Today three of the Reds' all-time greats were formally inducted into the team's Hall of Fame: Lee May, Tom Seaver, and Tom Browning.

May got traded away in 1971 before the Big Red Machine had its best years in '75 and '76, and he largely gets forgotten about by many Reds fans as a result. But he wasn't known as “The Big Bopper” for no reason. May hit a lot of very meaningful homers for the Reds while he was playing in Cinci. One I'll always remember was the last game ever played at old Crosley Field. It was in 1970, and after Johnny Bench had homered to tie the game in the eighth inning, May came up and took Juan Marichal deep to beat the Giants, 5-4. It was the last homer anybody ever hit at Crosley Field.

I also remember a game in St. Louis later that year where the Reds and Cardinals took a scoreless tie into extra innings. Lee May won it for the Reds with a grand slam. Less than a month later against the Phillies, he drove in all the Reds' runs in a game the reds eventually won, 5-4. May tied it with a homer in the ninth - his second HR of the game - and won it with an RBI single in the 14th.

Seaver is mostly remembered by baseball fans as a Met, a member of the Miracle Mets in 1969. I remember him for that, too. But I also remember that Tom Terrific was wearing a Reds uniform in three of his appearances in the All-Star game, and he was wearing a Reds uniform when he threw his only career no-hitter, in 1978 against the Cardinals in St. Louis. I was on vacation that week and listened to that game on the radio. When George Hendrick grounded out to Dan Driessen at first base to end that game, my family needed crowbars to peel me off the ceiling.

Tom Browning went Seaver one better some ten years later (in 1988), pitching a 1-0 perfect game against the Dodgers in Riverfront Stadium. So far, it's been the only perfect game in Reds history. Although I can't confirm it, I read somewhere that it’s the only time a perfect game was thrown against the team that would go on to win the world championship that same season. Browning also was a World Series winner with the Reds in 1990, when he led the team with 15 wins.

It is fitting that these three men should join the other Reds greats recognized in the Reds Hall Of fame, and on this, the occasion of their official enshrinement, I salute Lee May, Tom Seaver, and Tom Browning. Thanks for the many fond memories, guys!

John (KC2HMZ)

Useless assbag. Give me back O'Brien.

Lot of interesting tidbits pertaining to Reds prospects.

Q: Deywane from Memphis asks:
Joey Votto is having quite a year in AA: 18hr's, 55rbi's, OPS'ing .980, and he is only 22. Do you think he has a chance to be on the Top 50 or 100 prospect list?
A: Chris Kline: Dewayne, I see Votto as a top 100 guy, certainly. He's crushing, and I'm really looking forward to seeing a show in BP at the Futures Game on Sunday.

Q: Charles Berg from Houston, Texas asks:
Early Top 5 to watch for the minor league player of the year award?
A: Chris Kline: Berg-Piece, Wow. Good question, even though it's not early. We start tracking players for our minor league POY watch as camp breaks. Right now I'll go with Jay Bruce, Alex Gordon, Chuck Lofgren, Yovani Gallardo and Homer Bailey.

Q: Charles Berg from Houston, Texas asks:
Is Jay Bruce as good as the numbers indicate?
A: Chris Kline: I'll give you guys a little preview of a scout's view on Bruce that I actually got this morning . . . “Bruce is the best hitter in the league--period. He's a right fielder who's going to hit for a high average with plus power production. He's an above-average outfielder with plus instincts. I known people are going to mention Larry Walker as a guy he could be like. Jay Bruce is going to be a special player.” I think that says an awful lot.

Those three are the only ones directly pertaining to the Reds, but you have to get pretty excited about some of those.

Link: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/261884.html

Ken Griffey (the junior) has now homered in four consecutive games for the Reds. That ties him with Ted Kluszewski (1957), Johnny Bench (1972), and himself (2003) for the club record. He also holds a share of the major league record for most consecutive games with at least one round-tripper, with eight back in 1993.

When 2B Brandon Phillips swiped second base last night, it was his fifteenth theft without getting caught this season. That made him the first Red since Gary Redus in 1984 to start a season with at least 15 successful stolen base attempts. The last Red with more than that was Ken Griffey (the senior), who swiped 19 of 19 to open the 1980 season.

The Reds have set a new club record for home runs in June with 44. The old record was 43, set in 1957 and tied last year. Of course, they still have tonight's game to try and extend the record.

With wins in these last two games against the Royals, the Reds won back-to-back games at home for the first time since May 22-23 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

In a marked departure from recent years, the Reds' staff ERA with Jason LaRue behind the plate this year is is 4.23, compared to 4.66 for David Ross and 4.68 for Javier Valentin. LaRue has thrown out 40 percent of would-be base stealers (8-for-20), compared to 27 percent for Ross (3-for-11) and 45 percent for Valentin (5-for-11).

RHP Paul Wilson pitched a simulated game on June 27 and is scheduled for another on July 2. 3B Edwin Encarnacion began a rehab assignment in Louisville on June 27 as well. The next day, the 28th, Brandon Claussen threw off a mound for the first time since going on the DL June 17, and is expected to face hitters in batting practice July 1.

Elizardo Ramirez will try to make it two wins in a row over the Indians tonight when he takes the mound for the reds. Ramirez was the winner Sunday after allowing two runs and seven hits in 6-1/3 innings of the Reds' 4-2 victory. That was Ramirez' first since May 23. Ramirez is 1-1 with a 4.73 ERA in two career starts against the Indians.

He'll have his work cut out for him going against the Tribe's Paul Byrd, his scheduled mound opponent this evening. Byrd is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in his last four starts. He's 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 12 career games against the Reds, and Saturday he allowed just five hits and no walks in eight innings of a 4-0 Cleveland win over Cinci.

John (HMZ)

Knock, knock, knock, knock. The Reds recover nicely from a rather lousy home stand to go 4-3 on a road trip where the opposition included their cross-state rivals, the Cleveland Indians - against whom they had not won a road series since 1997.

Knock, knock, knock. Tonight they begin a three-game series at home against the Royals, arguably the worst team in all of major league baseball. Eric Milton, who hasn't lost to the Royals since 1999 and is on a ten-game personal winning streak against KC, opens the series tonight against Mike Wood, who is 3-8 with a 5.24 ERA in 17 road starts and will be making his first appearance ever against the Reds. Wednesday it's Harang vs. Scott Elarton (3-8 this year), and Thursday it's Arroyo against Bobby Keppel, a rookie still looking for his first major league win.

Knock, knock, knock. After that the Indians come to town, and after that it's back on the road for series against first the Brewers and then the cellar-dwelling Atlanta Braves (hey, I've waited 16 years to call them that!). And after that, it's time for the All-Star Break. Yes, already. See how time flies when you're having fun?

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang! The Cardinals are on a seven-game losing streak and just a game and a half ahead of the Reds in the division standings.

So what's all that noise and banging? It's opportunity knocking. When the new regime took over this ballclub, we were told that if the team could manage to stay in it this long, then management would go ahead and bite the bullet and bring in some help to keep them in it.

The players have done their part. Now it's management's turn.

Knock, knock, bang, bang. Hey, Wayne? Bob? You guys wanna answer that, please?