John Erardi, with help from Joel Luckhaupt and others, wrote a nice article highlighting how important Drew Stubbs could be for the Cincinnati Reds this season.

At 26, Stubbs will be starting his second full year in the majors. This after a first full season that was…uneven, yet promising. The way Stubbs finished the season so strong was certainly a major factor in the Reds outdistancing the St. Louis Cardinals. What 2011 will show is whether that excellent showing at the end of the year was a fluke or a fulfilling of potential.

The last two months were a coming out party for Stubbs and Bruce. From August 1st on, Stubbs hit .308, got on base at a near .400 clip, hit 9 home runs and stole 12 bases in 197 plate appearances. Bruce was even better (.338/.418/.699, with 15 HR in 153 plate appearances).

What overshadows Stubbs growth as a player, though, is his lack of bunting prowess. I’ve often found this criticism to be a bit dubious. Yes, Stubbs is speedy, but he clearly has power, and you can’t bunt for a double or a home run.

Stubbs has also been criticized for his high number of strikeouts, much like Adam Dunn before him. Erardi takes on that criticism head-on.

Not everybody in Reds Country has absorbed this cardinal rule of baseball offense:

What kills an offense is not strikeouts, it’s almost any kind of out.

Stubbs struck out a team-high 168 times last year; Bruce, 136, Joey Votto, 125, and Jonny Gomes 123. Brandon Phillips struck out only 83.

But here’s why “making contact” can be so deceptive:

Despite having twice as many strikeouts as Phillips, Stubbs did a better job of “getting on base plus slugging” than Phillips did. And even though Phillips had a batting average that was 20 points higher than Stubbs, Stubbs had a better OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) because he walked nine more times and hit four more home runs (in 100 fewer plate appearances). Stubbs also grounded into 8 fewer double plays.

The point: Pay attention to how many outs a guy makes, regardless of how he makes them. Strikeouts aren’t all that big of a deal, especially when a guy does so many other things well.

Hopefully, this article will begin an education of both Reds fans and management. It would also be nice, as the article concludes, to focus on all the things a player does well instead of focusing on the things he doesn’t.

In a move that will no doubt not be officially announced for another week or two, the Cincinnati Reds have signed their last arbitration-eligible player to a contract. Edinson Volquez has signed what is believed to be a $1.6 million, one-year deal.

General manager Walt Jocketty had been attempting to sign Volquez to a multi-year deal, but was unsuccessful.

“We’ll see if they’re up for doing more later,” Jocketty said Sunday from a Reds Caravan stop in Lexington. “We tried to do a multiyear deal. They just wanted to concentrate on the one year now. [Volquez’s agent] had a few cases and wanted to get the arbitration thing out of the way.”

I think that the Reds escaped an unnecessary risk here. Given Volquez’s recent Tommy John surgery, I’m not sure how wise it would be to sign him to a long-term contract. Let him prove he can be healthy for more than a year, first.

The signing means the Reds will not have to tear down Volquez in front of an arbiter, and he won’t have to hear such things as, “You and Johnny Cueto have hairstyles that are too similar.”

Despite the early season success of Mike Leake for the 2010 Cincinnati Reds, I’ve always had a good feeling about Travis Wood. John Fay comments about Wood’s workout partner, Cliff Lee, today.

Cliff Lee, in case you didn’t know, is very, very good.

“He’s a great guy to work out with,” Wood said. “He knows a lot about the game. He’s been around. He pushes you, gets you stronger.”

It could be a story that amounts to nothing. A lot of mediocre players have worked out with great stars. But there could be something to it. After all, Wood did almost pitch a perfect game against the Philadelphia Phillies. And he was one of the bright spots of the Reds sole postseason series.

It could be nothing, but at this time of year when the baseball air is thick with optimism, I’m going to sit back and think about the chances of the Reds having a Lee caliber starter.

Chris Jaffe of the Hardball Times has been running some numbers and realized that today marks the 10,000th day that young Joey Votto has been alive.

In honor of that, I think I’ll repost my favorite picture of Votto that I’ve taken.

Some former Cincinnati Reds made the transaction news today, one of them more thankfully former than the rest.

First off, the replaceable Willy Taveras should give his agent a raise. Taveras signed with the Colorado Rockies today. Sure it’s only for a minor league deal, but Taveras has not been productive in the majors for a long time, despite his young age of 29. This marks Taveras’ fifth organization since being a blocker on the Reds in 2009, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, and the Washington Nationals.

Next up, Micah Owings, a player the Reds never figured out exactly what to do with, returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Owings signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks and received an invite to Spring Training. Arizona plans to use him as a pitcher and as a power bat off the bench. I still can’t help but feel that Owings would be better off focusing on hitting. He has so much power.

Lastly, the one and only Todd Coffey sprinted from somewhere to the nation’s capital to sign with the Washington Nationals. Coffey’s deal with the Nationals is the only one of the bunch that’s a major league deal. Coffey will apparently get a chance to compete for the closer’s role. I wish the big guy the best of luck. As goofy as his sprint was, seeing it always brought a smile to my face.