Not That It Ever Was

The Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros have hooked up. The Reds didn’t have a spot for utility man Jeff Keppinger, while the Astros have a soft spot for light-hitting, injury-prone middle infielders. Let’s see if they can collect the entire set!

Keppinger will likely be platooning with Geoff Blum at third base for the Astros, taking the role of former Red Aaron Boone. The Reds will receive the always-awesome “Player To Be Named Later” who is unlikely to play any position for the year.

For the Reds, this means they must think either Alex Gonzalez is healthy enough to be trusted at shortstop or that Adam Rosales or Paul Janish can do the job. Or maybe Kepp made one too many pointed jabs at manager Dusty Baker’s “managerial” skills.

Sure, it took a 7-game winning streak to get their win percentage into the 300s, but the Astros do seem to be functioning a lot better heading into the final week of Spring Training.

Of course, if you delve a little deeper, you see a lot of offense being supplied by players with no hopes of making the team, but isn’t that always the way? Players with nothing to lose tend to be much looser.

Despite the blow-up of Mike Hampton yesterday, the Astros are feeling pretty confident in their rotation. Heck, even one sports writer wrote an article about not being able to find any faults with the team. I still can’t tell if it’s serious or not. I mean, I know it’s Spring Training, but this is a team that lost 11 games in a row already this year. That doesn’t sound like a perfect team to me.

Also, in case you missed it, former Red Danny Graves didn’t make the team. Yeah, I thought he’d pitched his way out of baseball, too.

Apparently, the Astros felt their team didn’t weigh enough when they tipped the scales this Spring. Upon watching the World Baseball Classic, they saw some extra weight that would help them greatly.

Are the weight puns too much? Sorry, but the Astros have signed catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. Well, pending a physical, of course. So unless Rodriguez shatters into a million pieces when he’s poked and prodded, he’ll be reporting to Astros camp in no time.

Reaction to the deal has been mixed, but I know someone who isn’t happy, now former starting catcher Humberto Quintero:

Despite his father’s almost Dusty Baker levels of managerial incompetence, Aaron Boone was always one of my favorite Reds. He’s struggled mightily since leaving the team, but I thought he might have a chance of rebounding with the Houston Astros this year.

I guess not.

Boone held a press conference yesterday where he talked about his need to undergo open-heart surgery to correct a congenital heart defect he’s been aware of since his college days. Open-heart surgery is scary stuff, and I wish him nothing but the best. It seems hard to believe that at 36, he’s already facing his second time of never playing baseball again.

While the Reds seem to be doing fairly well in Spring Training, the Houston Astros are anything but. Currently, they have won 1 game. That’s right. One game out of 10. That’s not exactly the kind of hope that spring is eternally known for.

In positive news, Aaron Boone, who apparently is with the Astros now, had a hit recently. So there’s that.

How’s the manager Cecil Cooper taking the losing?

We talk about not being spectacular — in other words, routine.

Sounds…motivational. Good luck with that, Cecil!