After last year’s career-worst performance, Bronson Arroyo changed up his off-season workouts and reported to Spring Training feeling “as healthy and flexible as I’ve been in a lot of years.”

Of course, everyone shows up to Spring Training in the best shape of their lives*. But the first real test is not Arroyo’s self-reporting, but some game action. Arroyo started today. How’s he lookin’?

“I felt like the ball was coming out of my hand better than it was in couple of years,” he said. “I’m interested in the velocity. Then it gets down to pitching.”

Arroyo was told he was hitting 88, 89 mph on the radar gun.

“There you go,” he said. “I feel like if I can throw 90 miles an hour when I want to, I feel good about what I can do out there. Last year, I was humping it up there at 86 a lot of times with everything I had.”

Arroyo went the longest of any Reds starter so far this Spring, pitching three innings. Over the course of that, he allowed one run, two hits, and one walk. And while the speed increase of 2-3 miles per hour on his fastball is a promising sign, the fact that he struck out nobody during his outing has me a little concerned.

The Reds have a chance to be good this year, but Arroyo, even with his large salary, cannot be given too long of a leash. Another year like last year would likely sink this club.

* Juan Francisco is not included in the definition of “everyone.”

Today was a nice win, but it doesn’t blot out the shining weakness that was a strength just a few weeks ago: the starting pitching. Volquez, as #1 starter is expected to absorb something like 220 innings. How is he going to do that when his pitch count is usually in the mid 50s by the 3rd inning?

Bronson Arroyo (he of the golden hair and rubber arm) is struggling with some kind of upper respiratory problem that had doctors scratching their heads, leading to tests. Inititally the tests were for something bizarre called ‘Valley Fever’ but then suddenly the much more well-known Mononucleosis (aka Mono) became the final prognosis. If you know Bronson like I know him, you know he is on his yacht during the offseason, somewhere in the Flordia Keys or thereabouts.

Bronson, as an athlete, is unfortunately insulated from independent news outlets such as this one. He probably relies on getting his information from the Main Stream Media aka MSM. That can be deadly. The MSM will have you believe the Oil Spill is a thing of the past and you can eat Atlantic Lobster at $9.99/lb. Nevermind the countless independent reports citing oil just beneath the sand, of insane amounts of aerial Corexit spraying, and of vast die-offs of marine life. So forgive me for thinking that Bronson maybe inhaled some of this poisonous vapor cocktail while patroling about on the SS Curveball.

The good news is that he is under treatment and out of that toxic environment. If anything, Arroyo has proven to be a resilient character having never touched the DL as a Red, if memory serves me correctly.

Nontheless one must be concerned at the state of the starting pitching staff. Arroyo is recuperating from illness, Cueto has a mystery arm ailment, and Volquez can’t keep his pitch count at reasonable levels to last deep into a ballgame. I almost forgot that Homer Bailey is gone for an unspecified time period, and is not even throwing a ball these days.

The good news is the Aroldis Chapman is lurking in the shadows. You’d think this would be the opportune time to stretch him out as a long reliever and prepare a transition to the starting rotatation. Things would be looking mighty good at that point and might even have Pete Rose looking more cheerful than this:

As always, be sure to stockpile food, water, firearms, gold and silver coins, and alternative medicines…. and like that old cop on Hill Street Blues used to say: “Stay Safe Out There.”

AND GO REDS!

THC REED
Red-Hot-Mama.com Contributing Writer

Lost in our posts about RedsFest was the fact that the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a contract extension with Bronson Arroyo.

The deal is for 3 years and $35 million, keeping Arroyo under contract through 2013. Earlier in the off-season, the Reds had picked up Arroyo’s $13 million option for 2011. This contract replaces that and adds on two more years. Also, John Fay has reported that a portion of the extension includes deferred money that will keep paying Arroyo until 2021.

Presumably, between the deferred money and the contract reworking, the Reds have shaved several million dollars off of payroll for next season. With the raises their arbitration-eligible players are set to receive, this will allow the club to meet their $80 million payroll target.

As for the extension, I was initially very skeptical about it. Of course, at first I misunderstood it’s details, assuming that a 3-year extension meant Arroyo had added 3 years to his the end of his current option. Finding out that it simply overwrites and replaces 2011 makes it better. A 3-year deal is always less risky than a 4-year deal, even with Arroyo’s spotless injury history.

Arroyo will be 34 starting next season, which means he’ll be 36 when this contract is up. Even with the Reds surplus of young pitching, I think this deal makes sense. All of the other starters are young and inexperienced. Given Arroyo’s track-record, I think it’s a reasonable expectation for him to maintain what he’s done next year, before dropping off a bit for the next couple years. By then, the young starters should be established and able to take on the veteran leadership for the next crop of pitchers.

Also, it does cement the Reds position of having what every major league baseball team desires and what I don’t believe the Cincinnati organization has ever had: a surplus of good, young starting pitching.

From the Reds marketing email this week:

Send your questions for Bronson Arroyo
Get your questions in now for our next Redlegs Q&A – this time with Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo! Better Off Red’s Jamie Ramsey will sit down with Bronson later this month to get answers to questions from you. Send yours to redlegsnews@reds.com and be sure to include your name and where you’re from!

Corn rows, crappy ’90s guitar music, nutritional supplements, pining for Boston, the likelihood that he won’t be around next season…the list of potential topics for questions is practically limitless. Ask him how it feels to hang around with great starting pitchers for a change.

The level of sarcasm is, of course, up to you. Said sarcasm probably depends on whether you’re asking about his kick-ass performance last night or his crappy 90s grunge music.

Bronson Arroyo will be answering questions in an online chat on Reds.com today at 3 p.m. You can go there RIGHT NOW to get your question in the queue.