Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Saint Louis dominates second half and defeats Xavier

Yesterday, Xavier University took on Saint Louis University. SLU failed to gain any momentum in the second half, and Xavier controlled the first half outscoring Saint Louis 39-29. XU strutted into the locker room going in to half time, unaware of the 15-0 run SLU had up their sleeve. SLU destroyed Xavier in the second-half, beating them 41-29. Saint Louis defeated Xavier in the end 70-59.

Xavier's record dropped to 18-11 (9-6) and Saint Louis improved to 23-6 (11-4)

for Xavier, Dez Wells was the top performer, scoring 13 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, earning 1 assist, steal and block.

Conklin for SLU played phenomenal scoring 23 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, earning 2 assists and a block.

Xavier takes on Charlotte on March 3rd. It is the final game of the regular season.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Great start lifts Xavier over Richmond, USF shocks UC


Saturday, Xavier played against Richmond University. XU got off to a tremendous start, making their lead 18-3 at what point. The tables turned as Richmond came back, making it a game again. Xavier locked down defensively and extended their lead to 65-57, which was enough to end the game.

Frease earned the MVP award for Xavier, scoring 19 points and earning an astounding 14 rebounds along with it. Frease also had 2 steals and a block. Holloway lead the assist category with 6.

Xavier improves to 18-10.

Xavier takes on Saint Louis tonight at 9:00 p.m.


Saturday, University of South Florida shocked University of Cincinnati in a low-scoring game. South Florida edged out UC in the first half, winning it 25-22. UC hardly won the second half 22-21, which wasn't enough. USF had shocked UC, 46-45.

Collins lead USF with 14 points, 2 rebounds 5 assists and a steal. Kilpatrick was the leader for Cincinnati, scoring 13 points, grabbing 2 rebounds an earning an assists.

USF improves to 18-11, while UC falls to 20-9.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Almost all Reds players at Spring Training, 8 days 20 hours and 11 minutes until first Spring Training Game.

 Almost all Reds have arrived at Spring Training, including Bruce, Phillips, Stubbs, Latos, Leake, Chapman etc.
 Phillips telling the media that contract extension talk for his has been dead as of late, and that his agent and Jocketty plan to meet during Spring Training.
As of 4:56 of 2/23/12, the first Spring Training game is 8 days 20 hours and 7 minutes away. The game is at 1:05 on March 3rd against the Cleveland Indians.

Xavier comeback not enough, lose to UMass 80 - 73


Xavier went head-to-head against 18-8 University of Massachusetts on Tuesday, February 21st. UMass controlled the ball and the game early on, and even until about 6 minutes left in the game. Xavier tried to strike a comeback, which they did, but it wasn't enough. The final score was 80-73, UMass winning.

Xavier takes on Richmond on Saturday, February 25th.

Xavier's record fell to 17-10, and UMass improved to 19-8. Both teams are 8-5 in the conference (Atlantic 10), being in a 3-way tie with St. Bonaventure. Temple and Saint Louis is ranked ahead of Xavier, UMass and St. Bona in the conference.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Holloway and Xavier top Dayton in OT


Tu Holloway and the Xavier Musketeers went up against Dayton on Saturday night. Many people called this game for Xavier "there season" or "this is a bracket buster" and I couldn't agree more. If Xavier would've lost this game, they would've had to win the remaining games in the season and win the A-10 Tournament just to get a seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Many believed Tu Holloway won the game with his spin fade-away three pointer to take the lead. Tu Holloway and Kevin Dillard are in competition for the player-of-the-year award for the A-10. Holloway proved that he deserves that #1 spot by scoring 32 points, getting 6 rebounds, earning 5 assists and stealing the ball twice. Dillard scored only 20 points, got 2 rebounds, earned 6 assist, 1 steal and got 2 blocks.

After the win Saturday, Xavier earned third place in the A-10 all by themselves. Xavier is 8-4 in the conference, and they improve their record to 17-9. The only two teams ahead of Xavier in the conference is Saint Louis (10-3 in the conference) and Temple (10-2) in the conference.

  

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Chris Heisey or Ryan Ludwick, Who will get left-field?

 Dusty Baker has always been the type of coach who believes in equal playing time or letting every player get an opportunity. I personally believe that Ryan Ludwick should start off the season in left-field, mainly because he has had more experience. But, Chris Heisey has batted .254 in both of his seasons, while Ryan Ludwick has batted around .236. Many predict that Baker will give Heisey and Ludwick split time.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Rays sign Manager Joe Maddon for 3-years


Sorry for the unrelated post, but going to Tampa every year, I felt this needed some light shined on it. The Rays have just added 3 years to Joe Maddon's contract. Another reason I felt like posting this was because you never know who your World Series opponent will be.

Reds World Series 2012?

Who will lead-off for the Reds?


 1. Willie Harris
There are many candidates for lead-off for the Reds, but I believe the Reds signed Willie Harris for more than just to fill the somewhat empty left-field spot. Harris batted .246 last year. Willie Harris is speedy, and even though hes been around the MLB a few times, I believe the Reds will put him in the lead-off spot in Spring Training or opening day.



