Add one more to your file of NLC spring training DUI arrests: Tony LaRussa was arrested Wednesday night when he fell asleep at a stoplight while driving with a 0.093 BAC.

I think this suddenly puts his decision to wear sunglasses every night into a much more sinister light.

Spring is finally here. The robins are returning. The daffodils are pushing their way toward the sun. And the new Cincinnati Reds blogs are appearing on the scene. Will any of them have the staying power to last until next spring? You'll have to read and find out.

Redus & Weep

Mr. Redlegs’ Cincinnati Baseball Chathouse

Reds Rally

Redleg Ruckus

It's the ultimate test of fidelity for BubbaFan: the Reds-Yankees game! Only not today, because Bubba's not starting, as you can see from these line-ups provided by C. Trent:

Reds
Ryan Freel CF
Josh Hamilton RF
Brandon Phillips 2B
Adam Dunn LF
Edwin Encarnación 3B
Javier Valentín 1B
David Ross C
Paul Janish SS
Kyle Lohse P

Scott Hatteberg was scratched with a groin injury, so today we'll be treated to the first-base-stylings of one Latin Love Machine. He's my favorite tiny little first baseman!

Wasn't Janish just sent down? They could have worked Bubba in in his place, darn it all.

Yankees
Melky Cabrera CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Kevin Reese LF
Carl Pavano P

Go Reds!

The Reds take on the Twins at Fort Myers today at 1:05 p.m. C. Trent has the line-ups:

Reds
Ryan Freel CF
Scott Hatteberg 1B
Edwin Encarnación 3B
Josh Hamilton RF
Javier Valentín C
Alex Gonzalez SS
Juan Castro 2B
Chris Denorfia LF
Chad Moeller DH
Eric Milton P

Twins
Luis Castillo 2B
Jeff Cirillo 3B
Joe Mauer C
Michael Cuddyer DH
Justin Morneau 1B
Torii Hunter CF
Rondell White LF
Jason Kubel RF
Alexi Casilla SS
Sidney Ponson P

I didn't realize that the Ponson was pitching in Minnesota. Perhaps they'd be interested in Paul Wilson.

The team's been talking about it since September. The fans have been talking about it even longer. But finally it's official: Ken Griffey Jr. will no longer be playing center field for the Reds.

If you haven't been paying attention, he hasn't been playing center field for the Reds for a while now. He broke his hand a couple months ago and he still complains of lingering pain. The plan is for him to move to right field when he does take the field again.

Manager Jerry Narron made a comment about the situation that I found odd, “We would have loved for him to be available Opening Day to play center field, it just didn’t work out.” It seems to imply that it somehow takes less to get ready to play in right field than in center. Like, if only he could have gotten more ST ABs, he'd be able to play in center, but as it is, he's only ready for right.

With a scant 12 days left until Opening Day and still not so much as an appearance in an exhibition game, it's beginning to look like Griffey won't be ready for any play come the beginning of the season. This isn't likely to be a problem for the Reds, who can't seem to turn around without tripping over another outfielder.

Several young hopefuls have shown their mettle during spring training. Josh Hamilton is an organization favorite and rule-5 guy who's done plenty to impress. His problems with shin splints don't surprise me; he's never played above A-ball. It's a lot more intense up here.

Bubba Crosby is a crowd favorite and scrappy little guy. He's demonstrated his skill during the spring, but may be hampered by his left-handedness. It's not his fault that Adam Dunn, Griffey, and Hamilton are all already lefties, and hopefully the organization will recognize that it's more important to play the best players than to count the number of left-handed bats on the bench.

Chris Denorfia has been up and down the last couple seasons and, lucky for him, hits right-handed. He started the spring cool but has heated up lately. Norris Hopper is another right-handed possibility to take on the fourth outfielder position.

Despite the multitude of young outfield options, it is Ryan Freel atop the depth chart at center field. Many Reds fans have been clammoring for an everyday position for Freel for a while, and fans of other teams who have seen what he can do have been amazed that he's been relegated to super-sub. But Freel seems to prefer to move around, so I bet we'll still be seeing plenty of opportunities for the backups to get in their time in CF while Freel tries his hand in left, right, second, maybe catcher. Who knows?

In any event, I'm pleased that the rumors have finally been confirmed and that Griffey is prepared to cover a little less ground to spare that valuable body of his. When he's back in there covering ground at all, that is.