In an effort to try to be less negative about the Cincinnati Reds, I am going to break up Reds Musings into two segments:  Positives and Negatives.  That way, I do not bring everyone down like I have the previous few posts.  With that said, let's start the experiment:

POSITIVES

• Dusty Baker's in-game managing has actually been pretty good.  Some people are always critical of moves (stolen base attempts, bunt attempts and hit and runs) that do not work, but those failures are part of the game.  Not every call he makes is going to work during the course of a season.  More impartantly, he rarely calls for a position player to bunt before the seventh inning, he is yanking pitchers at appropiate times, and is creating decent matchups both offensively and with his pitchers.  Again, this statement only applies to IN- GAME managing.
  
  
• With Colorado already out of the playoff picture, Matt Holliday is rumored to be on the trade market.  He is not a free agent until the end of the 2009 and is looking for a mega deal probably in the $16 - $18 million a year range.  He is a perfect replacement for Adam Dunn who seems to be heading out of town by August.  He is a better runner, defender and even a more productive hitter than Dunn and his cost is not a lot more.  He would answer the question, "Who, besides Jay Bruce, is going to play outfield for the Reds next year?"
  
  
• Speaking of Bruce, do not lose faith in him after his month long slump in June.  He is the Reds best player right now because he can hurt opposing teams in so many different ways and at any time.  Only Brandon Phillips comes close to Bruce.  If Phillips had better plate discipline (22 BBs in 322 ABs is awful), then he might be better than Bruce.
  
  
• John Feinstein's new book, Living on the Black, is an must read for any baseball fan who likes to know what goes on behind the scenes.
  
  
• I have been by readers to write Reds Musings on a more consistent basis.  Instead of posting it on Friday one week and Tuesday the next week, I'll just consistently do it on Thursdays from now on.  Is this a positive or a negative?

NEGATIVES

• George Grande gets constantly ripped because he is so bland, but that is not his worst quality as a broadcaster.  His worst trait is that he adds nothing to the broadcast.  It is as if he shows up at gametime, tells you what you see and no more, and then leaves as quickly as possible.  He may be a great guy, but he seems to be just collecting a paycheck.
  
  
• Speaking of Reds broadcasts, the pre game and post game radio shows are commercial fests.  The pre game is uniformative and repetitive and therefore, worthless.
  
  
• Baker's in game moves may be smart, but his lineups have cost the Reds many games.  It is hard to measure how many games his lineups actually have cost the Reds but there is some statistical evidence to this.  Any stat from Corey Patterson tells you that he should not EVER stand next to home plate.  His current line, .189/ .220/ .340, is one of the worst performances by a Red of all-time, particularly with all of the at bats he has had.  Secondly, Reds hitting in the third slot are last in the National League in OPS.  This, of course, points to Ken Griffey Jr. who sadly is having a terrible year (.240/ .345/ .399).  Nobody has come out and publically stated this, so I will be the first:  with Jeff Keppinger and Jerry Hairston Jr. now healthy, it is Griffey who should be riding the bench.  Lastly, Dunn's worst position in the lineup by far is the third slot.  Historically, he has hit in the low .200s when he has hit third... DO NOT BAT HIM THERE!
  
  
• With every game that Patterson attempts to hit and/ or Griffey bats third, Baker loses more credibility with Reds fans and his own players.
  
  
• Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News recently quoted a NL scout as saying, "(the Reds) are a very low- energy team."  We have also heard from radio and television broadcasters all season about how there is a lack of leadership in the clubhouse.  Without naming any players, these media members have basically said the veterans on the Reds do not care enough about winning and are not a great influence.  The scout's quote does not reflect well on the coaching staff, especially when Baker continues to insist how hard his players are trying.

Well my fellow GSI blogger, Jeff Pugh, beat me to the punch (pun intended) for this week's PPV event. That's OK though. That won't stop me from putting my opinion out there, and possibly create some more talk about the UFC and MMA in general. So, with that introduction out of the way, let's get to Saturday night's show.

