Whatever happened to...

Todd Benzinger?

The longest-lasting memory of Benzinger was of him catching a foul ball to win the 1990 World Series. So what is Todd up to these days?

Currently, Benzinger is coaching girls high school varsity basketball at Loveland High School, where his daughter Justine used to play (daughter Presley plays for JV). The team is 17-2.

Benzinger is still living in the Cincinnati area with Presley & Justine and son Grant.

Other than that, I can't find much about Todd. There is a 2005 article catching up with him, but much of that info is outdated. Anyone know anything else about Todd?

Whatever happened to...

So I was watching the Reds rewind last night of Game 4 of the 1990 series. We were talking about former players, and the name Eddie Taubensee came up. It gave me a thought. I think I'm going to feature "what ever happened to" former Reds posts on here. Is there any interest in that?

Well, in case there is, here's the first one:

Eddie Taubensee is now the Director of Evangelism at Harvest Church in Winter Garden, FL. According to their site:

Eddie had an 11 year Major League Baseball career catching for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Indians. He has travelled the world sharing the gospel in Thailand, South Africa, Japan, Dominican Republic, Australia, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Germany. Eddie and His wife René are the Pro Athletes Outreach, Ambassadors to Major League Baseball and are the directors of the annual Baseball Conference. At Harvest you can also find him teaching Basic Training to the K-4th grade students or helping out in the nursery when needed. If you get here early enough he may even explain the MLB stadium being used as a template for that day's seating arrangement. Eddie also enjoys being a little league coach and full time father to his 3 boys.

I also found him in the Board of Directors of Pro Athletes Outreach, as mentioned in Harvest Church's bio.

Bringing a little bit of October

Well, I'm sure this isn't news to y'all, but according to Ken Rosenthal, the Reds have come to terms on a prelimary agreement with Jeremy Affeldt.

I know some people don't, but I like the move. First, it's not like there was a vast wealth of quality pitching available at a reasonable price. Second, I like that he has (albeit limited) post-season experience. I know he had some issues as a starter, but a lot of those were related to a fingernail issue, and he had that fingernail removed. Finally, it's a relatively low-risk move.

We'll have to wait and see, but I like what I see!

Just curious...

How many people still read this?

Redlegs went a-courtin'

Are the Reds wooing Runelvys Hernandez?

None of this seems terribly interesting, but the article also says Hernandez got on a strict training regimen. Now that he's in shape, he's reportedly hitting 97 on the gun (sounds like agent-speak to me). I'll believe it when I see it. But Hernandez chose the right team in the Astros, as they're hurting for starting pitching. It's not a done deal yet; he's having some last minute discussions with other clubs. McTaggart says the Rangers, Pirates, Phillies, and Reds have all shown interest.

The article says the Astros have the inside track.

Deja vu all over again?

The Reds talked to Brett Tomko's agent this week.

Several second-tier veterans remain on the free-agent market. The Reds spoke with Brett Tomko's agent earlier this week, but talks were believed to be only preliminary. A local report this week also linked the club with Josh Fogg. Livan Hernandez, Jon Lieber and Kris Benson are among others still available.

"I would call it active," Krivsky said of his talks with various agents." Plenty of phone calls have been made on both sides."

I feel a change...

From John Fay's blog:

Reds hire Jocketty

The Reds have hired Walt Jocketty as a special advisor to President and CEO Bob Castellini. Wayne Krivsky stays as GM.

Krivsky and Jocketty will be on conference call at 3:30 p.m. More details then.

OK, here's some of what was said in the conference call:

Krivsky: "I'm still the GM. I still report to Bob. Everyone under me still reports to me. Nothing's changed in that regard."

"We're just adding another experienced baseball man. Walt and I have followed similar career paths. He's been a GM a lot longer and had more success than me. It's another set of eyes and ears. We believe in the same things: That you build a club through scouting and player development."

"Nobody has all the answers. I certainly don't. Walt will be part of the discussion. I'll be talking to Walt a lot. We'll work through things and take it to Bob."

Jocketty: "We should be fine. I report to Bob. Basically, I'll be involved in every aspect, working with Wayne. I think Wayne's done a great job in the two years."

"I know the pressure and the commitment of being a GM. Quite honestly, I didn't know if I was ready to step back into that job."

Jocketty said he had offers from other clubs. Three factors led him to take the job with the Red: His relationship with Castellini; the fact that he was reporting directly to the owner; and the St. Louis is close enough that he can keep his residence there (He has a son who's a junior in high school and daughter who's a junior in college).

"I like this role. It was important that I got back in the game because the longer you stay out the harder it is to get back in."

