Kuzul

It is well-documented how the Cincinnati Reds starting pitching has been a grave, I said grave disappointment. And when I say grave I am talking about sending them to the basement grave. It’ll sink you like a stone, son.

That is the way Foghorn Leghorn would report it. With all the injuries, lack of an ace and inexperience, the Reds are looking up from three floors down right now.

In the humble opinion of this writer, it is time to lure someone’s ace away from them. Lord knows we have young talent that would commence most GMs salivating.

Southpaw ace Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox would attract my attention. According to MLB Trade Rumors he will be freed up after this season. Not yet considered old, but certainly experienced at 32, he could be just what the doctor ordered.

He is currently being paid $14M for the Southside boys and that stings. But hey, you have to spend money to make money.

Buehrle has some good credentials. He is 10th in wins among active pitchers with 154 and has a career ERA of 3.85. He also has the best interleague record of any pitcher with a 24-6 mark, which means he tears up NL hitters.

Did I forget to mention he threw a perfect game in 2009? It looks good on his resume right beside his 2007 no-hitter.

What would the Reds have to part with to sign such a pitcher? They are in need of relief pitching, what have we got to give them?

How about the big guy, Logan Ondrusek? Don’t cry Reds Nation, we are trying to get a stud ace here. That alone would not satisfy the White Sox Muckety Mucks, I can assure you.

How else could we sweeten the pot? How about we throw in a couple of guys for good measure? For example, we could unload, er…I mean throw in Paul Janish and Wily Mo Francisco. O, my bad, Juan Francisco.

Look at that, we have now made room for Zack Cozart to pop up his head and see if there is a shadow. The 25-year-old is only getting older at Louisville, and his .327/.366/.509 numbers cry out for attention.

And about Francisco, do any of you think he actually has a future in Cincinnati? Just like W.M. Pena, if you love 5:00 upper deck shots, he is your boy.

Do you think that is enough to lure him from the White Sox? With Paulie Konerko making $12M, Alex Rios making $12.5M, Adam Dunn $12M, and I almost forget Jake Peavy and his $16M, do you think they want to keep all of that debt?

If that isn’t enough, we have more to sacrifice if necessary. Maybe we would throw in reliever Jordan Smith, provided they would give us a live body.

The Reds have many young guns, but to make a playoff run, we need an ace and we do not have one. We didn’t pick up the option on ours and he is now 7-2 with a 3.71 ERA at San Diego.

You aren’t thinking we should try to pick up Aaron Harang for cheap now are you?

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I always despised when a baseball announcer used the words, “future Hall of Famer.” Were they attempting prognostication or trying to be a modern day Nostradamus?

The times that phrase was uttered about baseball great Pete Rose is incalculable. Of course, as everyone now knows, Rose shot himself in the foot by gambling on baseball games. That action proved to fail the litmus test for all those Cooperstown prophets.

Yet, here I am asking you if Cincinnati Reds third baseman Scott Rolen will someday be enshrined with the baseball legends of days gone by. He is in his 16th year and still going strong(er).

I must admit, even though I am a self-proclaimed baseball purist, it is titillating to engage in conversation about marginal players.

As a purist (and not a homer), I would give you a quick two-thumbs down on Rolen. He has nowhere near 3,000 hits. He isn’t close to 500 HR and he probably won’t get 1,500 RBI. He currently possesses a lifetime BA of .284 with 305 HR and 1,228 RBI.

He hasn’t won any offensive titles or crowns, he never was an MVP and never led the league in any category. He was, however, the National League Rookie of the Year in 1997 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

He was also the winner of the Silver Slugger award in 2002 and was named to six All-Star teams. Not enough to get in the Museum without a ticket, right?

Not so fast there, Mr. Baseball Writer of America. Should not we take a look at his defense? I mean, were it not for his outstanding glove, Ozzie Smith doesn’t belong there much more than I. Yet, there he is, and there he shall be.

He does have eight Gold Glove awards, winning the last one just last season with the Reds. He trails only Brooks Robinson and Mike Schmidt in the number of years receiving the award. Robby had 16 and Schmidt had 10—both are firmly entrenched in the Hall of Fame and baseball lore as well.

I am not an avid fan (still trying, though) of sabermetrics, but I will throw one out for good measure. Rolen ranks fifth all time in total zone runs for third basemen with 142

Let us recap what we now have. His offense is probably lacking so he can’t go in on that alone. His defense is superb and as good as it gets at the hot corner. So, offense no and defense yes, yes?

