Last Game
Aaron Harang started for the San Diego Padres against his former club, and I think he was nervous. Harang, who’d had a great spring so far, allowed 7 runs on 7 hits in 3 innings, including home runs to Ryan Hanigan and Chris Heisey. It was a rough outing for him. The Reds continued to score even after Harang left, as if to say, “It’s not just you. Everybody sucks today!” The final score was Reds 15, Padres 5.

Next Game
The Reds host the San Francisco Giants today. Bronson Arroyo will start and will be followed by Edinson Volquez, assuming Volquez makes it back with his work Visa. Game-time is 3:05pm EST.

Reds General Manager Words Versus Deeds
A couple guys formerly from RedReporter have started up their on blog called Base Cloggers with an emphasis on feature writing about the Reds. The most recent post examines Reds GMs starting with the guy from the 90s who assembled the last World Series team.

It takes quotes from the GMs describing their style and their goals and compares it with what they did and how they performed. For instance, Dan O’Brien is quoted as having talked about the slowness of improving the team.

“The analogy I use is it’s like turning an aircraft carrier around. You just don’t turn on a dime.”

He focused on drafting starting pitching, as he promised, picking up Homer Bailey, Travis Wood, and Sam LeCure. But he strayed from his strength and stated focus when he signed Cory Lidle and Eric Milton, which did not end well.

The article is an interesting read. Current GM Walt Jocketty definitely comes off looking good. Of course, it’s easy to look like the best when he’s the first one in a long string of GMs to have a winning team.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
This is the Reds second season in Goodyear. Last year, they went 12-16-3.

Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-2 yesterday. Travis Wood started and allowed the only 2 runs, thanks to a home run. Sam LeCure, Dontrelle Willis, and Matt Maloney finished out the rest of the game without allowing anything else to cross the plate. The Reds’ scoring was provided largely thanks to a three-run homer from Drew Stubbs.

Next Game
The Reds will travel to face the San Diego Padres and a former teammate: Aaron Harang. The Reds had scheduled Edinson Volquez to start, but he hasn’t returned from dealing with his Visa issues yet. Instead, Chad Reineke will get the ball at 3:05pm EST.

Volquez, the Reds, and Tommy
The naming of Edinson Volquez to be the opening day starter caught the attention of Sports Illustrated. It takes a certain amount of guts to so quickly turn to a guy just off Tommy John surgery.

[A]s an organization the Reds are one of baseball’s best-equipped clubs in the treatment of pitchers with catastrophic elbow injuries. About a dozen pitchers in the Reds organization have had Tommy John surgery, including four in big-league camp: Volquez, Jose Arredondo, Bill Bray and Justin Lehr.

Thanks to Reds Dr. Kremcheck, who performs more than 100 of the procedures each year, the team has confidence in his knowledge about the recovery process. Of course, this is still a team with Dusty Baker at the helm, who is reviled by many for causing his fair share of arm injuries.

Reds fans can rest easy knowing that the franchise employs a more collaborative effort in determining usage, meaning that the club’s left-handed fireballer, Aroldis Chapman, is unlikely to be burned out by overuse.

That’s good to know. Give the article a read if you have the time. It gives a different insight into the Reds than I’ve seen anywhere else.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds and Cleveland Indians held a celebrity golf tournament earlier this spring that raised $19,550 for the H.O.P.E. team, a non-profit group associated with the Cancer Treatment Centers of America.