This and that

• The Denver Post was the first place I saw details on the Willy Taveras deal: 2 years, $6.25 million. For a guy with no power. MLB.com has additional details, as well as this line from Mark Sheldon: That makes for a financially solid rebound for Taveras, who was non-tendered by the Rockies on Dec. 12.

• The Dragons have replaced turncoat Jamie Dismuke with Todd Benzinger. (See last week's post for more background.) Benzinger was going to be their hitting coach; now he's their skipper.

• Another former Red, Josh Hamilton, tells his story to Esquire magazine.

• CBSSports.com's Gary Parrish once again writes about Bearcat hoops.

• New UC preview stuff: FOX Sports' Rich Cirminiello explains why he likes the Bearcats, 23-19. And Bill Koch's notebook points out that Bill Parcells and Cris Carter addressed Brian Kelly's squad today.

• Solid piece from SI.com's Stewart Mandel (Sycamore HS) about how the Big Ten needs Penn State to perform well against USC.

• Non-local link of interest: The New York Post says Bill Cowher won't take the Jets' job because he doesn't want to coach Brett Favre. And after Favre threw Eric Mangini under the bus, can you blame him?

This and that

• The Enquirer's Bill Koch reports that UC head football coach Brian Kelly is leaning toward moving his players from the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach to another hotel on the night before the Orange Bowl because Sean "P. Diddy" Combs is scheduled to have a New Year's Eve party at the Fontainebleau on Wednesday night. Probably a good move.

• NFL.com's Adam Schefter reports that the Lions are talking to former Bengals and current Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier about their head coaching vacancy.

• A day after my rant about growing tired of the 'Bowden, Nats like Dunn' headlines, the Dodgers have come to the rescue. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says L.A. has contacted Dunn's agent.

• Sorry, again, Kentucky fans: Jai Lucas, who you may recall chose Florida over Kentucky coming out of high school (even though he and Patrick Patterson were tight and the Wildcats thought they might be getting him) and was thought to be considering UK again when he announced he was leaving Florida because he wants to play point guard instead of shooting guard ... is going to Texas.

• Rough month for OSU Buckeye hoops: They lose starting forward David Lighty to a broken foot, get pummeled by Huggins and the Mountaineers over the weekend and now find out their backup point guard is transferring.

• Speaking of the Buckeyes: There were the Jordan Rules, and now according to The Oregonian's John Canzano, there are the Oden Rules for former Ohio State standout Greg Oden. Canzano apparently feels pretty strongly that Oden shouldn't be starting for the Blazers yet.

• Non-local link of interest: Instant replay costs RB Ryan Grant $1.35 million. Can't make this stuff up. I wonder if Ryan Grant said something other than "that's the way the ball bounces" when he first found out he was out $1.35 million.

• Bonus non-local link: Deadspin's Dashiell Bennett's take about family shots is right on the money, and if you stayed up to watch the end of Mizzou-Northwestern last night, I think you'll probably agree.

This and that

• I'm officially worried. I'm not a huge Willy Taveras fan. His on-base percentage last season was .308 and his slugging percentage was .296, lowest among players who qualified for the batting title. In 133 games, he batted .251 with 18 of his 120 hits going for extra bases.

I know he had 68 stolen bases, but you can't steal first. Sure he'll get infield hits, but I don't think it'll be enough. You need your leadoff guy to get on base. We all know how pathetic Corey Patterson's numbers were last season. Taveras doesn't get on base much more than Patterson. I don't see how it's really that much of an upgrade.

And then I read this quote from Jocketty:

He could end up being the left fielder if we can't get that RBI man, which might be hard to do at this point.

And this one:

With Bruce and Taveras, we have two of our outfield spots filled.

Uh oh. Do you really expect to compete for the NL Central title with a starting outfield of Willy Taveras, Jay Bruce and Chris Dickerson/Norris Hopper?

I guess you never know. I'll be the first to admit I didn't think Jerry Hairston Jr. would contribute much when we signed him. I'm just not as excited about Ramon Hernandez and Willy Taveras as I would be about J.J. Hardy, Alex Rios, Juan Rivera, Jermaine Dye or some big right-handed bat.

• Also, how many times during one offseason can we read a headline or notebook item along the lines of "Nats' Bowden may be interested in Dunn." This might be 50. As Janeane Garofalo's character says in "Reality Bites," "Would you two just do it and get it over with?" And that is the first and last time I will quote "Reality Bites" on my blog.

• The Lot D's C. Trent has a good Carson Palmer update pertaining to his latest chances of avoiding surgery.

• In his Snap Judgments: Week 17, Don Banks refers on several occasions to the Week 11 tie in Cincinnati while marveling at the Eagles' improbable playoff berth. Hey, at least the Bengals can say they beat or tied (tied, in their case) a playoff team, right? Which is something that Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, St. Louis, Seattle and San Francisco (which won 7 games) can't say.

How crazy is it, by the way, that Cleveland beat the Giants 35-14 in Week 6. And that St. Louis beat Dallas in Week 7 (ouch). I had forgotten about those until I looked back at the which-teams-had-beaten-playoff-teams deal.

• Nothing like a loss to the Bengals to spur someone to reveal their true feelings about the organization for which they work as Larry Johnson did after Sunday's game.

• Xavier checks in at No. 22 in both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. GoXavier.Com has a nice feature today about how important Terrell Holloway is to this team. And they don't exactly have the luxury of waiting until he's ready to lead; it's clear they need him now.

• Non-local link of interest: How's this for bizarre ... David Pratt, a striker for Chippenham, received the fastest ever red card after being sent off just three seconds into a game.

Report: T.J. won't get tag

NFL.com's Adam Schefter is reporting that the Bengals won't use their franchise tag on T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Schefter cites a league source, who suggested that if the Bengals do decide to try to keep T.J., they will offer him a long-term deal.

This and that

• The only Bengals-Chiefs preview I could find (maybe because it's early in the week?) was about the Chiefs seeking to close out the regular season on a winning note from kcchiefs.com. It points out that the Chiefs haven't won in Cincinnati since 1984. But what's fresher in the minds of Bengals' fans is Larry Johnson running roughshod in the Chiefs' 37-3 thrashing of the Bengals at Arrowhead on Jan. 1, 2006.

