The St. Louis Cardinals and Tony LaRussa has named Chris Carpenter their opening day pitcher. No real surprise there!
Carpenter was 17-4 last year with an era of 2.24. He dominated the Reds’ hitters last year as well. He was 4-0 versus the Reds in four starts. He pitched 28 innings against Cincy and gave up only 4 runs.

Pete has been dating this lady since October of 2009. She is a 28 year old former Korean airline attendant. She posed in Playboy in the April issue.

The Reds spring training record stands at 9-14. But, does it matter. The Reds have struggled to score runs this Cactus League season. The one problem the Reds don’t have is scoring runs. In their cozy little bandbox of a stadium the Reds score about 4 runs a game. And, on the road last year they averaged a little under 4 runs a game. They were outscored by 50 total runs last season.
Does spring training matter???? I think they have to change that trend of scoring. I am hoping with a little [...]

There is one week until opening day and who is going to be the Reds’ fifth starter? Travis Wood, Mike Leake, or Aroldis Chapman. All three have pitched very well this spring training and have caught the eyes of the Reds staff.
All three were considered longshots to make the big league squad at the start of spring training but have eliminated the rest of the contenders.
I would like to see Travis Wood start the season with Leake and Chapman in Louisville. Chapman for contract reasons and Leake to get some seasoning. Wood is also a lefty [...]

Amidst all of the Reds demoting and cutting today, the Reds actually signed a pitcher. And that man is Chad Reineke.
He is a local product and pitched in one game last season with the Oakland Athletics. He played with the San Diego Padres in 08.
He was drafted by the Houston Astros in 2004 in the 13th round. He was traded to the Padres in 2008 for Randy Wolf.
He was a free agent after being cut by Oakland.

The Reds announced some additional moves after their Cactus League game today.
The Reds are optioning LHP Enerio Del Rosario, RHP Sam LeCure, IF Chris Valaika and LHP Pedro Viola to Class AAA Louisville. The team also assigned C Devin Mesoraco to Louisville.
The Reds received LHP Ben Jukich back from the Cardinals and assigned him to Louisville.
Again, no surprises here but it seems to me that Louisville is going to have a pretty good ballclub. And, with this depth at the minor league level it bodes well for the Reds near future.

Reds optioned LHP Bill Bray, 1B Yonder Alonso to Triple-A Louisville; optioned RHPs Jordan Smith and LHP Philippe Valiquette to Double-A Carolina; reassigned RHP Jon Adkins and OF Josh Anderson to minor league camp.
No big surprises here unless you count Josh Anderson. He will probably be the first call-up for an outfield injury.
Bill Bray is coming off of Tommy John surgery so, a stint in Louisville wasn’t totally a surprise. He will be competing with Daniel Ray Herrera for a situational lefty.

Who is Ben Jukich? And, where is he returning from? Two great questions that I will answer right now.
Jukich was selected by the Cardinals with the 20th pick in December’s Rule 5 Draft. The Cardinals were rumored to have engaged the Reds in a potential trade for the left-hander, however, it appears they were unable to reach an agreement. Jukich, 27, was 9-6 with a 4.10 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 29 games (17 starts) with Triple-A Louisville last season.
I feel like the Reds shouldn’t do to much trading with their Central foes. Especially the Cardinals. [...]

The Reds have finally released their opening day festivities for 2010. They are as followed.
I am hoping for a warmer, drier day than the last two opening days.
91st Findlay Market Opening Day Parade Grand Marshal: Johnny Bench
Hall of Famer Johnny Bench will serve as the Grand Marshal of the Findlay Market Parade. Bench will also serve as the Honorary Captain of the Opening Day game and catch the ceremonial first pitch.
Opening Day Parade Special Guests: Bronson Arroyo, George Grande and Miss Ohio Amanda Tempel. Reds starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo will ride in the parade. This marks the [...]

Aroldis started his first game this spring training after appearing in relief in his first two appearances. And, he did not disappoint again.
He gave up a leadoff homerun to Rickie Weeks but settled down immediately. He went three innings, allowing one run on one hit, in the Reds’ 5-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday. He walked one and struck out five.
“He just got behind on Rickie Weeks,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “Other than that, he was throwing strikes. He looked outstanding.”
His fastball touched 100. His slider was sharp. And he showed a new wrinkle. “He [...]

Launch Player

The 22-year-old has hit well during camp and will make his first start in left field on Tuesday when the Reds face the Diamondbacks. If he shows some level of skill, his chances to make the team could improve.
“I feel really comfortable with it,” said Francisco with teammate Yonder Alonso translating in English about the upcoming start. “Thank God that in the Dominican, I was able to play it a lot. I’m excited to play over there.”
Through seven spring games, the 22-year-old Francisco is batting .333 with two home runs and three RBIs. He also had a two-run [...]