Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds rested practically all of their starters yesterday, and it showed, as the Cleveland Indians scored 12 runs to their 0. The Reds played poorly in more ways than just the offense, with the defense committing five errors, and all but two pitchers allowing runs. They certainly got their work in.

Next Game(s)
The Reds split their squad tomorrow, sending one group to face the Los Angeles Angels and the other to face the Oakland A’s. Mike Leake will start against the A’s, while Johnny Cueto will battle the Angels’ Jared Weaver. Both games start at 3:05pm EST, but the one against the Angels will be televised on the MLB Network.

Phillips Wants to Stay in Cincinnati
While Joey Votto is interested in keeping his options open, Reds second-baseman Brandon Phillips has decided he’s where he wants to be. He came out a couple days ago and had the following to say about the possibility of a contract extension.

“I want to stay here. I love it here. Love the city of Cincinnati. I love the fans. The Reds gave me a second chance to come here and live my dream. I’ve been blessed. I want to give back to the city. I want to be the type of person Barry Larkin was to the city. It would be nice to be here for the rest of my career.”

The Reds will have to evaluate the amount of increased revenue from being a winning and more entertaining team and balance that against future commitments and the possibility of saving money by using one of their touted prospects. By coming out like this, Phillips puts the onus of responsibility on the Reds. If a deal doesn’t get done, the team is more likely to look bad than him. Not that he could ever look too bad with that excellent smile of his.

Phillips’ current contract ends after this season, but there is an option for 2012 at $12 million.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Both the Indians and the Reds lost franchise heroes over the off-season, and both were honored before the game yesterday and will be throughout the season. In front of the Indians’ dugout is painted a giant 19, for Bob Feller. In front of the Reds’ dugout is a 10 for Sparky Anderson.

Last Game
Baseball’s back, and so is the brief! In the Spring Training opener against the Cleveland Indians, the Cincinnati Reds won in their traditional 2010 fashion, engineering a comeback in their last at-bat. You can relive it via my live-blogging here. Corky Miller, the mustachioed wonder, drove in the winning run to give the win to Darryl Thompson. Jose Arredondo pitched the 9th for the save. Matt Maloney, who started in place of Edinson Volquez because of his Visa issues, acquitted himself very well, going two innings, striking out two, walking none, and allowing no runs.

Next Game
Game 2 is this afternoon between the same two teams. Bronson Arroyo goes against Fausto Carmona at 3:05pm EST. The game will be broadcast on 700 WLW.

Reds Reporter Mark Sheldon’s Guide to Goodyear
If you’re planning on heading out to Goodyear to catch some Spring Training games this year, it’s helpful to have an idea of things to do, sights to see, and places to eat. Mark Sheldon prepared a good one.

Phoenix Zoo — I’ve taken my family here and we were very impressed. The animals are perky and actually do more than lay around.

Westgate — Glendale: It’s like Newport on the Levee, times 100. Lots of restaurants and bars.

Sedona — two hours away but worth the drive and bring a camera. The mountain peak views and red rocks are simply spectacular.

Raul and Theresa’s — One of the best Mexican restaurants I’ve ever been to and it’s not a chain, yet. It’s only 10 minutes from Goodyear Ballpark

In-N-Out Burger — A west coast hamburger mecca

Yogurtland, Avondale and Scottsdale — Great dessert spot with about 15-20 different yogurt flavors. It’s all self-serve and there’s around 30 toppings to choose from.

The Red Hot Family had the chance to do many of these things last year. The Newport on the Levee type place is nice with lots of variety, from stores, to restaurants, to large, courtyards. We didn’t like Raul and Theresa’s as much as the reporters seem to have, but it’s a solid Mexican place. The In-N-Out Burger we stopped at was as popular as advertised. The Crack Technical staff recommends consulting the “Secret Menu” first.