AND keep in mind that the Bengals haven't won a regular season finale at home since 1997. That being said, I'm picking the Bengals.

One thing's for sure: It can't be easy learning that you're going to be up against reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week Leon Hall.

• The latest on the fracas between former Bengal Shaun Smith and Browns QB Brady Quinn (mentioned in yesterday's Pick 6): ProFootballTalk.com says the altercation started because Smith was giving Quinn a hard time about Notre Dame football.

• Nice piece in the South Bend Tribune about new RedHawks head coach Mike Haywood. Apparently he is thought to be the next Turner Gill. And who knew former NFL running back Allen Pinkett is Haywood's best friend?!

• Your Wednesday UC-Orange-Bowl-preview link is from the Columbus Dispatch about Columbus natives reunited on the Bearcats.

• Big ouch for the Dayton Dragons: Jamie Dismuke, who was named in October as the team's new manager, has instead taken a job as hitting coach for the Class AAA Gwinnett (Ga.) Braves, according to the daytondailynews.com. Wha?? Gets better.

Leon Roberts, a former minor-league hitting coordinator with the Reds, was announced as the Dragons manager for 2007. However, before the season, he took the same job with the Braves that Dismuke is taking, when the franchise's AAA team was in Richmond, Va. Now Roberts is the Braves' minor-league coordinator, and he helped pry Dismuke away from the Reds.

• It's a shame Dismuke left because he'll miss being a part of the organization that could be next year's surprise, according to MLB.com.

• Non-local link of interest: Mike Tomlin apparently was just a little annoyed by the Santa who poked fun at him during a press conference (ProFootballTalk.com link includes the video).

This and that

• UPDATE: Miami University has announced that Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Haywood will replace Shane Montgomery as the school's new head coach. MU's hiring of Haywood brings the number of African-American head football coaches in the Bowl Championship Subdivision to six of 119 programs; he's the third black head coach in the MAC (joining Turner Gill at Buffalo and Ron English at Eastern Michigan).

Haywood has no direct ties to Miami, but previously coached at two MAC schools - Ohio and Ball State - in addition to Texas, LSU, Army and Minnesota. This is his first head coaching job.

• UPDATE: The Bengals announced late this afternoon that ticket prices for the 2009 season remain unchanged from the 2008 schedule.

• PilotOnline.com says Virginia Tech may be without three starters for the Orange Bowl: left guard Nick Marshman (academics), linebacker Brett Warren (knee) and defensive end Jason Worilds (shoulder).

• It'll be interesting to see whether Xavier can handle Butler just a couple of days after the bad loss to Duke. It won't be easy - Butler is ranked No. 4 in the RPI and the Bulldogs' only loss this season was to Ohio State (by three points). Sean Miller had a great quote in the Enquirer about what a miserable 10 days it will be for his players if they get beat by Butler.

Here's the preview of the game on IndyStar.com, where David Woods points out that a win for Butler could get the Bulldogs more attention than going undefeated in their league.

• Hot Stove: Pittsburgh's post-gazette.com says the Pirates are pursuing Rocco Baldelli, increasing the number of teams rumored to be interested in the outfielder since it was revealed he was misdiagnosed with mitochondrial disorder and really only has channelopathy (which is treatable). Article lists the Reds, Phillies, Red Sox and Yankees as the other teams who have expressed interest.

The Boston Globe says Baldelli is leaning toward the Red Sox.

• Rumor has it former Bengal Shaun Smith punched Browns QB Brady Quinn after a heated exchange last week. Word of the altercation first broke during the Browns' 14-0 loss to the Bengals. Smith was inactive for the game.

• ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio points out that Stacy Andrews' knee injury is really going to hurt him when he enters the free-agent market.

• Non-local link of interest is also from ProFootballTalk.com, which reports that Shaun Ellis has been fined $10K for lifting a big snowball into the stands at Qwest Field on Sunday and offers the video if you haven't already seen it.

This and that

• A day after the Bengals' 14-0 win in Cleveland, Bengals.com says Stacy Andrews has a torn ACL, and Carson Palmer will practice this week.

• ProFootballTalk.com is reporting that Mike Brown actually may be considering hiring a general manager! The first name that has surfaced: former Saints and Dolphins GM Randy Mueller, who works in the Chargers' front office.

• If you thought last week's exchange between Marvin Lewis and Dustin Dow was bad, it was nothing compared to Detroit News columnist Rob Parker vs. Rod Marinelli yesterday.

Parker responded today to criticism, explaining that people don't understand his relationship with Marinelli and his attempt at humor.

• Is Aaron Fultz the new Mike Lincoln? MLB.com reports that the Reds have signed the 35-year-old reliever who didn't play in the bigs last season.

• You've gotta love Mick Cronin taking a shot at the Enquirer.

• The Enquirer's Rory Glynn says Illinois defensive coordinator Curt Mallory has emerged as the favorite to replace Shane Montgomery at Miami University. The Oxford Press reported late last week that Mallory, Saints running backs coach Aaron Kromer and Michigan State offensive coordinator Don Treadwell were among three leading candidates.

• Non-local link of interest: Check out the New York Times' The Fine Points: Swing Science by Pat Borzi. Really interesting stuff.

This and that

• The Jackson Clarion-Ledger did a nice job with Andy Kennedy coverage yesterday and was right on the money with this morning's headline: From bad to worse. Think about what a lousy 24 hours Kennedy had. Got arrested for assaulting a cab driver during a trip where he was looking forward to seeing old friends. Lost to Louisville (not that that was unexpected or anything, but a loss is a loss). And, to make matters much worse, lost star guard and second-leading scorer Chris Warren for the season with an ACL injury. Ouch.

Could anyone else who watched the Louisville-Ole Miss game tell what Pitino said to Kennedy afterwards when they shook hands? I love trying to read lips, and it was pretty clear to me that he said, "I'm sure everything will turn out fine." Feel free to speculate about exactly what he's referring to ... I'd guess he's not talking about basketball per se.

Great new details in this story by The Big Lead, by the way.

