With that in mind, here’s a closer look at what’s going on in the world of sports in the Miami Valley:
Dragons media day was full of optimism
Credit: Marcus Hartman
Credit: Marcus Hartman
Of course, that is often the case at those types of things, but second-year manager Vince Harrison Jr. was fired up because he has a roster with a lot of familiar faces and one very big name.
Seventeen players on the opening day roster saw time with the Dragons last season as Dayton went 74-58 overall.
PHOTOS: Scenes from Dayton Dragons media day
The Dragons’ 60.6 winning percentage in the second half was third-best in the club’s history for a half season and earned them a spot in the playoffs, where they lost a pair of one-run games to eventual Midwest League champion Lake County.
The familiar faces include three catchers — Connor Burns, John Michael Faile and Logan Tanner — plus talented infielder Leo Balcazar and converted outfielder Carlos Jorge.
The big name belongs to Chase Burns, who was the No. 2 pick in the MLB Draft last year.
He has a triple-digit fastball and reason to believe he can be in Cincinnati sooner than later after fellow Wake Forest alumnus Rhett Lowder started last season in Dayton and finished it with the Reds.
Reds stumble out of the gate
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Speaking of the big club, they have had better starts to the season. Not recently, mind you, but if you are old enough you might remember there was a time when they would win more games than they lost at the beginning of a campaign.
I’ve said many times over the past few years watching the late ‘90s and early 2000s teams flail around and not win anything was a lot more satisfying because they at least seemed to come out of the gate fairly strong before letting people down.
Dashed hope beats no hope, as it turns out.
Recent Reds teams have been more adamant about letting fans know in April and May they will not have anything on the line in July and August, let alone September.
But is this slow start different?
Only time will tell, but I’m certainly not hitting the panic button.
Terry Francona, for all his talents as a manager, might not literally be a miracle worker, but he shouldn’t need to be.
This team has plenty of young talent in the lineup and the makings of an elite starting rotation.
As Tommy Thrall and Jeff Brantley discussed on the radio during the team’s second consecutive 1-0 loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, there is every reason to believe the bats will come around — especially if they only need to be decent offensively to win games.
As the transfer portal turns…
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Nearly a dozen local grads are looking for new Division I colleges to call home this spring, though two already found their next destination.
Jonathan Powell ditched West Virginia for North Carolina while fellow Centerville grad Gabe Cupps left Indiana for Ohio State.
Aaron Scott Jr. feeling good about progress at Ohio State
Defensive backs got their turn to do spring football interviews this week, which meant a chance to catch up with Scott.
The Springfield graduate is already a national champion and faces heavy competition or playing time with more talented freshmen joining the fold and a couple of established veterans ahead of him, but he is making the most of his time to learn and mature in Columbus.
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