from Lance McAlister's blog, The Lot D: 

Since 2000, the Reds have had 41 pitchers, who have been released, or otherwise parted company with the team...and who have not pitched in the major leagues again.

2000---Larry Luebbers, Keith Glauber
2001---Pete Harnisch, Osvaldo Fernandez, Lance Davis, Scott MacRae, Chris Piersoll, Justin Atchley, Frank Rodriguez
2002---Jose Rijo, Luis Pineda, Jose Silva
2003---Joey Hamilton, Jeff Austin, Josh Hall, Scott Randall, Phil Norton, Juan Cerros, Mark Watson
2004---Brian Reith, Jimmy Haynes, Todd Van Poppel, Jung Keun Bong, Jesus Sanchez, Aaron Myette
2005---Paul Wilson, Joe Valentine, Ben Weber
2006---Brandon Claussen, Brian Shackelford, Chris Michalak, Chris Hammond, Joe Mays, Esteban Yan, Jason Johnson, Sun-Woo Kim
2007---Eric Milton, Ricky Stone, Rheal Cormier, Elizardo Ramirez, Michael Gosling

Bengals’ wide receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are skipping the team’s off-season workouts, and both are apparently unhappy with their contracts.

But their quarterback, Carson Palmer, isn’t concerned about having a pair of starting receivers missing in action.

The Bengals are three days into mini-camp and the offense is looking good, that is except for the fact the team’s top two wideouts, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, are nowhere to be found.

“My frustration level? I’m at zero right now,” Palmer told the Dayton Daily News.  ”I’m not frustrated at all.  I’m happy and excited to be back on the field myself, whether they’re here or not.  I’m excited to be back with these guys, the guys that are here.”

None of this is a surprise as the team did not expect either wideout to show up for the workouts. The real question is when we will see them? T.J. should return to the mix by time the team heads to Georgetown, but Johnson, if he gets his way, may never play for the Bengals again.

With the two out, the team’s other wideouts, including veterans Doug Gabriel and Glenn Holt, are getting plenty of reps. If Johnson does return to the team it is going to be interesting to see how the roster shakes down and what the depth chart will end up looking like.

Interleague play begins this weekend in baseball which means another battle for bragging rights in Ohio. The Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians will begin their home and home series Friday night. This series has been called many things including the I-71 Series and, as far as I recall, this year will be the first year the two teams hook up with some hardware on the line. The winner of the series this year will not only get bragging rights in the state, but they'll also get the Ohio Cup to display in the clubhouse until next year.

Both teams come into this weekend's series riding a three game winning streak. The Tribe (22-19) actually come into the series having won eight of their last ten while the Redlegs (18-23) coming in having won six of their last nine. The reason both teams have had success lately is because of their starting pitching. And this weekend will provide us with great pitching matchups in every game. While both teams have strong offensive lineups, it will be the pitching that decides this weekend's installment of this series. Let's take a look at the pitching matchups that will take place this weekend down at GABP.

Friday: Jeremy Sowers (0-0, 5.06 ERA) vs. Johnny Cueto (2-4, 5.91 ERA)
Sowers will be making just his second start of the season. He wouldn't normally have started this weekend but with the Indians having to play a doubleheader this past Monday, the rotation was thrown out of whack. Thus Sowers is called back up from Triple-A Buffalo to start Friday's game. In his previous start on April 26th against the Yankees, Sowers went 5.1 and gave up three runs. On the flip side, Cueto is coming into this game having lost three of his last four outings. His most recent loss came on May 11th against the Mets when he gave up six runs in 4.2 innings. Cueto has had an up-and-down season so far after bursting onto the scene at the beginning of the season. A bounce-back performance this weekend could do a lot for this kids psyche going forward.

Saturday: Fausto Carmona (4-1, 2.40) vs. Aaron Harang (2-5, 3.32)
Carmona comes into this weekend having thrown a complete game shut-out on Monday against the Blue Jays. His biggest issue right now is the amount of walks he has issued (35 over 48.2 innings pitched this season). Fortunately for him so far he has been able to erase baserunners by getting hitters to hit the ball on the ground. Harang finally got some run support this past Monday and ended a personal five-game losing streak. Its not that he's pitched badly, but rather the lack of run support on the days he's pitched. After giving up three home runs and falling behind to the Marlins on Monday, he was able to settle down and at one point retire 15 of 16 batters. Of all the games going on this weekend, this has to be one of the top pitching matchups.