• Xavier is ranked No. 7 in the AP poll, but HOW HUGE would it be for the Musketeers to beat Duke? I think they've got a chance. Can't wait to watch this game. Check out the preview on Xavier's site. Here's the Enquirer's. And here's DevilsDen.com's.

• This item about Kevin Youkilis (Sycamore HS, UC) on BostonHerald.com about his willingness to move to third base to accommodate the signing of Mark Teixeira kind of surprises me because they said about 50 times during SportsCenter last night that the Red Sox, according to owner John Henry, would not be a factor for Teixeira. I realize Sean McAdam probably wrote his notebook before that news broke, but once the news did break, it kind of renders all of the "what-if-the-Red-Sox-sign-Teixeira" stuff moot. And the beauty of the internet is you can make changes to stories on the fly. So I guess you'd rewrite it as, "Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis said yesterday - before Red Sox owner John Henry said the club wouldn't be a factor for Mark Teixeira after all - that he would've been willing to move back to his original third base position to accommodate ..." Something like that.

The Boston Globe reports that Youk's agent, Joe Bick, has entered into early-stage conversations with the Red Sox about a long-term contract.

• The Astros have signed veteran infielder Aaron Boone to a one-year, $750K contract. This is interesting not only because Boone broke into the bigs with the Reds but also, as the Houston Chronicle points out because Boone is expected to to share time at third base with Geoff Blum in an attempt to fill the hole left when Ty Wigginton wasn't tendered a contract last week. And lately there have been rumors about Wigginton to the Reds, including a Walt Jocketty quote to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon about Wigginton fitting in if "we don't find that outfielder we want." Of course, other teams, including the Pirates, Indians and Giants, also have expressed interest in Wigginton.

In another Hot Stove development, expect the Juan Rivera rumors to come to a screeching halt, as Yahoo! Sports reports the Angels are close to signing him to a three-year deal.

• Dayton Daily News' Chick Ludwig writes about the Michael Jackson song Chad is singing to T.J.. Sing all you want, Chad, but I can't imagine you'll both be back.

• IndyStar.com's Mike Chappell leads off his notebook about former Bengal Keiwan Ratliff's huge interception return for a touchdown late in the Colts' 31-24 win Thursday night.

• Non-local link of interest: Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus brings up some valid points in his column about how to improve Baseball Hall of Fame voting.

This and that

• Andy Kennedy arrest: Here's our story. Here's ESPN's story about it. The Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger has a PDF of the arrest report. And their version of the story is worth reading, as it has the general manager of the Lodge Bar saying they didn't get kicked out, as our report and others suggest. And they report that the "others" Kennedy was trying to get into the cab (when the cab driver refused because there were too many people) were assistant coaches Michael White, Owen Miller and Torrey Ward. Some good quotes from Andy Kennedy's brother there too.

• Interesting item from John Fay about Rocco Baldelli and his "misdiagnosis." Jocketty sounds like he's pretty interested, especially since he doesn't appear to be making progress with Juan Rivera's agent.

• Bengals.com has a strong update about how the receivers are talking about how impressed they are with Carson's arm right now.

• The way I see it, as Braylon Edwards insists on continuing to run his mouth this week, it can only help the Bengals. All of the Bill Cowher speculation can't hurt either.

• IndyStar.com has a story about Eric Gordon dropping a bomb that drug use wrecked IU's season.

• I've seen some nice tributes to Mike Kahn, a sports writer who spent part of his childhood in Cincinnati and worked for the Enquirer, who lost his battle with cancer. Here's one that was posted on theolympian.com, and another from his most recent employer, FOXSports.com.

• Non-local link of interest: Again, not sports-related. Hilarious though. Pure joy.

This and that

• So there's plenty of buzz about this exchange between Marvin Lewis and Enquirer reporter Dustin Dow from today's news conference. The Lot D's C. Trent has the whole back-and-forth on his blog. The only problem I have is when Cincinnati.Com sends out a breaking news alert with a link to their story (there's not really anything in it, by the way, that's not included in the C. Trent post, so don't feel like you have to click on it to give them another page view). I can see posting something on a blog - because the exchange certainly is newsworthy and people will be interested to read it. But sending a breaking news e-mail about it to me makes it reek of reporter becoming part of story or trying to generate news (page views) and draw attention, which is tacky and something journalists should refrain from doing. It's tough to blame Dow, because I don't think it was wrong of him to engage Lewis the way he did. And it wasn't his call to send a breaking news e-mail about it. That's the person whose judgement I question.

• Here's a Cleveland.com scouting report on the Bengals in advance of Sunday's showdown. The Browns are 3-point favorites by the way.

• And in case you missed it, Shaun Rogers, that nose tackle who Browns GM Phil Savage stole from the Bengals back in March made the Pro Bowl. And Eric Steinbach's an alternate.

• Bucs defensive end Greg White has followed Chad's lead and changed his name. And if you're a fan of "Teen Wolf," you'll definitely appreciate it.

• Yahoo! Sports' Ball Don't Lie did a one-on-one with former North College Hill star O.J. Mayo.

• I saw this blog post on With Leather about Ohio State guard Mark Titus' blog, Club Trillion. I didn't get to spend too much time on it, but it does appear to be good stuff ... he's a pretty funny guy.

• Non-local link of interest: Did you hear what Tiger Woods' caddy said about Phil Mickelson? Wow. I'd be stunned if he doesn't get fired over it, especially because he's not apologizing.

This and that

• This and that is a little on the lean side today because I was working on my thesis, which is posted on OMGReds.com. Not much else going on with the Reds today, aside from the next bullet.

• Juan Francisco has 9 home runs for Cibao, a new Dominican Winter League record for a lefthanded batter. The previous record for HR by a LH batter in the DWL was 8, established by Rafael Batista in 1974 and tied by Batista in 1975.

• This story from the San Francisco Examiner about the price of Giants' tickets is crazy. In an experiment the team says may forever change the way its fans buy their tickets, some ticket prices will be jacked up next season on the day of a blockbuster game, and dropped in the lead-up to a lackluster game.

In other words, the price of a ticket could increase $2-$3 when Tim Lincecum is pitching.

Normally, this would be the non-local link of interest ... but I have a feeling that this is something all MLB teams - including the Reds - will explore.