Rolen appeared in two World Series while with the Cardinals. They were swept in 2004 by the Boston Red Sox and won in 2006 against the Detroit Tigers. Postseason is a team effort, but that notwithstanding, he has a ring on his hand.

Let us now scroll through the Hall of Fame roster and see who got there from the hot corner. Let’s just filter out pitchers and only use position players.

Out of 158 players, third basemen are the loneliest lot of all. There are only 14, or 8.8 percent Hall of Fame third basemen. Even catchers, who can get in with .262 averages, have more with 16.

The last third baseman to be voted in (Negro League players notwithstanding) was Wade Boggs in 2005. The timing is right, wouldn’t you think?

Hey, Rolen isn’t finished yet, friends. He is still a vital cog in the New Red Machine. He is a team leader in every sense of the word. His value as a clubhouse leader cannot be measured. I realize intangibles do not count, but we are only pretending to be members of the BBWAA right now.

You vote your way and I will vote mine. I must give him a big thumbs UP!

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After the first month of the season, are the Reds still the team to beat in the NL Central Division? They have most of the same faces from their division-winning 2010 season.

Gone is Orlando Cabrera, but his spot is taken by Janish being promoted to a starter and Edgar Renteria filling in. No huge loss there.

Also gone is Laynce Nix. A reserve outfielder who contributed quite frequently, he will not be missed as Chris Heisey’s fills in more than adquately now as the fourth outfielder. Throw in outfielders Fred Lewis and Jeremy Hermida and it makes you wonder if Nix would play much if he were still here.

After several seasons as the “ace” of the staff, Aaron Harang’s option was not picked up and he was taken by San Diego. He is doing quite well with them, and I am glad for him.

The Reds have talent and plenty of it. Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs and Jonny Gomes provide a powerful outfield. A starting infield of Scott Rolen at third, Janish at short, Brandon Phillips at second and NL MVP Joey Votto at first is one of the best in the league, certainly in the division.

Ryan Hanigan and Ramon Hernandez are a catching tandem that is probably tops in baseball.

The pitching is where the water has become murky. They began the season with only 60% of their starting rotation intact. They have done poorly when looking at the complete body of work. Their ERA is one of the highest in the league. Now that Edinson Volquez has left the first inning scoreless twice in a row, good things are beginning to happen.

Homer Bailey pitched six strong innings Thursday in his first start of the year. Jonny Cueto will start his first game against the Cubs on Sunday.

Their chief rivalry will come from the St. Louis Cardinals who came on strong after a dismal first week or so. Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday are among the league leaders in all offensive categories and Albert Pujols is beginning to make some noise.

The Cards pitching rotation has been better than most people thought they would, given the fact that Adam Wainwright was lost for the year before it started. Second-year man Jaime Garcia has been impressive, tossing a two-hit shutout Friday. Their Achilles heel thus far has been the deep part of the bullpen. Blown saves are the only thing that keeps them from being in a virtual cakewalk right now.

Many thought that the Milwaukee Brewers would win the division since they acquired starting pitchers Shawn Marcum and Cy Young winner Zack Greinke. Both were hurt at the start of the season, and they started a little slow.

After being swept in the first season series by the Reds, the Brewers came on strong and were just a half-game off the pace. They have lost six straight and eight out of their last 10 to fall within one game of the cellar.

The Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros are attempting to keep their heads above water. One is as bad as the other at this point, so I do not see them being major factors in the pennant race.

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Several teams have very good players in their three, four and five holes in the batting order. However I don’t think any are as good as the St. Louis Cardinals this season. Matt Holliday, Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman are as good as it gets.

As I write this article, Holliday is the National League’s leading hitter, and Berkman is in second place, both batting over .400.

In OBP, Holliday is in first place and Berkman in third.

Pujols is perhaps the best player in MLB, having won three MVP awards (and being runner up in four more), and averages .330/.424/42/128 per 162 games for his career.

The Milwaukee Brewers have great third and fourth hitters, in Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder but Casey McGehee is not on the same plane as Berkman.

Since Braun moved from third base to left field, he has become one of the best rounded hitters in the game today.  Entering his fifth MLB season, he is averaging .309/.368/37/118.  He led the NL in hits in 2009 with 203.

