BAR 6.11.14: The dog days of early June?
I got nothing today. Sorry. I've written about six different things here -- the lack of offense, the lack of excitement, the pitching coming back to earth, the rain delays, the fact that the Rays are an even worse train wreck -- and still, it all feels like the same stuff. Over and over and over. It's fitting one of the Reds' best players is from Punxsutawney, because it's been a Groundhog Day of bad, boring baseball in 2014.
So, here's the stuff that's more interesting than this Reds team right now, which isn't saying too much:
MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP
Triple-A -- Pawtucket 4, Louisville 3, 10 innings: RHP Carlos Marmol lived up to his reputation -- suffering the loss on a sacrifice fly after a hit and two walks (one intentional) with two wild pitches. Ruben Gotay was 2 for 5 with an RBI. He has 42 so far this season. RF Felix Perez came in as a pinch-hitter. In his second rehab start, Brett Marshall gave up three hits and three walks in 2.1 innings, striking out one. [Box]
Low-A -- Bowling Green at Dayton, ppd.
LINKS AND SUCH
• The Reds aren't the only team struggling offensively -- the Cardinals are, as well. And their No. 3 hitter, Matt Holliday, is really struggling. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
• Cespedes. Wow.
•USA Today looks at which umpires have been overturned the most -- and Seth Buckminster and Doug Eddings had their calls changed an MLB-high seven times through June 1. Buckminster had a call overturned last night in Cincinnati, so he has at least eight now.
Jim Joyce, who got the Armando Galarraga perfect game call wrong, hasn't been overturned.
• The Marlins have won 13 consecutive games against American League teams. [USA Today]
• I've got to find someone in the DC area to get these Jayson Werth promos for me. [Washington Post]
• Do you assume risk just by coming to a baseball game? Is more netting around the field the answer? Questions I just don't know the answer to are being asked in Atlanta. [AJC.com]
• How Mack Brown's resignation impacted more than 100 coaches. [ESPN.com]
• Rick Reilly, who at times was the best sportswriter on the planet, wrote his final column. Even if his ESPN turn was Willie Mays with the Mets (and even then, you look up and realize you'll never be in the same league, even at his worst), he'll still be rightly remembered for his Willie Mays in New York years at SI.
• FiveThirtyEight.com with someinteresting predictions for the World Cup -- or at least they way they show it. Unfortunately, it says the same thing my eyes tell me -- the US is screwed.
• Is former Xavier soccer start Nick Hagglund in the running for MLS Rookie of the Year? Pretty cool. [MLSSoccer.com]
• I hate golf, but it's hard not to root for Erik Compton -- and not just because he's a Georgia Bulldog. [AP]
• My friend postedthis map of the density of Waffle Houses in the U.S.
• Rhinegeist gets some love in this story from NPR about the popularity of craft beer in cans.
• Anyone know where to get the Homefront IPA? It's brewed by several breweries -- and is aged on baseball bats. [Esquire]
• Check out this pen -- you can just scan a color that you see and then it will write in that color. Amazing. [DailyDot]
• Catch up with the first four seasons of Game of Thrones in chart form! [Huffington Post]