15 Years is a Long Time to Wait

I realize this is a Silver Hawks blog, and the Silver Hawks are affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but I have to take a minute to show some pride in my beloved Cincinnati Reds. The Reds clinched a playoff spot last night for the first time since 1995 when I was 13 years old. This is only the third time in my lifetime that the Reds have made the postseason (1990 and 1995 are the others).

Some pictures from last night (courtesy of whatever websites I stole them from)...


There are a whole bunch of former Midwest League stars in this picture (see list below).


Jay Bruce hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to win the game and clinch the playoff spot for Cincinnati.

And if you really are going to force me to make this relate to the overall theme of this blog somehow, how about the list of former Midwest Leaguers that are currently on the Reds 40-man roster:

Homer Bailey - Dayton (2005)
Jay Bruce - Dayton (2006)
Jared Burton - Kane County (2003)
Francisco Cordero - West Michigan (1997)
Johnny Cueto - Dayton (2006)
Jim Edmonds - Quad Cities (1989)
Carlos Fisher - Dayton (2006)
Juan Francisco - Dayton (2007)
Ryan Hanigan - Dayton (2002-2003)
Chris Heisey - Dayton (2007)
Ramon Hernandez - West Michigan (1996)
Paul Janish - Dayton (2005-2006)
Nick Masset - Clinton (2003)
Corky Miller - Rockford (1999)
Logan Ondrusek - Dayton (2006)
Jordan Smith - Dayton (2007)
Drew Stubbs - Dayton (2007)
Chris Valaika - Dayton (2007)
Edinson Volquez - Clinton (2004)
Joey Votto - Dayton (2003-2004)
Travis Wood - Dayton (2006)

Wednesday Morning Wrap-Up

-Last night I spoke to the Goshen Aktion Kiwanis Club, which is a group of developmentally disabled adults. They were very gracious and excited to have me there, served hot dogs and cracker jacks for dinner, and played baseball songs on the piano while they ate. It was a great time, and I thank them for inviting me to their meeting.

-The Diamondbacks beat my beloved Cincinnati Reds in a spring training game yesterday. Former Silver Hawks outfielder Justin Upton had a home run for the Diamondbacks, while former Dayton Dragons outfielder Jay Bruce homered for the Reds.

-It's rainy in South Bend today, which normally stinks, but it's warm enough outside that I'm not complaining.

-Mark Haley has a new blog entry over at the Tribune's website.