Good morning. Doc's on vacation. I wanted to start by sharing a couple of the most ridiculous Bengals-related things I've heard since the NFL Draft ended.
I'm not sure where it started but some have suggested that Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is putting unnecessary pressure on Ja'Marr Chase by saying that Cincinnati drafted Chase because the team thinks he’s going to be one of the all-time great receivers here over the next 10-15 years. I know he's in his early 20s and hasn't played an NFL snap but I'm pretty sure anyone taken fifth overall in the draft is confident enough in his talent and abilities to see that as exactly what it is: a compliment. They like what they've seen from Chase, and they believe in him. That's all there is to it.
The other thing some have suggested that seems to me like a head-scratcher is the notion that Joe Burrow asked or told the team to draft Chase. I'm certain the team has a plan and strategy entering the draft, and the picks they make will align as best as possible with that strategy. If they know they don't need to draft an offensive lineman with that No. 5 pick because of moves they've already made and moves they're going to make, can we let it play out instead of fabricating something about Burrow pressuring them to draft his former LSU teammate? And let's not forget that they drafted Jonah Williams in the first round in 2019, K?
YOU KNOW WHAT'S EVEN MORE ABSURD than either of those tired narratives about the Bengals drafting Chase? Neither Yadier Molina nor Javier Báez getting suspended when Castellanos got two games and Amir Garrett got seven. Still not over it. You've got to be kidding. John Sadak and Chris Welsh agreed during last night's broadcast on Bally Sports Ohio that the fact that Garrett got seven games and Baez got zero is "grossly unfair." Meanwhile, Garrett awaits the result of his appeal.
HOW MANY MORE TIMES do the Reds face the Pirates this year? Probably a lot of fans asking that right now. The answer is four games in August and six in September in addition to the two remaining in this series. Which National League team - or Major League team, for that matter - looks to you like a team the Reds could never beat in a playoff series? I don't see one right now.
Kind of exciting to have Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo waiting in the wings too, no?
WADE MILEY'S Hulk tattoo from his son and the fact that Tucker Barnhart said after the no-hitter that Miley was calling - during the rain delay - for it to be canceled were cool, but my favorite feel-good storyline about the no-no was Miley's dad saying that Barnhart deserved as much credit as Wade did. There's so much animosity nowadays that it's refreshing to hear someone say something really nice and genuine about somebody else to whom they're not related to recognize what they've achieved.
THE HEADLINE ON THE FRONT of USA TODAY'S sports section reads, "Are no-hitters still a big deal in a season of offensive futility?" There's no doubt in my mind that's a yes. I don't care if offensive numbers are down across the board. Let's divide the number of total games by the number of no-hitters at the end of the season, and we'll find it's still a rare occurrence to be celebrated. It's also a complete-game shutout. How many of those even happen in this day and age? Did you hear Miley hint at how he was laboring a little late in the game because he's not used to pitching that deep into the game? That's the case for everyone.
WITH THESE HORSE RACING HEADLINES, is any publicity still good publicity? My only reaction - given that I've never been able to bring myself to care about a sport fans are asked to care about three times a year that they don't follow throughout the rest of the year - is wondering when it will become less relevant.
TUNE O' THE DAY:
It's a Night Ranger kind of a day. Thanks for reading.
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