Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (10-18)	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	9	11	15	0
Cubs (16-17)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	8	1

Boxscore

As if in response to Amanda’s call to start practicing intensity, the Cincinnati Reds demolished the Chicago Cubs yesterday, winning 11-1.

Johnny Cueto made his final start of the spring, and looked like the ace of old. He tossed 6 shutout innings, allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. Granted, it was the Cubs, but that’s still good to see this late in the spring.

The Reds took the first lead in the 3rd inning when Cueto had a two-out single. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Emmanuel Burriss doubled to center and Cueto scored. In the 7th inning, Todd Frazier added another run by hitting his 5th home run of the spring.

The Cubs made it a one-run game again by scoring in the bottom of the 7th, but the Reds broke it open in the 9th, unloading on the Cubs bullpen and scoring 9 runs in the inning. It was a prodigious display of offense that I hope we get to see often in the regular season.

The win is the Reds’ 10th of the spring, so they won’t be toiling in the single-digit wins wasteland any more.

And now there are just 5 spring training games left until Opening Day.

The news we were expecting came today, and it’s what I’d feared, the Cincinnati Reds are not the forward-thinking organization that statistics-aware fans wish they were. Instead of seeing if they’re $30 million investment could become a great starter–what they initially scouted him for–the Reds bowed to the whims of manager Dusty Baker and made Aroldis Chapman the closer.

“We made a decision on our rotation. It’s Cueto, Latos, Bronson, Homer Bailey and Leake,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

I’m not that upset about this. Chapman is very good as the closer. And now there’ll be Jonathan Broxton to help when Chapman cannot pitch a second or third day in a row. I’m just a little disappointed. I really wanted to see what Chapman could do as a starter. I mean, the list of tall, flame-throwing left-handed starters isn’t long, kind of starting and ending with Randy Johnson. And Chapman could’ve added his name, but the Reds were apparently too scared to upset their manager and their player to find out.

But this isn’t bad news. At least, not for this season. The Reds already had an awesome rotation in Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Homer Bailey, Bronson Arroyo, and Mike Leake. And the bullpen is a very stacked place. The 2013 season is looking very bright.

Still, it sure would’ve been nice for the team to find out what they had in Aroldis Chapman.

The Cincinnati Reds cut 5 more players from their roster over the weekend, getting their total roster count down to 39.

Optioned to Triple-A Louisville were right-handed pitchers Pedro Villarreal and Curtis Partch, infielder Henry Rodriguez and first baseman Neftali Soto. Outfielder/first baseman Donald Lutz was optioned to Double-A Pensacola.

Lutz, Rodriguez, and Soto all impressed manager Dusty Baker during the spring and leave knowing they have things to work on in their progress to the majors. There’s a good chance these players will make appearances with the club during the season.

Just 14 cuts to go!

On occasion, I’ve made fun of Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty for his terrible excuse for sports writing. So I suppose it’s only fair that I point out a time when he writes something that doesn’t suck monkey balls.

If you believe Aroldis Chapman is a starting pitcher, this ain’t for you.

If you think the way Dusty Baker thinks, read on.

I swore I wouldn’t type the words “Aroldis” and “Chapman” until he actually threw a pitch that mattered. Some horses are beaten to death once. Others are flogged enough, they need 1,000 lives. Chappy’s been flogged.

Start him.

Really? Daugherty is supporting the idea of starting Chapman? That’s unexpected. What’s his reasoning? Surely, it’s something like, “Throw ball. Strike out. Win.”

Chapman had zero impact in the playoffs against the Giants last October. Your best pitcher — or at least your best arm — in the five biggest games of the year: Zero impact. That’s ridiculous.

That’s…a valid point.

Chapman will get far more starts than he would appearances in one-run, ninth-inning save situations.

And another one. Why is Daugherty making sense?

A stat from my pal Joe Posnanski:

During his career, Mariano Rivera converted 140 of 158 one-run save chances, in the ninth inning. That’s a conversion percentage of .886. During the 2000s, according to Baseball Prospectus, the major league average was .848.

Posnanski writes, “The average team with that lead would have been expected to hold the lead in 134 of those 158 games. With Mariano, the Yankees held the lead six more times over 16 seasons.”

Now I get it. Daugherty’s been reading some Posnanski, who, outside of his hero worship book on Joe Paterno, is one of the best sports writers out there. You could do far worse than take inspiration from and emulate him.

Before Daugherty finishes, he makes one comment about Dusty Baker that was quite insightful.

Baker wants Chapman to close because it makes his job easier.

Baker has been complaining again this week about want a decision made on whether Chapman starts. And this is probably why. Having Chapman as the close means Baker doesn’t have to think, doesn’t have to manage. But as Tom Hanks said in that great scene from A League of Their Own, “Chicken shit!”

Baseball is supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.

Having Chapman close because it makes the manager’s job easier is a terrible reason. For the reasons listed in the column and many more, moving Chapman to the starting rotation is the right move.

And then Daugherty finishes his column strong.

In 2011, Coco Cordero saved 37 games for the Reds, and blew six. In 2012, Chapman saved 38, and blew five. That’s a one-game difference. The Reds won 79 games in 2011, and 97 in 2012. Do you still believe Chapman the closer was a difference maker?

Nicely done.

I’m not getting my hopes up that this is a predictor of things to come, though. I mean, even a blind squirrel gets to bust a nut once in a while. Besides, starting with a valid premise, putting together mostly coherent sentences, and backing up your statements with verifiable facts is really hard and more than we can expect on a constant basis from “journalists” like Daugherty.

The Cincinnati Reds made their first cut of spring training yesterday, removing 12 players from their roster.

Left-hander Tony Cingrani and right-hander Daniel Corcino were optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Right-handers Kyle Lotzkar and Josh Ravin were optioned to Double-A Pensacola. Right-hander Carlos Contreras and outfielder Yorman Rodriguez were optioned to Single-A Bakersfield. Left-hander Ismael Guillon was optioned to Single-A Dayton.

Right-handers Chad Rogers and Nick Christiani, catcher Nevin Ashley, infielder Kristopher Negron and outfielder Ryan LaMarre were re-assigned to the minor league camp.

None of these cuts are a surprise, as none of them had a chance to make the major league roster. However, I am a little surprised that Cingrani was was at this time. He and Corcino are likely to see time in the majors this year should the rotation not repeat last year’s iron man challenge of every starter remaining healthy.

The roster stands at 44, with 19 more players to be cut by opening day.