Reds
How did a team that had two All-Stars and was set for the playoffs until an August collapse go to a team that has the worst record in baseball (by far) in less than a year?
You can chalk that up to a combination between horrible ownership and bad luck with injuries.
The Red’s ownership really showed their true colors when Phil Castellini suggested that Reds fans have nowhere else to go and to “be careful what you ask for” with a new ownership. Castellini made these comments on Opening Day, and they did not go over well with the Reds community. After trading away the Red’s best players and not making moves in return, Red’s fans are rightfully disappointed with yet another rebuilding phase.
Although ownership has been bad, part of the reason for this horrible start is due to bad luck with injuries. Leadoff hitter and second baseman Jonathan India has spent more of the season on the IR than off. Catcher Tyler Stephonson has spent time out with a concussion and then with more minor injuries. Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas both got Covid and have missed significant time because of that. The Reds have had to bring up almost as many minor league players already than they did the entire last season. The constant influx of new players is not helping the Reds get any wins.
One bright spot for the Reds has been the debut of pitcher Hunter Greene. Greene dominated in his first start, then struggled a little, before pitching eight scoreless innings. Against the Pirates the Reds became only the sixth team ever to pitch a no hitter but still lose. Greene had walked two before he was pulled, and Warren was brought in. Pirates Castro scored on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the eighth. Because the Pirates did not bat in the bottom of the ninth it technically will not be considered a combined no hitter. Only the 2022 Reds could lose in this fashion.
FC Cincinnati
Since joining the MLS, the FC Cincinnati hype around the city has died down because the team has been relatively irrelevant. They finished last in the division the last two seasons and the new TQL stadium has had dropping attendance. However, things are starting to look up. The club already has the same number of wins this year as they did all of last season. As of May 17th they have won 4 straight MLS games and are currently sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, which would put them in the playoffs. Hopefully FC’s success will bring back some excitement that surrounded the team during their USL dominance.
Bengals
The AFC Champion Bengals are back to work, with rookie camp and OTA’s happening at Paul Brown Stadium. Zach Taylor has decided to majorly scale back the extent of these activities. Usually the rookies will have minicamp for three days, but Taylor has decided to cut it down to a one day walkthrough. Taylor explained that rookies are usually very eager to jump right into NFL training, but this can sometimes lead to injuries. Taylor would rather have them get used to NFL life and not start risking injuries until later in the summer. Despite the OTA’s being optional, 66 of the 68 Bengals players have been in attendance. The notable absence was safety Jessie Bates who is holding due to disagreements on a contract extension. Bates has reportedly said that he will not be playing on the franchise tag.
The NFL schedule was released and the Bengals will be playing in five prime time games. The Bengals will be playing in a very tough AFC North division on top of playing some of the other top teams in the league. It will be interesting to see how the Bengals hold up with all this attention on them.
UC
Wes Miller and UC basketball secured a huge verbal commitment from a local prospect. Junior Rayvon Griffith led Taft High School to a state championship this season and has verbally pledged his commitment to the Bearcats. Griffith is a top 50 recruit in the class of 2023 and had offers from UCLA, Kansas, and Ohio State. For him to choose UC over the likes of UCLA or Kansas is a massive recruiting win for the Bearcats. If Griffith ends up at UC, he will be a huge help in their jump to the Big 12.
Walnut
Despite a season where the WHHS boys basketball team was the ECC champions and had a deep tournament run, head coach Ricardo Hill will be leaving Victory Parkway. Hill has coached at Walnut for ten seasons and his teams have had tremendous success during his tenure. He will become the new head coach at Indian Hill High School.
With Hill’s departure, it puts in jeopardy the future of some of Walnut’s top players. There are rumors of possible transfers of instrumental players, such as Tyler McKinley, the #1 recruit in Ohio for the class of 2023.
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