How Bout Them Redlegs?

Bloggowers: It's Friday, I turned 23 yesterday and looking to do big things tonight to celebrate, I'm heading to Hilton Head Island, SC tomorrow morning (probably hungover but flying thankfully), ANDDD your Cincinnata Red Stockings are playing a three game set with the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals this weekend down the at the 'Ole Ballpark on the River. Life is GOOD. Better yet, don't look now but the Reds have won 5 in a row and 12 of 16 to push their overall record to 19-15, four games over .500 and only a half game back of the Redbirds. If Dusty and boys get 2 of 3 (or better yet a second NL Central sweep in as many series) they will be sitting high and pretty atop the National League Central come Monday. I know it's only mid-May, but hey, this is Cincinnati. These are the Reds. A franchise that has not had a winning season since 2000 and hasn't been to the playoffs since Marge Schott was still the owner and Davey Johnson was manager in 1995! That was the year my youngest brother Ryan was born HA! Or not ha, not funny at all. Thank God we have the Pirates in our division or we would clearly be the laughing stock of the division...oh wait, we have the Cubbies too.


Can't you just feel the excitement coming from KFW's fingertips right now? But like everyone's least favorite guy (Lee Corso) on television always says, "Not so fast my friend!" I am one of the biggest Reds fans you will ever meet. I have rooted for them for as long as I can remember and every Opening Day, I can list at least 10 reasons why "this year's gonna be the year". I did the same thing for the Bengals for the longest time, and then week 4 would come along and they would already be out of contention. The Bengals for me growing up just needed to keep me interested until Midnight Madness and then my concentration naturally shifted Victory Parkway-bound to Muskieville. Not anymore. The Bengals have a good solid nucleus, a defense that keeps getting better and deeper, and quite honestly has given fans a reason to be confident for once going in to a season. It's good to see Sen(Mexican tilde)or Rapelisberger getting in on the mix and taking some of the negative limelight off the of the "men in stripes".


With all this being said though, I said it earlier this year, and I will say it again: I think this Reds team is legit legit legit. The Reds have had the tendency to flirt with fans for even as long as up to the trade deadline...and then just completely tanking it like there's tomorrow. Something tells me this team isn't like that though. I said it in my preview of the year that pitching would be key, especially the starters and we've seen how important starting pitching has been during this recent streak. Cueto and Homer Bailey, two of the biggest headcases in Major League Baseball who walk more batters than Burnside quotes Home Alone 1 and 2, both pitched complete game shutouts WITH ZERO WALKS! ZERO. CERO. NUNCA. 0! That's absurd for any team to do that with two young hotheads, but for the Reds? I'd like to say that's a great sign of things to come and it really is true, good starting pitching is contagious. These guys are professional competitors and love to compete even amongst eachother. Homer couldn't let Cueto one up him and therefore he did what he had to do. I love it, you love it, and let's hope this pitching momentum carries into this weekend.

Speaking of momentum, or should I say lack of, the Cards are limping into the Queen City after getting swept by the under-performing Astros. Chris Carpenter pitched last game so the Reds will not see him. The Cards have great starting pitching but News Flash: So do we! Harang (hold your breathe) might actually be back to his old self, Mike Leake is pitching his way to spot on the All-Star team and we will see both this weekend. Throw in Mr. Consistency (except those 2-3 games a year where he gives up 10 runs and can't get out of the first inning) Bronson Arroyo, and I like the horses we're throwing out there against drunkass Larussa. Hopefully we can give him a reason to further drink away his miseries.

I hope a lot of people who are town this weekend and on the fence about taking the trip down for a game or two to GABP end up deciding to go. This team is good and young. Young players especially feed off crowd energy and I really think a big, loud, supporting crowd this weekend could boost this already red-hot Reds club. I'm looking forward to it. The Cardinals are to the Reds as the Steelers are to the Bengals. Both are division foes that Cincinnati die-hards hate but deep down respect the way the other team does things and flat out wins....and now both are being heavily chased by the up and coming Cincinnati teams. S'go Reds! Getr Dunn!

I will be posting after some necessary R and R in Hilton Head this upcoming week. Stay tuned for some relevant Cleveland sports bashing as well as the Westside football take from an Elitists view. Both might get spicy....but nothing spicier than the latest rumors that I am hearing about Delonte West (the inferior D West) banging Lebron's mom and LBJ finding out right before his miserable performance in Game 5. I'm looking for some explanation and this could get it done for me. But seriously could this be true??? Delonte, we all know you're a little effed up in the head and you have nasty Herpes on your face, but why not Lebron's wife at least???

KFW over and outski