Clearly, we're only a week into the season, but I find myself wondering what exactly manager Jerry Narron wants out of Ryan Freel.

• Game 1. Freel doesn't play. Reds lose to Cubs, 16-7.
• Game 2. Freel starts at second. He scores three runs, one more than the Reds' margin of victory. He steals three bases. The Reds beat the Cubs in grand form, 8-6.
• Game 3. Perhaps hoping to just continue riding the electricity he provided the day before, Narron sits Freel. The Reds win over the Pirates 5-6.
• Game 4. Freel starts at second and goes 2-4 with a walk and a run scored. No stolen bases. Reds beat Pirates, 6-7.
• Game 5. As apparent reward for his lack of steals, Freel starts at second and goes 3-4 with a walk and three runs scored. He steals two bases, and the Reds beat the Pirates 9-11.
• Today, the Reds dropped one to the Pirates, 5-3. Freel was utilized only to pinch hit for Tony Womack in the eighth inning. He walked and later scored.

You'll notice that, despite the fact that the Reds have not lost a game this season that Freel has started, and that every game in which Freel has stolen a base has been won by the Reds by more than one run, Freel has sat the day after every day he's stolen a base.

Don't get me wrong: I'm glad that Tony Womack is holding his own at second, and I certainly don't want to see Freel getting himself hurt. But what's the message Narron is sending here? I don't think anyone has done more this week to prove how vital he is to the team, but Freel still found himself on the bench the day before he would have gotten a off day anyway.

Maybe Narron's trying to teach him that stealing is wrong. He's said he is a religious man, after all.

JinAZ has profiled Adam Dunn in his Better Know a Red feature, so I've updated Dunn's profile in the human league. In addition to just tidying up the existing content, you'll also notice a new section on Smart Alec Quotes.

Adam Dunn is a big, goofy-looking guy from Texas. You’d think he’d be thick, but he’s quick with a joke, a put-down, and the occasional profound sentiment.

ThinkExist.com has several of Dunn’s quips:

• I like this park. I don’t like that it has a first-base dugout, though, cause I have to run further [to left field]. We even have that at home. Can we change that?
• Cincinnati needs to take notes from Houston. Houston fans are among the top five fans in the game.
• Yeah, I had it checked this week and the doctor said I should put a splint on it, but the heck with that.

JockBios has a page of quotes from Dunn:

• At Texas, I was a football player playing baseball. And the way I play I think I still am.
• It�s great. I�m the only person that actually has claim to that record [most strikeouts in a season].
• Cincinnati is perfect for me. I’ve met a lot of good people there who like to fish.

JockBios also has quotes about Dunn.

• He’s a tireless worker. You don’t have to go ask him twice to come out for early work or extra batting practice or extra fly balls. �Reds coach Bill Doran (Editor’s Note: Yeah, but you do have to ask him once. *rimshot*)

The wording’s probably off on this one, because it’s from my memory of an FSN pregame:
(Upon being told that he looked like Will Ferrel):

• I saw that guy streaking in that movie Old School and he didn’t look good at all. He looked like…you know Jimmy Anderson, right?

My own partner in crime, JinAZ has been collecting some quotes as well:

• 4/6/06
  “They all count the same, whether they go one row in like Junior’s or 500 feet.” -Dunn, on his 470-foot shot that went between the smoke stacks and hit a car outside of GABP.
• 4/5/06
  “Looks like we got a two-tool player. I haven’’t seen him run yet.” – Dunn, on Bronson Arroyo after his winning debut as a Red. Arroyo pitched a good game and also hit a home run.
• 3/20/06
  “He is a nerd, but a nice nerd. It’’s a good thing he was born to hit or he would have been the kid in grade school who gets his lunch money taken away from him every day.” – Dunn, to a Pittsburgh writer on former teammate Sean Casey (thanks to redleg nation for the link)
• 3/10/06
  “How are we gonna score? Eddie’s not in there…” – Dunn, on Edwin Encarnación, who had the day off in spring training. EdE hit 0.357/0.416/0.771/1.187 with 6 home runs in 70 AB’s this spring.

Updated 4/30/2006:

• 4/25/2006
  About all the home runs flying out of the park, “I like the juiced-ball theory because it makes me laugh the most.” (Red Reporter)
• 4/29/2006
  On his home run drought, “I’m trying to wait to start hitting homers while [Griffey’s] out. I don’t want to get too far ahead of him.” (Reds MLB.com Notes: Team Player)

Adam Dunn is a big, goofy-looking guy from Texas. You'd think he'd be thick, but he's quick with a joke, a put-down, and the occasional profound sentiment.