The UFC and its president, Dana White, have a knack for scheduling their events around other significant events or holidays. Earlier in the year they had a PPV the same weekend as the Super Bowl. And this weekend they'll capitalize on the Fourth of July in hopes that people will be home relaxing and order the event. Here's the problem though. There hasn't been much hype for this PPV compared to previous ones. The fight between Forrest Griffin and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was built up over the last few months throughout this season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show. Griffin and Rampage were the coaches on the show, but not much was mentioned about their fight that was coming up. Only one time that I can recall did both fighters get mad and elude to the upcoming fight. Aside from that, which included Griffin completely destroying a door which was quite impressive, there wasn't much mention of the light heavyweight title fight. Granted the TUF show was recorded well before the actual event, but usually there is still more hype generated throughout the show.

Part of the problem is that neither Griffin nor Rampage have a beef with the other. Unlike last season's coaches of Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, there wasn't any animosity coming into the show. Both fighters have a laid-back, chill style to them. Rampage will talk trash here and there, but he's not they type to create problems where they don't exist. And Griffin, the original TUF winner, has been the strong, silent type since he started in the UFC. Because of all of that, the hype isn't there, which is sad because this could be one of the greatest fights of the year.

With all of that said, let's get to my predictions for this weekend.

Forrest Griffin (15-4) vs. Quinton Jackson (27-6) for the Light Heavyweight Title
Neither fighter has had a contest since September of last year. That's almost 10 months between fights! Normally that wouldn't happen, but because of them being coaches on the TUF show, they couldn't fight anyone in between. This will be Griffin's first shot at the LHW title. He earned this shot by beating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who was considered the No. 1 contender to Rampage's title at the time, and arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Griffin dominated the fight and ended up beating Shogun by making him tap late in the third round. Like Griffin, Rampage is coming off an impressive win. Actually he's coming off a couple of impressive wins. Rampage won the LHW title back in May of 2007 when he knocked out fan favorite, Chuck Liddell. He followed that up by unifying the UFC and PRIDE LHW titles when he beat Dan Henderson by unanimous decision.

The question going into this fight is if Griffin can keep the fight standing? If he doesn't, he's going to have a tough time. Rampage has great wrestling ability along with great strength. While Griffin has great grappling ability, he has to defend from getting slammed to the canvas. If Griffin can keep the fight standing his chance of becoming the champ are more likely. I'm not sure that will happen though. I really like both of these guys and wish I could root for both and just say its going to end in a draw. But we all know that isn't going to happen. I expect a great fight here and I honestly won't be surprised at the outcome, no matter who wins.
Prediction: Jackson by TKO in the 3rd round

Ricardo Almeida (9-2) vs. Patrick Cote (13-4)
This fight will feature Almeida's ground game against the power of Cote. If you go by the latest results for each fighter, Almeida should lose this fight. He's lost every other fight in his last four, with his last contest being a submission win against Rob Yundt back in February. Cote is coming in riding a three fight win streak after losing four straight. His last win came via TKO back in January against Drew McFedries. A win for Cote could move him closer to a middleweight title shot, a title currently held by Anderson Silva. In addition to the KO power Cote possesses, he has good submission skills as well. So if this fight were to go to the ground, Almeida would have to watch for that. This could turn out to be a good fight. Then again it could also end up being a quick fight if Cote connects with any big shots.
Prediction: Cote by TKO in the 2nd round

