In not-so-surprising news, Eric Milton was scratched from his start in Dayton yesterday with lower back stiffness. He may go on the DL. Like so many reasons in the past why Milton has been unable to perform, I hope that when this one is resolved, he's back to the adequacy that he's got stowed somewhere deep down. In the meantime, it sounds like the CTS and I were on to something when we declared Milton the fifth starter. From C. Trent:

The rotation for the next couple of days is Harang, Arroyo, Lohse, Belisle and then back to Harang. So it looks like Belisle is officially the fifth starter, or maybe the fourth and we'll see who the fifth is. However, that rotation, Narron said, isn't “set in cement”

In much more surprising news, in the same post C. Trent reports that the Reds released Dustin Hermanson after he refused assignment to Louisville. When did the party line change from “Hermanson is our closer” to “he's not even on the team”? Was it those four runs he gave up in a third of an inning against the Marlins yesterday?

But Wayne Krivsky sounds like he has something else up his sleeve as these mysterious comments indicate:

And another thing, Wayne was kind of on edge about the whole 25-man roster and the talk of it. He also dropped something about how he may be at 24 today at 3 p.m. when they must turn in their roster, but there will be 25 tomorrow.

I haven't found any corroborating sources for this news, BTW, but I'm assuming that C. Trent's got the early scoop and not a great April Fool's Day gag.

Given the lively discussion generated by the short conversation I had with Reds Director of Media Relations Rob Butcher on Thursday, you may enjoy this two-part discussion of the relationships among bloggers, MLB, and the mainstream media (MSM).

The first part is an interview with several members of the MSM on their opinions of blogs and bloggers and the level of access that would be appropriate to grant to bloggers.

The second part is an interview with several bloggers asking similar questions and giving them an opportunity to respond to what the MSM had to say.

Several of the responders from both groups seemed to think that there wasn't much that blogs could offer to baseball, and by that reckoning, MLB has no incentive to recognize blogs at all. For what it's worth, I think that there's a lot that a blog can do to help MLB market its product for very little investment on baseball's part.

For example, you would be surprised (at least I am) at the number of hits Red-Hot-Mama.com gets from people searching for things like “Is Adam Dunn married?” and “What is Josh Hamilton's shoe size?” Information like this doesn't currently have a home at Reds.com or in the newspapers, but it fits in perfectly in the Human League entries for these players.

Since people are clearly interested in this kind of information, and since I'm providing a place to put it, why not set me up with the opportunity to ask Josh Hamilton about his footwear? RHM gets content. Readers get the personal (if slightly creepy) details that they're looking for. MLB gets free exposure, a great place to put a link to buy tickets, and a reprise from their reputation for treating their fans like the crusty old grandmother that they only kiss because she gives them money. Everybody wins.

On the even of baseball's Opening Night on Sunday - here are some last-minute tidbits from around the rest of the division.

The Pirates start the year with reliever John Grabow on the 15-day DL, and as of Friday it wasn't known whether 2006 NL batting champ Freddie Sanchez will start the season on the DL or not. Even if he plays, he had only seven ABs during ST so he might show some rust. Also, their closer, Salomon Torres, had a brutal ST with a 14.21 ERA over 6-1/3 innings.

In St. Louis, it looks like Edmonds will avoid starting the year on the DL. But the Cardinals have replaced three of their five starters since the end of last season. Two of the new starters have never started a game in the majors. The third hasn't won in double figures or posted an ERA lower than 4.55 since 2003. One of the two returning starters has yet to pitch his 100th Major League inning. Their right-handed setup man was shut down for the year due to elbow surgery. And the guy who was expected to start in RF will open the year on the DL. So LaRussa must not only battle the bottle and the pitching problems, but juggle a RF-by-committee situation as well.

In Milwaukee, Corey Koskie's return from post-concussion syndrome continues at a brutally slow pace. Several Brewers relievers struggled in ST. Still, the Brew Crew starts the year mostly healthy and could get off to a fast start in the division race.

The Astros are also healthy for the most part, although Brandon Backe is probably through for the year. The main question marks in Houston are in the back end of the rotation after the loss of Pettitte and, probably, Clemens.

That leaves the Cubs. For 99 years that's been the ultimate goal of almost everyone who has played for them - to leave the Cubs. In case you haven't noticed, I do love to pick on the Cubs. Popular Communications Magazine, April 2007 issue, page 76, last paragraph on the page, in a discussion about the chronology of disasters, part of an article dealing with radio communications during disasters:

“Not all disasters are of the 'natural disaster' genre, of course. We humans have time and again proven that we can conjure up some pretty serious disasters on our own, and I'm not just talking about FEMA's response to Katrina, or the last 99 years of Chicago Cubs history.”

This year, things were going to be different, they said. So now, with the Cubs presumably already on their way to Cinci for Opening Day, Prior starts the year at AAA. Wood starts the year on the DL. Oh, wait, this is supposed to be about news. Sorry. Oh, how I do love to pick on the Cubs.

HMZ

Our week is up and it's time to head back to Indiana. The countdown of minutes until Opening Day is begun!

Go Reds!

The regulars were out of the game earlier than usual, but got the job done before they left in this 0-5 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Friday.

Matt Belise got the start, or rather, the first start of the game. His line isn't so hot for just two and two thirds innings, allowing three runs (two earned) and a walk on five hits. But he did strike out four, including the batter immediately prior to his being pulled. The crowd was a mite confused.

But in came in Kirk Saarloos, who perhaps was getting an audition. His line looks better: zero runs on one hit in two and a third. To be fair, though, the further you get into a spring training game, the easier it is.

Rheal Cormier, David Weathers, Mike Stanton, and Jared Burton also each got an inning apiece. Cormier was the only one to allow a run. Honestly, is he trying to hurt his trade value?

The first inning was fun. Even when the Reds have won these spring training games, it doesn't feel like they've strung together a lot of offense consecutively. John Fay has an odd take on the inning:

Ryan Freel singled. Adam Dunn popped out bunting (maybe the No. 2 spot is going to his head). Brandon Phillips singled. Ken Griffey Jr. singled in Freel. Juan Castro, in the lineup because Edwin Encarnación is sick, doubled in Phillips and Griffey. Scott Hatteburg doubled in Castro. Alex Gonzalez singled in Hatteberg. Chad Moeller then mercifully ended the inning by grounding into a double play.

“Mercifully”?? The Reds were doing well! How jaded to you have to be to this game to complain about this inning? Oh, please stop the bleeding! I just can't take any more scoring by my own team!!

I guess that's why he's a reporter and not a fan.

Personally, I thought it was great. It's always nice to see the Reds walk away with a victory. The win brings the Reds' spring training record to 18-10. They'll play the Florida Marlins today in Dayton at 2 pm.