General: Sterno's Talkin' Smack -- Episode #28

Sterno's Talkin' smack. No holding back here. It's all trash, all the time. Welcome to the Wednesday morning edition.

Today's topics include the firings out in Cincinnati, the official decision on Rick Neuheisel and the ever approaching trade deadline in Major League Baseball.

Smack This: Cincinnati Reds Layoffs -- Disappointing seasons, reoccurring injuries, and wholesales changes. So goes it for the Cincinnati Reds organization. Once again, Reds fans are look back to the days of "The Big Red Machine," because this machine is on its way back to the shop!

Where is Marge Schott? This is a question that Reds fans as well as players, are asking themselves as we speak. Carl Linder, the man now in charge, obviously has a screw missing that Cincinnati better find, and fast. With a brand new stadium in place, and some young talent in the form of Adam Dunn, Aaron Boone, and Danny Graves, the Reds still cannot seem to get back to the winning side of the fence.

You may be asking yourselves what I am talking about. Well, for those of you who are unaware the Reds management fired manager Bob Boone as well as GM Jim Bowden. The Reds then placed Triple-A manager Dave Miley in that spot on an interim basis. This, despite the fact that veteran coach, and ex manager, Ray Knight sits on the Reds bench.

Very interesting indeed! This is the classic case of a team with an absolutely clueless baseball mind at its mountain top. Can you say scapegoat? Sure the fans are upset! When Great American Ballpark opened up there was a ton of optimism. However, other than for the fact that there were some new seats to sit in, I don't really get why.

Let me explain. The Reds, for starters, have no pitching. As the Texas Rangers have proved year in and year out, you cannot win in this league without pitching. Danny Graves had to move from the closer spot where he was doing a solid job, into the starting rotation. That's how bleak the staff looked.

Beyond that, what about the question marks in their lineup? Is it Bob Boone's fault that every pitcher he throws out to the mound gives up a long bomb? Is it Boone's fault that Adam Dunn strikes out every other time he bats? (The other time he does hit a homerun though.)

What about injuries? Sean Casey has not been the same since his rookie season, and is injury prone to say the least. While he has been good this year, he has been on and off the shelf.

Ken Griffey Jr. is a story all by himself. The man once known as the best player in the land is now the most ridiculed and sympathized. (depending who you ask, of course) He is also the most direct link to these two firings, and that is the sickening truth.

When Jim Bowden struck the deal to get Ken Griffey from the Seattle Mariners a few years ago, who in their right mind thought that he was wrong to do so? Griffey was one of the best hitters in the game, and would be the cornerstone of a new Cincinnati dynasty. Or so Mr. Bowden thought.

However, we all thought that. Carl Linder apparently needs to call Lou Pinella and ask him just how good "Junior" was when he was dealt from Seattle. Nobody and I mean, nobody, thought that this deal would backfire to the extent that it has.

Did Bob Boone and Jim Bowden prepare for Griffey to spend practically his entire Reds life in the doctor's office? How does Bowden get fired for a move that any GM would have made?

Okay, so what about the other moves, right? Sure, it is easy for a GM to look terrible when the team's ownership keeps all of their cash in their wallets! Linder hasn't given more than a dime to solidify the pitching staff, and hasn't done anything to help the organization.

Bowden was set up for failure. There is just no question about it. He is a good GM, who has made some great moves in the past, and if you recall, he took the Reds to the NLCS just two years after he took over that spot in Cincinnati. He will get another job soon.

So, what about Bob Boone, who now leaves his son Aaron behind, as the only Boone to wear the red C? Let me tell you something. A manager is a manager. The players play the game. If Dunn is striking out three times a game, the pitching is handing the other team runs in bunches, and the doctor is the busiest man in Cincinnati, then your hands are tied.

Look at Joe Torre. He was an awful manager when he ran the Mets ship, and now across town for the Yankees, he has built a Hall of Fame career. Do you think that maybe George Steinbrenner, and more importantly his wallet, should get a huge assist there? I think I made my point.

A note to Mr. Linder and the Reds upper management -- Good Luck!

Cincinnati Reds -- Smacked!!!

Smack This: Neuheisel Ousted -- When you took your current job, did you have to sign some sort of handbook? I am sure you did. You know that page where it has all of those "Do not," comments? Come on, you know those. Do not smoke in the building. Do not come late to work. Do not wear a thong in a business meeting. Okay, okay, so the last one is purely for humor.

Regardless, I don't recall ever seeing, "Do not partake in a college basketball pool." Do you?

We spoke about the Rick Neuheisel situation with the University of Washington a few weeks ago. You know my thoughts. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that a man who coaches the game of football, should not be able to partake in a friendly neighborhood pool.

Bosses and employers everywhere violate their "no gambling" regulations, by participating in NCCA Tournament office pools. It is a fact of life. There is rain. There is traffic. There is a Tournament pool. Some people that are crazy like me are in four or five pools each year. That's why they call it "March Madness!" If there were no office pools, no water cooler conversation, they would call it the playoffs.

The University of Washington is pissed off at Neuheisel more for the fact that he hasn't won enough games at the pace the school would have liked, and that he has violated other regulations, than for this incident.

