Last game
To look at a final score of 13-4, you wouldn’t think that the Reds trailed almost the entire game. The Cardinals took a 0-2 lead at their very first opportunity, and the Reds didn’t manage to tie it up at 4s until the 8th. And then, lo, the 9-inning 9th. That was really something to see.

Shin-Soo Choo was the big story, having committed both of the team’s 2 errors that allowed 3 runs. But then he also led the team in RBI this game with 3, so it was a wash. Jay Bruce went 4-for-5 with a walk, an RBI, and 2 runs scored. Brandon Phillips got booed a lot and also hit a home run. Joey Votto went 1-for-4 with 2 walks, an RBI, and 2 runs scored. He’s certainly not looking like his old self, but I bet it messes with your pitch-o-vision to see so many balls go by.

This game was too massive to be properly covered in brief, so I recommend you go check out the game wrap.

Next game
You mean we get to do this again??

Bronson Arroyo (RHP, 1-0, 4.50 ERA) will take his turn for the Reds against Lance Lynn (RHP, 0-0, 9.00 ERA). Lynn lost a bunch of weight over the off-season and is adjusting to his new slenderness. Arroyo, on the other hand, has always had the body of a 15-year old boy. First pitch at 8:15 p.m.

Tribute For Heroes campaign
I got a rather dense press release in my inbox the other day:

Major League Baseball and PEOPLE magazine today announced the “Tribute for Heroes” campaign, a national initiative that recognizes veterans and military service members and builds upon both organizations’ commitment to honoring our country’s heroes. Beginning today and running through May 17th, fans are encouraged to visit TributeforHeroes.com to nominate an active or former member of the Armed Forces of the United States or Canada for the chance to represent their favorite MLB team at the 2013 All-Star Game.

Once all the nominations are reviewed, three veterans/military service members per Club (90 finalists) will be selected by MLB, PEOPLE, and a celebrity panel of judges, who will be announced at a later date. Fans will then be encouraged to vote online from June 9th through June 30th for their Club favorite. All 30 winners, one representing each MLB Club, will be announced on July 10th. They will be included in All-Star Week festivities and recognized during the All-Star pre-game ceremony leading up to the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field on July 16th on FOX. A “Tribute for Heroes” winner will be featured in PEOPLE magazine the week of the MLB All-Star Game.

The “Tribute For Heroes” campaign will support Welcome Back Veterans (welcomebackveterans.org, powered by MLB.com), an initiative of Major League Baseball and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, which addresses the needs of veterans after they return from service.

Nominate your hero at TributeforHeroes.com

What to say to sound smart at the water cooler
Shin-Soo Choo committed only 2 errors in all of last year when he was playing right field.

Last game
The Reds won their second tough series in a row to start the season last night. Johnny Cueto put his 6 innings of 3-run ball again Steve Strasburg’s 5.1 innings of 6-run pitching to win the rubber game against the Nationals. The offense just barely got him the win, breaking a 3-3 tie in the inning when Cueto came out of the game.

Sean Marshall finally got to make an appearance, having been unavailable before due to shoulder fatigue. Jonathon Broxton and Aroldis Chapman also put in an inning. All three of the relief innings were pointless. As in, no points were scored.

Derrick Robinson, the young guy brought up when Ryan Ludwick got hurt, got his first major league hit and got to score a run when pinch hitting for Cueto in the sixth. He got a standing ovation for that. Jay Bruce was the most productive contributor, going 2-for-5 with 3 RBI.

Next game
The Reds go to visit the Cardinals tonight. Mat Latos (RHP, 0-0, 4.05 ERA) will face off against Jaime Garcia (LHP, 1-0, 1.59 ERA). It’s one of those weird early-spring start times: first pitch at 4:15 p.m.

Above average
We’re only 6 games in to the season, but so far the Reds’ offense has been highly present. It’s a nice change of pace from last season. Here are some tidbits that jump out at me as I look at the stats:

• Todd Frazier has 9 RBI. That’s almost 30% of the teams’ total 38 runs so far. He’s also hitting .480 in 25 ABs.
• Of the 6 guys who have played in all 6 games, 3 are hitting over .300. NOT among them: Joey Votto. He’s hitting only .238. He has, however, taken 8 walks already. Even that only gets him the third highest OBP of those 6 guys.
• The one with the highest OBP is Frazier, of course. Second is Shin-Soo Choo. He’s 9-for-24 so far with 3 walks. He’s getting on base at a .516 clip. This guy has been a real boon so far.

This is awesome! And I’m sure it’s going to last.

What to say to sound smart at the water cooler
The Reds were only 3-3 after their first 2 series last year against the Marlins (2-1) and the Cardinals (1-2).

Last game
The Reds were winners again yesterday, taking down the Padres 3-7. Mike Leake did the starting for the team and had a good outing: 1 run on 5 hits in 6.0 innings.

Ryan Ludwick came through big time with a 3-run homer in the seventh inning to break the 1-1 tie and give the Reds a lead they wouldn’t lose. Joey Votto also his a home run to provide some padding and something us to talk about.