• No Bengals named to the Pro Bowl, but T.J. Houshmandzadeh was named a second alternate. He responded by saying, "That's OK. I'll go next year. I'll go next year wherever I am." Nice and subtle.

• Watch out, UC: Virginia Tech's curfew during a six-night stay in south Florida will be midnight. "We're not going to be there to get drunk and party, we're going to win the Orange Bowl," senior defensive end Orion Martin said.

• Former UC Bearcat Kenyon Martin is talking about his new lips tattoo on yahoo.com.

• Non-local link of interest: Not sports related either. I just found it fascinating that this guy is making a legitimate attempt to pay a traffic ticket with rolls of pennies and they refused to accept them.

This and that

• If you're a Bengals fan and you're kind of ho-hum about Sunday's defeat of Washington because the team is still 2-11-1 and you figure we're just hurting our draft position at this point, I think you'll enjoy the win a little bit more once you start reading some of the OMG-what-a-devastating-loss coverage coming from D.C. today. Jason Reid's got some great lines in his Redskins' Playoff Hopes All but Gone With Loss to Bengals piece, including, "Disbelief set in along the sideline when they faced a 17-point first-half deficit against the NFL's least-productive offense ..." and "Although the Redskins mathematically still are in the hunt for an NFC wild-card berth, qualifying for the postseason no longer is their focus."

Thomas Boswell writes that Jim Zorn is positive to a fault, suggesting that "a 20-13 loss to the awful "Bungles" that someday may be Exhibit A in the case against him keeping his job." Damn. Gotta feel for Zorn if that's the case, but it's got to be nice for the Bengals to play spoiler.

• So against the NFC East, which people before the season said was a nasty part of a tough schedule that might prevent the Bengals from the playoffs, the Bengals should have beaten the Giants (lost in overtime), lost by 9 in Dallas, tied the Eagles and beat the Redskins.

• The Carson Palmer update is that he may throw in practice this week but he will not play in the Bengals' final two games of the regular season. That's according to the AP, Jay Glazer, et al. Marvin insisted on Sunday that the Bengals haven't ruled out Carson making an appearance before the end of the year. I don't know what that's all about ... I just can't imagine in a million years that he'll play against Cleveland or Kansas City.

• The Enquirer's Ryan Ernst has a good update about Simon Kenton quarterback Chad Lawrence, who suffered a Grade 2 concussion after a scary helmet-to-helmet hit in the first half of Saturday's 48-0 loss to Louisville Trinity in the Class 6A state title game. Sounds like Lawrence will be fine, which is great news.

• In his Week in Hoops column, SI.com's Luke Winn mentions Duke vs. Xavier as one of the reasons this Saturday is "the one day you should care about." Luke says "any self-respecting college hoops fan will have this afternoon cleared on his schedule."

The Muskies are ranked No. 7 in the latest AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Polls. And they're No. 3 in the RPI.

• UK fans may or may not (since he didn't stick around for very long) enjoy the big Rajon Rondo feature on USATODAY.com.

• Non-local link of interest: Just when you think to yourself, "Charles Barkley hasn't done or said anything controversial and asinine lately," the Round Mound of Rebound rears his ugly head.

This and that

• In Kentucky's Class 1A, Beechwood has defeated Hazard 14-7 to win its 11th state football title in school history. Tonight, Highlands battles Christian County for the Class 5A title. Newport Central Catholic faces Fort Campbell tomorrow morning in 2A, and Simon Kenton plays for the 6A title tomorrow night.

The Louisville Courier-Journal's blog/coverage is pretty impressive because the blogger, Jody Demling, has an ongoing dialogue with fans/users, so we're linking to that.

Or check out QueenCityHigh.com for more coverage.

• Alan Cutler had Eric Thomas on The Homer, and ET says some pretty outrageous things from time to time ... but he was in rare form this morning. He said, among other things, that the Bengals need to draft a running back with their first pick. And that neither Ryan Fitzpatrick nor Jordan Palmer would make ANY other NFL roster, not even the Lions. Ouch.

ET didn't say whether he was a fan of Jeff Rowe, but it's too late anyway because Geoff Hobson is reporting that Seattle took Rowe off the Bengals' practice squad.

• Redskins.com's 4 Keys to the Redskins-Bengals game suggests that Fitzpatrick vs. Redskins Pass Rush is one of the keys, and the first line points out that Washington is familiar with Fitzpatrick because he made his first NFL start against the Redskins when he was with the Rams in December 2005. The only problem with that is I don't think any of the following were with the team three years ago: Jim Zorn, his coaches, the team's starting defensive ends, one of its starting tackles, two out of three starting linebackers and half of the defensive backfield.

• There's a piece from ESPN The Magazine entitled Xavier vs. Cincy Hoops: The Best Rivalry There Is? It's written by the editors of Crosstownshoutout.blogspot.com; I know you never would have guessed but they DO think it's the greatest rivalry in college basketball.

Anyway, there's no doubt it's a great rivalry, I hope Saturday night's game offers another memorable chapter and it is cool for both schools that a well-known national publication considers it at least among the great college hoops rivalries.

Meanwhile, an AOL Sports FanHouse article suggests that the Crosstown Shootout has lost a lot of sparkle.

• Not as much on the Reds' front today aside from the Arthur Rhodes deal getting wrapped up pending today's physical. Except for this must-read: Driveline Mechanics, an "unconventional look at baseball scouting," offers an in-depth breakdown of Homer Bailey. Interesting stuff.

Also, SI.com's Ben Reiter updates his list of Top 50 available free agents, suggesting that the Reds are the "new best fit" for Juan Rivera and Dennys Reyes.

• In advance of this weekend's IU-UK showdown (for which there are still tickets available last I heard), KentuckySports.com offers a comparison of this year's Hoosiers and the 1989-90 UK squad lovingly referred to as "Pitino's Bombinos."

• Non-local link of interest: Actually, there are a couple of Bengals-related items mentioned in here, but if you haven't seen the Sports Guy's NFL fan's anti-gift list, it's pretty funny. Just $37 will get you a Bengals flask to help you get through the rest of the season.

