Reds 5 at 5: Arroyo Greets Choo, New Caps, More

Pitchers and catchers report today!!! Always a sign that spring has arrived. And that means Bronson Arroyo can see his numbers dwindle just a little, thanks to the Reds acquiring Shin-Soo Choo. It also means the debut of some new caps the Good Guys are sporting.

We’ll also peek in on Ryan LaMarre and make an announcement or two.

1. Is Bronson ever glad Choo is his teammate now

First, this…

Not in this tweet (because you only have so many characters on Twitter) are these:

June 20, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Arroyo delivers in the third inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. (David Richard-USA TODAY Sports)

That 8-for-14 Choo sports against Arroyo comes in only 15 plate appearances. Want to see some more ugly numbers in this matchup? How about Choo’s triple slash of (get ready for this) .571/.600/1.643. That also includes 3 doubles. Seven of the eight hits Choo has off Arroyo have been of the extra base variety.

A half a point sounds good to me. If that’s the case, then Arroyo should post something like a 3.25 ERA for 2013. Who wouldn’t take that?!?!

2. Personally, I like the back caps

In case you haven’t seen the new look Spring Training caps, click here and you’ll see them.

I don’t know why soe don’t like the black ones. Maybe because you wouldn’t associate black with the Reds. Could it be because people still have that idea that black is for villains?

But, but, it has a red bill.

Love having Mr. Redlegs on ’em as well. May have to snag one of these.

3. Doug Gray looks at LaMarre

In the second round of the 2010 draft, Cincy selected outfielder Ryan LaMarre of Michigan. I his three season within teh Reds farm system, LaMarre has performed pretty well posting a triple slash of .272/.355/.369 with 17 HR, 111 RBI and 104 stolen bases. His SB% is a little over 76% (104 for 136). He was 30-for-40 in Pensacola last year despite having to deal with plantar fasciitis.

There’s more to look at with LaMarre and Doug Gray on Reds Minor Leagues provides stills and video that are compelling.

4. The launch of Topic Tuesday

We had done this in the past. On BRM’s Facebook page, we have had a couple of times where we had hosted a Q&A for Reds fans. Today, we initiated “Topic Tuesday”. From now until at least the end of Spring Training, BRM’s Facebook page will host a Topic Tuesday where Reds fans can ask and discuss issues surrounding the Good Guys.

We’re still going on today, so head over there and get in on the action.

5. A hearty thanks to you!

Over the past couple of days, BRM has set a coupe of milestones of which I am both grateful and proud. A coupe of days ago, we attained our 350th “Like” on our Facebook page (a BIG thanks to Jason for being #350!). Just today, we added follower #2,000 on Twitter (and a BIG thanks to Sherry!).

You may think it’s cliché to say that we do what we do because of the fans and readers. It’s true. These guys love to write about the Reds and I hope you enjoy reading their work. Since I’ve joined BRM, I have seen this site, our Twitter account and Facebook page take great strides in growth.

On behalf of the entire BRM staff, I wish to thank each and every person that has ever viewed a post on BRM, caught a peek at our Twitter timeline and looked to see what we offer on our Facebook page.

And we do thank you for supporting Blog Red Machine!