Someday, we’ll schedule a long enough trip to make it to Sedona and do some mountain hiking. It may not be until the Red Hot child is out of school, though. His spring break never coincides with spring training, and the schools do frown on pulling your kid out of school for the week during standardized testing.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds have both the reigning National League MVP award winner in Joey Votto and the World Series MVP in Edgar Renteria on their 25-man roster.

Last Game
The Reds lost the first game. There might have been something historic about it or something. But it was just one loss in a best of 5 series, so it’s best to move on and turn our attention to the…

Next Game
Bronson Arroyo starts for the Cincinnati Reds, while Roy Oswalt goes for the Philadelphia Phillies. I believe this is the first time the Reds will face Oswalt as a Phillie. I have a good feeling that they’ll treat him much the way they did during the regular season. The first pitch is at 6:07pm EDT on TBS.

Today’s Reds Lineup
Dusty Baker is having Laynce Nix start in place of Jonny Gomes tonight and Ryan Hanigan in place of Ramon Hernandez. Nix has had great success against Oswalt, going 9 for 17 with 3 doubles and 2 home runs. Some of that would be most excellent. As for Hanigan, he’s been Arroyo’s personal catcher for the last half of the year. Personally, I’d do anything to lessen the odds of Bad-rroyo appearing.

1. Brandon Phillips, 2B
2. Orlando Cabrera, SS
3. Joey Votto, 1B
4. Scott Rolen, 3B
5. Laynce Nix, LF
6. Jay Bruce, RF
7. Drew Stubbs, CF
8. Ryan Hanigan, C
9. Bronson Arroyo, P

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
In the 60 previous division series, the team that won the first game won the series 72% of the time.

Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds finished the 2010 regular season with a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. They ended the year with their best record since 1999 at 91-71.

Next Game
Today’s the day we’ve all been waiting for: the Cincinnati Reds play a game in the playoffs. The Reds will be sending out Edinson Volquez to quiet the National League’s second best offense, while the Philadelphia Phillies will give the ball to Roy Halladay to quiet the National League’s best offense. The game will be broadcast on TBS, with the first pitch scheduled for 5:07pm EDT.

NLDS Roster Set
The Reds decided upon their roster for the National League Division Series yesterday, with the exception of one spot. The decision on Jim Edmonds being healthy was being held off until this morning. According to Mark Sheldon, he wasn’t deemed fit enough, so Juan Francisco takes his spot.

Here’s the playoff roster:

• Catchers (2) — Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan.
• Infielders (7) — Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Orlando Cabrera, Scott Rolen, Miguel Cairo, Paul Janish, and Juan Francisco.
• Outfielders (5) — Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, Jonny Gomes, Chris Heisey, and Laynce Nix.
• Starting pitchers (3) — Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, and Johnny Cueto.
• Bullpen (8) — Francisco Cordero, Arthur Rhodes, Nick Masset, Aroldis Chapman, Logan Ondrusek, Bill Bray, Homer Bailey, and Travis Wood.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds and Phillies are meeting in the postseason for the first time since 1976, when the Big Red Machine swept the Phillies while on their way to sweeping the World Series.

Last Game
It seemed like it took forever, but the Cincinnati Reds finally clinched first place in the National League Central last night, winning in, what else, walk-off fashion. Jay Bruce was the hero, hitting the first pitch he saw in the 9th inning out of the park to straight-away center field to give the Reds the 3-2 win over the Houston Astros and the Reds their first division title since 1995. And then there was a lot of partying in and around Cincinnati.

Next Game
Now that the Reds have clinched, they’re back to playing meaningless games at the end of September, right? No? Ok. Well, the Reds still have 5 more games to play before the season’s over, and they’ll be trying to secure home-field advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs. Johnny Cueto starts tonight against Nelson Figueroa at 7:10pm EDT.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Jay Bruce’s walk-off, first-place clinching home run last night was only the 5th such shot in all of Major League Baseball history. The four others were Bobby Thomson for the 1951 Giants, Hank Aaron for the 1957 Milwaukee Braves, Alfonso Soriano for the 1999 Yankees, and Steven Finley for the 2004 Dodgers.