About the Author

     Hi! As you have (correctly) noticed, I am posting less and less frequently. I feel that you and I do not get the chance to get to know each other. Because of this, I have decided to dedicate an entire post to myself. I'll try to do this in an interesting way-like a stats sheet or a scouting report-I am a sports blogger after all!

Name-William Dominic W.

School- St. Xavier High

Physical Attributes-5'3, 100 lbs.

Character- No major character flaws, entirely devoted to his interests.

Postition-Head Writer/Student

Pros-Plus sports smarts, Good overall awareness of his place on the field/ in the world, analytical.

Cons-Small, often too devoted/stubborn to recognize defeat.

Various-Loves sports, plays Baseball (Pitcher), Soccer (Winger), American Football (Quarterback/Running back). Open to growth, willing and able to sacrafice when necessary. Loves playing guitar, and overall a movie buff.

I hope this helps you get to know me!

Close Up Shop

     The sports world has been rocked with headlines in the past few weeks. From the atrocities at Penn St. to the NBAPA rejecting TWO offers that would give them a season, and even a Missouri coach being charged with DWI, we haven't been left hanging. However, this post is about the big question in MLB circles this offseason-"How much is too much?" The Philidelphia Phillies' signing of closer Jonathan Papelbon was without a doubt a good move, but why are they paying him $10,000,000? This is why baseball needs a hard salary cap!!! Honestly, if your going to pay that much for a closer, at least make sure he is moderately interesting, like the Giants' Brian Wilson (At Left). Wilson is a 24th round draft pick, and many of the league's big names were converted catchers or failed starters, proving you don't actually have to draft or trade for one because it will most likely fall right into your lap. In all honesty, it doesn't take much to pitch a single inning as many closers have admitted to only knowing a fastball, and a curveball, and occasionally a cutter. Because of this, closers should not be making the money that starters, who pitch SEVEN times more than closers, do. I like having security at the end of the game, and a top level talent provides that, and I also understand why some teams have gone to the extremes to get great closers. I really do. I do not understand why they pay so much for a single inning. What do you think?

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Trades I Think Should Go Through

     Hi everyone! After the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, I was angry, but at the same time, I honestly believed they deserved it. They came back with a single strike left in Game 6 to win that game and proceeded to win Game 7. Congratulations. Exactly 24 hours after that game, free agency began. Big names hit the market and CC Sabathia resigned for even more money. This time of year is also a great time for trades. Without further ado, here are some moves I think would benefit the Cincinnati Reds and, for trades, the other teams involved.

Reds Trade: Yasmani Grandal  (Catcher) or Yonder Alonso (1st/LF),  and Edison Volquez (Pitcher)

Reds Get: James Shields, Pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays.

     This is a good trade for both sides because the one thing that always plagues the Rays is the team's lack of runs. They already have one man to many in the starting rotation, and for the right price, the Reds could get Shields. The Rays need a catcher, Grandal, or a first baseman, Alonso, either one would work. Volquez is just a bullpen guy now and is in need of new scenery.

Reds Sign: Josh Willingham (OF) or Roy Oswalt (Pitcher).

     Willingham hit 29 homers last year while playing in a pitcher's park.  At Great American Ballpark, he could hit 40. Signing Willingham would also give Joey Votto some protection in the lineup. Signing Oswalt is definitely a long-shot, but the move would give the Reds a legitimate starter, and if they got James Shields, the rotation of 1. Shields, 2. Oswalt, 3. Cueto, 4. Arroyo, 5. Leake/Wood/Bailey, which would free up the team to deal one of the names listed in the 5 spot.

     These moves would definitely make the Reds legitimate contenders and possibly hand them the reigns to the NL Central. If everything goes right, and the Reds make one of the moves mentioned aboved, they will finish above .500. With the trades/signings they will finish 90-72, without, 84-78.

True Beauty

     In the glove of America’s youth rests a beautiful thing. A baseball. It has captivated both children and grown men for ages, and its simple magnificence is unparalleled. When it is not chosen for use, it is all too often relegated to bearing the name of a man whose fame and glory have since passed, and to sit upon the owner’s cluttered mantle. This, is not a baseball, it is a travesty. A baseball’s true beauty is brought forth through use! A baseball is beautiful when it is aged, marred by dirt and covered in grass stains, scarred and faded, dirty and dusty. Its red seams are the lifeblood of its suitors, telling stories and recollections of better days, its scars a symbol of tougher times that have since passed. A baseball’s beauty lies not in its color or sheen, but in its resilience! It’s withered and tattered, possibly even, God forbid, ruined, for it has lived a long and prosperous life. Each scar has a story, a trial that one would rather forget. The one closest to the MLB logo is from a nasty ‘one-hopper,’ let through to the outfield, another from an error at first. Its spherical shape allows it to dart and dive, to challenge and even baffle hitters. It fits into a hand perfectly; proving that it should always be there, crying for attention. It has allowed itself to be hurled into the air and clubbed by bats at its own expense, and has been rewarded by fathers and sons with another chance to present itself to the world as it was intended to be. This baseball has been an important part of many lives, has been passed down from father to son, and has lived to tell the tale. A scar, a sorrow, a seam a story. This baseball has fulfilled its purpose; giving itself up for another person. It is tattered, dirty, stained brown, scarred, and torn and it has become truly a beautiful thing. That is why it rests in the mitts of America, and in the heart of the world.

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