Next game
Today the Reds host the Royals at 4:05 p.m. Mat Latos will be taking his turn at last-chance-to-rock-spring training.

Please welcome our guest posters
The Red Hot Family is taking a vacation! We’re heading to that traditional spring break destination of London, England. Damn the luck that spring break is falling on the week of Opening Day and Opening Night, which has been our favorite tradition for the last 2 years.

I don’t even know if they get ESPN across the pond, let alone Fox Sports Ohio, so we’ve bribed a couple guest bloggers with the promise of scones to take over while we’re gone. They’re both far more knowledgeable and emphatic about sports than I am, so I expect to see some real high quality content here for the next week for a change.

But don’t worry! We’ll be back to writing the same goofy crap you’ve grown accustomed to before you know it.

What to say to sound smart at the water cooler
The Reds have 2 more pitchers to cut before opening day. Which is just 4 days away.

Last game
The Reds won big time yesterday, 11-1 over the Cubs. Johnny Cueto’s last spring training start was a beauty, including 6 shut-out innings and a 1-for-1 night with a run scored. It was a regular looking score until the Reds unleashed nine runs in the ninth inning. You can read more details in the game wrap.

Next game
The Reds host the Padres today in Goodyear. Mike Leake will be making his last spring training start for the Reds at 4:05 p.m. On the other side of the scorecard, Edison Volquez will be starting for the Padres.

There are no outs
Jorge L. Ortiz had a very interesting piece in USA Today yesterday about the dearth of openly gay athletes–baseball players specifically. It even quotes Dusty Baker:

When he joined the Dodgers in 1976, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker played with Glenn Burke, who along with ex-outfielder Billy Bean are the two former major leaguers known to have publicly come out after their playing days.

Baker says Burke, who died of AIDS in 1995, was “like my little brother,” yet he didn’t know Burke was gay until a mutual friend who is a lesbian pointed it out.

Much like Burke kept his sexuality a secret, Baker figures gay players are doing the same now.

“I don’t think the world is at that stage (of accepting them),” Baker said. “It’s not baseball. It’s the world.”

Baker’s opinion matches the rest of the article. While individual players and teams are already saying they’ll be supportive when someone does come out, it’s the world at-large (specifically the media) that’s going to make life so difficult for that first guy.

Increasingly, high schoolers are coming out and living the entirety of their lives free from the sense that there’s something weird about them. It is inevitable that within a few generations of draft picks there’s going to be a few guys who don’t even need to come out because they always will have been.

It will eventually be as much of a non-issue as all those other characteristics that don’t directly correlate to playing ability–race, religion, national origin. That’s how it has always gone, and that’s how it will go with sexual orientation.

That being the case, if a guy is going to be the brave one, the one to make his mark on history as the first, his window of opportunity is rapidly closing.

What to say to sound smart at the water cooler
There are just 5 days left until Opening Day.

Last game
Ugly, ugly score yesterday. The Reds lost to the Mariners 16-0. Homer Bailey took the brunt of it, allowing 9 runs (8 earned) on 9 hits and 2 walks through 3.1 innings. Wilkin De La Rosa gave up the next 6 (5 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks through 1.1 innings. Compared to those two, the run apiece given up by Manny Parra and Kevin Whelan hardly seem worth mentioning. Justin Freeman and J.J. Hoover pitched scoreless innings.

Not much to say on the offensive side. Zack Cozart was the only one to manage two hits. Even Joey Votto went 0-for-4.

Next game
Today the Reds go to visit the Cubs for a night game starting at 10:05 p.m. Johnny Cueto is taking the mound for his final start of spring training.

Not that I’m worried, but…
With all respect to the fact that spring training games are just a chance to try things out and work out the kinks, and acknowledging the fact that the Reds don’t have a lot of contentious roster spots for guys to be going all out to secure, it seems like maybe Cincinnati should be winning a little more. I mean, this is practice time for all the other teams, too, but they’ve still managed to beat the Reds 2/3 of the time.

I take a little comfort in the fact that I’m still seeing an awful lot of names I’ve never heard before in the box scores, which makes me think Dusty’s mostly fielding the AAA team to see who will come up when injuries happen. I’m also encouraged that today’s start by Cueto marks the last practice turn of the rotation: maybe this is when they start practicing the “intensity” part of the game.

I don’t care about the 9-18; I just don’t want March to have been a month’s worth of practice at losing.

What to say to sound smart at the water cooler
You can get on TV during a Reds post-game show to ask a question (to the hosts of Reds Live, I guess?) by going to the Holy Grail at the Banks before the games on these dates:

• 4/1/2013 (Opening Day) 1p-3p
• 4/19/2013 6p-7p
• 5/10/2013 6p-7p
• 5/24/2013 6p-7p
• 6/14/2013 6p-7p
• 7/3/2013 6p-7p
• 7/19/2013 6p-7p
• 8/2/2013 6p-7p
• 8/23/2013 6p-7p
• 9/6/2013 6p-7p