Sunday: Cliff Lee (6-0, 0.67) vs. Edinson Volquez (6-1, 1.12)
Speaking of top pitching matchups this weekend, this is without a doubt the most intriguing battle of the season to date. This game will feature the two starting pitchers with the lowest ERAs in the majors. Lee has been one of, if not the biggest surprise of the season so far. His command so far this season has been unmatched. He hasn't allowed a run in the last 16 innings. He comes in this weekend with a record of 3-1 in five starts and a 5.60 ERA against the Reds including a 4.08 ERA and a 2-1 record in three starts at GABP. Volquez has been a bright spot on an otherwise so-so starting staff for the Reds so far this season. The 24-year old has made the city of Cincinnati forget all about Josh Hamilton. His command of the strike zone is amazing and even better is that he trusts his stuff enough to throw a breaking ball at any time in an at-bat. He has yet to give up over one earned run in any of his first eight starts. That hasn't happened Mike Norris did it for the Oakland A's in 1980.

The starting pitching is going to be very important for both teams this weekend. In a ballpark where chicks that dig the longball could thrive, the bullpen could play a big factor in determining the outcome. The fact that the Reds game Thursday with the Marlins was rained out could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. This will give the bullpen a chance to rest and more importantly it will give closer Francisco Cordero a much needed break after pitching three nights in a row. While the Reds have a solid closer in Cordero (he just blew his first save of the season Wednesday night and was the last closer in MLB to blow one) the Indians have a closer by committee going on right now with Joe Borowski on the DL. The Indians could put Rafael Bentancourt out there one game for the save and then the next give Masa Kobayashi a chance (notched his first career save Thursday against the A's).

The bullpens will be very important this weekend, but it could come down to the performances put together by the guys starting that get the ball to start the games. The Battle for the Ohio Cup begins at 7:10 Friday night and will wrap up in Cleveland on June 29th.

Remember roller derby, from way back in the early 80's?  That, along with Australian Rules Football, was about the only programming that ESPN carried during its first few years on cable.

As time went on, however, ESPN grew to become the premier sports network in the world, while roller derby went the way of parachute pants.  But somewhere along the way, some enterprising businesspeople realized that, if you put a bunch of women in sort of skintight outfits, get them in rollerskates, and have them fly around a track aiming to knock the living daylights out of each other, you can get people out to watch the show.

So this Sunday, during the Sportscenter morning and late night shows, ESPN is going to be airing a segment on the popularity of women's roller derby (or rollergirls, as they're now called).  In the segment, I've been told that members of the Cincinnati Roller Girls club are going to be interviewed and featured (if they don't end up on the cutting room floor).

If you haven't been to one of their games before, I highly recommend checking a game out.  The crowds are nuts (not to mention about 75-80% female...though sometimes that's not all it's cracked up to be), and the players throw themselves around with no regard for their safety, despite getting paid absolutely nothing.  And, as Tom Gamble on the 2 Angry Guys noted a few days ago, Sadistic Sadie...mmm...where was I again...

Anyways, I'll be curious to check the piece out, it's worth a few minutes of your time to catch it on Sunday.

UPDATE 5/16: Behindatthebar was scratched on Friday from Saturday's 133rd Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course because of a bruise in his left front foot, trainer Todd Pletcher said, according to DRF.com.

The second leg of the Triple Crown unfolds on Saturday, and Derby winner Big Brown is a big favorite for the 133rd running of the Preakness Stakes.  The post positions were drawn for the race on Wednesday afternoon in Baltimore and Big Brown finds himself in the No. 7 post of a 13-horse field. That is a far cry from the 20th slot he came out of at Churchill Downs two weeks ago and unlike the outside slot (12th) he exeperienced in the Florida Derby earlier this year.

Unfamiliarity can also best describe the field that will attempt to keep the colt from continuing his quest for the first Triple Crown in thrity years. Only one of the 19 horses that opposed Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby will be lining up in the gate in the Preakness, Gayego (finished 17th).

The field, from the rail out, is Macho Again (Julien Leparoux the rider), Tres Borrachos (Tyler Baze), Icabad Crane (Jeremy Rose), Yankee Bravo (Alex Solis), Racecar Rhapsody (Robby Albarado), Big Brown (Kent Desormeaux), Macho Again (Jamie Theriot), Stevil (John Velazquez), Riley Tucker (Edgar Prado), Giant Moon (Ramon Dominguez), Gayego (Smith), and Hey Byrn (Chuck Lopez).

The Preakness, the shortest of the Triple Crown races at 1 3/16 miles, is the 12th race on a 13-race Pimlico card that begins at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday. The Preakness will be televised live by NBC, with a 6:15 p.m. post time.

The purse for the Preakness is $1 million, with $600,000 going to the winner.