It was simply an easy out. However, this went from a school wide decision to a prideful disaster. When guys the likes of Joe Paterno, who is more respected than anyone in College Football, came out and said that they had absolutely no idea of this regulation, Washington should have backed off.

No, they decided to be stubborn. That's all it is here. Neuheisel was fair in how he handled things with the media. All he wanted to do was coach the players he recruited to the University. All he wanted to do was win football games. He was out of the boundaries that the University had set forth, but he sincerely didn't know. You know what? I believe him.

I love killing these coaches like Eustachy, who couldn't keep away from the college girls, and Mike Price, who hit one too many strip bars, but this is a whole different ballgame. What Neuheisel did, didn't defame the University, and it didn't violate his relationship with his players.

Every player on that team was in a pool. Every one of their parents was in a pool. Still, Washington wouldn't budge on the coaches' appeal.

"The administrative process regarding Rick Neuheisel's termination has been concluded," a statement from the university said Monday night. "He has been terminated for cause as head football coach and is no longer employed by the University of Washington."

To read between the lines there for you, that part where it says "terminated for cause," means that the University doesn't owe Neuheisel a dime. What a coincidence eh? I don't think so. Washington wanted Rick out of his contract. This fight is far from over at this point. Neuheisel will certainly file his suit. His lawyer is already pointing towards exactly that.

Rick's a fighter," his lawyer said Monday night. "He's determined to fight this thing so that the truth comes out."

Yeah, right. I have the truth. Neuheisel got screwed!

The University of Washington -- Smacked!!!

Smack This: MLB Trading Deadline -- We talked yesterday about the New York Yankees and their problems in the bullpen. They are not alone. As always it seems, relief pitching is the most pressing need across the board when the deadline approaches. Why? Well, two guys on the Tigers have record breaking loss totals, and are still employed. Isn't that reason enough?

I think you catch my drift. Look, when a guy like Jesse Orosco, is a highly sought after pitcher, there is some weak pitching out there. This year there are plenty of good hitters on bad teams (Brian Giles being one) that may get dealt before Thursday's deadline.

However, it is the big time pitcher, or reliever that helps to make a good team great. Today, we will discuss a couple of the candidates for that type of honor this year.

The best of the best is Freddy Garcia. Yes, believe it or not, the man who has been the ace of the Seattle Mariners for years is officially on the trading block. The St. Louis Cardinals are talking about sending overrated outfielder J.D. Drew to Seattle for the big hurler.

Garcia, is 0-3 with a 9.83 ERA in July. He suddenly has dropped to fourth in the Seattle rotation after a few spectacular seasons. Gil Meche is part of the reason for that, of course. Look, I know Garcia has been terrible, but this guy is only 27 years old for crying out loud!

A change of scenery, and a meeting of the minds with pitching coach Dave Duncan, will do Garcia wonders. He throws hard, and has great stuff. It is obvious that he is in some kind of temporary rut. At the very least, his upside far surpasses any other pitcher on the block right now.

To further the point, Garcia has pitched some big games in the playoffs. He has had some memorable performances in Yankee Stadium and it is no fault of his that the Mariners have played second fiddle to New York.

I think that if the Cardinals land Garcia, they add a guy who could slip right in behind a hopefully healthy Matt Morris for a nice one two punch. The worst move is acquiring Kris Benson. When we first heard about Kris Benson a few years back, we heard about a phenomenal starting pitcher with a boat load of potential. What the Pirates have gotten however, is a boat load of whining.

That's right. Whining! Benson spends more time in pain, then he does in the rotation. Okay, pitchers go through a ton of injuries and it is unfortunate, but the nagging injuries that professional athletes play through, keep Benson on the bench.

Apparently, however, Pittsburgh is close to shipping Benson's hefty contract of $4.3 million this year and $6.1 million in 2004. The suitors seem to be the Boston Red Sox. Boston, who needs to add a top flight starter, apparently isn't aware of the general consensus of the league.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes, "his health issues and the perception throughout baseball that he is unwilling to pitch in pain have scared off teams intrigued by his potential."

I guess Theo Epstein, GM of the Sox, doesn't get the Tribune? Either way, Benson at times has looked lights out over his brief career, and if healthy, he has a tremendous upside, but I just don't think that potential is worth taking the chance of seeing him on the DL every other week.

Regardless of what moves teams decide to make, there is plenty of pitching out there with guys like veteran Livan Hernandez, Sidney Ponson, and Cory Lidle, riding the block.

The question is which team will make the move to push them over the edge, and which will make the move to send its hopes off the cliff!

Trading Deadline Deals -- Smacked!!!

One for the Road: It looks as if Mario Lemieux will be playing for his Pittsburgh Penguins next year. While we await an official announcement, Mario is leaning towards coming back.

My issue is with why he would do that? The Penguins have a new coach in Ed Olczyk, and a bunch of young, inexperienced players. Let the team grow on its own, do your work on the management side of things, and call it quits. Why don't all of the team owners suit up for their teams?

We love you Mario, but I would personally love you to hang it up!

Hit me up with feedback at eSports (click the Write the Editor link) or on my homepage at http://www.suite101.com/myhome.cfm/theycallmethecloser. Come on and click that link already! You can't possibly agree with everything I say!

I'll see you all on Thursday morning. Til' then, DON'T be the one who's smacked!