This and that

• Hot Stove: The Reds reportedly have talked to representatives for free-agent outfielders Rocco Baldelli and Juan Rivera, and Walt Jocketty says Pat Burrell's reps contacted him.

I know some fans would love to get Burrell, but I'd say "no thanks" on The Bat and Baldelli and "maybe" to Rivera (if the price is right).

Burrell is Adam Dunn with a little bit less power (Burrell has never hit 40 home runs in a season; Dunn's hit at least 40 in five consecutive seasons). Compare their stats: Burrell over the past three seasons has averaged .254/31/92 with 105 walks and 129 strikeouts. Dunn over the past three seasons has averaged .245/40/100 with 112 walks and 140 strikeouts.

Dunn got traded and had worn out his welcome with many Reds fans. Why would a guy who's statistically (and defensively) pretty much the same player fare any better?

Baldelli is only 26, but there are too many questions about his health with his mitochondrial disorder, which slows muscle recovery and causes severe fatigue. I don't think he can be relied upon to provide the big right-handed bat the Reds need.

Juan Rivera is a little more intriguing because he hit .310/23/85 in 448 at-bats with the Angels in 2006 before he broke his leg (and missed almost all of the 2007 season). But he hit .246/12/45 in 256 at-bats last season and he might be less risky than Baldelli but there's no telling whether he can 1) regain his 2006 form and 2) stay healthy enough to play an entire season.

That being said, I wouldn't mind terribly as long as the Reds didn't overpay for him. He doesn't strike out much at all (but he doesn't walk too much either). His funniest stat: He has nine career stolen bases, but he's been caught stealing 17 times. He made $2.025 last season. The Rays reportedly have expressed interest in Rivera.

• Also: Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Reds have reached a preliminary agreement with 39-year-old lefty Arthur Rhodes on a 2-year, $4 million deal, pending a physical that Rhodes will take Friday.

There's also speculation that the Reds are one of eight or 10 teams who have contacted the Cubs about Mark DeRosa.

News from Rosenthal's blog concerning a couple of former Reds as well as a Cincinnati native: A source says the Diamondbacks are close to signing Felipe Lopez for one year, $3.5 million. The Yankees' proposed deal for Mike Cameron has hit a snag. And relief pitcher Joe Smith (Amelia HS) reportedly is part of a three-team trade (involving J.J. Putz, among others) that will send him to the Indians.

• Kinda fun when SI.com's Don Banks does his Revised NFL Draft. He has the Bengals taking Steve Slaton - can you imagine? Of course, I can't imagine he would've had the kind of season he's having behind the Bengals' offensive line. And Banks does have Rivers going with the 20th pick in the first round to Tampa Bay.

• DDN's Chick Ludwig chatted with the newest Bengal, former Ohio State Buckeye and Indianapolis Colt Mike Doss.

And the first item in his notebook is about Keith Rivers' ongoing recovery/comeback.

• The Bearcats lost to Utah in the first round in both EA Sports' simulated NCAA Football Playoffs and SI.com's Ultimate Playoff, where fans vote. I guess if it's any consolation, Virginia Tech also lost in both, to USC.

The Bearcats are still alive in CBSSports.com's 64-team college football playoff. After beating Wake, UC is preparing for a second-round showdown with Boston College.

• My buddy Luke Winn has Xavier ranked ninth in his Power Rankings. I actually hadn't heard the quote Luke mentions about Kenny Frease wanting to be Xavier's Greg Oden.

• Non-local link of interest: The Las Vegas Wranglers, the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Calgary Flames, will don prison-style uniforms to pay tribute to recently disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on Jan. 30 against the Victoria Salmon Kings.

This and that

• Freel-for-Hernandez reactions: The lead of the Baltimore Sun's story about yesterday's trade says a lot: The Orioles accomplished one of their primary goals at the winter meetings yesterday, trading catcher Ramon Hernandez.

Later in the story: For Hernandez, whose defense and effort has been questioned the past two seasons, the Orioles got Freel, 32, who plays all three outfield position and second and third base; and minor league infielders Justin Turner and Brandon Waring.

And this quote from Orioles president Andy MacPhail: "This trade was more about Matt Wieters, frankly," MacPhail said. "It had been our goal to make sure we could introduce Matt into the major league scene somewhere over the course of the '09 season, not necessarily to start right away, but we thought he could handle it eventually after a little time in Triple-A possibly under his belt. We knew that would create a situation where we were going to have to split some playing time with him and Ramon, and we knew Ramon wouldn't be happy about that."

Wow. Also worth reading is The Schmuck Stops Here (Peter Schmuck's blog): No love for Ramon, as well as Ramon redux. I found it funny that MLB.com had two videos posted about the trade. In one, Mark Sheldon talked about how frustrated Hernandez was last season in Baltimore and how that affected his play. In the other, Walt Jocketty talks about how acquiring Hernandez gives the Reds a "strong character guy" as he spoke about how well he expects Ramon to provide a veteran presence and handle the Reds' young staff.

So really it's just a matter of whether Ramon leaves his bad attitude in Baltimore and truly looks at this as a fresh start. I'm sure it will help, as is the case with most players, if he starts hitting right away (and doesn't slump too badly, especially at the beginning of the season).

Also, here's some more info from the Sun about the minor-leaguers we gave up.

• Meanwhile: FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal mentions in his MLB winter meetings blog that the Jermaine Dye-to-the-Reds discussions continue at a "moderate" level. He says a Homer-and-another-prospect-for-Dye deal was close before Thanksgiving but one reason it stalled was how much of the $11.5 million Dye is due to earn next year the White Sox would pay.

Rosenthal thinks the Reds might give up on Dye and pursue a Bobby Abreu or Pat Burrell through free agency. Since neither Abreu nor Burrell was offered arbitration, the Reds wouldn't have to give up a pick. And the Reds could sign either one for about what Dye makes.

I'd still love to see them trade young pitching (Homer and somebody) for the Blue Jays' Alex Rios.

• How often do you get to read about the Bengals in the Washington Post? It's not very flattering, though, to those diehards who are trying to stay positive despite the Bengals' 1-11-1 record.

• Steelers-Ravens this Sunday. You'll recall that back in October Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said he and his teammates have a bounty out on Hines Ward. Ward told SI.Com's Peter King he's still not worried.

