Reds 11, D-Rays 9

WELCOME AESHYA

In honor of a Texas Congresswoman of whom only Howard Dean could be proud, I'd like to send out a proud Texas welcome to Tropical Storm Aeshya (Arlene, to those of us on Earth). Here is a great tracking plot of the path on which experts predict Aeshya to "roll on Dubs", straight up into the mix of the northern Gulf Coast. I'd like to also ask Aeshya to please 'back that azz up' if she has any intentions of heading towards Houston.


WILY MO!!!!

Motivated by my annointment of him as the Reds' "Most Untouchable" prior to Wednesday's tilt, Wily Mo promptly responded with a 3-5, 2 HR performance, including a walk-off bomb off of Danny Grav...errr...Danys Baez in the bottom of the 9th. Nothing erases the short-term memory of a Reds' fan after this miserable start to the season like a re-run of the Home Run Hop. I'm still curious as to what Red will be moved to make room for Luke Hudson today. Still intoxicated from the excitement of last night's dramatic win, I'm still holding out hope that Rich Aurilla and/or Luis Lopez will get the boot.

TONIGHT'S TIP SHEET

The Astros are 6-23 on the road in 2005, 5-14 v. LHP, and the under is 12-6 v. LHP. The Mets 11-8 v. LHP in 2005, their starter, Tom Glavine, is 11-0 with a 2.16 ERA lifetime v. the Astros, and has a 2.65 ERA in his last 3 starts overall. I'll let you draw the conclusions here.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is 4-25 on the road, the Reds have gone over the run line in 12 of 17 v. LHP and 20 of 31 at GABP. Smells like another slugfest is on the menu, unless Chef Miley drops the lineup tray and Aurilla/Valentine/Lopez fall into the soup.

AS RANDOLPH TURNS

Chip Cosby's article in the Herald-Leader today sure must have been a fun read for Woo. Sounds like the 5-hole is wide open next fall, as Randy Morris is apparently just dying to become the next Leon Smith, minus the aspirin overdoses and war paint.

Yoni Cohen, he the brilliant brain behind the mecca of college hoops blogs, Yoco Hoops, suggests in his Fox Sports online column that Randolph would be making the right decision if he stayed eligible for the NBA draft this season.

Demonstrating a lack of patience, Morris declared after one sub par season as a Wildcat (8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game). Never at home in Tubby Smith's offense, Randolph failed to live to expectations and seemed less than happy in Lexington. Benefitting, however, from a weak crop of big men, Morris is projected to receive first-round money. In a perfect world, Randolph would have the wisdom and maturity to return to Kentucky and learn from Smith, re-emerging as lottery material a year or two down the line. In the real world, Morris' poor relationship with the Wildcat's coach combined with a first-round guarantee from one or more teams makes it difficult to argue that the immature but talented former McDonald's All-American is better off unhappy and poor in college than unhappy and rich in the pros.

Yoni's usually pretty on-target in his analysis, but I strongly disagree with his take on the Morris' situation. Tubby's offense was not the root of Morris' problem; Morris' inability to perform as the central point in the offense was the problem. Towards the end of the season, Randy showed signs of progress, but not so much to serve notice that he's ready for the NBA. I honestly could not care less if he stays or goes, but I think an NBA GM who spends a first-round pick on a guy who struggled as mightily as Randolph did last year is out of his mind. Regardless, stop by Yoni's blog and read his online column.