This is not how you host a radio show.
Atlanta (-9) over Arizona. "The Bengals have just beaten one of the NFC's top contenders" was said in 2018.
San Francisco (+3.5) over Seattle. Kyle Shanahan is a top five coach in this league. I'm not going to go into an immense amount of detail, because I am almost strapped for time, but he is.
New England (-2.5) over Pittsburgh. It's going to be weird when the Steelers don't make the playoffs.
Philadelphia (+11.5) over the Rams. This will be Nick Foles' best work of 2018.
New Orleans (-6.5) over Carolina. I drank the Panthers Kool-Aid. I shouldn't have drank the Panthers Kool-Aid.
Last week: 9-7
This season: 112-91-5