• The DDN's Pete Conrad examines the fate of Miami University's 11 assistant football coaches after Shane Montgomery's resignation.

• In Sports Network's preview of tonight's Xavier-Ohio game, I love this line: The Bobcats are now 4-3 overall this season, but their only other matchup with a ranked opponent to date resulted in a 35-point loss to Louisville. For that reason, Ohio enters today's contest as an enormous underdog.

I was on hand for Sunday's debacle at Freedom Hall, and I'd have to agree. The only compelling reason I can think of for Xavier fans to watch should be to see how Terrell Holloway is doing.

• Non-local link of interest: Arena Football League reportedly to suspend operations for 2009.

This and that

• A deal that sends outfielder Ryan Freel and minor-league infielders Justin Turner and Brandon Waring to the Orioles for catcher Ramon Hernandez (and at least $1 million in cash) has been finalized.

Quotes from Walt Jocketty:

"It was part of our report from scouts. ... We had scouts who saw him in the past and saw him again this year. They thought there was some level of frustration that he had been experiencing. We talked about it. I did some research with people I know who have had him. I got great reports."

"We do think a change of scenery will help him immensely. We've got a pretty good pitching staff. I think he's a guy who will work well with that staff and develop that staff and have renewed energy."

I would imagine Ryan Hanigan should still get considerable playing time, seeing as how Hernandez has only had more than 500 at-bats in a season once in his 10-year big-league career (he did have 23 homers and 91 RBIs that season). And he's not getting any younger (he'll be 33 in May). He was good for at least .275 for a few years there but his average has dropped a little the past two years (.258 in 2007 and .257 last season). He also threw out just 20 percent of runners last season and led the majors in passed balls with 10.

Baltimore could afford to part with Hernandez because of the emergence of Matt Wieters. Turner and Waring have impressed in the minors and AFL. Both were seventh-round picks. But they were both expendable because one's a second baseman with less potential in the Reds' eyes than Brandon Phillips and the other's a third baseman with less than Juan Francisco.

So it's just a matter of figuring out where to deal solid mid-level prospects. It makes sense that they sent Freel but you just hope they didn't give the Orioles too much for a guy who hit .257 and didn't impress defensively.

• Other Hot Stove rumors du jour: The very end of this MLB.com story by Mark Bowman says a source has indicated the Reds may have interest in Jeff Francoeur.

FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida is drawing interest from the Reds, Cubs, Braves and Rays.

And here's MLB.com's latest about Jermaine Dye. White Sox GM Ken Williams apparently is keeping Dye abreast of all developments, telling Dye he hasn't been traded but there has been interest, from the Reds and others.

• The Carson Palmer elbow saga continues. The Enquirer's Dustin Dow does a nice job including all of the Marvin quotes (there were some good ones) as well as a comprehensive timeline in his Surgery not likely for Palmer piece. If you're so tired of the Bengals being secretive about it and Marvin talking out of both sides of his mouth, I'll save you the pain of reading it. Basically, there's still a chance Carson could play in one or all of the Bengals' three remaining games this season. "What football players do is they play football," Marvin said. Wow.

Chick Ludwig's notebook also includes a "for what it's worth" quote from Marvin about how the Bengals would like to have both T.J. and Stacy Andrews back for next year.

• You have to admit, it's a little bit fun to start looking at NFL mock drafts, even this early. NewNFLdraft.com gets it right, they've got the Bengals taking Bama OT Andre Smith. Draftcountdown.com says Buckeyes RB Chris Wells, but they have the Bengals picking fourth. I just don't see how they can take anyone who's not a lineman. FFtoolbox.com and mynfldraft.com: Andre Smith. WalterFootball.com: Ole Miss OT Michael Oher. So basically unless they win their final three games, which isn't going to happen, they should be able to get either Smith or Oher if they don't trade down.

• In Andy Katz's Weekly Watch, his team of the week is Ohio State and one of his "Five places to be this week" (right-hand column) is Cincinnati for Saturday's Crosstown Shootout.

• I can't imagine the Bearcats are thrilled about all of these writers - including FOXSports' Pete Fiutak - saying Virginia Tech and Cincinnati are misfit teams that no one really cares about seeing play. Bad take. I can't imagine Fiutak has even bothered to sit down and watch the Bearcats play.

• Non-local link of interest: CNBC.com has a must-read for those who remember the Billy Ripken Fleer baseball card with "F--- FACE" written on the knob. It's 20 years later, and Ripken finally is talking about what really happened. Good stuff.

This and that

• Homer Bailey for Jermaine Dye: Hal McCoy's source says it's a done deal and will be announced this week.

MLB.com says it ain't so, quoting Walt Jocketty as saying, "Wrong. It's not even close."

The White Sox also are denying the rumor.

• Also Reds-related: John Fay is reporting that the Giants are interested in Edwin Encarnacion. He cites a reliable source and considers EE the most likely Red to be traded.

So much for acquiring Gerald Laird from the Rangers. Laird has been traded to the Tigers.

And David Weathers has accepted the Reds' arbitration offer.

Interesting development: Remember former Orioles' first-round draft pick Darnell McDonald? Baseball America is reporting that the Reds have signed him.

• Former Reds-related: AZCentral's Nick Piecoro takes a look at why the Diamondbacks didn't offer Adam Dunn arbitration.

• The Lot D's C. Trent is the first to report (as far as I can tell) that it's been determined that Carson Palmer doesn't need elbow surgery.

• 7-0 Xavier has climbed to No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25. The Muskies play Ohio - who just got blown out by Louisville - on Wednesday and the Crosstown Shootout on Saturday.

• NYTimes.com's Quad Blog speculates that Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson might be a candidate for the Miami University head coaching job.

• Non-local link of interest: Sports Guy this week - Rambling toward Week 14 is a must-read. Hilarious.

This and that

• In previewing the upcoming Bengals-Colts showdown, IndyStar.com's Phillip B. Wilson writes about how the Bengals' receiver duo may be short-lived, with some quotes from T.J. about how there's no way he and Chad will both return for next year. Best quote might be from former Bengal Keiwan Ratliff, who apparently remains close friends with T.J., about how he's certain the Bengals will tag T.J. Which seems to me like a bad idea, I don't know. Why stick the franchise tag on him? If you want to keep him, give him a deal that will keep him.

