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Reds Press Clippings January 16, 2015

CINCINNATI ENQUIRER MLB Network highlights the Nasty Boys, 1990 Reds By C. Trent Rosecrans / Cincinnati Enquirer / [email protected] / @ctrent

MLB Network will look at the 1990 Reds and the Nasty Boys, the team's three-headed relievers, in a one-hour special on Tuesday.

The second episode of MLB Network's "MLB Network Presents" hosted by looks at the team, centering around the Nasty Boys, , and . It premieres Tuesday at 9 p.m. and includes interviews with Charlton, Dibble, Myers and many others, including former Cincinnati Enquirer sports writer John Erardi.

The release has some of the many comments:

On the 1990 Reds team:

Rob Dibble: For us, there wasn't a team we didn't dislike. … It wasn't just Randy and I and Norm. There were a lot of lunatics on that team.

Norm Charlton: [From] 7:05 to 11 o'clock or however look it took, [we were] dead serious. After that, "Katy, bar the door."

Barry Larkin: Our fans loved us because we went there and we put [a] blue collar-brand of on that field every day.

Paul O'Neill: I remember getting off to an unbelievable start. As a young player that had never been in that position, you don't want to pinch yourself and don't want to wake up.

Marty Brennaman on : The very first time he met with that team, he told those guys, "We have the talent to win a World Championship here and I'm not going to be happy with anything less."

Jerry Springer: The 1990 team was really the first people's team because they were regular characters. Nuts, but regular.

On the "Nasty Boys":

Larkin: Those three guys, I thought they were the most valuable piece of the '90 team.

Randy Myers: With us three, stuff could happen in the first five , but from six on, it ain't happening.

Charlton on Myers: Randy used to sit and read the sports page in his locker on the floor with his legs spread, like he was doing yoga or something, and he'd have salami and cheese there and he'd cut it with a machete.

Marty Brennaman: If they happened to you, and you wanted to take issue with it, they would all walk halfway to the plate so you didn't have to go all the way out there. They were all three extremely tough guys.

O'Neill: In most bullpens, you match up lefties against lefties, and righties against righties. Lefties or righties don't hit Rob Dibble. Lefties or righties don't hit Norm Charlton. These guys weren't matchup . You really could've drawn any one of them out of a hat to be the .

Larkin on Dibble: Dibbs didn't just want to get you out. Dibbs wanted to strike you out, and a lot of times I felt like he wanted to embarrass you.

Report: Minors to add 20-second pitch clock By C. Trent Rosecrans / Cincinnati Enquirer / [email protected] / @ctrent

The 20-second pitch clock, used in some Fall League games this past year, will make its way to minor-league games this season, according to a report from FoxSports.com.

The pitch clock will be installed at all -A and -A games this year, according to a report, but won't make it to the major leagues in 2015. Owners will vote on changes today, but any change would have to be approved by the players' union.

The pace of game has been a hot topic in baseball, and the owners are currently discussing rule changes such as the pitch clock and forcing batters to keep one foot in the batter's box between pitches.

With the pitch clock, pitchers have 20 seconds to either deliver a pitch or throw to a base. It was used at two of the four stadiums used for Arizona Fall League play.

Reds outfield prospect Jesse Winker said he quickly adapted to the pitch clock.

"I did my best not to worry about it," Winker said on Thursday. "The first game I played with it, my first couple of at-bats, I did notice it and did my best to adjust to it, but to be honest with you, after that, I figured it's 20 seconds, I'm not going to get out of my routine, I'm back in the box before the 20 seconds is up anyway, so I stopped worrying about it. I got used to it, the pitchers got used to it, it's just something we all adjusted to and it ended up not being that big of a deal at all."

Batters in the AFL, like Winker, also had to adjust to a rule making them keep one foot in the batter's box between pitches. Winker likes to take a long break outside the batter's box between pitches, much like .

During one game in the AFL, Winker stepped out of the box, as per usual, and an reminded him to keep one foot in. He smiled, did so, and rapped out a hit. If the rule disrupted his timing, it didn't show — Winker won the league's batting title (.338) and also topped it in OPS (on-base plus slugging) with a .999, including three home runs.

"After a couple of umpires telling me 'one foot in the box, one foot in the box' on a daily basis, you make the adjustment," Winker said. "In between pitches, I like to get out, think about what's happening in my at-bat and how the is attacking me. For me, leaving one foot in the box, will have to be an adjustment, but once I get used to it, it won't be a big deal at all."

