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The Cincinnati Reds (12-16-3) played the Cleveland Indians to close out the inaugural 2010 Cactus League season and tied yesterday. And nobody cares because OPENING DAY IS TOMORROW!

Ahem. Excuse me, I seem to be a little excited BECAUSE REAL BASEBALL IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!

Seriously, I haven’t looked this forward to a Reds season since the apocalyptic day that the Reds hired Dusty Baker to doom themselves to crapitude for the next 3 years.

But that doesn’t matter because OPENING DAY IS TOMORROW!

As for the last meaningless game of the spring, Homer Bailey copied his peers and also wasn’t very good, allowing 6 runs over 6 innings. The offense was solid, though, scoring 10 thanks to a 5-run 7th.

Tomorrow, the Reds open the 2010 season against the St. Louis Cardinals. In case you can’t tell, I can’t wait.

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds (12-16-2) aren’t exactly hitting their stride as Opening Day approaches, especially their starting pitchers.

It was Bronson Arroyo’s turn to suck–isn’t it always– against the Cleveland Indians (19-9). He allowed 10 runs in 4 innings, which is dreadful. And it doesn’t make it all that much better when I let you know that only 5 of those runs were earned. He topped off his crappy pitching with a throwing error during the score-tastic 3rd inning. Arroyo did allow 11 hits and 3 walks in those 4 innings of “work”, so he clearly had no control. If only there were a time of year for pitchers to work on such things.

The Reds did have a lead for the barest of moments thanks to a Brandon Phillips “Rally-Killer” in the 2nd inning. Jonny Gomes, Miguel Cairo, and Paul Janish drove in the other runs in the losing effort.

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While Mike Leake and Travis Wood were pitching very well down the stretch, Aaron Harang and now Johnny Cueto, not so much.

Against the Texas Rangers (9-18), the Cincinnati Reds (12-15-2) won Cueto’s final start of Spring Training, in spite of Cueto’s 4 inning, 5 run performance. He allowed 10 hits, struck out 6, and hit 2. Cueto claimed to have suffered from a tight back.

The offense bailed him out, though, with Scott Rolen hitting a 2-run home run in the first, and Wladimir Balentien clubbed a solo shot in the 5th. Minor leaguer Danny Dorn hit a homer in the 9th for the walk-off win.

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The Cincinnati Reds (10-15-2) stopped their losing streak, thanks to another great pitching performance by Mike Leake.

Leake continues to battle against Travis Wood for that 5th starter spot, and it’s going down to the wire. Against the Oakland A’s (11-15-3), Leake went 6 innings, 1 more than originally scheduled. He allowed 2 runs, both of them earned, and struck out 2. Thanks to the miracle of the B-team exploding on offense, Leake even picked up the win.

On the offensive side, it was a miracle that any runs were scored, let alone 8. Most of the primary players were making the trip to Las Vegas to play the Dodgers, Drew Stubbs, Scott Rolen, and Ramon Hernandez as the regular starters. However, Stubbs and Rolen were all that were needed, with both driving in 3 runs. For Stubbs, one of those was a solo homer, his 5th of Spring Training.

After Leake left, Aroldis Chapman took the mound. (Incidentally, anybody else not really down with him being called the “Cuban Missile” on the radio broadcast? Surely there’s a better nickname out there. Of course, all I can think of is Aroldis “Cane Sugar” Chapman, so what do I know.) Chapman pitched well, allowing 1 run over 2 innings. More importantly, he struck out 3. He did walk 3, which is the most in an outing all spring. Hopefully, he’ll get to work on that in the minors.

Micah Owings pitched the 9th inning, but did not bat.

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Aaron Harang made his last start before Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds (9-16-2). And he was bad. Again.

Harang has been good for the Reds, and he’s one of the few players I’ve considered purchasing a jersey of, but he is not ending Spring Training in good shape. Against the San Diego Padres (17-10), Harang lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing 5 runs, 4 earned. He did strike out 6, which is good, but those 5 hits and 2 walks kinda negate that, not to mention the throwing error.

The Reds actually scored some runs behind Harang, but the hole was too deep. Ryan Hanigan drove in a run, as did Paul Janish on an automatic double.

The game was an ugly one, with both teams committing 3 errors. In addition to Harang’s error, Drew Sutton misplayed two balls.

With this loss, the Reds have now dropped 6 in a row.