• Also from IndyStar, Phil Richards points out that the Colts are at their best when time is short. I just can't see how the Bengals are keep it close against the team.

• Former Cincinnati Mighty Duck (ha, see what I did there) Sean Avery has been suspended 6 games by the NHL for his "sloppy seconds" comment about Elisha Cuthbert that you are familiar with if you're a sports fan even if you don't follow the NHL that closely. The more players and officials talk about Avery, the more it seems like this was really the straw that broke the camel's back, but it still seems bizarre to me that the league would suspend him for this comment. I could see the team suspending him for conduct detrimental, especially if they've had problems with him previously. But you didn't see the NFL suspending Shannon Sharpe and Ray Buchanan when they were going back and forth calling each other names. Baseball players don't get suspended by MLB when they vow revenge for a beanball. I just don't get why commissioner Bettman necessarily needed to get involved. Let the team handle it.

• Lead item in a column by Yahoo!'s Charles Robinson about plenty of bad blood circulating through NFL is about Hines Ward and how much Baltimore's Bart Scott dislikes him. Keith Rivers is mentioned several times.

• Very interesting story on MLB.com about how the Reds, according to Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken, made a bid on Josh Hamilton on a whim.

• And an interesting development as the division rival Cardinals acquire Khalil Greene from San Diego.

No non-local link today.

This and that

• CBSSports.com's Larry Dobrow took a look at the Reds with his Save This Franchise piece. What stood out for me:

1) He definitely sees the glass as half full
2) He mentions Bill Bray along with Volquez and Cueto among young pitching assets (agreed)
3) He points out that it's pretty impressive to have four of five rotation slots inked at this point (and suggests taking a flyer on a Mark Mulder)
4) He harps on the fact that they gave Cordero too much money
5) He likes EE at third
6) He suggests finding a "big honkin' righty bat" to play left field and mentions Magglio Ordonez, Alex Rios and Jermaine Dye as three candidates, pointing out that the Tigers, Jays and White Sox could all use young pitching
7) He insists the Reds would be making a huge mistake if they got rid of Homer Bailey, unless the price is right (he likes Bailey a lot)
8) He's also a Keppinger fan

Anyway, it's worth reading ... it's a pretty decent assessment, though I'll warn you it's extremely optimistic.

• The Lot D's C. Trent has a good piece about what a disappointing season it's been for Ben Utecht.

• Turfshowtimes.com has a mock draft that has the Bengals taking Mizzou wide receiver Jeremy Maclin with the third pick. That's a head-scratcher. I'm pretty sure the consensus is they need linemen. They have Andre Smith going fourth to Oakland. I think they should probably switch those.

• I was hoping to see a story about UC's 2002 visit to Hawaii, and Bill Koch came through. What a debacle that was.

This and that

• Apparently I'm not the only one who doesn't think we'll get Kerry Wood in a million years. The Enquirer's John Fay reports that Walt Jocketty sees little chance of signing Wood.

Dallasnews.com's Evan Grant urges Rangers GM Jon Daniels to talk to Walt Jocketty at the winter meetings, only because the Reds figure to be a team that might have interest in Gerald Laird.

Freep.com's Jon Paul Morosi reports the Tigers definitely are interested in Laird.

• Seattle is clamoring for Junior (Moeller HS), sorta. Gotta love the Goldberg quote in this story. "Somebody," he said by phone Tuesday, "is going to get a bargain." Which begs the question, what is a 39-year-old outfielder who hit .249 with 18 home runs last year worth? (I know, he's his agent, and it's his job to say nice things about his client.)

• SI.com's Stewart Mandel (Sycamore HS) has a must-read mailbag today, including items about mid-major respect (for you MAC football fans), Ohio State (for Buckeye fans) and UC's upcoming game with Hawaii (for Bearcats fans).

• Linebacker Victor Hobson is the newest Bengal. Looking to learn more about Hobson, I stumbled across victorhobson.com, which you should definitely check out. I'm not going to just start ripping the Web site, but I do want to point out that the "season" link brings up the 2007 New York Jets' (the last team he played for) regular season schedule, the "register" link provides an opportunity to "join the newsletter" and "get any updates on Victor Hobson," (I would hope his signing with the Bengals yielded a Breaking News newsletter) and his bio includes the following line: "With his charismatic smile and energetic presence, Victor Hobson brings more to the table than could be expected." Pretty outstanding.

One other thing about Hobson (not about his Web site): Earlier in the day, Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe reported that the Patriots recently were in touch with Hobson, but they apparently opted to bring back Rosevelt Colvin instead. So at least one other (pretty good) team was looking at Hobson when the Bengals signed him.

Speaking of linebackers, former UC Bearcat Tyjuan Hagler gets the start against the Bengals with Gary Brackett out.

• The Lot D's C. Trent has the latest on Carson Palmer's plan.

• I did not know that: Why is Xavier hosting Auburn tonight? Auburn agreed to the game in Cincinnati so guard Quantez Robertson (Withrow HS) could play in his hometown. He made the request during his sophomore season. It will be the first time he's played a college game in his hometown, and he's expecting 50 members of his family to attend. He's averaging 7.3 points per game. He played against Xavier's CJ Anderson (Winton Woods HS) in high school. Xavier won 80-57 at Auburn last season.

Also, Ole Miss vs. West Virginia tonight means Andy Kennedy against Bob Huggins.

• Non-local link of interest: On Monday, I said it was local enough because it was the Steelers, but now I'm non-localizing it because I don't have any other non-local links of interest. Anyway, ProFootballTalk.com reports that Ryan Clark won't be fined for the hit on Wes Welker that aroused my ire the other day. Which is garbage, by the way, that he won't be fined.

This and that

• The Chicago Tribune's Fred Mitchell reports that Dusty Baker intends to give Kerry Wood a call to "see what's up." I'd say that's a longshot. Someone will offer Wood - who's reportedly definitely not going to be back with the Cubs - a lot of money to close. We've got Cordero (unless Dusty thinks we'll trade him) and Wood's not going to be a set-up guy here. Don't get me wrong, I'd be fine with trading Coco and acquiring Wood, if that's part of the larger plan.