According to FoxSports.com, Advanced Media would pay to install the clocks at minor league parks.

MLB tested its instant replay system in the Arizona Fall League in 2013 and implemented it for use in the 2014 season.

Scott Rolen to speak at Wright State banquet By C. Trent Rosecrans / Cincinnati Enquirer / [email protected] / @ctrent

Former Reds will be the keynote speaker at the Wright State First Pitch Banquet on Friday, Jan. 23, at the Nutter Center in Dayton.

Rolen, who last played in 2012, lives in his native Indiana.

The seven-time All-Star played the final of his three-plus years of his 17-year career with the Reds, coming to Cincinnati in a trade with the Blue Jays in 2009. He also played for the Phillies and Cardinals, winning the Rookie of the Year in 1997 and a title with the Cardinals in 2006.

Rolen finished his career with a .281/.364/.490 statline and hit 316 home runs, driving in 1,287 runs, while winning eight Gold Gloves at third base.

More information on the event is available on the Wright State website.

CBSSPORTS.COM Franchise best/worsts: By Matt Snyder / CBSSports.com

Over the course of the next month, we'll venture through the history of each of the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, discussing some of the best and worst moments, players, teams, etc. It's more a fun snapshot for discussion purposes than a be-all, end-all declaration. We continue today with the Cincinnati Reds.

Long known as the first professional team in baseball history, the current incarnation of the Reds (The ) began recorded history in 1882. They dropped the Stockings and became the Cincinnati Reds in 1890. Due to the communism scare, they switched to being called the Redlegs from 1954-59, but have been the Reds since 1960. They have 15 playoff appearances, 10 pennants and five World Series championships.

Let's check 'em out.

Best team: 1975

The Reds have had some great ones, and that's not just including their five World Series championship ballclubs. The 1975 team, though, is one of the best in baseball history and wasn't too difficult a choice here. This was the "prime" of the -- at least in so much as a team can be in a prime -- with the Reds finishing the regular season 108-54 and outscoring opponents 840- 586 (+254 differential).

That ballclub ranked first in the NL in runs and third in ERA. The starting lineup featured three Hall of Famers (and ) along with very good players like Dave Concepcion, and Ken Griffey.

They swept the Pirates in three games in the NLCS, outscoring them 19-7. It did take them seven games to dispatch of the Red Sox in the World Series, but keep in mind that they survived the epic Boston comeback in Game 6 -- which concluded with 's famed foul-pole homer. In Game 7, the Reds even trailed 3-0 through five innings and still came back to win it all with a single putting them ahead in the top of the ninth. Taking that game showed the strength and confidence of this all-time great team.

Best : Big Red Machine

Wait, did I cater a category just for this particular team? Of course. We're gonna do that a lot in this series. What's the fun in rigidity?

From 1970-79, the Reds won the NL West six times, the NL pennant four times and the World Series twice. The dynasty part would probably be 1972-76, a five-year period in which they went to the Fall Classic three times, winning it twice.

Best :

George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was only with the Reds for nine seasons before departing for , but he won five division titles, four NL pennants and two World Series with a record of 863-586 (.596). Among modern-day Reds managers with more than 10 games managed, that's the best winning percentage by a pretty wide margin. Sure, he had loads of talent on his roster, but every piece of the puzzle was important in the golden era of the franchise.

Worst team: 1934

Those Reds went 52-99 with a run differential of negative-211. They were last in the NL in runs scored and their pitching staff allowed the most runs. That's a bad combination, no? The offense also ranked last in hits, doubles, average, on-base percentage, (so obviously OPS, too) and . The pitching staff allowed the most hits in the league while the defense had three players with at least 25 errors, including 48 from third baseman Mark Koenig.

Best bullpen stable: The Nasty Boys

The Reds only championship since the Big Red Machine came in 1990, when they led the division wire to wire and shocked the mighty A's with a four-game sweep in the World Series. That ballclub had some starpower on offense ( and future Hall of Famer ) and the rotation (Jose Rijo and ), but a lot of the focus was rightfully on the bullpen triumvirate Randy Myers, Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton, together known as "The Nasty Boys."

