The long dark tea-time of the soul is finally over: baseball is back as pitchers and catchers reported to Cincinnati Reds Spring Training camp today.

Expect lots of artsy-fartsy photos of baseballs and players working out from odd angles for the next week or so. Oh, and the perennial players looking and feeling in the best shape of their lives.

It’s a tale as old as time, and despite the cliche of it, I’m happy to have it back.

The first player feeling healthier than ever report came today concerning one Bronson Arroyo.

“The ball feels better coming out of my hand in long toss,” he said. “Off the mound, it’s a little harder to tell. But as far as long toss, I’m definitely feeling better. This is as healthy as I’ve been in a long time. My arm’s always been healthy. But my back’s been banged up for years. I think that’s affected flexibility.

“I’m as healthy and flexible as I’ve been in a lot of years.”

After Arroyo’s worst professional year last year–10.3 hits per 9 innings, 2.1 home runs per nine innings, and an ERA+ of 77 (100 is average)–he better be in great shape, or he’s not going to last in the rotation for very long. I don’t care how much his salary is, I bet the team will have him on a short leash, considering their all-in moves this off-season.

Arroyo has always had a slower-than-average fastball, but last year it fell from around 90 to the mid-80s. He’s hoping that his preparation will improve his speed.

“I’ve got nothing else to give it. I gave myself this entire offseason to try to rejuvenate some of that zip. If it’s not there, it’s not going to be there. Between now and mid-spring, I should be able to see — by the time I throw three, four innings.”

I hope it is there, otherwise this all-in season could quickly become a bust.

Joel Luckhaupt, formerly of the long-defunct Reds and Blues blog, has gotten published with a little article about Cincinnati Reds center fielder Drew Stubbs and bunting.

Stubbs has long frustrated baseball fans–and Marty Brennaman–with his strikeouts. Here’s a guy who may just be the fastest player in the major leagues, but he cannot seem to put his bat on the ball. While he may not be able to outrun a cheetah, many people feel that if he were to bunt, he could certainly outrun the throw to first.

But would it be worthwhile for a guy with the power that Stubbs has to change his approach and add bunting to his arsenal?

It’s hard to say if bunting more would fundamentally change Stubbs as a player. The majority of players that frequently use the bunt to get hits are slap hitters with nowhere near the level of power of Stubbs. And because of that, many of those players have to be successful bunters in order to stick in the big leagues. Otherwise, they typically don’t have enough tools in their arsenal to be any sort of a threat at the plate.

Luckhaupt then goes on to apply the mathy skillz that he employs during the season as the statistician for Fox Sports Ohio Reds’ broadcasts and tries to quantify what bunting more might do. And no, the TLDR has nothing to do with cranky old broadcasters. I’d encourage you to check out the whole thing. It’s a good read.

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer checked in with Cincinnati Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty today about the status of the roster.

“We’ll meet again Wednesday and review it. But I think we’re pretty well set. We’ve got 57, 58 guys. It’s a good mix.”

Which, of course, means no last-minute addition of Roy Oswalt. As much as I would be interested in having another Cy Young candidate in the Reds’ rotation, I’m getting even more interested in seeing some exhibition baseball start up again. The first Spring Training game isn’t until March 3, but pitchers and catchers report on the 18th, just 5 days away.

Spring Training will officially kick off this week, and pitcher Roy Oswalt still doesn’t have a job.

ESPN’s Jayson Stark described the situation.

“He wanted to go to Texas. That’s not gonna happen. He wanted to go back to Philadelphia. That’s not gonna happen. He had some interest in the Reds. That doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. So his choices still come down to, I think, going to Boston, where they have a clear need but he doesn’t seem to want to play, and going to St. Louis, where all his friends say he would love to be. But to do that, he has to do it on their terms.”

Oswalt has been a very good pitcher over his career. At 34, he’s definitely on the wrong side of 30 and in the winding down stage of his career–which an off 2011 hinted at–but he’s still likely to be better than a bunch of other pitchers who already signed. So what’s the deal? Why does he think he gets to be so picky?

My advice would be to suck it up and pitch in Boston. They’re the one with the need for him. Plus, it sounds like they’d offer him the most money. Both the Cardinals and the Reds have crowded starting rotations at the moment, and although Oswalt would be an upgrade over some of those pieces, his price may not be worth it.

I’d, of course, rather the Cards not sign him. That could definitely hurt the Reds’ chances this year. And I find the point Red Leg Nation made compelling.

It’s always difficult to make assumptions about a team’s budget from the outside-looking-in, given that we know basically nothing about the franchise’s budget plan, but we can make some inferences from the fact that John Fay thinks that trading Homer Bailey could be an option towards freeing up some salary. The odd thing is, Bailey is only scheduled to make $2.425 million this year, and I find the idea that a MLB franchise in the Reds’ position would allow $2.5 million to come between them and a one year deal for a starting pitcher they want to acquire to be a bit of a hard pill to swallow.

It’s always easy to spend someone else’s money, but not getting Oswalt over a matter of $2.4 million when you’ve already decided to go all-in this year doesn’t sound right. You’re either all-in, or you’re not. Unless there’s something in the medical report on Oswalt that alarms the Reds, I will be most disappointed if Oswalt winds up in St. Louis.

Brandon Phillips is among the winners of the LoveMyTeam.com 2012 Fan Friendly Seal of Approval.

That’s pretty cool, and not at all diminished by the fact that they also gave one to rally squirrel hating Skip Schumaker.