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Cincinnati Reds fans are reacting differently to Johnny Cueto's injury.  His absence makes most fans anxious, as they should be, while others are excited at the prospect of another starter getting a chance.  Cueto, the club's ace, is expected to miss between two to four starts (Hamilton JournalNews).  For me, the biggest concern isn't his absence, but what the injury means.  The Dominican starter has seemed injury-prone over the years, the pinnacle being his injury in the first game of the playoffs against the San Francisco Giants.  Is it possible that the story of this injury will resemble Nick Masset's, which—originally diagnosed as shoulder soreness—evolved into season-ending surgery from which we have yet to see him return?  But I digress.The story tantalizing fans is that of Tony Cingrani, a third-round pick out of Rice.  Converted from closer to starter, Cingrani has been nothing short of brilliant in his performances in the ...

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto left Saturday's National League Central road clash with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning with an apparent right triceps injury.Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette broke the news.The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay provided the specifics behind Cueto's exit.To that point, Cueto had yielded just two hits and one earned run and struck out three batters to keep the Reds knotted at 1-1 at PNC Park.Cueto entered the contest with a 1-0 record and a 2.77 ERA in the young 2013 season, and Cincinnati will certainly hope that its star hurler won't be out of the rotation for too long.The 27-year-old is coming off a career season, when he went 19-9 with a stellar 2.78 ERA, and he is flashing similarly solid form thus far.The Reds currently sport a 5-5 record and will be holding their collective breath over this latest potential setback suffered by ...

Johnny Cueto is the ace of the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff.This season, that role will come with a lot of notoriety as the Reds currently have the sixth best odds to win the World Series in 2013 (per Betvega.com).Last year, through one of the most successful regular season campaigns in franchise history, Cueto was able to dominate in impressive fashion.  2012 Season GS W-L IP ERA ERA+ WHIP K/9 BB/9 K/BB H/9 HR/9 Johnny Cueto 33 19-9 217 2.78 152 1.17 7.1 2.0 3.47 8.5 0.6    Cueto was one of the best starting pitchers in baseball last year and finished in the top five in starts, ERA, wins, ERA+ and pitching WAR (per Baseball-Reference.com).All of that 2012 success led to a fourth place finish in Cy Young Award voting.Cueto is looking to build upon that success in 2013, and the Reds could certainly use a solid season from their ace.Cueto was dominant in ...

The Cincinnati Reds are heading into the winter meetings, coming off a disappointing finish to an otherwise great season by all other accounts.The team's pitchers turned in one of the best performances of any MLB pitching staff in 2012, and the bullpen in particular was a key component in the Reds' success last season.Mat Latos proved to be worth every bit of the package the Reds sent to San Diego, and Johnny Cueto turned in a season worthy of Cy Young consideration.In addition to the success of several starters and the overall good play of the bullpen, the emergence of Aroldis Chapman proved to be the most exciting part of the Reds 2012 season. Though the team is looking to make him a starter for 2013,  The offense sputtered, at times. but there were bright spots in the offensive production put forth by the team. Todd Frazier came through with ...

Early Tuesday, Johnny Cueto was diagnosed with a mild oblique strain. This isn't good news for Reds fans who hoped to see him back as soon as Game 4 of the NLDS (if needed).If the injury is as severe as reported, then Cueto will not be back for Game 4, and should the Reds advance, he may not be back for a while.Reds beat writer John Fay tweeted earlier that the injury was in fact an oblique strain and that a trip to the disabled list could be in Cueto's near future.Should Cueto be sent to the DL, he would not be eligible for the NLCS and the Reds would need to replace him in the rotation. The most likely candidate to replace Cueto is Mike Leake, who has struggled mightily in his third big-league season.In 30 starts, Leake has pitched 179 innings with an 8-9 record, 4.58 ERA, 1.35 ...

The Cincinnati Reds are heading into the 2012 Major League Baseball playoffs as National League Central champions and Johnny Cueto is poised to take the next step on his way to becoming the league's best pitcher. The 26-year-old is having the best season of his career, but he is still being overlooked by the national media. He put himself in the Cy Young race for most of the season until a couple shaky starts in September diminished his chances.With his team in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, the 19-game winner will be expected to carry his teammates deep into October. In 2010, the Reds were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies. The Reds are in better position to make a run this season.Cueto gives the team what they lacked in 2010: a legitimate No. 1 starter. Mat Latos has also performed well behind Cueto, but the pressure will ...

It's not often that the debate between the top two Cy Young candidates for a specific league becomes a debate over two teammates. But, that is exactly what is going on in the National League and in Cincinnati in 2012.What makes this even more rare is the fact that it is going on in Cincinnati.The Reds have won their fair share of league MVP awards (12), Rookie of the Year awards (seven), and countless Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.But, they have never won a Cy Young award. Simply put, it is a statistical anomaly that the Reds legitimately have the top two candidates to take home this season's award.Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman are without argument the front runners to take home the N.L. Cy Young award this season—no questions.The real question remains though, which of them will actually win it?You can make a great case for both of them, and personally I ...

Cincinnati Reds fans are witnessing the greatness of Johnny Cueto for a second consecutive year.  The Dominican starter has firmly entrenched himself as the Reds' No. 1 starter, their true ace.  Cueto's numbers have been dazzling, and this season he's getting what he desperately needs for the Cy Young race: wins.With a 14-5 record, Cueto shares the title of MLB's most wins along with highly praised names like David Price, Jered Weaver and R.A. Dickey.  Fourteen wins marks a career best for the Cincinnati ace, and given the hot streak from the Reds' batters, that number should only climb.Last season, Johnny Cueto was just as impressive as he is this year.  He had a WHIP of 1.09.  He held batters to .214 hitting.  He made over half of the balls hit against him grounders, crucial in Great American Ballpark where the home run rate is 1.644/game, the second highest in the major ...

An all-star manager’s role can be described in two different ways: 1) It is the easiest job in the world—it’s impossible to make a mistake with such a surplus of talent. You can literally throw any player anywhere and things will work out.OR 2) It is the hardest job in the world—it’s impossible to squeeze so much talent into nine different spots in nine innings. While managers may want to implement a certain strategy with their starters (almost always the best players, except at third base for the NL this year), they also have to ensure that every all-star receives an ample amount of playing time. NL manager Tony La Russa was picked apart by MLB analysts before we were even able to witness John Kruk stuffing his face with Kansas City BBQ. Were Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips intentionally snubbed? Was R.A. Dickey the deserving starter over Matt Cain? Should a retired manager ...

According to government data, the average American male stands 5’9” tall. The average MLB pitcher is considerably taller, at over 6’2“.Yet, as with many things, there are notable exceptions to the rule. Some of MLB's top starters and closers this season are not much taller than the rest of us average American males.Turn the page for five of 2012’s best pitchers who are listed at 5’11” or shorter.Begin Slideshow