Charlton had to swing to the rotation for 16 starts, but in relief he had a 3.02 ERA with 57 in 50 2/3 innings. Dibble had a 1.74 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 98 innings. He saved 11 games and had 17 holds and even went on to share the NLCS MVP with Myers. Myers had 31 saves with a 2.08 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings.

In that postseason, The Nasty Boys combined for 27 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings while allowing just one earned run (Charlton in Game 1 of the NLCS), good for a 0.37 ERA.

Best forearms:

Worst eyewear: 's goggles

I'm sure some would consider this a "best," but c'mon, those things were awful.

Worst stadium: /Cinergy Field

It wasn't really the fault of the Reds, because the time period in which this thing was built it was the fad to go the cookie- cutter//multi-sport route with stadiums. That doesn't mean we can't look back historically and say, wow, those stadiums were awful for baseball.

Worst screwjob: The 1981 season

Thanks to a midseason strike, the season was divided up into two "half seasons" and there was a divisional round of the playoffs in which the winners of the first and second half of the division squared off before getting to the LCS round. The Reds were left out of the playoffs due to finishing second in both the first and second halves of the season.

All told, though, the Reds actually had the best record in the majors at 66-42, 2.5 games better than the A's for the second-best record. And they missed the playoffs altogether. That's laughable.

Best year for trades: 1971

Some excellent work by GM in 1971 helped to lay the groundwork for the prime years of the Big Red Machine.

On May 21, and Vern Geishert were sent to the Giants for a 22-year-old named George Foster. Foster would go to the All-Star Game five times for the Reds, winning the MVP in 1977, finishing second in MVP voting in 1976, leading the NL twice in homers and leading the NL three times in RBI. Duffy ended up a career .232 hitter with minimal impact while Geishert never played again.

On Nov. 29, Howsam struck again, landing Joe Morgan in an eight-player deal that also brought Cesar Geronimo to the Reds. Morgan is now in the Hall of Fame and was one of the best second basemen in MLB history, winning two MVPs. In his eight years with the Reds, he was an All-Star every season while hitting .288/.415/.470 and averaging 28 doubles, 19 homers, 76 RBI, 102 runs and 51 steals a season. The Reds did give up power hitter , but Morgan's value far exceeded May's moving forward and he was obviously a much better fit for the ballclub.

Worst trade:

One of the greatest right fielders in baseball history was traded in the middle of his prime to Baltimore for , and . Pappas had marginal productivity in two-plus years on the hill for Cincy while Baldschun was pretty bad and Simpson hit just .246/.335/.391 in 161 plate appearances. Robinson won the AL MVP his first year in Baltimore and made six trips to the All-Star Game after the trade.

Worst gift: The

Sure, it would have been awesome to win the World Series, but it came at least partially thanks to some prominent members of the White Sox throwing it for money (the ). Of course you hoist the flag for a World Series championship there and it counts, but you also know it was because several members of the other team not only "let" the Reds win, but at least a few actively helped the Reds win. That's bittersweet at the very least and, thus, a pretty bad gift.

Best uniforms: Current home threads

I really do like these the best. Simple and sharp

Worst uniforms: Sleeveless tops with black undershirts

From 2000-2003, the Reds donned that look and the black just doesn't really fit for me.

Best regular-season moment, offense: Pete Rose becomes the hit king

Rose retired with 4,256 career hits and that record seems pretty untouchable at this point. Then again, so did 's hits record.

Best regular-season moment, pitching: Tom Browning's

In the long history of the franchise, there's only been one perfect game. Tom Browning pulled it off on Sept. 16, 1988.

Best father-son moment: Junior's 500th homer comes on Father's Day

In front of his father, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 500th career on Father's Day. That's pretty cool.

Best back-to-back feat:

There's only one man in baseball history to throw a no-hitter in back-to-back starts and Reds hurler Johnny Vander Meer pulled it off in 1938, allowing zero hits in 18 innings combined on June 11 and June 15. He actually walked eight batters in the latter outing, but still didn't give up a run in a 6-0 win.

Worst moment: Pete Rose getting banned from baseball

We don't really need to delve more into this. No matter who you blame or how anyone wants to justify this, the entire situation was brutal for baseball, the Reds and the legions of Rose fans. And he's still a constant discussion point any time the Hall of Fame is brought up.

Best fight: 1986 brawl causes Mets player shortage

I've covered this before, so for more information and the video footage, click on through.

