Where Is Jay Bruce??

He is at the top of most of the important batting statistic categories in the International League.

Bruce is currently leading the International League in batting average (.366), and in hits (50). He also ranks 2nd in RBI's (33), 4th in runs scored (27), 4th in triples (5), 5th in home runs (8), 2nd in total bases (96), 7th in on base percentage (.398), 2nd in slugging percentage (.662), and 2nd in on base plus slugging percentage (1.060). The most phenomenal of Jay's statistics may be the fact that he has hit 22-36 (.611) in his last 10 games.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I cannot understand why the Reds haven't called this kid up yet. I thought for sure when Keppinger went down the other night that Bruce would be the guy that got called up to fill his roster spot. Instead, the Reds decided to call up Paul Janish. Of course, Janish got the game winning hit last night in the bottom of the 10th inning so I am not complaining too much.

I can sort of understand why Janish got called up because he is a shortstop and he was brought up to fill the roster spot created when Keppinger (SS) went down with a broken knee cap. But, I think the argument could also be made that Hairston JR has been doing a pretty decent job at SS when he has been given the chance. And, I'm pretty sure that Freel could also do a passable job at shortstop if the Reds got in a pinch.

I just don't understand what Bruce has to do to get a chance at the Bigs. The guy performed well in spring training and he is lighting it up in AAA ball. You would think that a Big League team that has been struggling to score runs and win games would be looking everywhere they can to find a guy that could help them get runners across the plate. I just don't understand what the Reds are doing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pete Mackanin went 29-19 in his first 48 games as the Reds manager last season. He ended up finishing the season with a 41-39 record, but let's not forget that the last month of the season he found himself managing a lot of Minor League players that the organization brought up to evaluate. Its hard to tell what kind of record Pete would have had if he could have played who he wanted. Oh, and the Reds ended up firing Pete Mackanin.

I wonder if Dusty will be on as short of a leash as Pete was last season. The Reds currently have a record of 18-23 in Dusty's first 41 games which puts them dead last in the NL Central.

Gillespie Is At It Again!!

The Muncie Star Press is reporting today that University of Kentucky Head Coach Billy Gillespie has made a scholarship offer to Muncie Central freshman Jeremiah Davis. The Star Press is also reporting that Davis has also seen some interest from Indiana, Ohio State, Syracuse, and Tennessee.

Davis is a 6'2" point guard who averaged 7.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists during his freshman season. Davis plays on the same AAU team (Indiana Elite) as Vinny Zollo , who has already verbally committed to UK.

Davis has said that he will not rush into any decisions, but he is intrigued by Kentucky's offer.

05/10/08 - Kentucky Basketball

John Clay is reporting that Mike Williams has officially asked to be released from his scholarship and that Derrick Jasper "will most likely" transfer as well.

This latest news comes from Billy Gillespie's press conference today, which John attended.

I hate to see Mike Williams leave the program and I am really saddened to hear that Jasper is most likely leaving as well. But, I'm not surprised by either players' desire to leave.

Jon Hood Verbally Commits To UK

Kentucky Sports Radio is reporting that Madisonville's Jon Hood has verbally committed to Kentucky. Jon is a 6'6" small forward from Madisonville North Hopkins High School. Scout.com lists Jon as a 4 Star recruit.

Billy Gillespie is on fire!

Here is a list of Kentucky's commitments:

Class of 2008
DeAndre Liggins, 6'6" SF/SG, 5 Star Recruit
Darius Miller, 6'6" SF/PF, 4 Star Recruit
Kevin Galloway, 6'6" SF/PG, 4 Star Recruit, JUCO
Josh Harrelson, 6'9", PF/C, 1 Star Recruit, JUCO
Class of 2009
Jon Hood, 6'6", SF/SG, 4 Star Recruit
GJ Vilarino, 5'9", PG, 3 Star Recruit
Class of 2010
Dominique Ferguson, 6'9", PF/SF, 5 Star Recruit
Dakotah Euton, 6'7", PF, 3 Star Recruit
KC Miller, 6'1", PG, 3 Star Recruit
Class of 2011
Vinny Zollo, 6'8", PF, 1 Star Recruit
Class of 2012
Michael Avery, 6'4", SG/SF, Not Rated yet

David Stern Test Post

For those of you who aren't already aware, I use statcounter to keep track of the visitors who come to this blog. Statcounter is a neat little program that keeps track of all sorts of statistics relating to who visits this site, where they came from, how often they visit, etc.

I think the most interesting statistic that gets collected by statcounter is the number of people who come to my blog looking for the contact information for NBA Commissioner David Stern. Roughly 20% of my total visitor count comes to Ordinary Bo's Ordinary World via different search engines looking for ways to contact David Stern. Another 5% or so come here after searching for different variations of "David Stern Sucks," or "David Stern is an idiot," or "David Stern is arrogant."

Those of you who have followed this blog for very long know of my distaste for David Stern. The man has completely driven me away from the NBA over the last couple of years with his uncontrolled arrogance and patronizing press conferences.

So, today I have decided to run a little experiment.

In this paragraph I am going to use words like "email contact information" and mention the names of Bud Selig, Roger Goodell, Myles Brand, and Gary Bettman. I'm going to also use the words arrogant, idiot, ass, pompous, moron, fired, asshole, and patronizing.

I'm just a little curious to find out how many people will find their way to Ordinary Bo's looking for the contact info for these "other" Commissioners. To be fair, I'm going to collect this information over a prolonged period of time. I haven't decided on a time frame as of yet, but I feel that I should probably wait at least a year to compile the statistics so that every League has the chance to complete a regular season during my experiment. I'll let you know what I find out.

Michael Avery Verbally Commits to UK

Reports are now circulating on the internet that Billy Clyde has secured a verbal commitment from 6'4" combo guard Michael Avery. I would like to put a link to Avery's profile from Scout.com at this point in the story, but apparently Scout.com doesn't have profiles for players who are still in the eighth grade. I'm not knocking Coach Gillespie for recruiting eighth graders because there are no rules that say he can't do it, but it is my opinion that there is something seriously wrong with an NCAA system that allows recruitment of kids before they even reach high school age.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am so happy the departure of Tubby Smith from Kentucky didn't lead to the kind of mess that Indiana University is now dealing with up in Bloomington. Of course, Tubby didn't exactly leave UK under the same kind of circumstances that Kelvin Sampson created up at IU. But still, it is difficult not to feel sorry for a Hoosier basketball program with such a strong tradition.

In case you missed it, ESPN is reporting that IU will hold a press conference this afternoon where they will officially announce the departure of four more scholarship basketball players from the Hoosier program. Armon Bassett, Jamarcus Ellis, Eli Holman, and DeAndre Thomas are all apparently leaving the program for various reasons. These recent departures will leave the Hoosier program with only three returning scholarship players next season. The three returning players are Jordan Crawford (younger brother of Joe), Brandon McGee, and Kyle Taber.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------