Prince Fielder, who joined his father Cecil in the 50 HR club in 2007 with 50 round-trippers, has averaged 37 HR and 105 RBI over his six years in the major leagues.

The New York Yankees, who should have the best team money can buy, can’t match the trio that the Cardinals put on the field, even with the 10th player.

Robinson Cano who is undoubtedly the best second baseman in the junior circuit, had a career year in 2010, finishing third in MVP voting.

His two high-profile teammates that should be mentioned in a list such as this are third baseman Alex Rodriguez and first baseman Mark Teixeira.

Rodriguez, a three-time MVP winner, is currently sixth on the career HR list with 618. Since coming to the Bronx in 2004, he is averaging 43 HR and 134 RBI. These stats are actually a shade above his career numbers meaning he has had no noticeable decline in his productivity.

The only time Teixeira has had fewer than 30 HR or 100 RBI was his rookie year of 2003 with the Texas Rangers. He led the AL in HR, RBI and TB in 2009.

The only other team that I believe has a comparable 3-4-5 hitting combo is the Boston Red Sox. Adrian Gonzalez (acquired this offseason from San Diego), Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz are clearly a fearful sight to opposing pitchers.

The durable first baseman Gonzalez has averaged 161 games over the past three seasons. During that period he has averaged 36 HR and 108 RBI.

“Big Papi” Ortiz has the power and run productivity of the others, but his .281 career average is sub-par in comparison.

Third baseman Kevin Youkilis, who has played a lot of first base for the Bosox, is not the offensive threat as others mentioned in this article, but is a menacing threat to pitchers.

Can any team in MLB  match the power and batting prowess of the St. Louis edition of “Murderer’s Row”? Not in my opinion.

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If Nick Masset is doing nothing else, he is keeping writers and fans off the back of Coco Cordero.

Last season, I usually became sick in the ninth inning when I saw the wild bull come in from the bullpen. It seemed (although it really wasn’t) as though every time he entered the game he either blew a save or came so close I put a curse on him.

That is gone now, my friends. Masset is now the reliever most likely to implode. The Reds have lost three games and two of them go right into the line of Masset’s statistics.

He has made three appearances during this young season, the first being during the second game with the Milwaukee Brewers. He came into the game in the eighth inning with the Reds on top 4-1. He actually received a “hold” for that game. He gave up a single and recorded two strikeouts.

We didn’t see him again until game six against Houston. Sam LeCure had started and pitched satisfactorily, leaving after five innings in a 2-2 game. Jordan Smith pitched two innings and allowed only one hit.

In the eighth inning Masset struck out his first two batters before surrendering a single and a walk. A weak groundout saved him for another inning.

In the ninth inning and the game still knotted at 2-2, he gave up a single before recording to flyouts. He then allowed a single and a run-scoring double before the Astros ended the inning with a groundout.

That was the Reds first taste of defeat this season, and it certainly tasted most foul.

After splitting the first two games with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Reds had relinquished a five-run lead. After Jonny Gomes hit a two-run jack in the seventh inning, Cincinnati was back on top 7-6.

The score stayed the same until Masset relieved Aroldis Chapman to begin the eighth inning. Masset was all over the place, throwing 27 pitches and giving up a three-run bomb to Chris Young to end the scoring.

The Reds had chances in the ninth with the bases loaded and one out, only to have Juan (Willy Mo) Francisco and Jay Bruce go down swinging to lose the first series of the young year.

With a loss in each of his last two outings, it will be interesting to see in what circumstances Dusty Baker uses him in next.

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This is the second article in a twenty-some volume series selecting players at each position by the beginning letter of their last name. Some letters such as I, O, Q, U, Y and Z will probably not field a time. I haven’t researched them yet so I can’t say for sure. It is a fun list, a conversation starter and I hope I can get it finished. I was actually inspired to do this list from author Sue Grafton’s Mystery Alphabet Series.

I decided to us a modified 1961 Topps look for this particular letter. I hope you enjoy it.

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With opening day only three days away, the Cincinnati Reds roster is looking more like the Walking Wounded than a defending champion.

A pitching rotation of Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Travis Wood, Mike Leake and probably Sam LeCure will not strike fear into the hearts of the collective sluggers of the Milwaukee Brewers. Their combined ERA is 6.45.