Worst fight (from Reds' perspective): gets trucked by Kyle Farnsworth

Um, dude, you better be a bit stronger to pull that off against Farnsworth.

Best player:

This is something I'm not even going to debate because that would be a whole post upon itself entirely. Rose is in the mix, as is Morgan and several others. Bench is possibly the all-around greatest catcher in MLB history, though, and I lean toward him here due to the diffculty of being such a great defender at a premium position in addition to his power. I'm always open to disagreement, but I'm more open here than usual.

What else, Reds fans? As always, there aren't wrong answers. Get in on the fun in the comments sections with your favorite -- or least favorite -- memories. It's the offseason, so it's time to enjoy looking back at the baseball past before we hit and look to the present and very near future.

FOXSPORTSOHIO.COM Cincinnati Reds prospect rankings By FOX Sports

The Reds organization is stacked with pitching prospects as seven take up the top 10 in our consensus power rankings. Right-hander Robert Stephenson and outfielder Jesse Winkler are consensus top 50 Major League prospects according to many services.

10. ALEX BLANDINO

Taken in the first round last year, Blandino has potential at short but he can also play second and third. He has a solid bat but needs to improve on his power. Likely to begin the season in Dayton and if he continues to improve could make a quick trip up the organization.

9. AMIR GARRETT

The left-hander went 7-8 with a 3.65 ERA in Dayton last season but over the second half he was 5-4 with a 2.86 ERA. Inconsistent in his delivery and control but does have a fastball that averages between 92-95. Could start the season back in Dayton or move up High-A Daytona.

8. YORMAN RODRIGUEZ

Thought to have the best outfield arm in the organization and can play all three spots. He was limited early due to an oblique injury but turned it on late in the year and earned a September promotion to the Reds. Expected to begin the season with Louisville but must begin to show better plate discipline.

7. RASIEL IGLESIAS

Is the right hander the next ? Possibly except in this case the Reds are adamant that they want Iglesias to be a starter after signing him to a seven-year, $27 million deal. He pitched mainly in relief in the Arizona Fall League and allowed no runs and a hit in seven innings. Considering the state of the Reds’ bullpen last year, he could start the year as a setup guy to build innings. Has a solid four-pitch repertoire.

6. NICK TRAVIESO

The right-hander went 14-5 last season at Dayton, which tied for the organization lead in wins and he led the organization in ERA (3.03). He has one of the best sliders in the system and a fastball that averages 92-95. Could begin the season in Daytona or Pensacola.

5. ANTHONY DESCLAFANI

The right-hander was acquired from the Marlins in the Mat Latos trade. Mainly a ground ball pitcher whose fastball averages 92-94, DeSclafani tried to work on his curveball during the Arizona Fall League with some success. Could compete for a spot at the bottom of the Reds’ rotation during spring training but likely to begin the year in Louisville.

4. NICK HOWARD

The right-hander, who was selected in the first round last year, is similar to Lorenzen in that he was mainly a reliever in college. With Single-A Dayton, Howard’s last five outings were starts and he went 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA. His fastball averages 92-95 and he is expected to be in Pensacola at some point this season.

3. MICHAEL LORENZEN

The right-hander was mainly a reliever in college but has developed into a solid starter with the Reds. Even though Lorenzen was 4- 6 with Pensacola, he was third in the Southern League with a 3.13 ERA. He didn’t produce a lot of strikeouts last year but has a two-seamer that can get in the upper 90’s and has plenty of sink that handcuffs hitters. Could start the season in Louisville.

2. JESSE WINKER

Led the Arizona Fall League with a .338 average. After starting the season in Single-A he was promoted to Double-A Pensacola but played in only 21 games due to a partially torn tendon in his right wrist after an auto accident. Has great plate discipline and has drawn comparisons to Jay Bruce because of his ability to hit for average.

1. ROBERT STEPHENSON

The right-hander (left) has a great fastball/curveball combination and is improving on his changeup. With Double-A Pensacola, Stephenson led the Southern League last season in strikeouts (140) while opposing hitters to a .114 average, but he also allowed 18 home runs en route to going 7-10 with a 4.74 ERA. Expected to be in Louisville sometime this upcoming season and could be in the Reds’ rotation by 2016.

TRANSACTIONS Date Transaction 01/15/15 sent Luke Putkonen outright to Toledo Mud Hens. signed free agent LF to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. signed free agent RHP Anthony Swarzak to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.