"This club should be in a position to be competitive and stay competitive for a number of years. . . the ultimate goal is get the Reds in World Series."


Here's the release from the Reds:

The Cincinnati Reds today announced that Walt Jocketty, former Senior Vice President and General Manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, has joined the organization as Special Advisor to President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Castellini.

Jocketty will advise and assist Castellini in every facet of baseball operations, including matters related to the front office, Major League field and support personnel, scouting and minor league and international operations along with training and medical services.

"We are fortunate to be able to add to our baseball department someone who has had as much success in the game as Walt. Clearly, he is a proven winner and his experience will be invaluable to me and to our entire organization," Castellini said. "He wants to keep his hand in baseball this season. When you have the chance to hire someone with his credentials, you have to take advantage of that opportunity. We're doing everything we can to improve our franchise."

A 33-year veteran of professional baseball, including the last 13 with St. Louis as general manager, Jocketty's Cardinals teams went to the playoffs seven times. He won the National League Central Division six times and the 2001 NL Wild Card while earning two National League championships and the 2006 World Series title. The Cardinals have produced winning seasons in seven of the last eight years.

While general manager in St. Louis, Jocketty was named Major League Baseball's Executive of the Year by The Sporting News in 2000 and 2004 and by Baseball America in 2000. In 2004, he also received the Rube Foster Legacy Award from the Negro Hall of Fame as National League Executive of the Year.

Jocketty said, "I look forward to the challenge of helping Bob and the entire Reds organization continue to develop a plan to build a consistent and winning baseball team in Cincinnati."

Keeping up with the Kriv-dawg

From mlbtraderumors.com

Both Ohio teams have interest in Bedard as well, but a trade to the Indians or Reds seems less likely. The Reds still won't give up Jay Bruce.

According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds are interested in free agent starter Josh Fogg.

The righty starter recently turned 31. As Fay notes, he made $3.625MM in 2007. He seems like he might seek three years and $21MM, just a guess. I don't want to dog the guy but he is below average in most aspects of pitching - allows tons of hits and HRs, doesn't strike people out. He's a flyball pitcher too. He does have decent control, though. Not a great fit for the Reds, but it's slim pickens out there.

According to Rotoworld, Fogg is "probably asking for a two- or three-year deal worth at least $5 million per season."

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Davey misses the hall again, with only 16.2% of the vote (88 votes). Parker received 82 (15.1%) votes and Rijo received 0.

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Eddie G's going to the Rangers - now, Josh H will know someone there.

And Mackanin's a Yankee.

Well that was disheartening

"Preparing myself for a loss" really didn't help anything.

If you could care less about college football, you might as well stop reading. :)

I gotta say, though, that I feel better about this game than I did last year's. Last year, the Buckeyes mustered all of 82 yards of offense - we got almost that in one play with Beanie. There were numerous times where it looked like OSU might come back and make it close. It was stupid mistakes (i.e. dropping a sure-thing TD pass, hitting the punter instead of the ball) and horrible personal fouls (2 drives with 30 yards in penalties???) that killed the Buckeyes. They're young and they played young.

Regardless, no one ever thought they would make it there. I mean, at the beginning of the season, who would have thought Todd Boeckman, who hadn't really played since high school, could lead them to the national championship game? How many teams could lose a Heisman trophy winner and 2 first-round draft picks and come right back to the national championship?

The people who say the Buckeyes should be barred from National Championship games are ludicrous. It's not like they ranked themselves #1 or could have said, "No, thank you - we're not good enough" to a national championship game.

There are some positives. That team played their butts off. They never gave up and showed how strong they can be. Next year, they're even poised to be just as good, if not better than, this year's squad. They're not losing very many seniors (though they could lose some great starters on D, which would hurt). Beanie set himself up to be a Heisman front-runner next year. Brandon Saine looked good.

Though last night I felt like saying the Buckeyes are a tease, I've rethought my position. When I remember that this team was discounted from the beginning, picked to be third in the Big Ten, I have reason to be satisfied with this season. Happy? No. Pleased? Not really. But satisfied? Yeah, I think so.

Congrats on a good season, Ohio State... but please don't do this to me again next year!

We'll never know what might have been

According to the Florida Sun Sentinel, Jorge Cantu's agent said Wednesday that his client is "pretty far along" on a potential contract with the Marlins.

Also, Matt Clement has signed with the Cardinals. There's one potential free agent off the list.

Reportedly, Cliff Lee from the Indians is available for trade. I'd love to see the Reds go after him.

On to college football... What's with the bowls this year? Is it just me, or are they totally boring? I hope Ohio State makes it boring and blows out LSU, but that's just a pipe dream. Predictions for a final score, anyone?