Ahhh yes, the weekend in sports.
If you were a Reds fan, it was one of those weekends that doesn’t exactly give you much hope for the future. If you’re a Guardians fan, you’re a little better off because of the division you’re in, but dropping two of three to the White Sox isn’t going to make anybody happier.
And then we have some thoughts coming out of Berea, Ohio, where the Browns’ quarterback competition appears to be taking another turn.
So let’s dive in.
The Cincinnati Reds were swept by the Washington Nationals over the weekend, and if the Reds really want to make this thing weird, as Emilio Pagán has said, then you have to win these games.
Cincinnati lost all three games in Washington, getting outscored 20-6. Elly De La Cruz hit his 20th home run, Matt McLain hit his 10th and Chase Burns finally saw his 12-game winning streak come to an end, but none of that really matters when you walk away from a weekend with three losses.
I’ve said before that I’m not completely against the Reds making a run if they can put themselves in position. But if that’s what you want to do, you can’t get swept by the Nationals.
You can’t afford to give away weekends like this and then expect to look up in a couple of weeks and suddenly be in the playoff picture.
If the Reds want to make it weird, then make it weird.
But first, you have to win.
The Reds now head to Chicago to take on the White Sox, and apparently the game comes with a Leo XIV papal miter giveaway. I don’t know if that will help Cincinnati win, but at least somebody might go home with an interesting hat.
The Guardians had a slightly better weekend, but I’m sure Cleveland fans aren’t celebrating either.
Cleveland beat Chicago 8-2 Friday before losing 6-3 Saturday and 5-3 Sunday.
The good thing is the American League Central remains wide open. The bad thing is the Guardians had a chance to take a series from a division rival and didn’t.
That’s what makes this one frustrating.
Cleveland doesn’t have to run away with the division right now. It just needs to stay close enough to make a run when it matters, and the Guardians are still in that position.
But at some point, you have to start taking advantage of those opportunities.
Now let’s talk about the Cleveland Browns, because I’m starting to think this quarterback competition might not be as much of a competition as we thought.
Deshaun Watson appears to be pulling ahead of rookie Shedeur Sanders.
What caught my attention was Saturday at camp. Todd Monken told reporters Sanders would receive the first-team reps. Then practice started, and Watson took all of the first-team reps during 11-on-11 work.
Sanders worked with the second team while Dillon Gabriel also saw more backup reps.
The Browns explained that Monken wanted to evaluate specific personnel groupings with Watson, but it’s hard not to look at that and think Watson is starting to separate himself.
Watson also had one of his better practices, going 23-of-34 with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t think Sanders is going to win this competition.
That doesn’t mean I don’t think he can eventually be good. He’s a rookie and has plenty of time to develop. But Watson has the experience, and if he continues to operate the offense well, I think Cleveland will go with the veteran.
We’ll find out a lot more once the Browns actually play somebody else.
And finally, I got to step away from sports for a little bit this weekend and attend Rock for Tots in downtown Circleville.
Unfortunately, national headliner Boratlex was rained out, but Main Street still had performances from Sourblood, Liquid Sixteen, Broken Habits, 8 lb Pressure, Stand Your Ground, Seize Eternity, Head West, Pettibone, Santadina, Raleigh Garrett and my good friend Trace Hawkins.
I talked with Trace, and I really liked what he had to say. He told me he doesn’t care where he performs or what he gets paid. What matters to him is giving kids the opportunity to have a good Christmas. He said he’d do it anytime, anywhere for the kids.
That’s pretty cool.
So shoutout to all the Tunestone and Big Wazu guys. They work hard, and I know that from experience. We used to sling boxes at FedEx back in the day, so I know they can work.
That’s all I got for you today.
We’re getting closer to Ohio State football, and I’m also getting ready for my Pickaway County high school football and fall sports previews.
Football season is almost here.
And I can’t wait.