Joe Stevenson (33-8) vs. Gleison Tibau (27-4)
Both Stevenson and Tibau come into this contest coming off a loss. The only difference is that Stevenson is coming off a loss to one of the best fighters in the game right now, BJ Penn. Oh, and that fight was for the lightweight title. It was a brutal fight where Stevenson shed a lot, and I mean A LOT, of blood. He put up a good fight against "The Prodigy" but ended up tapping out after Penn got a rear-naked choke hold on him. Before that fight, Stevenson had won four straight. Tibau also had a mini-win streak of three fights before he lost to Tyson Griffin by unanimous decision back in February. I can honestly say that I would be surprised if Tibau won this fight. He has good Brazilian Ju-Jitsu skills, but Stevenson is a good well-rounded fighter. If Stevenson can get this fight to the ground, there's a good chance we could see Tibau tap.
Prediction: Stevenson by submission in the 2nd round

Josh Koscheck (13-2) vs. Chris Lytle (35-15-4)
If cockiness could win you fights, Koscheck would be undefeated. He's a very arrogant fighter, but he tends to back it up pretty well. He's coming into this fight having beaten Dustin Hazlett by TKO in the second round back in March. Lytle is also coming into this weekend's event coming off a 33 second knockout of Kyle Bradley back in February. As you can see from his record, he's been around for quite awhile. The problem for Lytle lately seems to be that he can't beat the big names in the welterweight division. In the last few years he's lost to Karo Parysian, Joe Riggs, Matt Serra, Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves. If he wants to get a title shot he's going to have to start beating the bigger names in the weight division. He could start that by beating Koscheck this weekend. Koscheck, a former TUF winner himself, has all the skills and the athleticism to make a run at the welterweight title, currently held by the guy that handed him his last loss, Georges St-Pierre. Its a fight between the veteran and the youth.
Prediction: Koscheck by decision

Marcus Aurelio (14-5) vs. Tyson Griffin (11-1)
Another fight featuring a veteran against one of the up-and-coming stars in the UFC takes place when these two step inside Octagon. Griffin's only loss came against Frank Edgar in February 2007. Since that loss he has beaten Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares and Gleison Tibau, all by decision. Aurelio's last fight ended in a submission victory over Ryan Roberts in April. Would I be surprised if Aurelio won this fight? No, not really. He has good BJJ skills that he will put up against Griffin's ground and pound skills. While Griffin only has one loss, if he's going to create any buzz for himself and get a LW title shot, he's going to have to win a fight convincingly and keep it out of the judges hands. If he is able to mount Aurelio and maintain a dominant position, a TKO victory isn't out of the question for Griffin.
Prediction: Griffin by TKO in the 3rd round

There are a few interesting names on the preliminary card including one time heavyweight title contender, Gabriel Gonzaga. He's taking on Justin McCully and I'm predicting a second round knockout for Gonzaga in this one. The prelim card also features Cincinnati native, Jorge Gurgel. He'll take on TUF veteran, Cole Miller. I'll take Gurgel here by decision.

UFC 86: Griffin vs. Jackson takes place this Saturday live on PPV at 10:00 PM EST from the UFC's home, the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Here's hoping we get to see some fireworks of a different kind Saturday night.

Overall Predictions: 63-41

After back-to-back dismal starts, the Reds opted to send RHP Daryl Thompson to Louisville on Thursday.

The move clears the way for the return of infielder Andy Phillips, who was claimed off waivers from the Mets.

"We like him," Reds manager Dusty Baker told the team's website. "Just think how far he's come since Spring Training. He's come up the ladder rather quickly. With him being big time in our future plans, it's in his best interest and ours for him to go back and tighten his stuff some."

Thompson's next turn would have been fallen on Monday, when the Reds have a scheduled off-day. If the rotation plan stays as is, the fifth starter's spot doesn't come again until July 12 at Milwaukee. Josh Fogg, who is currently on the disabled list despite being fully recovered from a back injury, is the leading candidate to make that start.

Baker told Thompson to work on his slider, which was expected to make his other pitches better.

"He's close. He's really close," Baker said. "Most guys with his experience have command problems throwing strikes. He's throwing strikes, but up in the zone and middle of the plate strikes. He's not afraid. He has tremendous desire and athleticism. We think he's one of the guys in our future plans."