• In other bullpen-related Hot Stove developments, the Reds offered Stormy Weathers arbitration and Arthur Rhodes' agent told MLB.com that the Reds have made an offer for the free agent.

Arthur Rhodes is exactly the kind of lefty middle reliever I would expect the Reds to go out and get. If he can pull a rabbit out of his hat and reproduce his impressive 2008 statistics in 2009, he'd be a great acquisition. But he's 39. He didn't pitch in the majors in 2007 and he was 0-5 with a 5.32 ERA with the Phillies in 2006. Remember Rheal Cormier? He was about the same age when he reinvented himself with the Phillies and posted a 1.59 ERA in 43 appearances before the Reds acquired him. That didn't turn out so well.

I realize you need a stopgap with Affeldt gone and Weathers and Lincoln possibly leaving, and Rhodes has proven he can get lefties out, but it's hard to say how much longer he'll be effective. If he had a 0.68 ERA in 25 appearances for the Marlins, why don't they want to bring him back? I guess you could at least expect Rhodes to be as serviceable as Mike Lincoln was last year (after he was out of baseball for the previous three seasons). The difference is Lincoln was signed to a minor-league deal and invited to spring training; Rhodes will get $1.6 million for a year.

• The Mariners have talked to Brian Goldberg about Junior, according to a Seattle Times blog.

• Brian Kelly has been saying all along that he's not going anywhere, but his quotes today have fellow media outlets treating it as breaking news. Worth checking out though, as he did say some pretty nice things about how excited he is about being at UC.

• A couple of items from SI.com: In his ten sophomores ready to break out Seth Davis gives Dayton forward Chris Wright some love and puts UK's Patrick Patterson in the category of "too obvious to be featured here" because of how dominant they were as freshmen.

And Don Banks writes about the coaching carousel, looking at both likely head coaching prospects as well as hot seat rankings. Marvin Lewis continues to move down the list on the hot seat, as he has since Banks started ranking hot-seat coaches several weeks ago. It's hard to believe there are nine head coaches more likely than the coach of the 1-10-1 Bengals to get fired. Even more surprising: Brian Kelly's name appears among the names to know for likely head coaching prospects.

• I was wondering when Bruce Gradkowski was going to get another shot. ESPN's James Walker says the Browns are getting ready to sign him. I like Gradkowski, not just because he's a quarterback from the MAC but I always thought he was solid for the Bucs. I'm not going to pick them to beat the Titans or anything, but he'll be serviceable.

• Instead of the usual non-local link of interest, I've got a non-sports related link of interest to honor the victims of The Who concert at Riverfront Coliseum 29 years ago tomorrow.

This and that

• Check out the Q&A with Mike Brown from Cincinnati.Com. He had some pretty interesting things to say, and not just because we're hearing from him for the first time in months. I don't want to read too much into the quote about Marvin, but it makes you wonder how much job security he still has. If that's Mike Brown's opinion, I'm surprised Marvin hasn't been fired yet.

Don't know how well this will be received ... it's one of those deals where we can make fun of ourselves but we take offense when an outsider takes the same jabs. The Baltimore Sun's Mike Preston offers a notebook (third item down) where he calls the Bungles the "worst team I've seen in the 21 years I've been covering the NFL." Ouch.

There is proof that not ALL of the Bengals have completely given up. This crossed on the wire a short time ago ...

-----

Safety Marvin White played most of the Cincinnati Bengals' latest loss on a torn knee.

Tests on White's right knee found that he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in the first half of a 34-3 loss to Baltimore on Sunday. White didn't realize the severity of the injury and stayed in the game.

Coach Marvin Lewis said on Monday that the test results were surprising, given the way White played. White was at a hospital on Monday. He'll miss the rest of the season, but is expected to be recovered from surgery by next season.

-----

And in case you missed it, the 49ers cut Ahmad Brooks over the weekend.

• Two plays that I saw Sunday (during the few minutes I got to watch aside from Bengals-Ravens) ticked me off. Ryan Clark's hit on Wes Welker in the third quarter of the Steelers-Pats game was dirty - helmet-to-helmet and completely unnecessary. He did get flagged and will hopefully get fined. He destroyed Welker (who did not return) for no good reason. Have to disagree with SI.com's Andrew Perloff, who said he enjoyed it. Local relevance: It's the Steelers.

The other play wasn't quite as vicious, but it angered me because it was the most blatant late hit that didn't draw a flag that I've ever seen. On Sunday Night Football, Adewale Ogunleye knocked Gus Frerotte to the ground about 4 seconds after he threw it. I don't know how referee Bill Leavy could have possibly missed it. Frerotte was livid. TwinCities.com's Tom Powers wrote about Frerotte's impressive effort after one of the worst roughing-the-passer non-calls I've ever seen.

• By the way, I didn't realize until last night how many Vikings have some sort of tie. Frerotte, Madieu Williams, Leslie Frazier obviously spent time with the Bengals. Ray Edwards went to Woodward HS. Antoine Winfield was a Buckeye. Chester Taylor played in the MAC. Did I forget anyone? Maybe they can pick up Ahmad Brooks.

• The Lot D's C. Trent has some solid quotes from Brian Kelly, including some about a Seattle Times report that he'll interview for the Washington job this week.

SI.com's Stewart Mandel (Sycamore HS) still has UC meeting BC in the Orange Bowl, Ohio State playing Texas in the Fiesta Bowl and Kentucky-Tulsa in the Liberty Bowl in his latest bowl projections.

• Must-see video: Mardy Gilyard on palestra.net talking about how UC is no longer Ohio State's little brother. Pretty strong words. It'd be a bigger deal if they were going to play each other, though.

• The Enquirer's John Fay talked to Walt Jocketty about the possibility of acquiring Jermaine Dye. But several other teams apparently have expressed interest as well. And the Chicago Tribune's Mark Gonzales reported over the weekend that his source says a deal involving Dye and the Reds is complicated by financial matters.

• Non-local link of interest: Someone had asked me about a complete list of free agents. Check out Sporting News Today's free agent watch.