ThinkExist.com has several of Dunn's quips:

• I like this park. I don't like that it has a first-base dugout, though, cause I have to run further [to left field]. We even have that at home. Can we change that?
• Cincinnati needs to take notes from Houston. Houston fans are among the top five fans in the game.
• Yeah, I had it checked this week and the doctor said I should put a splint on it, but the heck with that.

JockBios has a page of quotes from Dunn:

• At Texas, I was a football player playing baseball. And the way I play I think I still am.
• It’s great. I’m the only person that actually has claim to that record [most strikeouts in a season].
• Cincinnati is perfect for me. I've met a lot of good people there who like to fish.

JockBios also has quotes about Dunn.

• He's a tireless worker. You don't have to go ask him twice to come out for early work or extra batting practice or extra fly balls. —Reds coach Bill Doran (Editor's Note: Yeah, but you do have to ask him once. *rimshot*)

The wording's probably off on this one, because it's from my memory of an FSN pregame:
(Upon being told that he looked like Will Ferrel):

• I saw that guy streaking in that movie Old School and he didn't look good at all. He looked like…you know Jimmy Anderson, right?

My own partner in crime, JinAZ has been collecting some quotes as well:

• 4/6/06
  “They all count the same, whether they go one row in like Junior's or 500 feet.” -Dunn, on his 470-foot shot that went between the smoke stacks and hit a car outside of GABP.
• 4/5/06
  “Looks like we got a two-tool player. I haven'’t seen him run yet.” - Dunn, on Bronson Arroyo after his winning debut as a Red. Arroyo pitched a good game and also hit a home run.
• 3/20/06
  “He is a nerd, but a nice nerd. It'’s a good thing he was born to hit or he would have been the kid in grade school who gets his lunch money taken away from him every day.” - Dunn, to a Pittsburgh writer on former teammate Sean Casey (thanks to redleg nation for the link)
• 3/10/06
  “How are we gonna score? Eddie's not in there…” - Dunn, on Edwin Encarnación, who had the day off in spring training. EdE hit 0.357/0.416/0.771/1.187 with 6 home runs in 70 AB's this spring.

Updated 4/30/2006:

• 4/25/2006
  About all the home runs flying out of the park, “I like the juiced-ball theory because it makes me laugh the most.” (Red Reporter)

• 4/29/2006
  On his home run drought, “I'm trying to wait to start hitting homers while [Griffey's] out. I don't want to get too far ahead of him.” (Reds MLB.com Notes: Team Player)

The Red Take
Daedalus at Church of baseball thinks the division could be closer than anticipated, noting a Reds-esque bullpen performance by the Astros yesterday. It's funny how we're OK with comparing other teams with the Reds to say they're bad.

JinAZ congratulates Chris Hammond on finally getting an out. He also wraps a Washington/Arizona State game. Arizona has a starting pitcher named Arreola.

J.P. McIntyre at Reds & Blues says not to panic about the bullpen yet. Who's panicking? I always wear this bucket on my head.

Shawn at Cincinnati Reds Blog says the Reds avoided snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Amazing how a comment like that is cute a this point in the season. A couple months from now, it'll be bitter, bitter, bitter.

He's also written a review of Tom Browning's Tales from the Dugout that you ought to check out. If you like that one, you can also read the book review on Redleg Nation, the review on Red Reporter, five questions with Dann Stupp and with Tom Browning on Red Reporter, the review on RHM, and the official source, BrowningBook.com.

The Pirate Take
Joliet Jake at Bucco Blog points out the following facts about the Pirates. I think they put the corresponding facts about the Reds into shocking relief:

• not one sacrifice flyball has been hit yet (Dunn has hit two)
• not one stolen base yet, but we haven't been caught stealing either (Freel has stolen 5, and hasn't been caught stealing either)
• Casey leads the team in home runs (Aurilia, Dunn, and Lopez are all tied)

Charlie at Bucs Dugout won't even accept all the Pirate runs this series as reason for hope, due to the fact that they came against Reds' pitching. You know, just because something is true doesn't make it nice to say.

Pat at WHYGAS? (Because it's cheaper than electric?) stopped watching the game early to run errands. Seems a little early to be doing stuff like that.