All-Star Week

Lets talk...All-Stars:

First off, it's been about FIVE MONTHS since my last post. Its been awhile, but I had to come back to talk a little bit about Cincinnati in the MLB All-Star Game. Zack Cozart and Joey Votto represented our city this year, Zack as a starter and Joey as an alternate. Unfortunately our Redlegs' presence couldn't help the National League team as they fell to the AL 2-1. What is more boring than a pitchers duel in a game full of the best players in the league? Just my opinion. However, the NL loss is not such a big deal this year, as the MLB has changed how they will do home field advantage in the World Series. The days of the Midsummer Classic's winner taking home field are over, now it's left up to which team has the best record at the end of the year. I'm not 100% sure if that includes the playoffs or not, but I'm not a huge fan of this decision. The previous deciding factor wasn't my favorite either, (mostly because the NL would usually lose), but at least the ASG meant something. MLB hit it out of the park with the new format for the Home Run Derby, (yes the pun was intended), but this I'm not loving.

Lets talk...game winner:

As boring as the first nine innings were, Seattle's Robinson Cano hit a homer in extras to give the AL the W...not that it means anything now LOL. Cozart made us proud when he broke a Reds unimpressive streak of 25 at-bats without a hit in the ASG. Joey Votto, who didn't make it into the game until the 8th inning did what he does best...be Zack's biggest fan. The security guard had picked up the ball that Cozart hit after the next batter lined it foul and handed it to a fan in the crowd. Votto, wanting the ball for Cozart to keep and remember the moment, gave the 13-year-old a signed bat and two signed All-Star baseballs in exchange for the Cozart ball. Good day for that kid.

That's not the only thing Votto will be giving Cozart either! If you've followed the story line at all, Votto promised to buy Cozart a donkey if he ended up getting voted to the ASG. The donkey is not en route yet, but I have faith that this is definitely going to happen. I'm really hoping they let the fans decide the name too! I'm thinking something like George or Dave. Check out the video of Joey and Zack enjoying their time in Miami: http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/7417714/v1597932783/cozart-votto-joke-around-with-intentional-talk

WOW. September was my last post. That's slightly depressing, but I'm back! The problem is that I only felt compelled to write after Cincinnati's embarrassing loss to UCF on Sunday. I'll be honest, I didn't even watch the game. But only scoring 49 points? Sounds like a story from years' past. If you have followed this UC program over the past, oh I don't know, decade...you know offense has always been hard to come by, except for this year. Kyle Washington no doubt has ignited this offense from the start of the season. The depth of this year's team doesn't hurt either. Troy Caupain has had many an off night, but they'll pick up with a 20-point night from Jacob Evans. Or, maybe Jarrod Cumberland comes off the bench for a double digit performance. All this has helped lead the Cats to a 25-4 record thus far, and a residency in the Top 25 for the better part of the season. But again, 49 points?!?! Where is this coming from??? To take the words right out of Mick Cronin's mouth, they were awful offensively.

I guess the only silver lining is they held UCF to only 53 points, so at least the defense showed up. Yes, this loss is troubling, but the timing is even more troubling. We're heading into tournament time, and nobody wants to hit a cold streak come March. Despite recent losses to SMU and UCF, the Bearcats continue to win at home. Their 25-game winning streak at Fifth Third will be put to the test Thursday in their final home game against a tough Houston team. This also happens to be senior night, so I hope they can send Caupain, Johnson, and everyone's favorite, Tobler, out with a victory.

Before the loss to UCF, I believed the Bearcats could have made a push for a four seed in the big dance. Now, I'm not so sure that we won't be a six. Cronin needs to get this team back on track and get hot again before the AAC Conference gets underway. After Houston, the Cats travel to UConn for a noon game this Sunday which will also be another tough one away from home. If the Cats can win out, and SMU stumbles we could be looking at a No. 1 seed for the conference tournament, but at the very least we've secured the two seed. Because of our conference and non-conference schedule being weak compared to other Top 25 teams, a conference tournament victory would be a bold statement before Selection Sunday. We all know what happens to five and six seeds in the tourney...it's upset city. I don't want to see another first round knockout for these guys. Finally I feel like Cronin has a team that can score and make some noise in March, but they've got to step it up...quick.