The Most Wonderful Day of the Year

Opening Day....finally.

There was rain. There was a lot of rain. The game was delayed by an hour. Eventually the rain lessened and ceremonies got underway. The rain didn't really stop for good until the second inning or so.

The highlight of the pregame was the tribute to Joe Nuxhall. Every uniformed person on the Reds team was wearing a #41 Nuxhall jersey when they came out to be introduced before the game. The jerseys will be auctioned off for charity. Unlike everyone else, Aaron Harang kept his on for the whole game. It was a very special moment, a great tribute.

The matchup of Aaron Harang vs Brandon Webb was everything it should have been. These are two of the top five pitchers in the NL. They both pitched exceptionally well today. Harang gave up three runs (two earned) on only three hits and two walks. He struck out six. The third inning was tough. He gave up two solo home runs (one to Eric Byrnes and one to Chris Young) and he walked two. On the bright side, he got the last ten men he faced out. Despite the one rough inning, he finished strongly. Brandon Webb was Brandon Webb. Very few balls were hit in the air. He got a ton of ground balls. He struck out six also. He did walk four, which is odd for him.

The two best ABs in the game were had by Edwin Encarnacion. I'm not a fan of him. I would love to see Ryan Freel starting at 3B. When Alex Gonzalez gets healthy, I would love to see Jeff Keppinger slide over to 3B. I don't trust Encarnacion to routinely put together good ABs. He looked absolutely awful during spring training. He looked clueless at the plate right up until the second inning. He'd made an error in the top of the 1st (to be fair, the ball was slippery because of the conditions and the throw sailed on him). He had to atone. I wish I could say he drove one deep to the left field seats, but it wasn't anything that dramatic. However, he did coax a walk out of Webb. He took some close pitches. He looked like a real hitter, which is nice to see. His second plate appearance was more of the same. He was able to work another walk out of Webb It may not seem like much, but I think those two ABs were huge. It was like he knew exactly what he was looking for up there. He showed some patience at the plate.

The defensive player of the game for the Reds was Corey Patterson. It's like bizzaro world. For some reason Patterson played like a real centerfielder. He made a couple mistakes. He took a bad angle on a couple balls. He made a wrong first move on a couple balls. On a flyball late in the game, Ken Griffey, Jr. had to cut in front of him and snag the fly because Patterson didn't seem to know where it was. That said, he made a couple of spectacular plays. Patterson actually laid out for a ball. He actually dove....and he caught it. He also made two great catches running back to the wall in center. All in all, I was impressed with his first day as the Reds' centerfielder.

The two best defensive plays were turned in by Orlando Hudson, though. He showed why he has won three Gold Gloves. The first one was a little ducksnort that was too short for Chris Young. Hudson sprinted into short center and made a beautiful over the shoulder catch as he was running away from the infield. As much as I wanted it to drop, it was a fantastic play. In the fifth inning, with Aaron Harang up at the plate, Hudson made another terrific grab. Harang ended up getting a single out of it, but Hudson sure made it exciting. He had to range deep to his right before diving for the ball, popping up, turning and letting loose a perfect throw. Thankfully Harang was hustling all the way and managed to just barely beat it out, but it was a pretty dive and throw regardless.

All in all, it was a great day. It was Opening Day, how could it not be? This was my first ever Opening Day game. I hope to go to a ton more. The only word that could really describe my feelings leading up to the first pitch is "giddy". I was sitting there in my bleacher seat trying to ignore the rain and trying to just take everything in. I loved it. The crowd was great, the game was great, the weather sucked, the final score sucked.

Bye, bye Stanton....

It's done. Well, it's about to be done, anyway. Those of us who really love the Reds have been praying and waiting and begging for Mike Stanton to be reassigned to Louisville (or even lower, just get him out of Cincinnati). The day is almost here. The Reds announced yesterday that they would be cutting Mike Stanton. This is even better. He's not going to go down and stink up the Bats pen. He's getting released.

I love this move for two reasons.

