This Week in Baseball
-Taylor Ballinger, Matt Korte, Jeff Gangloff
Good morning, Nation. We’re back with our weekly installment of “This Week in Baseballâ€Â, where Taylor, Matt, and Jeff will highlight interesting and/or important stories happening throughout baseball. As always, hope you enjoy – and let us know what you’ve been reading by posting in the comment section below.
3 Trades the Cincinnati Reds Should Already Be Thinking About
Tyler Grote, Bleacher Report
This is low hanging fruit featuring an article about the Reds from a national outlet, but it’s always interesting to see how the organization is viewed from the “outside.† As the season continues, we as Reds fans will be on edge waiting to see how management handles and weighs the course of this season versus the next 5-7 years.  In this article, Grote highlights the three obvious trade candidates on our roster in Bruce, Cueto and Phillips…the other highlight; how underwhelming our assets are to trade to actually improve the club.  Outside of Cueto, Bruce’s stock is at an all-time low and the trading of BP would be about a salary dump.  Stay tuned Redleg Nation…the next few weeks of our season could dictate what our next 5 seasons become. (Korte)
How MLB Stays White
Jack Moore, Vice Sports
This past week the Brewers did something that surprised about 0.4 percent of the baseball community when they dismissed Manager Ron Roenicke and replaced him with former Brewer and Special Assistant, Craig Counsell.  Again…no surprises in the move and for the Brewers sake, hopefully Counsell will be the right man for the job.  That said, with the expediency of the move, it seems like the Brewers directly went against the “Selig Rule†enacted in 1999 to ensure that more minority candidates were being considered for major roles within MLB organizations.  The article highlights the long-term lack of success of the rule, as there are currently 28 white managers in MLB.  I highly recommend diving into this article, a true history lesson into how MLB has struggled with the diversity of its leaders while suggesting that MLB needs to truly treat the Selig Rule as useful tool to improve the diversity in the game. (Korte)
Craziest Ballpark Foods
Compiled by the Sporting News
Not much of an article here…just a little bit of fun.  As you are making your summer road trip plans to cross the country in the old family truckster…here is a guide to some of the wildest ballpark foods through the country.  Major league and Minor League teams are now rolling out some of the most off-the-wall menu items you surely won’t find in a normal sit down restaurant.  If you happen to sample any of these this year and live through the heart attack, please let me know what you think.  The Krispy Kreme Donut Dog served by the Wilmington Blue Rocks looks particularly devastating (Korte).
Battering the Batter
Adam Felder, The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/05/no-more-battering-the-batter/391991/
Batters being hit by pitchers is causing big problems but isn’t having nearly enough consequences. Is it time for baseball to take a hard look at the impact that “the unwritten rules of baseballâ€Â, “beanballsâ€Â, and the unintentional “hit by pitch†are having on the game? Adam Felder takes a look at some of the concerns with pitchers hitting batters and suggests ways in which Major League Baseball can combat it. (Gangloff)
In Alex Rodriguez’s Big Moments, Yankees Start to Look Small
William C. Rhoden, New York Times
I think this is the third week in a row I’ve included an A-Rod story. The ongoing saga between him and the Yankees is incredibly fascinating. An organization that gets every red cent out of marketing its history and players wants to pretend that one of its players passing Willie Mays on the all-time home run list is no big deal. Give me a break. They’re stiffing A-Rod because they don’t like him and because they signed him to a bad deal to begin with…not because he broke the rules. They kept Jason Giambi around after his steroid admission. Andy Pettitte’s getting a plaque in Monument Park for crying out loud. The hypocrisy in this is mind-numbing. But, like I said a couple weeks back – if any organization can turn A-Rod into a sympathetic figure, it’s the Yankees. (Ballinger)
Reds Fans Start Petition to Send Kevin Gregg to Triple-A After Poor Outing
Chris Cwik, Yahoo Sports
The title is pretty self-explanatory. The only thing I’ll say is this: I’m not signing the petition, because it’s silly and there are way more important things to worry about. However, it has been tough to watch this Reds bullpen struggle (not just Kevin Gregg). Let’s hope they can turn it around, because I don’t know that there are tons of great options out there for the club. (Ballinger)