Seth's 50 Centers

I remember jumping on the bed at my grandparents’ house when the Reds beat the Pirates in six games to win the NLCS in 1990.

My grandma thought I was crazy, and told me to calm down.

“I’ve never seen the Reds in the playoffs,” an 11-year old me responded.

Little did I know that I’d only see one more trip to the postseason out of my Redlegs before I turned 31.

Incidently, the CPA told me the same thing about jumping up and down last night. Whereas my grandma thought I might hit the ceiling fan, the CPA was concerned about our drop ceiling in the man cave.

The 1995 Reds were a great group of players who, were it not for the Braves, may have battled Cleveland in the true Battle of Ohio, but alas Reggie Sanders struck out 10 times in four games and the Reds were swept.

The 1999 team, as I’ve said before, will go down as my favorite squad to root for. They had a mix of young players, with a few veterans, that just never died.

That team lacked a lot more than this year’s team when it came to pitching. The ’99 Reds were super-glued and duct-taped together as a pitching staff, with Pete Harnisch being the poster-boy for guys with their arms falling off getting the job done.

That team didn’t make the playoffs, tying on the last day of the regular season with the Astros for the NL Central lead, but also finding itself squared away with the Mets for the wild card. MLB made the Reds fly from Milwaukee to Cincinnati, getting home at 6 a.m., only to have them play the Mets at 7 p.m. that night. Thanks a lot, Bud.

What a reward for a 96-win season!

Then, in 2000, with Ken Griffey Jr., the player of the 1990s in tow, the Reds won 85 games and were the disappointment by the river.

How these last nine years have taught Reds fans a lesson in contentment! We thought an 85-win season was a failure! Boy, did we find out what it really meant to stink!

The last decade wasn’t all bad. There were times when the Reds were in contention, only to have injuries or thin pitching be exposed, but there wasn’t a winning campaign to be had.

Until this year. Unlike Mark McGwire, I’ve talked about the past a lot here. That’s because I don’t really know what to say.

If memory serves, looking back at ’99, ’95 and ’90, unless a winning season is bought like in New York, there seems to be a need for several characters on a winning team.

The ’90 team certainly had that with the Nasty Boys. In ’95, there weren’t so much characters, as much as there was character, with Barry Larkin leading the way.

But the ’99 group had it in all areas of the clubhouse. Greg Vaughn bought new meaning to the idea of “carrying a big stick” and Dmitri Young and Pokey Reese both had flare the fans in Cincinnati hadn’t seen in a while. Larkin was still there, leading by example, but that pitching staff, the one held together by as many adhesives as possible, had a bullpen with players from all walks of life, including a guy nicknamed “Dirt” (Stan Belinda) and one affectionately called “Mud” (rookie Scott Williamson).

This team has the veteran, Scott Rolen, the silent assassin, Joey Votto, the flashy one, Brandon Phillips, the winner for best Pete Rose impersonation, Jonny Gomes, and so on and so on — Jay Bruce and Drew Stubbs would have to be the up-and-comers.

The pitching staff is unlike any I’ve seen as a Reds fan. Depth and power arms adorn the roster, which is what it takes to get it done these days.

Here’s hoping we’re celebrating more than the birth of my son in the next month!

Toddler totals another win

She’s done it again, folks!

Lucy Cashew has dominated all of our so-called experts en route to another winning week. The pint-sized prognosticator dialed up a 12-win week, when few people were even in double figures.

Here’s yet another shot of the cutest little shark I’ve ever seen:

Lucy Cashew

I spoke with Lucy Cashew’s father, GatorBuckeye, about how a 23-month old girl can be so good.

“It was extra tough getting (the picks) out of her this week because she was sick,” he said. “After her nap is the best time.”

Results

Lucy Cashew 12 (plus 1) = 13
Brian I. 11
Kara 11
The CPA 10
Chjm70 10
Nora Peanut 10
Seth 9
Jeff W. 9
Grandpa 9
Jeff S. 9
Will Will 9
Teddy 9
Jessica 9
tgd 9
Mary the Nurse 9
GatorBuckeye 9
jmb 9
Amy 8
Miles 8
Big Game 8
Crazed Wolverine 8
Adman 8
Fulch 8
Jack Ten 7
The Trashman 7
Patrick F. 6
Jeremiah 6
tgm 6

Overall Standings

1. Lucy Cashew 38**
2. Chjm70 34*
3. Grandpa 30
3. Jeff W. 30
5. Seth 29
5. Jeff S. 29
5. GatorBuckeye 29
8. The CPA 28
8. Brian I. 28
8. Will Will 28
8. Kara 28
8. Nora Peanut 28
13. The Trashman 27
13. Miles 27
13. jmb 27
13. Adman 27
13. Jessica 27
13. Big Game 27
13. Mary the Nurse 27
20. Amy 26
20. tgd 26
20. Fulch 26
23. Jack Ten 22
23. Crazed Wolverine 22
23. Jeremiah 22
23. tgm 22
27. Patrick F. 21
28. Big ‘Un 20
29. Teddy 17

NFL Week Four

Cincinnati (2-1) at Cleveland (0-3)
San Francisco (0-3) at Atlanta (2-1)
NY Jets (2-1) at Buffalo (0-3)
Detroit (0-3) at Green Bay (2-1)
Denver (1-2) at Tennessee (2-1)
Seattle (2-1) at St. Louis (1-2)
Carolina (0-3) at New Orleans (2-1)
Baltimore (2-1) at Pittsburgh (3-0)
Houston (2-1) at Oakland (1-2)
Indianapolis (2-1) at Jacksonville (1-2)
Washington (1-2) at Philadelphia (2-1)
Arizona (2-1) at San Diego (1-2)
Chicago (3-0) at NY Giants (1-2)
New England (2-1) at Miami (2-1) Pts._____

Make your picks by using the “Comments” section under the headline.