2. Brandon Phillips
Brandon Phillips lead-off a good portion of last year, and I feel he is a great fit for the position. Brandon Phillips batted .300 last season, and had 183 hits. The only down side of Brandon Phillips is that he trys to hit for power sometimes, and ends up popping it up. If Brandon Phillips does get a hold of one, its a great thing, but doesn't fit the lead-off description.



3. Drew Stubbs
I personally am not a fan of Drew Stubbs, and I do not believe he is fit for the lead-off position. Drew Stubbs average has declined every year, and one of the only categories that went up were his strike outs. Drew Stubbs struck out 205 times last year, and he deserves to be in the 7 spot, not be able to make the first hit of the season.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Devin Mesoraco tops list of Reds prospect list, Reds prepare for Spring Training


The Reds release the list of there top 20 prospects. To see the full list, click on the link.
http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/#list=cin
Since Ramon Hernandez is gone and Devin Mesoraco has over perfomed, The Reds gave him the #1 prospect spot. Base stealer Billy Hamilton earned the #2 spot and Right Handed Pitcher Robert Stephenson got the #3 spot.

No.    Prospect              Position         ETA
#1 - Devin Mesoraco        C               2012
#2 - Billy Hamilton            SS             2014
#3 - Robert Stephenson   RHP           2015
#4 - Daniel Corcino         RHP           2014
#5 - Zack Cozart              SS             2012

MY PROSPECT PREDICTION:

#1 - Zack Cozart
#2 - Devin Mesoraco
#3 - Billy Hamilton
#4 - Robert Stephenson
#5 - Daniel Corcino


Since the Reds filled the closer spot with former Phillie Ryan Madson, and added Mat Latos to the rotation, The Reds are "Reloaded to regain the Central". With additions of Ryan Ludwick, Ryan Madson, Mat Latos, Willie Harris and Jeff Francis to Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips, the Reds are more than stacked to defeat divison rivals.

Ryan Madson is 47-30 in his career (W-L). His record last year was 4-2, with a 2.37 ERA. He received 32 saves last season. Even though Mat Latos is a potential ace, I believe Ryan Madson was the biggest pick up over the off season. Ryan Madson has a 1 year deal with the Reds, so if the Reds want to possibly win a World Series, this is probably their best chance.

Willie Harris, another off season pick-up, batted .246 last season with the New York Mets.

Pitchers and Catchers report in 6 days, (as of 2/13/12) and Spring Training could not come soon enough.

The first spring training game is March 3rd, 2012 against the Cleveland Indians. That game is 18 days, 20 hours and 51 minutes. (as of 2/13/12 4:13 P.M.)

Go Reds!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

85-72 Xavier falls to Temple


Xavier University falls to first place Temple on Saturday, February 11th. The Owls lead by 20 points, and the Muskies slowly chipped at the giant lead. The final score was 85-72. Holloway lead Xavier with 23 points.

Xavier takes on Dayton on February 18th.

Xavier plays for a part of first place


Tu Holloway and the Xavier Muskeeters are 30 minutes away from taking on the first place Temple Owls. The Muskies, 16-8 (7-3 conf.) need a win against Temple on ESPN2. Temple is 18-5 and 7-2 in the conference. Holloway averages 16.3 points a game, which is a team high. Holloway also leads the Assist and Steal category, which he averages 5.8 assist and 1.7 steals a game. Out of Points/Rebounds/Assists/Steals/Blocks, Xavier only leads 1 of the 5 categories, which is the assist category. Temple is predicted to win by 6-9 points.

Keys to victory for Xavier:
Mark Lyons needs to step up! Lyons has been down lately, not scoring or doing anything as much as previously. Very inconsistent lately for Lyons.

62, not 52 & 10:
 Mark Lyons and Tu Holloway need to work together tonight, be 1, not 2.

Better FG% for Frease:
Frease missed way to many easy bunnies last game. Even though Xavier destroyed Rhode Island on Wednesday, If XU plays Temple the same way they played URI, The Owls will trample the Muskies.

My Xavier Fan Prediction:
69-64 Xavier Defeats Temple

My Professional Prediction:
74-66 Temple Defeats Xavier

Reds prepare for Spring Training by getting Ludwick and Francis; Not pursuing Oswalt

February, 11th 2012.
 The Reds have made it official that they have signed right-handed outfielder Ryan Ludwick and left-handed pitcher Jeff Francis. Both players have been with the team for some while, but Jocketty has just now made it official.

Ryan Ludwick batted .235 in 2011 with the Blue Jays, the Padres and the Pirates. Ludwick hit 26 homeruns last season. Ludwick will help to fit the somewhat empty left field spo

Jeff Francis's record in 2011 was 6-16 with the Kansas City Royals. His record is 61-66 through 7 seasons. Francis was signed to a minor league contract, but we hope to see him in the bullpen or rotation by the end of the season.