Arroyo is currently suffering through a bout of Mononucleosis, while would-be starters Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto are starting the season on the shelf.

Spring Training sensation Dave Sappelt, along with pitcher Dontrelle Willis will begin the season in Louisville while Jeremy Hermida will throw his line into the waters of the MLB to see if there are any bites.

The Reds pitching this spring has been terrible for the most part. Volquez was rocked in his last show before he opens the season on Thursday. He has worked only 9+ innings this spring in preparation for the season premiere and boasts an 8.38 ERA in two starts.

The final position spot on the 25-man roster is a battle between home grown Juan Francisco and newcomer Fred Lewis. On paper Francisco would be a lead pipe cinch but with Dusty Baker’s love for veterans, it is anybody’s guess. Lewis has a minor injury so that could be a factor.

In my opinion, as controversial as it may be at times, would have been to keep Hermida and let Lewis hang with the Bats for a little while. Hermida has had a real good spring, batting .342 with 3 HR and an OBP of .458.

Lewis has an anemic average of .205 but is among the team leaders with 11 RBI.

The final two cuts for the bullpen will involve a final four of Matt Maloney, Jared Burton, Logan Ondrusek and Jose Arredondo. My money is on Ondrusek and Burton to remain with the mother ship as the other two will probably begin the season with the Bats in Louisville.

This is my best guess of what you will see when the game starts Thursday:

1. Drew Stubbs – CF

2. Brandon Phillips -2B

3. Joey Votto – 1B

4. Scott Rolen – 3B

5. Jay Bruce – RF

6. Jonny Gomes – LF

7. Ryan Hanigan – C

8. Paul Janish – SS

9. Edinson Volquez – P

It looks a little bleak right now, but buck up kids, the Reds are going to REPEAT this season.

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This is the sixth offering in my series of All-Franchise teams. Since Tampa Bay along with Florida are relatively new franchises, I have relaxed the rules a tad for the two. There is no minimum requirement as to tenure with the franchise. Unlike most franchises you will not find any current Hall of Famers on this list.

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Let me preface this article by saying that Jonny Gomes is one of my favorite players on the Reds.

I am wondering if being ‘unofficially’ awarded the left-field job prior to the start of camp hasn’t sapped the slugger of his hunger.

He is presently batting a woeful, team-worst .158 with 2 HR and only 5 RBI. With the outfield talent at camp this season, it would strike fear into me if I were Gomes.

Dave Sappelt, in his second spring with the club, is leading the team with 18 hits and a BA of .545 and an OBP of .556.

Chris Heisey, who is beginning his second season with the Reds, is batting .317, leads the squad with 4 HR and is second in RBI with 10.

Jeremy Hermida, who spent last year with the Red Sox and A’s, is batting .385 with 3 HR.

Fred Lewis, an off-season pick-up from the Blue Jays, is having the same trouble that Gomes is in terms of offensive production.

Gomes’ intangibles are extraordinary. He has more hustle than anyone on the team, and his leadership in the clubhouse helps make the team what it is.

He is a scrapper, a fighter and is unaccustomed to things being handed to him. It is what makes him hungry and what makes him who he is, a tenacious bulldog who will fight anyone for the next chew toy thrown anywhere near him.

I did not say that Dusty Baker had promised him the job. I said that it has “unofficially been awarded to him pre-camp. I am afraid that has ruined his spring performance.

With that being said, and I realize this is just spring training, Gomes is more than likely hearing the hoof beats of the young herd coming up behind him.

The Reds will host the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park when the season begins a week from Thursday.

I can’t help but think if he doesn’t start hitting soon, he may be benched before the season progresses very far.

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I present to you the All-Franchise Team for the Cleveland Indians.

My rules are simple; a player must have played for a franchise for a minimum of five years. All statistics used are while the player was with the franchise.

There are many players I would have loved to use: Rocky Colavito, Sam McDowell, Luis Tiant, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Charlie Jamieson, Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Leon “Daddywags” Wagner, Hal Trosky and others. The numbers were just not there for them.

The Indians have a Hall of Fame outfield and a Hall of Fame pitching rotation which is a rarity. They have a storied, colorful history from Jimmy Piersall to Ray Fosse.

You probably won’t agree with some of my selections, but that is what makes the world go round.

Some of you will not like my picks of some of the “Mayflower” boys, but until they take their names out of the record books I will continue to honor them accordingly.

Have fun!

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