Birthdays: 6/2

[chicoruiz]

Another All-Reds Day:

Jared Burton (31) -Wow, Jared Burton is 31...I bet nothing makes a front office feel smarter than having a Rule 5 pick work out.

Mike Kelly (42) -A Red in 96-97; best remembered for being traded to the expansion D-Rays for Dmitri Young.

Mike Stanton (45) -Holds the ML record for "holds", for whatever that's worth...From 1991 to 2002, Mike appeared in the postseason every year except the 1994 strike season...wrapped up his fine career with the 2007 Reds.

Darnell Coles (50) -1992 was his Reds year...was once traded one-for-one for Tracy Jones, which I'd consider an insult if I were Darnell.

Roger Freed -Won two MVP awards in AAA...A Red in 1974...Best remembered for his great 1977 coming off the Cardinals bench. He was hitting .402 on the last day of the season, but the Redbirds needed him to pinch hit and he bounced into a force play, leaving him at .398 for the year...Died in his late '40s from heart problems.

Jim Maloney (72) -He was about as good as anyone not named Koufax in the early 1960s, but he severed an Achilles tendon at age 30 and was never able to come all the way back...I believe some posters on this board have met him, and report that he's a great guy.

Jack "Peach Pie" O'Connor -A Red in 1887-88, back in the American Association days...besides his cool nickname, he's remembered for playing 21 years in the majors, and for having a season in which he hit 33 singles without an extra base hit, which is a record.

..And OK, he's not a Red, but I have to mention that infielder Lou Skizas turns 80 today. I have to mention this because Lou's nickname was "The Nervous Greek", which for some reason I find hilarious...

[Bob Borkowski]

...and, of course, don't forget Marshall Bridges lefty who pitched for the Reds in 1960 and 1961. Bridges' best year was with the Yankees in 1962 as he anchored the relief staff with 18 saves and a 3.14 ERA. However during spring training of 1963 in a Fort Lauderdale bar a disagreement between Bridges and a female patron resulted in her shooting him in the leg. The resulting negative publicity annoyed the image-conscious Yankee brass and probably contributed to the fact that New York sold his contract to last-place Washington later in the year.