Stanton had a 1-3 record and a 5.93 ERA last year. When he came in, the fans just sighed and cringed. No one had any confidence in him. He couldn't get lefties out, they hit .306 against him last year. He was even worse against righties. It is time for him to go.

The main reason this makes me happy is the message it sends. This move will cost the franchise about 3-4 million dollars. Stanton is owed 3 million this year. They also have to cover the option they had for 2009. Getting Stanton off of the roster costs them a ton of money. Their willingness to do it sends the message that winning is more important. If Stanton had opened the season in Cincinnati's pen, no one would have blinked twice. Any questions about his ability would have been answered with, "Well, he's got a gauranteed contract." Most people would have just shrugged their shoulders, nodded their heads and understood. This is a business. By cutting Stanton they are placing ability over contract status. This is a great, great thing to see.


Note....to give credit where it is due....the picture up there is stolen from Church of Baseball.

It's the end of the world....

Seriously? That's my first thought when I read this article. My next question: So, why did we trade Josh Hamilton? The Reds have signed Corey Patterson and Jerry Hairston, Jr. What, exactly, we're they thinking. We already have a huge cluster at CF. Ryan Freel, Norris Hopper and Jay Bruce are battling it out. Now we can throw Corey "I've never even remotely lived up to my potential" Patterson into the mix. If we were going to have a fourth player battling for the centerfield slot, it should be Josh Hamilton. Granted, I love Edinson Volquez.....I love him dearly. I long to see him filling a rotation spot come March 31st. I'm disappointed that Hamilton's in Texas, but I am enthralled at the prospect of Volquez pitching in a Reds uniform. I wonder if we can ship Patterson and Hairston to Texas and get Hamilton back.

But let's talk about Corey Patterson. When he came up with the Cubbies he was supposed to be the next big thing. He was the baseball equivalent of sliced bread. In fact, he's been the next Jerome Walton except Patterson never won a ROY award. His avergaes for a 162 game season.....258 AVG/ .298 OBP/ 82 R/ 18 HR/ 62 RBI/ 32 SB. The theory is he will provide a spark at the top of the lineup that none of the other potential CFs can give. Yup, that sub-.300 OBP is supposed to provide a spark. What I really want in a leadoff guy is for him to get on base fewer than three times out of every ten. His SB totals are nice. That's about all that can be said about him. His power isn't overwhelming. His run totals are pathetic for a guy that bats #1. He's not a liability in the OF. Well, his FP makes it appear that he isn't. However, if you watch him play, you'll see otherwise. He gets bad reads on balls. He doesn't lay out for balls. He's got a good arm, but he isn't fundamentally sound when it comes to knowing toward which base to throw the ball once he's fielded it off the bounce. I ranted recently about how much I wanted Jay Bruce to get a shot at CF. If he doesn't, it won't be the end of the world if Hopper or Freel end up there. It will be if somehow Patterson makes the team and "wins" the job. It must be nice to be a Dusty Baker guy, at least you always have a job. Just wait, if he has his way, the opening OF will be Corey Patterson in CF, Sammy Sosa in RF and Barry Bonds in LF.

As for Hairston.....just no, please no. He plays a little OF. He came up at 2B. So, where does he fit? How many OFs do we have? The answer: Too Many. Do we need him at 2B? Who do we have at 2B? Oh, that's right, our best all-around player, Brandon Phillips. On those rare days when Phillips needs a day off, Freel and Jeff Keppinger can fill in and do a far better job than Hairston. If Keppinger's at SS and Freel's at CF that day, throw Juan Castro or Jolbert Cabrera in at 2B. All in all, Hairston is simply unnecessary. Having Hairston on the MLB roster is about as smart as carrying three catchers.

Basically, this signing is a waste of money. Neither player is necessary, desirable, productive or an improvement over what the club already has. Sure, they were signed to minor league deals and could easily end up in Louisville. But wouldn't that money have been better spent bolstering the arms in the bullpen?